by Amit | Mar 27, 2022 | Vacations & Leisure
A Fun Work/Life Rebalancing Act
Turn your vacation into something relaxing:
- Reinvent yourself.
- Pursue a beloved hobby.
- Meet lifelong friends.
- Have a summer ritual.
Be a kid again and sign up for an adult camp this summer. Permit yourself to let go of stress and routine. We work too hard and long all year. So many of us have nothing to look forward to every year. Attending a summer camp for a week can change your mental perspective. Here are some startling facts of how out of balance we Americans are:
- In 2019, Americans spent an average of 2.8 hours watching television vs. 19 minutes indulging in sports or leisure, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Time Use Survey.
- “The U.S. remains the only globally that doesn’t require employees to take annual leave legally.” (G.E. Miller, 2010). Other countries set limits on the workweek length and have laws on mandatory paid time off. Sadly, the U.S. does not set any limits, which causes unnecessary stress on the American worker.
Reinvent Yourself
It’s time to reinvent yourself by signing up for a summer camp as an adult. And the benefits are many: skill development, social interaction/new friends, feeling connected to a group throughout the year, having fun trying new things, positive change, the spirit of exploration, encouragement, group bonding, a unique view of how unimportant work really is/puts routine life in perspective, taking up an old hobby, and just feeling like a kid again. In addition, all of your meals are planned and prepared for you, if nothing else. You can’t get that at home.
There are vacation spots for almost every interest. Examples are listed in the References section below.
It All Starts With a Search
After all, you are arranging a trip. However, camps have a theme that brings people with shared interests together, such as sports, fine arts, cooking, traditional back to nature, helping others, religious, language immersion, conservation, work camps, travel camps, promoting world peace, fantasy camps (dude ranch, rock-n-roll, astronaut), and hobby camps. Try these two directories to help you locate your dream camp experience:
- Grown-Up Camps – You can search by type of camp and location on this site. It links to a multitude of centers designed for adults.
- Camp Resource – this site groups by fantasy camps, hobby camps, etc. and is best searched by utilizing the site search field in the upper right-hand corner by typing in the word “adult” to filter out all the kids’ camps.
Action Steps
Think of the old swimming hole:
- Go ahead and take the plunge.
- Inform your colleagues that you’re going to camp this summer and watch their expressions. When you return, they will not only be envious of how well-rested you look but will soon be asking your advice on where they might go next summer.
- Check out the set of links below designed to give examples of what fun awaits.
- Feel free to add your own.
by Amit | Mar 26, 2022 | Travel Tips
Not all air tickets require payment immediately. The due date for payment varies by booking method, type of airfare, and seat demand.
Many factors determine when an airfare has to be paid. All airfares have an in-built ticketing time limit. The ticketing time limit specifies how soon after a reservation is made, that payment is required. It can vary depending on booking online or with a travel agent. The cheapest flights usually require payment sooner than more flexible fares. And during busy periods, the airline may bring the ticketing time limit forward so that unwanted seats are released more shortly.
This information is based on airfares sold from New Zealand but is likely to apply elsewhere.
Online Versus Travel Agent Payment Deadlines for Air Tickets
Payment dates for the same air ticket can vary depending on how you have booked the flight. Most online flight booking engines require you to pay for the visa as soon as you have made the reservation. However, with some airfares, especially long-haul airfares, a travel agent can hold the same seats for a more extended period before paying for them.
For example, if you book a London to Singapore flight on the Singapore Airlines website, you will be required to pay for the airfare straight away. However, if you book it through a travel agent, you may not have to pay for the air ticket two weeks before departure. So it is handy if you are booking in March, but your flight is not until July.
Similarly, if you ring Singapore airlines and book with them directly over the phone, they may also be able to hold the seats without payment until a later date.
Airfare Type Determines Payment Deadline for Airline Tickets
Cheap airfares have more restrictive rules. It usually includes having to pay for the airfare sooner rather than later. For example, airfare specials often require payment within 24, 48, or 72 hours, even when travel is not for several months.
If you purchase flights for travel in another country, then payment is usually required the same day. If you purchase a ticket in Australia to travel between Brazil and Argentina, the airfare is likely to be an ‘instant purchase’ airfare. It means that it needs payment straight away to secure the airfare quoted.
The payment and ticketing date for business class flights tends to be much closer to the departure date than economy flights. There is greater competition for economy flights than business class flights. In addition, business class flights are a lot more expensive, so you get to book now and pay later.
Airlines can Bring Air Ticket Payment Dates Forward.
Most people who travel at Christmas, New Year, school holidays, or other traditionally busy times will understand the importance of booking early. One book early to avoid disappointment later when they cannot get a seat. However, booking does not necessarily mean having to pay straight away.
If seats fill way in advance of travel, the airline can bring the ticketing time limit forward. This forces people holding seats to either purchase them or release them.
The airlines can also bring the ticketing date forward if they plan to increase airfare. If you have a seat held through a travel agent or with the airline directly, the agent or airline will contact you to allow you to purchase the airfare and avoid the increase, or keep the seat but pay for the new higher airfare later.
When do Airfares Require Payment?
If you are booking online, then airfares require payment straight away. The advantage of this is avoiding any potential airfare increases. However, if you are uncertain about whether you will travel but are anxious to hold a seat, then booking through the airline over the phone or with a travel agent may buy you more time before paying.
by Amit | Mar 25, 2022 | Vacations & Leisure
Master sandcastle builders compete worldwide, but you don’t have to be a master sandcastle builder to create your sand masterpiece.
Playing in the sand is one of the joys of being at the beach, sinking your toes and fingers into the white sands, building mounds, surrounding them with water-filled trenches, and decorating them with shells and seaweed. It’s an activity for all age groups, and taking a few simple tips from the masters makes it even more fun. I recently attended the Sandbach Sand Castle competition at Fort Myers Beach, where I picked up a few tips from Bill Knight and Andy Hancock of Sandlubber’s “Sandvertising” Agency on building a better sandcastle.
Sandcastle Building Basics
Even the experts build with simple sand and water. While Elmer’s Glue is sometimes introduced into the competitions, this is simply a way to preserve the detail work and has no bearing on the structural integrity of a sand sculpture. Simple sand and water are all we need. At the beach, Bill and Andy recommend using 5-gallon buckets to move your sand to the desired location and first constructing a platform on which to build your masterpiece. You will significantly elevate your finished product, drawing more attention to it and protecting it from foot-level damage.
In viewing the masters’ sculptures, it is easy to see that they all build in a pyramid shape with a broader base and narrowing as it gets taller. Andy Hancock explains this is simply a matter of physics. The foundation needs to be wider and more vital to support the height. Pack the sand carefully to avoid air pockets, as these may cause your structure to collapse. Use plenty of water when hand-stacking the sand and allow it to dry adequately before continuing to build height.
Household Items for Building Sand Sculptures
Any expert will tell you how important it is to use the appropriate tools for the job. Building sand sculptures is no different. In addition to the 5-gallon jug, Bill and Andy sport tool belts with simple household items for sand sculpting. Jokingly telling the crowd that he stole his wife’s cake knife for Sandbach, Bill recommended it for slicing and carving sand. It is particularly effective for creating staircases. He used flat discs intended to move furniture to smooth large areas of sand and make-up brushes to sweep away debris. Andy used a drinking straw to blow loose sand and draw details in the sand. Both stressed that each sculptor finds his grouping of best-loved tools. Andy, however, sells a specialized sand-castle-building toolkit with lessons on South Padre Island.
Once you have put together the appropriate tools and created a platform to build, the possibilities are endless. Forget the plastic molds and hand-stack wet sand, building a large enough mound to carve into whatever you imagine. Use your toolkit to cut away a design once the stack is solid and dry enough. Slow down and cut bit by little. It’s easier to take a little more sand off than add more back on. Dare to test the limits, though. After all, it’s only sand, and this is supposed to be fun!
by Amit | Mar 25, 2022 | Vacations & Leisure
Holidays with a Difference
Tired of the same old vacation spots? Do something different and consider a psychic holiday or spiritual retreat for your 2018 holidays. Conducted over weekends through to a couple of weeks, you may find yourself having fun with runes and communicating with passed loved ones while enjoying some of the world’s most picturesque and dramatic scenery.
Identifying Psychic Abilities
Suppose you believe everyone is born with psychic ability and want to know what yours is, presuming it hasn’t made itself perfectly obvious already. In that case, a psychic weekend or spiritual retreat spent in the company of like-minded individuals could sound appealing. These getaways provide several ways to discover your unique talents.
Psychic Net, a U.K-based tourism operation, allows one to experiment with crystals, tarot cards, runes, crystal balls, and candles. The Hana Pacha Retreat Centre in Peru teaches participants how to harness the sun’s power, rainbows, and crystal energy. Psychic Retreats, another U.K-owned operation, specializes in crystal dowsing, reading auras, and mediumship.
Benefits of a Spiritual or Psychic Retreat
Most people that consider a psychic holiday do so because they have something in mind that they want to achieve, e.g., communicating with loved ones or self-healing. Different retreats cater to other ambitions, so when considering which retreat to attend, one needs to know what they wish to achieve.
Psychic Sisters, a U.K company, completes their weekends with a ghost hunt. If you’ve always wanted to convince yourself of the validity of ghosts, then their ghost hunt claims to allow participants to touch, sense, and feel the energies of real spirits. Their course also focuses on communicating with loved ones.
Psychic Net seeks to help attendees understand spiritualism and develop one’s psychic abilities while having fun doing it. In addition, the Hana Pacha Retreat Centre attracts proponents of spiritual healing, personal growth, and ascension.
Scenic Psychic Holidays
Just because one is on a psychic holiday, there is no need to forgo the usual things that one demands from a holiday, including beautiful scenery. Nature’s quiet beauty perfectly fits the contemplative, inner search for higher awareness. The locations of many psychic holiday spots are amongst the most beautiful in the world.
Many tourism visitors to the U.K, including myself, consider the Lakes District among the most picturesque parts of England. It is where Psychic Net holds its weekend workshops.
In South America, no spiritual vacation would be complete without visiting magical Machu Picchu. This amazingly scenic destination is included in the ten-day sun retreat offered by the Hanaq Pacha Retreat Centre in Peru.
Psychic Holidays and Spiritual Retreats
There are so many destinations and activities now available to enjoy on holiday. Do something different and enjoy some crystal ball-gazing, ghost hunting, and having fun with some like-minded individuals. You can do all this by enjoying a psychic holiday or spiritual retreat for your 2019 holidays.
by Amit | Mar 12, 2022 | Travel Tips
Ever wonder why the flight or series of flights you want are wildly expensive? It could be because no single airfare exists for it.
Not every route that can be flown has affordable airfare. For example, a complicated itinerary may produce completely unreasonable airfare. This is because, behind the scenes, that total may be made up of two or more individual airfares. As illogical as it seems, it may work out cheaper to do the same itinerary but include a few more stopovers, fly an alternative airline and purchase a return ticket when you only need a one-way airfare.
Routing Restrictions on Airfares
It’s not always clear why you can’t travel straight between A and B. This is because airlines need to maximize profitability, and even though it may seem illogical, this is achieved by traveling out of the way to collect more passengers.
For example, a flight between Auckland and London that flies via Seoul, Korea, and which involves an overnight stay is often cheaper than a direct flight. Direct flights commonly attract a premium even though they probably cost less technically. This is because demand for direct flights is greater. No one wants to stop over unless they have to. If there is a choice, most people will pay more to get between A and B as quickly as possible.
Flight Number Restrictions on Airfares
Ever wonder why you can’t just fly any flight number you choose? Sometimes specific flight numbers are restricted based on where the ticket is purchased, the combination of flights being purchased, and whether the airline is the operating carrier or a codeshare flight.
Airlines usually work within alliances to reach destinations that they don’t fly to themselves. It is how an airline can cater to the most significant number of passengers, even if it does not serve the destinations themselves.
For example, any domestic Australian travel must use Virgin Blue when flying between Sydney and Buenos Aires on Aerolineas Argentinas. Likewise, any domestic travel in Argentina must use only Aerolineas or Austral Lineas Aereas.
Airfare Rules and Cost Vary by Place of Purchase
Not all airfares are created equally. For example, an airfare that governs a domestic route can vary from an airfare sold from overseas in the same way. For example, a London to Auckland airfare on Singapore airlines is twice the cost when purchased from New Zealand as it is when bought from the U.K. Airlines decide where they want to sell seats from when setting their airfares.
Return flights may be cheaper than one-way flights. For instance, purchasing a one-way Lufthansa airline ticket between Frankfurt and Manchester might cost up to five times as much as purchasing a round-trip ticket. So it can work out to accept the return airfare and only use the first coupon.
How to Avoid Expensive Airfares
Airfares are not calculated in the way that an average person would expect. The most direct route is rarely the cheapest, even though it might be the shortest. A return ticket can be more affordable than a one-way airfare, and some seats on an aircraft are likely to be sold by other airlines.
