Posts for Stories and Travel Info Category

Important Things for Boat Owners to Know

Stories and Travel Info - Amanda - July 8, 2016

Consider yourself lucky if you own a boat. There are many people who are not fortunate enough to own this type of machine. However, owning a boat is a very big responsibility that should not be taken lightly. Boat owners need to educate themselves about many different things in order to ensure the safety of themselves and anyone else they bring on the water with them. Failure to be an expert in these matters could lead to a tragedy on the water that could have been prevented. Here are some of the areas that boat owners should be educated about.

1. Cleaning the boat

The bottom of the boat will need to be cleaned depending on how much it is used and how long the hull is submerged in the water. You cannot allow barnacles to grow on the side of the boat. These will eventually turn into huge problems for you. Therefore, you will need to learn the various techniques of cleaning your boat. You will also need to find out the best chemicals and equipment to use for this task.

2. Repairing the boat

You do not need to become a master boat mechanic. However, it would definitely be in your best interests to learn some of the basics concerning how to repair common mechanical problems that you may encounter. You should take a few boat repair classes before you start going on the water regularly. Knowing how to fix your boat if it breaks down when you are far from land could save your life. You should also find a good place to buy replacement parts for boats. You want to make sure that you are only using the best quality parts to repair your boat.

3. Safety

A boater safety class is required in some states in order for a person to get his or her boater’s license. However, you should still take a safety class even if you live in an area where it is not required. Common sense is also a big part of safety while you are boating. For example, you should always bring enough life jackets for all of the people on the boat. You should also bring plenty of food and water so you will be able to survive if you are stranded on the water for several days. Safety should always be your top priority when you are boating.

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A Traveller’s Guide to Reno

Best Destinations, Stories and Travel Info - Amanda - June 2, 2016

The state of Nevada is now known as the gambling capital of the world, and Reno is where it all started (legally) in the 1920s. The bright neon lights of Reno’s many casinos have beckoned keen gamers for many decades, with the Eldorado being one of the most popular places for guests to challenge Ol’ Lady Luck.

Yet there is a lot more to see and do in Reno than visit its famous gaming houses. Here’s our guide to The Biggest Little City…

Getting to Reno

A traveller’s guide to Reno

If you want to come to Reno via Las Vegas don’t be fooled by the fact that they’re both known for their casinos and neon lights, as well as the fact they’re both in Nevada. In fact, Reno is about an eight-hour drive away!

If you’re travelling from Las Vegas in a car, take the US-95 and drive north to Fallon, then go west on the US-50 to Fernley, and keep going west on I-80 West until you reach Reno. If like the desert, then you may find the long drive fun. If you’re a passenger and you have no interest in landscapes, then you can always play Red Flush casino games to win some extra spending money and to get yourself ready for the famous felt-green tables.

If you want to travel by plane, then you’re in luck as most major airlines serve Reno-Tahoe International Airport. You will find non-stop flights to and from Chicago, Phoenix, Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Portland and Seattle.

For the lowest fares, we recommend avoiding flights into Reno on Friday, and out of the city on Sunday.

To get directly to and from the airport, you have a choice of rental cars, taxis, buses and more. All of these ably serve most gambling, shopping, and dining needs.

Things to do in Reno

Besides casinos, there are many things to keep you busy and happy during your stay in Reno. For a touch of culture and history, there’s the Nevada Museum of Art. The current building opened in 2003 and was designed by Will Bruder Architects; a company renowned for their modern ideas and beautiful buildings.

If you’d like a nice stroll, then Idlewild Park is the place to go. While there, you can take in Reno’s Municipal Park Garden, a driving range, and various walking trails. For the kids, there’s a seasonal adventure playground and a skate park.

Casinos and restaurants

The most popular casinos include the Atlantis, Eldorado, and the Silver Legacy and these have great reviews on TripAdvisor. The tropical-themed Atlantis offers a wide range of dining options. These include a great value (only $13!), a steakhouse, and a pizza restaurant, equipped with a real Italian pizza oven.

Peg’s Glorified Ham n Eggs also comes highly recommended by both locals and visitors, as does Pirate’s Pizza.

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The Railway Stations of India

Stories and Travel Info - Amanda - April 20, 2016

Whenever I travel by Public Transport, I am intrigued by the concept of ‘Sonder’ time and time again. It came to mind even more during my stay in India, while visiting some of the biggest and busiest railway stations in the world. Sonder is defined as the realization that each passerby has a life as vivid, complex and rich as your own. It made me think of my friends back home, and the richness of their lives.  Although just one thought away, I hadn’t spoken to them in a while. I figured they were just one prepaid refill away as well, and promised myself to contact them soon.

The railway network of India is known as one of the largest and busiest of the entire world. People, moving. All heading for a certain direction. Trying to reach a particular destination. They all have a name, a birthday, dreams, hopes, ambitions, routines, friends, worries, a past, a future, a family, a favorite song. They all have a story to tell. Maybe they just received bad news, maybe today is one of the most important days in their life. Maybe not. And here we are, all sitting together for a while in a train heading to Mumbai.

BusiestThe_Chhatrapati_Shivaji_Terminus_(CST)

It seems impossible to put into words how crowded the The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway station in Mumbai was. It clearly is the busiest railway station in the entire world. Through the years, it became the most important transport hub in the world’s busiest rail network of India. This unique UNESCO World Heritage Site, carries around three million passengers a day. Imagine that.

Longest

If you ask me, the most memorable railway station of India is the Gorakhpur Railway Station. It’s huge! This station has always been a very important junction in Northern India. With no less than 1366 meters (0,850 miles), the Railway Station gives house to the world’s longest Railway platform. You almost wouldn’t believe your eyes, while standing on the platform.

Oldest

The city of Kolkata, is the home of the oldest Railway Station in all of India. The Howrah Railway Station is special, since it was India’s first Railway Station. Due to a great increase of traffic, plans for the new station building were proposed in 1901. The station has been in service as of 1 December 1905. This means the building is over a century old!

PrettiestDudhsagar_Falls_Triplet

Have you ever heard of the amazing Dudhsagar Waterfall? It is one of the best kept travel-secrets in India. The falls are easily accessible via the Dudhsagar Railway Station. It is possible to catch a morning train to the station and spend several hours at the falls. When you are ready to go, just take an afternoon train back. Doesn’t that sound amazing?

The waterfall is located right between breathtaking scenery overlooking a deep and beautiful tropical forest valley. This valley is accessible on foot or by train only. Near the top of the falls, the railway line from Vasco to Londa crosses the mountainside, with excellent views from the train. Don’t miss out on this amazing view, it was an experience I will never forget!

In India, the railways are of great importance for the inhabitants of the country. Modern India was built upon them. It’s a lifeline running through the entire country. The India Railways cover a distance of no less than 65,000 kilometers (40389 miles) and carries over 30 million passengers a day. All passengers unique, just like everyone else.

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Touring Around Detroit

Stories and Travel Info, World Travel - Amanda - November 12, 2013

Some say that Detroit has gone on to hard times after recently declaring civil bankruptcy. Though this cannot rightfully be denied, it cannot be denied either that the home of Motown and the heart of automotive industry in the US still has things to offer to visitors. Becoming more and more a haven for artists there is a great art scene developing in the lower rent studios and art spaces around the city. A few different things to do in Detroit include.

Detroit-Institute-of-Arts

Detroit Institute of the Arts
5200 Woodward Avenue
Dating back to 1885 the Detroit Institute of Arts is a massive complex that includes 100 galleries, an 1,150 seat auditorium and a 380 seat lecture hall. With an extensive and well praised permanent collection that includes works such as Vincent Van Gogh’s “Self Portrait” and Diego Rivera’s “Detroit Industry.” The institute also regularly uses its auditorium to host different Friday night concerts as well as once a month brunches with Bach! Visitors to the institute compare it favorably with art galleries around Europe and the US in far larger cities. What is highly lauded is ipads being given to patrons so they can use them to learn more about the art they are viewing. The museum is closed on Monday and Tuesdays and is open from 10 am to 5 pm the remaining days. Admission costs $8 dollars for adults.

Motown Historical Museum
2648 West Grand Boulevard
From 1959 to 1972 Detroit’s Motown record label was a virtual hit making machine. With recording artists under their label such as the Supremes, the Temptations and the Jackson Five Motown helped create an entire genre of music that permanently changed the American music landscape. Now the Motown studios have been altered into a museum to commemorate this trend setting label. The original interior has been kept the same and tour guides can now walk people through Motown delivering tales of the studio in its hay day and the different stars that walked its halls. Perhaps, though the greatest moment to be enjoyed is actually walking into the recording studios where so much hit music was created. The Motown museum can be found on West Grand Boulevard in the Boston Edison Historic District, it is open from 10 am to 6 pm and admission costs around $10 dollars. The museum is closed on Mondays.

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More Reasons to Visit London

Getting Lost, Stories and Travel Info - Amanda - November 5, 2013

Home of the Summer Olympics of 2012, a thousand and one pubs, the Queen’s residence… this is London, England one of the world’s preeminent destinations. Reasons to come here are vast and personal to each person, but in a celebration of this city’s never ending energy and cosmopolitan vibe we will celebrate a few of them here. Still more reasons to visit London include.

West-End-London-England

Speaker’s Corner
Every Sunday Hyde Park in London hosts a weekly event called Speaker’s Corner. As the title alludes to Speaker’s corner is a chance for each and every person to speak their mind. A vastly entertaining event varied people – some well educated, some not – stand on milk crates speaking on topics dear to them which often connect to religion and politics. The joy of this event is learning about varied topics and doing some people watching while listening to the crack pots rant. What gives the event additional colour is that the talks are two sided as people from the crowd also involve themselves shouting things out. A trip to London will not glimmer quite as much as it can without a trip to speaker’s corner.

Camden Town
Bohemian London starts and ends in Camden Town. Filled with various markets and shops people descend to this part of the city to purchase funky clothes: goth, mod, eletroinca, rocker, jewelry, crafts, music, books and anything else the mind can think of. Camden has long been a location where many of London’s most up and coming bands play. There is also a great theatre and art scene here too.

West End Theatres
A trip to London needs time spent in the city’s second to none theatre district. From the classics – like Shakespeare and Dickens, to the avant garde – like Samuel Beckett – any variety of theatre is performed here. People often look to the cheaper ticket wholesalers around Leister Square to secure themselves cheaper tickets to the show.  Seeing performances in, the world famous, west end theatre district is definitely one of the main reasons for visiting London.

Pub Life
People come to London to sit in a pub and watch the evening go by. There is no place that celebrates the pub to the same extent and enjoys so feverishly a good old drink after work on the week day than the pubs across England and in London. People come to the pubs to watch sports and spend their leisure time. More so than anywhere else the pub is a respected place to gather and not seen as a den of vice. When you come to London you have to get down to the good old pub too, and have a pint of the famous – if not tasty – English bitters.

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