Top Travel Destinations for Monsoons in India

There are some beautiful destinations that you can visit during the monsoons in India. June to September are the months of monsoons in India. In these places monsoons add more beauty to the places and bring life into them. Eager to know them, let us look at them.

1. Coorg: This is located in Karnataka, and is in the borders of Mysore. If you are planning Honeymoon in Monsoon then this is the best place to visit. The weather is cold and the beautiful locations in and around it is just breath taking. The beautiful and Holy Cauvery river and the beautiful mountains surrounded by mist and fog, are a must see.

2. Lahaul & Spiti: This is in Himachal Pradesh and shares its borders with Tibet. The major places of interest are ancient forts, monasteries, rivers forests, mountains, and valleys. This is a perfect place for mountaineers, and people who seek adventures, this place is full of beautiful scenery and breath taking views.

3. Goa: The land of sun, sand and sea, is one of the best places to visit. Its spectacular scenic beauty, colorful beaches, beautiful lakes, rivers, water sports and beautiful architectural work make this place paradise. One of the most important reasons that should make you visit this place during the monsoon is the list of festivals during this season. They are Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Sao- Joao, Bonderam flag festival, and Ganesh Chaturthi. Wild Life sanctuary, National Park, Dudh Sagar falls and the beautiful Mondovi River are other places to visit.

4. Rajasthan: This is located in North India, and Jaipur the pink city is the state capital. Tourists come here attracted by its beautiful Royal Palaces, forts and their history. The beautiful Mount Abu and Chambal River are located here. Monsoon is the best time visit Rajasthan, as all the rivers will be full, and the weather becomes cool.

5. Ladakh: Ladakh is a plateau and Leh is its capital. This is a separate province of Jammu and Kashmir. This place is full of glorious and unpolluted beauty and there are many Buddhist monasteries in this place.

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Week Ends - Great Way to Recharge

Weekend is one thing we all love, no office work, no deadlines to meet and no tension at all. Weekend is something that makes us tension free and recharges us again for the routine ups and downs. The more time we spend relaxing, the better and happy we feel. This is one thing that makes a Weekend special and essential.

Most of us are spend weekend time doing household works that we usually don’t find time to do during the routine week days. But if possible we should always take out some time to spend time in leisure or to go out along with family or friends, or just involving yourself in doing an activity that gives you satisfaction or relaxation.

You may want to go to a place of worship if you find it peaceful, or you may plan for nice movie, or a place of choice that kids enjoy and spend time with them. Or if you like to hang out with your pals plan ahead for a get together and share your heart with them and feel recharged.

If you don’t like going out and just want to stay at home, if you have any hobbies such as gardening, book reading, anything that interests you and you feel happy about do that. The small time that you spend in these activities charges you and gives you the strength to take on the activities of the week days.

So, plan your weekends, take out time for yourself and the ones you love. Spend a quality weekend and give productive week days.

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Kuoni-SOTC announces the 2014 ‘Summer Holiday Bazaar’ in Jalandhar

Kuoni-SOTC has launched the 2014 “Summer Holiday Bazaar” showcasing its summer holiday propositions in Jalandhar. Holiday Seekers from Jalandhar should visit the Country Inn and Suites by Carlson Hotel on March 9, 2014 to visit the Holiday Bazaar & choose from a wide range of International & Domestic Holiday options. This innovative one day road show initiative will offer best deals to travel enthusiasts with the support of various International Tourism Boards, Cruise & Attraction companies.

The 2014 Summer Holiday Bazaar will cover 30 cities across India. Travellers can shop for the best holiday deals from a choice of destinations (both International & Domestic) that offer spectacular discounts. The key highlights at the road show include special offers, chance to win free holidays, cash discounts and free upgrades amongst others.

Speaking on the launch Vishal Suri, CEO-Tour Operating, Kuoni India said, “With the overwhelming response and success attained from our previous road shows, we are encouraged to repeat success this current year too. The Holiday Bazaar Road show is a great opportunity to engage and strengthen our relationship with our past and prospective customers while showcasing our best propositions with support from tourism boards and other associates”.

Deals at the 2014 Summer Holiday Bazaar include:

15-Day All of Europe

Visit United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy & Vatican

Your Wife pays only 50% or your child goes absolutely FREE

16-Day All of USA

Visit New York, Washington DC, Harrisburg, Niagara, Orlando, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo & San Francisco and get 3-Nights Bahamas Cruise FREE and also get FREE Upgrade to Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort inside Disney Theme Parks OR FREE Upgrade to a Balcony Cabin on the Bahamas Cruise

10-Day Oriental Voyage

Visit Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Superstar Libra Cruise, Penang & Genting Highlands

Free Upgrade to Ocean View cabin on Cruise. Stay 2 nights inside Sentosa Island, Singapore.

8-Day South African Splendor

Visit Cape Town, Hermanus, Knysna, Sun City, Johannesburg

3 days Kruger or 4 days Kenya Free

1o Days Wonders of Australia

Visit Gold Coast, Melbourne, Cairns, Sydney

Special All Inclusive Price: Rs 1,99, 900

Above Packages include: Airfare, Accommodation, taxes, visa, travel insurance, meals, sightseeing, transfers as per itinerary & services of our tour manager.

To be a part of the Holiday Bazaar visit the Country Inn & Suites by Carlson Hotel, Near B.S.F Chowk, G.T Road, Jalandhar, Punjab on Sunday, March 9, 2014 from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

For more information visit www.sotc.in or call 2222834/4632834 Toll Free: 1800 209 3344

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Eco Friendly Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the main festivals celebrated being celebrated in India. Lord Ganesha’s birthday is celebrated as Ganesh Chaturthi, all over India in a huge manner, temporary pendals, are arranged in each locality, and beautifully made Ganesh idols, of various sizes, shapes and varieties, are installed in them and pujas are performed, during the navratris. During this period various kinds of cultural programmes are also organized.

On the final day of the festival or navratris, Ganesh idol is taken through the streets, in a procession, to be immersed in a river. This process is known as Ganesh Visarjan, and this is where the environment is at stake. The immersion of idols made out of chemical materials causes significant level of water pollution. The use of thermo coal, plastic and plaster of Paris, and others increases, biodegradable waste. The toxic waste from these materials kills plant and animal life in the water bodies.

Celebrating, eco friendly Ganesh utsav means celebrating Ganesh utsav without causing harm to the environment and to other living beings. And, the first step towards this is, to use An Ganesh Idol made out of clay, turmeric and natural colours, or idols made out of biodegradable material. We should not use idols made out of chemicals, plaster of Paris, plastic or thermocol. Also, there is lot of wastage of electricity during the festive celebrations, the more the number of pendals the more the decoration with lights and sounds, and that too for a prolonged time, this way there is lot of wastage of electricity.

Natural biodegradable colours can be used for making rangoli instead of chemicals. Natural items like cloth, wood and paper, can be used for decoration instead of thermocol, and there is absolutely no comparison of the decoration done with natural flowers. So, the more the use of these items for decoration, the less will be the harm to the environment. Our love for God should not become a disturbance to others, so, as far as possible the use of huge capacity sound boxes and music systems should be limited to the minimum, we should think of the patients that live in the locality, about the students who are studying, and the general public just like you and me.

Consider these aspects, and share them with your friends and known ones, and become a helping hand in spreading the thought of green Ganesha or eco friendly Ganesh utsav. Think the Good of the others, and the environment, and Ganesha will think of you.

Jai Ganes!

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How to understand travel deals?

Gone are the days, when you need to make your own travel plans, book your tickets, look out for lodging and boarding, you are just a dial away, or a click away, from best travel plans. You have many operators to choose from, there are operators or travel agents, who deal with international packages, national packages, and there are also people who offer local travel or tour packages.

There is wide range of packages available, from minimum to the luxury. You need to make to careful and thorough study regarding each package; there are packages which take care of everything, right from, booking tickets to making lodging and boarding arrangements, looking after local transport, each and everything. There are other packages where in the will take care of some aspects and you have to take care of others.

Which kind of package will be beneficial for you, will depend upon the, money you can spend on travel and what kind of comforts or needs you are looking for during the travel, you may choose to stay in a normal deluxe room or you may choose a suite, you may want to travel by train or you may only travel by plane, what kind of food you prefer, and in what kind of atmosphere you prefer eating, all these are determining factors, to choose a package.

Even though travel people offer you with choices of packages and other things, it will always be better to cross check with two or three operators regarding the prices and services they are offering, one may offer more services for the same money, other may offer less, there may be differences in other aspects also. It will always be best to choose an operator or travel agent, who has more experience in handling packages and has good will in the market. In the travel package, they give you the details regarding the place of stay, the kind of food, what all is included, and what is excluded?

But it will always be better to cross check, to see if the promised services and comforts are the same or different, you can speak to them over phone or just look at the place and the services over internet, but to cross check is always safe. There are travel agents who offer seasonal discounts and special packages as per the demand, season and other reasons, for example people may want to visit a particular place during a particular season or month, during those months travel agents offer special packages at discounted rates, so it will always be better to check these aspects, before choosing a package.

Taken care of these aspects, while choosing a travel package or deal, you can be sure that you have made a right choice.

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