Bedless in a Big City

While traveling around India we arrived at 2am to Paraharaganj, a seedy old area of Delhi with no hotel booked and a feeling of anxiety as to where we could sleep that night. After walking around aimlessly for a significant amount of time we began to see the rewards of booking ahead especially in large capital cities and the rewards just might out way the “fly by the seat of your pants” travel style that we normally value.


While we wouldn’t normally think to use a search engine to find accommodations, WOTIF asked us to review their site which functions in a familiar manner but is unique in the way that it specializes in finding hotels and guesthouses.

A search engine focused solely on finding a place to stay could definitely come in handy that is certain. Now we had to see how well the service worked, for us specifically.

For us, we focus on hostels and guesthouses, along with 1 and 2 star hotels, which was no problem for us to select due to the easy to use options menu. Once you type in your search criteria, the available accommodation for your destination is displayed nicely in a format which allows you to access information on which rooms are free and how much they cost. Once you select a suitable room, the proceedings are as with many search engine sites.

WOTIF is promoting their India hotels and for such a challenging and sometimes difficult country to backpack WOTIF could certainly make things easier for those looking to prebook or are nervous about finding accommodation on foot.
Of course, some remote areas may require doing research of your own, and reserving on your own at the time of arrival. However, arriving in a large city may be overwhelming and intimidating to a first time visitor. Cities such as Rome, New York, Paris, Manila, or you are searching for Delhi hotels or Mumbai hotels, WOTIF may be just what your looking for.

*This post is supported by Wotif.com

Flying On the Cheap (plus Travel Grove review)

We have been busy lately organizing ourselves for another multi-month journey this time from Italy to Turkey overland. We had the good fortune of lucking into a cheap flight from Toronto to Lamezia, Italy for the whopping total of 100$ plus tax. Yes you read that correctly. Especially because of Lianna’s former career in the travel industry people are constantly asking how we are able to do so much travel at a minimal cost. I certainly don’t enjoy paying a lot for flights and while some assume there is some sort of secret we aren’t sharing we really just have 3 ways of finding flights.

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Where to find Shangri La? – Comparing 3 Himalayan Kingdoms

It might be one of the most overused cliches in the travel universe but the idea of a kingdom deep in the Himalaya’s inspired by James Hilton’s classic Lost Horizon has thousands of backpackers and jet setters alike grabbing their warm coats and hiking boots in search of this mystical kingdom.

Monk,Dance,China,xiahe,tibet,xining,lobrang,monastery,buddhist, [Read more...]

Photo Essay – 10 Spiritual Places in Asia

Asia as a destination offers a kaleidoscope of religions and belief systems for the traveler to experience. There is certainly no shortage of spiritual places usually alive and buzzing with the faithful who arrive in droves to worship. Often some of our best experiences were simply wondering around these unique and inspiring places getting a glimpse into a belief system completely alien from our own sometimes joined by a knowledgeable local who would explain their faith.

The sheer amount of temples, mosques,pagoda’s and shrines throughout the continent is mind blowing but this post highlights the top 10 that we wont soon forget.

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Top Three Beach Destinations (for those ready to leave the all inclusives behind)

Since being back home and settling into somewhat of a normal existence we have been busy planning our next long haul. When we speak of our plans to travel from Eastern Europe and into the Middle East the majority roll their eyes and with a puzzled expression say ” That sounds great, but I have no interest in that area of the world”.Nicaragua,Latin,America,Central,Boat,sunset,corn,island,getaway,sand,beach,dereks place,casa iguana,

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Thoughts from a Traveler, Not Traveling

Going through some posts on a favourite travel site, I got to thinking about the life of a traveler, when not traveling. Mainly mine, and what I’m going to do about it.

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Long Term Travel Is No Vacation

We arrived at the Chinese – Nepalese border with hordes of other tourists and once the Chinese immigration showed up it wasn’t long before we were crossing the no mans land into Nepal.

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Guide to Drinking in Ireland

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1. Getting to the bar

In a packed pub, getting to the bar can be an aggressive affair. The oldest bar patrons tend to congregate around the entire circumference of the bar as they want to see everything happening in their local watering hole. Shoulders and elbows must be used, and literally picking up a person and moving them to a more convenient location is an option if they are small enough. Locals will want to get into deep conversation with you once they hear your accent so venturing to the bar when you still have half a pint left is the best idea. [Read more...]