Trekking to Death in India?

by Abha Malpani on

I was shocked that I wasn’t shocked to read this story about a man trekking in India and getting lost for 32 days. He wandered off from his group trekking trail, hit his head and fainted. When he woke up he couldn’t find his way back, ate grass and drank sewage water to survive. Over a month later was found by a local and taken to the hospital. The man is from Bombay, which is a 4-hour drive away from Pune – the city in the outskirts of which he got lost.

As much as India is truly “incredible”, and the tourism board is trying to get it’s act together; India is dangerously disconnected the minute you head off the standard marketed tourist spots. Comparing savage Indian outskirts with the Australian outback trails wouldn’t be fair, but in say Thailand, I think something like this would never happen.

I remember getting lost when I went on a school trail in the same area as this dude who got lost. We were missing only for a few hours. We didn’t move and all we saw was the odd snake, but it could have been worse; remote India can get wilder than you can imagine.

This is why I think Indian travelers are extremely daring, adventurous and courageous — I have uncles who have planned 60 day hikes in the Himalayas. Avid travelers in India don’t seem to be technologically well-connected (my uncles barely know how to send an email), unless of course you are from Bangalore (India’s Silicon Valley).

When I was in India last, I was thrilled to get in touch with OK TATA BYE BYE. It is the first and probably only website aimed at Indian backpackers – in India! There are dozens wandering off the beaten path in their own country, all the time (the Rupee doesn’t allow for much travel overseas), and the website gives great insight into traveling in India, stuff you won’t find in guidebooks.

Stop in Taipei, Save $100

by Catherine Bodry on

Good deals abound for the traveler willing to take a Taipei pit stop. Not only will the usual $100 landing fee surcharge be lifted, but if you stay two nights you can get a $79/night deal at participating hotels. The “I Land Paradise” promotion (which applies to any Asia-bound China Airlines or EVA Airways flight departing from a U.S. airport) starts Oct. 1 and runs until June 30.

The main problem with the promotion is that there are no direct flights from Taipei to China’s mainland except during the Lunar New Year. So if you’re on your way to China and want to take advantage of the deal, you’ll need to go through Hong Kong and then catch a flight to the mainland. I’ve stopped in Taipei several times en route to Southeast Asia, but I’ve never left the airport. The lifted surcharge could certainly convince me to lengthen my stay.

Attractions include the Shilin Night Market (see The Kozy Shack’s photo) and the National Palace Museum. For more stuff to see and do, check out AOL’s Taipei site.

Affordable Hotels and B&Bs in Europe

by Iva Skoch on

Searching for hotel rooms in Athens and Rome this week, I stumbled upon this website: hotelroom.com.

I could not find any affordable hotels on hotels.com, quickbook.com, expedia, travelocity…and all those usual suspects. On hotelroom.com, however, I was able to find hotels for as little as 30Euro for a double room in Athens. They provide photos, reviews and their cancellation penalties are very forgiving. Plus, the hotels have character. You don’t see chain hotels on the site very often.

I wish I knew about this site years ago!

Berlin: A Bargain City with Bargain Hotels

by Neil Woodburn on

With a plummeting US dollar, there remains very few places in Europe that are a bargain for visiting Americans. Fortunately, Berlin is one of them.

Berlin is my favorite German city because history has raised and dropped it so many times that it is practically bipolar in nature. These days, the city is neither at is nadir or zenith. It is somewhere in between, suffering financially and economically.

Berlin’s woes, however, are travelers’ good fortune, according to a recent AP article, Berlin Hotels offer high style at budget prices.

Apparently, a troubled economy coupled with Berlin’s quirky, artsy character has resulted in a number of very cool, very chic hotels popping up around the city that are cheap and exceptional for their value.

Budget chic. I love it.

Take, for example, Ostel. This great pun on the word Hostel and Ost (German for East) is a communist themed retro hotel with rooms going for just $53 (above photo). Or, there’s the $65 a night Arte Luise Kunsthotel in which every room has been personalized and designed by a local artist.

If you’ve ever dreamed of going to Berlin, now is the time; because if you don’t act soon, it will soon be as expensive as the rest of Germany.

Another Reason why you Should (or Should Not) go to Prague

by Grant Martin on

These days, the word on Prague is out. Back in the nineties it used to be a beautiful Bohemian destination where you could get a good deal on accommodation, beer and souvenir fur hats against the backdrop of a magnificent castle overlooking the city. These perks still apply, its just that everyone knows about it, and they’re all here doing the same thing.

Of particular notice are the volume of young Westerners running around at night. You don’t see them much during the day, but once the sun goes down the percentage of Czech spoken on the street is slowly overtaken with British and American English.

With good reason. Considering the strength of the Pound Sterling and Euro over the Czech Crown, Westerners can drink an evening full of beer here for the same price that they could get a round in the UK. And drink they do. This chap was screaming like a lunatic before he came around the corner, saw us, and immediately went to sleep. Perhaps an apt metaphor for the current state of Prague.