Wednesday 16 December 2015

Weird and wonderful ways to welcome in the New Year

When New Year’s arrives every country has their own unique way of getting festive. From exploding dairy products to imaginary holidays in Colombia, here are the most unusual ways that the New Year is celebrated around the world.

Ireland – Bread banging
When it comes to celebrating New Years in Ireland, one traditional superstition is to bang Christmas bread on walls and doors to ward off any bad luck, while at the same time promising plenty of bread in the New Year. Another tradition they have is: if the first person to enter your house is tall, dark and handsome, it means good luck for the rest of the year.



Denmark – Dish throwing
It is common practice in Denmark to take your old dishes and throw them at your friends’ front doors on New Year’s Eve. Returning to your home and finding a huge pile of destroyed crockery outside your house is considered a very good thing – think of it as a way to assess the number of friendships you have.

Colombia – Imaginary holiday
We’ve heard a lot about traditions that are meant to bring good luck on the cusp of the New Year. The best tradition yet is what happens in Colombia – residents are said to carry empty suitcases around their neighbourhoods in the hope that the New Year will bring exciting travels.


Netherlands – Exploding milk jugs / New Year’s dive
Carbide shooting is an appropriately explosive New Year’s tradition. Carbide is placed inside large, metal milk jugs with some water and then the gas is lit from a small hole. This creates a huge burst of flames accompanied by an explosive bang as each jug pops its top. That’s not all from the Dutch, to start off the New Year thousands of people all jump into the ice-cold sea first thing in the morning!

South Africa – Raining refrigerators
Some residents of Johannesburg’s Hillbrow area take part in a cleansing ritual each New Year. They do this by taking any unwanted possessions and throwing them out their apartment windows. Items like chairs, mattresses, TVs, ovens and even fridges are cast down to the street below. If that wasn’t dangerous enough, residents even shoot fireworks from one building to another.


As we prepare to ring in the New Year, you may be interested to learn about the traditions in other countries. From bread banging to throwing appliances out the window, these are the weird and wonderful New Year’s traditions from around the world.


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Monday 7 December 2015

How to stay and feel healthy after your flight

The weather may be scorching, but that doesn’t mean all the coughs and colds are gone for good. What are the best ways for travelers to stay and feel healthy? Here are some expert tips, hints and tricks for staying and feeling healthy after your flight.

1. Once you get off the plane, use the airport toilet and make sure to wash your hands thoroughly with plenty of soap. It is also a good idea to wash your face too.



2. Drink lots of water to flush out your system and keep your immune levels high.


3. Take a shower as soon as you can and wash your traveling clothes.


4. Adjust your meal times after a transatlantic flight. Studies have shown that it may help the body recover from jet lag.


5. For a few days after landing, take an aspirin to ward off deep-vein thrombosis.


6. Rest, as much as jet lag and your holiday will allow!


A long flight can wreak havoc on your body, so make sure to stay and feel health with these easy, simple steps after you’ve deplaned.


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Tuesday 1 December 2015

How to make the most of your stopover

Stopovers can really drain a travellers energy. The last thing you want to do when you’re on holiday is disembark at a random airport and pay too much for food, like a crusty cheeseburger. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions of flight, planes have to stop somewhere.


Stopovers can range from the harmless one hour wait to the soul-destroying nine-hour marathon. If you are stuck at the airport, here are a few ways to kill time before you lose the will to live!

1 HOUR
Luckily you only have an hour to kill, so you may have time to just stretch your legs, walk up and down a bit, take a look at some water fountains and then you’re back in the metal bird again.

2-3 HOUR
This is not exactly a lifetime, so you’ve got a bit of time to explore the airport, but that’s about all. Hopefully your airport has got a few stores to do some window shopping. Why not go through a few stores, spritz yourself with all the testers and try as many moisturisers as you can!

3-6 HOURS
Depending on the airport, this is not really enough time to leave the airport, but it’s quite a while to be stuck in a cramped seat next to a child stuffing their face with a packet of messy Nik Naks. Once you hit these long hours, the airport you’re at really makes a difference. For example, Changi Airport has a ceiling to floor slide, a butterfly garden, playground, swimming pools, spas, cafes, hotels and so much more!

7+ HOURS
There’s no point in spending eight hours sitting in an airport, it’s just horrible. Yes, you probably have enough time to go exploring in the city for a few hours, so run free! If you’d rather not rush your exploring, stay a few days in your stopover country and take advantage of the fact that you’re already there.

Don’t begin to plot how to best seek revenge on your travel agent when you’re stuck in a 7 hour stopover, rather use these tips and make the most of it, or at least try make it less painful!

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