Travels Around the World

my travels around the world

 

When I was making my traveling rounds I came across a folder of old newspapers and other periodicals. Among the items that I gleefully thumbed through in this folder were: The flask of gin, camp fire fingerprint, Claridge’s Mother, Socks and other articles about Mary Ann doll, fashion designer to top, tombstone, flowers and other objects of periodical interest.

This Northern California Museum of the Californias was established in 1884 and is up in Somona. It was incorporated in 1911. It is located in the heart of Somona’s Cow Hollow neighborhood making it one of the few 1914-era buildings in the city.

I like the new Charter House Hotel. It is just across the street from the University and is about a mile down on Lexington Avenue. I have been there three times and stayed in a armature that is locally owned and maintained.

My mother used to own a grocery store and we often took family trips to it. The key is, you have to be willing to rent a car. Driving is not typically an easy thing to do at home, it is usually cramped and you don’t want to be with five children under the age of five.

There are a lot of things to do around the University, such as Surfing, Spring Break and of course, weddings. When my family and I were growing up, it was no problem to get around. My folks rented a car and stayed in a nearby hotel.

But, things are a lot different today. You need a car and can’t always drive to every shop and restaurant. What is a real challenge is getting to all the sites and events.

We always did the trip to Charleston and Savannah once a year. Driving these days is an adventure and can be a real challenge.

We went to Charleston once and stayed in an apartment in Boston’s North side. We walked from point A to point B. And once we arrived, there were no rest stops in the city. One at a time, you had to walk 200 yards to get to a rest stop.

What a luxury to be able to walk the neighborhoods at your leisure. And take in the sites along the way.

The other day, we traveled to Portland for a day. We left New York at 7am and arrived in Portland at 9. The weather was much cooler than New York City and as a plus, we had the added benefit of the Glacier View Pedestrian Bridge to see the coast and parts of Idaho Falls.

With a heavy heart, we left Portland as well. It was much cooler than New York City and the ingrained heat took its toll. We went to a library car of the Pacific Institute of Natural Resources and also grabbed a cup of tea from the local Buddhist temple.

In New York City, we went to China Town along Broadway and then dined at a Jewish deli. We were walking, talking and eating in Chinatown. We saw aides and trolleys whiz by on the sidewalk with Chinese notes in their spangles.

We had a wonderful dinner at a Yiddish owned restaurant. After dinner, we went to Stumptown Café and sip makers ice cream right on the sidewalk.

We got a little tired and Medical Jane took us two more trolleys to the park across the street from Children’s Hospital.]

From the corner of Broadway and the Embarcadero, we had the luxury of riding on the new, gourmet Pedestrian Bridge. It was so wide and the fixtures and amenities were so clean, it was like traveling on a cruise ship. Couture-clad business executives strolled side by side with burly police officers in their dark suits and Black Chicago Bears football players. Downtown offices glow with neon light like an elementary school on after school. It’s just one of the many advantages of living in the cultural ‘sha Ka Wa’ of Asia.

Yangon, the former hill station of Burma’s former Prime Minister U Nu, is now a combination of a sea port and a glorious beach resort and similar to sell my house Jacksonville FL where I came from. We went to the beach in the morning and leaped into the water without a care in the world. We swam and snorkeled in the clear waters. We watched families establish their own noodles at the end of a shrine. And we watched troops of Thai fishermen bring back seafood and sardines from the waters to barbecue in the evening. We paid no attention to the nightly affair. We are used to better behavior.

We walked more than 20 kilometers eastwards out of the city. Suddenly, my feet felt vice-like. I felt as if I wanted to gasp for air. I gulped and splurged a bit.

Why you Should Hire a Travel Agent if you are Planning a Vacation to NYC

travel to NYC

Overview

New York City offers a plethora of tourist attractions. These include museums, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, and historic neighborhoods. New sites are coming up, the One World Observatory for instance. The numerous New York attractions will make an ideal vacation for you. If you have decided to take your vacation in New York City, think about hiring a travel agent.

Why you should hire a travel agent if you are planning a vacation in NYC

There are various reasons why you should hire a travel agent for your vacation in NYC. To start with, the travel agent will inform you of the options available in the NYC tourist market. Whereas you may rely on the internet, it may not give you all the information that you may need. Again, the internet is a vast ocean, with the truth, half-truths, and outright lies. In such a complex source of information, it is difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Chrysler Building in Manhattan

NYC offers a lot of travel opportunities. However, this does not mean that all of them are suitable. Your travel agent will help you decide on the destination. If you have an interest in the buildings of New York you would want to visit the Chrysler building or The Empire State Building, both were built using construction project management, which is a fun little history lesson but showing you if you don’t have a interest in that the history of construction in the Big Apple, a travel agent needs to know.  Again, you may discover some tourist destinations which are not well known to many people. The following are some of the factors which influence the choice of a travel destination:

-The motivation behind the trip

-The need for discovery (eg to have a feel of the local people)

-The need for relaxation

-An opportunity to bond with family and friends

-To achieve personal awareness, growth, and development

-The thrill of getting lost and finding the way back

-The thrill of being able to survive with limited resources

-The desire to experience nature

-The desire to explore art and aesthetics

-Learning history

The travel agent understands the Plog’s Model of Tourists Behavior and will help you to make decisions and see where you fit. The allocentric personality is the wonderer. This type of personality is a confident and outgoing tourist. If you are in this category, then you want to meet new people and experience a new culture. You do not shy away from interacting and immersing yourself into a certain cultural group. Such a tourist is going to shy away from modern hotels, but instead, he is going to prefer local hotels. For this type of tourist, the travel agent will recommend a travel package which is not structured.

The psycho-centric (or the repeater), does not like adventure. They have a preference for familiar destinations; perhaps somewhere they have been before and would like to give another try. They already know the type of food they want, the possible hotels, and the expected lifestyle. For this type of tourist, the travel agent will recommend a structured tourist destination.

Closely connected to this is the need to align your travel expedition with your budget. You will realize that some sites are overly expensive, others are cheaper, and others are free. The travel agent will not tell you to take the free one if you want the expensive one. But all what he will ensure is that you can afford any option that you take. Unfortunately, some American businesses do not have a transparent pricing policy, and they carry hidden fees. Ask this question right before the vacation.

A travel agent to NYC will help you in the organization of the trip. He or she will guide you on the best day to visit a certain place. For instance, your travel agent can help you in monitoring the political activities in the targeted tourist sites. It is never a good idea if your day of a visit coincides with a high profile political event. Similarly, the travel agent may help you monitor the weather patterns and inform you of the need to change your plans.

NYC

You should remember that New York City is a very busy city. New York City goes hand in hand with cities like Tokyo which do not sleep. Whereas this is good for business, it may not be a plus point for a vacation. Your travel agent will help you maneuver such challenges. For example, if you prefer serenity, he could suggest that you try areas with less traffic, and the city, much as it is a busy place, does not have a shortage of them.

Working with a travel agent is going to save you time. With the modern social and professional commitments, you might not have the time to peruse through the travel opportunities. Just leave that to the travel agent, and he is going to save you precious time. Some travellers state that they take months to plan a trip, but with a travel agent, it takes a very short time. Typically, the traveller will pay the travel agent in a lump sum, and the travel agent will pay the individual service providers. In such a situation, the tourist can focus on the trip and leave the other details to be handled by the travel agent. Therefore, using a travel agent for your trip in NYC is convenient.

By choosing a travel agent, you are choosing an experienced person who is well versed in the dynamics shaping the industry. They are well trained in the field, and have accumulated years of experience. With that, the assumption is that such a training and experience will translate to better services.

Some travelers may have different needs and preferences. One critical issue concerns health. For example, people with a chronic disease could get sick when on a vacation in a remote area. If you inform your travel agent on such needs, he is going to offer you customized services, and ensure that medical intervention is provided at the time of need. For example, he may inform you of the nearest medical facility and the phone number of an ambulance facility.

Similarly, some travels could need to work when on vacation. This usually involves taking critical assignments which cannot wait till the end of the vacation. Again, people who are self-employed may not have the privilege of resting during their entire vacation. In such a case then, the travel agent is going to facilitate some hours of work. This is through availing certain facilities such as a temporary working space. You do not have to abandon your vacation just because there is a professional commitment. In the right circumstances, the two can go together.

travel agent for the Big Apple

The travel agent can help you when things are not right. For example, the prices can increase prior to reaching your destination. Travel agents are informed enough to make such a prediction and advice you on the best thing to do. Similarly, the issue of insurance is a very important component of your vacation. Bear in mind that you might need a refund due to one reason or the other. It is only a professional travel agent which can give you the refund, or at least, a percentage of it.

New York City enjoys the protection of vigilant police. However, you need to take individual effort to be cautious, and ask your travel agent on security tips. For instance, visiting Bronx or Harlem may not be a good idea unless you sort out the issue of security first. Similarly, in any place, avoid walking late in the night, but instead, use a taxi. Ordering a taxi using an app tends to be safer than using other types of taxi. Be careful of being pick-pocketed as this is a very common thing in NYC public places.

Cost of a Travel Agent

A lot of travelers think that hiring a travel agent is an expensive undertaking which is not necessary. The fact is that a travel agent will help you save the cost of the trip. This is because they have an insider connection and have access to professional discounts and loyalty points. They will be in a position to negotiate more economical packages for you. In addition to that, the travel agent will add value to your trip.

If the travel agent is directly booking a ticket, he may get a commission of $ 25 to $ 75 on the ticket. Others may ask for a deposit in order to prevent the clients contacting multiple agencies. In some cases, you do not have to pay anything to the travel agent. Some of them earn a commission that is paid by the partner vendors.

Where to get a Travel Agent

The best starting point for seeking a travel agent is to start with seeking a referral from a friend or a relative. The good thing with this option is that such travel agents have a firsthand experience with the professional in question.

You can do an internet search of a travel agent. When you visit the chosen site, be sure to check the reviews at the bottom of the page. They will surely inform you of the past interaction of the agency with other clients. Moreover, some clients give the travel agent a rating which you can use in order to make an informed decision.

Whereas you can be living anywhere in the US, planning a trip to New York City will warrant that you choose a travel agent who is familiar with the city. This will be the only way of ensuring that you have a smooth experience. Such a travel agent is going to inject a local flavor in your vacation. For example, whereas NYC is considered a modern city, you will be surprised at the cultural opportunities that the city offers.

Factors to consider when choosing a travel agent

Perhaps, the most important thing you should evaluate, when seeking a travel agent, is customer support. The travel agent in question should not only be responsive in communication, but also timely. Remember, you are going to keep in touch with the professional throughout your vacation, and you cannot make the wrong decision in this.

You should consider the cost of the travel agent. In most cases, a travel agent is going to be affordable. However, a few are not, and you should be sure that you can fit their cost without compromising the quality of your trip. It is always good to check the combination of quality and affordability. Generally, and contrary to what many people think, the travel agents are affordable and worth it.

Be sure to evaluate the experience of the travel agent. The more experienced he is, the better it will be for your vacation. It is good to look for someone who is well conversant with the little details that matter in the travelling market. In addition to that, the travel agent must be well conversant with the local environment of the destination. Experience easily translates to outcomes. Another important thing with experience is that your travel agent is going to understand the best way of handling a crisis.

When doing business in the US, one rule is to check if a business is certified and licensed, and the travel field is no exception. Businesses which are certified and licensed tend to meet the minimum professional standards. In addition n to that, as a consumer of their products and services, you are protected.

You should not settle on one travel agency alone. Instead, make a number of calls, perhaps three, and make a comprehensive comparison. Their responses will help you make an informed decision. Be sure to check red flags. For instance, if you ask the travel agent a question, and he is dismissive, then it is time to move to the next one. This is because he might behave the same way when you are on vacation.

Conclusion

As you can see, a travel agent is a critical component of your travel experience. You need to think about one because of the various benefits that you are going to get. What is important is the need to have an optimal and memorable travel experience. Overall, a travel agency will play a critical role in your vacation.