Car hire - what not to do

This is my experience in hiring a rent a car and this is what not to do. My misadventure happened in the late 1980s. I wanted to visit some friends several hundred miles away. At the time I lived in a small town in the country. I didn't own a car and there was no direct convenient bus or train service to where my friends lived. I decided to take the bus, then rent a car, at the nearest place available.

I traveled to the town where the car hire or rent a car place was located. By the time I arrived at their business to rent the car, the sun had set and it was dark. I went in to the business, to enquire about renting a car. The owner had one ready to go. It was a compact blue station wagon. Being dark outside I couldn't see the car too well, but it seemed ok, so we went back to the office to do the paperwork. The car hire form had details about the car, how long I expected to rent the car for, and the insurance coverage choices, so the business owner filled out all that. I was sure that I chose to have the car and myself covered in full by insurance. I thought the insurance box was checked, as covered. He took an imprint of my credit card to pay for the car hire and that was it. He gave me the car keys, and I drove away.

I had a long way to drive in the dark. My route took me through rugged mountainous rural country side, to a large lake, where there was a ferry crossing.

At night when you're driving in a rural mountainous area always be on the lookout for deer, moose and other animals roaming along the road side. You want to see their little shining eyes, so you can slow down and be ready to swerve to avoid hitting them. Sometimes deer become alarmed by the noise and headlights of the car approaching and they want to dash across the highway in front of you. You want to be ready to slam on the breaks, so as not to damage the hired car you're traveling in.

Another good idea, especially if you are driving at night, is to take a highway map of the area you are traveling through. Then you can mark off where you are and the places to turn ahead, so you don't make a wrong turn, like I did.

I made a wrong turn some where along the way. Instead of taking the direct route to my destination, I ended up taking an indirect route. It was dark and snowy, and I realized that the road and country side, didn't look like where I should be. I kept driving and a sign appeared with the next town ahead and how far to go to get there. Then I realized, it was just a slight detour or side trip for me. I felt a lot better when arriving at the next town, and knew which direction to go. The remainder of my trip went well and I arrived safely at my destination.

I had a good weekend with my friends, catching up, going out to dinner.

The return trip was more interesting because it was day time. I could enjoy the beautiful country side. Every thing went well to begin with. I arrived at the last town before the lake ferry and I thought it might be a good idea to put gasoline in the car, at that point, since it was a long distance to the next town with a gas station.

I checked the time, and it looked like there was just enough time to reach the ferry by driving a little faster than usual. That was a mistake. Give yourself more than enough time when using a car you've hired. So again I'm driving over mountainous rural terrain at the edge of a lake rushing to catch the ferry. I'm watching the scenery and my watch, making calculations of where it is I should be, and how long left to drive to catch the ferry. It looks like I need to go faster, so I do. I step on it. I'm hoping to cut my time of travel down to just arrive before the ferry leaves.

This is definitely not the thing to do when driving a rented car, especially in a rural area where there are birds around. As I am speeding down a hill a rather large dark coloured bird darts in front of the car. This is a big bird, about the size of a chicken. At the high speed I am traveling at I hit the bird. There was a sickening popping sound as the car and bird collided. The feathers and bird flew up and to the side of the car. I keep going and get to the ferry on time. I drive on the ferry and park. Getting out to inspect the car grill, I get a shock. There was a large hole in the plastic car grill. Broken pieces of plastic and feathers showed what had happened. So now I'm sick about the damage.

I continue on my way to return the car to the rental company. When I arrive at the car rental place I have to tell the owner about the bird collision. He's not too impressed. We look at the rental form where the insurance section is not checked as covering the damage. The owner wants several hundred dollars and that charge goes on my credit card too. So don't do what I did.

Go to a major name car rental company. Be absolutely sure of your insurance coverage details. Check that you are covered for all damage. Know what the insurance deductible amount is. That is the amount that you will need to pay, before the insurance pays the balance of any damage. Read the form over carefully a couple of times before you sign it. Be a careful driver, and take your time. Have a great trip in the car you hire.

How i spent my vacation in amsterdam

During the vacation I got to see many of the wonders that Amsterdam has to offer. One of the first things I went to see was the Van Gogh Museum. Having just gotten off the plane I was tired, but some of his art is just amazing to see, and I did not want to wait to see them.

After going to the museum I headed into the city center to look around, maybe do some shopping and get some food.

I had herd many things about Amsterdam and just thought that many of them were blow out of proportion, well I am here to tell you that they are all true. The first thing that hits you is the strong smell of Marijuana, and then you start to see the almost completely naked girls in the windows.

As if the prostitutes in the windows were not enough there are live sex shows and sex shops selling every imaginable sex toy known to man on every street, but this was not what interested me.

Then as I continued walking around I started to notice something besides pot, and naked females, I saw casinos.

I grew up in New Jersey, just about 2 hours from Atlantic City, and after my 18th birthday I spend a good amount of time in the casinos. So I decided to go in and check some of them out.

Well I wound up spending most of the rest of my time in those casinos. The first one I went to was Video Gaming machines only, but they had video poker, video blackjack and Video Slot machines as well, I did not really do well her in this place so I only spent about an hour, and about 100 Euro, then left.

The next place I found was a nicer place. Unlike in New Jersey, in these casinos people are dressed up in their nice clothes instead of jeans, sneakers and T-Shirts. This casino had actual table games so I tried to play some Blackjack, but there was a player at the table that either had no idea on how to play or he was somehow involved in cheating with another player, but I am inclined to think he just did not know how to play blackjack.

So I started playing at the Roulette table, and I was doing really well, at one point I was up about 400 Euro before I started losing. So I decided to leave this casino and go walking around for a while.

The next day I found myself in another casino, and I decided to see if my luck was back, I went to a slot machine and put in some money and on the third spin I won another 200 Euro, so feeling lucky I decided to enter the poker room, and that is when things got really interesting. I got into a game and boy were these guys good, but I was winning just as much as I was losing, and in the end I may have even walked away with a few Euros more then when I walked in.

After playing for about 5 hours I decided to go outside and walk around a bit to stretch my legs. I would up deciding to sit down and have a cup of coffee, but I did not know the difference between a coffee shop and a caf?.

In Amsterdam a caf? is a place to sit and have a coffee, but a coffee shop is a place to purchase and smoke Marijuana. So as I was sitting there drinking my coffee I noticed several people rolling joints. Now I have herd about this and I hade smelled plenty of pot while I was there, but I did not realize it was sold out in the open like this. So I decided to buy some pot and try it.

I went to the counter where I saw others buying their weed and the guy behind the counter was very nice and showed me a menu of what they had for sale. I wound up buying a joint of white widow. The man behind the counter told me his was very strong stuff, but I was not prepared for this.

I managed to smoke about half of the joint, before I was hit with this feeling. I have been a drinker for many years, but even in my college days I was never out of my head like this.

Eventually I managed to get out of there and get some fresh air, and some waffles. I decided, this was the time to back into the casino and win my money back, and in the end I lost another 600 Euro, and wound up falling off my chair in the casino and needed to be helped out.

So if you are going to be going to Amsterdam, be careful the grass is really strong.

A culture-fest in barcelona

Barcelona is one of those cities you can visit again and again. Its fantastic location, within reach of some of Spain’s most beautiful coastline, together with its history, architecture and huge cultural programme is what makes it one of Europe’s most popular city destinations.

So, how can you max-out on culture when you visit Barcelona? Here are just a few suggestions:

1. The Picasso Museum

Barcelona is awash with museum, both public and private, and the Picasso Museum is a must-see on any tourist’s itinerary. Picasso trained in Barcelona, and so the museum displays a comprehensive selection of the work he created whilst studying in the city. It is an important collection that shows his technical skills and his growth as an artist. In addition, there is a collection of over 40 ceramic pieces, which were donated to the museum by Jacqueline Picasso in the 1980s. Housed in magnificent medieval palaces, and with classical music concerts as well as the art collection, the Picasso Museum is not to be missed.

2. The Architecture

Costing you nothing but tired feet at the end of the day, you can view the history of Barcelona through its buildings. From its Roman Walls, visit the Gothic quarter, where the Cathedral, public and private buildings all take you back in time to the city’s Medieval period. See Modernisme buildings that are also World Heritage Sites and modern buildings such as those built for the 1992 Olympic Games, and you’ll have walked through thousands of years of Barcelonian history in just one day.

3. Festivals

Like any major city, Barcelona hosts a number of festivals each year. One of the most popular and best-known is the Barcelona Grec Summer Festival, which encompasses a wide range of productions and performers. In addition, festivals such as the Ciutat Vella Flamenco Festival and the Barcelona Guitar Festival give visitors a true taste of Spanish art and culture.

There’s a whole lot of other cultural activities and events to keep you busy on your visit to this amazing city – and you’ll want to come back for more

How to play texas holdem for beginners

Texas Holdem is by far the most common for of poker played today due to is popularity there are even several TV shows of the game. Besides being popular texas Holdem is also the best game for a beginner to learn, the game can be learned after a few minutes and afte just a few hours of practice you can be playing fairly well against other beginners, but to really get good you must play often.

Texas Holdem is played the same way in the casino, online casinos and in your home with your pals.

Texas Holdem is played in the following manner:

1. Betting structures can vary. In Texas Holdem rarely are antes used. Most Texas Holdem games start with first two players on the dealers left placing predetermined bets. These players are called the small and large blind, and their bets are called posting the blinds.

2. Each player receives 2 cards face down. These cards are called you pocket cards and they are the only cards that are unique to you.

3. After each player is dealt their hole cards a round of betting takes place starting with the player to the left of the 2 blinds this round of betting is called the pre-flop. Just like in any other poker game a player can call raise of fold during their turn.

4. After the Pre-Flop round is over the dealer will remove the top card from the deck and discard it, this is called the Burn Card. This is done to make sure that no cheating is done. The dealer will then turn over 3 cards in the center of the table. This round is called the Flop. Any player may use any of these cards to make the best 5 card hand possible, but you are not allowed to actually touch the cards, each player can use the same cards if it help them, this is why your hole cards are so important.

5. As with the pre-flop there is now another round of betting, it is at this point you will start to see players folding.

6. After the betting is over, the dealer will burn another card, then deal the fourth of the communal cards. This card is called the Turn card

7. Again another round of betting begins and now is when you will start to see the size of the pot really grow.

8. One last time the dealer burns the top card before turning over the last card of the game, called the River card. Players now have all 5 of the communal cards and their own hole card to make the best 5 card hand.

9. One last chance is given to raise the bets or get out of the game. After this each player still in the game will show their cards. This is called the Showdown. The player with the best hand is declared the winner and wins the pot.

Now that you know the basic order of the game you are ready to start playing Texas Holdem. Holdem is a simple game to learn but if hard to master. This is the part that will take you many hand and many dollars, but if you put in the time you will be rewarded for it.

Cancun beach being restored at a record pace

When Hurricane Wilma swept through Cancun last October the mighty winds stripped away 8 miles of some of the most beautiful sandy beach in the world. Everyone from Mexican President Vincente Fox down to the local residents knew that the beach had to be restored or Cancun's future was in serious danger.

Within weeks the Mexican government pledged $21 million to restore the beach. Now they have made good on that promise, and a massive barge being run by a Belgian firm is working day and night to replace the sand.

The target date to have the brilliant white sand back in place is the end of April, and already the large earth moving machines are smoothing the sand dredged up from the sea bed.

**A long-standing problem

Cancun has some of the Caribbean's most beautiful beaches. But the resort town of roughly 300,000 is perched on the extreme southeast end of the Yucatan Peninsula, looking out into the Caribbean, and too often is directly in the path of hurricanes that come sweeping in from the sea.

The problem of beach erosion existed long before Hurricane Wilma. Local Cancun officials have known for years that the shoreline was eroding and the beach was being washed out to sea. That process was given a boost by Hurricane Gilbert which swept away about half the beach in September of 1988.

One of the positive outcomes of Hurricane Wilma is that it got the government to make the commitment to beach restoration. What seashore experts had been trying to do for more than 17 years, Hurricane Wilma did in a matter of days.

**An essential resource for Cancun

Erosion of coastlines and beaches is a problem around the world, but in Cancun, where it is the very lifeblood of the resort, the disaster of Wilma finally led to serious action.

Cancun consists of three distinct areas. Ciudad de Cancun, the actual town, has a population of about 300,000. Off the beach, the ecological reserve, has incredible lakes, forests and mangrove marshland. And then there's the Zona Hotelera, which is an island where most of the hotels and shopping malls are found.

Cancun is a mecca for tourists from the U. S., Canada, and Europe. It has more than 25,000 hotel rooms, hundreds of restaurants and several hundred shops. There are roads leading to the forest, making it an easy trip to see the forest and remains of ancient local Mayan culture.

Roughly 3 million tourists came to Cancun last year, spending about $4 billion. But Wilma has put a damper on tourism this year. Working flat out, local workers expect that by May, about 90% of Cancun's hotel rooms will be cleaned, redecorated and ready for guests. The restaurants, bars and malls will be reopened, and more than 10,000 new palm trees will be planted along the main streets of the resort town.

The thousands of tourists, who are already starting to return to this famous resort, will be back in droves once the rebuilding and restoration are complete.

New york limos less expensive than you think

If you live in New York City or have been there, you've seen the elegant limos, the luxury car service that is used by the fortunate few. While mere mortals use the subway or hail a cab, important people are chauffeured around in gleaming limos. They never have to wait, they never have to find a parking spot, and they never have to put up with the inconvenience of getting there. But are limos really only for the fortunate few? Do they cost a fortune? Do you need to be a member of some exclusive club?

The answer is no. New York limos are just another service available to New Yorkers and anyone who visits this great city. Limo companies specialize in providing elegant, reliable and safe transportation in a metropolitan area where it is often difficult to get around. So instead of a ratty taxicab, limo customers get to ride in the famous stretch limos, in late model luxury cars, in stretched SUVs, in specially equipped buses, or even in armored vehicles. And the price for this is less than most people think, especially in this day and age of ever-rising gas prices.

In this article I'll give you some ideas of what New York limo service costs. A lot of people use limos to get to and from airports. In general, riding to or from LaGuardia, JFK or Newark with a limo service will cost about $100 in a luxury vehicle like a Lincoln Town Card, a Mercedes Benz S-Class or a big BMW. Airport transportation in stretch limos or SUVs is between $175 and $225, but consider that such vehicles can accommodate between six and ten passengers, so a larger group can actually ride in style for no more than splitting up into several taxicabs. Add to that the convenience of being together and arriving together, and the advantage of limo service is obvious.

For those who simply want to sightsee in New York City or the Burroughs, hourly rates of NYC car service are usually between $70 and $130, with a minimum of two or three hours depending on the type of trip. Keep in mind that limos, unlike taxicabs, cannot just pick up the next ride once they drop off passengers. This means that hourly limo rates are based on garage-to-garage travel time, which seems fair enough. Also, like anywhere else in life these days, there are some additional fees and taxes. These include tolls, parking, gratuity, New York City tax and now fuel surcharges. But even with these, limos remain a relative bargain in many situations.

When it comes to travel and transportation, it's often a cost-benefit analysis. Having a client picked up in a limo instead of having them fend for themselves may well close a deal. Going to see a Mets or Yankees game in a New York limousine can make the game a special experience, and for a larger group, it's cost-effective and fun. All for a fee of around $120 in a luxury car or maybe $225 for a stretch limo with bar. Using limos is not only a pleasant, relaxing experience; it can also make financial sense.

Translation for the global travel industry attention to detail pays

Translation for the global travel industry: attention to detail pays

As the World Travel Market opens in London, with over 50,000 representatives from 190 different countries, what better time to consider how travel and tourism as a sector can best respond to the challenge of communicating internationally and growing overseas markets. Travel and tourism is an inherently international industry, and is already one of the largest online market sectors. But companies in this sector could grow their revenue significantly if they were to address the localisation of products more professionally and market themselves more effectively on the Internet.

Tailoring your message to speak the buyer’s language

The simple fact is that you need to address users of your service in their own language. Although English is the international business language, research has shown that even fluent English speakers are much more likely to buy from a company whose website has content in their native tongue. Producing and maintaining multi-lingual content has become even more important in the last couple of years, as Internet growth in emerging markets has reduced the market share of English online (based on page views) from over 50% in 2002 to under 30% now.

As with all marketing copy, web content selling travel products must be closely tailored to the potential buyer’s needs and desires. This is more important when selling an intangible experience, which must be exciting, luxurious and different enough to get the prospective buyer’s juices flowing and to encourage him to make a purchase. The task becomes even more challenging when you are seeking to attract buyers from different countries, all of whom have different cultural backgrounds and have different which you need to push. For example, as Roy Graff, a former director of octopustravel. com in China, explains, you wouldn’t market to Chinese visitors in the same way as you would to westerners:

”Chinese people coming to the UK are interested in the country’s history, but their real focus is on shopping. Many items considered by the Chinese to be luxurious are much cheaper here, and they enjoy trips to places like Bicester village where they can buy British products for less than they can at home. The Chinese are less interested in cultural events like theatre where the foreign words and cultural references wouldn’t resonate with them.”

So when trying to attract Chinese (or indeed, any other) visitors to come to these shores, it’s worth keeping at the forefront of one’s mind what exactly is going to sell them on the idea of making that trip. This is where the localisation of copy becomes a necessity in order to target your message appropriately. As more people the world over use the Internet to plan their trips rather than going through traditional travel agencies, it is vital that your message bridges any cultural and linguistic divides which might separate you from your target customers.

Managing multi-lingual content

Professional translation and localisation are now a necessity for travel companies and tourism organisations alike. But having all this material in foreign languages can pose its own challenges. How do you ensure that foreign character sets appear appropriately on your website? How can you avoid your staff having to copy and paste material in a language they don’t know into your content management system (a recipe for disaster, if our experience is anything to go by!)? How do you ensure you are using translation technologies effectively to keep costs down? We at Lingo24 have seen companies try to manage their translated content in-house, and we’ve witnessed some well-intentioned but horrendously inefficient attempts to take a perfectly good website and make it multi-lingual. It is not a simple matter, and it’s something translation service providers are best placed to handle in consultation with client companies. As with other web projects, it is best to plan how a multi-lingual website will work well before it is actually constructed.

Translate and they will come?

Of course, there is little point having a slick multi-lingual website if you aren’t able to attract enough of the right visitors to make a good return on your investment in foreign language content. The key is to establish where you need to appear online, be it through search engine listings or on partner websites, in order to drive targeted traffic. To achieve this, you really need to have an understanding of the ‘online scene’ in each of your target markets, and a partner who can help you achieve the positioning that will generate returns. It’s also important to measure both your successes and failures in online marketing, as this will enable you to optimise your campaigns over time. In an online marketplace as crowded and competitive as travel and tourism, those companies that seize the initiative to build well-targeted, highly visible and manageable, multi-lingual sites will reap the rewards now and for years to come.

Galway in the summertime

Ah summer time in Galway, breathe it in, get a breath of that country air, breathe the beauty of it everywhere, get a look at that clear blue sky. Summer days spent lying on the grass down at Spanish Arch, not a care in the world…

There are plenty of attractions to catch the eye in Ireland during the summer. June, July and August sees a host of music festivals including electric picnic, oxygen and the midlands music festival but it’s out west in Galway where the best Irish summer festivals are happening.

Things seem to go a bit quite towards the end of may and early June with many of the students leaving the city but its not long before the town is buzzing again with the prospect of a fun filled summer

The Galway arts festival kicks off on the 17th of July. The festival offers the best in music, theatre and dance, visual art and comedy. Street theatre also plays a major part in the festival providing wonderful entertainment for the summer shoppers. The organizers have gone all out this year bringing in some of the finest national and international acts including such homegrown talent as Bell X1 and David Kitt and major stars such as Lambchop and David Gray.

The biggest festival in Galway has to be the Galway races. The Races become more popular every year with record-breaking crowds thronging the city. There is hardly an empty bed or empty bar for that matter to be found in the city. The festival attracts punters from every walk of life. There are big time gamblers willing to risk the shirt of their back as well as the more casual gambler who is likely to stick a pin in the form guide and risk a euro or two on the result.

For those who just cant get enough gambling there is the option of a trip to Salthill to try your luck in the casinos. One armed bandits or slot machines as some people call them are only too willing to take your money. The Galway Race festival lasts for 7 day and runs from July 31st to August 6th.

The oyster festival, one for the food connoisseurs among you takes place in September. This event has proved hugely popular over the years bringing many new faces and strange accents to the city. The pride of the Galway oyster festival is the Native oysters called “Ostrea Edulis”. I’m told the oysters go down particularly well with a few pints of Guinness. Not being an oyster eater myself I will have to take their word for it.

Another treat for the artistically minded community in Galway is the film fleadh. This event gives local filmmakers a wonderful opportunity to showcase their talents. The festival also attracts many international filmmakers as well as their famous leading men and women. In the past such luminaries as Jim Sheridan, Woody Harrelson, Sir Richard Attenborough and Michael Moore have attended the festival

So Galway for the summer then? Have I convinced you? Go on you know you want to…:-)