Author: Richard Chapo
Source: articleage.com

Traveling is a great way to escape the rat race and experience new cultures and places. Alas, your experiences can fade with time. The best way to prevent this is to keep a travel journal for your trips.
Travel Journals
Take a minute to give some consideration to your most recent trip. What sticks out in your mind? Now think about the first trip you ever took. Undoubtedly, you remember few things about the trip. The experiences you’ve forgotten are lost to time. If you had kept a journal, this wouldn’t be the case.
There are famous instances of people keeping journals throughout time. Of course, Anne Frank’s Diary is the best example. In her diary, Anne kept a running commentary of the two years her family spent hiding from the Nazis. While your travels will hopefully be more lighthearted, keeping a journal will let you remember them as the years pass.
A good travel journal combines a number of characteristics. First, it should be compact so you don’t have to take up unnecessary space for other things. Second, it should have a case to protect it from rain, spills and so on. Third, the journal should contain blank areas to write your notes. Fourth, the journal should contain cue spaces to remind you to keep notes on specific things. Cues should include:
1. Who you traveled with,
2. Where you stayed and if you enjoyed it,
3. Who you met and contact information for them,
4. Places to eat, and
5. Things to see and if you would visit again,
At the end of the trip, you should be able to get the following from your journal:
1. Contact information for other travelers and people you met,
2. Enough detail to provide you with a guide if you travel to the location a second time.
3. Memories to reflect upon years later, and
4. Something to give you children and grandchildren later in life.
To get the most out of your travel journal, you should spend a few minutes writing in it every day. Every day of a trip brings new experiences even if you’re just sitting on a train or bus. If you get writers block, you can note whom you met, what you saw, etc.
Traveling is a chance to experience new things and meet new people. Don’t lose these experiences to time.
Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com – makers of travel journals. Writing journals are the perfect travel accessories. Visit http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com to read more travel articles and travelogues.

Author: Eric R Hughes
Source: ezinearticles.com

Let’s fast forward a few months…

You made it! After endless weeks of planning, plotting, scheming and saving, you’ve not only managed to make it to Vancouver 2010 safely but you’ve even managed to settled into your gorgeous furnish vacation rental and put your jetlag to rest with a good night’s sleep. And now, full of espresso, enthusiasm and expectation you’re ready to commute to your first ever Olympic venue to cheer your country on towards gold!

Ten minutes later you’re standing in the rain surrounded by a dizzying whirlwind of buses, sea buses, skytrains, taxis and pontoon planes, not to mention a couple of million annoyingly chipper Vancouverites… oh, and you forgot your umbrella.

Getting around the 2010 Winter Olympics doesn’t have to be this difficult. In fact, the city of Vancouver has gone to great lengths to ease the to-and-fro aspects of your Olympic experience. But before you embark there are several important facts that must be taken to heart before arriving on Canada’s West Coast:

-Your umbrella is your best friend. Whether you’re lining up for the speed skating events on the Fraser River Delta or bashing your cowbell with abandon at Whistler’s downhill venue, it’s either going to be raining, snowing or sunny. (and sometimes all in one day) So with the odds stacked depressingly against you, chances are that something’s going to be falling out of the sky. Don’t flip the bird at the weather gods. Be prepared.

-Leave the car at the rental lot. One thing you won’t find at Vancouver’s Olympic Venues is spectator parking. Why? Imagine the parking lot at the JC Penny Boxing Day Sale. Now multiply that by a billion. Get the picture? Save your money for a few apr

Author: Andy McDowell
Source: articleage.com

If you are a rookie to the world of adventure travel vacation, then you will need to learn how to plan for adventure travel!
It is very important that you understand the basics of adventure travel before you actually engage in adventure travel vacation. Why? Due to the fact that adventure travel sometimes involves risk taking, you should be familiar with how to plan for adventure travel, for your own safety as well as the safety of others.
The following five adventure travel vacation tips will help you to enjoy your trip!
1. You must consider how much physical activity you would like to engage in. Do you want to simply travel the world and see exotic places which entails a relatively low physical impact or do you want to hike climb? The word adventure means something different to everyone, so if you are not truly physically inclined or you would not enjoy yourself engaging in activities that demand a lot of physical exertion, you will want to bear such a fact in mind when you are planning your adventure travel vacation.
2. You will need to decide how much you want to really do while you adventure travel. For instance, do you just want to engage in site seeing one area of one country or do you want to see several countries in several days? Conversely, do you want to simply enjoy the culture of the places you visit or do you want an adventure travel plan that is jam packed with an assortment of activities? Considering what kind of activities you like is imperative to establishing an adventure travel plan that will ensure that you enjoy yourself!
3. Learn to comparatively shop around for great prices on adventure tour plans. You should spend a few days or weeks researching different adventure tour companies and their operators. You’ll find the best prices and the best tour operators for you. Remember that price does not necessarily equate to quality and just because you get a discount on an adventure travel vacation tour doesn’t mean a lot if the quality of the tour operator is bad.
4. Work within your budget! Don’t set your mind on a tour that you know you cannot possibly afford. Rather, determine your budget before hand and stick too it! Besides, you can always plan a more expensive adventure tour when you have the funds to do so.
5. Get a written copy of the tour operator’s terms and conditions. In fact, you can probably have each company mail you a copy of their policy. After receiving a copy of each company’s policy, review the policies carefully. In doing so, you will be able to find the best deal for you and you will also familiarize yourself with all of the policies. Be sure that you give a close review to the refund policies the company has in the event that you are unhappy with your final selection.
If considering this 5 adventure travel vacation tips will help you to have an amazing experience on your next adventure trip.