Umrah and Hajj travel from South Africa

Umrah (for those that don't know) is the religious pilgrimage performed by Muslims to Mecca the most important religious site in Islam. The Umrah can be made at anytime of year unlike the Hajj which is also a religious pilgrimage to Mecca but at a specific time of year.

Umrah Travel.co.za is a travel booking site under the auspices of Flywell Travel, a South African based company. South Africa has a large number of Muslims and Flywell Travel has been helping plan and book religious pilgrimages for the South African Islamic community since its establishment in 1967.

The company specializes in all aspects of Hajj and Umrah travel including booking air tickets, tours and hotels. Their package deals include everything necessary to make a successful journey to Mecca. The company also takes into consideration those traveling with families or as groups and can custom tailor to your needs.

Apart from religious pilgrimage travel for Umrah and the Hajj Umrah Travel under Flywell Travel also deals with travel for vacations and business with India being one of their most popular destinations.

If you are traveling from South Africa on an Islamic religious pilgrimage you should consider using the services of Umrah Travel. co.za. Flywell knows and understands the needs of Islamic travelers and takes into consideration the sensitive aspects of such a significant journey in a Muslim's life. Other travel booking companies will not have the same understanding of the Islamic significance of such a pilgrimage.

icotswolds.com: Plan your holiday in the Cotswolds here

If you're planning a trip to the idyllic Cotswolds in England then here is a useful site not only for finding your Cotswold accommodation but also for learning a bit more about the area. icotswolds.com is a tourist guide which focuses exclusively on the Cotswolds. Here you can find Cotswold B&Bs, farm stays, hotels, pubs and Inns, self-catering properties, luxury Cotswold hotels and even specify that you want dog friendly accommodation. Alternatively it is possible to search on icotswolds.com by county as the site covers Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Worcestershire.

Once you've sorted out where you're going to stay the site can introduce you to the must-see and must-do attractions of the area. Some of the towns and villages not to be missed are also highlighted, like Bourton On the Water, Burford, Chipping Campden, Stow On the Wold and Stratford Upon Avon. Although primarily you will probably use this site for your accommodation booking the articles about the Cotswolds are in-depth and informative covering historic places, attractions, villages and cities. The articles are well written and come with great photos of the beautiful region.

When looking for a place to stay in the Cotswold or planning your Cotswold visit definitely give icotswolds.com a look.

One Day Tours in Israel with Bein Harim Tours

Photo taken on a one day tour to Jerusalem with Bein Harim Tours from the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

When visiting Israel there is so much to see and many tourists are apprehensive about going into some areas, for example traveling to Bethlehem which is in Palestine or wandering the narrow lanes of the Old City. So the solution is very simple there are convenient day tours in Israel run by Bein Harim Tours to all the most popular cities and sites. The company is ranked among the countries top tour operators and I've personally taken their tours and been satisfied.

You can get day tours to places like Jerusalem (covering both new and old city, as well as taking you through those narrow lanes I mentioned); Jerusalem and Bethlehem; south towards the Dead Sea; north to the Galilee and other well known cities. If you have more time they also have longer tours where the hotel accommodation is included.  

If you really want to see everything when in Israel day tours are the answer, on a one day tour to Jerusalem you'll see all the main sites within the Old City as well as several that are not within the Old City Walls. You can get Jerusalem one day tours combined with a trip to Bethlehem or the Dead Sea as well. For something a little different take the City of David and Underground Jerusalem Tour or the Gems of the Judean Desert Tour. Bein Harim tours to the north cover Nazareth, Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee among other sites.

If you want knowledgeable, professional tour guides who really know what they're doing and can pull of a totally stress free relaxing tour while at the same time taking you to tones of sites then choose Bein Harim Tours.

Book Hotels in Thailand

As I've mentioned before when choosing a website for travel services it is much better to choose one which specializes in a particular destination or service, this is the case with Bangkok Asia Hotels. Bangkok Asia Hotels is a hotel booking site which covers specifically booking hotels in Thailand including:  Koh, Lipe; Koh Mook; Koh Ngai; Koh Lanta; Paradise Islands; beaches in Asia; Krabi; Phang Nga; Phi Phi and Phuket.

The site is easy to navigate, has ample bright, well taken photos of the hotels, there is plenty of information provided about each hotel and a huge choice of Thailand hotels both big and small. The site is a "fully bonded travel agency with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and affiliated with the Pan Pacific Travel Association." They are also registered with the Thailand Department of Commerce.

Great Features

·         If you are looking for accommodation on a specific Paradise Island then you can search by each individual island.

·         In the same way you can search for hotels close to a number of beaches. So if your friends have told you that such-and-such a beach is paradise you can search for hotels close to that beach.

·         Bangkok Asia Hotels discount rewards program. You can get 3%-10% discounts when you book hotels in Thailand by joining the My Rewards program for free.

·         You can search and book hotels in Thailand in any of over 60 languages and the site will automatically appear in your language (according to your present location) when you visit the site.

·         The rates on this site are 50%-75% lower than if you tried to book hotels in Thailand directly through the hotel.

·         If you book over 50,000THB you get a free airport transfer! The site also has other specials and Asia hotel discounts.

In short before booking a hotel in Thailand visit this website.

Writer's Retreat New York Edition - Find the perfect NYC Writer's Cafe

Writer's retreat NewYork Edition - Best cafes for Writers, Bloggers and Students (Writer's Retreat Inspirational Travel Guides) by Juliet C. Obodo is one of a series of guides for various cities across the globe. The guides focus on the best cafes for writers in each city. This guide is for New York City.

What a great idea! I wish there was a guide like this for my home town! How many times have you gone searching for that perfect café where you get good cheap coffee, food, quiet but not dead quiet, centrally located but not so popular that you can't get a table, a café with atmosphere, pleasant waiters, large enough tables to hold a laptop and the most important thing free WiFi. Not any less important is that there are power outlets close to the tables in case you need to recharge your laptop. Well I for one have often gone searching for my favorite café to set up camp in and write a few blog posts or articles.

It's not just this century that cafes have been popular writer's hangouts but in previous centuries they didn't have this guide! The criteria by which the cafes listed in this guide were selected are:

·         Pleasant décor

·         Reasonably friendly staff

·         Reasonable menu prices

·         Most take credit cards

·         Most have free WiFi

·         Some have a readers corner

·         They are loiter friendly!

It took the author 6 years of time spent in cafes writing her book (Written in the Sky: Rise of The Wadjet Witch) to compile this list. The author includes suggested inspirational itinerates in the café's surroundings if you want to take a self-guided walking tour of the area. The author also recommends café etiquette including ordering something from the menu; sitting at a table that won't be in the way; being polite and making sure you tip the staff.

The guide then lists recommended cafes for writers according to the boroughs of New York. The café address, website address and open hours are listed as well as a short blurb about the café's highlights.

This guide will serve not only writers in the Big Apple and not only writers traveling to the Big Apple but also the average tourist who wants to see how the locals live and get to know NYC away from the tourist area. If you visit some of the cafes in this guide you'll get to see parts of the city that most visitors don't even know about.

So for writers, travelers, New Yorkers, coffee lovers, café lovers and just plain lovers this guide will open up a whole new world of café opportunities in New York City.

You can buy the Writer's retreat New York Edition - Best cafes for Writers, Bloggers and Students (Writer's Retreat Inspirational Travel Guides) by Juliet C. Obodo on Amazon. There is also a Kindle version for sale on Amazon.