New Zealand Mirror Travel

Archive for September, 2009

When planning a trip to Europe, there are a ton of available resources for travelers. With this is mind, it is often time-consuming to wade through all of the websites to find really valuable information.

Here is a list of some of the top travel resources for planning a trip to Europe.

1) Wikitravel
This is one of the best sites for travel available. It is open source, so it is constantly updated; further, it is usually locals or people who have direct, experience with an area who contribute information. Thus you get localized information you might not have gotten elsewhere.

2) World Travel Tips
This is a huge, comprehensive resource for world travel. It includes forums, articles, links, free membership and much more for every continent. Their European section covers every European Country and offer in-depth information about each one.

3) About.com: Europe for Visitors
This is a great site dedicated to travel in Europe from About.com. Geared towards everyone from first time to experienced travelers, it is a goldmine of European travel and planning information.

4) Virtual Tourist
This is a great travel guide. Their motto is ‘real travelers – real info.” This seems consistent with the site, which has everything from transportation reviews to the best travel deal and trip planners. The site also includes forums where you can read about other people’s adventures in Europe.

5) Travel Europe
This is an swicki (cross between a search engine and wikipedia) where community users can add, remove and improve the results. This particular swicki is geared towards travel in Europe and is a great resource fro planning a trip to or in Europe.

6) Visiteurope.com
This is the European travel commission’s guide to Europe and is packed with tons of useful information, articles, advice and much much more.

7) Europe for Visitors
This is a site that offer European news, general advice, specific country advice, hotels, links to city guides, tourist offices and much, much more.

8.) Europecities.com
This is a comprehensive portal site that offers European city reviews and guides to hundreds of European cities and over 40 European countries.

9) Travel Library
Travel Library is an impartial resource for travelers and offers a plethora of resources that offer in-depth travel information, from hotel and hostel ideas to travelogues and most popular locations.

10) Europa: Traveling in Europe
A huge site that offers tools and information for over 30 European Countries. Each country has their own site dedicated to travel resources, information news and more from that country. Categories for visitors include: documents you will need, choosing a time to travel, getting there, staying healthy, money, shopping, communicating, pets, and if things go wrong.

11) Europa: Your Europe
While this site is geared towards European citizens, it still offers tons of great information for visitors outside of Europe. Information categories include: working in Europe, education and study, living in Europe, traveling in Europe, consumer protection, European citizenship and diplomatic protection.

12) European Union Website
This is the official website of the European Union. It offers news, educational resources and tons of links to information about what’s going on in Europe and well as youth travel portals, travel guides, transportation information and much, much more.

13) Yahoo Answers
This is a great place to ask questions and get answers about anything Europe related. You ask the question and get a number of answers, then choose the answer that fits your question best. This site is great because it gives you several points of view to read and learn from and is focused on sharing knowledge.

14) Travels Wise
This site offers tons of information about travel in Europe and countries including Belarus, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and the Ukraine.

15) Rick Steves’ Travel Tips
This site is a large portal site that offers tips and advice for exploring Europe safely, effectively and confidently. From packing tips and safety to accommodations and communications, you will find what you’re looking for.

16) Travel Punk
This site offers travel tips and advice targeted at backpackers, budget travelers and tourists. Offers tons of great information as well as travel tools and resources for finding cheap flights and accommodations.

17) TERC Europe Travel Tips
Offers tips on traveling in Europe and categories run the gamut from packing tips and staying healthy and safe to money matters, budget planning, food and accommodations and much more. It is a huge site that is well worth visiting for any Europe travel-related needs.

18) Accessible Journeys
This is an awesome travel site that offers a wealth of information, tips and travel advice about accessibility and traveling in a wheelchair. With information on everything from traveling with your wheelchair or scooter to equipment rentals, handicapped parking permits in Europe and accessible ways to travel, it is a great resource.

19) Europe Travel Tips
A large portal with tons of travel tools, articles and information about travel in 40 European countries, from Austria to the United Kingdom.

20) Independent Traveler

Great site offering lots of travel tips and advice to independent travelers.

21) Travel-and-transport.com
This is a highly useful portal that offers basic and necessary transportation information for Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway and Sweden. New to the site is a route planner that is especially handy.

22) Travel Notes: Europe
Comprehensive travel notes and advice for traveling throughout Europe. Lots of links, resources and tools for travelers.

23) Open Travel Info
Great travel site with a large amount of travel and Europe related information. The forums and articles are especially useful.

24) Discover Europe
Another excellent portal site that offers a wealth of tools, resources and links for travelers to learn about different European countries and plan their trips effectively and efficiently.

25) World 66: Europe
This is a great wiki site that allows members (free) to change and information. It has a great travel guide, maps, and resources for getting to Europe and getting around it. Members can also post photos and there is a cool photo gallery of different places in Europe. Well worth checking out.

26) Backpacker.net
Geared towards backpackers, this is one of the better sites for information, advice and travel planning for backpackers. Users can submit and read recommendations for hostels, tours, bars, beers and much more.

27) WorldWideBackpackers.com
This site is another excellent resource for backpackers and other travelers. While it is geared towards backpackers, there is a wealth of rich information for all travelers, so you should definitely pay them a visit.

28) Gate 1 Travel
This is a travel site for Central Europe. there is a wealth of information that is super handy; they offer info from climate and clothing advice to packing, required travel documents, travel insurance, transportation, communication and much more.

29) Backpackeurope.com
This is another site that is geared towards backpackers in Europe but is highly useful for all travelers. Has Europe travel tips, advice on packing, hostels and hotels, transportation and links to other travel resources.

30) Gemut.com
This is a great travel site that offers visitors advice on everything from car rental and rail travel to hotel reservations, money matters and much more.

31) Travels With Friends: Travel Tips for Europe
Travel tips and advice from planning your trip to executing it. The site’s creators travel Europe and research sites, accommodations, destinations and much more, so there is great, first-hand information available on all aspects of travel in Europe.

32) Suite 101: Eastern Europe & Russia Travel
Travel, culture and trip planning and advice. This is an excellent resource for finding out more about Eastern Europe and its cultures.

33) Traveler’s Point
Europe advice, tips and travel help for all European countries.

34) Budget Travel Online
Great site offering ideas, how-tos, advice and tips for travelers.

35) Yahoo Travel
Yahoo’s comprehensive travel site offers a wealth of information on all European Countries and many of its countries. Another great resource to check out.

Even if you opt for cheap travels, it should remain fun and exciting. The way to enjoy your cheap travels is to travel smart. One of the most important considerations when traveling is money. You can save money by selecting cheaper accommodation and airfares.

And on your travel, it is extremely important to keep your travel money safe. Most seasoned travelers and travel experts recommend keeping valuables in a hidden wallet or travel pouch, either wrapped around your waist under your clothes or hung around your neck under your shirt.

Another great travel tip is to reduce the chance of theft by keeping majority of your cash in the hotel’s safe. Take out enough for each day to pay for necessary items. When using credit cards, make sure that the establishment or shop looks alright. Credit cards provide valuable consumer protection and the best currency exchange rates as well.

Here is one very valuable travel tip to keep a lost or stolen wallet from bringing your vacation to an abrupt end. Many seasoned travelers pack an extra wallet in their suitcase or backpack. This wallet will contain only a credit card or two and perhaps an ATM card. That way, if you lose your primary wallet, you still have access to ready cash for the rest of your cheap travel.

It is also a good idea to make an itinerary and leave it at home with family members or a trusted friend. This way, they can contact you in the event of any emergencies. You could also keep copies of your identification papers, travelers check numbers, and a photocopy of your passport, at home.

Some travelers carry their passport with them all the time. The reason for that is because the passport provides an additional piece of information and that is important if your wallet is lost or stolen while on your cheap travel. Since it is impossible to board a plane these days without ID, having an extra form of ID can make your life a lot easier.

Another travel tip is to make several copies of your important travel documents – flight reservations, hotel confirmations, rental car receipts, etc. Put each copy in a different place – one or two in different parts of the suitcase or backpack, one in your back pocket, one in your purse or carry-on, etc. Also record important phone numbers in the address book of your cell phone for easy access.

Always remember to have the basic medical information such as blood type, allergy (if any), medications, etc. If you need your medication frequently, don’t pack them in your checked luggage. Instead, always have them with you in your hand-carry luggage.

With these important travel tips, you should be on your way to enjoying safer and smarter cheap travels.

Are you looking for travel packing tips? Many people look for tips to reduce the amount and overall weight of their luggage. Following are 5 tips for travel packing that help you save money, backaches, and stress as you travel.

Do not wear more than two outfits per day:
Many times, you may feel that you will need your entire wardrobe with you. It is good to be prepared for any occasion or event. But, the truth is, you should not wear more than two outfits each day. Hence, it is advisable to pack accordingly.

Choose outfits that match easily with each other:
If you choose tops, bottoms, and jackets that can be easily coordinated with each other, you can save a lot of space in your bag. Choose standard clothes such as jeans, jean shorts, khakis, khaki shorts, etc., and repeat their use with different tops to get new look everyday. You should choose your shoes accordingly in the same way.

Do not forget to pack essential toiletry and cosmetic products:
Do not pack anything unnecessary and takes a lot of room. Make a list of all essential items such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a comb/brush. Ladies need to choose only selected and most important items for a short vacation.

Carry a small bag:
You must carry a small and light carry bag to keep your essential items that you use on a everyday basis. Rest can go inside your suitcase.

Travel Insurance:
Insurance helps a lot, everywhere. What if lose your luggage or robbed on your way? An embarrassing situation, isn’t it? An insurance policy gives you much needed support as and when you need the most!

Use above mentioned tried and true travel packing tips and enjoy a peaceful journey!

Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling Shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces subsequently crushed Americanizing, yet also liberal/left-wing, influences. Iranian student protesters seized the US Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 and held it until 20 January 1981. From 1980 to 1988, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq over disputed territory. Key current issues affecting the country include the pace of accepting outside modernizing influences and reconciliation between clerical control of the regime and popular government participation and widespread demands for reform. Unemployment among the youth is also an issue.

People of Iran

Humans have inhabited the area that makes up modern Iran since the stone age. The ancient Persians arrived about 1500 BC, one branch of the great movement of people that also brought northern India and most of Europe their modern populations. The name Iran is from the same root as “Aryan” which, until Hitler perverted it, was just an ancient name for those invading peoples. Persian (or Farsi) is an Indo-European language; ancient Persian was related to Sanskrit, ancient Greek, and all the others in that family. Modern Farsi is closely related to Dari, one of the two main languages of Afghanistan, and to Tajik, a major language of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Persians are ethnically and linguistically unrelated to their neighbors on the West, the Arabs and Turks.

However, Iran has many people other than ethnic Persians. The Northwestern region, Azerbaijan, is largely populated by Azeris, who are ethnically and linguistically close to Turks. Other regions are mostly Kurds or Baluchis, two other Indo-European groups. There are also Armenians, Turkomans, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Arabs, and a small community of sephardic Jews. Afghans have come to Iran for work and education for centuries, and recently many have come as refugees,

There are also two substantial communities of people of Iranian descent in India and Pakistan — Parsis who have been there for over 1000 years, and Iranis who arrived in the 19th and 20th centuries — both Zoroastrians who fled religious persecution in Muslim Iran.

History or iran

Throughout history, Persia has generally been an empire, one whose fortunes varied enormously. In ancient times, Persia controlled most of what we now call the Middle East, and came close to conquering Greece. A few centuries later, Alexander of Macedonia conquered (among other things) the entire Persian Empire. Later, Persia was conquered by the Arabs in the wild expansion of Islam in the centuries immediately after the Prophet; Persian and other languages of the region are still written with the Arabic alphabet. About 1250, Persia was overrun by the Mongols. Marco Polo passed through just after that, learned Persian, and wrote extensively of the region.

At other times, Persia conquered many of her neighbors. Her empire often included much of what we now call Central Asia (Polo counted Bokhara and Samarkand as Persian cities), and sometimes various other areas. A few generations after the Mongols took Persia. the dynasty they founded there took all of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and most of India. The Indian term “Moghul” for some of their rulers is from “Mongol”, via Persia. Even in periods when she did not rule them, Persia has always exerted a large cultural influence on her neighbors, especially Afghanistan and Central Asia.

The Safavid dynasty re-united Persia as an independent state in 1501, established Shi’a Islam as the official religion, and ushered in a golden age of Persian culture. They were overthrown in 1736 by Nadir Shah, the last great Asian conqueror, who expanded the Empire to again include Afghanistan and much of India. His short-lived dynasty and its successor lasted until 1795. Then the Qajar dynasty ruled 1795-1925, a period of heavy pressure from foreign powers, notably Britain and Russia who jointly occupied Iran during World War I. In 1906, Qajar rule became a constitutional monarchy and the Majlis (Persian for parliament) was established.

Iran before its revolutions in 1978

In 1925, a military coup by Reza Shah established a new “Pahlavi” dynasty, named for the most ancient Persian dynasty around 500 BC. His rule was quite nationalistic; he changed the country’s name from “Persia” to “Iran” and built a strong military. It was also quite authoritarian; he built a powerful secret police and a propaganda apparatus, and did not hesitate to crush dissent. He also made considerable efforts toward modernisation, and came into conflict with conservatives over some of it. When World War II came, he refused Allied demands for guarantees that Iran would resist if German forces got that far. Iran was then invaded by Anglo-Indian forces from the South and Russians from the North, and a railway built (largely by US army engineers) to bring supplies from the Gulf across Iran to beleagured Russia. Reza Shah went off to exile in South Africa, abdicating on the steps of the airplane in favour of his son.

The son, Mohammad Shah, continued his father’s nationalistic, authoritarian and modernising tendencies. However, coming to power in 1941, he had a problem; he needed powerful friends, but who? Given the history, no sane Iranian ruler would choose Britain or Russia. Being pro-German had not worked out well for dad and, in 1941, France did not count for much. That left the Americans, and he became one of America’s most important allies in the region, seen as a “bulwark against Communism”, a constitutional monarch, in some ways a progressive ruler — modernising, sometimes comparing himself to Kemal Ataturk who led Turkey’s modernisation — and a protector of US and other Western interests. He was one of very few Middle Eastern rulers to extend diplomatic recognition to Israel and helped prevent Iranian nationalisation of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. On the other hand, he was quite capable of putting Iranian interests before Western ones, as when he was one of the key players in creating OPEC.

While in some ways progressive, the Shah was also very much the oriental despot. When the Soviets left Northwestern Iran after the war, they left behind something that claimed to be an independent government of Azerbaijan, of course communist. The first major conflict of the Cold War came as the Shah, advised by the CIA, brought in troops who crushed that government and the communist party (Tudeh in Persian). Throughout his reign, his Savak secret police stomped hard on any opposition. His regime was also massively corrupt, with his relatives and various others getting hugely rich while much of the country was very poor. On the other hand, he did build infrastructure and start various projects to benefit the poor, including a program that sent new university graduates into the countryside as teachers.

In theory, Iran under the Shah was still a constitutional monarchy. Mohammed Mosaddeq became Prime Minister in 1951 and instituted reforms that included nationalising the oil companies and a land reform program. He was overthrown in a 1953 coup backed by the CIA, the British (who had large oil interests at stake), and the Shah. The Shah and the new Prime Minister reversed the oil nationalisation, but continued with a land reform program. However, as well as giving land to the peasants, it worked out that the Shah’s family and others with connections got a lot. The Ayatollah Khomeni went into exile at this time, originally because of his objections to land reform taking land from the mosques.

The Islamic revolution of Iran in wonter of 1978

In 1979, the Shah was overthrown and went off into exile, dying a few years later. The revolution involved many groups — Tudeh, Mosaddeq-style secular reformers, and various Islamic factions — but came to be led and dominated by a conservative Islamic faction under Ayatollah Khomeni. Partly in reaction to the Shah’s policies, they were also strongly anti-Western and in particular anti-American.

The main divisions of Islam are Shia’a and Sunni. The split goes back to a time just after the Prophet’s death; would the movement be controlled by some of his leading followers (Sunni), or by his family, in particular by his son-in-law Ali (Shia’a)? There was a long, complex and bloody struggle over this. Today, Iran is the only major country that is predominantly and officially Shia’a, though there are Shia’a minorities elsewhere and a Sunni minority in Iran. The Iranian government supports the Shia’a Hezbollah movement further West, and is therefore accused by America of fomenting terrorism.

One of the major events of Shi’a religious life is the Day of Ashura on the 10th of the month of Moharram; “ashura” means “10th”. It commemorates the death of Ali’s son Hussein at the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH (680 AD). This is not a joyful celebration, but a very sober day of atonement. Travellers should not play music or act remarkably cheerful in public at this time. Ashura is more-or-less the opposite of the Christian “Jesus died for your sins; you are forgiven”, closer to “Hussein is dead and you did not save him; you must atone.” Traditional activities include parades in which people beat themselves with whips, chains, even swords (safe if you are careful, and scalp wounds bleed beautifully). Some governments, including the Shah’s and the Khameni regime in Iran, have forbidden the more extreme variants of this. Some terrorist groups also exploit the religious fervor of the day; Hezbollah’s 1983 suicide bomber attack on the US embassy in Lebanon took place on Ashura.

Climate , weather and when to travel to iran

Iran has a diverse climate. In the northwest, winters are cold with heavy snowfall and subfreezing temperatures during December and January. Spring and fall are relatively mild, while summers are dry and hot. In the south, winters are mild and the summers are very hot, having average daily temperatures in July exceeding 38° C (100° F) and can hit 50° C in parts of the desert. On the Khuzestan plain, summer heat is accompanied by high humidity.

In general, Iran has an arid climate in which most of the relatively scant annual precipitation falls from October through April. In most of the country, yearly precipitation averages 25 centimeters or less. The major exceptions are the higher mountain valleys of the Zagros and the Caspian coastal plain, where precipitation averages at least 50 centimeters annually. In the western part of the Caspian, rainfall exceeds 100 centimeters annually and is distributed relatively evenly throughout the year.

Example Travel Itinerary and Tours to iran

Rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts. The highest point is Mount Damavand (5,671 meters). Desert: Two great deserts extend over much of central Iran: the Dasht-e Lut is covered largely with sand and rocks, and the Dasht-e Kavir is covered mainly with salt. Both deserts are inhospitable and virtually uninhabited. Mountain: The Zagros range stretches from the border with the Republic of Armenia in the north-west to the Persian Gulf, and then eastward into Baluchistan. Zagros is extremely hard, difficult to access, and populated largely by pastoral nomads. The Alborz mountain range, narrower than the Zagros, runs along the southern shore of the Caspian to meet the border ranges of Khorasan to the east. Forest: Approximately 11 percent of Iran is forested, most extensively in the Caspian region. Here one finds the broad-leafed, vigorous deciduous trees, usually oak, beech, linden, elm, walnut, ash, and hornbeam, as well as a few broad-leafed evergreens. Thorny shrubs and fern also abound.The narrow Caspian coastal plain, in contrast, is covered with rich brown forest soil.

Many people absolutely dread long haul flights as they know that they will probalby reach their destination tired, cramped and cranky. This need not be the case however. The purpose of this article is to share some basic travel tips to help you minimise the impact of hours on a plane on your system.

Get to the airport early: Nothing is as stressful as having to race through immigration and security knowing that there is a possibility that you can get offloaded. The stress and agitation from running around the airport can easily turn you into a ball of nerves when (if?) you finally make it onto the plane. Make sure that you avoid situations like this by budgeting more than enough time for your trip to the airport.

Get the best seats possible: Study the configuration of the aircraft you will be travelling on before you travel (there are several websites where you can do this). It may be that there are certain seats with more legroom that you can request when checking in or that you can even reserve online.

Dress comfortably: You are going to have to sit in one position for a long time, the least you can do is to make sure that your clothes and shoes don’t make that harder than it already is. If you need to make a good impression on arrival you can stik a change of clothes in your carry on luggage.

Eat and drink in moderation: Sitting still in a confined space is cannot be termed ‘optimum operating conditions’ for your digestive system. The inside of a plane is a highly pressurised environment which means that the effects of alcohol tends to be more severe at cruising altitude. The obvious implication is that you should be very careful about what you eat and drink on a plane.

Avoid dehydration: If you do want to drink: drink water! The inside of a plane is very dry due to the air being re-circulated. You can guard against the effects of this by drinking water at every opportunity.

Walk the aisles: People often find that they are stiff, sore and bloated after long haul flights. This is the case because our muscles reacts negatively to passivity. Even just a few walks down the length of the plane will leave your muscles much happier!

Invest in some noise cancelling headphones: I recently bought a good pair of noise cancelling headphones and I can’t think how I ever flew without them. The technology used does not only enhance the sound quality of whatever you are listening to, but also actively filters out other sounds. The difference that having your own ’sound bubble’ on long haul flights can make to your state of mind is absolutely phenomenal.

I am not suggesting, with this article, that air travel can be totally stress free or that you can arrive ‘fresh as a daisy’ every time you fly. The point that I am trying to make is that, by following these simple steps, you can arrive at your destination with a distinct advantage over those who just sat around hoping that the flight would end soon!