He turns dry creek in Gujarat into nature park

AHMEDABAD: He is a man with a green thumb. Jitendra Patel, an environmentalist known for his penchant for planting trees, is now busy

transforming a dry creek into a thickly wooded land replete with fruit and spice-bearing plants.

He has taken up this Herculean task in Derol village in neighbouring Sabarkantha district, about 80 km from Ahmedabad. He has purchased the land to transform it into a nature lover’s paradise.

“This new park is coming up on 68 acres of land and rests on a dried-up creek on a riverbed refill and is similar to my Tirupati park,” Jitendra Patel, a civil engineer by qualification, told IANS.

Patel had earlier planted more than 200,000 trees in his Tirupati Nature Park in Mehsana district, 100 km from here.

“I believe nature is a kind mother and trees are sacred objects. You respect nature and she will keep you healthy. It is the way our life functions and we must understand at all times that we are part of nature,” says Patel.

He is a recipient of the prestigious Priyadarshini Indira Gandhi Vruksha Mitra environmental national award, which carries a cash prize of Rs.50,000.

Born into a farming family and a diploma holder in civil engineering, 47-year-old Patel says, “The main charm of the place lies in its creeks and estuaries. This is where modern man, exhausted as he is from pollution and tension, can enjoy the freshness of nature far from the madding crowd.”

“A combined effort of a farmer within and an engineer without helped me design my dream,” Patel says.

The park promises to be a refreshing getaway for people from towns like Himmatnagar, Modasa and Disa.

“It won’t be long before the area will be agog with the chirping of migratory birds and wildlife – even crocodiles and snakes, if the forest department allows me to bring them here. I am fond of snakes, they are good friends.”

Apart from a building, the open areas consist of a nature trail, space for camping, a future botanical field, and recreation and training programmes.

According to Patel, the park has almost all varieties of fruit – bananas, oranges and almonds. There are as many as 150 spice trees and ayurvedic plants commonly found in the Balaram-Ambaji wild sanctuary in north Gujarat and in high altitude areas in northern and southern India.

“I want to plant one million trees here,” says an optimistic Patel.

Patel has also built 15 check dams to meet the water needs of the Derol park. Solar energy will be used to run the park.

The park sits on a one-metre deep garbage fill, which is a reclaimed part of the creek. Several projects, including landscaping, a water reservoir and recreation centres are the main attraction of the garden.

“We have more than 200,000 plants to make the park green,” said A.K. Patel, a former joint director of agriculture who shoulders the responsibility of the plantation drive jointly with Jitendra Patel.

“Through the collaborative efforts of the National Orchard Board as well as people, the park intends to demonstrate the reversal of pollution and is bent on providing a thickly wooded area,” he said.

Inspired by Jitendra Patel’s enthusiasm, Banaskantha district official R.J. Patel has now approached him.

“I have invited Jitendra Patel to turn the large tracts of barren areas in Banaskantha into a green belt as he has done elsewhere in Mehsana and Sabarkantha district. I have asked him to plant 10,000 neem trees,” R.J. Patel said

World famous toy train resumes run in West Bengal

Siliguri (WB), Feb 22 (ANI): The world famous toy train in Darjeeling hills is back on track after it was suspended for 10 days following agitation for a separate Gorkha state.
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railways (DHR) is on a roll to attract as many tourists as possible across the globe.
The train, listed among UNESCO’’s World Heritage Sites, passes through a number of picturesque locations including ”Batasia Loop” (the valley of storm), the tea gardens of the Darjeeling Himalayas, the world’’s highest rail station ”Ghoom” and many other locations covering the forest lands of Terai.

The operation of the train has been severely curtailed in the last three years in the wake of the agitation by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM).
The train chugged again since February 19 after being closed down on February 9.
Despite the turmoil, the magnetic charm of the world famous toy train brings back the tourists.
“It is a very famous train, and very well known train in England. People know about it,” said Mark James, a tourist from United Kingdom.
Ever since the GJM agitation rocked the Darjeeling hills, the tourism industry in the region received a major setback.
Last year 16 charters and eight-winter safaris had to be cancelled due to the agitation and strikes in the hills.
There has also been a steady drop in the number of tourists. The DHR reports project a drop of 28 per cent in volume with mounting losses of rupees two million.
“Last year, I brought 42 people from all over the world. We were unable to run because of the Gorkha strike. One of our people comes back this year. I now know that there was another strike last week. But we better be sure we run for the next two days,” said Andrew Nil, the tour conductor from U.K.
The DHR toy train was started in 1896 by the then British Lieutenant Governor Ashley Eden, offering riders an opportunity to enjoy the majestic beauty of nature along the Darjeeling hills.
At the beginning, this railway was named as the Darjeeling steam Tramway Co. Later when India gained independence in 1947, the railway was named as the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR).
DHR was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO on December 5 at their 23rd session.

Living heritage

Monuments, they say, have many stories to tell. But, in a country like India that’s teeming with heritage structures, most of their modern stories appear to be of apathy. This was reinforced by the recent Rajasthan High Court order to prevent Salman Khan’s Veer from being filmed in the historic Amber Fort after a portion of a wall fell down. It has brought into focus yet again, the fragile state of most Indian monuments.

Many conservationists believe it’s time organisations participated in conservation efforts. So, is public-private partnership (PPP) the way forward to preserve India’s heritage?

“Private parties can do an enormous amount to save heritage,” says Amita Baig, India representative of the World Monuments Fund. “Restoration and re-use are huge economic drivers. For example, Neemrana hotels have given a new lease of life to many such buildings across India. Often, these were derelict ones that would otherwise have fallen prey to developers,” she adds.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and state archaeology departments — the government agencies primarily responsible for conserving monuments lament that they have too much to do. “The ASI has limited funds and resources and this limits our scope of functioning,” says a senior official of India’s premier organization for archaeological researches and protection of cultural heritage.

The ASI protects roughly 3,500 nationally-significant monuments and state archaeology departments look after another 3,000 altogether. But it’s estimated that many more monuments are crying out for attention. “In India, historic precincts, sacred sites, temples, mosques, etc, all form part of the heritage resource. The definition today includes a much broader range of civilization, such as the ghats of Varanasi and the walled city of Ahmedabad. These do not come under the purview of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act that governs the functioning of archaeology departments,” says Baig.

So what chance that PPP can save the day and India’s vast, if neglected, cultural heritage? Sri Lanka and Cambodia have had considerable success in implementing PPP models. Sri Lanka’s Central Culture Fund, for instance, works towards achieving excellence at a few sites, building capacity locally and subsequently expanding its mandate.

India has had modest success as well when it comes to a public-private partnership to conserve monuments, not least the restoration of Humayun’s Tomb in New Delhi by the Aga Khan Foundation. But most of the 100 monuments the ASI has identified as suitable for PPP are yet to find takers.

This, despite the government setting up the National Culture Fund (NCF) in 1996 to facilitate more PPP in conservation. The NCF’s mandate was “preserving tangible and intangible heritage in partnership with the community.” But it’s hardly lived up to its promise. Some conservationists say it is far too slow. Sangita Jindal, chairperson of the JSW Foundation, which is involved in conservation efforts at Hampi and at Maharashtra’s Jaigarh Fort, says, “The NCF is very slow — one needs to be patient with them and persevere for things to move in the right direction.”

But conservation architect Divay Gupta insists that “PPPs can be successful, if they are based on forging a partnership and not just generating funds.” He adds that “a more creative approach” is important “like reusing some of the heritage buildings, which can add to their charm.” Baig agrees, “In India, we tend to protest at innovation. But, we must understand that PPPs are not only about funds, but also about adding value through skills, knowledge sharing and expertise.”

Many believe that PPPs can work if there is greater public awareness about conservation. For instance, the Ministry of Tourism’s Atithi Devo Bhava campaign has actor Aamir Khan reaching out to youth and addressing the issue of defacing monuments.

Jindal says such steps are essential for a successful PPP. “Awareness programmes need to be conducted at heritage sites for tourists and the local population to enable them to respect and take pride in a heritage monument. These are, after all, the history of our future generations. The local population needs to feel involved. That’s the only way to generate an attitude of caring and respect for our monuments.”

Bird-watchers get set for annual race

MUMBAI: Wildlife enthusiasts, including amateur bird-watchers and ornithologists, are busy revising the differences between a Ruddy Turnstone and a Desert Wheatear for the fifth edition of the HSBC Mumbai Bird Race to be held on Sunday.

With more than 80 teams already having registered, the total participation has crossed 450 bird-watchers, making the event one of the biggest bird races the country has ever seen. Bird races have been held in 11 cities over the years and the event is being organised in association with the Bombay Natural History Society and Yuhina Eco-Media.

“Bird races have become extremely popular at several Indian metros. These are dawn-to-dusk events where teams of bird-watching enthusiasts, with participants ranging from the age of eight-year-olds to 80-year-olds from all walks of life, spend the day birding in and around the metropolitan region,” says naturalist and author Sunjoy Monga.

The bird race extends over an area of nearly 5,000 sq km, from Palghar and Wada (north) to Murud-Janjira (south) and up to Matheran (east). Bird watchers from Pune, Alibaug, Dombivli, Kalyan, Panvel and Thane will also bird watch.

The birding hotspots in the city usually include Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivli, Maharashtra Nature Park in Dharavi, Sewri creek, Uran, Vasai Fort, Karnala Bird Sanctuary, Tungareshwar Sanctuary, IIT campus-Powai Lake and the Byculla zoo.

The event will be followed by a prize ceremony and get-together at the Maharashtra Nature Park where participants will share their experiences. Cricket commentator and journalist, Harsha Bhogle will also be present at the evening programme.

The bird-watchers, who’ve already started dusting their binoculars, will be divided into teams of four, one of whom will be an avid bird-watcher. The entire event is free of cost but requires participants to register. Several all-children teams will also be made for the half-day race.

Monga says that the most exciting aspect of the race is that it offers a unique platform for beginners who also end up learning the finer points of bird watching from experts.

“The fun event is aimed at generating awareness among people about the bird life surrounding the region as well as support for the conservation of nature,” he said.

and the environment. Over time, it gives us a good idea of the region’s avifauna (bird life) and what could be the species and areas facing problems,” he says.

Monga says that during the last four races in the city, a total of 286, 277, 242 and 261 species of birds were recorded respectively. “That was a whopping almost-a-quarter of India’s bird life spotted in the first two years in this heavily built-up and increasingly expanding urban region,” he adds.

A trip to the North East: Beauty and challenges

The area is one of the most beautiful places in India. This is a very special part of the country and the government needs to develop the region by providing better infrastructure, especially transport infrastructure, to increase tourism revenues.

AS AN adventure freak who is very fond of travelling, I usually travel and explore different parts of the country and enjoy nature’s beauty. I travelled to many hill stations and beaches, from Shimla in Himachal and Munnar in Kerala to the beaches of Pondicherry, Mumbai and Kerala.

This term break wherein I had a few weeks off, a couple of friends of mine and I decided to explore a new place, and we explored the unexplored North East India.

The whole area, where the main occupations include tea cultivation and tourism, is probably one of the most beautiful places in the country, and the best I’ve ever been to, from the clean and green Khasi Hills of Shillong, to the mighty Himalayas full of snow, the beautiful green river Teestha, the beautiful monasteries and Buddhist culture in Sikkim, and to the traditionally rich temples and the famous Momos of Assam.

Due to time constraints, I was able to cover only these three states but I shall soon cover the remaining ones as time permits.

What I observed was that this is a very special part of the country and to promote development in the region, the government needs to provide the state governments adequate infrastructure to improve tourism and generate revenues.

As most of my time was spent in Sikkim I happened to visit Yumthang, also known as the mini-Switzerland of India, Lachung and Kuttok, one of the highest bases of the Indian military.

The place is full of snow for almost the whole year and is also close to the origin of the beautiful green river Teestha. But the route to Lachung was really challenging both for the driver as well as the passenger because of the bumpy rides and accident prone mountainous stretches.

The roads can accommodate only one car at a time and the place really needs to be given special attention by the government, not only for tourists but especially for the Army. They already live in rough weather, easily below freezing, and emergencies can happen any time.

There is no other alternative for the Army to carry food and other essential supplies to the base except by air, which is not viable for bulk quantities. Neighbouring China is even constructing rail routes to the adjoining high bases. This is a warning signal for the country to act swiftly.

India should build better transport infrastructure in this region.

This will help not only the Army but also tourists and the cab drivers who will be able to maintain their health as well as their cars’ health. They would be less prone to problems in the spine and their cars would face less frequent replacements of tyres and shock absorbers.

The place is very clean and green with very helpful and friendly people around. With more people keen to explore the place, there’s enough reason for the government not only to provide quality infrastructure but also to oversee protection of the area from various sources of pollution, like the smoke from cars carrying tourists, open toilets, and cutting of trees, that could upset ecological balance.

Hence measures like cars with greener engines, clean toilets and other such steps should be taken so that we have sustainable development. The place shouldn’t be called as Switzerland of India. Rather, Switzerland should be called the second Sikkim of the world.

Kerala Houseboats Lay Idle As Tourist Money Dries Up

NEW DELHI, Feb 22 (Bernama) — No industry seems to be spared from the global economic pinch and even the idyllic backwaters of Kerala have gotten a bad taste of the financial crunch.

With international and domestic travellers cutting their holiday plans, bookings for the famous Kerala houseboats to cruise the backwaters have shrunk dramatically, with 300-odd boats now lay idle at the Alappuzha jetty.

Houseboat owners lament that the economic crisis, coupled with last November’s Mumbai terror attack, has spoilt their once booming business and now operators are anxiously waiting when this lull would end.

“The houseboat industry is badly hit by the global recession. Our business is down by 20 per cent to 25 per cent since the recession hit the industry and the Mumbai terror attack,” P. Nair, chief executive officer of Pulikkatil Tourism Group told Bernama.

Alappuzha, the scenic sandy touristy location, about 100km from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala’s capital, is the hub of houseboat industry with a majority of the 450 operators operating from here.

Kerala tourist arrivals are rather dismal.

The Kerala’s Houseboat Owners Association projects tourists arrivals to dip from 525,000 in 2008 to about 250,000 this troubled year.

“We depend upon the domestic tourist arrival in the off season. This year we don’t get much inflow from the regular IT sector as meltdown has also hit them.

“Of the 450-odd boats, only 100 boats are being filled by tourists and others remain idle in our jetties. We are incurring a loss of between Rp2,000 and Rp8,000 (Rp1 = RM0.075) per day for a boat,” said association secretary Tomy Pulikkattil.

During peak season, the industry rakes in about Rp3.36 million (RM250,000) in revenue daily.

Thousands of casual workers in the industry also face grim days ahead because of the dull business.

— BERNAMA

50 ways to cut the cost of your next holiday

Go wild camping, cross the Channel with SeaFrance and ditch Paris for Brussels, plus 47 more money saving tips

There’s a depression, sorry recession, sorry depression going on. It’s the worst for 30, sorry 100, sorry 1,000 years. There are, no there aren’t, no there are, no there definitely aren’t green shoots of recovery.

What we do know, without a doubt, is that it’s a good year to spend less. The trick is to do it without cramping your style. We can help, with your travel plans at least. Here are our top tips for money-saving on holiday. Some of them are morally dubious — don’t write in, they’re not obligatory — but they will save you a bob or two.

1 You already know the minibar is out. Use it as a fridge for all your 7-Eleven purchases (beer, champagne, iced coffee, Perrier, G&Ts) instead. You can even have fun irritating the hotel by asking them to empty the minibar before you check in . . . It’s your room, after all.

2 Don’t bother with EasyJet’s speedy boarding. It just ain’t worth it.

3 Never simply roll up at a hotel unless there’s plenty of choice in the area. “Walk-ins” are usually charged the highest rates, especially if the front desk knows you don’t have another option. Phone to book first — and ask for a discount (always worth a try).

4 Cut back on the adventures without cutting back on the adventures by booking a spot-the-difference discount alternative. Tribes’s new brand , www.down-to-earth-holidays.com ) offers stripped-back versions of its classic itineraries at truly bargain prices — India’s Golden Triangle tour has dropped from £1,465 with mints on pillows to £580 without. Also try Explore’s , explore.co.uk ) new Back to Basics brand, which offers a 10-day tour of India for £365, excluding flights.

5 SeaFrance is the cheapest way to cross the Channel. Book on the Rodin or the Berlioz, the (relatively) posher of its fleet and reward yourself with a full-service breakfast in the Brasserie. Appropriately, the continental is much nicer than the full-cooked. We can’t speak for lunch or dinner . . .

6. . . and fill up the tank before you drive onto the homebound ferry. Even with the new pricey euro, it’s much cheaper.

7 Comply with Ryanair’s relentless rules and regulations. The no-frills carrier claims to offer the lowest fares, but only if you stick to no frills. This means checking in online with no hold luggage, only one carry-on bag (including anything bought at the airport), paying by Visa Electron (who has one of those?) and taking your own sandwiches (which will be much nicer anyway). Don’t buy any scratchcards from them — you’re better than that.

8 Make lunch at breakfast. It’s thieving, technically, but no hotel worth its bacon and eggs is going to object to you making a nice cheese and ham roll or two from the breakfast buffet. And it means you can lunch on the go: excellent if you have 14 museums to tick off.

9 Except, of course, lunch is cheaper than dinner: so if you’re treating yourself, do it by day, not night. Five-star hotels, in particular, offer bargain lunchtime set menus. Even three-star Michelin jobs will have deals.

10 Before you book any flight, do triple-check that there isn’t a cheaper alternative on Skyscanner.net.

11 Change your credit card. Most credit cards add a loading charge of about 3% on purchases and up to £5 every time you use an overseas ATM. Abbey’s Zero card is the only one on the market that does neither.

12 Hard-core Gore-Tex wearers need that £500 tent, but we summer long-weekenders don’t. We swear by the Eurohike family pack from Millets (www.millets.co.uk ): with a roomy four-person tent, a double and two single sleeping bags, ground mats and a double air mattress, you’ve got the freedom of the countryside for only £100.

13 Now you’ve got the tent pack, where do you go? Avoid camp-site fees by going wild camping in the countryside. Snag: it’s not legal in England and Wales (except on Dartmoor). Solution: make for Scotland or Dartmoor, where you’re actively encouraged to get out there and commune with nature in the raw. Visit outdooraccess-scotland.com and www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk for details.

14 Brussels, not Paris, for a romantic weekend. The bureaucrats are away, hotel rates are cheaper and so is the food. Unless you dine at Comme chez Soi, which you must. We’re sorry.

15 Catching an overnight train is fun and saves the cost of a hotel. The Elipsos Trenhotel (elipsos.com ) runs from Paris to Barcelona and Madrid, with one-way fares in a four-berth couchette from £64pp; a two-berth sleeper, with ensuite shower and loo, three-course evening meal with wine in the restaurant car, and breakfast, is from £142pp. Or there are City Night Line trains (citynightline.ch ) from Paris to Berlin, and Artesia trains (artesia.eu ) from Paris to Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome. All are bookable through Rail Europe (084…, visit raileurope.co.uk ).

16 Book an apartment instead of a hotel. A week in the four-star Le Cavendish, just off La Croisette in Cannes, for a family of four will set you back £3,100 this July. A week in the chic, two-bedroom apartment Le Versailles, also just off La Croisette and booked through holidaylettings.co.uk , costs just £759 for the same week.

17 Or go for the halfway house: the apart-hotel. All rooms have a lounge area and fully equipped kitchenette. Citadines (www.citadines.com ) has apart-hotels in 22 countries: from £80 per night in Brussels, sleeping four people.

18 Never buy a round of drinks in a five-star hotel.

19 Pay nothing to call home by using Rebtel (rebtel.com ). It’s rather complicated . . . while overseas, enter the UK number you want on the Rebtel website. It will give you a local number in return — if you’re in Barcelona, for example, it will be a Barcelona number — and when you dial it, you’ll be connected to the UK number you want to call.

Tell the person at the other end of the line to hang up and redial the number on their screen, and as soon as they do so, you’ll be connected for free, while they’ll pay only for a local call. We’ve tried it and it works, but God knows how.

20 Save on car rental by joining a loyalty scheme. Signing up is free, and for once it pays to tick the box allowing them to send you their newsletters, as members can get discounts and upgrades — and, best of all, don’t have to queue up like losers at the airport rental desk.

21 Eat off the streets. No, not literally, but street food can be the freshest, tastiest option in more adventurous cities: go to the stall with the longest queue, have what everyone else is having, and if it looks like a tarantula on a stick, it is a tarantula on a stick.

22 In the developed world, where tap water is safe, buying bottled water more than once isn’t just extravagant, it’s vandalism — you’re creating rubbish for no reason. Refill as you go from any handy tap, and if anyone looks disapproving, tell them you’re an eco-warrior.

23 Always buy a local travel card. Some, such as the I Amsterdam card (£43 for 48 hours; iamsterdam.com ), offer not only unlimited travel on public transport, but also restaurant discounts and free entry to museums and galleries. Others, such as the New York Metrocard (£18 for seven days; mta.info/metrocard ) and London’s Oyster, just cover transport: a lot smarter than forking out for cabs.

24 If you think car-hire companies are having a laugh with their excessive excess charges — and who doesn’t? — outsmart them by insuring the excess at insurance4carhire.com. Europe for a year costs £49.

25 Or don’t rent at all. Hitchhiking is the cheapest way to travel, but it can be dodgy. With hitchhikers.org you can cyberthumb lifts all over Europe, and there’s the chance to check out the driver first by phone and e-mail.

26 Backpacker hostels aren’t only for spotty teenagers. Many of them are infinitely cleaner, cooler and better located than the cost-equivalent hotel. And the best ones offer doubles and family rooms as well as dorms — so you can pretend you are young again without actually having to sleep in a bunk bed.

27 A local guide can make the most of a city — but who wants to pay for one? Global greeternetwork.com will hook you up with a volunteer guide who will show visitors their favourite hidden corners simply for the love of it (though it’s good manners to buy them a coffee).

28 Boycott the Heathrow Express until they cut the silly price.

29 Snatch a copy of the local free listings magazine when you arrive in a new city. They might not read as beautifully as this newspaper, but they’re packed with promotions and deals for restaurants, attractions and theatres.

30 Book your airport parking the day you book your holiday. A summer-holiday fortnight at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 long-stay car park costs £98 if you book it now. Leave it until departure day and it’s £198. For reliable, often startling airport parking price comparisons, check gosimply.com .

31 French motorway hotels are brilliant and cheap if you need a stress-free stopover en route to the Med. Check out etaphotel.com , hotel-bb.com , hotelformule1.com and, if you’re a tiny bit posher, campanile.fr before you set off.

32 Come to think of it, British motorway chains aren’t half as horrid as they used to be, either. Dare we recommend Premier Inn (premierinn.com ), with its clean, functional family rooms from £50? And a nice Little Chef breakfast? No — not unless you happen to be passing the Popham branch on the A303, near Basingstoke. That’s the one Heston Blumenthal has got his hands on.

33 How often do you find that getting out to Rome with your favourite no-frills airline is just £9.99, plus taxes, but the return is £149? Answer: shop around for the best pair of one-way flight deals from different carriers.

34 Beware the concierge who earns commission from his recommendations. It’s worth double-checking with the local tourist office or the man in the street.

35 Read the travel section at moneysavingexpert.com . Its tabloid style can be disconcerting, but it does what it says on the tin. The FlightChecker mini-site is particularly useful, listing hundreds of no-frills flights by price rather than destination.

36 Do the Louvre (louvre.fr ) on the first Sunday of the month, or on July 14, and it’s free (saving £32 for a family of four). Many other cities and museums also have monthly free days.

37 No-frills airlines are now a worldwide phenomenon. Flying to Kuala Lumpur? Air Asia (airasia.com) will hop you to Langkawi, Bali or Borneo for less than £20 return. Get a Bond-villain-style overview at attitudetravel.com.

38 Every parent knows breaks in school hols cost a packet, and head teachers are dragons about taking the kids out of class. They have discretion to allow absences for an educational trip, though — which could mean anything from seeing lions to searching for fossils on a Dorset beach. Far be it from us to suggest cooking up “improving” side trips to avoid having to pay rip-off rates — we’ll simply leave the thought with you.

39 Collect miles. No problem if you don’t fly a lot: by using an affiliated credit card, or joining supermarket schemes, you can collect them on everyday spending. The oldest of the lot, Air Miles, now also includes all taxes and fees on its free flights. Sign up at airmiles.co.uk , nectar.com and tesco.com/clubcard .

40 And while we’re busy handing over all our personal details, sign up for airline and hotel mailing lists. What’s a bit of junk mail and overfriendly marketing if it gets you a heads-up on sales and deals?

41 The earlier you book a flight, the cheaper it is, right? Not for charters. If they have empty seats a couple of weeks before the flight, and they often do, they slash fares until the plane is full. Cancun for £200, anyone? Keep a beady eye on charterflights.co.uk , avro.co.uk and www.travelrepublic.co.uk .

42 Couchsurfing.com allows you to sleep, for free, on other people’s sofas. Amazingly, it works, and the site now has almost a million members.

43 You can pay an absolute fortune for your Eurostar trip. Or, thanks to the “Paris from £59” button on its home page, you can see at a glance when the cheapest fares are and plan accordingly.

44 For a real adventure on the cheap, work your passage by crewing on a yacht. Many private owners need extra hands on voyages: they’ll often teach you the ropes as you go, and rarely charge (though you’ll usually chip in for food). Cast off at cruiserlog.com , crewfile.com and floatplan.com , which has a great range of trips from the Med to the South Pacific.

45 If you’re booking a trip through a travel agent, never take their first price. They make their money on commission, so they’ll always have added something on for their profit: the more complicated the trip, the bigger the mark-up.

46 Check out transport from the airport into town before you leave home. Airport taxi ranks are the biggest rip-off zone in travel, awash with licensed bandits who’ll overcharge and then gouge the hotel for commission on delivering you. It’s a bus or a train for you, my dear.

47 Order your currency online, at thomasexchangeglobal.co.uk , for example. The rates are infinitely better than at the airport and, for a fiver, they’ll deliver it to your home or office as well.

48 Avoid Alton Towers, Chessington, the London Dungeon and Madame Tussauds. If it’s between them losing business and you staying afloat, too bad for them. They shouldn’t charge so much. And your children will be equally as happy building a den in the woods. Won’t they? No? Ah.

49 Don’t avoid Alton Towers et al, then. Type the name into Google followed by “special offer”. Guess what? You’ll find lots of special offers. Myvoucher codes.co.uk is also a good hunting site for deals.

50 Put our website, timesonline.co.uk/travel , into your favourites. It’s the year of the canny traveller, and you can read all about it on our site.

Tips by Stephen Bleach, Richard Green, Chris Haslam and Matt Rudd

Source : Times Online in UK

The Real Roots of the ‘Slumdog’ Protests

“Slumdog Millionaire” is a hit across the world, but in India, protesters have taken to the streets to attack the film.

Some Indians find the word “slumdog” in the movie’s title to be insulting to slum-dwellers. More generally, the rags-to-riches romance has been called “poverty porn” for the way it casts a glowing light on a very poor section of Mumbai society and promotes “slum tourism.”

We asked several experts, with experience in India, to tell us what’s behind the protests.

Read Full Article Here