Green Holidays

Going on a car journey for your holiday?  Got the spare spark plugs?

If you are heading off on a long journey as part of or all of your holiday, you might as well take some little things that can be the difference between a quick fix and a long wait at the garage - and that’s if you happen to run into trouble close to one,  rather than having to find one in the first place - and assuming on top of that that they speak English!

We all know that a spare tyre is expected and many people carry a torch, an ice-scraper, some oil and maybe a warning triangle, but there are many more little things that can really help out if you intend to be on the road for a while.

Now, you won’t want to weigh your car down with a huge amount of excess things, as it will use more fuel and allow less space for your holidays bits or family.  However, most essentials are only lightweight anyway.

Spare Stuff:
Things like headlights and brake lights are an essential safety feature of your car, so make sure that you have at least those 4 spare bulbs before heading off.  All the other lights are not really vital in stopping other cars bumping into you - Although the more you carry with you the better things will be for you.

Some spare fuel wouldn’t be the worst idea either.  You never know when you will start running out of fuel - and you never know when you will next see a fuel station if you are travelling in the middle of nowhere.

Spare clothes and blankets are something you might have already because of the journey anyway - but spare water for the car for cleaning windows, refilling the engine and rinsing things off could be worth having, as well as toilet roll, some plastic bags and rags are certainly things I have found worth having on my travels.

One time my car started mis-firing - (which turned out to be caused by me spilling oil on one of the spark plugs when I was refilling the engine without a funnel - now added to my list of carry-on things)) and all I needed was a replacement spark plug!  Something you don’t normally carry - but when your car starts chugging up a hill and only gets to 40 mph - you’d wish you had one!

Other Helpful Items:
It’s not just replacement items that could come in handy while travelling, there are a whole host of ‘grab’ items that could really make things run more smoothly.

Pen and paper isn’t a bad idea for on-the-road games as well as for taking details of directions and possibly names of hotels, tourist sights you hear of on the road and even for taking down number plates of vehicles that are involved in accidents or incidents along the way.

Maybe even a portable solar-powered battery charger is something you might consider if you have a mobile phone with you or even a laptop or iPad.  They take up hardly any room, yet could keep you away from civilisation for a lot longer if that was your plan.

A tiny bit further from the norm, but by no means worth ignoring is a basic first aid kit with iodine to make fresh water safe to drink.  If you want to have all eventualities covered - always think of the things that will be really annoying to you on a day out and prepare for it.  So would you want a headache all day?  No, take pain relief then.  Tummy ache?  Loose Stools?  No? Then have it covered as a basic.

And of course, don’t forget your toothbrush!

photo credit: Vinni123

Need a quick re-cap for 2010 on why we take green holidays?

Be Open To New Things
Remember that not everyone does things the way you do them - so make sure that you are wiling to give something new a go if asked. It will certainly allow you to experience a different culture - and you never know - you might really like it!

Be Fair To Everyone
Try to put money into local hands rather than the firms that run the big hotels and tours. By all means haggle for your goods, but a few pence saved by you getting the best price could mean the vendor having to settle for little profit - and having to sell a lot more for their money.

Be Aware Of Differences
Respect the culture and think ahead when dressing for the day. Should you be wearing shoes or not - covering your shoulders or your head. It is all very important to the people who live there even though it means nothing to you!

Be Respectful To Everything
Remember when taking pictures and traipsing across fields and ancient sites - that these places could be very important to local people and their culture. Don’t assume that everything is there for you to explore and take pictures of -and that include people and their homes.

Be Unique On Your Trip
Don’t just follow the tourist track and go to all the places in the guidebooks - use that as a starting point and go from there. Yeah - see the sites that made the country attractive to you in the first place - but visit at different times or in a different way - or maybe visit a sister site or one that is less explored.

Be Aware Of The Options
Make sure that you check tour operators, airlines, hotels, and other travel companies before you make a choice. Check their eco credentials before handing over any money and make sure that you write and tell the best and the worst why you will or won’t be using them this time!

Be Generous And Kind
Don’t offer kids and beggars money and sweets - as this can lead to all sorts of social issues. Take pens and other useful but possibly hard to come by items for the local people you meet to encourage education and entertainment rather than tooth decay and stealing!

Be An Ethical Tourist
Come away from your vacation knowing that you have not only visited an amazing place and experienced amazing things, but that you have left it as it was before you arrived, or possibly made it a little bit better!

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Welcome to the first Blog Carnival of the new year - and welcome to 2010!

As expected, everyone has been very busy with the whole festive period - or have been trapped indoors for weeks with all this snow - so there are only a few articles for me to share with you today.

Lets start with some essential reading - especially after I started watching the BBC series ‘Survivors’ the other day where you really need some basic outdoor skills - and of course it helps to be able to take care of yourself outside of the city!  So lets join Dorrie for some reasons to think of Camping: A Valuable Reminder On Survival.

And surviving as a vegan while travelling can also be a bit tricky - so have a peek at 20stravel’s guide to Top 5 Tips for Eating Vegan On the Road for some inspiration.

Regular writer Guffly gives us not only: Best Eco-Friendly Getaways | Gufflyfor the new year, but also an insight into their eco friendly travel Green Products. Take a look yourself if you are planning a trip soon.

And how about this final article from Tyler Tervooren who spends a lot of time explaining the concept of the StayCation - and it really had me intrigued so take a look yourself at The Art of the Staycation and see if he convinces you……

Enjoy!

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Welcome to the final Green Holidays Blog Carnival of 2009.

It has been snowing where I am for days now and the ground is thick with snow! Great stuff - but not so good for all the people who are trying to get home before the new year!

And, not so many to choose from this month - maybe as everyone has been out visiting families or trying to escape to the countryside rather than be stuck in town on the holidays!

Anyway, we are here to talk about some green holidays - and lets start with a short one about voluntourism from Mircea: Tips for Volunteering and Traveling Abroad

Next, another short post about feelings running deep in some countries about cultural sites and landmarks where Dan gives us his opinions on The Ethical & Responsible Travel Minefield. Linking to this is a similar post by another writer: Take Care Not To Climb Uluru.

Ther is also another article about the ethics of travel these days, and poses some interesting questions and ideas.  Compare it to what you think when reading Should We Be More Travel Eco Friendly?

Lastly, Theo presents Green Christmas Ideas Revisited where he covers a few ideas for having greener holidays at home and with family at this time of year.

So, it’s ho ho ho and see you in 2010!

Looking for an alternative way to travel to Europe for your short break just got easier!

There has been a lot of talk about taking less flights to help reduce your carbon footprint, or stopping them altogether - but you still want a holiday, right?

So, use the train from Ashford International Station

There is a huge train network right across Europe with trains taking you to all number of destinations.  These include Paris, Istanbul, Rome, Madrid and even out further to Moscow and even China - although you can’t pop there for just the weekend!

I know everyone is talking about different modes of transport, but people still think that the train is ’slow’ so they don’t even consider it for continental travel.  But you should.

The UK now has an amazing International train terminal in Ashford, Kent, with over 2000 car parking spaces, one of the largest shopping centres in Europe and it is only an hour from the continent!

A quick visit to their helpful website will give you all the details you need for planning your journey through Ashford International, including links to other rail and coach networks across the UK. 

For example, a trip from Leeds to Paris for a long weekend over the new year with your partner will take less than 6 hours - where you can watch the British countryside pass by and a new country appear! 

Just For The Record:
It could take you around 7 hours just to get to Weymouth for the same weekend.  I know where I would rather go!

And even more suprisingly - there was very little in it costwise either, they were virtually the same price!

Obviously you don’t have to just visit Paris or Brussels, you could use Ashford Railway Station as your rail link to start your next longer holiday or overseas adventure! 

Just by stepping on a train at your local station, you could travel the world without a carbon chugging plane in sight! 

And Eurostar journeys are now completely carbon neutral - at no extra cost to you!!

So before you cancel your holidays overseas - check out the train.

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The best way to learn a second (or third) language is to go to where they speak it!

Apart from in school where it is compulsory to learn a second language - whether you want to or not - you shouldn’t rely on books and things to learn how to communicate with the locals.

By all means, get started with a basic introductory guide - but the real language can only be found in restaurants and stores in the place you are visiting.

Downside To Books:
Well, needless to say - books and cd’s are using energy and valuable resources to create, and there is only so much you can learn about a language from written text.

Learning how to pronounce the words is virtually impossible with their weird symbols representing unheard of English sounds - for example the Spanish double l in paella.  You need to hear it to have the confidence to use it.  So if I said you should use the ‘y’ sound from the happy cheer word ‘yeay’ (or yay) but also don’t forget to pronounce the ‘ey’ for the ‘e’ - could you come up with it?  Oh and don’t forget to use the emphasis on the correct syllable too!

Go!!!

Or in Egyptian - pronounce the word ‘ughniyya’ if the ‘gh’ should be rolled like a French ‘r’ and you must pronounce both y’s individually with the stress on the second to last syllable.  Any the wiser?

Also, books are also quite repetitive in the sense that if you buy one basic German book for example, it will cover your name, where you live and giving directions.  Any other basic or introductory or ‘one-day’ books will also contain the same things.  They will all go for the standard stuff first.

Yes, they may do it from a different angle and some may have more role play than others, but you will basically be giving directions to the post office or from the police station over and over again (via the second turning on the left…..!  It can be quite frustrating every time you take up learning again.

And they are heavy to carry abroad too!

The Real Thing:
After travelling quite a bit in South America, I get so much more confident when I am there than when I am at home. 

Ask me to order a cheese and ham sandwich and a cup of coffee in Spanish while sitting on the bus puts a whole different stress on your brain than standing in a restaurant queue in Peru trying to get something to eat!

It just all falls into place.  You have to say the words otherwise you hold up the people behind you and don’t get your lunch!

You don’t need word perfect grammar to get started - and if you have ever watched people ordering food in their own language, it’s never said literally and in perfect order and timing anyway.  It usually goes something like this; “Hi, yeah, can I have a, er, well I suppose, er, a quick sandwich for me; ham and cheese, and a tea.  Thanks.”

Alright, you may get the odd thing wrong and end up picking something you didn’t want out of your dinner - or getting a different dinner to the one you had planned - but you won’t make that mistake again! I always have a reference book abroad with just keywords in it - but I never use it when I am out - it’s just to check things before I go!

And of course, you could always get asked a question about your order after you made it, throwing you totally out of kilter - but just pick up on the words you do know and try to answer their question - this is when you could use pointing!

Fresh Approach:
Seeing as we should all be taking longer holidays now to counter the terrible effects of long haul flights - you will have plenty of time to perfect your new language skills.

Nothing beats turning up at a train station somewhere needing to find you hotel to bring out all your learnt vocabulary.  Even if it is just a few words strung together - you will get by, get to your hotel and probably order something to eat as well.

You really shouldn’t be afraid to start chatting to locals with what you know - they will always be happy to help fill in the gaps.  They can also help you with colloquial terms and phrases too, like the way different regions of your own country refer to their parents (mum, mom, mammy, mother, ma) or their friends etc.

I had more fun learning a language whilst on my holiday than any number of lessons back at school.

So, take your time on your next vacation - and come home with a new language under your (money) belt!

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Learning to Tango in Argentina can be just as important as visiting a rainforest…….

There are a whole host of festival and events that may well rely on your visit to survive the next 30 years or so. 

I’m not talking about the modern Rio Carnival or Oktoberfest - I’m talking about traditions that have lived for centuries in small communities across the world.

UNESCO has set about preserving these traditions with their Intangible Cultural Heritage scheme - to which they have recently added the Tango - but which holds many many more already including many little known cultural delights from across the globe.

Take for example, the Indonesian Wayang Puppet Theatre. This art of story telling has been used in Indonesia for 10 thousand years, across the royal courts and in towns and villages, to bring the regions epic history to life.

There is still an interest in the puppets - either 3-dimensional or brought alive by shadows - accompanied by musicians and singers, but it is having to compete with television and the internet for viewers. 

By making sure you add a visit to a traditional theatre show on your trip to the area, you could be making sure that it is worth continuing the tradion and worth training for.  Would you invest your time learning a skill that people might not need in 5 years?

Or a trip to Mexico in late fall could coincide with the huge festival: el dia de los muertos - the Day of the Dead.  Thousands of local villagers spend the day in celebration of their lost loved ones who are said to come alive for the day and to bring properity and good luck to the families.

Cultural Heritage:

We all know how important it is to encourage traditions and festivals, but of course we need to make sure that we don’t make them into a side show, like the Kayan women from Thailand have become, but we want to make sure that they know the importance of their traditions.

Also, they do not want to freeze cultures in time.  There is no intention to force people to continue with customs that are no longer relevant, but to empower cultures with their past - rather than force them into an uncomfortable future.

Things like Morris Dancing in the UK are well known not to be a part of modern culture - yet we all love the tradition of the dancing and the people who dress up for this know the history and pass on the reasons behind the colors and the stick-bashing!

Society will always evolve - but why not hold on to the things that were once important.  Hopefully governments are working with these groups to make sure that these traditions are not lost forever like many languages around the world have been.

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I know it’s early yet - but keep the date clear in your diary!

I have been to this show for several years now - and I love it! 

It has got everything from volunteering, gap year advice, great products, specific seminars and great food!

I would really recommend a visit here for any travel related queries. The experts on hand can offer you all sorts of tips and tricks and new ideas - whether you know what you want already or you want to be taken completely by surprise!

This show has inspired us to finally travel to Costa Rica for a month to watch the wildlife - which was one of my best travel experiences yet - as well as numerous other trips and ideas!

I remember sitting in the Overland tours bus that was rolled into the hall watching a great video about Africa wondering where on earth anyone was supposed to go to the toilet!

So whether you are looking for inspiration or want to fine tune your ideas - this is the place!

Go to their website: Adventure Show 2010 for more details and to sign up for their newsletter…..

I’m afraid there is an green holidays shortage occuring!

I only have 2 that are true to the title of this Blog Carnival and are actually talking about something original!

So, lets start with Guffly’s article on how to Have an Ecofriendly Holiday on a Budget | Guffly. This fantastic eco-article-a-day website is worth going back to time and time again…… Can’t get enough of it myself!

And then Autumn Beck covers an interesting topic: Want the best wet bag for your cloth diapers?

So, that’s it. Sorry!!

Welcome back after several weeks - and are you ready for some more great tips to help you stay safe on-line!

Don’t Use Auto-save Tools While Travelling.
The number of times I went onto a computer abroad to find other users still logged in to things like Facebook and Hotmail was amazing!  Although these still require passwords for ordinary people to get in - other users can be a bit more creative at getting details.

And many sites will automatically bring up your logged in home page if you type in the URL again after not logging out.  My laptop remembers them all unless I log out or actually shut down the computer. 

Makes my day a lot easier - but it could spell disaster if you weren’t the only one logging in.  How many Internet cafes restart their computers between users?  I bet it is virtually none! 

Next time you hop on to a shared computer - go to the pc’s history and pull up some of the sites the last user went to and see if they left any of them ‘open’.  Then you can see for yourself how easy it is.

So, make sure you always click ‘log out’ and wait for it to show the log in screen again - checking that your details are not in there!

Not everyone does it by mistake though - a lady using a computer before me had unbelievably left her email inbox open - and on the screen for all to see!  Can you imagine the damage an open email account full of account confirmation details and passwords could have?  What about access to all those friends addresses and contact numbers that could have been used by a stranger!

Streams of Spam are almost certain to follow!

I think some people get so used to leaving these details on their own or friends computers that they just don’t think of all the dangers out there.  Even if you think you are the only one using the hotels computer - it doesn’t matter.  These are your personal details and you could be exploited.  Even if it’s only your email, they could check all the other sites you had been to that day and add things together - or, of course, just email your friends and ask them!

Delete Your Cookies And Your Internet History - Every Time.
If you were using Internet Explorer, you will be able to clear your history of sites visited and also clear your cookies (small files automatically saved on a pc, which can identify your personal details and what you did on the pc).

It’s very easy to clear these - and worth remembering.  And it means that whoever uses the computer after you (that day, week or month even) won’t be able to find out which sites you visited and any transactions of personal information you needed for that.

To do so: select Tools, then Internet Options, then click the Delete Cookies and Clear History buttons before pressing OK.

It may well take a few minutes to do this as it will be deleting not only your details, but also the hundreds of details before that no-one else bothered to clear.  It would be wise to start this about 5 minutes before your ‘paid’ time runs out to make sure it is done before you run out of minutes! 

If you are staying in the same location, it might be wise to then return to this same computer so that you know that you are safe every time rather than risking a different pc each visit!

Avoid Using Unsecured, Unencrypted Wi-Fi.
Using encrypted Wi-Fi isn’t the main concern here as this is generally very safe - but don’t assume all Wi-Fi is safe!  If you end up using unsecured, unencrypted Wi-Fi, you could leave yourself open to invasion.

Accessing the Internet via an unencrypted Wi-Fi hot-spot in a small cafe or hostel may well allow all your personal details to ’hang around’ that connected location.  It is here that anyone with knowledge of such things could access it!  Frightening stuff to think that someone can see what you did on your computer or laptop on their own screen just across the room from you! 

Basically anyone, with this kind of thing in mind, could be sitting near you - or even across the street - depending on the strength of the signal - accessing your laptop through theirs and ’seeing’ the pages that you visit.  They may even see the user-names and passwords which you type in.  They could also infect your laptop with a virus and access your accounts while you are in them yourself!

Take Care!