A Break-Sweating Vacation, Anyone?

Perhaps, it's time to consider some heart-pumping excitement for a vacation. Why not? Just imagine after that daylong hike, there's a 90-minute massage waiting for you! :).

You might wanna check these places:

1. Canada: - How about a 3-day trek starting at Bobbie Burns Lodge - home to the region's best-stocked wine cellar. Try the zip lines, foot bridges and iron axes needed to reach your 10,000-foot date with destiny :).
2. Brazil: - Alpha Adventure experience, anyone? It's a car-free island 100 miles from Rio de Janiero. It's an experience of aggro-sounding, week long guy retreat with spiking activities such as rappelling and machete-hacking. More refined male pursuits are also options such as yoga and samba lessons.
3. Portugal: - Offers some of the best surfing in Europe such as Nomad Surfer's near Praia de Amado. There, you can get instruction and gear plus chilled-out yoga lessons.
4. Tanzania: - Go horse back riding and explore its 350,000 square-acre Singita Grumeti Reserve. Consists of 4 nights convoys - 6 riders maximum, with 25 miles passing herd of giraffees, zebras and wildebeests.
5. Maldives: It's more than 20 hours flight from the US, but worth it! Check the boat ride offers that connects five nearby islands to form a 12-mile biking and hiking path for visiting villages along the coasts.
   

Dress Code Etiquettes Around The World - (Part 2)

In JAPAN, basic black suits are recommended for men.

In PAKISTAN, women can wear tunics and fitted jackets and even low-cut blouses, but must cover their legs with loose pants. Men wear ties and jackets for those in the corporate fields and banking but not for media.

In SINGAPORE, casual attires are preferred for business meetings (at least dresswise). Both men and women wear oxfords and slacks. Women can also wear trendy peg-leg pants.

In FRANCE, both men and women wear dark, tailored, unflashy suits, and no need to wear ties.

In GERMANY, men wear tweedy jackets while women of management positions strive to be staid in dark suits, discreet jewelery and loaferlike shoes.

In GREECE, men prefers to wear suits, pressed cotton shirt and Hermies tie, while women go with glitz and gold buttons like dark Armani suits, strappy heels, and smart leather bags.

In ITALY, men can wear low-cut shirts and vibrantly hued. Men's suits should be perfectly tailored.

In RUSSIA, for women, they'll be hard pressed to get hems higher or necklines lower than those of Muscovite businesswomen. They also spend time on their hair and make-up. Men wear double-breasted suits, preferrably pin-striped with mullets as accessory! Mullets are trendy!

In TURKEY, both men and women wear manicure because Turkish are known to be perfectly groomed. Hair should be perfectly trimmed, suits should be fitted but jackets and pants need not match, with button-downs left open and worn without undershirts showing. No matter the quality of tailoring is, suit should fit you well.

In UK, suits and tie are worn in downtown on weekdays, except Fridays! Execs would wear uniforms of the newest Nikes and skinny jeans.

A New Way To Book A Trip

One of the new add-on to MS Outlook is the Tripware wherein you can simply select the dates you want to travel and just click the tripware icon. You'll be taken to a separate window where you can then search for flights, hotels or rental cars. You can also purchase, make or cancel reservations or change dates right from your Outlook. Isn't that cool?

Tripware uses the same back-end system such as that of Orbitz and Expedia, so it offers the same deals.

The main good thing the next time you book your next trip is to use Tripware without even opening your web browser.

Dress Code Etiquettes Around The World - (Part 1)

When you are at a meeting:

In DUBAI, women usually wear pantsuits that are sheeny and glam, while men wear black, buffed and paired with slim ties.

In EGYPT, Ties and sports coats are almost obsolete. In formal meetings, long sleeve with button-down and slacks is acceptable. Women usually wear jackets over high-necked shell and loose pants.

In IRAN, a "chador" (hooded floor-length cloak) should be worn by women meeting a clerical group. In most gatherings, women should wear a black "manteau" (loose coatlike garment), a low-closed pumps, and an Iranian "hijab".

In ISRAEL, jeans are commonly worn than ties and jackets, and in business formal meetings, means no more than a button-down and khaki pants. For women who are attending meetings with religious colleagues, skirts are preferred than trousers. Liberal places such as Tel-Aviv, trendy dresses from boutiques are commonly worn by women.

In LEBANON, Men prefers a two-button Hugo Boss brand, navy or black. Women are fashionable with straight skirts and fuschia jackets. Hair ponytail is NOT recommended.

In MOROCCO, women and men are invariably formal in suits.

In SYRIA, men wear suits; women wear skirt ensembles. No trousers or slacks.

In CHINA, homogenous suits and ties are being worn even on hot summer days. Women going for business meetings don't wear any makeup or jewelry and everyone shies away from conspicuos consumption to show they're focused on the business at hand.

In INDIA, pantsuits are very well tolerated anywhere on the Indian subcontinent. Wear cotton or linen in summer, pair it with colored scarf or dangle earrings. Men can wear color, too ;).

In INDONESIA, men wear batik-button-downs with khaki pants and closed shoes, while women wear plain dresses, long sleeves and hair ponytails with lipsticks and blush ons. Notable jewelries are not recommended.

Maryland's Historic National Road

I must really admit, I've been to so many places around, but I didn't even notice how beautiful is my home based state; - Maryland! :)
The Historic National Road is said to be a journey full of nostalgia taking you from downtown Baltimore to the mountains of Western MD along the nation's first federally funded highway. I am looking forward to this trip.
But for those who are planning to do some worthwhile itineraries for your vacation, it might help to share some few backgrounds about what to expect, according to my reads ;).

You can enjoy the scenic and idyllic towns of yester years by following the route of the old National Road along Route 40, I-70 and I-68 from Baltimore to Grantsville.
You'll start your trip at the Baltimore Visitor Center located at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. In there, you can get maps and driving directions for the Historic National Road.

If you want to explore some exhibits, got to Ellicott City at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum. You can also see the hand chiseled milestones that once marked the distance to Baltimore on the old National Pike in Mt. Airy, MD. Route 40 passing right through downtown will take you to the city of Frederick. Here is an ideal place for you to shop and dine, - a good place to spend the night as well.
Frederick, MD is also where you can find the monument of Francis Scott Key, the lyricist of the "Star-Spangled Banner," located at Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

On the west side of Frederick are the mountainous climbs of Maryland's often overlooked western edge, and the Historic National Road passes through the center of Hagerstown that has Gothic Revival and art deco architectures. You can visit Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum and the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts.
You can capture good photos of your poses in Wilson at the wayside park adjacent to one of the National Road's original stone and arched bridges over Conococheague Creek, then you can drop by and visit at the R.H. Wilson & Son General Merchandise & Post Office for old-fashioned barrel candy and a glass-bottled soda.

One of the trip highlights is the Town Hill Overlook, west of Hancock. You can get scenic shots to take in the view of long trapezoid-shaped mountains and rolling farmland and see where I-68 cuts through the gap in the Allegheny Mountains.

For those who have more time to spend, the historic industrial town of Cumberland will be a good stop. Here, the Historic National Road meets the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
The C & O Canal Natioanl Historical Park/Allegany County Visitor Center is located at the former Western Maryland Railroad station at the terminus of the C & O Canal. Here, a full-sized replica canal boat is located adjacent to the station, a part of the Canal Place Heritage Area.

Up the west of Garrett County is a high mountain plateau extending to the western edge of the state. In Grantsville, you can explore the Casselman River Bridge which the old road once passed; stop in at the Penn Alps Restaurant for a taste of Amish fare and explore handmade wares and studios of the Spruce Forest Artisan Village before going back home or continuing to follow Route 40 going Pennsylvania.

Have a nice, fun trip! :)

Modern Strategies of Travelling Today (Part 5)

Car Rentals.

• Reserve the least expensive model. If the car you reserved isn't available, mostly they would give you a better car for the same price. You can as well negotiate an upgrade at the car rental counter.
• Avoid extra-driver fees and additional paperworks by joining the loyalty club.
• Don't pay double for car insurance. If you own a car and your owner's policy covers you no matter what car you're driving, including a rental, there's no need to give the rental car agency that extra $10-20 per day. Also, most credit cards cover the Collision Damage Waiver (CDW).

Tipping.

• There are general rules to follow regarding tipping in the US.

1. Bellmen: at least $1-2 per bag.
2. Housekeepers: a couple bucks per day might not mean much to you but it will mean a lot to the housekeeper.
3. Concierges: Snagging a theater ticket or restaurant reservation is at least $20.
4. Waiters: Under 15% means you didn't like the service.
5. Taxi drivers: tips are at least 15-20%, or at least $1 for every five dollars of fare. Round up to the nearest buck. No one likes to deal with change :).
   

• Cruise ship tips are mostly automatically added to your bill. Don't be scared to let them know if you'd like to reduce the service fee and explain your reasons to the purser. The cruise line deserves the right to know when passengers are disappointed.
• Customary tips vary from country to country so read the guidebook on the tipping part.
  

Modern Strategies of Travelling Today (Part 4)

Lodging.

• Be aware of the hotel bedspread that might be bug infested. It might be teeming with creepy crawlies. If you have one, remove it at once and place it in a corner of the room. Take note, you don't want to bring the bedbugs home with you, right?
• Room service is not recommended and is a total rip-off unless you don't have any other options.
• Valet parking would only be the last resort. A parking lot close by will be 50% cheaper.
  

Cruises.

• Don't forget your passport, even if you're traveling by sea visiting Mexico, Canada, caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda. If something happens such as emergency, having one will make things considerably easier.
• You can save money by booking directly with those running the shore excursions or similar outings. If you book an excursion with an outside operator and don't get back to the ship in time, you're out of luck. When you book through the cruise line, they will wait.
• Try posting your travel info at cruisecompete.com about the cruise you want to take. Agents will then bid against each other to get your likings. You're not obliged to buy something you don't like.
• You might want to pack things you want ready such as a book, swim wear, sunblock, etc..inside your carry on, because sometimes your bags won't arrive at your cabin for a few hours after you board.
  

Modern Strategies of Travelling Today (Part 3)

Packing.

• Pack as little as possible. Packing light would possibly mean avoiding checking bags. Most airlines charge for check-in bags over 50 pounds or so. If your bag is over the limit and the airline allows two checked bags per person, simply pack in 2 smaller pieces of luggage instead.
• It's a good idea to roll clothes to create more space and avoid wrinkles (at least much better than folding). Other option is layer your clothes inside plastic dry-cleaning bags which is friction-free which means wrinkle free. Hang them upon arrival.

Flying.

• If you don;t have bags to check in, it's best to check in for a flight and print your boarding pass 24 hours beforehand.
• If you are sensitive to noise (or hate it), purchase a noise-canceling headphone which make flying way more pleasant.
• Whenever you deplane from an international flight, walk fast. Passing 10 people during the trek to immigration check points can spare you at least 5 minutes of waiting in a long line.
• If your flight is cancelled and you're at the airport, call the airline's 800 number while walking to the airline counter. This way can increase your chances of getting on the next flight.
• When checking your bags, be sure to have a photo of it and put your itinerary and contact details in case it doesn't arrive with your flight. For easy recognition, mark your bags with colorful straps or stickers. Never put items that are valuable or fragile when checking your bags.
• If you're a first-time traveler, be aware of airport security guidelines.

1. All liquids and gels (in 3 -z. containers) should be placed in a quart size ziploc bag. Wear slip on shoes, - easy to slip in and take out at the security line.
2. Once in the security line, remove the necessary things you need to remove except your boarding pass.
3. Laptop should be removed from your bag (if you are carrying one) and place it on the bin provided at the security line.

• Got a big carry-on bag? Never allow the bag to end up behind your seat, or you'll have to wait for the entire plane to be empty before you'll be able to retrieve it.
  

Modern Strategies of Travelling Today (Part 2)

Booking.

• When booking, some sites automatically add extras that you might not like like travel insurance. So, if you see a checked box on a website, look closely for the fine print.
• Travel sites use cookies on your PC to let them know you've been there which is how they remember your name. However, these cookies also are used to avoid showing the same price every time you visit. Try deleting your cookies, and they will treat you like a new customer. Delete only ones associated with the booking engine as some cookies serve a useful purpose.
• The best deals are last minute, and to get them, you need to subscribe to e-newsletters from airlines, hotels and travel sites.
• Charter flights with packages booked by tour operators sell cheaper flights than regularly scheduled one. Potential downside of this is that charter flights go only once a week, or if you missed your flight or plane conks out, you're stuck!
• When airline slashes fares, competitors that fly same route tend to follow. So, if a carrier of your choice doesn't have any availability, try the competitors.
• Confirm all your reservations and cancellations as well. Be sure to get confirmation number, or even better a confirmation email. it's always a safe idea to have your proof in writing handy with you, or else, you're facing an uphill battle if the charge eventually shows up on your credit card bill.
• Pay all your bookings with a credit card to protect you in the event the airline or tour operator goes out of business.
• Whenever possible, fly nonstop and depart early in the day before delays can occur. In winter, avoid airports that usually experience weather-related delays.
• If you're on a cruise or in an adventure such as a safari, travel insurance looks much, much better because tour operators and cruise lines tend to penalize those people who cancel. Consider buying an insurance when you think the odds are decent that you won't be able to take the trip for one reason or another. Just make sure you know before hand exactly what are the coverage and which situations allow you to cancel and what the cancellation frame is.
  

Modern Strategies of Travelling Today (Part 1)

Trip Planning.

• If you're planning with a large group, complicated itinerary or going on a cruise, call your travel agent for an advice. You might also want to ask; - has the agent been on the place before?
• The best price is always out there somewhere. You can try meta-search engines such as Kayak and Sidestep that has good deals for flights, hotels, cruises and car rentals. Also good sites to search are orbitz, travelocity and expedia, although they tack on service fees.
• Keep track on the exact distances of all your itineraries between your hotel and to the place you're going. Use google earth's cool satellite images to gauge your distance.
• Keep searching for better prices. Prices for hotels or car rentals fluctuate, so never give up for a better deal.
• It's also wise to call your hotels directly for certain special rates that are only sold via phone; others are sold online. Take note however, that cancellation policies for this can be strict.
• Try getting a package. Here are some tips to consider before buying a package:
  
  
  1. To know if it's a real deal, see what it costs to book separately.
  2. Never trust the package description by the hotel or star rating; Do a research on the hotel on your own. If you aren't satisfied with the hotel being offered, you can always upgrade.
  3. If you're planning for a group tour or cruise, ask who will be joining you, - how mature they are or aren't, etc...
• In case of emergency, bring a photocopy of your passport with you. Another thing to do is scan your passport and email it (including your itinerary) to yourself and to someone you trust back home.
• Book directly to hotels whenever possible. Hotels are nicer to guests who searched for them out than to those who come via a third party booking engine.
  

Loyalty Programs.

• The value of a frequent-flier miles can be used for upgrades, free tickets and even magazine subscriptions. Use them ASAP because the value is in decline.
• Don't assume that miles will be added to your account automatically. Check your balance online and if the miles fail to show up within a week after you've flown, contact the airline reward program.
  

Travelling The Modern Style

There are many best advices you can get anywhere traveling wise. Too much of advice may lead you to nowhere and ending up loosing all of them out from your mind. So, I guess, brief and concise pieces of advice are the best, don't you think?

Consider these points:

1. Buy medicines - Get and fill prescriptions for sleeping pills and medicine for traveler's diarrhea.
2. If you're a member of loyalty programs, you can get better service, fewer hassles, lesser paper works plus great freebies and perks.
3. Maximize your cell phone by turning it into an address book with contact information for airlines, hotels, car-rental companies, and your car and health insurance companies. Get a local phone number too, just in case you are traveling overseas.
4. Buy boxes of antibacterial wipes in travel-size packets, then put some in your luggage and some in your car.

Happy trip! :)

ICE! at Gaylord National Resort

November 28-29, 2009 - Gaylord National Resort, Oxon Hill, Maryland

An early Christmas treat and as part of a late birthday treat by my husband, we went to visit Gaylord National Resort, a big hotel located at Oxon Hill, MD.

Our main purpose was to visit the ICE! show, but since it was the weekend, we thought of just spending a night there so we can as well see the lights. A little bit expensive for an overnight, but was worth it with all the spectacular colorful dancing lights and festive holiday decorations surrounding the hotel.

The ICE! show was great. It's like discovering a life-sized winter wonderland made entirely of ice! We got the chance to see life-sized holiday scenes sculpted from two million pounds of ice, including some ice slides that are more than 2 storeys tall!

The temperature inside was like 9F...freezing!...but we were provided with a thick coat to keep us warm while inside.

The ice sculptures were colorful, some looks like yummy candies, and some looks like real crystals.
It was fun!
The rest of the night was all fun as well.

Guide To Last-Minute Planning Trips

If you happened to be stuck with a rush planning for a trip, the following tips might help:

• Go check hotwire.com's Tripstarter and check the best and least expensive months to visit.
• Download tripstalker.com or subscribe to farealert.net. This way, you can track prices for a specific flight and alert you to fare movements.
• If you have various itineraries, try itasoftware.com that combines cities with airlines. Take note: You can't book tickets through the site, so take your search results to a travel agent.
• When reserving a last-minute ski holiday, be prepared to pa upfront. Most ski resorts consider booking within 90 days to be "close in" which means they require more than a deposit.
• Going for a cruise? Better book with a travel agent, not online - to access blocked off staterooms, or sit tight for "wave season" between January and April. This season are when cruise lines offer early booking rates off up to 50% off.
  

Is Your Phone Travel Friendly?

If you are always on the go, or travel more often, you no longer have to spend your dollar dialing information for a directory assistance. As long as your phone is text-capable, you can send a text message by typing the business name and the city or zip code you want to search and send your message to 466453 for Google or 44636 for 4Info. You will then get results with both addresses and phone numbers.

Pumpkin Patch

October 25, 2009

It was a good sunny Sunday with cool breeze. So, we decided to go and visit the lake view farm in triadelphia, Glenelg, MD for our pumpkin patch. We thought of this day as an extension of our 5th year wedding celebration and so there we go!

Not bad afterall, although we tried to find a big pumpkin for our jack o'lantern, we weren't able to. We thought we were not on the first few batches to get the most fresh pumpkin since the farm opened for the pumpkin season, but it was fine. We were able to choose two round ones for two jack o'lanterns on Halloween.

Here's Ging looking for her "ideal" pumpkin, and of course this is her first pumpkin patch! :).

Fall Foliage Trip

This has been my third year since I came to America. Two fall seasons had passed until I have analyzed I haven't seen yet the real beauty of nature when everything around becomes so colorful. my husband suggested we could got to Harpers Ferry in West Virginia to see the entire view. There are many places to see the beauty of fall foliage but this one is the closest to us from home.

October 24, 2009 - Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

This park is full of complex past with a colorful history. If you love history, this is the ideal place as well. During the peak of the fall season, here is a great place to see the colorful trees.
The park has many explorable diverse areas, from the 19th century restored buildings and exhibits to hiking and biking.

Herr's Snack Factory Tour

Me at Herr's Factory, Nottingham, Pennsylvania

It was a spur of the moment decision when we decided to drive down to Herr's for the snack factory tour. It was like an hour drive and we thought of catching the last tour at 3PM. We arrived at the place 15 minutes earlier, so we got some time to buy tickets. No cameras are allowed inside so strictly no photography please! Photos are always welcome outside, so we managed to get some shots :).
The tour is more on educational experience...ideal for kids and school trips, but fun for everybody else. Why? Because the best part is you get to taste free corn chips freshly made from the actual factory. It was tasty!!!
It was as well a fun experience visiting the real factory, with the people actually working inside, and you get a glimpse on how the products are being made from scratch to packing.
After the tour, we got one FREE pack of potato chips each! :).

Shopping!

It was overwhelming to know that while on our way back home from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, we saw Tanger Outlets!!! I was grinning and my husband knew what that meant, lol! So, we dropped by to see some things. We thought they might have special deals on that day. We only visited 3-4 stores and I finally decided to just go. The entire mall is big and I can't bear the cold hopping in from store to store while I was on the outside...brrr!!! I bought some few things and that was enough ;).

Dutch Wonderland

It's such a perfect timing that our hotel (Continental Inn) was just beside this amusement place! Since we ran out of itinerary, it was the last stop we visited before heading back home.

Dutch Wonderland is a 48-acre amusement park that offers entertainments such as story telling and theatrical high diving, and with a large water-play area. It has 32 rides ideal for families. It's a small theme park, but you can still do lots of things in there.

We did the Sky Ride, hubby was scared and so was I, lol! We both have phobia of heights, but the height was not too high enough to give me shivers on the spine. That helped us eased a little bit :). Then we had fun riding on the tug boat as well.

The Strasburg Railroad

Aren't we glad we can still immerse ourselves into a rich, educational experience learning about steam railroading until today? This fun, informative experience is not only for students but for the entire public who enjoy and appreciate exploring the engines and rail cars up-close...and the best would be riding on these beautifully restored trains, don't you agree?

Well, we did had fun, indeed! Riding on a presidential coal-burning steam train as they would say is more than fun! It's like you walked through the past where famous people in the past had been through. We had a 45-minute (presidential) train ride that departed from East Strasburg station that took us through the Amish countryside to Paradise, PA then back. During the trip, you'll see more than 1,000 acres of Amish farm fields still plowed by horses and mules. You see Amish buggies on railroad crossings and cool farms!


The best part? You enjoy food and drinks and entertainment while aboard the steam train on Strasburg Railroad. A little bit of a change to that of visiting a zoo. LOL!

Visiting Strasburg Railroad is like experiencing romance and adventure in the early 20th century that comes to life.