Europe's 10 cheapest cities to visit

As we live in a age of austerity with the continental countries of Europe facing unprecedented EU challenges, such as escalating inflation rates, higher VAT and with the general impact of the credit crunch and import costs, future tourists are starting to look carefully which destination offers the best value for summer 2013 or a winter break.

Here below is the updated list of Europe's 10 cheapest major cities to visit.

The greatest surprise on the list is London, which due to the fact it is outside the EU prices are relatively falling enabling it to reach Europe's bargain hotspot top 10 for the first time in 5 years. This is good news for Olympic Games visitors, however we must balance this information with the recent increase in exchange between the euro and the Pound Sterling, making it more expensive to buy GB Pounds now than in the last 5 years or so.

It's interesting to see that London is sixth on the list and the Norwegian capital Oslo last. 

10 Cheapest European Cities:

1. Warsaw, Poland.
2. Prague, Czech Republic.
3. Budapest, Hungary.
4. Vilnius, Lithuania.
5. Brussels, Belgium.
6. London, England.
7. Berlin, Germany.
8. Lisbon, Portugal.
9. Dublin, Ireland.
10. Madrid, Spain.

By: Progress On 02:31

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The Top Rude Passenger Behaviors you Want to Avoid

Passengers participating in this interesting and noteworthy survey were asked which type of passenger to sit next to on the plane they consider the most disliked one.

The answers they gave were extremely familiar to quite every traveller!

These are the 6 types of passengers we all look to avoid when travelling:

• Poor Hygiene
• Cougher-Sneezer
• Large
• Chatty
• Child
• Snorer

When asked about all the passenger behaviors they see as the rudest, the 1532 surveyed passengers were given the opportunity to choose 2 of them. So, let's have a quick look!

• 919 passengers consider seat kicking very disrespectful
• 827 of them think that loud talking is the most inappropriate thing to do on plane
• 460 travellers find seat reclining terribly rude
• 276 of the surveyed passengers consider arm rest hogging uncivil
• 245 of them believe that stinky food eating is very rude and
• 107 passengers find that unwelcomed conversing  is unusually wrong

Are you a passenger to stay away from?

We would be very glad if you shared with us your story or personal travel experience!

Original source: www.travelocity.com

By: Progress On 00:23

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The worlds best Flight Search Engine to seek cheap tickets and convenient routes

The Internet is awash with Flights Search and Flight Comparison websites. In the grand scheme of things they are all a much of a muchness. This is however one undisputed leader of the pack "SkyScanner" 

Skyscanner in essence is the worlds leading Flight Search site for Independent Travellers, which provides instant online comparisons for literally millions of flights on over a 1000 airlines inlcuing Low cost and Scheduled, in addition to Car Rental and Hotels (all be it second place).

The key difference is that Skyscanner's flexible Search options make it possible to browse prices across a whole month, or even a year ahead. This Travellers to secure the best deals in advance. Moreover, SkyScanner does not get involved in the Booking, so after the right Search has been done it links to book direct with the Airline or Travel Wholesaler, to ensure the lowest price, with no extra fees added.

SkyScanner has been in travel business for over 10 years and employs more than 30 different nationalities from their offices in Edinburgh and Singapore. The Website boasts over 25 million visitors every month who use SkyScanner to seek flights in more than 25 different languages. 

Give it a try and click this link or the below Banner

By: Progress On 07:32

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World's Best Hotels 2013

For some travellers its not about "where", but "with who". For those who care about where, today we will present to them the best hotels in the world for 2013.

Thanks to the research conducted by travel and leisure, we have the list with the best hotels worldwide! 

1. Mombo Camp and Little Mombo Camp, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana

2. Castello di Casole—A Timbers Resort, Casole d'Elsa, Italy

3. Singita Kruger National Park, South Africa

4.Nayara Hotel, Spa & Gardens, La Fortuna, Costa Rica

5.Four Seasons Resort Bora-Bora, French Polynesia

6.The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, Matauri Bay, New Zealand

7. Ritz-Carlton, Berlin

8.Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur, India

9. Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, Kruger National Park Area, South Africa

10. Singita Sabi Sand, Kruger National Park Area, South Africa

By: Progress On 03:56

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The hypocritical reality of the EU and Western Governments on Tax enforcement

No doubt most citizens of Europe have noticed an ongoing trend, whereby Governments in league with the European Union and other Western countries are focusing Media attention and propaganda efforts on "Tax Evasion" and "Tax Avoidance". The goal here seems to be on focusing a complicit mainstream media on stirring up hatred (thereby dividing an conquering) towards productive individuals and companies from legally, creatively or otherwise from avoiding taxes. This of course is a distraction to stimulate emotions on the topic and channel the sentiment towards paying Taxes. 

Of course at no point during such media exposure centered on Tax avoidance does the mainstream media indicate within the same article or sentence, the utter abuse of Taxpayers money that is occurring within the EU and across many countries in the western world. To name just a few, Illegal or immoral wars, bank bail-outs, corruption in Politics, scandalous expenses of Politicians and commissioners, black operations and general abuse of public money comes to mind.

For the Citizens of Europe, one of the most astonishing revelations is that the officials who work for the European Commission and the European Parliament, even for the highest category of unelected people that earn a NET take-home pay of around 120,000 euro per year, pay a maximum Tax of just 12%.

Now considering the Troika forced aggressive Tax increases and austerity measures on the poor people living in the Mediterranean Bail-Out countries, this information is effectively Tax Fraud on a pan-European scale. How can this be possibly fair?

How can the unelected people working for the EU Commissions and Parliament in Brussels that enforce high Taxes on everyone else explain this to the 16 million unemployed people within the Euro-zone? What possible reason is given for such huge Tax breaks and Pension benefits on a scale not seen anywhere else in the world, while the rest of the average citizens pay more than their fair share?

By: Progress On 21:12

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Top 10 Abandoned Cities in the World!

Here is a fascinating list featuring all of the cities across the world that were abandoned at some point. It makes fascinating reading and creates an automatic hit list of places to visit!

1. Craco

This medieval village in Italy was built on a very steep summit for defensive reasons, in a dry and mostly vegetation-free area in the south of the country. Over the centuries, this village lost residents due to a plague, French occupation and civil unrest, and finally lost nearly all of its residents between 1892 and 1922 as they fled for America due to poor agricultural conditions. Earthquakes in the 60s forced the remaining occupants out of the city, and it's now completely uninhabited. 2. Kowloon Walled City

The Kowloon Walled City, located just outside Hong Kong, was occupied by Japan during World War II and subsequently taken over by squatters after Japan's surrender. Neither Britain nor China wanted responsibility for it, so it became its own lawless city. Its population flourished for decades. It was a place where brothels, casinos, opium dens, cocaine parlors, food courts serving dog meat and secret factories ran unmolested by authorities. It was finally torn down in 1993 after a mutual decision was made by British and Chinese authorities, who had finally grown wary of the unsanitary, anarchic city and its out-of-control population. 3. Gunkan-jima

The forbidden island is one among 505 uninhabited islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture of Japan about 15 kilometers from Nagasaki itself. It is also known as "Gunkan-jima" or Battleship Island thanks to its high sea walls. It began in 1890 when a company called Mitsubishi bought the island and began a project to retrieve coal from the bottom of the sea. This attracted much attention, and in 1916 they were forced to build Japan's first large concrete building on the island. A block of apartments that would both accommodate the seas of workers and protect them from hurricanes. 4. Mandu

Located south of Indore in the state of Madhya Pradesh, Mandu was once the capital city of a northern Indian Muslim state and has lain abandoned for over 400 years. The ancient city takes up a large plateau just above the Narmada River and is home to a dazzling array of ruins, including a royal palace and a mosque. The Nil Kanth Palace is an important pilgrimage point for devotees of the Hindu goddess Shiva. Today, the city's only residents are gypsy tribes who live on the hilltop plateau. 5. Humberstone

Humberstone in Chile was a booming town from the 1920s until the early 40s, enjoying the wealth and prosperity that came from mining and processing nitrate, also known as saltpeter. Once synthetic saltpeter was invented, the town began to decline and experienced a slow outpouring of residents until it finally lay empty in 1961. Since then, the blowing sand from surrounding deserts has made its way into the remaining buildings, which still house machinery and furniture. The town has been named a World Heritage Site and will likely be preserved as a historical monument. 6. San Zhi

San Zhi in the North of Taiwan, this futuristic pod village was initially built as a luxury vacation retreat for the rich. However, after numerous fatal accidents during construction, production was halted. A combination of lack of money and lack of willingness meant that work was stopped permanently, and the alien like structures remain as if in remembrance of those lost. Indeed, rumors in the surrounding area suggest that the City is now haunted by the ghosts of those who died. 7. Prypiat

Prypiat is an abandoned city in the "zone of alienation" in northern Ukraine. It was home to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant workers, abandoned in 1986 following the Chernobyl disaster. Its population had been around 50,000 prior to the accident.

8. Famagusta

Famagusta is a settlement in the unrecognised Republic of Northern Cyprus. Prior to the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, it was the modern tourist area of the city of Famagusta. For the last three decades, it has been left as a ghost town. In the 1970s, the city was the number one tourist destination in Cyprus. To cater to the increasing number of tourists, many new high-rise buildings and hotels were constructed. 9. Times Beach

Once home to 2200 residents, Times Beach, Missouri stood empty and condemned for over a decade. It is the site of one of America's worst pollution disasters. From 1972 to 1976, city officials had waste oil sprayed on the unpaved roads to alleviate a dust problem. Unfortunately, that waste oil contained dioxin, a toxic carcinogen and component of Agent Orange. The dioxin permeated the soil and flooding further spread it through the town. After a long cleanup effort, the town has been reborn as Route 66 State park. 10. Kadykchan

Kadykchan was one of many small Russian cities that fell into ruin when the Soviet Union collapsed. Residents were forced to move to gain access to services like running water, schools and medical care. The state moved them out over a period of two weeks, and they were taken to other towns and provided with new housing. Once a tin mining town of 12,000 people, the city is now desolate. In their hurry to leave, residents left their belongings behind in their homes, so you can now find aging toys, books, clothing and other objects throughout the empty city.

By: Progress On 17:44

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Best Chocolate Places on Earth!

Many few people can state with safety they don't like melt-in-the-mouth chocolates. In fact, we people actually need chocolate as researches have shown that consuming cocoa chocolate may positively affect the circulatory system and boost our metabolism; even though high in calories, a piece of chocolate brings energy and fast thinking. No one should exclude a reasonable portion of it from their nutrition. Do not overdo it though!

Travellers are lucky since they get to taste different types of chocolate around the world. 

According to travel.nationalgeographic.com, these are the best of the best chocolate makers!

Enjoy and Indulge!

1. Teuscher (Zurich, Switzerland)

2. Vosges Haut-Chocolat (Chicago, Illinois, USA)

3. Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Inc.  (Berkeley, California, USA)

4. Jacques Torres Chocolate  (New York, New York, USA) 5. Norman Love Confections (Ft. Myers, Florida, USA)

6. Valrhona (France)

7. Godiva Chocolatier  (Brussels, Belgium and worldwide)

8. Richard Donnelly Fine Chocolates  (Santa Cruz, California, USA)

9. Richart (Paris, France)

10. Puccini Bomboni  (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

By: Progress On 16:52

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Best Worldwide Airlines!

Based on a research brought to us by BusinessInsider, we are now able to let you know the best worldwide Airlines!

The research took into consideration the in-flight experience based on ratings for seat comfort, in-flight entertainment, cabin cleanliness and condition, quality of meals served, and service efficiency and time of departure and arrival! So, the results have been the following!

1. Singapore Airlines As the rankings show, Singapore Airlines offers far and away the world's best economy experience. Employees are trained to treat everyone with care and respect, and that makes all the difference. Add in the fact that Singapore Airlines scored 100 for seat comfort, cabin cleanliness, and in-flight entertainment, and it's easy to see why it's number one. 2. Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines got perfect scores for seat comfort and service efficiency. It even banned children in some areas of its planes, though economy travelers will still risk having their seat backs kicked by toddlers. Its main hub is located in Kuala Lumpur, and it operates flights all around the region. 3. Virgin America Virgin America scored a 90 for its in-flight entertainment, and made Apple fans happy last year when it named one if its airplanes "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish," in honor of Steve Jobs. It mainly operates long-haul flights from the east coast to the west coast of the U.S. 4. Asiana Airlines Formerly known as Seoul Airlines, Asiana Airlines's hub is at Incheon International Airport, just outside the South Korean capital. In 2012, it was named "Best Overall Airline In The World" by Business Traveler, but it comes in at number four on our list. 5. Qatar Airways Qatar Airways earned perfect scores for seat comfort and service efficiency, and it offers free booze on international flights. It operates a hub-and-spoke network of routes, and the Qatari government owns 50% of the airline. 6. Ana Airlines ANA is Japan's largest airline, and the operator of the two Boeing Dreamliner planes whose battery systems failed in January, leading to the grounding of the jet. The carrier did not receive a perfect score in any category, but its consistent high rankings earned it the number four spot on the list. 7. Garuda Indonesia Garuda Indonesia got its highest score with a near-perfect 90 for seat comfort. However, after it was deemed "unsafe," Garuda was banned from flying in European Union airspace between 2007 and 2009. The majority of its destinations are in Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. 8. Silk Air Silk Air scored highly in all categories except in-flight entertainment, where it got 60. As the subsidiary of Singapore Airlines that operates shorter flights, its passengers aren't likely to care too much, especially since free alcohol is offered on international flights. 9. Korean Airlines Korean Air, which flies to destinations in all six inhabited continents, had consistent ratings across all the categories, not scoring very high or very low in any. Despite the fact that it owns a farm on which it raises its beef, its food scored a 70. 10. Air New Zealand Air New Zealand had high rankings but its overall score was brought down by its mediocre reliability. With an ad campaign that capitalizes on the popularity of the film The Hobbit, it offers service to Australia, the South Pacific, Asia, Europe, and North America.

By: Progress On 16:47

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How to be unremarkably average in your life

Our world is absolutely full of mediocrity and it often feels like we are all going around in circles following each other like Goldfish on a global scale. Few admit to or celebrate mistakes as part of life's rich tapestry to learn and grow. All too often we live in the social mirror and we reflect conformity, yet moan about it.  

It was Martin Luther King that said that "It's no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society". Here below is a guide how to be unremarkably average in your life. We trust you do the complete opposite!

1. Believe everything people say to you on face value.
2. Never question authority and just do as your are told.
3. Go to college because that's what people do nowadays, not because you want to learn something.
4. Go overseas to a place where people speak your native language.
5. Think about starting your own business, but never do it. Settle for being an employee.
6. Think about writing a book, but never do it. You don't have enough free time anyway.
7. Get the largest mortgage you qualify for and spend the rest of your life trying to pay for it.
8. Work more hours than the hours you are actually productive. Sit at your desk and procrastinate.
9. Never be special and just try to fit on or go with the flow. 
10. Sacrifice yourself for everyone you know. Your dignity and conscience are not a high priority.  

By: Progress On 15:42

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The World’s Worst Tourism Slogans

It seems like every country or region in the world these days is a "Wanna Be" when it comes to Tourism. New market are constantly opening with new authorities getting in on the act. This in turn points a lot of people that don't really know what they are doing along with some spectacularly bad slogans!

Here are s few World's Worst contenders:

1. Hilton: “Travel should take you places” - Indeed it should, but for a major Hotel chain it's rather a pointless statement. Perhaps Travel could “take you some place fascinating”. One only wonders how many people stayed at the Hilton because "Travel should take you places?". 
2. Fargo, North Dakota’s “Always Warm!” - They are having a laugh! Anyone that has actually been there knows it’s warm in the summer and hellish cold for the remainder of the year. Perhaps this slogan was referring to the Hospitality, however  it does not say that!
3. British Colombia’s  “The Best Place on Earth” - Words like ambitious come to mind or even arrogant. In reality such over-stated slogans are for what of better words and reflect a sincere lack of thought.
4. “Andalucia. There’s only one.” - This would  be the same for every single Tourism region on the planet, which demonstrates the senseless nature of this slogan. 
5. Annapolis, Maryland’s “Come Sail Away” - This slogan is effectively inviting visitors to come and leave, presumably by boat. Such a slogan may potentially work for a Cruise Line, but does not wash for Maryland.
6. “Wales. The Big Country” - Sorry to say for all Welsh people, but Canada is a relatively big country and dwarfs Wales. So does China, India, Brazil, Russia, Australia, the US and many others. What were they thinking for a country within a country! 
7. Indonesia's national slogan for "Visit Indonesia Year" in 2008: "Indonesia. Celebrating 100 years of nation's awakening". Here there is an obvious issue with the English in addition to the fact it sounds like the country just woke up!

We challenge all readers to help us find some more really awful slogans!

By: Progress On 06:56

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Top 5 Destinations in the World!

It is a given that the world is full of surprises; you never know what you will discover from one day to the next. If you're looking to take a vacation in one of the most unique locations in the world, the following list comprises the top 5 places recommended by Perpetual Traveller Overseas. Your eyes will not believe some of these sights!

1) Zhangye Danxia Landform, China

2) Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

3) Chittorgarh Fort, India

4) Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

5) Tianzi Mountains, China

 

By: Progress On 05:45

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