BOOK EARLY – The longer you leave it, the more you’ll pay. The early bird bags the best deal so consider everything you’ll need to book including flights, accommodation, car hire, airport parking and travel insurance early.

PICK YOUR DESTINATION – For many a set destination will already be in mind, but if you’re unsure, look at the window of time you have available and decide on the maximum and minimum length of time you want to be away for. The more flexible you can be, the more money you are likely to save.

TAKE A COMPLETE SEARCH – Though there are many traditionally low-priced airlines such as easyJet and RyanAir, they are not necessarily the cheapest and might not compete with each other on certain destinations. The easiest way to ensure you’re getting the best deal is to use an online comparison service such as travelsupermarket.com to compare prices from hundreds of providers with one search.

THINK ABOUT WHAT MATTERS – Your holiday won’t get off to a ‘flyer’ if you’re not happy with what’s available on your flight. Be sure to check that you have in-flight meals, potentially select your own seat, or check the amount of luggage you can carry.

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES – Don’t be rigid about the airport you use if you want to get the best deal. For example, if you live in the North West of England and traditionally fly from Manchester, why not consider Liverpool John Lennon airport, or a short drive to Birmingham? Regional departure points are usually quieter and often have easier access. Also consider alternative arrival points in your destination… for example, if your heading to the Costa del Sol look beyond Malaga and consider Almeria, Murcia, Gibraltar and other local airports. This could save you time and cash.

DIRECT OR CHANGEOVERS – Think about whether you want to bother with the hassle of a changeover if you’re taking a long-haul flight. Though direct flights are sometimes more expensive they can be much more convenient and reduce the likelihood of baggage being lost, etc.

MAKE YOUR BOOKING – Don’t sit and wait for prices to drop, because this is rare. Grab your booking while the price is good and remember to use the name on your passport and read the booking conditions so you know whether you can change or cancel your trip.

Hopefully with these easy-to-follow tips you can save a bundle on your next flight! Good luck and bon voyage!

Those who love travelling light, those with a sense for adventure, those who love flexibility in their trips, those who like meeting locals and travelling slow and low… those are Flashbooking happy travellers!

Flashbooking accommodation database is easily available online and comes completed with all relevant information about youth hostel and hotel location and map, description, services, hostel contacts, customer ratings, six pictures and updated prices inclusive of taxes and services together with instant real availability.

Having the reservation final price is also convenient as it does give the transparency our users pretend while booking. Having the final total amount of your booking means you do not have to worry about other extra surprises! Flashbooking cheap lodging solutions are all available for online bookings and divided by Countries.

Travellers have free access to the updated list of Europe hostels and budget hotels, North and South America hostels, Caribbean and Central America hostels as well as for Asia cheap accommodations, Oceania youth hostels and Africa hostels. Flashbooking’s happy travellers can book their rooms and beds not only in cheap hotels or youth hostels but also consider other budget accommodations in Bed and Breakfast, Guesthouses, Campsites, apartments, farm houses and much more.

Flashbooking chose to provide backpackers, students and families with a list of budget selected and independent accommodations worldwide, mostly run by locals, in order to promote an alternative tourism respectful of cultures and different societies.

For this and other reasons Flashbooking is becoming a recognized source of information and services for who loves creating a trip by him/herself and book bed nights securely online. In fact, thanks to a secure server certified SSL provided by Thawte (the global certificate authority) www.flashbooking.com is able to guarantee instantly confirmed and secure online reservations.

Thawte is a system which encrypts all the processed data and guarantees that this will not be read, used or modified by other parties. Confirmed online bookings mean that your holiday is just a click away, that you can get all the information needed to book online, that you can save time and money!

Recently added a new free customer service online at travellers disposal to suggest the perfect accommodation for their trip and voyages. The Skype account ‘Flashbooking Customercare’ gives more assistance also in the booking process for all our travellers and backpackers needs.

Other reasons to chose Flashbooking? Flashbooking helps you saving money with a special promotion that allows travellers to earn money and credits of 1,5 euros by inviting other friends to subscribe and receive the monthly newsletter, rich of information about hostel and hotel deals. For each friend that sings up, our travellers get 1,50 euros: it is possible to earn up to 40 euros! These credits are immediately registered in the user’s personal online account ‘My Booking’ and at the reach of 40 euros they are automatically deducted to pay your online hostel reservations !

With the monthly newsletter, Flashbooking puts at travellers’ and partner hostels’ free disposal some useful information tools as pocket travel guides of the top world cities: the Amsterdam City guide, the London City guide, the Barcelona City guide, the Paris City guide, the Rome City guide, the Florence City guide, and the freshly issued Prague City guide!

In general, these guides have been written for giving the essential information about the most visited cities in the world and in particular for any traveller or first-time visitor. For a short visit, a week-end, a city break, these free pocket guides are useful printable and downloadable tools available online.

The free City pocket guide of the Czech Capital contains, in just 9 printable pages, all the essential information and very good suggestions divided by areas: Prague New City and Prague Old city, the Jewish quarter (Josephov), the Malastrana district and the Castle. Prague is renown for wooden toys, crystal products, flea markets and Christmas markets, Wenceslas Square and museums, Art Galleries, breweries and beers and cheap lodgings, classic itineraries in the Boemian countryside and a lot more to make a visit worth wise. Free for anyone who wish to book and go and rich of colour pictures, the Prague Travel Pocket Guide is at backpackers disposal in Flashbooking.com! For Flashbooking users and travellers that might have a personal website or a travel blog, or even manage a youth hostel or a hotel accommodation, and are interested in the travel city guides, the pocket guides can be collected and put at your visitors’ disposal.

In the Prague City guide students, families and backpackers can get a large selection of cheap or low cost accommodation with plenty of low cost solutions in budget youth hostels, Prague bed and breakfast, guesthouses, cheap hotel deals.

Our travellers are also our good partners as they help us either giving their ratings of some accommodations, lodgings, BandB, youth hostels and budget small hotels where they personally stayed, either enlarging the hostel offer by reporting some new contacts.

Flashbooking policy tends to privilege small and family-run hotels in order to promote an alternative tourism respectful of cultures and different societies.

So mates, we are looking forward to finding you THE budget accommodation that meets your needs and pocket for your next trip!

Wherever you are planning to stay, you are never far from the beautiful attractions of Pattaya in Thailand. The Pattaya travel guide will always assist you with extensive information about the city. Stay at your desired accommodation and sally forth for the beautiful attractions in Pattaya. The city boasts of a mesmerizing list of attractions. From an exotic dining to a dazzling nightlife, from exciting sporting options to a variety of beach activities, Pattaya caters to every mood and every taste. Whether you are looking for colorful water sports or snooker options or impressive beach sports or a pulsating nightlife experience or a thrilling golfing experience, Pattaya is the best place to be in. Whenever you are in Pattaya, you will always find an atmosphere of activity and celebration.

Pattaya welcomes you with the finest range of hotels with a fascinating array of amenities and services. Pattaya hotels enjoy close access to the major dining establishments, shopping destinations and other entertainment options. Take a break from the busy activities and avail of a wealth of recreation options. If you have a knack for sports, you can play a round of golf, enjoy a relaxing beach experience, head for go-karting or a game of tennis. The fitness centers in Pattaya are well equipped with the latest fitness equipments including exercising, Thai-boxing gear and weight-lifting equipments.
If you are fond of adventure, you can make most of your holiday here in Pattaya. From elephant riding to scuba diving, from surfing to firearms shooting, from deep-sea fishing to water skiing, from parasailing to gliding, Pattaya has a host of options for the adventure enthusiast.

 
If you want to catch a glimpse of the throbbing nightlife in Pattaya, you can explore the colorful options near your hotel. Wherever you are staying, you can easily access the popular nightlife destinations of Pattaya. Most of the well-known hotels in Pattaya are located around plenty night spots. You can also enjoy some dining at the nightlife destinations. Try out the variety of squids, crabs, lobsters, oysters, and shrimps while in Pattaya. Just 160 km south east of the capital city of Bangkok, you can reach Pattaya quite conveniently.

If you are thinking about the accommodation options in Pattaya, you will get a variety of options. From high-end hotels to cheap hotels, Pattaya caters to all and sundry. You can avail discount hotel booking online, if you want to go for the cheap category hotels. Which services are provided at what discount rates? Online hotel booking worldwide will always assist you.

Ishita Bhaduri loves to write articles on how to get cheap hotels in your favorite destination spots and how to find Pattaya hotels that will give you a peace of mind.

Quebec is a peaceful province in Central Canada. Throughout the country, it is the only province whose official language is French due to its predominant French-speaking population. Aside from this, the Civil Law Legal System is a French tradition and is strongly practiced in this province.

Quebec is the largest province of Canada according to land area. It also ranks the second largest as the country’s administrative division. The larger portion is Nunavut.

Quebec is bordered by James Bay, Hudson Bay and Ontario to the west. It is surrounded by Ungava Bay and Hudson Strait to the north, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence as well as New Brunswick, Labrador and Newfoundland to the east; New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine are to its south. When it comes to maritime borders, Quebec shares it with Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Nunavut.

Following Ontario, Quebec is ranked as the second most populous province. In fact, most of its residents are situated along the Saint Lawrence River, which is in-between the capital, Quebec City, and Montreal. Along the northern half of Quebec, you will find Aborigines sparsely occupying it.

Quebec is noted for it natural resources which mainly contributes to its economy. Other contributing factors would be aerospace and communication technology knowledge, biotechnology and their pharmaceutical industries.

Going on a Trip to Quebec

When planning a leisure or business trip to Quebec, the oldest city in North America, you are in luck because 2008 happens to be its 400th year of the city. Throughout the year, a range of festivities and special events are carefully planned which includes a free summer concert of no less than their very own Celine Dion.

Quebec Attractions
Quebec boasts of many natural landscapes and historic sites. This would include the following:

The Citadelle de Quebec is a tourist attraction also noted as the “Gibraltar of the Americas.” It occupies Cap Diamant’s highest point, around 100m over the St. Lawrence River. It is not only part of the “Fortifications of Quebec,” it is also the home base of the French-speaking Canadian Forces regimen. As the official residence of Canada’s Governor General, it also acts as a military installation.

The Battlefields Park is a tourist attraction created in the year 1908, marking the 300th anniversary of the foundation of Quebec. This park occupies an area of about 108 hectares, having no less than 6,000 trees as well as shrubs that belong to more than 80 species. Aside from this, the park can be grouped with the Des Braves Park and the Plains of Abraham.

Also visit the magnificent Place Royale. It is considered as French America’s birthplace and the Palace Royale’s historical site which welcomes hundreds to thousands of guests every year. Its picturesque and narrow streets have actually witnessed 3 magnificent years if its history. Most of Place Royale’s buildings are components of the so-called “cultural complex” managed by Musee de la Civilisation. It is the one responsible for the interpretation and animation of the site.

Travel Guide to Quebec City

Whether you will be going to Quebec City by plane, car, bus or train, you should always be updated with the current news and recent events in the region. You really don’t need to bring a lot of money to go to Quebec. In fact, the most favorable attractions here are free. A good example would be the 3-day museum pass which includes 20 attractions and museums along with 2 days of convenient public transportation.

You can try walking around the UNESCO-designated wall surrounding Quebec City.

From the tourist office, secure a walking tour map. You can try walking at the well-signed, brand new VivaCite Stroll which features some very interesting landmarks.

On the “Plains of Abraham”, you can attend an open-air free concert.

Every Wednesday, you can check-out the Museum of Fine Arts for free.

You can catch fascinating views of Quebec City when you ride a ferry to Levis.

Join their numerous carnivals and street festivals.

In Rue St. Jaques, along Lower Town’s Saint Roch District, you can try having lunch on the delectable sidewalk hotdog place.

Along Rue St. Jean’s main street, you will find Chez son Pere, you can listen to the traditional Quebecois Music for free. This is by the upper level bar.

You can go to Simon’s Department Store along Rue St. Jean for a new pair of cheap Quebecois designer wear. This institution has been existent and trusted for more than 100 years now.

In Lower Downtown, look for the Farmer’s Market, where in, you can sample their tapenades, fruit wines and local cheeses.

The Agartala Municipality was instituted in 1871 during the reign of Maharaja Chandra Manikya(1862-1896). The First British Political Agent, Mr. A.W.B. Power appointed for hill Tipprah in 1871, was offered the honour of being the Chairman of the Agartala Municipality. Agartala city consists of many Paras, which means “locality” in Bengali. Each neighbourhood or para is usually a municipal ward or division also.

The major areas of the city are Krishnanagar, Banamalipur, Dhaleshwar, Shibnagar, Ramnagar, Joynagar, Abhoynagar, Radhanagar, Arundhutinagar, Gol Bazaar and Gurkha Basti. Kunjaban, which is an independent town is also part of the Agartala urban area. These areas are further subdivided into residential blocks, such as Banamalipur is divided into North Banamalipur, Madhya Banamlipur, South Banamalipur, etc.

PLACE TO VISIT

College Tilla – Maharaja Bir Bikram College, Tripura University buildings, football ground, international cricket stadium, picturesque lush landscapes & serene natural lakes.

Ujjayanta Palace – Palace of the Tripura kings, now converted to state legislative assembly.

Jagannath temple – Hindu temple of Vaishnava school of thought.

Umamaheswar temple – Hindu temple of Shaiva & Shakta schools of thought.

HOW TO REACH

Agartala can be reached by air from Delhi & Chennai via kolkata,Kolkata or Guwahati and by road from Guwahati and Silchar. There are many flights from Guwahati and Kolkata and a number of airlines operate in this route. It might be better to consult a authorized travel agent to choose the best at lowest fare. Airfare varies from Rs. 3330 to Rs.700. There is a direct bus link from Dhaka, Bangladesh. The same bus continues to Kolkata after a break at the Dhaka bus terminal.

For more infomation please follow the link – Agartala Travel Guide

Agra is a medieval city situated on the banks of the river Yamuna. It is generally  accepted that Sultan Sikandar Lodi, the Ruler of Delhi Sultanate founded it in the  year 1504. After the sultan’s death the city passed on to his son Sultan Ibrahim Lodi.  He ruled his Sultanate from Agra until he fell fighting to Babur in the First battle of  Panipat fought in 1526.

The golden age of the city began with the Mughals. It was known then as Akbarabad  and remained the capital of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, Jahangir and  Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan later shifted his capital to Shahjahanabad in the year 1649.

Since Akbarabad was one of the most important cities in India under the Mughals, it  witnessed a lot of building activity. Babar, the founder of the Mughal dynasty laid out  the first formal Persian garden on the banks of river Yamuna. The garden is called  the Aram Bagh or the Garden of Relaxation. His grandson Akbar raised the towering  ramparts of the Great Red Fort besides making Agra a center for learning arts,  commerce and religion. Akbar also built a new city on the outskirts of Akbarabad  called Fatehpur Sikri. This city was built in the form of a Mughal military camp in  stone.

His son Jahangir had a love of gardens and flora and fauna and laid many gardens  inside the Red Fort or Laal Kila. Shah Jahan known for his keen interest in  architecture gave Akbarabad its most prized monument, The Taj Mahal. Built in  loving memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, the mausoleum was completed in 1648.

Shah Jahan later shifted the capital to Delhi during his reign, but this son Aurangzeb  shifted the capital back to Akbarabad and had his father imprisoned in the Fort there.  Akbarabad remained capital of India during the rule of Aurangzeb until he shifted it to  Aurangabad in the Deccan in 1653. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the city  came under the influence of Marathas and Jats and was called Agra, before falling  into the hands of the British Raj in 1803.

For more information please follow the link – Agra Travel Guide

The city was founded in 1411 to serve as the capital of the Sultanate of Gujarat, by its  namesake, Sultan Ahmed Shah. Under British rule, a military cantonment was  established and the city infrastructure was modernised and expanded. Although  incorporated into the Bombay Presidency during the British rule in India, Ahmedabad  remained the most important city in the Gujarat region. The city established itself as  the home of a booming textile industry, which earned it the nickname “the  Manchester of the East.”

Archaeological evidence suggests that the area around Ahmedabad has been  inhabited since the 11th century, when it was known as Ashapalli or Ashaval. At that  time, Karandev I, the Solanki ruler of Anhilwara (modern Patan), waged a successful  war against the Bhil king of Ashaval. Soon after the victory, he established a city  called Karnavati on the banks of the Sabarmati at the site of modern Ahmedabad.  Solanki rule lasted until the 13th century, when Gujarat came under the control of the  Vaghela dynasty of Dholka and Ahmedabad was conquered by the Sultanate of Delhi.

For more information please follow the link – Ahmedabad Travel Guide

Ajmer was founded in the tenth century CE by Raja Ajay Pal  Chauhan. He established the Chauhan dynasty which continued to rule the country  while repeated waves of Muslim invasion swept across India. Ajmer was conquered  by Muhammad of Ghor, founder of the Delhi Sultanate, in 1193. Its internal  government, however, was handed over to the Chauhan rulers upon the payment of  a heavy tribute to the conquerors.

Ajmer then remained feudatory to Delhi until 1365,  when it was captured by the ruler of Mewar. In 1509 Ajmer became a source of  contention between the maharajas of Mewar and Marwar, and was ultimately  conquered by the Marwar ruler in 1532. Ajmer was lost to the Mughal emperor Akbar  in 1559. It continued to be in the hands of the Mughals, with occasional revolts, till  1770, when it was ceded to the Marathas. From that time up to 1818 Ajmer was the  scene of an ongoing struggle, being seized at different times by the Mewar and the  Marwar maharajas, from whom it was often retaken by the Marathas. In 1818 the  Marathas sold Ajmer to the British for 50,000 rupees. Since then Ajmer had enjoyed  unbroken peace and stable governance.

Pushkar – is a town in the state of Rajasthan in India near Ajmer, about 14  Kilometers away, and is an important tourist destination. Pushkar is famous for  Pushkar Lake and the 14th century Hindu temple to Brahma, God as the Creator of  all creation. This is the only temple of Brahma in the world. Pushkar is also famous  for its annual Camel Fair.

Dargah Shareef – of Khwaza Moinuddin Chishti is situated at the foot of the  Taragarh hill, and consists of several white marble buildings arranged around two  courtyards, including a massive gate donated by the Nizam of Hyderabad, a mosque  donated by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, the Akbari Masjid, and the domed tomb  of the saint. To this place Emperor Akbar, with his queen, performed pilgrimage on  foot from Agra every year in observance of a vow he had made when praying for a  son. The large pillars, erected at intervals of two miles the whole way between Agra  and Ajmer, marking the daily halting places of the royal pilgrim, are still extant.

Taragarh Fort – the fort of Ajmer, seat of the Chauhan rulers, is claimed to be  the first hill fort of Asia, built at a time when the Aravalli mountain ranges were above  the snowlines. This gives it the reputation of being one of the oldest hill forts of the  world, and it is definitely the oldest among the hill forts in India.

Adhai-din-ka-jhonpra – a Jain temple constructed in 1153 and converted into  a mosque by Qutubuddin Aibak after 1193, is situated on the lower slope of the  Taragarh hill. With the exception of that part used as a mosque, nearly the whole of  the ancient temple has fallen into ruins, but the relics are not excelled in beauty of  architecture and sculpture by any remains of Hindu art. Forty columns support the  roof, but no two are alike, and great fertility of invention is manifested in the execution  of the ornaments.

For more information please follow the link – Ajmer Travel Guide

By Suwat Muenpan

This Phuket hotel is located at Patong Beach and is surrounded by landscaped gardens and is close to the beach and entertainment areas. This hotel in Phuket is ideal for working on your tan and getting some well deserved rest. Our phuket hotel fast and secure reservation service provided. The hotel is family run, private and provides for a relaxed stay at Phuket’s marine hub. And whatever your budget, you can find a suitably priced Phuket hotel for you and your family. Renowned for its warm island hospitality and rustic serenity, the Chedi Hotel Phuket provides spa services, dining venues, meeting facilities and recreational activities. Select a Phuket hotel below to find usefull hotel information, check hotel rates and room availability.

You may see below comprehensive listing of Phuket hotels sorted by price. The Hotel Channel website presents a quick guide to top hotel choices in the Phuket area that can be booked online. The Phuket hotels and resorts guide provides a brief summary, customer ratings and reviews for hotels or resorts. For a quick summary see the list of hotels and resorts in Phuket. Secure your premier Phuket hotel bargain now by booking your stay at the Hotel below. If you’re looking at other areas of Phuket follow the links at the bottom of this page for hotel booking web sites.

It is one of the best-valued vacation of Phuket hotels. Our hotel is one of the best-valued vacation resorts in Phuket. Read Phuket hotels descriptions, reviews by former hotel guests or place your own Phuket hotels review. Even from the window of your hotel Phuket will boast some fabulous views and beautiful scenes. Season hotel mgm grand las

vegas hotel philadelphia omni hotel phuket hotel casino los angeles hotel hotel key west hotel. Popular with tourists there are many bungalows, resorts and hotels in Phuket so you will never be short on accommodation. We felt that by doing some solid groundwork on phuket hotels we would eventually source a fine phuket hotels provider … We know that many people have an interest in hotel in phuket so that is the community we wish to serve.

This website is designed to make easy and safe instant hotel and tour reservations direct with the best of Phuket’s establishments. The hotel is easily accessible from Phuket airport and other tourist destinations. Agents rates for on-line bookings at international class hotels in Phuket. Aside from Phuket’s many attractions guests have a choice of activities within the hotel itself. Set in its own tropical gardens, the phuket hotel boasts three magnificent pools and sundecks for soaking up the glorious sunshine over Phuket. Book your Phuket hotel stay safely, securely and without worries. A comfortable Phuket hotel for groups, families and company meetings or large conferences. The group also plans to open another hotel in Phuket. phuket hotels resorts sawasdee village hotel resort thailandphuket hotel resort hotels in phuket thailand.

For others types of rooms, please use the search box and check rates for Phuket hotels. You may also view Phuket lodgings and hotels alphabetically or Phuket hotels and rooms sorted by price. With Phukets many thousands hotel, guesthouse, bungalow and service apartment rooms it can be hard to pick out the right one. To search all available hotels in Phuket, please use the hotel search box. In addition, the island also boasts many man-made attractions, such as Phuket hotels, restaurants, sports facilities and places of entertainment. And wherever you stay, you can rest assured that your hotel in Phuket won’t be far from some awe-inspiring sights and colourful entertainment.

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Alappuzha also known as Alleppey, is a town in Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. A town with picturesque canals, backwaters, beaches, and lagoons, it was described as the List of places known as Venice of the East by Lord Curzon.

It is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha District. Alleppey has a wonderful past. Though the present town owes its existence to the sagacious Diwan Raja Kesavadas in the second half of 18th century, district of Alappuzha figures in classical Literature. Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala with the unending stretch of paddy fields, small streams and canals with lush green coconut palms , was well known even from the early periods of the Sangam age. History says Alappuzha had trade relations with ancient Greece and Rome in B.C and in the Middle Ages, as well as with other parts of India.

The best thing about Alappuzha and Kerala in general is the weather. Due to its proximity to the ocean it is more temperate than central India. The temperature rarely goes above 35 degrees Celsius and never below 20 degrees. The best time to visit is from August to March. Monsoon is always heavy.

If you are visiting Alappuzha, enquire about the schedule of temple festivals. Alappuzha is one of the few towns in Kerala where non-Hindus are generally allowed enter the temple premises. Most of the famous Kerala temples do not allow such thing, and if you are a foreigner you are immediately branded as non-Hindu and prevented from entering. Alappuzha temples are generally not that narrow-minded, though there might be a few areas inside the temples where the entry is restricted. The Ambalapuzha temple festival is particularly impressive. Five elephants carry the Krishna idol for quite a long distance with a music accompaniment. The temple is 14 kilometres away from Alappuzha. It is famous for its rose palpayasam. The temple makes this traditional very sweet milk-based dish as an offering. Because of long boiling the milk condenses turning light pink colour.

For more details please follow the link – Alappuzha Travel Guide

Alibag is very popular with the Mumbai’s affluent residents. Most of them own farms and bungalows here which are often a few hundred metres from the sea shore. The town and its surrounding villages are the historic hinterland of Bene Israeli Jews. There is a Jewish synagogue in the “Israel Ali” area of the town.

PLACE TO VISIT

Alibag beach – It is the main beach of the town. One can see the Kolaba fort from here (not to be confused with Colaba of Mumbai).

Akshi Beach – It is situated 5 km away from Alibag. Nagaon beach – It is situated about 7 km away from Alibag and is famous for coconuts and betel nuts.

Kihim Beach – Kihim is a secluded place at a distance of 12 km from Alibag. The Kihim beach is famous for dense cover of Coconut trees. It is also famous for woods which are home to rare butterflies, birds and flowers.

Mandawa – It is situated about 20 km north of Alibag. The catamaran/ferry services are available from Mumbai to the Mandawa jetty. Many Bollywood celebrities own bungalows here.

Kashid Beach – It is situated about 30 km away from Alibag, on the Alibag- Murud highway.

Kolaba (or Kulaba) fort – (Not to be confused with Colaba in Mumbai): Is situated in the sea at a distance of 1-2 km from the Alibag shores. During low tide one can walk to the fort as the water recedes behind the fort. However, during high tide a boat is needed.

Kanakeshwar temple – Is situated on a hill near Mapgaon village, about 12 km away from Alibag and falls on the way to Mandawa.

Chaul – Is a historic town situated about 15 km away from Alibag. It is famous for its Portuguese ruins, an old church, a synagogue, Buddhist caves, the Hamam Khana and a temple.

For more details please follow the link – Alibagh Travel Guide

The ancient name of the city is Prayaga (Sanskrit for “place of sacrifice”, Prayag in modern Hindi) and is believed to be the spot where Brahma offered his first sacrifice after creating the world. It is one of four sites of the Kumbh Mela, the others being Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik. It has a position of importance in the Hindu religion and mythology since it is situated at the confluence of the holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna, and Hindu belief says that the invisible Sarasvati River joins here also. Allahabad or Prayagraj is a historian’s paradise.

History lies embedded everywhere, in its fields, forests and settlements. Forty-eight kilometres, towards the southwest, on the placid banks of the Jamuna, the ruins of Kaushambi, at one time capital of the Vatsa kingdom and later a thriving center of Buddhism, bear silent testimony to a forgotten and bygone era. On the eastern side, across the river Ganga and connected to the city by the Shastri Bridge is Jhunsi, identified with the ancient city of Pratisthanpur, capital of the Chandra dynasty.

About 58 kilometres northwest is the medieval site of Kara with its impressive wreckage of Jayachand’s fort. Sringverpur, another ancient site discovered relatively recently, has become a major attraction for tourists and antiquarians alike. Prayag is an extremely important and integral part of the Ganga Yamuna Doab, and its history is inherently tied with that of the Doab region, right from the inception of the town. The city was known earlier as Prayaga – a name that is still commonly used. That it is an ancient town, is illustrated by supposed references in the Vedas to Prayag, where Brahma, the Hindu Creator of the Universe, is believed to have attended a sacrificial ritual.

Excavations have revealed Northern Black Polished ware objects in Prayag, further corroborating the conjecture that Prayag existed as a town as early as 600 B.C. The Puranas record that Yayati left Prayag and conquered the region of Saptha Sindhu. His five sons Yadu, Druhyu, Puru, Anu and Turvashu became the main tribes of the Rigveda. When the Aryans first settled in what they termed the Aryavarta, or Madhyadesha, Prayag or Kaushambi was an important part of their territory.

The Vatsa (a branch of the early Indo-Aryans) were rulers of Hastinapur (near present day Delhi), and they established the town of Kaushambi near present day Prayag. They shifted their capital to Kaushambi when Hastinapur was destroyed by floods. In the times of the Ramayana, Prayag was made up of a few rishis’ huts at the confluence of the sacred rivers, and much of the vats country was continuous jungle. Lord Rama, the main protagonist in the Ramayana, spent some time here, at the Ashram of Sage Bharadwaj, before proceeding to nearby Chitrakoot.

For more information please follow the link – Allahabad Travel Guide

In the shape of a horse saddle shaped hillock it is surrounded by thick forests of pine and fur trees, flowing alongside the city are rivers of oshi(Kaushiki) and Suyal(salmale) and to top it all are the snow capped Himalayas in the background. It is a town bustling with activity, and has a rich cultural heritage and history. It is considered the cultural heart of the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.

Most of the town is situated on a crescent shaped mountain about 5km long, and most of it is above 6000 feet. Unlike Shimla, Ranikhet and Nainital which were developed by the English, Almora is a hill station totally developed by the Indians. The town itself is your usual crowded hilltown in northern India, but the natural beauty around is astounding. Almora is also called a town of temples. Situated in the centre of the town is the temple of Goddess Nanda Devi. The mountain is visible from the nearby areas as well. Almora is an agricultural base and also a trade centre.

PLACE TO VISIT

Jageshwar temple – Jageshwar temple is a 108 temple complex situated 25kms from Almora. The temples are surrounded by Pine forests.

Rudreshwar Mahadev Temple – is one of the ancient temples in Uttarakhand. Situated near the bank of the river Ram Ganga, Rudreshwar Mahadev Temple is dedicated to lord Shiva. Rudreshwar Mahadev Temple is only 10 km from Masi and Bhikyasen.

For more information please follow the link – Almora Travel Guide

Making a distinction regarding big geographical areas, the current situation of hotel offers and receptive structures it can be schematically distributed as follows.

In countries with a tourism largely promoted by big tour-operator, like the Mediterranean coast and the islands of Spain, the largest Greek islands, the Tunisia and Morocco costs, the countries of the Center and South America, they have been developed, frequently in a disordered fashion, hotel offers and tourist centers characterized by the presence of large hotels, located in very attractive areas, endowed with numerous services, destined to be shown as beautiful as they appear in the catalogues of tour-operators in charge of filling them, but frequently poorly finished, with ordinary furniture and inadequate maintenance. There are hotel offers at particularly advantageous prices on behalf of big travel promoters which propose lodging places for trips to lower price; prices applied only to the occasional client, are on the other hand far greater

These same geographical areas have seen the surfacing of several hotels belonging to big chains, with hotel offers and diversified clientele (not just of tourists sent by tour operators) and with controlled standards of more comfort.

The prevalence of large receptive complex regarding those of small dimensions is the most typical characteristic in these geographical areas, marked, by the hotel offers, for the logic of big travel promoters.

They are few the pensions and hostels; the small receptive exercises are almost always administered as small residences or, they are simply arranged by houses in which rooms or apartments are rented.

Diversified hotel offers

In more industrialized countries which are those where the diffusion of tourism is older and consolidated, the receptive structure is very varied as well as the hotel offers. There’s a consistent sector of receptivity called complementary called or extra-hotel next to the hotel structures, constituted by residences, camping sites, tourist villages, inns, holidays houses, private lodgings.

Everywhere the appropriate equipment, comfort, cleaning in offers hotel reaches acceptable levels. Particularly, in Germany, Holland, Scandinavia, mainly if the urban areas are avoided, the lodgings, of any sort are pleasant and welcoming.

Contrary to the countries included in the area marked with number 1), the richest European countries have hotel offers traditionally based on the small individual initiative.

Today no receptive structure can live waiting for the client, customer or occasional. The client is looked for, cheered up with the hotel offers, the hotel reservation should be simplified, standards of service should be guaranteed admitting growing costs: most people request rooms with bathroom, telephone and television, with the whole comfort that doesn’t make them miss their own houses.

Thus have been developed the associations among hotel owners, for the qualification of services, the reservation in common, for the distribution of costs, the administration of hotel offers.

Hotel chains have spread guaranteeing in all countries similar services that allow the quick reservation, through free telephone calls, the twenty-four hours.

Born in the United States, country where the most famous hotel chains are found, today widely diffused in Europe as well, like the Hilton, the Marriot, the Ramada, the Holiday Inn, in a beginning chains brought together only the hotels of higher category, the most luxurious, and also most expensive from the viewpoint of hotel offers.

Nowadays is no longer this way; next to the most important chains, endowed with expensive hotels, like the Hilton, the Sheraton, and the Holiday Inn, Americans like the CIGA and the Italian Jolly Hotel, like the French Sofitel, the Swiss Hotelplan, the British Forte, there are chains with more modest category hotels and more affordable prices, hence diversifying the hotel offers.

Hotels offers and facilities>

France and Italy, countries of the oldest tourist tradition, present a fractional receptive structure, aimed at receiving individual tourism.

Like Giorgio Castoldi writes in the “Manual of tourist technique”, Hoepli, in Italy, on one hand is favored by the continuous appearance, in big cities, of offers of big hotels, of higher category, provided with the most modern services (congress rooms with its complementary equipment, fax, internal television circuits, etc.) easily reservables from any place in the worldhosting mainly people who travel for business matters; and on the other hand when maintaining the offer of small hotels, most of the time with family administration, of lower category, those who prefer not to grow for not modifying their administration, based on the work of people motivated by the good operation of the company and willing to sacrifices that could not be requested to clerks in regular hotels. Their work is often not quantified: the entire family collaborates, from children to old men, frequently in partial way, or in very busy moments, without the need of some retribution. Therefore these hotels are able to apply affordable rates for the average tourist, for the family in vacations. They are usually able to obtain enough earnings for the entire family with hotels offers for only four or five months a year. Once the season is finished old men rest, children return to their school, the rest is in charge of maintenance, repairing, and the hotels offers to clients for the following season.

These small formats hotels, with generally seasonal operation, represent most hotels in Italy and they are the backbone of a receptive structure that doesn’t adapt to the demands of big tour operators that need hotels offers of large facilities, internally reservables. For this reason Italy is not goal of lodging for big tour operators in Northern Europe, contrary to countries like Greece, and Spain. The negative aspect of this approach, for Italy, lies on the fact that, by doing so, it´s given up to a wide range of potential clients who would assure the constant floow of tourists for differentiated hotels offers, besides the traditional periods of high season. The positive aspect rests on the fact that individual clients represent greater profits to the hotels, while the tour operator client represents sure arrivals for many months in the year, satisfying the offers, but paying little and with delay. It´s not just that, big tour operators seek offers of far more hotels that usually alter the landscape and atmosphere, transforming the coasts, like it has happened in a large part of Spain, Greece, and Tunisia, in urban centers dominated by the imposing profiles of big hotels.

Changes in the hotels offers in Italy

Substantial changes in hotels offers are being witnessed in Italy. Small pensions have decreased in number because the client-type of these hotels, fundamentally families in vacations, always uses the self-catering type structures (trailer houses, rooms for rent, etc.).

Besides the growing in the offers of higher category hotels that satisfy a tourism different from the recreational one, the offers of three-star hotels that have, in Italy, an average of 39 rooms. Divorcing from the family administration, but keeping their opening for seasons. These hotels are fundamentally located in regions goal of recreational tourism: the region that more hotel offers present is the Trentino Alto Adige, the Emilia Romagna, and the Tuscan.

Why? Probably because these hotels represent the Italian answer to the demand of tour operators. These hotels are in conditions of lodging groups, allows work in longer seasons in relation to small hotels therefore coping with higher costs than what their administration implies.

Also with the demand of tour operators, these hotels are able to enlarge the traditional seasons of recreational tourism thanks to the hotels offers for congresses, manifestations, and agreements with extralaboral associations or entities of public attendance that fill facilities during low season.

In a nutshell, the situation of hotels offers in Italy can be schematized as follows:

Higher category hotels, of large facilities, mainly dedicated to business tourism, increase in number thanks to the growth of this sort of demand they satisfy with their hotels offers;

Low category hotels, of small facilities, temporaries, of family administration, are still in some regions the center of hotel offers; they have the family in vacations as client-type; which decreases in number in relation to the modification of the families´demand, with strong tendency towards self-catering;

Mediumcategory hotels grow to satisfy mainly the demand of group tourism of tour operators, of congresses organizers, of assistance entities; they are often exercises of inferior category which, growing, transform their administration, they make it more professional and less family-like, to satisfy this new demand with their hotels offers.

Classification and hotels reservation

Regarding Italy, law differentiates the hotel services in:

- hotels: receptive services open to the public, with unitary administration providing lodging, possibly food and other accessory services, thanks to the reservation of rooms in hotels;

- motel: hotels particularly equipped for the stop and services of vehicles or crafts assuring them repair services and fuel supply;

- villages hotel: hotels that, in a single area, give centralized services to users of residence units located in more establishments.

This distinction, besides substituting the traditional structure among hotels, pensions, and inns, cancels the distribution in the traditional categories (from first to fourth), and hold the same rules regarding reservation of rooms in hotels.

The law stipulates that hotels be marked, in descending order, from 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 star. The enclosed denomination “luxury” is also stipulated, for five-stars hotels classified according to typical standards of international class.

Local authorities must fix the criteria for the classification of the receptive structures keeping in mind the dimensions, the structural requirements, the services offered and the qualification of specialists, the criteria and modalities in the reservation of rooms. The law limited itself to set down the minimum requirements that should have the receptive services to be classified as hotels. They are:

- receptive capacity not lower than seven rooms;

- presence of at least a hygienic service for every ten beds;

- a bathroom with hot and cold current water for each room;

- a room for common use;

- technological facilities and an appropriate amount of qualified specialists for the running of the installation.

To determine the categories of hotels, that is, to assign the adequate number of stars, it’s used a punctuation expressing the quality of the best offerings of the facilities, the services the hotels are able to guarantee, the location, etc. Also in this case, as explained before for travel agencies, local laws are quite uniform and use very similar features, as well as for the reservation of rooms. They dispose, for one-star hotels to have characteristic for which at least thirty points must have been assigned, for two-stars at least eighty points, until the 340 points of five-stars luxury hotels.

The private bathroom in all the rooms vouches 30 points, if 90% of the rooms is endowed with bathroom 25 points must be assigned, if the rooms with bathroom are the 70% the points must be 20, etc.

The night porter vouches 10 points, as well as the 24-hours room services; direct line telephone in each room gives 8 points, the same thing for the telex; color television in each room accounts 5 points, black and white television 4; for the covered pool 10 points, the uncovered one 5; and so forth.

The classification of hotels is made on the request of the hotel itself, which should indicate, in its application, the punctuation reached, result of the sum of parameters they offer.

The entity to which the request is made varies from Region to Region. In certain cases it is the Province, in others the Region itself. The assignment of the category is done after a confirmation made by the competent organization.

The request is renewed every five years.

Therefore it could be considered that an objective classification as indicated always allows equal evaluations and that hotel classifications are assigned in uniformly. In reality it doesn’t work that way: hotels with the same number of stars present, frequently, different qualitative standards.

The reasons are many. The hotel classification must be renovated every five years, it has been said. Many people considered this a very long period of time, during which the initially available equipment can decrease. If televisions sets in the rooms break and are not repaired, if the minibars are moved, if elevators stop, if the garage closes, if the reservation of rooms is inaccurate and causes discontentment, these facts can be increased over the following years.

In many Regions the controls that must be done, either when the category should be assigned or when must be verified that the conditions have not been changed, are not sufficiently rigorous.

And the quality of hotel service consists of so many elements that cannot be measured precisely: a hotel can have televisions, telephones, and minibar in the room, can have elevators, pools, garage, and restaurant that make it classify for a superior category, but if its cleaning is to be questioned, if the reservation of rooms works poorly, if bathrooms faucets leak, if windows don’t close, if the rooms walls are dirty, if beds crack, if personnel is not competent, to the high punctuation the hotel gets in reality deserves a modest service.

It could be said that this point must be given a market control: the unsatisfied client doesn’t return to the hotels where they have been treated unsatisfactorily. The word gets around, few new clients will request a room reservation. However, the particular role of the hotel, for which new clients continually go through who often make the reservation of rooms in hotels through CRS, without knowing the hotel where they will be destined, without making their election and reservation under somebody’s advised who has previously been in the hotel, all this leads to a reduced control.

The possible solutions follow three approaches:

a strict and continuous public control (as it’s done in Austria and Switzerland);

a control on behalf of consumers’ associations (particularly diffused in countries like Germany, and Great Britain);

an associative control: incorporate hotels to consortia, associations, groups, chains receive the control from the associations to which they belong, so the client who makes the reservation of rooms in hotels belonging to a certain group, knows that the hotel has the qualitative standard guaranteed by the group.

The latter control is, so far, what in Italy seems to be more effective.

The stars classification applied in Italy is, in the base, similar to the one applied in most European countries. Therefore, the tourist who travels through Europe should not have problems in determining the quality of the hotel service.

More difficult could be the election when he travels outside Europe: there are many countries where hotel classifications don’t exist.

Prices and hotel reservations

Hotels establish freely the prices of their services and they should you at the moment of the client’s reservations, either for knowledge to the Regions that entrust the control to the same organizations appointed to confer the categories.

The price lists of hotels are renovated at least once a year, and they can foresee different prices according to the seasons (high, low, and middle) and according to the hotel reservations. Diverse rates are generally indicated by:

- single room with and without bathroom,

- double rooms with and without bathroom,

- complete pension in room with and without bathroom,

- half pension in room with and without bathroom,

- supplements for enclosed beds,

- prices of foods.

All these prices can be assorted between a minimum and a maximum. This is justified with the position and structure of the different rooms: the widest, more comfortable rooms, with view, the quieter etc., are more expensive than the smaller, darker, and noisier of the hotels. Therefore prices varied from a minimum to a maximum for the single rooms without bathroom, for the single ones with bathroom, for the double with and without bathroom and, consequently, for the treatment of half pension and complete pension. Besides the price also depends on who makes the reservations in the hotels if it’s the client, the agency or the tour operator.

The prices of the rooms, with included IVA, must be shown in all rooms. The prices of the other hotel services should be exposed in rooms commonly used. Of course, hotel clients cannot be asked amounts higher than the ones requested in the lists, or agreed during the reservations.

The prices of Italian hotels are the target of criticism for many parts.

Statistically they are among the highest in the world, because hotel owners have a tendency to declare extremely high maximum prices. In fact, the most diverse rates are paid, according to the season, the client, the development of the hotel market, the type of reservation. The result is that few the clients pay the published rates. And the minimum rate is sometimes a tenth of the maximum price.

Except for particular cases, the license of hotel exercise foresees the obligation of opening of local throughout the year, excluding a period of vacations that should be agreed with the municipal authorities and stated to Public Security authorities.

Only in towns that are temporary tourist destinations can be given licenses that foresee the opening for certain periods in the year. Opening schedules during the day are set by the Public Security authority, in accordance with the Mayor.

The exercise license can be suspended to a hotel that has closes for more than eight days without giving word to the Public Security authority.

>Hotel contract and hotel reservation

The hotel contract following the hotel reservation, is the one specified between the hotel owner and the client. The obligations the hotel assumes with this contract are:

- the lodging supply and food to the client and the benefit of all services foreseen by the structure of the hotel (bar, television, telephone, alarm clock, laundry etc.),

- the responsibility towards people:

- a doctor should be called if they get sick

- should verify they don’t have infectious illnesses

- should make the obligatory authentication in the event of death

- it’s responsible with the parents and midwife for the accusations of birth

- should reimburse those who suffer damages for their responsibility (for example anyone who falls on the stairways that haven’t had an appropriate maintenance);

- the responsibility with things on behalf of the clients, according to what’s foreseen by the articles of the civil code.

The client’s obligations (booked)

- the payment of the preset price or foreseen in the lists and arranged at the moment of the hotel reservation;

- the respect of the times of arrival and departure foreseen by the contract and of the reservation of the hotel; with this purpose it’s stressed that, except other agreements, the room that has been booked, is occupied between 18.00 in the day of arrival and vacant before 14.00 in the day of departure;

- the care of the local in which the client is lodged, keep their integrity;

- the prohibition of developing in the hotel room any activity, particularly those dangerous or annoying, like ironing, cooking in the hotel, to make noise, etc..

The hotel contract is not a contract-type, in other words it’s not expressly regulated by the civil code. This fact sometimes leaves space to differentiated interpretations, especially those that have to do with the reservation of the hotel.

Among the most common unfulfilments on behalf of clients are the following:

- the client’s non arrival who had already made the reservation of the hotel. The hotel owner protects himself making advance payment as guarantee, if the client regularly uses the services, it also works as an advance payment of the final bill, if the client doesn’t use the reserved services, it’s then retained as compensation by the hotel;

- the client’s delayed arrival or premature departure which forces the hotel owner to lose the possibility to dedicate the rooms to other clients that had been reserved;

- the not payment of the bill on behalf of the client. In this case the hotel owner is entitled to have the client’s baggage levy for an official, as a guarantee of his credit.

The hotel owner’s most common unfulfilment is given when the client who has made the reservation of the hotel, doesn’t find it free as agreed. In this case the client who has given a guarantee is entitled to a compensation that comes up to double this guarantee.

Hotel booking and types of hotel contracts

To illustrate this topic we refer, as an example, to an “International Hotel Convention regarding contracts among hotel owners and travel agents”, convention carried out between the A.I.H. and the F.U.A.A.V. some years ago.

a) Each hotel contract should be preceded of applications of hotel booking on behalf of the travel agent and directed to the hotel owner.

b) Each unwritten hotel reservations application will be confirmed by means of a written document (letter, telegram, telex, electronic, etc.).

c) Each application hotel booking should specify the benefits offered. The cost of these may be mentioned in the same document. In this case the payment will be guaranteed only by the travel agent until he gets knowledge of the amount mentioned.

Acceptance of hotel reservations applications on behalf of the hotel owner

a) The hotel contract won’t be definitive until the acceptance of the hotel booking on behalf of the hotel owner, made according to dispositions of art. 11 a).

b) Such an acceptance of the hotel reservations will consist on a written document (letter, telegram, telex, electronic, etc.) specifically referring to the application and mentioning the price of the ordered services.

c) This confirmation of the hotel booking should take place immediately or, at least, three days after receiving the application on behalf of the hotel owner.

d) Where the travel agent demands a telegraphic reply, he should use the form of “paid reply”.

Advance payments of hotel reservations

a) The hotel owner will be able to subordinate the acceptance of the order of hotel booking, to the imposition of an advance amount (guarantee or cause deposit).

This advance amount will always have the character of guarantee deposit, except for the case in which the hotel owner has specified that it’s a guarantee. If the hotel owner has requested an advance payment, the conclusion of the hotel contract won’t be definitive until the imposition of the amount is not made or demonstrated the evidence of the payment.

b) The hotel owner will make acknowledgement of receipt of the advance payment of the hotel booking no later than 24 hours after receiving it.

c) the amount o be paid of the advance payment of hotel reservations is usually the price of the ordered services (room, foods, etc.) for a one-night lodging in low season and three nights in high season.

Documents of the hotel booking

1) Principle of voucher acceptance: The hotel owner is entitled to either request the prepayment or a partial advance payment. If he refuses to such power, he agrees to accept the voucher. The travel agent recognizes the voucher as a payment guarantee that must be paid according to conventional norms and terms.

2) The simple voucher. The benefits that should appear in detail, especially the arrival and departure dates, they can comprise only the normal services (room and foods).

3) Voucher “full credit”. The emission of this voucher can convey an extension of the normal hotel services, should be subordinated to a specific agreement between the hotel owner and the travel agent.

Payment due to the hotel owner

The prices fixed by the hotel owner to the travel agent for the services making object of the hotel contract, will not be, in any case, higher to those of the hotel rate applied to direct clients, when the invoice is paid by the agent or liquidated directly by the traveler. When the hotel owner has agreed the special prices in the phases of the hotel reservations, he won’t be able to demand greater retribution than the agreed rate.

The hotel owner agrees to respect the prices suited in the contract. In the event of any modification of prices, a 30-day adjustment term is foreseen for the application of new prices. This price modification won’t be applied to the hotel reservations already confirmed.

The benefits the travel agent will pay are those that appear in the reservation document directed to the hotel owner.

a) Except in case it’s been agreed that the invoice be paid directly by the traveler, is the travel agent who has concluded the hotel contract the one who should debit the invoice.

b) The payment of the invoice will be made by the agreed terms or, in absence of a contractual stipulation, within a 30-day frame after receiving the invoice. After the 30 days, the due sums will be increased with an interest fixed to the percentages for every month of delay. The opening amount of the debit will be increased with the 5% for recovery expenses.

c) For long duration lodgings, the hotel one will be able to request the travel agent, to pay in the course of lodging, the parts of services already given.

d) In the event of hotel booking made by the travel agent for services whose payment will be executed directly by the client, the hotel owner agrees to guarantee the agent’s commission. For such reason the hotel owner can refuse to accept the payment by means of a credit card.

Glossary of terms used in hotels booking

Travel Agent: Each person or qualified society according to legal dispositions of the same country or for the national associations or for the interested International Federation and which particularly has as an specific activity to make the hotel reservation of rooms and other services in hotels to settle travelers.

Hotel: Are considered all those facilities that offer vacancies and are affiliated to the AIH, either directly through a national Association and those that classify according to the legal orders of the country where they are located.

Advance: according to the will of the parts, the amount of the advance payment requested by the hotel can be worth as guarantee deposit to the act of hotels booking.

Low season: defined according to local customs, subject to particular contracts according to the conditions of the local market.

Hotel contract: Contract with which a hotel agrees with a travel agent to give hotel services – followed by a hotel reservation – to a costumer of the aforementioned agent.

Guarantee deposit: advance imposition of the travel agent to the hotel owner, at the moment of the hotel reservation, a part of the price that will be presumed from the total amount of the invoice or should be refunded in the event of the hotels booking.

Hotel tariffs: lists of the prices on the different services given by the hotel, separately or together, officially published for travelers’ use.

Individual travelers: clients who are not benefited by special rates of group.

Group Travelers: amount of people traveling together, considered by the travel agent and the hotel owner as an unique entity which obtains from the hotel owner during the hotel reservation, special conditions and rates fixed contractually.

Voucher: a voucher is a document issued by a travel agent with which he agrees to pay the hotel owner for the benefits to the agency’s costumer. These benefits or their top value will be mentioned in the voucher. In the event of non-use of all the hotel benefits mentioned in the voucher, the agent’s agreement is limited according to the conditions mentioned in item 42 of the convention. The copy of a voucher can also work as confirmation.

Amritsar is located in the northwest part of India in the State of Punjab, 32 miles (51 km) east of Lahore, Pakistan. Some have taken the name Amritsar to derive Amrit-sarovar meaning “The Pool of the Nectar of Immortality” though -sar, “Natural pool” does not derive from sarovar, “Artificial tank or body of water”.

It is home to the Harimandir Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple, and is the spiritual and cultural centre of the Sikh religion. It is also known for the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (1919) and Operation Bluestar (1984).

On April 13, 1634, the Mughal army attacked Guru Hargobind here. From 1635 to 1698, Amritsar remained in the control of the Mina family (descendants of Pirthi Chand). During this period, on November 23, 1664, Guru Tegh Bahadur visited the town. In April 1698, Bhai Mani Singh was appointed as the caretaker of the shrines of Amritsar.

The Mughal chief of Patti tried to occupy Amritsar several times. One such attempt was made in April 1709. The Sikhs, under the command of Bhai Mani Singh and Bhai Tara Singh of Dallwan, repelled this attack. When Baba Banda Singh Bahadur occupied several areas in the Punjab, Bhai Mani Singh chose to leave Amritsar in order to avoid the Mughal attacks. On December 30, 1711, the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah, granted Ajit Singh Palit the charge of Amritsar in order to use him against Baba Banda Singh Bahadur. After the death of Bahadur Shah, Ajit Singh Palit returned to Delhi. In 1721, Bhai Mani Singh returned to Amritsar and re-started regular worship. His first act was to solve a dispute between the Tat Khalsa and the Bandai Khalsa factions for the right to the management of the shrines in Amritsar.

On March 29, 1733, a major gathering of Sikhs was held here in front of Akal Takht. During the same time a Sarbat Khalsa gathering was also held. It discussed the Mughal offer of Nawab-hood. In April 1734, Bhai Mani Singh was arrested and was executed in Lahore on June 24, 1734.

For More details please follow the link – Amritsar Travel Guide