Items to Have in Your Basic Travel Kit

 Do not be caught unprepared when a traveling. Plan in advance and stuff your traveling bag with the essential things you need. The better organized and prepared you are, the more you will be able to enjoy the trip. Your traveler's kit may be divided into separate smaller kits to be better organized.  Here is a checklist of what should be included:

THE FIRST AID KIT
Be prepared on anything that can happen during a trip, especially the medical mishaps. Even small wounds should be attended.  Keep your first- aid kit handy at all times.
For wound treatment, have a roll of bandage, safety pins and small scissors. Pincers may also be needed for pulling out foreign objects that penetrate the skin. Bring a small tube of antibiotic ointment, Betadine, and rubbing alcohol for treating wounds. If you are allergy-prone and tend to itch a lot, bring antihistamine medications such as Benadryl.
Common medicine
Bring along medications that you may probably to use, like pain relievers, laxative for proper bowel movement and headache medicines. If you have a runny nose, buy some decongestants.  Motion sickness and dehydration is also common when traveling, ask your doctor about the appropriate medicine for you.
Prescription drugs
Remember to bring with you any medication you are required to take. Have enough supply to last for the whole duration of the trip.

PERSONAL HYGIENE KIT
This kit should include your toiletries. This will help keep you looking fresh every time.
Dental
You should bring your toothbrush, toothpaste and floss.  Have a small bottle of mouthwash handy.
Hair
Pack your favorite comb, brush, shampoo, and other hair products (if you are using them) such as conditioners, gel, hair spray, etc. in smaller containers.
Cosmetics
This includes your make-up kit. But only bring the cosmetics that will most likely to use. Bring along a handy mirror. You may take your manicure set with you, too.
Skin protection
Protect your skin during travel.  Bring your sunscreen, lip balm, insect repellents, and lotions.
Bathroom needs
Have your own set of toilet papers, personal sized soaps, towels and face cloth.  International airlines usually provide a travel kit with these.  But it is better to bring some extra for your use once you have landed.

EMERGENCY KIT
Flashlights, duct tapes, lighters, and pocket knife are included in this kit.  Pack them well especially if you are traveling by air.   Cellular phones are necessary, make sure to bring your battery charger and an extra cell phone battery.

LEISURE KIT
This includes your travel journal, books, laptop, and a language book if needed. Enjoy the fantastic views to the fullest with your binoculars and your camera.
Traveler's kits vary greatly depending on the travel destination, the activities, and your needs as a traveler.  The suggested kits are merely essentials. What's important is to make sure that you keep everything checked and have fun during your trip.

Tips on Moving Your Family Overseas

It requires a lot of effort to move your family overseas. By following these tips, you will find the experience of transferring your family overseas to be more manageable.


Step 1: Decision Making
In making decisions that will affect the lives of everyone in your family, it is necessary consider each family member. Some parents often tend to brush aside the opinions and the feelings of their children when making decisions involving the whole family. The usual line that can be heard is, “Kids, we are moving overseas.”-- end of discussion.  Perhaps it would be a lot better if what is heard from you is this, “Children, we have been given a terrific opportunity, but in order to get that, we will have to move overseas. What are your feelings about this?”
Parents are aware that any child may react in a negative manner to this question. Because of this, they would prefer not to listen. This can harm to a child’s self esteem. He or she may grow up believing that you never respected any of his or her opinion; as a result, children grow up resenting their parents.
There are parents who think that the step of arriving at a decision and breaking the news to the family should be done separately. However, you have to understand that deciding to move the family overseas needs to be made by the whole family.  Every opinion needs to considered and you need to show that every opinion counts.
Step 2: Comforting Fears
When you have come to a decision, encourage your children if they have any anxieties regarding the move. Naturally, your children will ask all sorts of questions about what would happen. They may also have some fears. This is just natural.  Everyone experiences the fear of the unknown. Being aware of this will help you think of ways to ease those fears.
You need to learn the details about your destination. This is the best thing that you can do to conquer your fears.  If your children know what to expect once your family moves abroad, they will be able to eliminate their fears. Doing this yourself will also help you since having knowledge about where you are going helps calm your fears, too.
Step 3: Planning Stage
To relocate your family overseas isn't as simple as jumping on a plane. There various considerations to face and several plans to be made. Careful planning of the move will help you make a much smoother transition for your family. When planning, find people who can assist you. It is good to find various hired services that can assist you in handling the finer details of moving your family overseas-- this includes preparation of passports, legal papers, travel documents, bookings, ticketing, accommodations, etc. There are people who choose not to move the whole family overseas all at once. Some would plan the move in a series of steps with a portion of the family following after a certain period of time. This is ideal especially if you are working on a tight budget.
Step 4:  Moving the Family
It requires a lot of effort to move your family overseas.  There is a whole new culture to adjust to, in addition, a new climate, and an entirely different way of living, too. The key element to overcoming culture shock is to start accepting the reality that your lifestyle isn't the only way of life. If you know how to respect the rights of others, then you should do fine. Make it a point that your family also abides by this principle. By following these tips, you will find the experience of transferring your family overseas to be more manageable.

Tips on Finding a Good Travel Agent and Travel Agency

A lot of people travel with expectations of encountering something new and unexpected, but of course, everyone wants the surprises to be pleasant ones.  This is where a good travel agent comes in.  It is the travel agent’s task to match the clients’ expectations, as closely as possible, to reality.  Because travel consultation is a skill that gets better with practice, it is also useful to know the length of the time the agent has been in the business.  An agent who has at least five years experience in the industry would be ideal.

Because the travel industry is information-intensive, it is best to deal with an agent who knows how to work through the quagmire of date, which includes the thousands of daily changes in airfares among the millions of fares in the agent’s data bank.

Ask about the agent’s credentials.  Briefly inquire about the certifications.  This will give you an idea of how serious the travel agent is about the business.

The travel industry constantly changes.  It will be helpful to know if a travel agent constantly updates his or her skills, or is working to maintain or receive a certification.

Before giving an advanced deposit for a product that you will use or avail on a later date, such as a grand tour involving a significant amount of money, be ensured that the agency is financially stable.  Ask which travel association the agency is affiliated and check if no complaints have been filed against the agency.

It is very important that you feel comfortable talking with an agent, because you need to be honest in discussing your travel dreams and how much you can really afford to spend.  You should need to be comfortable discussing your vital eccentricities that can affect the enjoyment of your planned trip.  This will also help the agent determine the accommodations and tour spots that will be suggested to you.

A good travel agent asks plenty of questions regarding your past travel experience/s, what you liked or didn’t like, the airlines and accommodations you prefer, any medical conditions, etc.  A good agent keeps this client information on file because this will greatly speed up the process of satisfying the client’s travel needs.

An agent who is willing to provide you with competitive information as a result of careful research is a good one.  A good travel agent will recommend several travel options, explain penalties and restrictions, help you in obtaining travel needs such as passports and the other requirements, obtain amenities and other value-added benefits for you, and will be available to help solve problems should something go wrong.  A working contact number of the agent is very important.

A good travel agency is able to command a much better price for an accommodation for you than what you can get if you do it on your own.

Brochures and other literature from the travel agency should provide good details such as names of specific hotels, resorts, and even transportation.  If there are no such details mentioned, it may mean that the agency has not locked in any reservations.  Meal programs must be clearly stated.  Know if the menu is a preset one or an a la carte.  Are the actual tour leaders mentioned? It is important to know who will handle the tours—is it the owner, the employees, or interns?   Small companies have tours that are usually led by the owners themselves.  Middle-sized to large companies hire knowledgeable guides or train them in-house.  Either practice is fine.  You might be taking a chance if your tour will be conducted by an intern without the guide of an experienced agent along.

A good travel agent and agency with a proven track record can give you a list of people and companies who provide accommodation and transportation services at various destinations which have been developed through years of experience and networking.  You may contact these operators to have an idea of regarding their experience with the travel agent or agency.

Find out the agency’s policy regarding deposits and refunds.  Ask how the agency handles tour cancellations, because this is a reality that happens, say, for example a political unrest or natural disasters that unexpectedly occur in the destination.

These are just some of the things you have to consider when planning your travel and choosing your travel agent. 

Tarbert Castle, Kintyre, Scotland

Tarbert Castle dates back to the Middle Ages, to the late 13th Century, and is thought by many to be considerably older than that. In is situated on top of a hill on the southern shore of the loch, overlooking both the village of Tarbert and Loch Fyne. It is a fortified castle, and would have been a controlling factor in the land link from East Loch Tarbert and West Loch Tarbert, controlling what went out to and came in from the islands of the lower Inner Hebrides, such as Islay, Jura and Gigha. Written by Norma Roy, read more about   Tarbert Castle, Kintyre, Scotland

Interesting Historical Sites of Newport Beach

Throughout Newport Beach you will find several historic sites that are worth checking over.  A lot of them were in existence back in the early 1900's, which is perfect to view for anybody who would like to see what the past times were like or to know more about the history regarding Newport Beach.

Balboa Pavilion

Situated at 400 Main Street, the Balboa Pavilion is the 1st landmark for Newport Beach.  Constructed in 1905, the pavilion was the end destination for the Red Car of the Pacific Electric.  Nowadays, the Balboa Pavilion hosts a selection of shops, a chartering company, and even a restaurant.

McFadden's Wharf

Finished in 1889, the wharf started the decade for Newport functioning as a shipping port.  Built by Robert McFadden and James, the wharf was a great path to ship lumber from Northern California to those who settled down there.

Old Landing

The Old Landing is situated at Highway 101 & Dover Drive.  Instituted in 1870, the Old Landing was assigned to be a new port by the McFaddens, who carried on to build a shipping service in the area of Newort.  Now, there's already a bridge and highway on an area of the site.  The rest of the area of the Old Landing is vacant.