~uGoGirl~

I love festivals. I love those events to the point of sometimes asking my friends to invite me to stay at their place for any festival.

Unfortunately for me, I don’t have any friends who live in Perth, Australia so I can cheaply participate in the upcoming Perth International Arts Festival. The closest is Melbourne Accommodation care of my cousin. He also manages some Hotels in Adelaide so if I want to be nearer Perth, he said he could give me some discounts in one of those hotels. Due to the distance barrier (Adelaide to Perth), I don’t think I’ll be able to enjoy the Festival at all. It would be costly too to commute, so I declined. I ended up booking in one of the Hotels in Perth.

In case you don’t know, the Perth International Arts Festival is the oldest annual international multi-arts festival in the southern hemisphere, and it annually offers some of the world’s best theatre, music, film, visual arts, street arts, literature and free community events. With that information, I’m sure you now understand why I want to be in Perth, Australia sometime from February 8 to March 2, 2008 for the said event. Hope to see ya there!

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Planning your much awaited and deserved getaway? Why don’t you full blast it by booking your tour with a Spa Hotel? You not only get to have a great tour in your target destinations, you also get to pamper yourself after each tour.

If you’re really into Spa, don’t limit yourself with just a Spa Hotel; take it to the next level by booking in a Spa Resort. Visiting a spa resort offers more than a vacation. It can help you relax, revive, and renew while you reconnect with yourself. It can even help you improve your health and bring your entire being into balance with stress-reducing activities.

Spa resorts vary from inexpensive and basic to luxurious and pampering. Both have their place. To help you select the most appropriate spa resort for you, browse over online specialty guides like AllStays.com which features non-biased spa hotel listings.

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When traveling, one of the most important things to secure and really check out is your accommodation. Knowing if the room amenities (e.g. telephone, internet connection, etc.), accommodation security and facilities, etc. caters to your needs will be very handy when you’re in a trip. Selecting the appropriate location of where you’ll be staying is also essential because a good site can help you minimize your travelling fare to and fro your target areas and destinations, and maximize the number of places that will be accessible to you (e.g. nearest tourist spot/s, hospital, police station, coffee shop, etc.).

So before securing a place, do look into some accommodation updates and/or accommodation travel news. You just might find better accommodation with great perks. As always, it is good to learn from other’s experience, so I suggest you do some readings over travelers’ reviews and accommodation stories such as “Guestroom Worthy of a Guest” from blog.accomline.com before your final pick.

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“It’s not within my budget right now. Maybe next time…” This is my friends’ usual regretful reply whenever I invite them to travel with me. I can’t blame them though because even I am financially challenged nowadays. Still, finding a balance between work and leisure is important. After all, “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” Everyone needs hiatus.

Not deterred by their replies, I aggressively searched the net for a travel package that can be fitted within my friends’ budget. Based from the past events and the blank stares from their faces, they definitely need and deserve a break. Well, that and the fact that I want to travel as a group with them because it’s more fun.

My crusade’s a success. I found a great list of airfare deals - Cheapoair Top 25 Deals. The deals on the list do not only include the trendiest destinations all over the world, all of them also offer round trip fares! Moreover, the website guarantees the lowest on-line price for exclusive and budget airfares. Imagine that.

Some tips in booking your flights: The probability of more seats being available, according to CheapoAir.com, will be on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Also, do take note that seats are limited and may not be available on all flights/days or in all markets.

Anyhow, with these 25 deals, I’m sure I can woo my friends to join me in my next escapade.

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Nowadays, Flowers are becoming stylish and are no longer just associated with courting and boy-girl relationships. It can represent all types of affection – a thank you from granddaughter to grandmother, appreciation of a student to his/her favorite teacher, a happy birthday of one girl friend to another, etc.

Unfortunately, and as always, the delicate and striking flowers such as Casablanca Lily, Hydrangea, Holland Tulips, Stephanotis, and the exotic Blue Roses are pretty expensive. For something ephemeral, I often think more than twice before buying flowers for someone (unless the recipient prefers Everlasting, of course). Then again, with discounts like Interflora’s voucher code, you will definitely see my family, relatives, and friends (perhaps even my colleagues) carrying a bouquet of flowers every now and then – from me!

For those interested, Interflora’s voucher code is “web123″ which is worth £4.99 off your order. Do take note that there is a minimum spend of £19.99 to be able to avail of the discount, and the promo period will last until October 31. The good thing about the £4.99 discount is that you can convert it as ‘free delivery’ or ‘free chocolates’. Although chocolates are nice add-ons, I would go for the free delivery if I were you. It’s more practical.

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Right after graduation, one of my goals was to save enough money to be able to go on an Asian Cruise. It’s been four years and I haven’t saved a single cent for that dream vacation. While absentmindedly surfing the net, I came across a Blogasian which contains asia hotel news. Its content like “Three Cheapest Cites for Shopaholics” and “5 Weirdest Things Chinese People Eat in Guangzhou” triggered my almost forgotten yearning for an Asian Cruise.

Sigh. I really ought to start saving up money for the cruise so that I’ll stop drooling over articles and pictures like the ones in Blogasian. If only I could find someone to tag along with me… the trip would be more interesting.

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Whenever Hawaii is mentioned, the first thing that comes to my mind are the beautiful beaches and the graceful hula dancers wearing flower-printed clothes. My newly-wed cousins are scheduled to spend their honeymoon in Hawaii. The family gave me the task of coordinating the details of this vacation as wedding gift. I gladly accepted, for I had assisted a year ago a couple who also flew to Hawaii after their wedding.

For short term stay in Hawaii, it will be more practical to choose the place to stay from the vacation rentals, for there are beautiful places and beaches in the list of Hawaii vacation rentals. For my cousins’ honeymoon, I highly recommend one of Maui’s vacation rentals, the Oceanfront Luxury, Wailea. It is in lower Ekahi Village, just few steps to sandy Keawapu beach, one of the most beautiful in Maui. I’m looking forward to see them off for Hawaii and return home carrying beautiful memories of beaches, hula dancers and their honeymoon.

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Though Australia is known for its great Sydney Accommodations and Festivals, do not forget to visit its smaller cities like Adelaide and Perth.

Known as “the city where there’s always something on” and named in honor of Queen Adelaide, the city of Adelaide is South Australia’s seat of government and commercial centre. When visiting this city, make sure to time it with WOMADelaide, Australia’s premier world music event, or other events such as the Adelaide Festival of Arts, Adelaide Film Festival, Adelaide Festival of Ideas, and Adelaide Writers’ Week.

For those into visual and performing arts, Perth should definitely be on your list of places to visit in Australia. The capital and the largest city of Western Australia, Perth houses the Perth Concert Hall, the New Convention Centre, and the West Australian Art Gallery. This gallery showcases the states’ premier art collection and numerous impressive visiting exhibitions, like 2006 Norman Lindsay exhibition.

Since not many people visit the smaller cities in Australia, you will find that Adelaide Hotels and Perth Hotels’ rate are cheaper compared to its main cities.

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Noted for its long isolation from the rest of the world, New Zealand, is one of the best places to be in if you’re looking for a nature trip. This is because the country has extraordinary flora and fauna, with about 80% of its flora exclusive only to New Zealand due to its isolation.

New Zealand summer starts at December and ends on February. This season is the best time to visit the country for fantastic urban panoramas on top of Mount Eden and One Tree Hill in Auckland, Mount Victoria in Wellington, the top of the Port Hills in Christchurch and Flagstaff Hill in Dunedin. Of course, summer is also an excellent time for day treks in the bush, walking the length of a beach, a round of golf, and engaging in various water sports. In case you don’t know, New Zealand is known as Middle Earth for its Lord of the Rings trilogy, and you can avail of tour packages to cater to your Lord of the Rings needs and hopes.

Don’t worry about the expense and finding Hotels in Auckland, Hotels in Wellington, Hotels in Christchurch, or wherever you’re planning to stay in New Zealand. With a lot of good accommodations there, I’m sure you can find a great travel deal this summer.

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