A friend recently returned from Thailand where he’d been robbed by thieves who’d cut his locked backpack open.

The incident took place on a packed commuter bus. My friend felt himself being jostled but it wasn’t until he disembarked that he noticed his backpack had become much lighter. Thieves had sliced the bottom of his rucksack open and removed his camera and other valuables while he was distracted by the jostling, probably created by accomplices on the bus.

This technique is not uncommon in asia where backpackers are well known to be carrying valuables including passports, travellers cheques and cameras, in their backpacks. While its easy to lock the zippers most backpacks are made from tough nylon or canvas that can be easily cut open with a sharp blade.

Travellers are warned to be vigilant and, if possible, carry passports and money in a separate pouch kept close to the body.

They come in all shapes and sizes. From bright pink schoolbags, used by students to the high-tech, cammo style rucksacks used by the military.

You can’t walk down a busy street today without seeing any number of backpacks or rucksacks worn by everyone from school children to grannies. The ubiquitous backpack has got to be the most versatile and popular form of luggage ever invented.

Once upon a time they were only used by the military and hikers. Today there are backpacks for a multitude of applications from laptop bags to high-speed hillwalker’s water carrying sacks. The rucksack or backpack has got to be the most practical an versatile form of luggage ever invented.

Many holidaymakers and business travellers actively seek a little romance when away from home. But surveys show that few of these relationships last more than a week.

If a stable, fulfilling, long term relationship is what you are looking for then chance encounters, while travelling on business or on holiday, are not really a good place to start. Surveys have shown that around 9 in 10 holiday romances actually end within one week and the average duration is only about 3 days.

When travelling, particularly on holiday, we are often far more open to meeting new people and having new experiences. The chance of a little romance, and maybe more, is often not far from our minds. So when the opportunity arises we can all be tempted to see where it may take us. A chance meeting in the bar of your Heathrow hotel could lead to a whole new relationship but, unfortunately, statistics tell us that this is not likely to happen.

A holiday romance or maybe a one night stand while away on vacation can be a lot of fun, but can also result in some nasty infections.

The number of people contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or infections is on the increase. People are far more likely to indulge in high risk sexual behaviour while they are on their holidays than they would do normally and this is contributing toward the worrying increase in the number of people contracting various STDs.

Chlamydia is one such disease that has become one of the most commonly occurring STDs today. Left untreated it can cause sterility in both men and women. Symptoms include painful urination, discharge, abdominal pain, nausea and even bleeding from the genitals. Luckily it is easily treated with an appropriate anti-biotic.

Another common STD is herpes. The most common form of the disease is as cold sores but the number of people visiting their doctor for Genital herpes is on the increase. There is no known cure for the disease but the breakouts can be treated with appropriate medication.

The frequency of other STDs including Syphillis, Gonorrhoea and Urethritis are also on the increase. This increase is particularly noticeable in young people who have not received adequate disease information and are not adequately aware of the risks.

Travellers and holiday makers are particularly susceptible to sexual temptation when away from home. A one night stand in a Heathrow Hotel or a drunken liaison while away from home on holiday can easily result in a nasty infection that can present serious health risks and be passed on to others very easily.

One of the reasons for the increasing number of people catching STDs is the lack of awareness and knowledge regarding how to avoid catching diseases of this type.

Basic precautions that anyone can take include:

1. Abstinence: If you don’t have sex with anyone you can’t catch anything
2. Select partners carefully: Casual sex with others who have casual sex significantly raises your chances of catching a STD
3. Examine your partners: Easier said than done, but examination can reveal evidence of infection
4. Use a condom: This will greatly reduce the risk of passing an infection

The collapse of the XL leisure group today has left thousands of tourists stranded abroad and thousands more unable to take their holidays.

XL is the latest holiday and travel business to be hit by the current economic climate and rising fuel prices. This has resulted in the grounding of XL’s 21 planes leaving around 100,000 holidaymakers stranded abroad. The Civil Aviation Authority have reported that a further 200,000 advance bookings had been made.

XL employees are now wondering what the future holds after the travel firms collapse. The company’s entire workforce of 1700 people is now at risk of redundancy, which is looking ever more likely.

Uncertainty in the travel industry, along with the economic downturn, is leading many to consider a ’staycation’ as an alternative to their annual holiday. Instead of heading off to a sunny destination, only to find themselves stranded, many are choosing to stay at home.

Staycationing is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. Many homeowners are now investing in their own swimming pools, turning their homes into their own little holiday destination. If the lousy British weather hasn’t yet prompted them to fit their winter pool cover they might still be able to enjoy a taste of what they are missing – weather permitting.

Staying in a hotel right next to Heathrow Airport is the best way not to miss your early morning flight so its good to find an economical Heathrow Airport Hotel.

There are some great hotels serving Heathrow airport providing top class accommodation, restaurants, swimming pools, gymnasia and night life. But what is on offer for the budget traveller?

Luckily there are still some surprisingly excellent options available to those travelling on a tight budget. For example this week you can find a very comfortable double room at the Heathrow Travelodge for only £60. Almost unbelievable.

Another option is to use the Super Saver Hotels facility provided by Gosimply.com. By not specifying the exact hotel hotel providers are able to provide rooms at rates that can be up to 35% cheaper than they would ordinarily be.

So if you are travelling on a budget and you need somewhere to stay close to Heathrow airport, don’t despair. There are plenty of hotels to choose from and you are likely to be impressed by the prices quoted.

Have you been to Disney World lately? if so did you fly with Virgin Atlantic? Did you know that Virgin have an advanced check-in facility at Downtown Disney?

Well they do, and if you are on one of the flights out from Orlando via Virgin it makes sense to use this service as you are case free and queue free when you get to Orlando International Airport. My next holiday is going to be in equally warm climbs in Barbados, so I am hoping the next airline carrier also offers this great facility.

Virgin Atlantic

The only drawback is the scheme costs $10 per person. But for the ease of journey and the sake of a few pounds it is money well spent as for me there is nothing worse than lumping luggage through an airport and queue sitting waiting to get checked in behind 300 others!

On a plus side, the early check-in in Orlando is right next to a massive car park meaning you do not have to trawl your suitcases very far. Within 20 minutes you are.

How to find the Virgin Atlantic early check-in in Orlando

Head to Downtown Disney, which is part of the main Disney complex just off the 192 outside of Kissemme, then look for ‘Cirque Du Soleil’. The building is unmissable as it is large and white, once you see the building

So now I have done Disney with the family, it’s now onto my holiday in Barbados with the wife!

Living in the UK we can forget that many people like to visit our shores from overseas for their annual holidays. Where would you suggest they establish their holiday base?

The UK is a popular holiday destination for many people from a variety of countries. The U.S.A. has traditionally been the source of many annual visitors, keen to soak up some of our historic heritage or to track down their family roots.

Another country from which the UK has many visitors is, of course, Japan with many other countries in Asia sending an increasing number of pleasure travellers to our humble shores.

Most of these visitors will, of course, want to see many of the popular sights including Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, possibly Stratford Upon Avon and even Stonehenge. So where would be the most ideal location for visitors to base themselves?

Heathrow airport is served by over 20 top quality hotels. If I were to visit the UK from overseas I’d probably opt to stay in one of the excellent Heathrow Airport Hotels as these are not only excellent for access to the busy airport, but they are ideally situated for access to central London and the motorways headed north, south, east and west.

So if you are planning a trip to the UK and you are wondering where to base yourself I’d strongly advise you to consider the hotels at Heathrow airport. You might like to go and stay elsewhere for a day or two as you visit various interesting historical sights and landmarks but then return to your Heathrow hotel for your London sight-seeing and, ultimately, your return flight home.

I recently had to travel to Nanjing in China on business and had to leave hotel arrangements to my Chinese business associates. They booked me a room at the interestingly named Yilai Celebrity City Hotel which concerned me a little, until I arrived.

The hotel was absolutely fantastic and the service was the best I’ve ever enjoyed. My room was totally comfortable, providing a great place to rest after a day packed with intense business meetings.

The Yilai is located right in the middle of the city, making it easy to find and an excellent base for business or pleasure. The two restaurants, serving southern Chinese cuisine, were outstanding and the other hotel facilities included a top quality outdoor swimming pool, a sauna (which I didn’t use) and a gymnasium (which I did).

For anyone travelling to Nanjing, if you are looking for a hotel I can heartily recommend the Yilai Celebrity City Hotel and don’t be but off by the name. You will not be running into D-List celebrities or be forced to negotiate a sea of paparazzi at the door every day. Unless you are a celebrity yourself.

Travelers to every continent on the Earth will find it useful to understand the metric conversion of distances. Unless you are traveling in the United States, Liberia or Myanmar, all of which utilize the Imperial units of measurement, you will need to know distance conversion to the metric system. You can do the math yourself, or you can choose to use a couple of handy metric conversion helpers to make the job easier.

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When Traveling Abroad, Use Distance Conversion To Calculate How Far You Need To Go – Holidaychatter By : Susan Slobac

2008-09-05 08:00:00