Girl's Trip Tips - Blog

Oahu Is the Perfect Place for Women to Visit

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:39:52 GMT

(Guest post) Oahu boasts as a highly preferred travel destination for women. This is due to the many fun and interesting activities that Oahu offers for women of any age. Oahu is located in Hawaii. The languages spoken are English, Hawaiian and Tagalog. The reasons as to why Oahu is the perfect place for women to visit include but are not limited to:

Safety:
One of the reasons making Oahu the perfect place for women to visit is safety. As a woman, safety is a top priority when considering a place to visit. This ensures that you will be free from any form of harm or harassment whatsoever. You will have peace as a woman to hang around Oahu at any time of the day. In case of any emergency, there are local authorities available that can offer you assistance immediately once you contact them. There are visitors’ centers all across the island where you may seek information or any form of assistance.

Transportation and accommodation:
Women love accessing places without hustles regarding transportation and accommodation. This is where Oahu comes in handy as the perfect destination. Oahu can be accessed with a flight to Honolulu International Airport. This airport serves as the major entrance into Oahu and serves both domestic and international travelers. In order to legally visit Oahu, you will be required to undergo an application for passport from your local relevant immigration authorities. The passport is necessary to ensure that your whereabouts are known, to access various facilities and use for contacts in case of any emergency.

Once landed on Oahu, you can access taxis and chauffeured transportation services depending on your class. They can be easily accessed from the airport. Car rentals can also be easily accessed if you desire to tour around Oahu on your own. As a woman, you will be able to find exotic accommodation options. You can access hotels with saunas, spas, restaurants and fitness centers.

Shopping:
Women love shopping activities. Whether window-shopping or buying various beauty items, as a woman, you can find many shopping malls all over Oahu’s shopping centers. Oahu boasts as having leading boutiques and malls globally.

Sports and beach:
Women love lots of adventure and Oahu comes in as the perfect place for women to get adventure. There are various activities that can be carried out on the island such as swimming, skydiving, hiking, water skiing and horse riding among other fun activities. Not only do women love participating in sports, they love watching sports. Oahu offers women with the perfect views of professional surfers and divers on the most exhilarating waves globally.

Food:
Restaurants in Oahu feature delicious meals, cooked to taste for any woman to enjoy. The food has heavenly tastes with locally sourced menu and ingredients. As a woman, you will have many tasty foods to choose from and have a taste of Hawaiian native food.

With such favorable conditions in Oahu, it is a place worth many visits by women. It will leave you with an exciting experience that you will leave to always remember.

Written by Ellen Nicola:
The author of this article lives in Hawaii. She is a literature graduate and has certificates in travel and tourism. She has covered newspaper stories and has many travel articles published on the internet. She has five years experience as a tour guide. Her hobbies are writing articles and traveling.

Brhlovce, Slovakia: Living in rock dwellings

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:24:15 GMT

Similar to Turkish Cappadocia or British Kinver Edge, Slovakia has its own rock dwellings in small village Brhlovce.
Except for museum, there are still many rock dwellings inhabitated. But make no mistake - though living in rock or cave sounds primitive, people living here have everything they need - TV and water, small garden on roofs and moreover - lower electricity bills! Rock provides great climate - stable temperature (17-20 C degrees) and stable humidity ( 80-90%).
The area has so much to offer - historic city of Levice, thermal spa in Dudince or UNESCO city Banska Stiavnica close by.
So what cought my eye in Brhlovce?

How to get there: Bus or taxi from nearest city Levice (Brhlovce are about 15minutes ride away). You can get to Levice from Bratislava, the capital, by train or bus (both around 1,5 hour).

Where to stay: I stayed in cheap, but very friendly Fabro guest house in Levice, but there is also this fancy Astrumlaus hotel****.

Where to eat: Definitely visit Biela hus restaurant in Levice with delicious local wine.

Official website of Brhlovce here.

One of the many rock dwellings where people still live to this day:

This is the official museum where you can get inside of the rock dwelling and see how people used to live here. There are still tools and furniture inside:

So why digging a room into a rock? There are two versions - one says local people wanted to hide from Turkish raids common in central Europe in 16th-17th Centuries. Another one claims that those were very poor people unable to build a house and therefore digged some space for living in local soft schist rocks. Later they became famous as skilled masons.

Another rock dwelling with garden on its top:

Could you imagine living in rock dwelling?

Stunning Iceland

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 12:35:27 GMT

Iceland - tiny Nordic island off Europe has it all - beautiful nature, friendly people, cool government and great life conditions (ranked #13 most developed country). It's also one of the perfect places for travelers - offering everything from spa, adventures, natural sceneries to history and culture. There are gazillion reasons why to visit. Just watch and get inspired ;-)

Iceland by colour from Kamil Hertwig / kamileonfilm on Vimeo.

What don't we know about hotel rooms and should?

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:28:45 GMT

I love Quora - the social knowledge network of people with different experience from all over the world, willing to spend their time to share their expertise and answer strangers' questions.
Lately I came across useful answer to question "What don't we know about hotel rooms and should?" by Michael Forrest Jones of Beechmont Hotels Corporation.
If you want to know how to find bed bugs, whether your hotel room has peephole camera and what are big towels in bathrooms for, read on!

Michael Forrest Jones writes:
"Hotel Impossible (Travel Channel's Hotel Impossible ) covers all the obvious stuff (and even I learn things from it that I've never thought of before), and Anthony Melchiorri is always coming up with something new (which is why I have him linked here, and I ended up with an addendum on this very topic in the comments [http://www.quora.com/Hotels/What... ]), but we'll recap on some of it . . .

Take the down comforter off the bed and toss it aside. If you don't need the blanket for warmth, do the same with it. If you do use the blanket, keep the sheet between your body and the blanket. Anything that comes in contact with any large expanses of the previous guests' bare skin should be taken out and laundered every time the room is made, but it isn't always, especially in cheaper hotels.

And more upscale bed and breakfasts and boutique operations (where Hotel Hell's Gordon Ramsay directs more of his own focus) don't rate the benefit of the doubt, either.

Hotel Hell Clip: Speechless

Hotels are getting away from down comforters: they don't like to have to launder them after each guest, and those hotels that don't wash them each time are falling into disrepute for not doing so.

Blankets are here to stay, however, and nobody really wants to see them go. But some hotels are still hesitant about washing them every day if they think they can get out of it (e.g., unless a visible stain appears - and sometimes those get missed.)

Throw it Out the Door (link to video)

This is what the beds in your hotel room should look like.

I agree with Anthony Melchiorri - every down comforter on a hotel bed anywhere in the country should be rounded up, put in one big pile, and burned.

A few safety and security items: If you are a government employee traveling on business, and you don't notice a sprinkler head in your room, pick another hotel next time. FEMA-compliant hotels must be sprinklered: your stay at a hotel that isn't FEMA-compliant is technically not reimbursable by the government, and you could run into problems with your travel reimbursement.

The only thing particularly newsworthy about the violation of ESPN's Erin Andrews by a stalker in 2008 was that it happened to someone as famous as Erin Andrews (whose name and nude body, sadly, is now forever associated with hotel room peepholes, as you'll see . . . ). A Google Image Search for "hotel room door peephole", or "hotel room peephole", will usually reveal not only some of the infamous peephole cam views of Erin Andrews, but several other women as well who were victimized in similar fashion (some of whom may not know even now that they were victims of such a thing) -- and even links to websites where, if you're a pervert, you, too can order your very own peephole cam.

Send me a receipt for your purchase, and I'll send you a five-dollar rebate on it. It's worth that much to me to know who you are, so if you ever show up in a hotel that I'm running, you will not be allowed to rent a room, and you (and your pervert cam if you brought it) will be forthwith ejected from the property, never to return . . .

Don't believe me? Run the search and see what you see. (hotel room door peephole | hotel room peephole - Google Search In addition to Erin Andrews, you will almost always see one or two women other than Erin Andrews, as well as an occasional naked guy. Forget Hotel Impossible - I learned something new simply composing this one answer, simply doing an image search for a picture of a peephole to place below . . .) It is not an everyday occurrence - but it is still a not uncommon one.

After you check your peephole to make sure it's not damaged, missing or tampered with, find a piece of notepaper (there should be some on the desk or nightstand in your room), tear off a strip of it, roll it up and twist it until it's about the size of a cigarette butt, and 'plug' it in the peephole. (Not too deep: we'll have to gouge it out of there, and you'll want to be able to pull it out yourself if someone knocks on the door). If you do get a knock, always check via the peephole: if you see no one there, do not open the door -- use the thumb lock and deadbolt it, and call the front desk. If a member of the hotel staff has any business paying your room a visit, the desk clerk should know. A good-intentioned friend showing up for a visit to your room will not stand to one side to avoid being seen through the peephole.

Anyone you see loitering about the common areas of the hotel - especially a parking lot or a corridor - is probably up to no good, and in any event does not need to be there. Call the front desk and ask that this person be removed. And if he isn't removed promptly, use a different hotel the next time you're in town. Yes, it's potentially that serious.

I look forward to the day when I can tell you to choose only hotels where every employee who has access to guestroom keys is subjected to a complete public records background check, prior to hire, and every year or two thereafter (Nan's Law ). But for now, I can't: it's something I've only seen done by one company other than my own - and they ignore the material they get on the checks.

It's sad: Nan's Law has absolutely no chance of ever passing in the one state where it has ever been introduced (http://nanslaw.org/scan001.pdf ): Pennsylvania is the most 'ex-offender friendly' state in which I've ever lived: I feel, irresponsibly so. (The city of Philadelphia bans discrimination in employment on the basis of criminal history unless it's embarrassingly obvious that the conviction has some specific nexus to the job, and even forbids asking an applicant about past convictions. And there are unusual restrictions throughout the Commonwealth on how criminal records may be accessed and used.) I believe in repentance, redemption, rehabilitation and giving some prodigal schnook who's seen the error of his sad, sorry ways a chance to get himself straight, too -- but I'm not trusting the guy with the means, should he so desire, to make a key to a room where you, your wife or your kids may be peaceably (and helplessly) sleeping until it's been quite a few years and I've seen it for quite a few years.

Nan's Law should be law. I hope to see more voluntary industry compliance - and as Gandhi suggests, my company will be the change I wish to see in the world. (We have to. It's the law. Really. We had it written into our articles of incorporation when we formed the company - and so now, we cannot legally operate our hotels, anywhere, within or outside Pennsylvania, without complying with it. Aren't we devious? No apologies, no regrets . . .)

And finally, that coarse, heavy, slightly undersized 'towel' in your bath isn't a towel - it's a bath mat. Use it. When you take a shower, it goes in the floor to await you as you step out. That tile-and-grout floor can be pretty slippery if you lose any water from around the shower curtain, or if you take a long, hot steamy shower and a lot of moisture accumulates on the floor because it didn't all vent. Even exhaust fans in hotel baths that work -- and frequently, they don't (guests don't think to report a problem with them, and housekeepers forget to check) -- have their limits.

If your room has a luggage rack, and it's the nice, upscale one with wooden frame rather than the 'cheap' extruded aluminum frame - don't use the luggage rack. After checking the bathroom floor to see that it appears clean, open your bag there. It's literally safer. Bedbugs love wood. And they don't come from nasty people (think about it: the first thing even the most hygenically-challenged individual is going to do if a bedbug is crawling or feeding on him or her is pick it off), they come from baggage that's been in nasty places. Put the items you plan to take from your bags on other pieces of furniture, and close the bag.

Wood - bad.

Metal - good.

When bedbugs are not feeding on someone's body, they like to hide out in the fluting on a mattress. If the room or the hotel is questionable, here is how to do a really thorough check for bedbugs.

Before Hotel Impossible, no one ever gave a heck of a lot of thought to 'high-touch points', bacteria receptacles in a hotel room. (I did see an item a few years ago about how the nastiest, most germ-covered item in any hotel room is the wall-mounted hair dryer in the bath: perhaps because it's something that's easy for the housekeepers to forget to check or to squirt down with disinfectant.) So perhaps it was easy to get a little irritated with Anthony for suggesting that guests pack a can of Lysol in their bag and spray down their telephone and your TV remote, but once he got us thinking about it . . . well, he's right, it makes perfect sense.

We're becoming a little more sensitive to things like that now. It was bound to happen anyway - ten years ago, who would have thought anyone would need disinfectant wet wipes and hand sanitizer mounted by the shopping carts at the supermarket? Times are changing: when I was growing up, it was acceptable to smoke just about anywhere you didn't see a 'no smoking' sign, including in a hotel lobby. (At my first front office job, the desk clerks all smoked - and kept an ashtray behind the desk. At my second and third, the rule was, step into the back office and get out of sight with it - and it was at these two hotels that non-smoking rooms were a new thing that I'd never seen before.) Public awareness has increased. Standards change accordingly.

Best Western hotels now have an ultraviolet wand on every housekeeping cart that can be passed over germ receptacles, and zap any bacteria present on them (Best Western Hotels use UV wand and black light to sanitize rooms ).

Last year, they also went to TV remotes that are waterproof - there is nowhere for germs to hide on one.

We've got the technology. Low-paid, expendable help is the weak spot.

Believe it or not, there are people in the world who love to clean. (Unfortunately, it's like a law, there's a limit of one or two per hotel, but I try to get at least that many on my housekeeping staff . . .) But these are frequently the exception in even a good hotel, and managers don't help much. Room attendants, people who scrub floors and swab toilets for a living, don't rate highly on the socioeconomic scale, wouldn't take a job doing that if they can get a job doing something else, don't get a lot of respect, and are paid not much more than minimum wage (some hotels in fact consider it a 'minimum-wage job'). And they're treated accordingly. If one quits, or you have to fire one, just go out and hire another piece of meat to replace her.

Me, I like to try and pay them a little more than they could make working in a different hotel: that way, I can take my pick of the ones available: take care of them, try to treat them the way I'd want to be treated if my only job option was something like that, and give them a halfway decent working environment, and I shouldn't have too many housekeeping problems. And I've gotten good ones most of the time - at one point, I turned one of the worst hotel housekeeping operations in town at one hotel I ran into one of the best. (See Michael Forrest Jones's answer to Hotels: How do good hotels always feel so clean and fresh? )

But you can't always count upon me running your hotel. The blankets don't get washed in some hotels. The housekeepers rush, they have their quota to make, they get questioned if they take more than a half hour to make a room (or fifteen minutes to service a room occupied by a stayover guest), they skip things. At just so much more than minimum wage, you can only expect them to care but just so much. It's not a rewarding job. Lots of encouragement and acknowledgment is necessary to keep them from burning out.

Meanwhile, owners economize, especially in cheaper properties. They underpay the housekeepers. They rush the housekeepers. They don't go behind the housekeepers and inspect the rooms. They have a lot of housekeeping turnover (and new ones miss a lot of things during the time it takes them to get the hang of it). They don't have, or don't use, a proper procedure for cleaning reusable items like glasses or coffeemakers. They don't check - or don't even know - the proper settings on the laundry room equipment. If it's a franchised property, they cheat on property inspections: walk the quality assurance inspector around, keep him or her entertained, and try to point him or her to a few carefully selected and prepared rooms. The inspectors never inspect every room in the hotel, even with a 'good' brand. The owners procrastinate on deep-cleaning rooms as long as they can get away with, even when the franchise organization rules specify an interval. Fortunately, owners like this are in the minority, but it's still a pretty good-sized minority, and all hotels have their weaknesses.

So, you have to remember: this is shared space that you're sleeping in. We do what we can to be vigilant, but we can't personally supervise every housekeeper performing every little task. Things are going to get missed, sometimes we can only hope that the thing that got missed in your room this morning won't be noticed by you, and we'll catch it tomorrow. The last person who occupied your room might be someone you wouldn't care to share personal space with.

Be circumspect accordingly. As Ken Lim noted in his own answer to this question, a hotel is not a comfortable place for germophobes.

TMI alert - Here's a gross-out story for you (hotel housekeeping war stories can frequently be that way), so you might want to stop here.

Years ago when I first moved from hourly help to management, part of the process was that I got to help out with all the different departments of the hotel and learn how they work (I'd been a maintenance guy one summer in high school, and in a few part-time gigs since, so I had a head start there). So one day, when the housekeepers were shorthanded and I had to help them out, I got to run ahead of them with a laundry cart, to all the vacated rooms, and 'pull linen' for them. My job would be to strip the beds and put all the linen in a pillowcase. I'd then go into the bath and gather all the terry and put all that in another pillowcase. Toss both into a laundry cart, move on to the next room, save the housekeepers five minutes per room plus however much time they'd spend running back and forth, carting the stuff to the laundry. Oh - and wear rubber gloves for this job. I did that day, but it was still an eye-opening experience. I learned, never, never touch a hand towel in a cheap hotel - or in any hotel unless you have the confidence in the laundry operation of that particular hotel that can only come from insider knowledge. You know where you almost always find a hand towel in any recently-vacated hotel room that was occupied by a guy? On the floor . . . next to the bed . . . about halfway down, maybe a little toward the foot of the bed . . . Same spot in the floor, next to almost every bed occupied by a man, in every room. (And this is usually true whether he slept alone, or whether a couple occupied the bed, I'll leave the rest to your imagination.)

Now, are you ready to listen to me about keeping the sheet between the blanket and your skin, if you don't toss them altogether? At least most hotels - every time they make the room - wash any hand towels that were removed from where they were left . . . "

Mean traveller strikes back: 6 ways how to deal with hustlers, touts and scammers

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 09:39:32 GMT

You arrived to your dream destination and can't wait to go shopping to local market. When you arrive there, you find yourself surrounded by very nice but persistent salesmen. You buy something from the first one, because - you are nice foreigner with better luck in life than those people and well, frankly, you need to bring some souvenirs back home anyway, right? However, after few days you end up broke, with full luggage of stuff you will never need and you feel like you were tricked. You have mixed feelings and don't know what really happened. The truth is - it's mostly your own fault.

Recent post by Mike and Ashley Lenzen about hustlers in Egypt inspired me to write some tips so you don't ruin your vacation! Hustlers, scammers and touts are not courtesy of Egypt. Many of them were bothering me in Rome or Paris as well as in India or Turkey. It's not just salesmen. There is a big chance that almost everyone - from taxi drivers to hotel receptionist will try to trick you into some scam or manipulate you. You can't be really mad at them. Just accept it, assume nothing is for free, be aware and don't let it ruin your travel experience. Here is how to deal with hustlers, scammers and touts:

Mean traveller strikes back #1 - No money, no problems
Try not to mention money. Money is not the problem - hustlers/touts/scammers will always try to "help" you and lower the price for souvenirs/taxi drive/hotel room/tour. Once you start with the excuse something is too expensive, you will end up in never ending circle of negotiating the price. Assume all prices are double or triple - salesmen always add something up so they have room for giving a small discount. The much better thing to say is: This souvenir is ugly. I don't like it. I don't like the smell of your taxi, I will call another one. Your hotel is in bad location. I don't like this tour, sorry. You see, once you have such arguments, it's much harder to talk you into buying. What is the hustler going to do? Paint the souvenir different color so you like it? Spray his taxi with flower parfume? That's right. He can't do anything, just let you go (Unless he is very creative, which is rare. I once told salesman I want picture of goddess Lakshmi and not the one he was offering me. His reply? But madam, this picture of Lakshmi's sister! I couldn't stop laughing :-)

Mean traveller strikes back #2 - Let's call mommy
When planning ahead, learn what local authorities there are in your destination - it can be tourist police, trade inspection authority or transportation authority, whatever useful you find, write it down. When facing a hustler, threaten him and say you will report him to ______ (insert the specific authority). But Martina, local authorities are corrupt! - I hear you saying. Yes, but you don't necessarily have to call them, at least not immediately. In worst case scenario, you call them and if they request tips, you threaten them with their boss, or even better - with media such as CNN. Sounds silly, but it really does work.

Mean traveller strikes back #3 - Let's play a game
Do you like games? I loooove games! I love acting too and that comes handy when dealing with some really persistent salesmen. Imagine how those local hustler think and feel and what they worry the most. It's not cheating a naive foreigner. Because that's exactly what you are if you fall for their tricks - they just laugh at you. You are a rich tourist anyway, right? But what if you were a bit closer to the locals, what then? Do they fear their peers and community? You bet! I often make up a story about a relative or friend who lives in my destination and use it against hustlers. People outside of Europe or America depend on their communities and shame is their biggest fear (just think about honor killing).

Mean traveller strikes back #4 - Ignorants have easier life
Don't be too polite or generous. Don't get me wrong - I love making friends when travelling, but I know my limits and I hate it when someone plays on my feelings. There were lot of female salespeople on my travel in India who were so good at that - they told me how many kids they had and that I shouldn't break their little hearts. That's exactly what they said - "Don't break my little heart." I told them how mad I was and just left. The best thing to do is to ignore those people. Just act like you can't hear nor see anyone. Ignore their innocent questions where are you from or what's your name.

Mean traveller strikes back #5 - What does dieting have to do with travelling
Have you ever been on diet? I have (and they didn't work :-), but that's not the point. The point is, when you want to be strict with your diet, you make a shopping list, follow it and therefore don't put chocolate or chips into cart. The same applies to shopping on vacation. Make a list of friends whom you want to get souvenir for or exact stuff you want to buy or even write down budget - exact sum you are willing to spend. Don't be shy to show it to touts. It's a perfect excuse why you can't buy another statue/t-shirt/picture. Another trick that works- threatening you will go to tout's competitor to shop if he is not nice to you.

Mean traveller strikes back #6 - Fake it till you make it
Don't ever admit you are in your destination for the very first time. This makes you a target for all kinds of scams. Always say you were here many times, you have friends here (repeat this especially when solo travelling) and know your way around. I know it's a lie, but if it can save your wallet/time/life, it's worth it. Try to blend in, wear local clothes or at least something modest, learn some words in local language, read as much information in advance as possible. When taking a taxi, always write down a landmark with address so when taxi driver asks you, you can add - it's right next to temple xyz. The more familiar you are, the harder is for hustlers to trick you.

Was this post helpful? Do you have any other tips? Please share this article on Facebook or Twitter and don't forget to leave a comment below! :-)

Visiting Loch Ness Monster in Inverness, Scotland

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 15:57:49 GMT

Loch Ness and it's famous Nessie is one of those mystery places you have been hearing about since childhood and it definitely can't be skipped when visiting Scotland. Since you won't be able to see any real monster (ok, except of some weird monster-looking tourists), you should think about your schedule and what you want to do in advance. I recommend adventurous horse riding (Scottish horses are really crazy and almost got me killed) around Urquhart Castle, getting drunk - eh, I mean tasting local whisky and having lots of funny conversation with the locals (when you won't be able to understand their accent - especially when you are drunk from that delicious whisky :-)

How to get there: When travelling around UK, I recommend taking bus which is cheaper than trains - National Express buses or Mega Bus.
Where to stay: I have stayed at lovely Bazpackers Hostel in Inverness in the city center.
Where to eat:

Go for cute and authentic Dores Inn with local cuisine (salmon is a must!!!;-)
Mustard Seed Restaurant with local delicious food and a nice view of the river
For dinner try Hootananny Inverness with live music
Another great choice is Castle Tavern, especially for evening

Inverness City, Scotland

Inverness or Inbhir Nis in Scottish Gaelic (I'm proud of myself for understanding locals;-) is the most northerly city in the British Isles, one of the fastest growing cities in Europe (who knew?) and gateway to Scottish Highlands. It's name means Mouth of the River Ness. Population of around 60 000 Scotts makes it a nice and quiet place, much better for hanging out with the locals than Edinburgh. It's so tiny you can just walk around without ever taking bus or taxi (which I prefer to do in every city).

Don't miss the Castle, Inverness Museum & Gallery, St. Andrew's Cathedral, do some shopping in new award-winning Eastgate mall! I would recommend to spend 2-3 days here unless you want to attend festival or play golf.

Urquhart Castle, Drumnadrochit by Loch Ness lake

This ruin by Loch Ness lake had a key role in battle for Scottish independence. Built in AD 580 and destroyed and burnt many time ever since, it now remains one of the most visited castles in Scotland. I must say that although there isn't much inside, the site has a special atmosphere and a wonderful view.
Take a taxi, get their by Loch Ness cruise or walk from Drumnadrochit (which is what I did and enjoyed the walk in nature for about 30 minutes). Admission fee for adult is currently 7.40 pounds.

The Loch Ness Centre

I would say - don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. Since the Loch Ness monster was never found, the exhibition is mainly videos and photographs from history. However, it's one of the few things to do at Loch Ness except horse riding, golf or taking a cruise, so don't miss it.

"The Loch Ness Monster is the world-famous creature said to inhabit Loch Ness in northern Scotland. The search for the monster has probably consumed more money, time, and newspaper space than attempts to prove the existence or otherwise of UFOs."

PETER D. JEANS, Seafaring Lore and Legend

I don't know why, but there is always something that goes wrong when I go horse riding abroad. I rode pregnant horse in Egypt around beach with no helmet on, only in my bikini. In Scotland, I rode horse along Loch Ness lake. There is a farm with horses - Borlum by Drumnadrochit, which does tours. Anyway, what I didn't know was that the poor horses

What to do in Edinburgh - Guide to 3 amazing days Scottish Style

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 16:56:15 GMT

Edinburgh - the capital of Scotland is a must see on your trip in United Kingdom. The perfect itinerary in Edinburgh offers mostly history and culture. I love this city for it's royal feel, friendly people and ocean breeze.
Scotland differs from the rest of UK mostly by it's hilly surface. This is the place were golf was invented, where Dolly the sheep was cloned and where penicillin was discovered.

Edinburgh or Dún Eideann in Scottish Gaelic is also called The Athens of the North. It is located at the southeast part of Scotland and as the Scottish capital it's a seat of the Scottish parliament and the Royal Academy. Althought it's the Scotland's largest city, it's population is only half a million. It hosts the famous annual Festival in august.
The city lays on 7 hills and in 2004 it became the first member or UNESCO Creative Cities.
If you wonder whether or not do Scottish men wear anything under their kilts I found out for you - the youth do wear underwear and the older are - well- traditional ;-) (Indians in Kerala don't wear anything under their skirts!)

"I do get recognized, but I must say Edinburgh is a fantastic city to live if you're well-known. There is an innate respect for privacy in Edinburgh people, and I also think they're used to seeing me walking around, so I don't think I'm a very big deal."
J. K. Rowling

How to get there: When travelling around UK, I recommend taking bus which is cheaper than trains - National Express buses or Mega Bus. Another great option is flying Ryanair or Wizz air - both very cheap but not so comfy options. I managed to fly from Dublin to Edinburgh for $20 via Ryanair!
Where to stay: I have stayed at the Budget Backpacker's Hostel and was very satisfied - it's cheap, with great location and cool people.
Where to eat:

Grab a coffee/tea at The Elephant House where JK Rowling wrote the famous Harry Potter!
On you way to Royal Yacht Britannica in Leith get lunch at tasty The Water of Leith Cafe Bistro with French and British cousine.
Indaba is not in the city center, but still worth dining at for it's African and Spanish cuisine.
Another great choice in Leith is the Port of Siam with Thai cuisine and seafood.

TIP: Get yourself the Edinburgh or Scotland pass to safe tens of pounds on various attractions. Go shopping for cashmere sweaters!

The Edinburgh Castle & Princess Street Gardens

Edinburgh castle is one of the nicest I have ever visited. It has been in use for over 1000years and remains in great condition. It's also pretty huge so it might take you 2-3 hours to walk around. There are 3 military museums, Scotland's crown jewels, dogs' cemetary and much more. Admission is about 15 pounds.

Rosslyn Chapel in Roslin near Edinburgh, Scotland

This trip is really worth it. You might remember Rosslyn chapel from Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code book or the adapted movie. This site has become one of the most visited in UK ever since. The chapel itself is beautiful - every detail on the building is precisely decorated. It taked about 40 minutes by bus from Edinburgh city center (from Princess St.) and it will take you 1-2 hours around the chapel. Admission is around 9 pounds and it's a bit disappointing that photographs are prohibited :( - which didn't stop me from secretly taking a picture of the famous apprentice's pillar :P

Calton Hill, Edinburgh - Scottish monuments

The National monument:

Calton Hill is a bit of walk but definitelly recommended. If not for the historical sites - The National Monument, Nelson's monument, Dugald Steward monument or the City observatory - then for the stunning view on Edinburgh's Princess Street and the castle.
Calton Hill belongs to UNESCO World Heritage site. It will take you 2-3 hours including the walk up the hill (just climbing on the National monument took me 15minutes lol)

Nelson' monument at Calton Hill in Edinburgh:

The Dugald Steward monument:

Resting at National monument:

The Old Town of Edinburgh

Church turned into Cafe place:

Princess Street:

Scottish National Gallery:

Entry to the gallery is free, will take you up to 2 hours to walk around and see all the pretty prieces of art displayed here.

Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for supposedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died himself on 14 January 1872. I was looking for the statue around cemetary when it was getting dark and I almost shitted myself. Edinburgh's cemetary at night is pretty scary. Then I got out and realized the statue in in front of the cemetary, not inside ;-)

St. Giles Cathedral on Royal Mile:

The Scott monument:

Walking the Royal Mile:

More attractions worth visiting:

The Royal Yacht Brittanica in Leith - tour the royal appartments!
Royal Botanic Garden - some impressive gardens and chance to have a picnic
The Scotch Whisky Heritage Center at Royal Mile - I'm not myself a drinker but it's worth visiting

Have you ever visited Scotland? What's your favourite place?

Bad things do happen to Female Travelers

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 19:41:02 GMT

There was big buzz in media recently following the murder of American female solo traveler in Istanbul, Turkey. While some media and people had stupid comments about traveling solo and "asking for it", some even suggested her choice of destination - muslim country - was to blame. Jodi of Legal Nomads wrote a geat post about this issue.
I don't want to pretend traveling is always safe. Things do happen. Women are targeted everywhere around the world. You can minimize damage by preventing it, following some rules of safe travel and common sense.
I wasn't always so lucky and things happened to me. But this didn't stop me from fulfilling my dreams and seeing the world, which has both sides - bad and good. So I want to share stories of my bad experiences when traveling and how could I have avoided some of them.

Beaten in Glasgow, Scotland
Me and my girlfriend were backpacking around UK and Ireland. We spent one day in Glasgow, which I didn't like from the very moment I stepped my foot it in. We were supposed to leave to airport to get to London on monday morning. It was around 4AM when we left hostel, jumped on bus to get us to city center.
Once we got off, I had a really bad feeling. There were many drunk people on streets and no cops at all! It was monday morning so I really didn't expect any wild parties. We were dressed as tourists, very simple- no makeup, sweatpants, backpacks, yet we drew lot of attention especially from men. We just had 5 blocks to walk to the bus station from where out airport shuttle left. As we walked up the street, we saw a group of 5 drunk guys standing by food stand throwing kebab at each other. We walked around, avoiding and ignoring them. All of a sudden they ran after us - that is, after me for some reason - and hitted me with food containers. I was yelling at them, shouting for help, kicking them, but nothing worked. There were too many of them. Some stepped back but still threw food at me. What probably took just 5 minutes felt like an hour.
Luckily they left me alone and I just stood there with mayo and ketchup in my hair and few bruises. The worst part? There were people around who were not drunk and didn't do a thing. They didn't even have the balls to shout they would call police.
Lesson #1: If I have listened to my inner voice telling me something is not right when we got off the bus and saw all the drunk people and if we have taken taxi instead of walking or just calling police right away (we should have claimed those people were disturbing the peace), nothing could have happened. Always listen to your intuition!

Harassed in New York City
New Yorkers are tough. I should have known that before I went to live there. I was harassed on almost every step - men stopping me on street with stupid comments, calling me names, even offering to pay me (!!!!!!!). I was kicked out of job for complaining about sexual harassment. Their problem? I had Slovak - that was for them Russian - accent and they all had very bad opinions about women from East Europe. Once I gained American accent, everyone thought I was latina. I had dark hair, big ass, got tanned and my name - Martina - is spanish. I avoided real fights few times, but still - I didn't feel safe in the city.
Lesson #2: Blend in as much as possible. Harassment is not so easy to avoid, however, once I blended in more, there was less of it.

Harassed in Egypt
I was in Egypt 4 times, once even took a roadway to Cairo and Alexandria with friends and hired driver and I felt like at home in this amazing country. The only time I was harassed was the very first time and it was my fault - I was topless on beach. The other times I dressed more and since I have bigger nose and dark eyes and hair, lot of men thought I was Egyptian and very more respectful.
Lesson #3: Don't provoke and dress according to local rules.

Harassed in India
I was harassed in India by women! It was in Goa and they were selling stuff like clothes and accessories. Whenever I went around, they would grab my hand and try to drag me to their shops. They were very skilled in manipulation and played on my feelings all the time: "Miss, don't break my little heart, I have 5 children..." or "Promise you will come back and buy, promise!" etc.
Lesson #4: Ignorance is sometimes the best weapon. I should have just ignored those women and they would have left me alone.

Robbed in Norway
I remember to this day what our tour guide told us when we were in Scandinavia. He said there were no thieves there and those were very safe countries. I really enjoyed the nature and took lot of pictures. When we stopped in Olympic village - Lillehammer, in Norway I went to photo studio to had pictures from my memory card moved to CD. It was years ago when memory card had small size and I didn't have laptop with me. Guy from shop told me to come back in half an hour and when I did, there some confusion that made me demand to see contents of the CD. He inserted into his computer and it was empty. I was so angry at him that I insisted on doing it myself. I moved files from the card and only later once I got back home realized I did it all wrong and files were broken. I lost about one thousand photos from the trip - Baltic countries, Scandinavia and Germany.
Lesson #5: Always check what are you paying for!

Harassed in Bratislava, Slovakia
I can't miss my hometown - Bratislava where I was harassed in many clubs and pubs although I was always with 2-3 men (who didn't do a good job protecting my btw). One incident even ended up as official claim at police station. That was 4 years ago and there wasn't any hearing or trial yet. Slovak justice system is very slow unfortunately.
Lesson #6: Don't go to dodgy places like weird bars and clubs, no matter how cool you think they are.

Have you ever experienced anything bad when travelling? Share it with me in comments! :-)

The Ugly Truth about Hotel/Restaurant/Attraction Reviews

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:31:56 GMT

Do you check a hotel review before going on vacation? Do you trust it? Do you get all excited when you read what a great view will you have from your room? There are several reasons why you shouldn't believe reviews just like that and learn to read between the lines so you don't get fooled!

I don't travel via travel agency or travel agent and instead design my trip as I wish and so I check for the best hotels in my dream destination. I'm not a millionaire (yet! :-) so I try to look for affordable yet comfy place to stay.

The problem is, in the Age of the Internet, there is too much data and too little time to process it and evaluate it. I even ended up in Mumbai's Love Hotel once!

Unfortunately, you can't trust everything you read online. Anyone can buy rating from people on websites like fiverr.com or freelancer.com and owner might set up fake accounts to rate his own place very good and rate his competition worse (I have friends who tried to buy Facebook likes there, so apparently everything is possible).

Here are some of my tips to avoid disappointment:

#1 So many People, so many Minds
The first thing to bear in mind is your standard vs. standard of people from other countries. I don't like stereotypes. I really don't. However, person from Germany or US will have different level of standard for cleanliness or atmosphere than Asian or East European (I'm East European myself so I know what I'm talking about). The same applies to person from city vs. person from rural areas.
What to do about it: Read reviews from people you can identify with (based on age, country etc.)

#2 Read the best and the worst reviews first
You want to know what exactly was so amazing or, what was so bad about the hotel/restaurant. If someone loves the place, he/she will more likely state the reason why and the same applies to haters (who are usually the most loud). The more specific, the better. "The best hotel ever" or "Horrible services" are too vague and probably fake. Also, look at more websites with rating of the hotel and don't be afraid to message people who wrote reviews and ask them for details. Maybe they wrote hateful reviews in rage the very first day in hotel, but now they can write you more details with cool head.

#3 Mighty Google knows everything
In case you are not sure about the safety of location or how far the hotel really is from the beach, why don't you look it up at Google Maps, or even better - at Google Streetview? Check out the area - is it close to big road or shopping center? Is it too far from any buildings? Are there slums too close? Compare your findings with reviews and hotel description. The more accurate the better.

Have you ever been disappointed in hotel or restaurant despite it's great rating online? Do you have any rules when looking for accommodation?

How I ended up in Love Hotel in Mumbai or DOs and DON'Ts in India

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 08:45:02 GMT

That's right. My very first day in India was the hardest one and - when looking back now - the funniest as well. First time in India might be very tough and if you don't know certain tips you get lost and desperate just like I did.

"There is no way I'm staying in this room!", I shouted at the guy.
"Why, madam?"
"THERE IS A FUCKING MILDEW BY BED!", I was screaming at this point, lack of sleep and hunger affecting my usually polite behaviour.
"Madam, it's ok, this is hour hotel. You can stay for few hours and pay and then go back to the other hotel.", he offered.
Hotel Venus? Charged per hour? No windows? Shit!

It all began in Istanbul. We almost missed our plane because of me relying on technology once again (I thought iPhone would somehow recognize and let me know that Istanbul is in different timezone than Bratislava ;-). By "we" I mean me and my mom whom I took along to India.
We landed in humid Mumbai at around 5AM on Sunday. As the fee was too high, I exchanged only 20USD to Indian rupees and thought I would exchange the rest later in a bank. That was mistake #1. Then we got on prepaid taxi that drove us all the way down to Colaba. India is less smelly during monsoon season as the rain washes the streets and I was truly enjoying our ride as roads were empty this early and view was stunning. That is - stunning until the sun arose. Until then I could only see skyscrapers with lights on and I didnt see the other India - the one without electricity. Once the sun was shining, I saw slums, dirt and cows everywhere. The scene quickly changed and Marine Drive with beach, palm trees and early runners filled my view. I almost felt like at Miami's Ocean Drive! Except the pollution...
The car stopped near our hotel - Hotel Everest. I wrote them email two weeks back asking about early morning check-in and they assured me it wouldn't be a problem. That was mistake #2. I woke up the young receptionist and couldn't believe what I was hearing. The hotel was completely full and we had to wait until noon to get a room. We were thirsty, hungry, tired and there was no place to go. All restaurants and bars were closed on Sunday morning and we didn't even have enough rupees. He could sense my desperation and offered alternative. He said there was another partner hotel - the same price and standard. We had nothing to lose so I agreed. Another man showed up and took us to taxi.
We drove for few minutes, the taxi stopped on main road and this guy pointed at dark stairs leading to first floor of very ugly building. I demanded a proof that it was really a hotel and he showed a sign "Venus Hotel.". Very strange name for a hotel indeed. I had a knife in my back pocket and I was bigger than most of Indian men who look like children so I walked up, left my mom with 4 men at reception with all our bags and went to check out rooms.
I entered a very small - probably 9m2- room without any windows, with mildew on a wall and tiny bathroom with squat toilet.
"There is no way I'm staying in this room!", I shouted at the guy.
"Why, madam?"
"THERE IS A FUCKING MILDEW BY BED!", I was screaming at this point, lack of sleep and hunger affecting my usually polite behaviour.
"Madam, it's ok, this is hour hotel. You can stay for few hours and pay and then go back to the other hotel.", he offered.
Hotel Venus? Charged per hour? No windows? Shit!
I ran to the reception, grabbed my mom and bags and escaped to street. The guy from previous hotel was clearly disappointed and even asked to pay the taxi ride we took. I gave him 100 rupees only to discover hours later that it was worth only 30 rupees. That was mistake #3.
So now it was around 7AM on Sunday morning in Mumbai, we were still hungry, thirsty and tired. Once we calmed down a bit, we noticed all the homeless people on the street around us. As soon as we noticed them, they noticed us and circled around begging for money. They didn't speak English and so I couldn't explain we were basically in the same situation - without ruppes, without accommodation and without food, restaurants still closed. That was the real adventure I came for to India, wasn't it?
I noticed a bank at a corner and rushed there. If something happens to us, at least it will be recorded on cameras and they will catch the bastards!, I was thinking. We stood there, my mom was shooing beggars while I was trying to find some other hotel in my travel guide. I found few and tried to call them, but the numbers didn't work. I had a better look and realized they were too short. Fucking Lonely Planet listed hotel numbers without Mumbai city dial code! I knew the international code to India, but not the one for city of Mumbai. That was mistake #4. There were no phone booths around - I later realized they were in shops which were closed in the morning of course. Thank god there was a security guard in the bank who could speak English (not so common in India!) and knew the code and so I dialed a hotel nearby which had available rooms and few minutes later we slept like babies.
We woke up hours later starving and still with very few rupees. Taxi drove us to nearest shopping mall where we hopelessly searched for a bank. Couldn't find any. So we went to ATM and realized it's impossible to withdraw big amount of money. One is limited to 10 000 rupees (around 190USD) and we were actually lucky to withdraw 5 000 (ATM didn't have more money). At least we had enough for a decent lunch. Mumbai is the financial capital of India, but banks are closed on Sunday (I'm used to banks open on weekend in Slovakia) and when we finally did find one next day, they refused to exchange money after 2PM!!!! Another bank refused to exchange money unless I had account with them. We had to exchange dollars in Thomas Cook office.
After lunch we went back to Colaba to walk around shops (especially looking for toilet paper!), had very tasty deserts in Theobroma Patisserie and then visited Colaba Market, where we experienced typical daily life of Indians and the way they treat food. Eggs were laying on sun just like that without any cooling. After seeing this we didn't touch any eggs or dairy products for the whole trip and the only sick travellers we met were those who had omeletts for breakfast. We wanted to stick to european food for the first day just in case and so we visited delicious Italian restaurant Basilico.
That was the first days in Mumbai, then we headed to Pune, especially to Osho ashram.
(Despite the bad first impression I fell in love with India, especially with Kerala and Goa!)

Our hotel in Mumbai - Bentley's which was much better than the love hotel! It was clean, big and in quiet location.

Not so bad, is it?

DO's and DON'Ts in India

DO:

bring your own toilet paper (it's hard to find and it's more expensive than bottled water because Indians use squat toilets and water pipe for cleaning after)
have written numbers for several hotels just in case (numbers with international and city dial code)
exchange enough money as soon as you land in India even if it costs you more at fees
take prepaid taxi from airports, bus and train stations (prepaid taxi is safer)
trust your insticts - if something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't
ask Indians open questions (Instead of "Is temple this way?" which will be answered with a nod as they want to be polite, ask "Which way is the temple?" and ask at least 3 people :-)
make sure you talk in one currency when shopping (don't negotiate in USD and then be charged in EUR when paying with card, it sounds obvious but it's one of the tricks to steal your money)
negotiate no matter what (I know 100 ruppes sounds like nothing to Europeans or Americans but once you let the seller believe you don't care, he or she will squeeze more money from you)
visit local tourist offices - they give you lot of useful information not found in guides, they provide you with free maps and flyers
have open mind!

DON'T:

easily trust hotel staff (or any other service staff for that matter - they will promise anything to get you as a customer)
enter weird buildings if you are not sure whether there is a hotel
eat dairy and eggs
have bare legs or shoulders (unless you are by beach in Goa, Kerala or Andaman Islands)
let your underwear be washed in hotel (it's handwashed in dirty water - I got rash all over my hands and legs becuase I had pants and t-shirts washed, but thankfully I washed underwear myself)
let sellers play on your feelings ("Miss, I have 4 children, don't break my little heart and buy these...")
let yourself get distracted when paying (we paid for prepaid taxi with 1000 ruppe bill, the girl exchanged it for 100 and we didn't notice since she was distracting us with lot of questions and she let us believe we gave her 100 instead of 1000 rupees)
never check-in in any hotel if you don't have a look at the room in advance. Demand to see the bathroom as well and check pillows and matress under the sheets! Once we were in nice hotel, but only after check-in we realized there was mildew on pillows!

Did you or would you visit India? Do you have similar experience? Let me know in comments and don't forget to sign up to newsletter :-)