Come winter and everybody in India is busy packing their bags to travel. Its the time for the birds and the beasts, the season in Goa and Kerala starts, the mountains beckon and the monuments look all inviting. So, where would you like to go this winter ? Here are some great options if you are visiting India and are looking for something out of the ordinary.

Karwar – The salts of the sea beckon me as I set foot in a little nondescript town called Karwar, located in South India. Perched somewhere in the Western Ghats on the banks of the River Kali,  the coastal town is hardly a stone’s throw away from Goa and yet the two destinations are chalk and cheese. Karwar is quieter and serene, compared to Goa which is always in a frenzy and high energy mode.This ancient beach town flaunts several attractions such as the Sadashivgad Hill Fort , built at the confluence of the Kali river and the Arabian sea, the  Durga temple, the one-of-its kind octagonal church and the 300 year old Venkataramana temple .. And then there are the islands – Devbagh, , Oyster-rock, Anjudeep, Sadashivgad and Sanyasi..so get your bikinis and head to Karwar this winter..

2. Kutch – So, your travel agent told you that Rajasthan is one of the must see places in India. But you tell him that you would prefer another desert which is slightly offbeat and is yet beautiful. I would recommend Kutch in Gujarat which is located in West India . If you are into wildlife and birding, then the little Rann of Kutch must be in your itinerary . IT may not be your typical forest landscape, but the wide tracts of desert , dotted by scrubs  is home to Indian Wildass or the Ghorkar. The Nilgai, wolf, fox and some jungle cats are also found in this habitat. The saline belt is largely due to the tracts of land inundated by sea water during and after the monsoons.Come winter, Kutch is also known for the migratory birds as birders flock here to see flamingoes, cranes, pelicans  and several raptors. Plan your holiday now to India.

3.Sundarbans – The Ganges is synonymous with India. So is the tiger. If you  would love to relax and also see some wildlife in India, its time to head East The islands of mangrove forests  located amidst the creeks at the delta of the Ganges houses one of the most unique tiger reserves in our country. The Sundarban tiger has adapted to the saline waters and can be found swimming in the creeks . Stalked by the poachers and  often dubbed the man eaters, the tigers are believed to be slowly dwindling here. There are leopard cats, fishing cats, palm civets, crab eating mongoose, water monitors .  Birdlife is plenty as you could find heronries around here as well. Boat trips are arranged to get a glimpse of the rich wildlife in this reserve.

4. Sikkim – In the north east of India, bordering Nepal and Bhutan is Sikkim, a small mystical state surrounded by the mountains. The cold winter may bring in snow here, but you will forever be surrounded by the mist and fog. There is nothing more beautiful than the occasional rain in the mountains. Soak in it, go the monasteries, watch small rivers flow past you as time stands still..

You are indeed visiting incredible India. the winters can get harsher as you go up north and it is always better to check with the weatherman and also note down the condition of roads.

This post is written by travel writer and blogger Lakshmi Sharath who blogs at A travel blog of an Indian backpacker on behalf of Affordable Calling Cards that offers international phone cards to India

By Kristi Remick

Photo courtesy of journalingforhappiness

NO! Oh wait, you want details.  Well I will give you several reasons why and a little back story. Recently my husband and I traveled to the South of France (Ste. Maxime) and the Netherlands (Amsterdam and Alkmaar). Due to budgetary constraints and the fact we had to bring our dogs with us, we decided it made most sense to rent a car.  We probably saved a few hundred francs going this route but we gained some grey hairs along the way.

Reason #1 NOT to rent a car in Europe – Europe has amazing train systems and low cost airlines. Europe is way ahead of the United States with their rail infrastructure making most train travel easy, fast and affordable (typically).  Low cost airlines can be a little stressful during the boarding process but the time you save flying vs slowly dying in a car, with extremely gassy dogs, well worth the small amount of pain they inflict.

Reason #2 NOT to rent a car in Europe – No matter what Google Maps says, it will take 2+ hours longer. Google and its maps are amazing but they don’t take into account construction, tolls, traffic, weather and pee breaks.  If you are driving in Europe, there will be ALL of the above and most of the time, the tolls and construction are planned horribly.  While traveling home from the Netherlands, we drove through Germany on the A5 which was undergoing major construction.  All traffic on this major highway was at one point diverted through a town…A TOWN.   We were forced, with hundreds of other European travelers, to drive 10km along a two lane road with traffic lights. Not only was this disruptive to our travel plans, it was horribly disruptive to this small community that was forced to do business as usual with a grotesquely clogged main street.

Reason #3 NOT to rent a car in Europe – The money you save is not worth the stress. We thought we were smart renting a GPS system.  We thought we were even smarter by printing out directions “just in case”.  You can’t possibly get lost with both a GPS and printed directions, right? Right…uh…NO. You will get lost in Europe and there are a whole slew of reasons why.  The South African woman from our GPS  resorted to yelling at us on occasion because she couldn’t understand how we could possibly get lost with her constant and annoying guidance.  She and I are currently estranged.

You have to weigh what you are really saving when deciding between traveling by car or public transportation. You will spend more time driving than flying or training, you will get into a fight with your GPS and/or partner, you will expend effort vs sitting back and letting someone else drive for you and you will invent new swear words along the way.  Minus inventing new swear words, the negatives far outweigh the positives.

When I am not busy stuffing my face with chocolate, you can find me over at From A to Z blogging about my life in Zurich Switzerland.

by Tina Ferrari

image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalmediamuseum/

On a recent trip to Palermo, followed by a visit to Naples, I had the opportunity to experience just about every kind of public transportation option that Italy has to offer.

It all started with a two-hour train ride (8 Euros) to Bari, where I would then catch a bus to the airport.  The national railway network is Trenitalia, and they have regional and express lines that go just about everywhere.  In my case, it was a regional train.  Upon leaving the train station in Bari, I walked to the tobacco kiosk to buy my bus ticket (80 cents) to the airport.  Having done this before, I knew to be aggressive when the bus came and make sure I had a seat on the bus.

To get to Sicily, I flew from Bari to Trapani, which is about an hour or so from Palermo.  It was a Ryanair flight that cost me next to nothing  (11 Euros plus taxes, coming to 18 Euros), the catch being that there are no assigned seats (so you have to fight for a good one) and then you have to listen to several sales pitches for perfumes and lottery tickets.  The flight was one hour and passed by very quickly.  And of course, this being Italy, the people onboard applauded when the plane landed.

To get from Trapani to Palermo, where I would be staying for a few days, I used the shuttle bus service known as Terravision.  For 12 Euros I had a seat on a nice, air conditioned bus, and was let off in a nice area in downtown Palermo.  From there I walked to my bed and breakfast because I had already gotten to know Palermo a bit previously.

I had some time scheduled in Naples, where I was meeting a friend.  Since Sicily is an island, the obvious solution was to take a boat. (Though you can take the train, which sits on a barge for the aquatic part of the trip).  The company I used was Tirrenia, and I opted for a night boat so that I could sleep, as it’s an eight-hour trip.  I reserved a bed in a women’s cabin (though you can also reserve your own cabin) and was pleased to find out that the boat had a restaurant as well as a self-service cafe and a lounge with a full bar. Not bad!  The total price for the boat trip was about 70 Euros and it was well worth it, as when I woke up and looked out the cabin window, I saw Naples in all its splendor, lit up by the golden morning sun.

This is something I really like about living in Europe: the public transportation is so varied and available that you can go anywhere you want for a reasonable price.

Tina Ferrari is a tango dancer, translator and writer currently based in Lecce, Italy. She writes at AffordableCallingCards.net as well as on her own blog, Tina Tangos. Comments are always welcome!

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By Chantal Panozzo

Save money in Switzerland. Really.

Chinese food, $25. 1-hour train ride, $60. Night in a Swiss hotel, $200. How the heck can someone travel on a budget in Switzerland?

After all, Switzerland recently was reported as having the highest hotel rates in Europe. It’s tough to find anything under $200 a night, let alone $150. Even on the Swiss Budget Hotels website, “budget” is considered the prices I quoted above. Yes.

So what’s a traveler to do?

Travel like a European. By staying longer, you’ll save more.

What?

Yes.

The key to making a vacation affordable in Switzerland is to rent an apartment.  But since most apartments are only available for a minimum of seven nights, you need to stop vacationing like an American with your head cut off and start vacationing like a lazy European that doesn’t have anywhere to be except in a chair enjoying the scenery. And staying seven nights in an apartment will be cheaper than a long weekend at a hotel. Guaranteed. Staying a week will also guarantee you at least a few days of decent weather too.

In the resort town of Bettmeralp near the Aletsch glacier, an apartment can be found for 2 people for around CHF 500 total for 7-nights. An apartment also means you’ll have a kitchen so you can cook your own food and forgo the restaurants where a “good deal” for a meal for two is CHF 60. Some apartments are also available with free Internet, which means no fees at Internet cafés, and many also have washing facilities so you can vacation longer but pack lighter.

Another hint: don’t pay full price for your train/lift tickets. Find deals through local tourism offices, Rail Away offers, and if you live in Switzerland, make sure you at least have the ½ price card.

How do you save money when traveling in Switzerland?

Chantal Panozzo is a writer in Switzerland. She’s the author of One Big Yodel, a blog about life in Switzerland and moving abroad, and also discusses living abroad as a freelancer at Writer Abroad. She’s also the co-founder of the Zurich Writers Workshop.

I’m the type of traveler who likes to stay in one city and get to know it in the most complete way.  I’ve always enjoyed becoming part of a place and trying to blend in with its people, at least a little bit.  I am also of the belief that every city has its underlying beauty that you don’t see right away, that you have to stick around to discover.  Even the most obviously beautiful cities such as Venice or Florence have hidden gems that require patience and sensitivity.  To me, getting to know a city means walking its streets, getting lost, visiting markets, meeting people.

Recently I was in Palermo, Sicily.  I explored the city alone, in my way, for a few days until family reached me from the United States.  With their arrival came a different type of tourism.  Due to physical limitations on the part of my relatives, we needed to find a way for them to explore the city without too much walking.  Luckily, we found that there was a hop-on, hop-off bus that takes you to all the important sites. Perfect!  I decided to tag along and experience a type of tourism I have never given much thought to.

Instead of hopping off and on, we opted to stay on the bus for the whole route.  They handed out headphones and we were able to choose the language we wanted.  I chose Italian as I never trust the translations into other languages.  I quickly became bored with the commentary and switched on my ipod instead, and tango music accompanied me on this bus tour of Palermo.

It was interesting to see people get on and off where they chose.  My relatives were satisfied that they saw a little bit of everything, and they were able to pick out a few sites to come back to, to explore in more detail.  I can see why somebody would take a tour such as this one, but it’s not something I will do again.  I really get satisfaction from trying to figure out how to get around on my own and discovering the deeper layers of a city.  I may not get see *all* of the important sites, but I do get to know the city.

What’s your travel style?

Tina Ferrari is a tango dancer, translator and writer currently based in Lecce, Italy. She writes at AffordableCallingCards.net as well as on her own blog, Tina Tangos. Comments are always welcome!

by Chantal Panozzo

Why move abroad? Why Europe? Why Switzerland? Why ask why?

In today’s world, there is no better way to advance a career than by living abroad. Those who take the risk and go global will understand the world better than anyone else and be rewarded for it in their careers—and in their personal lives.

But if you need specific reasons, here are a few to consider:

-Career Advancement/Career Reinvention

As an expat, you will bring unique skills to your new country by virtue of being different. In Switzerland, well-educated native English speakers are in high demand at international companies and you may find a challenging opportunity that wouldn’t exist in your home country—even if you first arrive as the trailing spouse like I did. And if you don’t, you many find yourself reinventing your career. That’s not a bad thing, either.

-Travel

To live in a new part of the world means it is right there for you to explore. And if you live in a country like Switzerland, which borders five other countries, travel is easy. Instead of seeing things as a tourist, you learn about them as a local and you also learn to travel as a local would. In Europe, this means traveling longer, at a more relaxed pace, and by taking public transportation. Americans that go abroad will likely enjoy more vacation time (up to double or triple the time) than they’ve ever known.

-Language

There is no better way to learn a language than become immersed in it. Granted, learning a language in Switzerland (with four official ones and many more dialects) has its own unique challenges, but for those who are up to them, it’s possible to become fluent with enough time and effort.

-No “what ifs”

This is probably the biggest reason I moved abroad. I never wanted to think, “what if?” Because when given the opportunity, I knew that if I didn’t take it I would always think, “what if?” And that’s not something I wanted to always have to ask myself.

Did you go global? If so, what were your reasons for going abroad?

Chantal Panozzo is a writer in Switzerland who has written for a variety of publications on two continents. She’s the author of One Big Yodel, a blog about life in Switzerland and moving abroad, and also discusses living abroad as a freelancer at Writer Abroad.

by Tina Ferrari

While planning my recent visit to Lecce, I hemmed and hawed over how I would get there.  There was, of course, the train, which would get me from Perugia to Rome to Lecce for at good 70-ish Euros one way.  An all-day affair.  There was also the bus, which would leave Perugia in the evening and arrive in Lecce in the morning.  A little less than the cost of the train and I wouldn’t have to switch.

Then someone on Facebook suggested flying.  I looked online and sure enough, there was a flight from Rome to Brindisi that cost half the price of a train ticket.  The airline is Blu-Express and I believe you have to live in Italy to use them.  I decided to try them out, even though I love trains.

I spent the night in Rome, where I danced tango with friends I haven’t seen since I lived in Buenos Aires, and in the morning I hopped the Leonardo Express from the Termini station to Fiumicino Airport.  They only allow you to check in 15 kilos worth of luggage, and I alas had 17.  I had to pay 7 Euros per extra kilo.

After one hour in the air, I was in Brindisi.  I asked around and found my way to a city bus which brought me to the train station.  For about 3 Euros I took a train to Lecce in about 40 minutes.  It was an interesting experience and while I had to do a lot of suitcase lugging on and off planes, trains and buses, things were pretty well laid-out.  Still, when I calculated things, it took just as long as the train in the end.

When it was time to leave Lecce, I decided to pay the extra money and take the train instead.  Since I have a USB internet modem with a mobile phone company, I was able to surf the net for part of the 5-hour ride to Rome, chatting with friends while looking out the window at trulli along the Adriatic sea.   The ride was so relaxing and peaceful (and so full of beautiful landscapes) that I decided it is still much better to take the train.

The nice thing about the small European airlines is that I can arrive in more distant cities such as Madrid with enough ease and for a small price.  But for travel within Italy, I think the train is where it’s at.

How do you get around?

Tina Ferrari is a translator, writer and tango dancer based in Umbria, Italy. She writes at AffordableCallingCards.net as well as on her own blog, Tina Tangos. Comments are always welcome!

**Image courtesy of FreeFoto.com

by Tina Ferrari

I recently spent just over a week in Puglia; Lecce, to be exact, on the Salento peninsula.  Looking at a map of Italy, you’ll find it near the bottom of the “stiletto heel”.

A friend brought me to the ancient town of Gallipoli one morning.  Located about 45 minutes from Lecce on the Ionian Sea, Gallipoli in February is sleepy and warm.  After a cold and gray winter in Perugia, it felt good to walk along the water without a jacket, breathing in the salty air.

While my friend was at an appointment, I took the opportunity to walk around the town a little bit and peek into stores. I came across a shop selling things like local olive oil and wine.  I decided to go in, and the man running the shop offered me tastes of very green olive oil and a glass of wine.  We chatted about grapes and olives (two of my favorite things) as I sipped my negroamaro.

Ricci di mare

Afterwards, with a newly purchased bottle of wine in my bag, I found my friend again and she said, “Tina, you have to taste ricci!”  I wasn’t quite sure what she was talking about until we came upon a group of fishermen who had laid out a nice-sized pile of very fresh spiny sea urchins on a table.  She asked if I could taste one since I had never had them before.  One of the men obliged and with a swift move and a “crack!”, a sea urchin was cut in half to reveal it’s red and orange roe, and offered to me with a spoon.

It was quite a delight to taste and smell the salty sea in such a way.  “Do you like them?” they asked me.  I nodded my head happily and we bought a big container of them.

Our fresh lunch on the sea

We found an open supermarket and brought some bread and water, and sat at a table overlooking one of the beaches.  The sun warmed our backs as we contentedly scooped out the ricci with bread, without a care in the world.  The ricci were a pleasant surprise, and perhaps my favorite culinary discovery on this trip.

Tina Ferrari is a translator, writer and tango dancer based in Umbria, Italy. She writes at AffordableCallingCards.net as well as on her own blog, Tina Tangos. Comments are always welcome!

by Chantal Panozzo

If you’re an expat living in Switzerland, you won’t want to miss the upcoming Balloon Festival in Chateau-d’Oex. Not only is it included in the book, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, but the event is just magical. I went last year and I highly recommend it (even if you have to stay in neighboring Bulle to save money). Below are five reasons to check it out:

1. If you’re an American, it’s another thing you can check off that you’ve seen. Another one down, 999 to go. Don’t all of us Americans love lists?

2. Western Spirit may be back. “Western Spirit” was an American balloon featured at the festival last year (See above photo). It’s owned by John Seay, and is notable for its cowboy decorations, furthering to engrain the Swiss stereotype that all Americans are cowboys.  But the best part is listening to the French announcers pronounce “Western Spirit.”

3. Swiss children will hand you a grilled sausage with their bare hands–even if what you thought you ordered was a barbecue sandwich. Either way, it’s all very, uh, quaint.

4. You can stare at people because they won’t notice—their eyes will be glued to the sky. So not only can you get great photos of balloons, you can get great photos of people looking at them.

5. You will redefine what you think of when you think hot air balloon. At this festival, there’s a special event featuring unusual balloons in the shape of everything from bagpipe players to chicks popping out of eggs.

What: Balloon Festival

Where: Chateau-d’Oex

When: January 23-31, 2010

Cost: You must buy a festival pass at the “door”. About CHF 10 ($10)

Tips: To save money, stay in a neighboring town like Bulle, just far away enough not to be affected by the ballooning prices.

Chantal Panozzo is an American writer living in Switzerland. She writes about expat life at AffordableCallingCards.net and on her personal blog, One Big Yodel. She also blogs about the international writing life over at Writer Abroad.

Last weekend, I jetted off to the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo for a long weekend. This is one of the perks of expat life. Whereas friends back home in California might take a road-trip to Vegas, when you’re living in Paris you can Eurostar it to London. South America’s countries are bigger than European ones, so those of us on this continent can’t country-hop quite as easily as your average European expat. But from Santiago, Buenos Aires and Montevideo are each appproximately 2 hours away by plane, and you can get to Rio de Janeiro in 5. Not bad.

I’d never been to Montevideo and didn’t really know what to expect. In the end, however, I had such good experiences that I wanted to share my tips for getting to and around Uruguay’s biggest city.

Statue of General Artigas in Montevideo's Plaza Independencia http://www.flickr.com/photos/philliecasablanca/ / CC BY 2.0

Getting there

I flew Pluna non-stop. It was cheaper than LAN, and I have to say I was impressed. The little regional jets are new and nicely outfitted, and aside from a delay of about half an hour on my flight out everything went smoothly. Checked bags will run you $10 if you check-in online ($20 at the airport), food and drink have to be purchased, and you can’t book a seat until you check-in 36 hours beforehand, but in return you get far lower prices than anything else out there. Luckily for me, it looks like Pluna’s expanding service from Santiago – there’s now a non-stop to Asunción, Paraguay three days a week – so hopefully this will bring some good low-cost options to the market. If you’re traveling around South America and might want to stop in Montevideo, look into flying Pluna.

Getting around

From the airport, I took an official taxi. It was expensive – US$43. I was in a rush to get to the stadium set up on Pocitos beach to see the Chilean handball game my fiancé was playing in, so I paid up, but otherwise I probably would have taken a bus or seen if I could find one of the unofficial taxis. It took about 30 minutes to get from the airport to the city center at 6:45pm on a Friday.

Pocitos beach http://www.flickr.com/photos/37081617@N00/ / CC BY 2.0

Taxis within the city are cheap. The meters tick off numbers of credits, and every taxi has the official chart to convert that number into the amount you owe. The drivers have a reputation for being honest.

We also took buses. They cost $16 or US$0.80. We asked people what bus to take to get wherever we were trying to go, and everyone was helpful. If you speak a bit of Spanish and are on a budget, buses are a great way to get around the city.

Sleeping

I stayed at the Sur Hotel due to its price (US$38 per night for non-Uruguayans who don’t pay tax) and TripAdvisor recommendations. It’s really well located, and the staff are friendly. It’s not luxurious, but it’s a solid little boutique hotel and a great value for the price. We would stay there again.

The hotel is a remodeled old house

To read more about what we actually did in Montevideo – aside from me watching my fiancé participate in the first ever Odesur beach games as part of Chile’s beach handball team – check out my recap here. And if you ever find yourself headed for a few days there, have fun!

Emily Williams is a US gringa living in Santiago, Chile. She writes about expat life at AffordableCallingCards.net and on her personal blog, Don’t Call Me Gringa, and loves hearing from readers!