Travelling
What is traveling?
Traveling is setting out for several months with little money and an open
mind,
use local transportation, eat mostly local food, meeting the locals – and
fellow
travelers. Traveling is meeting people. At the bottom of it all, traveling
is living.
Traveling is also self-reflection. An empty pharmacy in Western Zambia and
a minefield
in Cambodia can make you change your mind about your own little problems
Experience of one student
During our business trip in the New Jersey, we visited quite a lot of places. I was always the guide whose responsibility is to provide our driver with the most time-saving route and plan the travel itinerancy.
Every time one day before our trip, I will search on the Internet for the information about the place we will visit. Usually, the local government or some travel agencies have their own web sites which can provides us plenty information ,such as the famous sites, special scenes , interesting food or some quaint custom. For example, on the Thanksgiving of 1999, we went to the Washington DC, Baltimore and Annapolis. I learned before hand that in Baltimore, there is a aquarium that ranks second in US; in Annapolis, there is a Navy Academic from which many famous generals graduated; in Washington, we can visit the place where Forest Gump cried ' Jenny' and held his lover.
Another tool internet can provide us is the online map. If we want to go to a place that we have never been to, all that I need to do is to input the start point's zip code and the end point's zip code. The web site will provide me with several choices,some is most time-saving, some can help us avoid the possible traffic, some can save us the Toll fee we have to pay otherwise.
Beijing people enjoy travelling abroad
LI Hong and her husband are still enjoying happy memories of their honeymoon in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Macao over Spring Festival.
It is the first time for the young couple to spend the Chinese Lunar New Year abroad.
"I think the happy tour will be unforgettable in our memory because of the exotic atmosphere and good service provided by the travel service," Li said.
Li, an employee in a joint venture and her husband, who works in an exhibition company in Beijing, spent 16,400 yuan (US$2,000) for the 15-day tour.
Like the young couple, many residents of Beijing choose to travel abroad or visit other provinces in the country during their holidays, instead of staying at home for the traditional family reunion.
Although nearly all the travel agencies in the capital had prepared for the peak season for overseas travels, the limited capacity of the airlines could not meet the demands of so many tourists, according to Wang Suqi, deputy general manager of the Outbound Travel Department of China International Travel Service (CITS).
Wang estimated that there were nearly 30,000 Beijingers participating in various tours to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Macao during the holidays. This was twice as many as last year's holiday.
"It is usual now for ordinary people to travel abroad or make a trip to well-known scenic spots in other provinces, because their living standard has changed," Wang said.
In the past years, people regarded Spring Festival as an important occasion for family reunion; but now, many people consider it an ideal time for rest and relaxation.
"Most of them have a desire to go abroad for the holidays. Because they have already bought the domestic appliances, such as colour TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines and air-conditioners, they need and have money to spare," Wang added.
The country's tourism administration has negotiated agreements with Australia, New Zealand and some Southeast Asian countries so that Chinese citizens can enjoy more reasonably charged holidays there.
However, some small and low-quality travel agencies have tried to seek exorbitant fees and profits.
The malpractices have seriously violated the rights and interests of the tourists. As a result, more and more potential tourists will turn to the large-size State-owned travel agencies, such as the CITS, China Travel Service and China Youth Travel Service, Wang said.
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Date: 03/11/99
Author: Cao Min
Copyright? by China Daily
Survey: Travel gains popularity as income rises
GUANGZHOU _ With incomes rising, a growing number of Guangzhou families are taking to travelling for recreation.
A recent survey indicated that a large number of local citizens plan to travel in the coming year, and that most of the potential tourists will travel within China.
The survey, conducted recently by the Gu
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