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There are plenty of things one can gain from exploring different places such as new friends, new experiences and new stories. When you start exploring new places, you get a better understanding of the people living there including their culture, history, and background.
Studies show that traveling can improve your overall health and enhance your creativity. Therefore, you need to take time out from your daily tasks, office responsibilities, hectic schedule and everyday pressures at least once a year. Plan a tour to a new city with an open schedule and let life present you with the numerous opportunities that are waiting for you.
If you need more convincing, here is a list of all the benefits of traveling.
1. Improves Social and Communication Skills
One of the main benefits of traveling, especially to areas where your native language is not widely used, is that you learn how to communicate with all manner of different people. It could be communicating to find the way to your next destination or asking for the nearest restaurant
2. Ensures peace of mind
We all have stress and tension in our lives. Traveling forces us to temporarily disconnect from our normal routine and it helps us appreciate the people and things you have around. As per a famous saying “we never know what we have until we lose it.”
3. Helps you get original and creative thaughts
It is believed that if someone gets out of their comfort zone, the mind gets more creative. To develop new neural connections that trigger original and creative thoughts, you must explore new places and break out of your daily lifestyles.
4. Broadens your horizons
Travelling helps you connect with different people from different cultures, and this is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. Meeting people from different cultures and societies will help you see issues and daily life from many different angles.
5. Enhance your tolerance for uncertainty
While traveling, you will find yourself stuck in situations where things don’t always go as planned. Such situations will help you learn to cope with the uncertainties in life.
6. Boost up your confidence
Being in a place where you do not know anyone will assist you to gain confidence and presence of mind. You will develop the ability to cope with obstacles, which will make you a confident person and help you grow as a person.
7. Gets you real-life education
Meeting different people from vast cultures and societies provides an education that is impossible to get in a traditional school, college or a university. There is no substitute for the real thing.
8. Create memories for a life-time
If you travel with friends and family members, traveling helps you build stronger bonds and make memories. You can also save memories of a lifetime by creating photo albums or sharing photos in social media.
9. Helps you have fun
No matter how young or old you are, no matter your profession, there is always a time when the child in you wants to have some fun. When you travel, you do not care what you do at all and you can just break free from the norm.
10. Aids you get to know yourself
While traveling, you might find yourself stuck in situations you would not ordinarily experience in your daily life. Such a situation can help you understand yourself and how you react to such circumstances and prepare you for future similar situations.
Although traveling offers many benefits, it also has some disadvantages if not planned carefully. If you are a patient and taking medication for a disease, do not forget to carry your medication. Keeping jet lag pills handy saves you from unnecessary discomfort.
Those susceptible to allergies should carry allergy medication. Plan your tour in advance, prepare a checklist to keep yourself healthy while traveling and pack important items before you travel.
Travelling is good for the health so decide a place now and pack your bags. Remember, you only live once, so start traveling to different places and get some life-altering experiences.
Source: Benefits of traveling
If you’ve never snorkeled before, you may have some trepidation about giving it a try. But no need to worry. With just a few simple tips, you’ll soon be gliding among coral, turtles, tangs, angelfish, damsels, crustaceans, and maybe even octopuses and rays.
Since you may already be a bit uncomfortable in the water, it’s important that you feel as comfortable as possible with your equipment. Masks come in different shapes and sizes, so find one that fits properly so it won’t leak. Place it over your face – simply hold it, without putting the strap around your head – and inhale through your nose. If it doesn’t leak air, it won’t leak water.
If you choose to wear flippers (they are optional), try them on to make sure they are not too tight that your feet hurt, or too loose that you’ll lose them in the water.
Snorkels are fairly generic; if you’re using rental equipment, make sure it’s dry with no water inside. If it makes you squeamish thinking about putting something in your mouth that has been in hundreds of other mouths, you might prefer to buy your own. A simple mask and snorkel can be purchased for about $20.
You definitely shouldn’t be in the open sea the very first time you try snorkeling. Practice first in a pool or shallow water. Your mind tells you that you shouldn’t be breathing with your face in the water and you have to get used to this. Get comfortable with the mask and snorkel. Put your face in the water, breathe a few times, and take it out. When you’re comfortable with this, try swimming while doing it. Some water will inevitably get into the snorkel while you’re swimming, so learn how to purge the snorkel by blowing hard to get the water out.
You should do this both physically and mentally. Don’t go snorkeling on a full or empty stomach. Also, avoid alcohol before snorkeling; it will not enhance your experience and may make it more difficult. Your body can react differently to alcohol when in the water. Go with an open mind and a sense of adventure and anticipation too. If you’ve done your preparation and take it slowly, very little can go wrong. Focus on the new world that awaits you.
Choose a calm spot with minimal waves. Relax. Breathe slowly. Float, if you feel uncomfortable in deep water, use a floatation device. And always go with someone else, preferably an experienced snorkeler. It makes the experience more enjoyable, but most of all, it’s much safer. Relax, float, and enjoy the enchanting world beneath the waves!
Source: Beach
A weekend city break, a big family holiday, or a last minute business trip: whatever the reason you find yourself stressed out at the airport, here are a few insider tips. From secrets on how to jump the check-in queue to how to get an upgrade.
Figure out where the airport is
and how you get to it in advance. I find Google Maps travel planner useful but
it’s always best to check directly with public transport sites for timetables.
Chris Sharp, Business Intelligence Administrator
If you’re using a boarding pass
on your mobile phone, take a screenshot of it and save it in your pictures
folder on your phone (rather than relying on the airline’s app or on a good
internet connection at the airport).
Jon Thorne, User Satisfaction Manager
Or:
Although we live in an age where
you can check in with your smartphone and email, you never know when your phone
may just run out of battery or pack in.
Sam Ayles, PR Executive
Certain credit cards targeting travellers offer perks like free access to airport lounges. For example, I hold a card which gets me a priority lounge pass for two entries each year at Singapore (no minimum spending on the card required).
Another card I’ve got gives me
free airport limousine transfer from my home to the airport as long as I’ve
booked my travel on the card and I spend the minimum set amount.
Hollie Tan, Accounts Executive
During holiday times airports like London Gatwick can get EXTREMELY busy. You could be standing the check-in queue for ages.
The trick in that case is not to
join the queue but to go and sit in a café and read a book. When the airport is
that busy they call out the flights that are due to depart first and let their
passengers through as a priority. You can therefore sit and relax while you
wait for your flight to be called. When it is you can go straight to the front
of the queue.
Sam Heyman, Test Engineer
If you’re really cutting it fine
for time, a polite word to an airport employee almost always results in a queue
jump at security. Failing that, a plea to fellow passengers in the queue is
your next best option.
Lisa Imlach, PR Executive
At security, if you don't want to
set off the alarms after waving goodbye to your hand luggage, keys, mobile
phone, laptop etc, make sure you remove all the Crown Jewels you are wearing.
Apparently, my watch, earrings, necklace and ring MIGHT set off the alarms. On
a recent visit to the airport, I was subjected to the most intimate body search
of my 50 year-old life (bearing in mind I travelled back and forth to the Far
East from the age of 10). And I was only travelling to the Shetlands!
Alison Stimpson, Executive PA
Take a spare ziplock bag or two
to get your toiletries through security checks – it’s ridiculous and annoying
that some airports will charge you a few quid if you forget one!
Rachel Evatt, Product Director
Go for the one with the ‘suits’.
It will move much quicker.
Alistair Hann, Skyscanner Chief Technology Officer
I make sure I wear socks of the
same colour and don´t look to old! Just in case I have to take off my shoes.
Angel Guirado, Market Development Manager, Spain
Try to fly at a time which means
it’s socially acceptable to taste the whisky samples at duty free - i.e. not
6am.
Chris Sharp
Set an alarm on your phone to go
off at boarding time, it’s easy to get distracted in the departure lounge.
Chris Sharp
If travelling with kids, ensure
you have their game consoles handy (and FULLY CHARGED) to allow you to have as
stress-free a time while waiting to depart. Having three kids myself, it’s
definitely on my MUST DO list for the airport. Each of the kids has a small
backpack containing game consoles, pens, pencils and a pad of paper so they can
draw etc. Plus it saves on the wallet if the kids happen to spy those $1-a-go
arcade machines. I’m now a master at noughts & crosses, hangman etc…
Ronnie Walker, Senior Engineer
Connect to WiFi and get some work
done.
Or:
- read the economist from cover to cover. It's something to look forward to.
- Get your shoes shined
- Buy clothes, and do other things you would have to do anyway, so use the dead
time.
Gareth Williams, Skyscanner CEO
Sit comfortably in departures
where you can see the boarding desk and (assuming you have a pre-allocated
seat) read your book until the last possible minute. When the queue is down to
one person, get up and casually stroll through the departure gate onto the
plane. The plane won’t leave without you until they have at least called out
your name.
Dom Porter, Software Engineer
Always wait until the ‘flight
closing’ announcement before boarding the plane. Then, if you see any empty
seats in Business Class, as you work your way through to Economy, sit in one of
them, on the basis that it must be available, given that the flight was
closing. Hope that the flight attendants won’t question it. Sometimes it works,
sometimes it doesn’t!
Mark Logan, Chief Operating Officer (Mark says this is a tip from a ‘friend’.
He would never do this!)
I’ve had some very varied
experiences arriving at immigration, particularly in the USA, ranging from
being processed quickly in a few minutes to being asked to go off to the
interview room for a secondary interview (that was a fun start to my
honeymoon). Be smartly dressed, polite and well spoken, make good eye contact
with the immigration official and have a clear idea of where you are going next
(name of hotel, car hire). Never ever make jokes and do not use your mobile
phone. Also make sure you have a credit card to hand and if possible local
currency as you may be asked to prove you are able to pay your way If you are
travelling on business, never say “I am here to work” as they will be concerned
that you are going to be working illegally; a better phrase is: “I am here to
have some meetings with business colleagues”.
Robert
Smith, Technical Manager
Whenever you get up to leave
somewhere at the airport - in a café, a bar or at the gate - always turn round
and make sure you haven’t left anything behind - like your tickets.
Suzanne Morrison, Skyscanner Project Manager
That way you’ll gain access to
the lounge as their guest, where you can stockpile glossy magazines, packets of
biscuits and condescending looks.
Lisa Imlach
Either get there
early or know how to get through the airport better than George Clooney in Up in the Air. When you add people
who are unpredictable to a controlled environment, it’s organised chaos.
Matt Smith, Content Partnerships Executive
Mexican food has some of the most well-known and loved dishes in the world. Mexican cuisine varies by region due to local climate and geography amongst other things.
This time we will take a culinary tour in the Banderas Bay area.
Vallarta is actually an important culinary destination in itself. A mix of international chefs, discerning gourmands that have made the city their hometown, a long-running gourmet festival, the local Mexican food traditions, that are centuries old plus quality ingredients from sea and land combine into great food, great prices and an ever-expanding list of options.
In here seafood is a favorite, plus the local dishes are very interesting for the newcomers too, these include dishes that are part of Jalisco's traditions (the state in which Vallarta is located), especially from Guadalajara, the state capital.
1.Pescado or Camarón embarazado
One of the local dishes that best represents what is typical in the town is "fish or shrimp embarazado", that is, pregnant fish/shrimp... sounds weird? It's mostly the name that is, it's actually a linguistic deformation of "pescado en vara asado", that is fish roasted on a stick.
This delicious local food is prepared by grilling fish or shrimp marinated in lime over coals, then served with Huichol salsa. The fish itself can be school shark (cazón) or marlin, another variant is to use shrimp instead of fish.
2.Birria
The main ingredients of this dish include goat or lamb meat, boiled in a spicy sauce that includes cumin, oregano, and ginger. It's served with lime (they call it lemon here), onions and the inseparable tortillas
3.Pozole
The most famous dish and the favorite of almost all Mexican is "Pozole" that has different incarnations around Mexico, in Jalisco and Vallarta it's a tasty broth that includes as main ingredients pork or chicken meat, seasoned with chili and includes a special popped corn. Once served you eat it with lettuce, radishes, and tostadas (sun-dried tortillas) y can be red or white, depending on the ingredients used for the soup.
4.Tamales
A Mexican favorite, that you'll also enjoy in Puerto Vallarta is the "tamal" (plural: tamales), these are actually an American dish that you'll find in local variants from Mexico all the way to Patagonia. The local version is prepared with white corn dough that is filled in the middle with either salty or sweet options, the most popular are green tomatoes with meat or red tomatoes with meat, all include chili pepper in greater o lesser amount, ask before eating, some have a sweet pineapple filling, kids like these a lot and they DO NOT include chili. The dough is then wrapped in corn leaves and steamed, yummy, give them a try!
5.Tortas ahogadas
We can't forget the famous "Tortas Ahogadas" (can be translated as "drowned sandwiches"), a very typical local dish. In Guadalajara, there's a saying that "you've not been to Guadalajara unless you've eaten tortas ahogadas", so you're expected and "forced" to try them. These sandwiches are made with a special local white bread called "birote" (the story behind the name is that a Frenchman whose last name was Birot, in the XIX century tried to make baguettes in Guadalajara and ended up inventing the birote) that is then stuffed with pork meat in pieces (some variations include shrimp and other fillings) and then covered with a generous amount of spicy chili and tomato sauce (that's when they are "drowned"...), many places offer a variety of sauces from "pica poquito" to stronger options.
