Travel Ideas

Tanzanian Community Self Help - Enjoy A Safari With Proceeds Are Going Into Child Education In Northern Tanzaniatanzanian Community Self Help - Enjoy a Safari With Proceeds Are Going Into Child Education In Northern Tanzania

by: Ian Williamson

Tanzanian community self help - enjoy a safari with proceeds are going into child education in Northern Tanzania
Albright, Stella and Twiibu are three of many young children taken off the streets in Aruhsa Northern Tanzania. These children are now placed with families and are being educated from tourism with is fire trade and giving to the communities.
Book a quality safari in Tanzania - climbing Kilimanjaro to the highest point in Africa and the highest freestanding mountain in the world. This is done using quality guides who are paid a faire wage for there work. A safari through the legendary Serengeti plains and onto the huge Lake Victoria, descend into the unique Ngorongoro crater which the highest concentration of game in Africa. The Spice Islands of Zanzibar, Mafia and Pemba arguably have some of the best beaches and unspoiled diving offered anywhere in the Indian Ocean. There are African mountains that are truly amazing places to explore ? the Usamabara Mountains where the African Violet was first discovered.
Simply by relaxing and enjoying Tanzania in East Africa you are helping these communities toward a brighter future. Bethel Community Initiatives is registered as a non- profit organization and all the funds raised through tourism goes toward building a better future - caring for young children who would otherwise be left to fend for themselves on the streets. Full details available through the website.
Whilst in Arusha we encourage visitors to take an hour or two to visit the Community Initiatives and to spend time with these special children. More details about this project are available on the Bethel Adventure website or by contacting them direct by email or postal mail.
Bethel Adventure is not a safari company that helps the community ? it is a professionally run charity that allows the community to welcome you to Tanzania. This community run ?boutique safari operation? specializes in showing clients the real Africa in style, comfort and in safety. All the profits stay in Tanzania and all the profits go into the community. The community project is now on the internet http://www.betheladventre.co.uk/community.htm
Therefore, we encourage you to come to Tanzania and enjoy yourself. Bethel Adventure is not the ones making a difference you are making the difference by visiting us.

About The Author

Ian Williamson
Do not hesitate to contact us for information about Safaris or community initiatives through our website. The website has details about Tanzania and the initiatives we are managing www.betheladventure.co.uk. Thanking you for your support

Orlando Vacation Fun Begins (or Ends) with Gatorland

by: Joe Farinaccio

What?s Gatorland? Well, I?m glad you asked.
Gatorland is a great ?in between? place to visit while you?re in Orlando for vacation.
Let me explain.
When visitors first arrive in Orlando they often have half a day or so of time on their hands before they start touring the major theme parks. Or, maybe they find themselves in the opposite situation. They?re at the tail-end of their trip and they want something to do after they?ve already hit the big attractions.
Gatorland is a perfect place to fill this void. There?s enough to see and do here to take up a good half day (more if you want). But what you?ll see is enough to have the kids talking all the way home.
This family owned Alligator-themed park has been open for business since 1949. Activities within its 110 acres include the chance to:

See big alligators
Take a Floridian wildlife train ride
Visit a bird aviary and sanctuary
Check out a ?breeding marsh?
Enjoy a petting zoo with your little ones
Do a nature walk
Visit a Gator gift shop
And best of all - - 4 great shows

According to the Gatorland website, this place started out as the dream of a man named Owen Godwin, Sr.
He built an alligator pit in the backyard of his home in the 1930?s and put a female alligator in it with her babies. He and the Mrs. would host visitors and sell homemade gator souvenirs while letting them see the gators.
Godwin apparently really enjoyed doing this. He planned for a bigger attraction that would show off more of Florida?s wildlife. In 1947, after the war, he bought 16 acres of property near Kissimmee. Since this was the dawn of 20th century American highway tourism, more and more families were visiting Florida.
With the help of a few investors his idea caught on. Now, thousands visit this park each year. As a matter of fact, Gatorland claims to be ?central Florida?s first major attraction?. It now features all kinds of reptiles and Florida wildlife.
The 4 main shows at Gatorland include:
The ?Gator Jumparoo Show? - featuring the alligators? ability to jump out of the water in search of food.
The ?Gator wrestlin? Show? - with a 6-8 foot gator being subdued, put to sleep, then re-awakened.
?Jungle Crocs? - detailing 4 types of crocodiles and their environment.
The ?Upclose Animal Encounters Show? ? filled with differing animals from around the world - - including some dangerous snakes.
Gatorland is open everyday, rain or shine, from 9am to 5pm. It’s on Hwy 441 near Kissimmee. Tickets range from $19.95 for adults (ages 13 and over) and kids (ages 3-12) are currently $9.95.
I featured Gatorland at http://www.orlando-vacation-guide.com/Gatorland.html If you visit my site make sure you see if you can get discount tickets through the vendor on my website.
And say ?hi? to the gators for us when you go.

About The Author

Joe Farinaccio is a freelance copywriter who also loves writing about vacationing in Orlando, Florida. His website www.Orlando-Vacation-Guide.com offers visitors lots of information on saving time, money, and finding interesting things to do while in Orlando to make the most of their vacation.
Joe@orlando-vacation-guide.com

Things You Need To Know Before You Book a Hotel Online

by: Chloe Lim

Does it seem as if every time you look around on the internet for a hotel room, you find more web sites that say you can get a hotel room for less?
Though it may sound enticing, online hotel booking has its own set of challenges. An online discount hotel booking web site should provide the following basic things:

Offer real time hotel room booking
Allow date amendments and cancellations online
Rates should clearly indicate what currency is being quoted, whether the rate is per person or per room, and what is and what is not included in the rate, and, if taxes are not included, how much they will be
The location information of the hotel should be listed on the hotel description page. This can help identify the distance from the hotel to certain landmarks or the airport
All the information regarding the hotel (such as facilities and rates) should be located on each hotel’s web page
Pictures of the hotel
Star quality rating, consumer ratings with consumer reviews
Does the online hotel booking site have a membership program (like http://www.ratestogo.com/membership) that offers reward points and privileges

Checklist before and after you book a hotel room online
If you follow this checklist, you’re less likely to have nasty surprises in store for you:

Have you seen the hotel on a map, and do you understand the exact location?
Do you know what the rate is, which currency it is quoted in, whether this rate is per person or per room, per night or per complete stay?
Do you understand the standard/quality of the hotel?
Does the rate include everything or are taxes, surcharges, gratuities, service fees, etc, extra? How much are such extra costs if they exist? Are there any other mandatory costs that you might have to pay?
Are there any extra inclusions such as breakfast, and, if so, is it a cooked or continental breakfast?
Do you understand what room type and bedding configuration you will be getting?
Is your reservation guaranteed? Will it be held for late arrival?
What is the change, cancellation and refund policy if you need to change or cancel your booking?
Did the credit card number you gave to the internet booking service merely guarantee your room, or did they charge a deposit (or even the full stay) at the time you made your booking to the credit card?
You may contact the hotel directly 24 hours after you?ve made your online booking, to confirm that the booking has appeared in their local computer system. You may also check with them to see if the booking is the same as you have made in terms of room type, room rate, dates, etc.
If you have any special needs or requirements or expectations, you should double check with the hotel directly that these special service requests have been received by them and are understood and will be provided.
Most importantly, if you prepaid any amounts to the internet website, confirm that you won’t be billed again by the hotel directly. Remember that most internet websites are completely independent of the hotels they service, and could be located anywhere in the world; once they get your money; there is no guarantee that they will pass it on to the hotel in time for your stay.

www.ratestogo.com (http://www.ratestogo.com) is a website that has answers to all these questions. Visit http://www.ratestogo.com/Hotels-Last-Minute/EN for last minute deals for over 5,500 global properties through a real time booking engine.

About The Author

Chloe Lim is a photographer and avid traveler. She travels extensively for work and family vacations. She is always on the lookout for bargain travel deals and discount luxury vacations.
This article is courtesy of http://www.ratestogo.com, you may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.
chloelim1@yahoo.com.au

by: Hans Peter Oswald

Aero Registrar Secura GmbH proposes to the IT departments of airports to sell aero-domains to companies at the airport. Airports can build a portal of the airport and forming by this a kind of virtual airport.
The advantages:
1. Search engines are today focusing link popularity. If airports would build a portal of the airport with interested companies and ask the companies at the airport as a condition for getting the aero-domain and the link to their websites that the companies link back to the airport’s website, the airports will get many links back to their own website.
By this they increase the success of their website. Especially Google,the most important search engine of the world, is working with link popularity. If you assume, that the website is important for your marketing, you should try to improve your ranking at Google and other search engines.
2. ICANN accredited Registar Secura will sell to airports the domains for other companies at reseller conditions. The IT departments can sell the domains at the price, which they think is fitting. The IT departments of airports will have an economic advantage at every sold aero-domain.
We also propose to airports they you should realize the shortcut initiative of SITA. One of many examples: If somebody is entering at the PDA parking.youraeroport.aero, there are hints how to go and/or drive to the parking lot. Secura GmbH is also ready to make free subdomains in order to help to realize the shortcut initiative.
Hans-Peter Oswald
The author is the CEO of Aero Registrar Secura GmbH

About The Author

Hans-Peter Oswald

CEO

ICANN accredited Registrar

http://www.com-domain.com

secura@domainregistry.de

by: Nathan Tyree

I tried not to lean against anything. Leaning, I Feared, would give the wrong impression. It could seem too casual. Sitting was also not an option. I also did my level best not to make eye contact. This was harder than it sounds. When you are surrounded by people with dentition that resembles broken picket fences and forearms adorned with jail house style tattoos (some apparently made by carving shapes into the skin then pouring India ink into the wound) it?s very difficult to look anywhere other than their eyes. Fear causes this.
The name of the bar was ?Twisted Sisters.? I?m serious. I wouldn?t lie about something this deep. The place was run by two little old ladies with deeply wrinkled faces and Tom Waits voices. When they handed you a mug of beer the obligatory ?Here ya? go hon? came in a voice that sounded like it was sculpted by cheap scotch and cigarillos.
The place was peopled by extras from ?Hells Angels on Wheels? and every bad prison movie ever made. This woman kept bumping into me. She was medium height, slender, had long brown hair and three teeth. Her face looked a little like it had caught fire and some caring person had tried to put it out with an ax. Every time we collided I apologized nervously and she walked away. From behind she could have been Miss America. I swear.
I was in this dive because my old buddy Murphy had invited me. Murphy?s the type of guy who actually enjoys this sort of thing. The fellow is something of an enigma. He looks like he belongs in the back room of a place like Twisted Sisters, but those who know him know of his masters degree and the years he spent teaching at community college. Murphy?s a tough guy; did a little stretch in prison and another in the navy. Then he used the GI bill to obtain an education. Now he hangs out in places like this.
Murphy kept buying me beers and trying to get me to talk to the other patrons. I busied myself pretending to be an anthropologist studying some exotic tribe. I didn?t belong, but maybe I could learn something.
I had just started on another beer when someone dropped a few coins in the juke box. The music was bad country. To my utter disgust the first song that played was that ?I wanna stick a boot up your butt? super-patriotic, ultra-jingoist thing by the guy in the Ford truck commercials. The people around me began to sing along loudly.
What the hell? Why would these people, this underclass, this despised minority, feel a kinship with a singer that represents the right wing status quo? Shouldn?t these guys be listening to Steppenwolf (or at least Eminem)? Lets face it, the main stream of America doesn?t hang out in places like this. In fact, most suburban middle class goons would prefer that these people simply vanish from the planet. So why would the customers at Twisted Sisters get behind this new super nationalism? This was like seeing Jewish kids singing Deutschland Uber Alles, for god?s sake.
I decided to conduct a little experiment. I sauntered (or tried to saunter, it?s hard to truly saunter when you fear that you could be shivved at any moment, or worse: have your glasses broken) to the juke box and looked over the selections. I was hoping for Randy Newman or Bruce Cockburn or maybe even the Dead Kennedys. No such luck. Then I saw it. A CD by The Dixie Chicks. I dropped my money and chose four songs by the Dixters (I can?t bear to type ?Dixie Chicks? more than once… Damn. I just did it twice). Then I went back to my spot near Murphy and waited.
When my songs started I half expected a riot to begin. I thought that if these folks loved that Ford truck guy they might revolt at the musical stylings of those un-American girls. That didn?t happen. After the first few bars someone started to sing along. Then a second voice joined in. Then a third. After a minute or so everyone in the place was singing along with these traitors with the same fervor and joy they had exhibited in response to that earlier song.
I quickly came to a startling conclusion: people will sing along to anything. The content of the song doesn?t matter. Politics simply don?t enter into it. People are really singing along to the melody, or the bass line or something. What the words actually mean is immaterial.
A little later I waved my hand around in front of my face to clear some of the smoke and give myself a line of sight. I drained my beer and told Murphy that I had to bail. He slapped me on the back and headed toward the old scarred pool table. As I walked out into the sunlight I was thinking that I?d never have to see the inside of that place again.

About The Author

Nathan Tyree is a freelance writer living in Kansas. His work has appeared in a variety of magazines, including Bare Bone, Flesh and Blood, Lost Souls, Gorilla, and The Journal of Modern Post. Vist him on the web at:

http://www.geocities.com/nathanctyree

nathanctyree@yahoo.com