Make Your Travel Experience Worthwhile

1o Tips to Prepare Your Car for Road Trip

2009-11-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

The holiday season is here, and everything springs for exciting holiday action including your car. Time to tune up your vehicle to prevent system breakdowns and ensure you will get you to your destination or you could end up stranded by the side of the road. This is not to mention the towing fees and the costly repairs you would incur.
Here are the following 10 tips to prepare your car for the road trip:

1. TAKE YOUR CAR TO THE MECHANIC FOR AN OVERALL CHECKUP - This is to prevent trip interruptions, and also to have the peace of mind from knowing that your car runs at peak performance.

2. CHECK COOLANT - The radiator system should be flushed and refilled every two years or when the coolant is rust-colored. If the coolant is low, wait until the engine cools, remove the cap and fill with a 50-50 mix of coolant and water.

3. ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS - Inspect the battery and cables, have the terminals cleaned if they're corroded. If your battery is approaching the end of its warranty period (typically, five years), consider replacing it. Other wise, the only way to detect a weak battery before it fails to start your car is to have it tested at a repair shop.

4. AIR-CONDITIONING - Try it before you need it–turn the air-condition on and let it run for a while. Even if it's turning out plenty of cold air, have the hoses and belts inspected.

5. MAINTAIN PROPER FLUID LEVELS - One of the fastest and easiest ways to dodge potential problems is by checking your car's fluid levels. Examine the dipstick to see its condition. If the oil looks black, it's dirty. Clean oil is a translucent light brown. Your oil should be changed every 3,000 miles or every 3 months, whichever comes first. Before road trips, have your oil and filter changed by a professional. Refill the transmission oil, power steering, brake and windshield-washer fluids. Don't overfill the reservoirs.

6. INFLATE TIRES - Use a gauge to check the air pressure of your car's tires and spare. Take the reading when the tire is cool because pressure rises when the tire heats up during driving. Along with air pressure, check the tires for wear, nicks and tread depth. If you don't have a depth gauge, use "the penny trick" recommended by many experts. Insert a penny with the president's head turned into the tread. If all or part of the head is covered, the tread is OK. If the head is exposed, you need new tires. Likewise, check the spare. Also, make sure you have a jack and lug wrench and know how they work. You may want to invest in a can of flat-fixer (most service stations carry it) and a tire pump.

7. BRAKES - Have them inspected regularly.

8. LIGHTS – Make sure all the bulbs work, including high beams. Check the blinkers. Clean the lenses.

9. KEEP YOUR CAR CLEAN - Grime, exhaust smoke on the road, dust, dirt, and other pollutants in the air can leave your car dull and dingy. To escape expensive damage, include washing and waxing your vehicle in your summer maintenance schedule. Remember to check your wiper blades. Replace them if they're worn.

10. PREPARE FOR ANY ROAD EMERGENCY - Even when you take precautions, the unexpected can happen. On vacations, you want to prepare for every possibility. Keep a kit in your trunk stocked for road emergencies with items such as first-aid supplies, battery cables, gas can, flares, flashlight (with fresh batteries), nonperishable food items, can opener and a blanket. Whenever possible, keep an extra cellular phone and some spare batteries in the kit.

HOLIDAY ROAD TRIP TIPS
*When driving for long distances, be sure to take breaks. Park your car on the safe shoulder, get out and stretch. Take 20 minute breaks for every two hours on the road for maximum safety.
*Plan and study your route. Whenever possible, secure a customized map so you could be warned about on-going road constructions, tolls, and other potential dangers.
* When going on long trips, take some snacks. You will be refreshed when you take quick bites on the road.
*Know how to seat people inside the vehicle. Have the children and the elderly on the back seats.
*Finally, sit properly behind the steering wheel. Do not hunch or lean to the side while driving.

Hong kong - An Overview

2009-04-27T05:33:00.000-07:00

Hong kong is not like any place you have seen. A fossil of Old China encysted in concrete, glass and steel and the ways of England, it's probably the most schizophrenic city on earth.

If Kipling were alive today Hong kong would make him eat his words. At every turn East and West meet here with a boldness that jars the mind and calibrates it to the city's nerve-racking, often enchanting but always invigorating neurosis: a crisis of identity.
Suckled by an adopted mother, then the British, Hong kong grew up a world apart from China. Modern, frenetic, the gaudiest market place of free enterprise and consumerism on earth, it hangs on the edge of rural China, a jigsaw piece from unrelated picture. Beneath the concrete, steel and polychrome lights, Hong kong remains true child-truer to the traditions of the East than the mainland, which ideology had changed.

5 Tips When Shopping In Hong Kong

2009-04-27T05:26:00.000-07:00

For decades, Hong Kong has been thought of as a bargain shopper's paradise and visitors returning home from shopping sprees in the past had the goods and prices to prove it. Cameras, watches, jewelry and tailored clothing, costing less than just about anywhere else in the world, were staple acquisitions made during most tourists and business trips. But the record-breaking property market of the late 1970's hastened the great Hong Kong Bargain to extinction; some rents increased 80-fold in a three year period. You can still save money but don't think in terms of bargains. What you will get is good value.

There are two factors that should work in tandem when you are shopping in Hong Kong: bartering ability and your knowledge of a particular category.

Be it in a subtle fashion or downright blatantly, there are retailers who will take utmost advantage of a shopper's lack of information. The guidelines below will reduce their opportunity. In stores where barter is standard fare, hone your skills making any investments. Some if the information is not generally known outside the trades; use it to learn, not accuse. Even a substantiated accusation will be denied and you will not have improved your position in the least. You can, however, reveal you're aware of these practices. It won't open any floodgates but it could possibly encourage reputable dealers to discuss them any further.

A major adjustment many first-time shoppers in Hong Kong have to make is assuming the role of a hard-bargaining consumer. Shed the entire concept of sales' courtesy and service because, unless you are quoted a wildly inflated price, you will not receive either. Also non-existent is advice; if you don't know exactly what you want or what's available you're at their mercy. It's up to you to learn and the only way is to shop as many stores as possible, making tentative inquiries along the way and boldly challenging trumped-up claims. It's the most effective way towards becoming a sharp customer.

Here are some tips when shopping in Hongkong:
1. Only buy from a store who is a member of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (previously known as Hong Kong Tourist Association) - If you have any complaints to make about a shop later, you have somewhere to turn and they will be investigated.

2. Shop several stores. Compare the range of prices and qualities.

3. Before paying for any purchase, ask for a receipt. Make sure the clerk dates and stamps the receipt with the company chop if they have one. Any product with a serial number should be recorded on the receipt and checked against the guarantee.

4. Look at the guarantee. Is it worldwide or for local use only?

5. If you wear corrective lenses and shop for frames in Hong Kong, there are some things you should know about before having a prescription filled. It's strongly recommended that you call the Hong Kong Tourism Board (previously known as Hong Kong Tourist Association) or Hong Kong Optometric Association for the name if a qualified optometrist near your hotel.

3 Smart Tips to Make Traveling Light And Easy

2009-04-27T05:16:00.000-07:00

Most of us have had experienced traveling at one point or some in our lives. Every trip is an exciting journey so we have to make the most out of it. Here are 3 smart tips to make traveling light and easy:

1. Choose the right suitcase. Your suitcase is part of your image – do not neglect it. Many derogatory comments are made about worn or mismatched luggage. Even if you cannot afford Louis Vuitton, there are many good, reasonably priced suitcases on the market. Of course luggage must also be practical. Very soft bags are not good, because they do not protect your clothes. Choose a type that can withstand being kicked and thrown. This is unfortunately what often happens. The best suitcases have hard frames and sides. As far as quantity is concerned, you will be prepared for most trips with the following:
1 large suitcase
1 small to medium suitcase
1 bag with shoulder straps
With this luggage you will be prepared to go on a long trip (by taking all three) or a short one (using the small-to-medium one). The shoulder bag, of course, can be used or not, depending on what you need. Unless you go away for longer than a month, these three pieces will be enough. If not, you have picked out too many clothes.
2. Packing your clothes. When you take all three bags with you, the medium one should be reserved for shoes (packed in plastic bags), sweaters, handbags and underwear. The large suitcase will then be reserved for clothes, which will not be crushed, by shoes or other heavy items. In the shoulder bag, which you can take with you on board a plane or train, put your cosmetic bag, camera, jewelry, the book you want to read while traveling – in other words, all the odds and ends you need.
Having put the heavier, bulkier items in the smaller suitcase, you are now ready to pack your clothes in the large one. Start with your raincoat, pants and jackets. Place them flat in the suitcase to fill out as much surface as possible, without folding them. Whatever hangs over must be folded into the case. Pants are put lengthwise, folded in once. With a jacket, dress or blouse, you put the top part in first, horizontally, then fold in the sleeves and fold over the bottom part. This system allows you to put the maximum in a suitcase without wrinkling clothes. Delicate blouses and dresses go in last.
Belts should not be rolled up and tucked in a corner but placed around the edge of the case.
If you are going on a shorter trip and take only the smaller suitcase, do the following: put your shoes in first, opposite the handles. (This way they will not shift and crush everything else when the case is carried or standing.) To save space tuck soft, small things - hose, underwear – inside the shoes. Next to the shoes place handbags, sweaters, T-shirts, robes and underwear, making the surface as flat and even as possible. Then put the rest of your clothes on top.
3. How to avoid wrinkles. Packing your clothes this way will keep them from being crushed, but you have to sit on your suitcase to close it, you will not avoid wrinkles. So do not pack your bags too tightly. Another way to avoid wrinkles is to put individual items under plastic covers. You can also use tissue paper, but it is not quite as effective. Button up blouses and shirts. And since the old trick of hanging clothes in a steamy bathroom does not always work, take along a traveling steamer. This small gadget works with water and emits a jet of steam that removes creases.

Smart Women Pack These 8 Tips

2009-04-27T05:15:00.000-07:00

The joy of going on a trip or going on vacation is often dimmed by the thought of packing a suitcase. Do not let worry over forgetting something spoil your fun. The secret is to get organized and to plan your travel wardrobe on paper first.

Here are the 8 tips when traveling:

1. Find out about the temperature and the climate in the place you are headed for.
2. Write down the number of days you will be away. Break these down into activities, such as sporty events, city shopping, and evening entertainment (dinners, parties around the pool, barbecues, etc.)
3. Look at your wardrobe and figure out what you will wear for each occasion.
4. See which of these outfits can be worn for more than one occasion. This way you can eliminate at least a third of what you have picked out and thus make your packaging easier.
5. Try on what you plan to take. Even if your clothes are cleaned or laundered regularly, it is a good idea to try on what you will take. Sometimes a button is missing; a hem loose, or the outfit is less appropriate that you remembered. This will also assure you that your planning is correct in coordinating individual items After you have tried on the clothes, hang them separately from the rest in your closet.
6. Never take more than you can carry yourself. Since porters are disappearing breed, and luggage carts are often unavailable, the only other alternative is a young man who rushes to your rescue – but they too are getting scarce. So plan accordingly. Nothing is worse than standing with three suitcases in an airport, not knowing how to get to the taxi stand or bus stop. Try to keep your luggage down to what you can carry without too much effort – one large suitcase, one smaller one, and a shoulder bag. You may not be very comfortable, but at least you will not feel helpless or immobilized.
7. Choose a practical handbag. A practical handbag us one that is large enough to hold everything you need during the trip and still have room for little things you collect while traveling. But be selective about what you carry in it. Take only what you really need, and that does not include the kitchen sink. It should match in color either your outfit or the other traveling bags.
8. How to pack your makeup. To safeguard against forgetting your favorite eye shadow or lipstick, pack your cosmetic bag a few days before going on your trip. Then, while you are still at home, apply makeup using only items out of that bag, and replace them immediately afterward. In other words, you are pretending to be on your trip already. This way you will know for sure what is missing before you leave. Lotions, perfume and creams should be put in plastic containers. Be sure to squeeze out the air before finally closing them, to allow for air expansion. If you are traveling by plane, put items like hairspray or spray deodorant in a closed plastic bag because they sometimes explode or open in transit.

The Traveler’s Ten Commandments

2009-04-27T05:13:00.000-07:00

To make your traveling smooth-sailing and light, you need to bear mind the following rules where needed. Here are the traveler's ten commandments:

I. Thou shalt not expect to find things as thou hast them home, for verily, thou hast left home to find things different.
II. Thou shalt not take anything too seriously, for a carefree mind is essential for a carefree holiday.
III. Thou shalt not let other tourists get upon thy nerves, for thou are paying out good money to enjoy thy self.
IV. Remember to take only half the clothes thou think thou needs – and twice the money.
V. Know at all times where thy passport is, for a person without a passport is like unto a person without a country.
VI. Remember that if thou hadst been expected to say in one place, thou wouldst have been created without roots.
VII. When in Rome, thou shalt be prepared to do somewhat as Romans do.
VIII. Thou shalt not judge the people of a country by the person who has given thee trouble.
IX. Remember that thou art a guest in foreign land, and he that treateth his host with respect shall be honored.
X. Wear a smile to everyone thou meet. A smile goes a long way.

Pilgrim’s Checklist
Ø Passport
Ø Tour Itinerary
Ø Flight tickets
Ø Hotel details
Ø Photocopy of passport
Ø Pilgrim’s book
Ø Baggage Ribbon and Identification
Ø Comfortable clothing
Ø Medicines (with prescription)
Ø Comfortable pair of walking shoes (with extra pair)
Ø Camera, films and batteries
Ø Religious paraphernalia (Bible, prayer books, etc.)
Ø Folding umbrella/raincoat
Ø Flashlight and sewing kit
Ø Toiletries (including laundry soap)
Ø Pocket money/credit cards/Traveler’s checks
Ø Calculator (optional)
Ø Other personal things