Safety Tips When Traveling With Children

Traveling with kids always been challenging for parents and especially if you are traveling abroad with the kids along with you.  This would be a learning experience for parents so it is always to take safety measures well in advance. Let me discuss some of the safety tips that every parents should follow to make their trip pleasant and hassle free and ensure that everyone including kids have a great time.

Always fill out emergency information on your passport and make sure that each member of the family has their passport with them all the time. To be more cautious make sure kids has extra proof of identity, address of the home, copy of detailed travel schedule, phone number of one adult who is sitting back home.

Never make planning to trip unsafe areas and do follow and understand travel warnings/information issues by authorities before and while traveling.

Carry one photo of each family member with you especially children in case someone gets lost in that situation which would be more than handful in situation like this.

Always leave one copy of your traveling schedule with friends and family members at back home. That schedule should contain name of the hotels, car rentals and phone number details so in emergency situation your family members can contact you.

Always better to understand rules and laws of a place you are going to travel and must instruct your children about the same.

In a situation when you planning to stay in a foreign country for more than 2 weeks of time then it is advisable to contact consulate in that country this would be a key in case of emergency.

In the current time there is always threat of terrorist attack so on airports, train stations and bus stations never keep your luggage unattended. Give proper instruction to your children that don’t touch any unknown stuff here and there and don’t take anything from unknown people.

Make sure you keep only required money with you and if possible carry plastic currency and traveler’s check with you. Try to exchange your money at well known and authorized place.

Avoid wearing expensive clothes, jewelry and stuff which may puts you in trouble and make sure keep your personal belongings with you.

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About Bangalore

Once upon a time Bangalore was known as Garden City of India and paradise for pensioners but now it is losing ground with lack of green spaces and increasing population. Bangalore is now hub of IT industry in India and famous as Silicon Valley of India. Bangalore is one of the cities which has power to attract casual visitors from all over the world and later on moved them permanently. Bangalore is the capital city of Karnataka state in south India and good place to live because of pleasant weather.

Bangalore has many places which attracts large number of domestic and international tourists. Let me introduce some of the place that you should consider while visiting Bangalore.

Bangalore Place:  This palace is spread across 45,000 square feet with mixture of Scottish and Tudor architecture and took 2 years to build this with cost of around Rs 198,000. In year 2005 Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar has declared this palace open for general public to gather fund require to keep it running. The main attraction in the palace is gallery of historical photos of maharajas, viceroys and famous personalities. It also has rich collection of wonderful carvings and paintings. Convention Hall of the palace can be rented by citizen for social activity, function and marriages.

Lakes: Bangalore has large number Lakes such as Ulsoor Lake, Sankey tank, Madiwala Lake, Lalbagh Lake, Puttenahalli WS Lake, Hebbal Lake, Agara Lake, Nagavara Lake, etc. You can enjoy boating facility at some of the Lakes mentioned above.

Lalbagh: This is place is currently under the control of Directorate of Horticulture, Government of Karnataka and has been internationally renowned centre for scientific study of botanical artwork, plantation and conversion of plants. Lalbagh is spread across area of 240 acres and has about 675 genera and 1855 spices of plants which make this place house of plants. There are some exotic places to watch inside Lalbagh such as Kempegowda Tower, Bandstand, Lalbagh House, The Glass House, Pigeon House,  The Museum, Lalbagh lake, Statue of Sri Chamaraja Wodeyar, Deer Paddock, Natural Clock, etc.

Gardens: City has variety of parks where you can spend time and feel the nature’s beauty. Some of them are Coles Park, Cubbon Park, Bugle Rock Park, M.N. Krishna Rao Park, Cariappa Memorial Park, Jayamahal Park, etc.

Vidhana Soudha: It is one of the important buildings of Bangalore. Housing the Legislative Chambers of the state government, this 46 meter high seat of the government is Bangalore's best known landmark.

Museums: Bangalore has number of museum to visit such as Government Museum, Government Museum, The State Archeological Museum, Gandhi Bhavan, Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum, Karnataka Folk Museum, etc.

Tipu’s Summer Palace: This palace was built from mud-brick in 1537 and renovated by Tipu Sultan in 1791 and this 2 story building serve as summer retreat to Tipu sultan.

Temples: Bull Temple at Basavanagudi, Banashankari Temple, Shiva Statue near airport, ISCON temple are some of the worship places in Bangalore.

The latest attraction is Namma Bangalore Metro rail project was inaugurated in October 2011 and possibly will become lifeline for the people of Bangalore.

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Save Money When Traveling Abroad

Every tourist always prefer to have pleasant and relaxing holidays from time to time and better to have sunny pleasant weather while traveling. Most of the time you find yourself tackling with issues other than flight booking, car rental, hotel reservations.  Specially if you are travelling abroad in that case you want to tell your family member about your wellness back home and want to assure that you are fine and enjoying your vacation but it is not that straight forward because of certain facts. Let me discuss some of these facts which could affect your travelling.

Let assume that you have mobile phone with you and you may find that it is not responding properly because cell phone service provider using different technology in country you are in at a moment than the technology in your home country. Other possibility is that your international calling has not been activated or you are probably out of the coverage area which put you bit difficult situation because you are unable to contact other persons. The only option that you can consider is to use local booth phone or phone from your hotel.

So in both situation discussed above you find yourself at end where disadvantage is on your side because it involves huge cost. Generally international calls are really expensive and companies charge you very high rates because of technology involved and agreement between carriers/operator of various countries. In addition if you use phone service from hotel then they will charge you big bucks.

In this situation it is advisable to bring calling card before you leave for trip. Calling is most affordable and simplest way for communication in the current era while traveling. The main benefit with calling card is that it has local number available in almost all major cities in the world and instantly accessible as PIN number is provided as soon as you purchase it. You will also get cheaper call rates for major cities in the world. Some calling card companies also offer callback feature means you can receive phone call from your relatives and family members with very low cost which allows you to save money and utilize it somewhere else during you vacation.

I am pretty sure that by following this tips you can big part of your money while traveling in foreign countries and make a good use of saved money. So just follow the tip and enjoy hassle free vacation.

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Nainital - Hill Station Town in North India

Nainital is hill station town situated in the Uttarakhand state of India and it is a headquarters of Nainital district in the Kumaon foothills of the outer Himalayas. Nainital is a famous tourist destination attracts large number of tourist from India and outside of India as well. It stands out like gemstone in the mountain of Himalayas and it is surrounded by number of lakes and nature’s reward. Nainital is loaded with many wonderful places which require 2 to 3 days to explore lakes, peaks, waterfalls, etc. Horses can be hired to visit these places at Bara-Patthar which makes your trip exciting and more enjoyable. Nainital enjoys very pleasant climate as temperature reach maximum of 27 degree centigrade and minimum of 10 degree centigrade. Let me introduce with some of the major attractions of Nainital.

Naini Lake: This Lake is natural make of the mother earth and surrounded by seven mountains. Most of the tourist takes boat ride to enhance the beauty of the lake and some of them also prefer to see sunshine and sunrise from bank of the lake as the view of the sunrise up to the sunset that reflects with vibrant colors on the lake.

Mall Road: This road is union point between Tallital and Mallital which make it busiest place of the Nainital. It is filled with tourist, shops and eating joints during the peak season. Now government has renamed road as Govind-Ballah marg and vehicles are prohibited in this area and only rickshaws are allowed to carry passengers from one end to another.

Naina Devi Temple: This temple was built in 15th century by kusham reign and must visited place if you want to offer your prayers to Devi. Local devotees visit this temple during the festival season and on religious occasions.

Ropeway: It is one of the most visited attractions by a tourist and it is runs from Mallital to snow point from where tourist can enjoy the view of Himalaya Mountain. Snow point is 2270 meters above the sea level and you can enjoy spectacular view of the entire town with green surrounding and jewel of the town Naini Lake in the middle.

Nainital Zoo: This zoo is really famous for rare variety of snow leopard, Himalayan black bear, Siberian and Royal Bengal tiger, steppe eagle and variety of birds.

Governor’s House: It is one of the few government building open for public viewing and it is now converted to official guest house of the Governor of Uttarakhand.

Nainital is also famous for numerous of schools and research facilities and one of latest attraction of Nainital is Eco Cave Garden where children can learn about ecosphere.

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Palace On Wheels - Super Luxury Train in India

Palace on Wheels has is a superior luxurious train to travel splendor Rajasthan and to visit wonder of the world Taj Mahal. This train has been rated amongst the top tem luxury trains of the world. Palace on Wheels is one of the finest ways to explore exciting, incomparable, incredible, impressive, inimitable, inspirational land of India and feel the royal touch with unforgettable experience.  Incontrovertibly it is an amazing and unparalleled experience to travel the carbon copy carriages refurbished to look like the original saloons of Maharajas. The Palace on Wheels run on route which covers pink city Jaipur, Jaisalmer, blue city Jodhpur, Ramthambhor National Park, city of lakes Udaipur, Bharatpur bird sanctuary, Chittaurgarh and Agra before it returned to the Indian capital Delhi.

Train coaches for passengers were originally meant to be the personal railway coaches of the former rulers of generous states of Rajputana, Gujarat, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Viceroy of British India. Because of the very affluent and traditional interiors of coaches Indian Government were not been using this coaches for normal passenger trains after the independence. 

Name of the train was derived from its imperial background of the coaches and introduced in 1982 for the first time and later in new meter gauge air-conditioned Palace on Wheels was introduce in 1990 which has about 13 saloons, 1 Bar cum Lounge, 2 Restaurant with kitchen car and also 4 service cars. It was further improved in 1995 with broad gauge and interior was refreshed to give royal touch and name given to each saloon attached with showers. I also added facility of library, bar, dining cars, etc. Saloons has been named based on the Rajasthan significance such as Bharatpur, Bundi, Dungarpur, Kishangarh, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jhalawar, Alwar, Bikaner, Dholpur, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Kota, Sirohi, etc. The interior decoration of each of the saloon has decorated in a way that it expresses the culture of Rajasthan with use of paintings, handicrafts and furniture. Ceiling in every lounge has particular interest of showing something but it has been designed very carefully that ceiling of the all cars provides continuity in display. Each saloon has four sleeping rooms and having attached toilet. One captain and one attendant is present in each car to take care of personal need of the passengers. There is a small pantry in each card fully prepared to offer coffee, tea and some lighter snacks. With capacity of 82 passengers at a time and can accommodate about 120 dinners to the passengers with help of 2 restaurants present on the train. It also provide some other facilities such as Hot and Cold water supply, Internet Wi-Fi Network, Music Channel.

Palace on Wheel trip is about 7 Nights/ 8 Days long and train departure every Wednesday from Delhi. Tariff of the train is vary depends on time of the year and occupancy level. It cost as low as US$340 per person per night in triple occupancy in off season and US$450 in peak season and as high as US$500 per person per night in single occupancy in off season and US$670 in peak season. Tariff includes cost of travel, accommodation, catering, sightseeing of places, cultural programs and entrée fees at various memorials during the trip but it does not include charges related to laundry, liquor and camera and other personal stuff.

Palace on Wheels is a must visit train in a lifetime if you can afford the tariff cost to feel the experience of royal Rajasthan and life of Maharaja.

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Khajuraho - Erotic Rock Carving Temples

The Khajuraho is small town situated in the central India in the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is well known for ancient Hindu and Jain temples which are now UNESCO World Heritage Site. Khajuraho is mainly famous for erotic rock carving and one of the most visited destination in India by domestic and international tourist. The site is surrounded by Vindhya range of mountains which makes this place a charming place to visit. Temple town of Khajuraho is much different from any other temple city of India because it is something different than trend of religion, worshipping and deities. Instead it is well known for eroticism etched on its walls in the form of statues. These 10th and 11th century temples have a very interesting legend of amalgamation of science and art of architecture behind them which connects them to the origin of Chandela dynasty.

Architecture of the temples is very interesting as temples are assembled into three geographical divisions such eastern, southern and western. Temples mainly built with use of sandstone and they have not used field gun but stones were put together with mortise and tenon joints and apprehended in place by gravity. Architraves and columns were built with megaliths that have weight of about 20 tons.  Khajuraho temples even today look magnificent and real and inspired by that Birla Institute of Technology has developed a temple named Saraswati.

Western Group of Temples: These temples are largest among all group of temples present in Khajuraho. It is not compressed and situated in the middle but also contains some exotic prominent and remarkable monuments. Under the well maintenance of Archeological Survey of India and has beautiful scenery because it is surrounded by flourishing green gardens. Some of the most outstanding temple includes Lakshmana Temple, Matangesvara Temple, Varaha Temple, Chitragupta Temple, Jagadambi Temple, Kandariya Mahadeo Temples, etc.

Southern Group of Temples: It is situates at most far location and mainly includes Chaturbhuja and Duladeo temples.

Eastern Group of Temples: These are five remote sub group temples located in and in the region of town of Khajuraho. This includes temples of Vamana, Jaavari and Bramha which belongs to Hindus and also Ghantai, Parsvanath and Adinath belongs to Jains.

Khajuraho is widely attracting tourist because of the supremely artistic representation of human sexuality in the ancient day and magnificent temple architecture. Cultural festival associated with this place also promote the tourism industry in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

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Vacation Tips for Business Owners

Business proprietor is so busy in day to day business activity that he cannot even think or plan about vacation or leisure tour.  Planning of such holidays can be complex and unimaginable for person who is involved in many business activities. Anxiety regarding relationship with customers and missed business opportunities could make proprietor tense and he/she can think that this is not right time to take off as so much important matters rise on the surface.

Regardless of such business worries high percentage of business proprietor still looks forward to for break for at least week. Small business proprietor work really hard in day to day activity and it is really important that they can take time off to refresh themselves to guide right direction to their business in future. If small business proprietor can make advance planning about their business agenda then they are able to take much appreciated holiday or vacation at right time without worrying about business and assure that their business runs very well in their absence.

Let me discuss some tips which help business owner to take time off from busy work schedule and also save some money.

Always plan one step ahead means plan in advance to save money. In current era credit cards and other charge cards allow members to earn points in the direction of everything from airfare to car rentals and hotel accommodation. Later owner can redeem these points to buy next trip or vacation means cost of the next vacation can be covered by redeeming this points.

Always take your customers in trust and give them two to three week advance notice about your absence. Communicate well with customers and make them believe that their problem would be solved even if you are not present.

Take day trip or three day weekend, because change of scenery can do the trick and you will come back with fresh mindset which would help you to make decision better.

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Mysore Palace In Karnataka

Mysore Palace is a Maharaja palace located in the heart if the city which is authorized   residence of the royal family of Mysore and also known as Amba Vilas Palace. It attracts large number of tourist every year and is one of the most visited attractions in India by domestic and international visitors. Photography is prohibited inside the palace and there are entry fees of INR 20 for Indian tourist and INR 200 for foreign tourist. Palace was originally built with mud and wood when Tippu Sultan’s was dead but it was burnt down in fire during weeding of the daughter of the maharaja. Palace was reconstructed in 1912 with the cost of about Rs 41 lakhs with the help of English architect Henry Irwin. Current architecture of the palace is Indo-Saracenic style and blends together Hindu, Muslim, Rajput, and Gothic styles of architecture. Palace is built from stone and dome with marble and has 145 feet storied tower. Palace is surrounded by large gardens and about 97,000 bulbs were used to decorate whole palace.

Mysore Palace is the treasure of priceless national pride of a kingdom; the Mysore Maharaja Palace is home to the famed Wodeyar Maharaja of Mysore. The palace is now a treasure of memories of the museum, paintings, jewelry, royal costumes and other items that were once owned by the Wodeyar. It is a kaleidoscope of stained glass and mirrors. Tastefully decorated doors and open finely carved decoration of luxury. On the ground floor with an enclosed courtyard displays of costumes, musical instruments, children's toys and numerous portraits. The upper floor has a small collection of weapons. The beautifully carved mahogany ceilings, solid silver doors, white marble floors and columns magnificent Durbar Hall is a feast for the eyes. The palace is a treasure trove of exquisite carvings and works of art from around the world. The carved doors open on the surprisingly luxurious rooms.

The front view of the palace has an open balcony supported by massive circular columns. The Royal Portrait Gallery, which is of historic importance, is a visual feast for visitors. This three-story structure is beautifully designed square towers at various points of the compass covered by domes. The artisans of Jaipur and Agra with the local workers were employed in their craft. The flag of marriage or Kalyana Mantap gabled roof with a central octagonal, covered with colored glass, is that the southern part of the building. The floor of this beautiful Kalyana Mantap has artistic geometric patterns created with glittering glazed tiles imported from England. The building has beautiful chandeliers from Czechoslovakia to do.

Mysore Palace is also famous for Dasara celebration associated with victory of good over evil. Mysore also has relations with the Mahabharata and King Ashoka of the 3rd century. During the Wodeyar rule Mysore reached the Zenith of its glory as a fabled centre of oriental splendour. Mysore palace is very famous for illuminations display as there more than 90,000 bulbs were used to lighten up the whole palace. Lighting is enabled only on Sundays, State Holidays and National Holidays between 7:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M. and during the Dasara festival between 7:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M.

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Be Cautious About Travel Scams

Most of the travel services or products basically require pre payment before it transported. This is known as loop hole in the travel deal market as it created prospects for scandalous companies and individuals. There are some travel deals turns out to be dissimilar from what exists or the end user expected. If someone receives a deal for popular tourist attraction by email or phone for very low price compared to the deals currently available in the market then you need be very careful while preferring such a package. You need to consider some facts while accessing such low priced vacation trip to a popular domestic or international destination.

Point 1:  Does the price offered to you by service provider appear to low? Possibly it may be.

Point 2: Have been asked to provide credit card/debit card information over the phone?

Point 3: Is the service provider putting pressure on you to make a quick decision?

Point 4: Is the airline offered to you is well known or service provider offering you combination of airline package without specification that on which airline you are going to fly?

Point 5: Is customer care executive unable to provide enough information about office address and other contact detail?

If you came across any of the warning sign discussed in the above points then be alert and don’t share any critical information to the customer care executive. Always ask for information in written format or brochure of deal and also ask for some time to think about. If executive is not ready to provide any information in paper format then this trip is not right for you as there is smell of scandal coming out of this which you need to notice before you get into big trouble.

There are some other symptoms which you should consider before making a final decision about such low priced vacation deal. Let me discuss some of these symptoms which may cause financial damage to you. 

If executive told you that you won free trip to a popular destination but to get that for free you need to buy some other deals such as expensive hotel accommodation or expensive flight ticket which is quite expensive compared to similar deals available in the market.

If the deal that you considered is priced way above other deals available in the market even if offered deal includes freebie like free return airfare. Even if return air ticket is free in the offered trip, it is quite costlier than regular package deal.

Always get a confirmed flight tickets and must confirm departure date before pay anything to the service provider. If they offer waitlist travel or later reservation then make sure you get your money back (refund) in time if tickets not get confirmed.

If you dream destination is beach resort then must ask distance of that place from beach because sometimes they make fool and gives you a accommodation which is far from beach or tourist destination which makes your trip stressful.

You must check complete cost including every type of taxes and service fees. You also need to make sure that legal right allow getting your money refunded if offered services are not delivered the way it explained to you prior to trip.

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The City Palace Udaipur - Tourist Attraction In Rajasthan

City Palace Udaipur is architectural miracle of Rajasthan which is situated at the shore of Lake Pichola. City Palace was built by Maharana Udai Singh of the Sisodia Rajput family and lengthens to its current form by his successors. It is built in marble and granite and surrounded by crenellated fort walls. City Palace is the largest palace complex situated in Udaipur and one of the most visited attraction in Rajasthan by domestic and international tourist. Udaipur is also known as city of lakes and it is also centre of Rajasthan cultural arts and crafts. The Palace is combination of European and Chinese architecture with large number of domes, towers and arches to form a fascinating view. City Palace is a wonderful mixture of courtyards, pavilions, corridors, terrace and amazing hanging gardens.

City Palace entrance is marvelous piece of architecture and it is magnificent elephant gate. There is a Jagdish temple next to main gate and followed by that is Bari Pol which takes you to the court yard joining the triple gate where maharaja use to get weighed in silver and gold, which basically distributed among the poor people. City palace consists of 11 amazing palaces build by different rulers. This Palace has collection of some beautiful paintings, beautiful tile collection across the floor and also furniture with heritage touch. Module of the City Palace which is now converted into museum showcasing assorted set of artefacts. It also exhibits weapons such as two-pronged swords.

Later in year 1974 some part of the City Palace and Zenana Mahal have been converted into museum. This museum is now accessible for common a person which basically takes you to the Lakshmi Chowk known as white pavilion. On the way to the white pavilion you can see some amazing paintings in the Ladies chamber. The highest point in City Palace is Amar Vilas from where you can see the beautiful view of the Lake. Amar Vilas is also famous for its variety of fountains and hanging garden. City Palace not only has splendid outside view but it also has some exotic interior, marble work, wall paintings and mirror work. City Palace cannot be explained in words so every individual must visit palace once in a while lifetime.

Museum opens at 9:30 A.M. in the morning and closes in the evening at 5:30 P.M. The main attraction consists Mewar Sound and Light Show showcase legacy of honour at the Manek Chowk.

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Tips To Make Flight Travel Stress Free

Travel can be a stressful event and air travel is leading the list of stressors that we live on what is supposed to be an exciting and fun event. Pre consideration of some steps can abolish most of the stress associated with air travel.

Points to consider before traveling

You should organize all travel related papers including maps, tickets, passport, trip schedule, etc.

You should pack your bags one day prior to the travelling and must keep in a central location from where you can easily access and load into your car or taxi.

You must make checklist of all stuff that you want to carry or required to be with you when you are on trip. You must check list of all items at least twice before travel day and one hour before you leave your house. 

If you own any pets then must consider and finalize service provider who can take care your pets while you are not present and prefer location near to your house.

You must check with airline customer care and airport authority at least day before your travel date to make trip smother and stress less. Generally you need to arrive 3 hours prior to your flight schedule because it requires this time for boarding and other formalities. You must make inquiry about parking facility and restriction.

You should consider prior printout of boarding pass on internet 24 hours before your flight if you plan to carry only carry on luggage with you. As you do not have any other luggage for check in so you do not need to stand in a long queue for check in and you can directly proceed to boarding area.

Points to consider on travel day

You should leave your house at least half hour early than it takes to reach airport because it helps you to tackle situation such traffic jam or accident.

If you are having lots of luggage that needs to be checked in then must prepare to stand in a queue because this time may vary depends on time of the day you travel and airlines that you choose for your trip. It is always recommended to reach early and keep patient and relax while check in your luggage.

You must make sure size allowed for carry on luggage because if it exceeds than allowed size by airline then your stuff will be taken away and you need to put this luggage with all other check in luggage.

You should find your seat quickly and put your carry on luggage into cabin yourself or with the help crew staff members. You should not stand in middle as there are passengers also want to do the same stuff and you have lots of time after airplane will take off to do other activity.

If you have to change flights through your route to final destination then you should know the airport very well as you may need to require going one gate to another to catch your next flight. Thing even gets worse if you need to move from one terminal to other terminal and no advanced transport facility is available.

While plan lands you should wait and keep patience while getting off the plane and pick a better spot around the conveyor belt from where you can collect your luggage easily.

Hope this tips helps you to make it joyful and stress free. In conclusion advance planning helps you to make your trip amazing and improves the quality of air travel.

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