1. Travelzoo

   This is by far my favorite. It combines two great features into one site. First, it shows all of the best deals by very search friendly categories that have been researched by their team. Sometimes they are hotel deals, other times they are last minute trips to Europe, but whatever deals they are advertising on their homepage are usually hard to beat elsewhere.
   
   They have also recently added a feature called "Supersearch", which allows you to enter your travel specifics once, and then you can search multiple recommended sites without having to re-enter your information every time (which I hate!). Plus, you can sign up to receive a weekly email that has their top 20 deals of the week which are usually quite amazing.

2. BookIt

   This comes in a close second to Travelzoo for me. It works more like a traditional travel search engine, but it seems like time after time I am able to find better rates here than on the Travelocity and Expedia type engines. After using it a lot, it really focuses on tropical destinations such as Mexico, Jamaica, Bahamas, etc., so if that is where you are headed, make sure you try here first. The only drawback of this site is that it can load slowly at times.

3. Kayak

   I love Kayak first for its extremely simple interface. There are not a lot of moving slide shows or pictures of places you may want to go, just a simple place to plug in your information and search. Kayak is great because it searches over 140 different travel sites to get you the best deal.
   
   They have also added this other fun little feature that lets you see if they rates they find you are better than some of the other major sites (such as Expedia, Orbitz, etc.). Then after you have selected the item and price you want, it sends you right to the site of the provider (i.e. Delta, Alamo, etc.) to rent directly from them saving any kind of convenience or handling fee.

So next time you are looking to travel, take a break from the big travel search engines and try one of these...you might actually save some money!

There are far too many fine Las Vegas hotel casinos to mention in one article. I've listed the casinos in the order below as you stroll from south to north on the strip. These are the ones I've visited. You will find your own pleasure palaces.

Mandalay Bay Hotel Casino

It's quite new and close to the airport. Like most things in Vegas, it's larger than life, containing a large tropical bay, complete with sandy beach. With 3,700 rooms, many restaurants, and two wedding chapels, and its own House of Blues, it's a world of its own.

Luxor Hotel Casino

Right next door is this black-glass pyramid, guarded by a huge sphinx. It has 4,400 rooms, not counting restaurants, spa, shops, and the replica of King Tut's tomb in the basement.

Excalibur Hotel Casino

For a change of pace, step along to the Excalibur Hotel Casino.

There are 4008 rooms in this huge white castle, which encompasses a complete medieval village. You want dragons, jesters and jousting? You want to take your sweetheart to the Excalibur chapel, become Henry VIII and marry your queen? You can do it here, and the marriage will be legal.

New York, New York

Let's walk past the Tropicana and the MGM Grand, and take a look at New York, New York.

Tourists from the Big Apple will feel quite at home - maybe - with the Statue of Liberty, the skyscrapers, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park and Coney Island. You can eat New York food and watch Broadway shows in this small, exclusive (only 2035 rooms!) Hotel Casino.

Monte Carlo

Moving on, past the Aladdin, we reach the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino. If you haven't visited the original, this will do nicely. You can visit restaurants, a spa, tennis courts. You can take the River Ride. And, of course, there's the ubiquitous wedding chapel.

Paris

See the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe. Almost 3000 rooms, and quite European. Much of the staff was ferried over from France when the place opened; I don't know how many are left. Don't try to drop a quarter into the more expensive slot machines. Those are $25 slugs being fed in by that (ex)-millionaire.

Bellagio

Pass beneath Bally's moving walkways and enter the Bellagio, a Florentine palace with thousands of fountains and a unique display of dancing waterspouts. Wander the gardens and gaze at the Italian villas. This impressive cathedral of a casino contains a host of restaurants, an art gallery, botanical gardens and two wedding chapels. Take in the shopping mall, the spa, and the aquatic show.

Caesar's Palace Hotel Casino

Caesar's Palace, with its ornate statues and unique design, opened in 1966. It is still one of the most spectacular sights in Las Vegas. It conjures up the grandeur of Imperial Rome, with 2,440 rooms, spa, shops, restaurants, a wedding palace and a circus. Caesar's has been a top attraction in Vegas for three generations of vacationers.

Treasure Island Hotel and Casino

Continue past the Imperial Palace, the Mirage, with its erupting volcano, past Harrah's, and you will arrive at Treasure Island. Watch the naval battle, where the British and American navy battle to destruction. Guess which navy wins. There are restaurants and shows, and two wedding chapels, plus a full-sized replica of HMS Britannica, where weddings also take place.

Venetian Resort Hotel Casino

Like to visit Venice and ride the canals on a gondola? You can do all that, amongst ornate palaces. Visit the shopping mall and the health spa, and enjoy the wax museum. The hotel has 3,000 rooms, and there are plans for building a 1,200 seat event center.

Circus Circus Hotel and Casino

Past the New Frontier, the venerable Stardust, past the Hilton, you arrive at Circus, Circus, the first major casino to cater to families. This place is a circus, a theme park carnival, a casino, and a giant hotel in one exciting package.

We're almost at the end of the strip, now. We walk past the Riviera, the venerable Sahara, built in 1952, and the Palace Station Hotel and casino. What's left?

The Stratosphere

For the grand finale, we might as well soar. The Stratosphere Hotel and Casino anchors the strip, and, at 1081 feet, is the tallest building in Las Vegas. Here, you can dine at the top of the world, and look out at the strip, the downtown lights, and the desert beyond this glittering oasis. This stop is a fitting end to our tour of the sights of Las Vegas.

A recent spur of the moment trip to Orlando by car taught us that being spontaneous is great, but planning is cheaper. We should have taken time to review the website for Disney World and decide which parks we wanted to see during the one day we had to spend there. Instead we bought passes to all the parks, yet only got around to 3 of them! This was a total waste of cash because we just didn't take the time to prepare ourselves.

So here are a few things we learned and will apply before our next trip:

1. If you're driving, map out your route to include detours if needed. We encountered road work in excess of 50 miles in length, which had traffic literally at a stand still for long stretches. Luckily we quickly figured out detours and avoided a lot of the congestion.
2. Reserve rooms at hotels that are NOT directly across from the parks. A few miles away makes for many saved dollars. Parking in the parks is around 10 bucks a day or take a bus (some hotels, even miles away, offer free transit to and from the parks), it's still cheaper than the hotels nearest the parks.
3. Eat before you go into the parks. If it's morning, eat a good breakfast, same with lunch. The food is outrageously priced, so the less of that you buy the more you save.
4. Be prepared. Sunscreen and lip balm even in January! Good walking shoes and comfortable loose clothes. Sunglasses and hats to keep the sun out of your eyes. A backpack is permitted and can carry all you need for the day.
5. Drink lots of water. You can dehydrate faster than you realize.
6. Research the parks and rides to decide what rides are not to be missed. Get "fast passes" to the rides that have the longest lines and keep moving between rides for the best chance to ride the ones you want.
7. Check for reduced tickets or deals online or through the hotel you book. Sometimes you can save a good bit of money this way.
8. Relax. Don't feel like you have got to see every little thing in every park. It's impossible to do on one visit.
9. Go easy on the T-shirts and junk offered up in the glitzy stores. You can buy most of this stuff elsewhere much cheaper. If you're taking kids, but them T-shirts and mouse ears before you go; they're much less expensive away from the parks. Your kids will have the Disney swag and you'll still have a few dollars.
10. If you're driving, don't forget to stop at one of the many road side stands that sell oranges and get some of the freshest citrus fruits you'll ever taste. Be sure to refrigerate them when you get home, as the bags are packed tightly causing some minor bruising.

The biggest thing is to plan ahead. Do your research on the parks, how you intend to travel and where you're going to stay. There are some great deals on tickets and hotels out there, just waiting for you to find them.

1. Tell the milkman you are going away - eight per cent of us forget, then have to pay up for what has been delivered. I know that a lot of countries don't have this thing going on, but for example in countries like England the milkman still makes his rounds from door to door up to this day.
2. Switch off - 13 per cent of us leave the TV on standby, meaning it is still using electricity. How many times we turn off the TV set from the remote control? A lot of times. When you see that little red dot on the set it means that the TV is on standby and yes that is consuming electricity. A microwave oven, especially those who have a clock display also consume electricity when they are not being used. So turn those off too.
3. Pay up - 15 per cent of us forget to settle bills before we go, and then face late-payment penalties. As the world gets busier, so do the bills. These days we either receive them by post or online. Luckily enough we have the comfort of paying bills online instead of standing for hours on end in lines. So do it before you travel and that will save you from a lot of hassle and trouble, as well as saving you from that extra money you have to pay on late bills.
4. Lock up! About 7 per cent of us forget to, and then return to ransacked homes. Yes there are still some people who think that when they leave their house open nobody will be going in there. Don't be one of this statistic. Lock up and always double check before you leave.
5. Swap light bulbs to energy-saving versions if you are leaving one on for security - as 8 per cent of us do. If not, then don't forget to turn the lights off. These light bulbs may be more pricey than normal ones but in the long run it is those bulbs that will start saving you money and usually they also last longer. So get changing today.

It is a country that has been blessed with many tourist attractions, its ministry of tourism was created in the 1970's to encourage investment in this sector. Tourist attractions include amongst others; wildlife parks, highlands, lakes, Mankon Fondom (kingdom) and museums.

Despite government's efforts over the past decade to boost the sector, its growth has been hampered by poor infrastructure and mis-administration. However, this has not deterred foreigners from visiting the country's attractions.

Tourists Climbing Mount Cameroon

One of the main sites that attracts many foreigners and nationals alike is "Mount Cameroon" also known as "Mount Fako". It is situated in Buea, in the Fako division of the South West province of the country.

It measures 4100 kilometres, the highest point in Central Africa and the second highest point in Africa after Mount Kilamanjaro in Kenya. The mountain rises from the coast through tropical rainforest to a bare summit which is cold, windy and occasionally brushed with snow.

The Mount Cameroon forests are under threat from uncontrolled forest exploitation and encroachment for agricultural production. A population of approximately 350,000 people live within its immediate vicinity, around half of this population live in the urban settlements of Limbe and Buea.

The Bakweri, Bomboko and Balundu people traditionally live on and around the mountain, together with the coastal Bimbia clans; the livelihoods of these people are directly or indirectly supplemented through the harvesting of the forests resources such as timber and non-timber products such as removing bark for medicines, gathering wild vegetables, collecting rattans for making furniture and hunting.

The mountain has erupted six times in the previous century, the latest recorded eruption was in March/ April 1999. During the eruption, the lava flow destroyed farmlands in localities found on the slope of the mountain such as Bakingili, Batoke and Upper farms.

In local folklore the God of the mountain is known as Efasah Moto, it's believed to be composed of two halves, i.e. man and stone; it is also believed that it takes care of people by providing them with water, shelter and food during their journey up and down the mountain. Visitors are allowed to harvest what they can consume while on the mountain but are not allowed to take away anything provided by Efasah Moto. Belief in the God provides an interesting cultural link to ecotourism and sustainable use of resources.

Apart from individuals or groups who go for excursions on the mountain, there is an annual international race that is organised by the Government known as the "Mount Cameroon Race of Hope". The initiative was started in 1995 by the company that brews Guinness.

The race usually brings together hundreds of athletes with scores of them coming from abroad. The starting point of the race is the Molyko Omnisport stadium and participants pass through upper farms, huts 1,2 & 3 before reaching the summit and returning back to the starting point. Participants are divided into male and female categories, they are then further sub-divided into professionals, youths, and amateurs.

The first winner of the male category usually takes just over four hours to complete the race while that for the female category usually takes around 4 hours and 30 minutes. Prize money is in the region of two thousand pounds.

All she gave me was $200 she was saving for a pair of Manolo Blahniks , what ever that is, and she says she will talk to Dad. Next day is Saturday, and I hopefully go out to the garage where Dad is working on his project, cabinets for the den. Dad, did mom get a chance to talk to you? Yes, she says you want to go on vacation to Israel.. Yes, and I hope you can get enough money to go. Well, can you be of any help? Yes I decided to give you $200, I believe thats the amount your mother gave you. Yes, but I was hoping I would get more from you. No, you want to go, you figure it out. You're an adult now.

Being an adult sucks at times. and this is definably one of those times. So being a journalist major, I wondered if I could write an ad that would get people to hire me for well paying jobs. After all I have three months, if I work two months I might get enough to pay for the trip. So I wrote my most heartfelt plea in the jobs wanted section. and it worked! One lady called me. She needed a dog walker, I love dogs, ok then. She had a pit bull with attitude,"Pugsley". He was huge, he was strong too.

.Luckily, he liked me. I had several close calls, but managed to keep him off any people, or other dogs. She paid me well, but that was still not going to get me to Israel. Then a guy called. His elevator operator was going on vacation, would I like to fill in for a month? Sure. So there I was, up and down, up and down, down and up. I ran the two blocks to Mrs. Meyers house, to walk Pugsley. It took up my whole break time, and half of my lunch.The elevator operators job, you would think was easy, and it was. It was also frustrating.

Why is it, people get in an elevator, and don't know where they want to go? What floor, I'd say, and they would start to search for the letter, or the little piece of paper that the office number is written on. Why don't they do that before they got into the elevator? I' ve never worked in a restaurant, but they get good tips, don't they? I applied for a part time job waiting tables. I went for the interview, while on my lunch hour. I didn't want to wear my uniform, so I brought a nice outfit in my backpack with my lunch.

So , he said he would give me a try. Come tomorrow at 6:00pm. So then, I get off the elevator job at 5:00 pm, I will go get Pugsley and walk him, and come straight from work to the restaurant. Mrs, Meyers suggested I could take a shower and change at her house, and I did. So this was my life for a month. The elevator operator came back from vacation, but the other guy left, so I continued for another month. When it was time to leave the elevator operators job, they gave me a cake, and were sorry to see me go. I found Jeff, he is a veterinary student, and he will walk Pugsley.

I found a replacement for my waitress job too. Mom! Turns out she used to waitress, and was feeling like she needed to get out of the house. Dad was all for it, and she can make some of her own spending money, he said. I had a month left, before I started my permanent job, so I went down to the travel agent with Mom and Dad, when we got there the agent shook their hands like he knew them . Turns out he did. My mother, and my father had purchased a ticket for me over a month ago. I was so proud of you Dad said, how you were really determined to realize your dream .I couldn't say anything, I just cried. Everyone should have parents like you two. No, every one should have a daughter like you , Dad said. It's really happening,

I'm on my way to Israel!

These may be some useful tips while you travel by train:

1. Look for the most direct route to reach your destination. Well, there may be lot of routes long ones as well as shortcuts.
2. Also, you may have to change your train several times in your journey. Check for the one which has very minimal changes. This will help you to reduce stress and also possibilities of missing your next connections. And yes, obviously it will minimize the risk of luggage loss due to connection missing.
3. Online booking has made our life very easy. Some private trains provide facilities to even choose your seats in the train all by yourself. So go ahead and choose your favorite seat where you think you can enjoy the most.
4. Well, before that you need to have a proper planning for your trip. Choose your destination places where all you need to go. Book accordingly if it is a single way journey that is well and good. You can visit all the places you need to see on the way,catch your train and get going.
5. Minors or children under 2 years who do not occupy seats can travel freely in train as compared to flights and buses.
6. Also,if you have kids below 16 years they may get some discounts in booking. Just check up the costs with the rail authorities.
7. Some rail companies provide other facilities like accommodation,rental cars,discounts with the whole package of site seeing. Just check up before you start.
8. If you are traveling for long hours say more than 6 or 8 hours, then you could best travel during night time. This will help you pass your time easily.
9. There are birth system in trains which help you to stretch your legs comfortably and sleep well while you travel. Though you may have to pay more for the sleepers, it is worth going on them.
10. I would love to have window seats while traveling in train. I can afford good amount of site seeing while traveling in trains. If you have kids or your family traveling with you you can book a four seater with windows facing each other.
11. You can also go for a dining car or cafe cars or domed cars which enable you to walk on the lounges when you are tired of sitting for long hours.
12. Avoid seating near the toilets. I hate to be seated in such places where you get constant bad smell and too many people coming and going that way. It may not be safe for your luggages too if you have some precious items.
13. Some trains have varieties of facilities. You may even get coffee vending machines at some point. There may be dressing rooms too.
14. Some trains provide you with food and drinks if you are traveling for long hours.
15. Also, you may enjoy the platform breaks when the train stops at every station, get out of the train smoke or inhale some fresh air and then get into when It starts.