So, you’ve decided that you want to travel to Europe within the next year. Fantastic! Your trip is sure to be an exciting learning experience. This article will discuss the key plans you’ll need to make before traveling to Europe, starting from six months outwards.

Traveling to Europe – Six Months Before You Go

It goes without saying that at this stage of the game that you’ll need to pick where you plan on traveling within Europe. Pick up travel brochures, talk to a travel agent specializing in European destinations, speak with friends, and read magazines on the subject.

If the European destination you’ve chosen to travel to speaks another language that you aren’t familiar with, why not start learning the basics of the language? Grab a book, take a course, or ask a friend familiar with the language and customs to help you out.

Also, you should think about picking up a European travel guide, such as Fodor’s or the Lonely Planet. Highlight the areas and attractions you’d like to visit.

Traveling to Europe – 3-4 Months Before You Go

Your European travel destination is getting closer. Are you excited yet? Now is the time to start with the practical planning aspects of your trip. Get a passport now, if you don’t have one already. Shop around for airline tickets, and places to stay. If the locale you’ve chosen has a different climate than what you are used to, look for clothing to take along with you – and don’t forget a good pair of walking shoes!

Are there any special festivals, activities or events that will occur while you are traveling to Europe? If so, you’ll need to book now. The larger the event, the more time in advance you’ll want to make reservations.

Traveling to Europe – 6 Weeks Before You Go

Departure day is inching closer, and there is still a lot to accomplish. If you haven’t already booked a hotel for your stay, do so now. Have you figured out how you plan on getting around yet in your country of choice? Car rentals, rail passes, and bus trips all require advance planning, so research these options, and make your reservations around this time, too. Finally, don’t forget your travelers insurance, and health check up. If you’ll require immunizations or medications to take with you while traveling to Europe, having this all on hand well before your flight is critical.

Traveling to Europe – Four Weeks Before You Go

It’s crunch time, are you ready to travel to Europe? You are if you have luggage that will make the trip, cameras with adequate film, the right currency in your pocket, gear to keep your valuables safe, an electrical converter (if required, think about your shaver and curling iron), maps of the area you are visiting, and have contacted your local Embassy to check of any current dangers in the area.

Traveling to Europe – Last Minute Plans

Europe, here you come! Anything that hasn’t been done now, probably just won’t get done. Just make sure that you have photocopies of your passport and credit cards available at all times. Now, go have fun traveling to Europe!

For more info and tips on Europe Travel visit:
http://www.bruisedonion.com/guide/europe/

Big company employees usually book through their company
travel manager. Since they don’t make their own booking,
how can they get their preferred deal ? … first class, air
miles, preferred flight time etc.

Some business travellers exercise more ingenuity and
cunning finding a way around their company travel policy,
than they use in their actual job.

Many business travellers shed tears at the demise of
Concorde. Blagging their way onto Concorde represented the
pinnacle of transatlantic travel achievement. Few company
travel policies allow such luxury, but Concorde rarely flew
without a majority of business travel passengers.

Concorde flights spawned many excuses. Shorter time
without a cigarette, fear of flying, creativity etc. Since
Concorde retired, first class became the main goal -
followed by business class, or maximum air miles.

Company travel managers can actually save their companies
vastly more money than negotiating with travel suppliers.
If someone flies economy instead of business, that’s often
worth about four tickets.

But the big company employee still holds a bag of tricks :

* Medical
* Schedule
* Late Booking
* Hotels
* Inefficient Systems
* Promotion

Medical grounds provide good excuses for upgrade. Did you
hear the expression ‘economy class syndrome’ ? It refers
to deep-vein thrombosis. This, undoubtedly unpleasant and
dangerous condition, produces the biggest increase in
business class upgrade requests. Many people actually hand
over a medical certificate to support their claim… know any
doctor friends ?

A good trick manipulates Schedules. This works well for
people collecting air miles. Simply arrange your meeting
so you can only get there using your preferred flight.

Book late, hoping economy sells-out early, and only
business class seats remain. This common ploy usually
fails if company policy requires an advance notice period.

Even if you can’t get your preferred flight upgrade, a 5 *
hotel will help soothe your disappointment. Although
travel managers carefully monitor air travel and car hire,
they’re less likely to have local hotel knowledge. You can
find yourself in a far superior hotel than company policy
really allows.

Your company may run a strict travel policy. But
inefficient systems prevent them actually detecting your
abuse. Try to find out how your company checks its
business travel. Does the travel agent provide reports ?
Are you forced to use a corporate card that itemizes all
your expenses ? Even if they do, not all companies
actually analyze the data. Search for chinks in your
companies travel policy armour.

Finally, if all else fails, get promotion ! Yes, if you
get a senior management position you can ignore your own
rules. Or you might finally be entitled to the standard of
travel you feel appropriate to you.

Using these six ways, and any others you can think of,
every business trip soon becomes a luxury you can look
forward to.

For more Aviation & Travel tips visit:
http://www.bruisedonion.com/guide/aviation/

When it’s time to buy car parts, you may be overlooking a potential source of quality parts at reduced prices. Salvage yards are sometimes the place to get exactly what you need without paying the high prices of dealer items and parts warehouses.

If you’re one of those handy people who can do your own tune-ups, change your own oil and handle minor repairs, congratulations. You have the skills to save thousands of dollars over the life of your car. But you also know that you can spend hundreds on car parts with a single trip to the auto supply house. And if you need an item that’s classified as a dealer-only part, you could easily be looking at thousands of dollars for the replacement.

So what’s the answer? Almost since the invention of the automobile, people have recognized the value of used car parts. When it’s time to work on your vehicle, used car parts can solve several problems, including cost and availability.

Especially for older cars or antique vehicles being restored, used car parts may very well be the only answer to your parts needs. You may not find any auto supply outlet with access to car parts for a ’49 Studebaker pickup or a ’32 Ford, but you may very well find salvage yards with cars that are being sold for parts.

Most salvage companies have “hot lines” that connect them with other companies. These are used to transfer information, such as requests for specific car parts. That means that you don’t have to hop from salvage yard to salvage yard in search of your car parts. You can simply check out a single salvage yard. If they don’t have what you’re looking for, they’re likely to find it from another dealer via the hot line.

You can often remove the car parts yourself to save even more money.

Newer models are especially difficult to find, but not impossible. Wrecked vehicles are often sold to salvage yards by the insurance companies where the autos are sold for parts. That means that you might find vehicles that are only a year old, or less.

Finding used car parts may take a bit of time, but you’ll may find rare parts and dealer parts at incredibly reduced cost.

For more info on Autos & Travel visit:
http://www.bruisedonion.com/guide/autos/

Finding a Thailand hotel is super easy these days. Do a search at google, and you’ll have some pretty good idea of where you want to stay. Plus, you can just go ahead and book for a Bangkok Thailand hotel right online.

If you plan to find a Bangkok hotel, you have tons of choices. Stay at Kaosan road if you’re a backpacker. If you’re not one, then stay close to the skytrain if you love shopping. If you’re into good atmosphere and don’t care much about getting around the city, then stay close to the Chao Phraya river, which is the main river of Bangkok.

If you want to stay at Kaosan road, you don’t even need to book in advance. You can just walk around to see the guesthouse you like, and then just walk in. They always have a vacancy.

If you prefer to stay in the city center in order to get around easily for shopping, (and let me tell you, Bangkok is shoppers’ paradise — Hong Kong isn’t cheap… but Bangkok is) then I suggest you check out Patumwan Princess hotel. It’s right in the MBK shopping center (fake jeans, watches and bags) and also right at the Siam Square skytrain station. Erawan hotel, Le Meridien and the Four Seasons hotel are more luxurious. They’re right at the intersection where you can see Zen and Isetan shopping malls right across the street. The Siam Square (where they sell funky clothing) and the Chidlom (Central shopping mall) skytrain stations are within minutes away.

A lot of tourists like to stay at the Asia hotel, which is right at a Rajdevi skytrain station (one station away from MBK shopping center). It may be cheap, but it’s kind of old. Well, very old actually. I don’t recommend it. But it’s totally up to you.

If you don’t care much about shopping in Bangkok, then I’d really suggest you stay at the Sukothai hotel. It’s a classy and luxurious Thai-styled hotel –but you’ll have to take a taxi if you want to go anywhere. Or even better, stay by the Chao Phraya river if you can. It will give you a different feel of Bangkok, especially at night. It’s rather expensive though, especially if you want to stay at the world-renowned Oriental hotel or the Peninsula hotel. If these two are too expensive for you, try Shangri-la hotel. It may be a little bit cheaper. And don’t forget to book a Bangkok river cruise dinner at your hotel. The Chao Praya river is glamorous at night — with a view of well-lit Wat Arun.

To get around town from your Bangkok hotel, you can ask the hotel’s doorman to help you get a taxi. It’s not expensive at all.

For more Asia Travel tips visit:
http://www.bruisedonion.com/guide/asia/