Many people asked me, "are vacation rentals a good investment?" Here is a helpful guide on how to make money by renting out a vacation home. Basic tips for renting your beach house and generating extra income. 

The market for rental of beach houses has grown in recent summers, so if you want to rent it quickly, ideally you offer something different.

With the approaching summer, a sector of the population seeks to rent a beach house before the end of the year. Also, different travelers come to take advantage of their days in the capital to visit the beaches, so in one way or another, if you have a beach house, renting it will allow you to generate extra money this summer season.

But as the market continues to grow, you need to consider some tips to rent it successfully:

1. It offers something different

More and more people renting their beach houses there, so you need to have a different option and to make it more attractive. For example, not many homes allow pets. Find out about different rents and think what you can do to make a difference.

2. Check prices in the area

The idea is that it is cheaper than most, but that in turn justifies the arrangements that have to do. Check the websites and consult with friends who have already rented beach houses.

3. Make the necessary arrangements

If you want the renting fast, the house should look good. It never hurts to paint the walls and place one or another detail that makes it cozy. If you have a pool, you should definitely do some maintenance. If the money for these expenses out of your budget, a good option is to apply for a personal loan, which goeth quietly once the house is rented. Just be sure to do the accounts well to avoid losses.

4. It offers discounts for the entire season

Create small packages. In the long run, it is better for you to be safe all season than to spend two weeks busy and the rest of the time looking for new vacationers.

5. Beware contract specifications

To make it official, writes a simple contract and specifies the conditions under which you rent the house, which includes and what does not. Be careful with the specifications, because before any misunderstanding, the contract is the only thing that will help you.
Summer comes hard, and if you follow the right steps, your wallet will win.

Traveling abroad. It is important to be prepared and to expect the unexpected wherever in the world you may be. Traveling abroad can involve risks. You can avoid a lot of problems by preparing your journey thoroughly. Business travel has a tendency to cause extra stress in its travelers. Not only are you concerned with traveling without incident, you are concerned with making a positive business impression. As with business planning, successful business travel requires preparation. A well-planned business trip allows you to focus on the business portion of the trip without worrying about the travel arrangements.

How to Plan a Successful Business Travel

Want to see the world? Try exporting your goods and services. It is the rare exporter who has not invested considerable time and money exploring new markets. And much of this exploration is conducted in person. Visiting an export market is the single most effective method for assessing its potential – if the visit is properly planned. Following these steps will help create a productive and cost-effective business trip, and provide you with the information you require to take your export venture to the next level.

Don’t limit your business travel out of fear. Take the necessary precautions when you plan your travel and enjoy the peace-of-mind of knowing you’re well prepared. Your next international business trip will go more smoothly. 

Make your business travel plans as early as possible

Avoid last-minute arrangements, as they may restrict or delay your available travel options. Confirm the exact dates, times and locations of your visit with your business host. Plan to arrive at least a few hours, if not a full day, before you are expected. This early arrival will allow you a chance to relax after traveling and to acclimate yourself to the new environment.

Prepare for your travel

Before you book your travel (mode and carrier) and your accommodation, make sure that you check the Travel Information and Advisory Reports available from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to ensure that travel conditions to your target market are safe. This is an excellent first step before you plan your itinerary. The wise traveler also confirms any meetings and reservations, learns about the local culture and customs, currency (and exchange rate) and contacts the Canadian representatives at the Embassy or Consulate in the target country to inform them of the business trip and its objectives. 

Have documentation

Ensure that your travel documents are in order and up to date. You need a valid passport to travel outside of the U.S. If your passport isn’t current, you should allow plenty of time for processing. The U.S. Passports & International Travel website states four to six weeks is normal. The site gives an up-to-date account of current processing times. These site states a passport application can be processed and the document returned within three weeks under an expedited process. The service costs an additional $60. 

Purchase refundable travel tickets whenever possible

as business arrangements and travel specifics can often change unexpectedly. Secure your travel tickets with a credit card to provide yourself with more purchasing power. Credit cards often provide travel insurance, warranties and other protection when used for travel.

Consider your costs

When you send your employees on a trip, airfare and lodging aren't the only costs you'll have to cover. Depending on where your employees are going and what they need to do during their travels, you may also need to compensate them for other incidental expenses, such as ground transportation, baggage fees and parking. 

Consider Hotel Alternatives

Hotels aren’t your only option when it comes to business travel. For a long stay, bed-and-breakfasts and newer alternatives to traditional hotels are often a better value. Websites like AirBnB and VRBO make it easy to find alternative lodging quickly and book the transaction securely. AccountingToday notes that lodging options like these offer the amenities of a home, making your business stay more comfortable and productive. 

Take advantage of downtime

You might feel like you have to always be available when your colleagues are, especially if you're traveling to a different time zone. But spending every single moment of your trip doing work will only add to the stresses of travel. Maura Thomas, founder of productivity training and time management company RegainYourTime.com and author of "Personal Productivity Secrets" (Wiley, 2012), advised using any short lulls in your trip to disconnect and rest.

"Downtime during travel — [such as when you're] waiting for the flight, taking the bus to the rental car facility and sitting on the plane before takeoff — are perfect opportunities to recharge," Thomas said. "Use these moments to let your mind wander; take in your surroundings; experience the world with your head up, rather than bent over your device. Take some time to be inwardly focused. Do some thinking, meditate or close your eyes."
If you wrap up your work early and have a little bit more downtime, don't be afraid to explore your surroundings.

Remember connectivity

You are probably accustomed to having access to all the information you need through your mobile devices but you may not have connectivity once you arrive at your destination. Before you leave, gather the information you need and either save it in a file on your laptop or smartphone or print it out to take with you.

Arrive at your initial travel point with plenty of time to spare

Get to the airport at least two hours prior to your plane’s departure. This may seem like too much time, but it will be just enough time if you encounter long lines, security issues or traffic. Arrive at the train or bus station at least an hour prior to departure.

Anyone who travels frequently for work knows that business trips can be stressful. Between planning your itinerary, tracking your expenses and dealing with potential delays, it's often difficult to get everything done while staying connected to the office. But with enough preparation and forethought, companies and their traveling staff members can ensure that their trips go as smoothly as possible.

The U.S. government offers numerous resources to help Americans traveling abroad but it’s important to learn about these resources before you leave home. Your ability to access the websites you need might be limited overseas. Save the necessary documentation locally on your devices or print it to avoid being stranded without it.

Planning any business trip can be stressful, but the pressure is even greater for an administrative professional when you’re making those plans for your boss. With the ability to make or break an out-of-town meeting, arranging travel is a serious responsibility that takes a good deal of intentionality and foresight. Despite the stress, planning a trip can be a great opportunity to show your company your capabilities and skills, potentially earning the confidence of your superiors. If your job responsibilities include managing business travel arrangements, use these tips to plan a trip for your boss that is sure to impress.

Communicate Well

One of the most important things to keep in mind when planning a trip for your boss is to never make assumptions. When you’re assigned the task of taking care of business travel details, write down all of the information that you’re given and ask for additional details as needed. Know the budget that you’re working with and be sure you don’t go over it. While you want to make sure that your boss is comfortable, your company likely won’t appreciate it if you spend more money than you were assigned.

It’s also helpful to find out right away if your boss has any specific preferences or has any ties to specific loyalty programs/travel brands. You don’t want to make reservations at the Hyatt only to discover that your boss prefers to stay at a Marriott. It’s hard to meet your boss’s expectations if you don’t actually know what they are, so be sure to find out in advance what those preferences and expectations are.

Once you have all of the information that you need, make a checklist of everything that you have to do before the trip. Put a date next to each item to remind yourself when the task needs to be accomplished. Entrepreneur magazine reported that checklists are an effective way to optimize performance and ensure that nothing gets forgotten, so you should consider using this strategy even if you aren’t typically a “list person.”

Plan for the Unexpected

While your boss’s time is valuable, always plan for the unexpected when it comes to booking flights. If the day’s first meeting is at 10 a.m., don’t book a flight that lands at 9 a.m. Flight delays could completely throw off the schedule that you planned. Before you purchase the tickets, budget in some extra time for delays on the day of travel.

You never know when your boss is going to need to impress a client, so it doesn’t hurt to make reservations at an upscale restaurant far in advance. It’s much easier to cancel a reservation than to try to find a table at the last minute. Keep in mind that dinner reservations aren’t the only area that will benefit from a bit of foresight. According to USA Today, making business travel plans as early as possible is a good strategy for every step of the process.

Before your boss leaves the office, make sure that you have forwarded them any confirmation emails, and that you print out extra hard copies just in case.

Arrange for Exemplary Transportation

An often over looked item in planning travel for your boss is having ground transportation pre-arranged for every step of their business trip. Even though your boss might claim he or she can handle this portion of the trip on their own, on the ground, they will appreciate that you have taken the initiative to make sure they’re not wasting time in a long taxi line, desperately searching for a last-minute on-demand option or trying to navigate the public transportation system in an unfamiliar city.

It’s important to find a reliable provider that offers an on time, every time pickup guarantee, scheduled service, and places a priority on safety and security (duty of care). In other words, they only hire professional drivers who are properly screened, licensed and insured. You want to seek out a company that not only features the latest technology (including booking through a mobile app or website), but also gives you the option to talk to a live person when needed. This way you can easily communicate with the provider any last minute changes.

Also look for a ground transportation provider that offers transparent pricing so there are no surprises at the completion of your boss’ trip. It’s also smart to find a company that provides the ability for you as the travel arranger to track your boss’s ride, and it is especially helpful if they provide access to a dashboard that shows all of your boss’ ride history and e-receipts for easy expense reporting.

With a bit of advance planning and foresight and attention to detail, you are sure to impress your boss and earn the confidence within your company as the “go-to” when it comes time to book the next important trip for one of the company’s top executives.

Travel writer: Becoming a successful travel writer requires spending a lot of time on the road, often with little time for preparation. Becoming a travel writer gives you earning potential and legal write-offs for your expenses.
 
You can become a travel writer, and make money, without the hassle of submitting articles to magazines. You can do travel writing from your own home and deduct legal tax write offs for almost all your expenses. (This will allow you to KEEP $3000 - $6000 of your OWN money each year.)

“What’s the difference between a travel writer and a travel journalist?”.
Actually, while they are similar in many ways, the key difference is that a travel writer generally writes about a place, and does so in a way that allows the reader to visualize the experience, whereas a travel journalist generally tells a story involving people that is unique to that place, and does so in a way that relays the facts.

Becoming a travel writer can be a very tough road. Continual submissions to magazines... and the rejection letters that follow can really get you down.
Have you had the dream of waking up in a different place every month of so and sampling the food, lifestyle, and entertainment...then writing about it so others will want to experience it too?
Also read: 20 Business Ideas to Start With Little or NO Money

If you have a digital camera, solid expressive skills, a nose for interesting area or activities (even if they are in your own home town) and the commitment to sit down everyday at your keyboard...you can start a legit work from home business that focuses on travel information.

You can become a travel writer with your own website and make good money

Trust me on this, if you decide on becoming a travel writer online, you need to have a website, NOT a blog. Why? Because you want to build a business that will continue to expand profitability each year.
Blogs DO NOT make money. That's a fact. And a lot of the travel blogs you see are just poor journal entries that eat up cyberspace. You can do much better. 

See how many of these you can answer "YES" to:

• Can write write 600-1000 words about places you visit that answer the basic Who, What, When, Where? 
• Can you stay focused on writing for an audience and not get sidetracked discussing digestive problems or faulty maps? 
• Can you use a digital camera to include pictures that help tell your story? 
• Are you willing to spend at least a year to 18 months learning about starting a web business? 
• Are you willing to sit down each day at your keyboard and do your best to provide your readers with the positive and most interesting aspects of your visits...even if you are in a motel room or on a boat? 
•  Are you willing to continually improve your writing skills as well as learn how to continually monetize your website for the most profit? 
• Are you willing to spend 5-6 minutes each day to record your business expenses (everything from buying a new computer to purchasing gas for a trip across town to take pictures) so you can save $3000 - $6000 each year on tax deductions for a home business
  

Also read: 10 Guaranteed Ways to Become a Famous Entrepreneur
You can become a travel writer by starting your own website and provide specific information about places people want to visit. That's what I did and it has paid off. Like any job or business, there is a learning curve, but if I can get past it... so can you.
If you need help to start a travel blog read this step by step guide and start making money with it. 

Traveling is the perfect catalyst for happiness, as it has allowed us to experience the natural, cultural and man-made wonders of the world. Travel is good for lots of things, but it can also increase mental well-being - and not just in the short-term. Whether you’re traveling for business, on a one-week family holiday, or have sold everything to pursue a life on the road, traveling can make you a happier person by building self-confidence, providing new experiences and memories, breaking routine and allowing you to meet people from all over the world. 
Check out: 15 Things You Must Give Up To Be Happy & Happier

#Traveling is the key to healthy life and #happiness & Healthy life is the key to Happiness. Click To Tweet

Traveling is not only good for the soul, but also essential for the body and mind. But is it really possible to have a healthier and stress-free life simply by traveling and seeing the world? Lets check out how traveling make us healthy and happy.

How traveling can make you happier? 

• Happiness is infectious

When locals are happy, smiling and friendly, it has an immediate knock-on effect. I found the people of Cambodia and Laos to be notably friendly and cheerful, despite the relative poorness of these countries and the former in particular having a very recent traumatic history. When faced with those big beaming smiles, it’s hard to be annoyed at the hassling you might experience at busy sites like Angkor Wat; putting that knee-jerk irritation to one side instantly lifts your mood and is a good habit to take home. 
Also read: Travel Destination Happiness: Which Places Point the Way to happy planet

• Traveling reduces blood pressure

In the UK, a 2013 Holiday Health Report by Nuffield revealed that travel can also lower blood pressure. Researchers monitored a group who visited Peru, Thailand and the Maldives to holiday and revealed that their blood pressure dropped by around six per cent. In addition, the travelers also boosted their resilience to recover from stress by 29 per cent!

• You're more interesting

You don’t need to be a ‘travel bore’ to have a few interesting stories to tell. Traveling throws up a lot of bizarre, funny and sometimes serious situations that relating back to people will make you — at least — feel interesting. Making someone laugh is an easy way to instantly bump up your self-esteem, so hold on to those embarrassing memories — no matter how much they might make you cringe. 
Recommended: How to be Happy in Life: Happiness is a Choice of no Cost

• Traveling means better heart health

According to a 20-year follow-up of a Framingham Heart Study, heart health can also be boosted by regular holidays. Women who take at least two holidays a year are eight times less likely to develop heart disease or have a heart attack compared to those who only go on trips every six years or less.
There are plenty of travel rights for blokes, too. Similar research demonstrated that men at high risk of developing coronary heart disease lowered their risk of death overall by 21 per cent (and their risk of heart attack by 32 per cent) by taking yearly leisure trips.

Life is filled with happiness, but to truly know happiness, one must go through pain. Tweet

• Long-term effect of traveling

Aside from making you happier in the short-term, traveling can make you a much more contented, happy and relaxed person in the long run, too. Of course, most travel enthusiasts are constantly planning their next trip, but when we’re at home or past a point of being able to jet off whenever we like, past travels leave us with the memories and personal skills - such as confidence, broad-mindedness, friends and a more worldly perspective — that make people happy. And that’s why travel makes you a happier person. 

• Traveling means more rays

Slip, slop, slap! We’re always being so wary of the sun that we often forget a bit of vitamin D can be good for us. Sunshine and vitamin D can benefit your immune system, help your body absorb calcium, lower stress and – hooray! – help you get over jet lag more quickly.
Recommended: 7 Small Habits That Will Steal Your Happiness

• New friends

It’s much easier to make new friends on the road than it is at home, where people are less inclined to chat to strangers on a bus or strike up conversation in a bar (at least, that’s true of London). When people are away from home, there seem to be less boundaries to cross and making friends becomes much easier, whether it’s a local curious to know where you’ve come from or a fellow travelers keen to have someone with whom to enjoy a beer or share a taxi. Social interactions make us happier and increasing our social circle means that we’re talking more and meeting different, interesting people, which hopefully means we’re learning more, too. 
Also read: 20 Simple Rules For Happiness and Success

• Planning travel raises the happiness bar

It’s true! Research carried out in the Netherlands showed that the simple act of planning a trip can enhance your happiness and invite positive feelings. Also, the happier and more relaxed the holiday, the better chance you have of sustaining post-holiday happiness.

All those things are actually help us to be healthy and happy. And when you are healthy it will be easier to be happy. 

Traveling is key to happiness. Do you know the effect of vacations on happiness? It turns out that people get the most happiness from planning and anticipating their vacations.

Why do we travel?  Are we trying to find a better path forward for ourselves and our children?  There are many ways to pursue happiness, and close encounters with new cultures often lead us to reconsider what happiness means.  When we hear fellow travelers asking, “What is the best way to live?” and “Where does this path lead?” their answers often swing between the material and the spiritual.  How do we balance the two?

The reason being that people "adapt" to physical objects – meaning the things you've bought will bring decreasing amounts of happiness as time goes on and you get used to having them around – whereas those one-off experiences will be looked back upon with joy that only increases.

So, spending loads of money on a fancy car, or a watch, or a dress, or a phone, or even a house, is not going to bring you everlasting happiness. You'll just become used to those things. That iPad you bought will be amazing when you pull it out of the box, and then boring after it's been played with it for a few weeks, and by the time three or four months have passed you'll be complaining about what a pile of crap it is and looking at ways of upgrading.

Except for the most relaxing of vacations, people aren’t happier when they return from a trip than when they left. Even at the most extreme end of relaxation, the happiness effect wears off after two weeks.
Taking more trips and planning and talking (obsessing?) about them, then, may be the keys to happiness.
I guess that must make travel agents the happiest people on earth! Indeed, perhaps I’m one of the happiest as well.

Now there’s an interesting new perspective emanating from respected economists that weighs factors such as health, a positive experience of life and the natural resource requirements to attain them. The New Economics Foundation devised this measure for 143 countries around the world (covering 99% of the population).  The results, displayed online via an interactive map of the world, show that less wealthy countries with significantly smaller ecological footprints have high levels of life expectancy and satisfaction.  In fact, nine of the top ten countries are in Latin America or the Caribbean (see our chart of the top twenty).  The 64-page downloadable report describes the methodology and shows index scores in full.

Where does the U.S.come in?  At 114^th sandwiched between Madagascar and Nigeria.  The planet’s richest nation is dragged down by its voracious and unsustainable appetite for natural resources.  According to the HPI data, if all the peoples of the world were American, it would take more than four planets to support them.

A world traveler’s perspective and habits may dovetail with the values on which the HPI is based.  You can calculate your personal HPI using an online questionnaire.  I answered the series of questions fairly honestly and scored a 66.8-that’s about halfway between the world average of 46 and the target score of 83. The results are accompanied by tips for improving your performance. Maybe I’ll start by moving to Costa Rica.

Of course, it may take generations for the human species to arrive at the destination known as a Happy Planet.  For the immediate future, I take comfort that simply pursuing happiness is often enough.  To paraphrase Robert Louis Stevenson, “It is sometimes better to travel hopefully than to arrive.”

Travel to most quiet places on earth! Do you love traveling? Do you visit quiet places on earth? Name one place that you have visited the most quiet in the time. Well but here is my one, going to share with you: 
The sun inched over the horizon of northern Colorado as Jacob and I twisted through a canyon en route to Rocky Mountain National Park. Over the rumble of his blue Ford F-150, he ticked off a list of rules for us to follow in the forest:
Move like a sloth: slowly and only when necessary.
If you need to turn, do so from your waist.
Don’t bend your wrists, ankles, fingers — they crack.
Calm your breath.
Stifle sneezes.

If you sit down, lean against a tree, unfurl your legs, and don’t fidget.
“You don’t realize how much you hear of yourself,” said Job, 33, a dark-haired beanpole in a brownish T-shirt and olive cargo shorts. “Your breathing, your clothes moving, your joints popping, the sound of you swallowing.” Only by staying quiet — melt-into-the-forest quiet, hear-twigs-snap-and-insects-buzz quiet — could we find the distinctive trill that had so far eluded him: Troglodytes pacificus, the Pacific wren.

Job works for the National Park Service and Colorado State University as part of a small team that experiences nature not through granite peaks and stunning vistas, but through soundscapes. His back seat was hidden beneath a heap of fuzzy microphones, one so large that a passer-by mistook it for a dog. He’d spent months hauling them deep into the park’s thicket of ponderosa pines and Douglas firs to capture the geologic, animal, and man-made mixtape that can signal whether and how an ecosystem is changing.
Listen when we’re out there, he told me.

Nature’s melodies trigger something in us. No one is sure exactly how or why. One theory is that, outdoors, silence — total silence — signals danger. Whatever muzzled those animals can’t be good. By extension, natural sounds reassure us: It’s safe here. Park surveys repeatedly show most visitors are seeking enough solitude to hear birds chirp and leaves crackle. And research suggests those sounds could potentially aid in mood recovery — but only when there are no synthetic interruptions.

Researchers have studied the overlay of noise and nature for some time, but in a very narrow way — mainly, how specific species communicate. But in recent years, scientists have widened their focus to entire ecosystems, essentially treating soundscapes as extensions of landscapes, and noise as a potential contaminant. “Pollution isn’t limited to matter. It isn’t limited to particulates and chemicals and compounds,” said Kurt Fristrup, who oversees science and technology in the park service’s Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division. We were chatting at his office in Fort Collins, Colorado — a labyrinth of cubicles near a workroom where tables and shelves groaned with sound meters, batteries, and even a “sound thermometer” that, from the side of a road, warns cars when they’re making a racket.

The sounds program was created in 2000, the result of the long-running battle over planes and helicopters that swoop tourists to the Grand Canyon and other sights. A new law had tasked park and aviation officials with mapping out air-tour management plans. In 2005, when Fristrup arrived from Cornell University, recording was about as efficient as lugging a stereo system into the backcountry. 
Technology eventually whittled down the heft and cost for his team and, more broadly, helped give rise to a new field of scientific inquiry.
So named in scientific literature only in 2011, soundscape ecology asks a range of questions that, until recently, have been underexplored. How do soundscapes vary across vegetation, temperatures, elevations? Does human noise alter animal behavior — and vice versa? “You can shut your eyes, but you don’t shut your ears,” Peter Newman, who runs the Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management department at Penn State University, told me. “Even when you’re asleep, you’re listening, and you’re listening because as an animal you’re saying, ‘Am I about to be eaten? Is the love of my life around the corner?’”

Research suggests noise can rattle an ecosystem. Birds, for example, rely on their voices to woo mates, size up rivals, scrounge for dinner. Horn blasts and engine revs can scramble auditory cues. Birds try singing louder, singing at a higher frequency, singing at night. Some abandon their nests altogether. This can trigger an ecological cascade, one that extends even to vegetation; noise can scare away some birds that would normally scatter seeds.
The Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division and the researchers it’s affiliated with help shape how park units are run. Their work, for example, is the reason California’s Muir Woods christened a popular redwood grove a quiet zone; Newman, Fristrup, and others found doing so was, in terms of noise levels, the equivalent of cutting the number of visitors by 28 percent. When an energy company wanted to drill outside Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes, a park likely as hushed as it was before European colonization, a federal judge cited preserving its “significant ‘sense of place’ and quiet” as a reason to halt the project.

Fristrup’s team has quantified how precious that kind of stillness is. At least 83 percent of land in the continental U.S. is within two-thirds of a mile of a road, and domestic passenger flights have more than tripled since the early ’80s. The park service recently released a color-coded map, based on recordings from hundreds of sites, that shows estimated sound levels in the lower 48. The East Coast is confettied with yellow — that’s high-decibel noise. Though much of the West is as blue as a mountain lake — meaning it’s far quieter — on average, you’ll still hear the drone of aircraft 15 minutes of every hour. In the Mojave Desert, flights to and from Las Vegas are to blame. In the Sonoran Desert, it’s border patrol operations.


Before our trip, I met Job across town from the park service office, on the leafy campus of Colorado State. He runs a listening lab that the park service and university share: Room 015 of the JVK Wagar building, an almost windowless space with a half-dozen computer stations. Under photos of Lassen, Isle Royale, and other natural scenes — and a large green-and-white banner asking, Did You Hear That? — students gaped at screens; their noise-canceling headphones had drowned out my arrival.

Job leaned over a desk with two monitors and a handful of hard drives scattered about; each held the sounds of roughly one park. “Where do you want to travel to?” he joked. We headed to Alaska. Job clicked open a folder of photos: a sound-monitoring station in Denali National Park. At Wolf Creek, a stream burbled through trees in an area so remote that the recording equipment had to be helicoptered in. If everything goes smoothly (a bear futzing with a station is not unheard of), a recorder hums along for 30 days. Then Colorado State students listen to snippets of audio and label noise they hear with a number: 2.3 is a bus, 3.3 a jet ski, 5.2 a train whistle, 7.2 a leaf blower.

Job cued up a spectrogram, a visual representation of the time, frequency, and amplitude of sound; it resembled some modern-art splatter of yellow and blue paint. When he first played the underlying recording — a low hum on a summer day at Wolf Creek  — I felt like I’d wandered into a country whose language I didn’t speak. Sounds blobbed together, nearly indecipherable.
“There are lakes around us. What do lakes mean in the bush country in Alaska? What do they hold the potential for?” Job asked me.

“Fishing?” I said.
“If there’s fishing, how do people get there?”
I’d heard, apparently, a prop plane (on the code sheet, 1.2). If you do this long enough, it changes how you listen, inside and outside. Job can’t go hiking without noticing rumbling overhead and thinking, 1.1, 1.1 — the code for a jet.
Job became interested in birdsong as a kid in southern Michigan, memorizing the calls of birds that swooped through his yard. Eventually, he started taping them the same way he taped his favorite songs off the radio — by waiting patiently with a boombox, ready to press record. He’s since learned the sounds of several hundred birds, but he cherishes one the most: the common loon, whose haunting yodel whisks him back to the Midwest. 
It inspired his license plate (CMNLOON) and his Instagram handle (@gavia_immer, the loon’s Latin name). His girlfriend is also a bird lover, and he recently crept up to her office window, raised his phone, and serenaded her — à la Say Anything — with a loon recording.

A while back, Job read a National Audubon Society report about the likely effects of climate change on North American birds. It was terrifying. “I was like, if that’s going to happen, we really need to document the biodiversity we have in place now to track that change,” he recalled. “To have it as acoustic fossils if we do lose them.” He began cataloging the birds and the broader soundscapes at Rocky, as folks here call the park — a sort of aural snapshot. Tracking down the Pacific wren was part of that quest. He’d tried, and failed, to find it earlier in the summer, but birders had been tittering online that the wren had resurfaced.

Two days later, we parked at Rocky’s Wild Basin Trailhead, the start of a 1.8-mile huff to Calypso Cascades. Rocky is the nation’s only park where commercial air tours are banned, and a few years ago, aviation officials grouped flights over one section of the park to lower noise levels elsewhere. But there will always be a certain amount of clamor: About 4 million people trekked through Rocky last year. Some residents of gateway town Estes Park refuse to hike after 7 a.m.; by 8:30, their favorite paths are mobbed.
Job and I had started a little after 6:30. 
He’d slipped on an orange backpack and black headphones and carted a large microphone that bore a striking resemblance to its nickname, Dead Badger. We had the pine-shaded trail to ourselves, though he bristled at the creek thrumming alongside us. That made it harder to pinpoint the wren, a speck of a bird that’s usually found in the tangled underbrush of Washing­ton state and Oregon; its detour to Colorado has baffled park officials.

When we reached the trail’s end, Job slipped into quiet mode, and he reminded me of those street performers who mimic robots. His right arm was bent, elbow suctioned to his side, Dead Badger pointed straight ahead. When he scanned the foliage, he turned at his waist, just as he’d told me to do, raising his heel only when he needed to rotate further.

Before this, I’d been the kind of hiker who frustrated Job: hiking more with my eyes than my ears, paying little mind to the outdoor soundscape. But I tried his way of listening, and almost instantly everything sharpened. I noticed light glinting off spider webs, leaves rustling, a branch needling my right arm.
We wandered off the trail. The forest thinned, and the sun beat down, and the towering aspens and pines resembled the back of an amphitheater. That’s when we heard it: high-pitched, melodic — the chipper aria of a wren. For one thrilling moment, nothing else existed.

This article was first appeared on CaliforniaSundayMagazine, You can check the original article by clicking here. 

There are many reasons to visit London but here are our top 10 reasons that why you should visit London at least once in a life time. I know many of my friends have dreams to visit London and I asked them a few question just to know what makes London unique, for that that's their dreams.

England is expensive and soon you can give the pound euro conversion, and for 1 euro also calculate 1 pound. The purchasing power is already similar.

Say: A weekend in London is luxury - but totally worth it.
 

Top 10 Reasons To Visit London: What Makes London Unique?

I'll accept that you can buy a small New England experience in Dusseldorf. Oasis Dresses there are already at Kaufhof, just tea from Fortnum & Mason. 

So why still travel to London? Let me tell you reasons to visit London, United Kingdom.

Clearly because of the London extras. You should know what makes London unique And there are 10 reasons to visit London:

No. 1: The Royals

By January 2010, is for women definitely the Debutantes exhibition at Kensington Palace, a must-Punk: The Royals did manage, to organize a tour of approximately 100 rooms and winding passages, some stairs and darkened rooms. In between, one is not sure whether the next staircase in Buckingham Palace ends.

1958 was the last debutantes reception at the Queen. It took 3 days and discharged 1400 girls from a good home by the Buckingham Palace. In the exhibition one stands close before the original clothes, listen to music at the time, many films and in between you can still see 20 Diana Dresses. Really!

At most there are the documents of the boom year 1958, when the accompanying mothers their daughters cheat sheet after the first men's inspection zusteckten upon receipt. NSIT was "not safe in taxi !!". Very good also: VVSITPQ - "very very safe in taxis, probably queer".

No. 2: Self-indulgence

A similar distribution like Starbucks, but then increasingly come dining culture.

Since still is the question in the room, why franchising could spread only to Amsterdam to ...

No. 3: M & S Simply Food

Food on hand is really only in the M & S Simply Food hit. The spinoff of Marks & Spencer, there are scattered all over the city at street level. Suppose there is a portion of fruit salad, a serving of couscous with orange dressing plus marinated chicken legs, as a dessert, a serving of carrot cake with topping. DELICIOUS!!! Not to mention the fresh and cooked dishes for the microwave: Thai duck with rice and peas .... I quit.

No. 4: the museums

All museums are free! That is the best idea that was London. The money comes via the shops and cafes in again.

Admittedly, the trip was booked to London only because of an expiring exhibition on THE SUPREMES the Victoria & Albert Museum. That was worth it: The old outfits and audio passages were put together very nicely. Even if you had to pay admission for this exhibition, and long gone are the formation, listened teenagers and their grandparents the classics of the first girl band.

The man / partner / friend can safely leave wandering around over in the Science Museum. There old computer (uh, CALCULATOR), space shuttles and lots of technology.
Why to visit London? here is another biggest reason to visit London.

No. 5: The Docklands

In the Docklands, a financial city with a number of office blocks and three gigantic malls has made underground wide. Surrounded by lots of water, some disused boats and several subway stations, it is not surprising that on weekdays suit carrier and weekend shoppers fill the city with permanent life.

Certainly there will be with Lehman Bros. soon some empty skyscrapers, but that does not while shopping in the underground. This area is in the London Guidebooks rarely mentioned, probably because it is not typically British. But in typical British rain the malls are a good alternative and buying power guarantees.

No. 6: The British Banker

On the meadows or in the parks a Brit is then not too bad, at noon with a pint bottle to exterminate the goodies from M & S Simply Food Wine. What it should? We are in London during the biggest banking crisis since a few decades. If not now then when?

In the context always nice for the female eye: the chalk-striped suits the bankers with a bit of flooding and definitely visible tie because almost fluorescent. London is a fashion trendsetter.

No. 7: the English park

But right British life is just when you sit at Hyde Park Corner, can drive past the thick, very thick cars of messages from Kensington itself, and then trot two riders on the Rotten Row along, as if riding in London moral than the Maybach at the embassy.
 
With what ulterior motives the Royals built the Rotten Row? Expected you an airplane emergency landing in Hyde Park? Or wanted to phase out the same 30 horses abreast? It was in the 17th century at least the first illuminated "Highway" in the world.

Today it is the largest beach playground in the world! And the length of the path is specified in the Royal Park site with minutes, not in length. Here one could perform a volleyball World Cup and all 40 teams would play against each other simultaneously. Madness!!

To the palaces stand in the park everywhere beach chairs around - because you now really want to do no Picnic on Royal Garden in October. There is always somewhere a Royal kiosk with tea, latte macchiato (espresso with a dash of frothy steamed milk), and cakes. The think of everything. Also on the profit.

No. 8: the English lawn

Somewhere outside London adjoins a similar madness. In the Hackney Marshes there are 87 (!) Football fields since the 2nd World War and could usefully be used at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

No. 9: Search Bobby

Admittedly, the old smog London differs in lower emissions taxis and buses, and Big Ben never looked so "new" from, since you have freed it from soot years ago.

The cleaning of the buildings and the turnout of fish and chip shops in London, unfortunately, is also the Bobby disappeared. Why should the city also use unarmed auxiliary sheriff when corner cameras are installed on each (!)?

Bombs can not deposit anyway because there are hardly any trash, and checked baggage, is, for example, at the station, once scanned. Lockers were eliminated due to the threat of terrorism, or even bombed?

No. 10: Caffé Nero

Why to visit London? here is another biggest reason to visit London. And if in England over the years (now the right way) goes something to the nerve me, then that is: Starbucks. Which road was because not give-Starbucked? More often than McDonald's or Costa or Caffé Nero this chain can be found. Is that still British or just globalization? The (Pret-A-Manger) Ready to eat also has only a French name, but is British.

As you know now london is really unique, I'll try to get you more information soon. Keep commenting any idea or suggestion you have about reasons to visit London City, United Kingdom & What makes London unique?
Enjoy your meal and enjoy London!

Article written by guest author Fahim Ahsan works in the content marketing, SEO, Blogging, Startup, Lifestyle, Travel and many more. He is proud author of BuzzInc. Learn more from his Social account or blog.

Traveling coast to coast by train across the United States is one of the world’s greatest travel experiences. Amazingly, it’s also one of the world’s greatest travel bargains — the 3,400-mile trip can cost as little as $200.


The American railroads are reminiscent of a bygone era. These were the trains that tamed the Wild West, fueled the Gold Rush, and served as the backbone of the Industrial Revolution. At its peak, it was the most luxurious mode of transportation that money could buy. Alas, the golden age of American railroads came to an end. Automobiles arrived and the airplane industry took off. Soon, many railroad companies had to cut losses and ceased their passenger services. 

Train Service in The USA; at a Glance

This route map shows where Amtrak trains run.  Each of the very long-distance transcontinental routes shown in blue has one daily train, except for New York to Florida with 2 trains a day and the Sunset Limited (New Orleans-San Antonio-Los Angeles) which runs 3 times a week.  Important short distance routes (for example, Washington-New York-Boston or Los Angeles-San Diego) have regular intercity services and are shown in red.  It's easy to check Amtrak train times at www.amtrak.com, just use their online booking system.

India is a unique travel destination that's growing in popularity all the time. I have visited India Twice. India (Wikipedia link) is one of the world largest country.  Thinking of visiting India? Here are 22 reasons why you should.
During my travel time in India, I had fallen in love with this complex country for these 22 reasons: 

Reasons to Visit to the Great India

1. India is a Great Value Destination

India is often thought of as a backpacker destination with grotty hotel rooms and dirt everywhere. Let me assure you that this definitely isn't the reality. You can travel as cheaply or as lavishly as you want in India, and that's definitely part of its appeal as a tourist destination. The luxury segment of the market offers some mesmerizing accommodations, such as authentic palace hotels. Alternatively you might prefer a quaint guesthouse or homestay. Options, such as these top budget hotels in India, abound. These days, even the backpacker hostels in India are modern, clean, and welcoming!

2. Sensory Adventure

The-Incredible-India

India is a country that can’t be explained; it must be experienced. A walk down the street here in Kolkata is a smorgasbord of sights, sounds, and smells: business men yapping into cell phones, beggars clanking their collection of pocket change, colorful saris, chaotic traffic constantly honking, savory smells of street food, the stink of rotting garbage, the muggy heat in full sunshine. It’s a kind of chaos that somehow flows when you least expect it, and you definitely won’t find it anywhere else.

3. Regional Cuisine

Indian food is much more than the catch-all phrase of “curry,” and like most things in India there is a surprising amount of diversity in the country’s cuisine. In the North, you’ll sample clay-oven Tandoor recipes with thick gravy and naan bread, while in the East you’ll find plenty of fish and tortilla-like chapatti, and wafer-thin filled crepes called dosa in the South. There’s plenty of spice if you’re looking for it, sweets covered in silver, and yogurt-based drinks to beat the heat. The best food is prepared within local homes, not in restaurants.

4. Genuine People

The locals here are some of the most genuinely helpful and kind people I have ever encountered in my travels. In my experience, their hospitality is astounding. My host mother once met a traveler at a local market, talked to her for a few minutes, and offered her to stay the night in our home without second thoughts. The students in my classes were so welcoming and gave me their cell phone number in case I had any questions or wanted to do anything–and they actually meant it.

5. Bollywood Culture

Bollywood is a national pastime and a cultural phenomenon. People from all regions and socioeconomic classes flock to the cinemas to see the newest films, and as the actors and actresses are the most well-known Indians in the country there is always some Bollywood star gossip. The movies are often long and full of slapstick humor, song, and dance. Sometimes you have to suspend the laws of reality and probability and just embrace the cheesiness, but they really are entertaining.

6. Study Abroad

 Study abroad in India is not really a vacation–it’s an intense, in-your-face cultural immersion whether you want it to be or not. I’m in the middle of a 5-month long study abroad in Kolkata and as difficult and exhausting it can be, I am thriving on the challenge. It’s a place where I can continuously learn. The academic portion is secondary to what I learn just by walking down the street, as there is so much to learn just by asking questions to locals about whatever piques your curiosity. This culture has challenged my views on poverty, privilege, education, family habits, and so much more. I’ve been here for over 3 months now, and I have just barely scratched the surface of all India has to offer.

7. Folk Art

India has an abundance of folk art, which is kept alive in the small rural communities and is being revived in the big cities. Each region has a unique dance style, music, handicrafts, and more. My favorite thing to do here is to shop for rural artwork because the artists are so talented and use the few materials they have to their fullest potential. All the artwork is unique, one-of-a-kind, and handmade, and usually has a story or meaning behind it that offers some cultural insights.

8. Learn a Language 

India has over 15 national languages, and literally thousands of local languages and dialects. Many Indian languages are among the most-spoken languages of the world, like Hindi and Bengali. There are many of people who speak English, particularly in the big cities, so knowing a local language is not necessarily required. However, the locals really appreciate it when they encounter foreigners who attempt to speak some of their language. The locals here always have a cheerful laugh when I show of my Bengali skills by counting to 20.

9. Street Food

This is a whole separate kind of food from what you’ll find in restaurants. These roadside specialties are not the most sanitary or refined preparations, but they are absolutely delicious. The street food junkies who enjoy it is part of the experience. They’re people from all backgrounds and classes, and it’s a great way to feel connected to the locals. Besides, it’s a cheap treat. Spicy, savory, and sweet dishes are readily available for less than $1.

10. Big Cities and Rural Villages

 India has some of the most populous cities in the world and some of the most remote villages. It’s great to get a balance of both, to witness the hustle-and-bustle of the crowded city life and to experience the peace and simplistic lifestyle of the villages. There’s a lot to learn from both, and by visiting both extremes I now can appreciate how far India has come in its growth to modernization. I always enjoy visiting the villages because it gives me a break from the overcrowded city, and because the people there are incredibly warm and welcoming though they have very little. Try and get a taste of both the big cities and the rural villages, because both are an integral part of India today.

11. Volunteering

There are countless opportunities to volunteer in India from charities, NGOs, volunteer corps, schools, and more. There are more than enough people who could benefit from your time, talents, and donations. Search around for the organization that best fits your interests and available time. During my study abroad experience, I volunteer at a school for girls where some of the girls came from the streets to live at the school. It’s a challenging but extremely rewarding experience that helps me to reconcile with my daily encounters with poverty by knowing I’m contributing to positive action against it.

12. The Taj Mahal

It’s a bit cliché, but it’s a must-see. The Taj Mahal is a truly beautiful piece of architectural art, with a romantically sad story to accompany it. Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore described it as “a teardrop on the face of eternity.”

13. Religious Diversity

India is the melting pot of religions, from mainstream religions with millions of followers to obscure cults and everything in between. Some of the most prominent religions include Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism. It’s fascinating to learn the striking similarities and differences among all these religions, and even more compelling to witness the kind of religious tolerance found here. Many of my friends here celebrate holidays and festivals of numerous religions, regardless of their own spiritual beliefs.

14. History

India is one of the world’s most ancient-surviving civilizations and has thousands of years of history to explore: the “crown jewel of the British empire” as a British colony, India’s fight for independence, Partition, and India’s move toward modernity.

15. The Himayalas

The highest mountain range in the world is breathtakingly beautiful and worth a visit. Though Mount Everest is outside of India’s borders, the third-highest peak named Kanchenjunga is in the region of Sikkim along the India-Nepal border. I had a trip to the foothills of the Himalayas, which aren’t the snow-capped peaks I imagine when I think of the Himalayas, but they were still beautiful and very peaceful.

16. Explore Spirituality

India can be very inspiring and refreshing for the soul. Many people come to India to learn yoga, meditate, or spend time at an ashram.  Another moving experience is to take part in an evening aarti (fire worship) along the Ganges river at either Rishikesh, Haridwar, or Varanasi.

17. Shopping

Of course, I LOVE shopping like most females do. But items in India are so irresistible! The handicrafts are particularly eye catching and well made. Each region tends to specialize in a particular industry that's been handed down over generations.

18. Cricket

An inheritance from British culture, cricket is a national obsession. Everyone follows cricket, and if they’re not watching the game on the TV or hearing the score on the radio, they’re playing their own pickup game in the streets. I was lucky to be in India during this year’s International Cricket World Cup and witnessed the overwhelming passion and pride that exploded in this country when India won the championship game over Sri Lanka.

19. An Emerging World Power

With over a billion people, India is the second most populous country in the world and is the largest democracy in the world. India is in a period of rapid economic growth, which is pushing it forward into the leagues of the world’s superpowers. Countries like the United States have recently acknowledged India not as a rising power but rather a world power, and India is likely to confirm that position in the coming years. India is still struggling with problems like overpopulation, pollution, and other effects of urbanization but there is no doubt India will have more say in the future of global politics.

20. Yoga

India is the birthplace of yoga and is a combination of physical, mental, and spiritual practices. There are a number of forms, specializations, and focuses. I enjoy practicing yoga back home in the U.S. and had the opportunity to take a month-long course of yoga here. I found it different than as it is at home. It was a more holistic approach that focused on breathing and mediation than as a chic form of exercise. There are a number of opportunities to experience yoga in India, whether it’s through a private teacher, classes, or a stay at an ashram where yoga is practiced.

21. Influential Personalities

There are several famous Indian personalities who inspired millions with their work and contributions to India’s history. Mahatma Gandhi, considered as the “father of the nation,” was a leader in the political fight for India’s independence and is on every denomination of the rupee. Rabindranath Tagore, India’s artistic titan, is considered as India’s national poet. Mother Teresa, Indian by citizenship rather than birth, is famous for her Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata and is in the process of becoming a saint in the Catholic church. Other Indian personalities that I had never known about but who have accomplished truly great things include Subhas Chandra Bose, Swami Vivikenanda, Ramakrishna, and Lord Buddha.

22. Religious Festivals

There is nothing quite like the massively elaborate religious festivals that occur on a regular basis. These festivals take over entire communities with dancing in the streets, music, chanting, worshiping idols, food, and more. Even more intriguing, people of various religions will celebrate in festivals outside of their own spiritual beliefs. Hindus attend church on Christmas, Muslims participate in Durga Puja, and Christians play Holi. I was lucky enough to participate in Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, as well. It was a great day of throwing powders and dyes at my friends and celebrating the arrival of spring. Religious festivals have an exuberance like nothing I’ve ever experienced.