Travel stories should be simple, crisp and to the point with clarity of thought. Witty and vividly written accounts with an authors personal experiences, anecdotes and quotations can be especially interesting. One can experience travel through words only. Practical and accurate information in grammatically correct language makes reading a pleasure. Some tips on writing accounts of travel are given below.

Think like a Reader
Before starting an article, put your self in the readers boots. Ask what he/she wants. Who are the targeted readers of the particular publication, what are their travel aspirations, what information will be useful to them and how they enjoy the written articles. Once you are clear about that, then commence the work.

Travel Writing: The Big Picture
Now you have to get across the main point to the reader. Identify the central theme of your article, whether it is the location, people or activity oriented place. Work your impressions and facts around this big picture. Now structure your article around, sieve non-essentials, include important aspects and build the story sensibly.

Travel Writing: Be Personal
To make the story interesting, convey your personal experiences and point of view. That place must have been visited or written about countless times before. Write of your own personal approach, personal adventure that thrilled you, some new aspect of the place that inspired you, some new useful discovery of the place. This makes for an interesting insight into the writing.

Travel Writing: Be Funny
Travel to unfamiliar locale is often rich in comedy and comical events. Incorporate these funny incidents, mishaps or any such feeling into the article. Dont be afraid to make your readers laugh. Have a light, lively tone in your article.

Travel Writing: Be surprising
Be an open-minded traveler yourself. Try unusual activities, meeting new people, tasting exotic cuisines and getting involved with native activities in a new place. This will give you a different perspective of the place. Surprise your reader with this out of the ordinary, personally experienced information.

Travel Writing: Quote
Let the people express their thoughts, ideas and feelings about the place, work or activity. Quote extensively in their words. Quote real life stories and experiences for that personal touch to your article.

Travel Writing: Be balanced
Have a balanced approach. Blend your personal observations, descriptions and commentary with practical and useful information to the readers to make it a good travel piece. Two-third colorful description to one-third facts is a reasonable guideline to start with.

Travel writing is not only lucrative but lot of fun too. Keep your eyes open for interesting story line. Research well; write a well-constructed, focused, well-crafted and unique article on travel.

Tags: ARTICLE, information, picture, PLACE, point, quote, reader, STORY, travel, WORK

Cheap International Flights and Travel

Posted by on July 14, 2010 in HOME with No Comments

If you’ve been shopping for cheap flights online, you no doubt have occasionally found yourself in the “Twilight Zone” of international travel costs. I speaking of course about the difference in valuations of the various currencies used throughout the world. Unlike a national purchase where everything is dollar based, the international market uses a basket of currency or the local currency of the country where traveling. This can lead to some very unpleasant surprises if not careful.

So how can someone see the world without going bankrupt while trying to get to see it all? The answer is careful shopping. Last minute deals are available for those with a less than strict time schedule. This method of travel has been known as “stand by” air travel for years. Using this method of cheap travel, you go to the airport, buy a ticket and sign in to wait if you can get on the plane. Full fare customers come first, then if any seats are left, they are offered to stand by folks at the heavily discounted rate.

Of course, not all of us have the time or inclination to for leisure flight times. The next best alternative to full fare, expensive international air travel tickets is the consolidator. Here, a wholesaler, or consolidator purchases a block of tickets for a specified flight, day or time. These blocks of seats have been discounted to the wholesaler because the purchase was made as part of an ongoing agreement or simply due to the “buy in bulk” discount.

Care must be taken as travel agencies will sometimes use the services of consolation companies to gain low cost tickets to sell. The travel agency will then typically add service charges to cover their overhead and profit. This can sometimes be significant but may be the only way to get at least a somewhat discounted rate for some of the more popular travel destinations

A quick search on the web can deliver all types of potentially cost saving offers for cheap international tickets. Care must be taken because although many will claim the lowest prices, the fact is that additional charges, fees and costs may not all be included in each offer. Be sure to measure apples to apples when pricing tickets from a variety of consolidators. Some have been known to lower the price of the fare then charge extra high service fees to make it for the seemingly lower fare. Make certain when to find out the final, total cost for your international airfare ticket before making the commitment!

Tags: Twilight Zone

Vegan Eating Choices

Posted by on July 13, 2010 in Food & Diet with No Comments

Depending on one’s level of commitment this can include not using certain medicines because they are tested for safety on animals. A Vegan will not buy or use animal products whether thats a steak, an egg, bread with milk in it or leather shoes. The overall goal of veganism is to reduce animal suffering to the greatest extent possible.

Why do people choose to become Vegan?

Animal Welfare – Despite the common belief that drinking milk or eating eggs does not kill animals, commercially raised dairy cows and egg-laying chickens, whether factory-farmed or ‘free range,’ are slaughtered when their production rates decline, not to mention the appalling conditions to which they are kept. There is an ongoing debate on the finer points of what constitutes an animal product; The Vegan Society and most vegans include insect products such as honey in their definition as well.

The environment – Animal agriculture takes a devastating toll on the earth. It is an inefficient way of producing food, since feed for farm animals requires land, water, fertilizer, and other resources that could otherwise have been used directly for producing human food.

Health – The consumption of animal fats and proteins has been linked to heart disease, colon and lung cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, kidney disease, hypertension, obesity, and a number of other debilitating conditions. Cows’ milk contains ideal amounts of fat and protein for young calves, but far too much for humans. According to Gill Langley, a Ph.D. in biology and author of Vegan Nutrition, “it is clear from the example of many thousands of vegans worldwide that a varied plant-based diet not only supports health and well-being but, additionally, can have positive health benefits” (Langley 1995). A vegan diet is protective against such major killers as heart disease and cancer.

Eating fewer animal products is a good choice for the environment and your conscious. Animal agriculture produces surprisingly large amounts of air and water pollution, and causes 80 percent of the world’s annual deforestation. It also requires large amounts of water, and livestock worldwide consumes half the world’s total grain harvest.
How Do I Know its Vegan?

When shopping, look out for the Vegan logo. It appears on thousands of animal free products that have been registered with The Vegan Society.
You will need to examine the packaging and labelling carefully of all non registered products to ensure that you avoid animal by-products such as gelatin and rennet which can be found in everyday items such as children’s sweets.

Tags: Gill Langley, Know Vegan, Vegan Nutrition