So…what has Virgin Atlantic just gone and done to make things a millions times worse? They’ve introduced a feature let passengers use their mobile-phones for calls and texts for the entire duration of the flight.Seriously? Of course, the big-wigs behind the idea have heralded it as a much-needed step toward the future of aviation and an incredible breakthrough. Chances are of course that they won’t be the ones in economy class with sales reps in their off-the-rail business suits keeping us all awake with their oh-so important calls they cannot wait until landing to make.

Is it just me, or does anyone else ever feel that slight degree of freedom and sanctuary when in an environment where mobile-phones MUST be switched off? This was perhaps one of the few true joys of boarding a plane for a long-distance journey and boom…there it goes right out of the emergency exit.Ok, I’ll be the first to admit that for emergencies or important things passengers might have forgotten the system will be of huge value, but everybody knows that this is NOT how it will be used. No…instead it will be used as a novelty for no reason other than that it exists.With the way things are heading it seems as though it won’t be long before the suits of the world are having their mobile devices implanted into their skulls, given the fact that they are pretty much surgically attached already. Sorry Virgin…your efforts are appreciated though on this occasion would have been preferable if focused elsewhere!

Before you get the idea that I was in a foul mood for the entirety of my visit, let me tell you about my day trip to Macau. The former Portuguese colony is a few hours ferry ride from Hong Kong and well worth visiting. Although there were local inhabitants prior to the arrival of the Portuguese in 1535 it was the Europeans who developed it as a major settlement. Macau was formally established in 1557 and Portuguese control remained until 1999 when it was handed over to the People’s Republic of China.

When people think of Macau it’s to do with two things – tourism and gambling, which me and my cousin certainly didn’t skimp on. These are both legacies of the Portuguese era.

Unlike Hong Kong, where the original British buildings are very few and sporadically spread about, in Macau you get a concentrated pocket of colourful historic buildings that are unlike any you’ll find in Asia.  Tourists are drawn to sites like the ruined Sao Paulo church and the Fortaleza do Monte which overlooks the town.

The many casinos that are now found throughout the area began in 1962, but it was when the local monopoly ended in 2002 that the subsequent casino boom started. During my visit I managed to squeeze in a visit to three of them, including the Vegas owned Venetian Macau. After seeing the latter I have no need to see the Italian original, some more money saved then.

My cousin was the one who gambled and now I can see why he lives and works in a boatyard, what money he had was quickly hovered up. I had vowed not to be suckered but on the way home we were lured in by the neon lights of the Grand Lisboa. If you’ve seen the Bond film ‘The Man with the Golden Gin’ you’ll know what I mean. I was more interested in watching the human drama of others gambling, their supping of endless coffees and mass chain smoking. Some regulations haven’t apparently spread eastwards yet. My cousin by this stage of the evening wanted his humiliation somewhat balanced out and so badgered me into risking a few of my Hong Kong dollars on the slot machines. I had assumed all you had to do was pull a lever and wait for the three similar symbols to line up, unfortunately it’s gotten a lot more complicated or else TV has lied to me! Buttons were meant to be pressed and my timing was off, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking with it.

Like many other visitors I and my cousin sought refuge in the local food. This includes solely Portuguese cuisine or a mix of Cantonese and Portuguese, known as Macanese. I have a sweet tooth so devoured the egg-custard tarts known as ‘natas’, for the best in town go to ‘Margaret’s Cafe e Nata’. Four days have passed and I’m still craving them.

Read the title and do not believe my eyes, right? I can barely speak to Barcelona without feeling emotion, but I will try. Without promise that I will succeed, however …

Travelling with WizzAir to Barcelona:

I must admit I’m pleasantly surprised. We took off exactly on time both times – from Sofia and from Girona – despite comments from all who heard it will fly WizzAir and shared: “You know – her off, it not …”. Well, WizzAir off and land on time (at least when I’m on board)!

Airplanes WizzAir destination for Barcelona are brand new AirBus320 (A320), which is also a pleasant surprise. Expecting to shove us into something like Icarus with his wings, but fortunately not known. The crew was Bulgarian, which brings special comfort in the situation.

As low WizzAir company is not offering its passengers free food and drink, but so does the choice of those that can be bought on board is not small. But prices are high stressful. Most products are Bulgarian and the overcharge is more than about 80-10 times or in other words:

Water 500 ml of 0.50 per board $ 2 €;
Nescafe, pack 1 dose of 0,35 EUR 2,50 € costs, etc.
Sandwiches and they leave traces of gold threads on the teeth, but at least it’s not like there.

What surprised me (rather nice) was that people shopping food and drink without them batting an eye. Overall performances such as those described two years ago, no.

The flight lasts between 2.5 hours and 3.5 hours depending on the direction and strength of wind at altitude. After that you may think about cheap us car rental, or why not just the tube..

Girona Airport to Barcelona

Girona Airport is the airport where the landing so-called low cost companies that fly to Barcelona. The track is short and probably for people who fly for the first time, the suspension was startling because the pilot stops quite abruptly. But I understand why you need to put belts and landing.

Girona is a lovely town of nothing and no one to 100 km from Barcelona. Sitting in Sofia and making plans for travel, these 100 kilometers looks scary, but actually nothing like that.

When you land in Girona, immediately feel that this is another country and everything was fine. While waiting for their luggage buy a ticket for the bus to Barcelona and back – ie return. Tickets are 21 €.

From the counter you can get a brochure and a schedule of buses in both directions. In the brochure has it all: in addition to a detailed plan is a map of the place in Barcelona where the bus arrives, nearby Metro stops, and an indication of where buses leave for the airport Girona (Aeroport Girona). You need to return …

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Not a fan of ski holidays? Then this could be just for you… Some orthodox tourist sights that are worth seeing if you are interested .

1.

The Orthodox temples of Berkovska municipality

II

After the early Christian three-nave eparchial basilica (temple, church) of the Berkovian fortress, Bulgarians build in the town an eparchial temple called “Virgin Mary‘ s Birth”, which includes home for the bishop.

This state remains during XV-XIX centuries of the Ottoman slavery, when the Berkovian ecclesiastic district belongs to Sofia metropolis (1875).

Three of the Berkovian ecclesiastic leaders:

Bishop Dionissii, metropolitan Kiril and archimandrite Dionissii are at the people‘ s synod in Tsaribrod in 1871.

III

During the first decades of XIX century around the renovated temple ”Virgin Mary‘ s Birth” a clerical complex of buildings for the metropolis, similar to a cloister, for monks, schools and a residence for the Berkovian Christian municipality. In this clerical centre glows the fire of struggle for ecclesiastical independency and national liberation. Here on 6tf February 1872 teacher Doganov makes a fiery speech about the disestablishment of the church, and archimandrite Dionissii with 9 priests make the divine service. Here there were so many people that “if you threw an apple, there were nowhere to fall on”.

IV

Dug into the earth, the dusky hall of temple “Virgin Mary‘ s Birth” is constructed with the sideways lighted up iconostasis stimulates in the visitor a sense of mysteriousness and reverence for god and for the art, given by the wood-carving of Stoicho Fandukov and the paintings of Dimitar Zograf and other artists, and the golden Gospel given as a gift from dr. Ivan Panov. After the Liberation a balcony is constructed in the temple, where the famous Berkovian church choir has sung.

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I stayed in The Old Bridge House Hotel in Looe recently. Now, as a poor graduate who realised that degrees meant nothing before anyone else did, I have to say I’m quite chuffed with this find. Not only was the hotel affordable (and remember how little money I actually have), it made me feel like I’d won the lottery or something! I have never stayed in a place as warm and welcoming as The Old Bridge, which is why I’m happy to review and recommend it as many times as I can!

Ever heard of Looe? Me neither! A friend of mine I met whilst bumming about Italy told me about the coastal town in Cornwall whilst we were water skiing. He said the sea reminded him strongly of his home town…guess where that is? So Looe. It’s on the south west coast of Cornwall and is situated bizarrely on two sides of the River Looe which feeds directly into the sea. I was amazed that at low tide, you can even walk to a small island from the beach. Just don’t get caught out when the sea comes back in.

Looe like my friend said, is amazing. Not only did I stay at a place that can be best described as %u2018home away from home’, but I hardly spent any money because there was so much to see and do for little cost. The most I spent was on my hotel bill, but that was so reasonable I’ve decided not to count it. You should click here to check out The Old Bridge House Hotel yourself and if you stay there, you’ll be tempted to write a review like I have.

The couple who run the place reminded me of my parents…in a good way. The food I had for breakfast was served at a time of my choosing – I like to lie in – and was delicious. Turns out all the ingredients they use are freshly sourced on a daily basis and if my Mum could cook as well as Colin and his wife could…well let’s just say I might adopt two more parents. They were the most generous and accommodating hosts a traveller could wish for. Total value for money.

The rest of the town followed a similar theme – friendly locals only too eager to help a lost looking pauper. One guy even took me out on his fishing boat for a reduced rate and I learnt to catch mackerel for the first time ever. Although to be fair it was the first time I’d ever been fishing, so technically it was the first time I went fishing, but you get the idea.

Simply put I cannot review both Looe and The Old Bridge House Hotel highly enough. Words don’t really do them justice. All I can say is go and visit whenever you get the chance. I’m already planning my next trip there!

The Old Bridge House Hotel
The Quay, West Looe, Cornwall PL13 2BU
01503 263159 %u200E

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There can be many different places to visit in the united kingdom depending of your preference there is the heath and hills of Scotland and the green coast of Ireland ranging to forest of dean and the beaches of Cornwall to the hustle and bustle of London. All of these options could be great, why not take a look on the internet, at your local tourist and information centre or check out display stands for special offers at your travel agent to choose the best destination for you.

There are many quaint rural holiday cottages to stay in all over the U.K. and choose one that stands out for you, if you would prefer a hotel or a self-catering flat this is all catered for. When choosing somewhere to stay make sure it suits your needs there is no reason in some places to have a rental car and everywhere can be accessed by train, bus or foot but many places could be tucked in the middle of nowhere so be sure to plan ahead. Some people love the seclusion of a rural holiday cottage surrounded by trees and a little pub and different walking routs but this is not everyone’s ideal holiday so if you like a bit more of a night life make sure you are near a local town where there is restaurant and nightclubs.

London is a popular destination for all round the world; it has culture, history, entertainment and grandeur. There is the typical black cabs and red phone boxes and the welsh guards. The queen’s palace is a typical destination for holiday makers as it is a landmark in its own right, the building imposes itself on you and shows the riches of a monarch. Cornwall is another popular destination because it has some of the best beaches in Britain and the old fisherman cottages and pubs adds to the magic, you can visit Cornwall for fishing or surfing and eating at some sea food restaurants but there are some typical foods such as Cornish cream tea, a Cornish pasty and a Cornish crab all of which are well worth visiting for.

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I have always enjoyed travelling in Asia and this time I was heading towards Shanghai, which is one of the biggest metropolitan cities in the world. It is also the most developed city in China. Along with being the most popular tourist destination in Asia, Shanghai is also the most populated city in China. It covers an area of 5800 square kilometer, making it advisable for tourist to move around with a travel guide. A flight to Shanghai from Beijing will take around 2 hours, while a journey by train would take 17 hours. You will not need ski jackets in Shanghai, as snow fall over here is just 2 days per year and rest of the year is nice and warm. Following are two of the most famous location to visit in Shanghai.

Located right in the centre of the old city of Shanghai is the Yuyuan garden. It is built as per the traditional Chinese style and also features many special rocks and trees. There are also very nice and beautiful ponds over here. These ponds are decorated with shrubs, rocks and trees. You can spend as much as time you would like in the amazing scenic beauty of the Yuyuan garden. The best part is that there are many markets around the garden, which gives immediate access to eating places.

It has been very truly said that a visit to Shanghai is never complete without visiting the Bund. It is the most famous architectural piece of Shanghai and is the epitome of its famous history. The Bund consists of the wharves and buildings all along the western bank of the famous river Huangpu. There are many financial institutions and banks over here that makes Bund a financial capital as well. The most important buildings over here are the bank of China, the Custom House, the old Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and the Peace Hotel.

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For the traveller with very little money, cost effective modes of transport from A to B are fundamental to ensuring as much of the globe can be trotted as possible on the budget in hand. Whilst travelling in Europe I used InterRail and I can not tell you how much love I have for this service! The InterRail pass is basically a ticket that is available to all European residents (there is a version for international travellers called Eurail), that allows unlimited travel around the participating countries for a specific period of time. The amazing thing about travelling by rail is the amount of scenery you see whilst passing from one route to another, obviously flying to destinations is quicker but all you see is clouds and taking the bus normally leads you along dull highways with grubby service stations. Rail is definitely the way to travel, I noticed that lots of people took breaks from sightseeing out the window to read their book, write their journals, tap away at their laptops or play with their backgammon sets. It is an all together leisurely journey, stress free and great value for money. The InterRail website www.interrailnet.com allows you to securely purchase your required tickets online and clearly displays all the ticket options so that you can make the right purchase for your trip. There is also handy tabs to help you plan your journey, country guides that include train stations and best bits of each given country and support and help sections. Check it out!

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I have been so obsessed with my traveling that I have completely forgotten the fact that I am writing a novel. Many of you may feel that a person who begins writing a novel only to forget it is not much of a writer. Well, to be honest, I have been overwhelmed by the experiences that I have seen during my traveling. I have maintained a catalog of all these memorable instances with the intention of incorporating the same into the novel. The desire to write the novel is always present. The preparation has it taken more time and effort than anticipated.

I ought to plan may travel in such a manner that the hectic days are followed by a few relaxed days where I don’t have much to do. Since I am traveling on a tight budget and since I intend to see as much of the world as possible, I often spend hours on the move soaking up the experiences. Of course, I don’t have much to complain because the entire process is a very enjoyable and am learning more than others who travel only to buy a new R4i card for their gaming console.

Perhaps I can get more writing done if I start using my laptop. I have restricted use of the laptop for writing my blogs and am using the old fashion method to write the novel. I feel that the option of deleting what one has written by pressing a few buttons is just not the way one should write a novel. Each and every word written should be given a lot of importance and that is possible only if we use the old fashioned method.

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It happens to every traveller and it can be either a badge of honour or a dark secret. I was riding a motor bike in southern Thailand and had a little accident. Some people hit bumps while they were speeding, I swerved to dodge a monkey. That is a pretty honourable reason for an accident, and unlike many of the other travellers who have motor bike accidents, I was actually sober. The problem was I cracked a couple of teeth. Thailand is not the worst place in the world for a dental emergency. It is actually known as a cheap and fun place to go on a dental holiday. I decided to head back up north to Bangkok’s Khao San road to search out somebody who could fix my teeth. I figured the best way to get advice about quality and prices was to sit in a traveller’s cafe and smile. I was completely right, soon enough this Australian came up to me and told me this horror story about Bangkok Smile dentists, accusing them of Clinical Negligence, malpractice, and ruining his teeth. While it is significantly cheaper to get your teeth fixed in Thailand, you have to remember that if anything goes wrong, you are not going to be protected by the same laws and regulations that you would get in your home country. I was incredibly lucky, not five minutes later I got a great recommendation for a local dentist who spoke English and did a superb job restoring my smile.

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