Know Before You Go On Your Trip Overseas

There is much that you can do to prepare for your trip abroad, depending on where you are going, how long you are staying, and your reasons for traveling.

The following suggestions and sources may be useful:

Do your homework and read as much as possible about the countries in which you plan to travel. Informing yourself about a nation’s history, culture, customs and politics will make your stay more meaningful. Such information can be found in most libraries, bookstores and tourist bureaus. Although English is spoken in many countries, it is a good idea to learn what you can of the language of the country in which you will be traveling.

Travel agents can provide brochures and tourist information about the countries that you wish to visit.

Most international airlines can supply you with travel brochures about the countries that they serve. Many countries have tourist information offices in main cities in the United States where you can obtain travel brochures and maps.

Foreign embassies or consulates in the United States can provide up-to-date information on their countries. Addresses and telephone numbers of the embassies of foreign governments are listed in the Congressional Directory, available at most public libraries. In addition to their embassies, some countries also have consulates in major U.S. cities. Look for their addresses in your local telephone directory, or find them in the publication, Foreign Consular Offices in the United States, available in many public libraries, or on the state department travel web site.

The Department of State publishes Background Notes on countries worldwide. These are brief, factual pamphlets with information on each country’s culture, history, geography, economy, government, and current political situation. The Background Notes are available for approximately 170 countries. They often include a reading list, travel notes and maps. To purchase copies, you can contact the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, or call (202) 512-1800. Select issues are also available from the Department of State’s Bureau of Public Affairs, fax-on-demand, by calling (202) 736-7720 from your fax machine or on the Department of State’s home page.

The Consular Information Program provides pertinent information for travelers. The U.S. Department of State issues fact sheets, known as Consular Information Sheets, on every country in the world. You should obtain the Department of State’s Consular Information Sheet for any country that you will visit. The sheets contain information about crime and security conditions, areas of instability, and other details pertaining to travel in a particular country.

The Department of State also issues Travel Warnings and Public Announcements. Travel Warnings are issued when the Department of State recommends deferral of travel by Americans to a country because of civil unrest, dangerous conditions, and terrorist activity and/or because the United States has no diplomatic relations with the country and cannot assist an American citizen in distress.

Public Announcements are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term and/or transnational conditions, which would pose significant risks to American travelers.

Smart And Safe Travel Tips For The Business Woman

Women today travel constantly and that too all over the world. Most manage to successfully juggle a professional life with a private one. Statistics reveal that almost 50% of business travelers are women and the number continues to grow each day. Travel at short notice means being organized and ready to go. Be smart and plan well ahead.

1. Keep on tab a list of baby sitters who would be willing to pitch in, even overnight if required. Keep a small book handy in which you jot down things like what the kids eat, their schedules, important phone numbers, likes and dislikes, as well as numbers of the doctors and list of medications including known allergies.

2. Keep a travel bag always packed and ready to go. Pack a combination of clothes so that they will tide you over irrespective of the weather in your destination. Wear easy to maintain and dark colors on trips. They don’t show stains, are wrinkle free and will drape well.

3. Always eat lightly and foods that are cooked avoid raw salads and water as well as ice. It is wise to snack before a flight and also to try and sleep during flight. This way you will arrive at your destination refreshed. Be sure to drink plenty of bottled water during travel.

4. Set up a schedule to call home at time zones that work for you and your loved ones. Make it a point to get mementoes for your family members as also the baby sitter and others who pick up the slack while you are away. It shows them that you care.

5. Put safety first always place a “do not disturb sign on your hotel door and if nervous place a chair under the door knob like they do in movies. Keep your cell phone on and fully charged by you at all times and carry protection in the form of pepper spray, an alarm, or if you are trained and licensed a small weapon with its safety on. In most cities the police organize training classes for women to learn how to protect themselves and what one must do in an emergency. Try and make time to attend these.

6. Avoid dark lanes and abandoned roads. Never talk to strangers or accept food or drink from someone you don’t know. While traveling never leave food or drink unattended. Be vigilant at all times.

7. Choose a hotel with care. Choose to stay at well established hotels or small inns and B&B where the proprietors are generally family people. Always e-mail and fax details of your staying arrangements and travel plans to your home as well as office.

8. Always carry important documents, money, traveler’s checks, and passport in a money belt worn around your waist.

9. Always act confident and move around in groups there is always safety in numbers.

10. If unwell go to a state run hospital. Never to a private clinic.

11. Never travel with valuables like jewelry and always carry a small flashlight and medical kit with you.

12. For safety reasons arrange with your family to take appropriate action if you do not get in touch with them as planned.

Avoid room service and eat in the hotel dinning room. Also never reveal details of where you come from or your travel plans to anyone.

Be vigilant and smart and you will be able to travel often and safely.

10 Time Tested Tips For Traveling With

Traveling with toddlers can be torture.

New sights and sounds can be overwhelming to a young child and vacation excitement can quickly turn into temper tantrums if you’re not prepared.

Here are 10 parent-practiced tips to help make traveling with toddlers fun.

1. Choose a family-friendly destination. Skip the crowded tourist destinations and opt instead for a locale that is accustomed to having kids around.

2. Safety first! Always make sure your child’s car seat is properly secured. Also, use a removable window shade to help block the sun.

3. Pack entertainment. “Best bets for entertaining your child in the car and hotel room include favorite books, games and toys,” says Nancy Wolpert of Nickelodeon Home Entertainment. For all-inclusive entertainment, she recommends two new DVDs that feature a collection of kids’ favorite TV shows. “The Nick Picks and Nick Jr. Favorites DVDs will keep them entertained for hours,” Wolpert promises.

4. Plan rest stops. If you’re driving, break up the monotony by stopping every couple of hours (or more frequently if necessary). Kids need to stretch out after being cooped up in a car for a while. Consider bringing along a ball to kick or throw around during these breaks.

5. Be flexible. Set realistic expectations and let your child soak up the experience at his or her own pace. You might want to limit your activities to one a day. Otherwise, you could wind up with an over-stimulated toddler.

6. Bring water and plenty of snacks. Fruit, granola bars, mini juice cartons and small boxes of cereal make for great, healthy snacks.

7. Bring a beloved item. A blankie or cuddly toy will help your toddler feel safe and secure. Be sure to have a replacement on hand, too. It will save you some heartache should the original get lost.

8. Start and end your day early. Kids are at their best in the morning, so plan accordingly.

9. Stick to your routine. Eating, napping and playing at the same time each day may be all your child needs to feel comfortable in a new environment.

10. Take lots of pictures. They’re only young once, so enjoy every moment! – NU

Pattaya Over Payers

Many foreign tourists make the mistake of paying too much for anything and everything when they go to Thailand. This especially holds true in Pattaya.

The main problem is that they tend to compare the prices of hotels, food, drink and anything else to what it costs back in their hometown. This can be costly for you and for the rest of the tourists. Just because you are on vacation and are a bit loose with your money, don’t just give away.

Let me explain.

Let’s say you go out for a seafood dinner and the total for dinner and drinks is $20. You think to yourself that this would cost at least $50 back home. So, you try to compensate by leaving a $5 or $10 tip. Big mistake.

The bellhop carries your bags to your room and tells you how to operate everything in your room. You appreciate this, and compare it to hotels you have been to on business trips, and tip the kid $5. Another mistake.

You meet a girl at a bar and she agrees to go home with you. You spend the night with her and when she gets ready to go in the morning, you tip her the same price you do back home. This is going to be 3 or 4 times the going rate.

What happens now is that all these people start expecting these kinds of tips. Prices start to skyrocket, and the city that used to be the best place in the world for a vacation, will soon be ruined.

You may think to yourself, big deal. I am just one guy on vacation and I can spend whatever I want. It is my vacation. You will just wind up ruining it for everyone else.

The smart thing to do is to hang out at some of the Pattaya forums a month or two before you go and find out what the going rates are. And then, don’t overpay. Otherwise, you will be, in the words of one forum poster, a Lame Dupe Over Payer, or LDOP.

Think about it. You wouldn’t pay $50 for something you know you can get for $20 back home, would you? So, why do it in Pattaya? I am not cheap, but I can’t see paying more than I have to.

If you keep paying more and more, everyone will expect more and more. The consumers need to control the prices refuse to pay inflated prices. Eventually, they will figure it out and lower their expectations.

Keep in mind that Thailand’s average wage is about $6 per day. Giving someone a tip equal to a day’s pay is ridiculous. Check the prices before you go and don’t compare prices to back home. You are not back home. You are in Pattaya.

7 Tips For Travel Trips

We love taking trips, whether it’s a short road trip, or a longer trip by air to some distant exotic place. But all too often we fail to plan for our trip and the result is frustration and annoyance.

1. For road trips, get the right maps and plan your route thoroughly. Everything won’t go exactly to plan, but at least you’ll have much fewer nasty surprises.

2. Never, ever make a joke about bombs or terrorists near security at an airport. Many people have jokingly mentioned they have a small bomb in their case as their luggage is being inspected. Later at the police station they deeply regretted their stupidity.

3. Be immediately suspicious in airports, railway or bus stations when someone bumps into you. It may be a pickpocket. Also be aware if something is spilled on you, or a spot on your clothing is pointed out to you. These things are designed to distract your attention from what is really going on: the theft of your valuables.

4. While cruises make planning easy with their all in charges, there is likely to be many extra items that you should budget for. These include, taxes, surcharges and fees, tipping, drinks, some shore excursions, shopping purchases, etc.

5. The most obvious thing to check on before setting off on a foreign trip is the state of the local weather where you are going. You don’t want to arrive in a tee shirt if it’s snowing, or in a fur coat if it’s in the 90s.

6. When travelling with children bring along recent photos of each one. If a child gets lost, the photo will prove invaluable in helping to locate the child again.

7. A trip to a theme park will suffer from a lack of careful planning. Some parks are so big that planning is essential. Get a list of all the rides and a map of the park, as well as opening and closing times, before setting off.

How to Lose Weight in Less Than 7 Days

Losing emphasis is tricky. For the largest part make somewhere your home, it takes phase. On top of with the aim of, more or less forms of dieting can be unhealthy by preeminent, and counterproductive by most awful. However, near is still hope. If you're serious just about bringing up the rear emphasis and mean to go to see an immediate difference in your body in excluding than 7 days, get the gist these of use hints.
Diet
1.Form a diet with the aim of minimizes starches, sugars, and brute fats. Starches, sugars, and fats are all tasty, but non exactly the preeminent diet foods. Bad starches and sugars to stay away from include: Potato chips, fries, white breads, pastries, soft drinks, candies, and cakes. These will all keep you from realizing your emphasis loss goal.

2.Form a diet with the aim of is rich in vegetables, fiber, and lean protein. All these foods are excluding prone to being converted into fat, and stretch packed with healthy vitamins, mineral deposits, and antioxidants. Try incorporating the following foods into your diet:
Leafy greens such as spinach, kale, mustard greens.
Egg whites, soy products, and skinless chick breasts.
Fruits low in sugars, such as rhubarb, raspberries, and blackberries.
Fish and shellfish.
Nonfat dairy foods, such as fat-free yogurt.

3.Drink hose as a replacement for of sugary drinks. Many doctors vouch for with the aim of males get a hold 13 cups of hose apiece date, which facility unfashionable to 3 liters, while women are recommended to drink 9 cups apiece date, just about 2.2 liters. Water will help your immune approach stay healthy, keep your skin looking serious, and commit you more lasting energy to organize the things you need to organize for the duration of the date.
You probably already know this, but sodas, juices, and other sugary drinks aren't the way to enthusiasm if you mean to shed pounds rancid of your frame. Sugars, as mentioned higher than, are unfussy carbohydrates, an extra of which will conduct to more calories. Reach instead of a goblet of hose as a replacement for! You'll go to see the difference.
(Unsweetened) developing tea is an alternative first-rate replacement instead of sugary drinks. Green tea contains a first-rate amount of antioxidants, significance with the aim of it helps your body fight critical of liberated radicals, which enhance symbols of aging in humans

4.Use dieting tips to form first-rate way of life. We all cheat right away and subsequently, and that's fine. But we can succeed it harder on ourselves to cheat in the originally place, giving us an incentive to get the gist our diet more exactly and thoroughly.
Get tempting foods unfashionable of your in. If you normally superstore, ask your spouse to organize the shopping as a replacement for, and instruct him to bad deal foods just mentioned on a slant. If you're younger, ask your parents food to bad deal quandary foods like chips, ice-cream, and sweetie. It's harder to chomp bad food if there's by no means a few around.
Don't graze from the refrigerator. Grazing from the fridge is bad for the reason that it's tranquil to lose track of how much you're intake. Instead, portion unfashionable how much food you're free to chomp against a plate, sit down by your ceremonial dinner schedule, and stick to this routine. It will help.
Don't chomp for the reason that you hold nothing better to organize. Humans can be funny creatures. Often, we organize things devoid of even thinking why we organize them, and intake is lone of folks things. Keep by hand on the go and engaged so with the aim of you don't start intake unfashionable of boredom.

5.Keep a food journal. Write down everything you chomp and be meticulous just about it. You're excluding likely to splurge if you hold to deal with the guilt of characters it down in your journal later. Plus, if you keep track of your diet and lone week goes particularly well, you can try replicating your diet to realize the same results.
Also be aware of in your journal how you're feeling as you ate the food. Were you feeling depressed, fortunate, angry, or optimistic? Focusing on your emotions as well as the foods themselves can help cue you into patterns of emotional intake, if near are a few.

6.Eat by predestined phase, by no means skipping meals, and by no means intake recent by night. It's main not to skip meals as you're dieting. Skipping meals is a recipe instead of indulge intake as the phase comes instead of a calorie boost. Try to chomp slighter portions all through the date, by the same phase all date.
There's a saw unfashionable near with the aim of goes: "Eat breakfast like a king, have lunch like a prince, and ceremonial dinner like a pauper." Well, it's accurate. A first-rate breakfast will help you jump start your metabolism, keep it free all through the date, and gently wind down as night comes. Eating as it should be otherwise sleeping is a bad proposal for the reason that your body often doesn't metabolize all the calories, as a replacement for converting them into fat.

Exercise

1.Stretch otherwise you keep fit. It's main to get a hold your muscles unchained otherwise you attack the ground running. Be located prepared to stretch instead of 5 to 10 minutes — bit by bit and effectively — otherwise you keep fit. Stretching will keep you from getting injured; all knows you can't keep fit as you're injured.
Instead of traditional stretching, cheerful up your muscles by mimicking the workout you'll start rancid liability. If you're free to be hitting the treadmill, instead of model, try jogging in place instead of a a small amount of minutes. If you're gong to be swimming, try pumping your arms and feet otherwise taking a duo leisurely practice laps in the pool.

2.During your warm-up routine, try to break a sweat.[3] Whether your warm-up routine is lifting weights, stretching, or liability more or less light cardio, it's main to resolute the tone instead of the workout in the launch by contravention a sweat. Think of it this way: Contravention a sweat instrument you're exerting by hand more, which instrument you're burning more calories. The more calories you burn, the more emphasis you'll lose. That's a first-rate feature.

3. Keep sweating all through your intact workout. Now with the aim of you've resolute the tone for the duration of your warm-up, keep the intensity ramped up. Losing emphasis is free to require lone hour of moderate keep fit apiece date. If with the aim of sounds like a set, try to think of it in chunks. Don't be concerned just about the days into the future; recently think just about the date you're irritating to get a hold through.

4.Do lone hour of cardio a date, working by a moderate pace by smallest amount. Cardiovascular keep fit recently instrument liability keep fit with the aim of gets your core rate up and keeps it near instead of the intact keep fit. Cardio is essential instead of emphasis loss. You can't expect to lose emphasis if you're not free to organize cardio. Some serious cardio exercises include:
The elliptical. The elliptical is with the aim of funny looking, stationary machinery with the aim of you can run or jog on; it has arm ropes with the aim of move as you walk/jog. A 130 crush different liability a moderate intensity workout on the elliptical teacher can expect to burn just about 670 calories apiece hour.

A rotating hall. Spinning is someplace you ride a stationary bike with an instructor instead of an hour. Spinning classes are butt-kicking but beyond doubt worth it. The pro at this time is with the aim of you burn a set of calories: A 140 crush person might expect to burn just about 850 calories apiece hour of very brisk rotating. On the downside, rotating can be quite repetitive and you'll hold to persuade by hand instead of upper limit results.
Swimming. Do more or less laps using the freestyle movement. Learn how to organize a flip twirl so with the aim of you won't hold to bring to a close as you get a hold to the put an end to of the section. Swimming is an admirable full-body keep fit. Burn just about 500 calories liability a moderate freestyle workout instead of an hour, and even more with a brisk workout

5.Complement your cardio with strength training. Strength training can be whatever thing from yoga and Pilates to resistance or emphasis training. It's up to you. You ought to, however, be prepared to fit in by smallest amount two hours of strength training in apiece week, if not four.
Indoors order to tone your body with weights, stick to low emphasis and high ranking repetitions. When you pick up a emphasis, decide lone that's comfortable, lone with the aim of you can worth to implement a certain keep fit competently more than 10 or 12 era. With emphasis training, try 10 repetitions of an keep fit, delay a follow up, subsequently organize an alternative 10 repetitions. Repeat. Do this routine by smallest amount three era.
Mix up your routine. Try something else exercises with the aim of build strength in something else muscle groups. Try lunges and squats, but additionally arm exercises as well; mix it up with exercises with the aim of strengthen your center. Keeping your strength training diverse will help accelerate your muscle development and calorie burn

6.Do interval training. Interval training is curt bursts of high ranking intensity workout followed by longer intervals of soft keep fit, repeating all through. Interval training allows make somewhere your home to lose more emphasis for the reason that the more you organize it, the easier it becomes. Instead of working unfashionable nearly the tip instead of the bursting hour, you just pay out 15 minutes by the tip and 45 minutes by moderate/low intensity

7.Join a sports team or intramural league. A sports team is a serious way to burn calories while having fun. We've all been to the exercise room and had a repetitive, somewhat boring workout. Sports puts a little competitive fire into the equation; you often not remember with the aim of you're working unfashionable, and feel entirely drained afterwards. Here are more or less sports with the aim of you might consider irritating:
Playing full-court basketball will burn an shocking 800 calories on the common (160 pound) person.
Playing competitive soccer will burn a very respectable 740 calories on the common (160 pound) person.
Rollerskating can burn just about 675 calories instead of the common (160 pound) person, while ice-hockey can burn just about 575. So join a roller- or ice-hockey league, right now!

8.Tread by hand. Again, especially as exercising, don't expect to be top dog on the totem pole as it should be from the launch. It takes expert trainers years to master individual techniques, and it will take phase to keep your emphasis rancid. The first-rate news is with the aim of if you pace by hand while exercising, you're excluding likely to feel burned-out and more motivated to polish your regimen by your upper limit intensity. That's a first-rate premonition instead of calorie-burning.
If you can organize nothing to boot, stagger. Walking is a first-rate keep fit instead of folks who can't bring themselves to organize other keep fit for the reason that of phase, scheduling, or other commitments. Even if you recently stagger 30 minutes apiece date, it's better than having made nothing by all.

General Tips

1.Burn more calories than you take in as food. This is in point of fact the the largest part helpful way to think just about emphasis loss. To lose lone crush of emphasis in a date, you have to burn 3,500 more calories than you take in as food. Now, you burn calories liability everyday things like walking around, preference up stuff, and even blinking, so don't enthusiasm unfashionable near expecting to starve by hand. Having the status of you will realize shortly, starving by hand is a recipe instead of adversity! With a little trace of help, you can start burning 600, 800, or even 1,000 calories more than you bring in all date.

2. Starving by hand will succeed you win emphasis, not lose it. This is a frequent muddle, and it's in point of fact unhealthy as well as counterproductive. People think with the aim of calories get a hold stored as fat as the body doesn't worth them; this is accurate. They subsequently intelligence with the aim of calories stretch from food; this is additionally accurate. Their final logic is with the aim of if they starve themselves, they'll get a hold fewer calories, and if they get a hold fewer calories, near will be excluding fat to save. This is false. Why?
When a person starves him/herself, the body realizes it is getting excluding food, causing its metabolism to leisurely down in order to save energy. When this happens, your body starts intake its muscle supply, basically, consuming lean tissue as a replacement for of fat coffers. It does this for the reason that it wants to warm up itself instead of a long winter devoid of food.
The really ill-timed feature is with the aim of if you organize run to lose emphasis by starving by hand, it's really problematical instead of your body to stay lean as you start intake again. Your body is so deplenished with the aim of it food all the food as fat, for the reason that muscle takes a while to grow

3.Any quick weight-loss regimen ought to additionally be accompanied by keep fit. The truth is with the aim of if you mean to lose quickly, you're not free to organize it just by intake as it should be. You will lose emphasis, but it will take phase. Better to duo your dieting regimen with an keep fit regimen designed to help you burn calories. This will help you go to see nearer results

4. Stress can cause weight-gain. Maybe you've been looking self-assured to appropriate into with the aim of dress instead of months, just to realize with the aim of you've gained a a small amount of pounds and the fit recently isn't near. You start to panic. You get a hold stressed unfashionable. Try not to. Stress can cause the quandary to get a hold even worse!
When your body is under stress, it released adrenaline — the fight or running away hormone. But your body additionally releases cortisol, an alternative hormone. When the adrenaline wears rancid, which happens quickly, all that's missing is the cortisol. The cortisol causes us to mean to chomp, for the reason that we've spent precious energy using our adrenaline to potentially save our life. It's our way of replenishing our approach.
Other era, intake becomes the procedure with the aim of helps fight the stress. Ever grabbed instead of with the aim of ice-cream afterward you boyfriend broke up with you? We've all been near. It's a way — an unhealthy lone — instead of us to relieve our stress. It feels consoling.

5.Results will take phase. If your goal is to lose 2 pounds in 7 days, that's probably feasible. If your goal is to lose 7 pounds in 7 days, it's not free to transpire. On top of with the aim of, it's not healthy. Be located reasonable just about I beg your pardon? Your goals are so you don't get a hold down on by hand as you fail to endure them.
Too many make somewhere your home expect immediate results and subsequently get a hold depressed as they aren't able to go to see them. Well, life isn't circus, and it's by no means tranquil, is it? With a set of things in life, but especially weight-loss, leisurely and steady wins the line.