Travel Calendar 2012 (Part II) – best destinations of the year

February 4, 2012 – 2:25 pm

Moving on to the next travel semester; from the uber fashion of the Orient and the glamorous ladies in red of Moscow sipping vodka, we travel farther.

July – Malta

Malta draws its influences from North Africa and Arabia (lending an ear to the local language helps). And its cuisine is delectably Sicilian-inspired. Malta dictates the microcosm of the Mediterranean. Few other European countries have such a wealth of history, architecture and beaches in so small an locale. Exploring Mdina always comes out as a prime idea – the island’s medieval capital, it comes as a quaint, pedestrians-only walled city sitting atop a picturesque plateau.

The craggy coastline is home to many sandy beaches. Particularly enchanting is Mellieha Bay – Malta’s largest sandy beach. While Birzebbugia attract watersports patrons. Even in the middle of summer, Gozo’s dune-flanked Red Beach remains serene.

these cliffs were awesome fun to jump off (Source: jonrawlinson)

these cliffs were awesome fun to jump off (Source: jonrawlinson)

The modern day capital of Valletta looks brilliant at dusk with the hues painted on its many domed churches and 16th-century facades. The Beheading of St. John the Baptist still holds remnants in the opulent St. John’s Co-Cathedral. Mdina, nicknamed the “Silent City,” welcomes with is fringing palazzi; heritage dating to 3600 B.C.

August – Moscow

When I think of Moscow, the first impression I get is that of a wax museum. Forget the iron curtains and the propaganda of a change, and the romance of the Tsarist times are painted all over the city. The larger than life Socialist characters are not forgotten so easily even-though the city fosters in an oil boom. The new era however, has its upsides; with new money, comes flashy restaurants and designer labels. Amidst the zenith of Stalinist architecture dominating the skyline, is unabashed class and flamboyant fashion.

Moscow Sunset, through the Bridge (Explored) (Source: geezaweezer)

Moscow Sunset, through the Bridge (Explored) (Source: geezaweezer)

Come August, and Moscow will host the International Folklore Festival; a more than four months extravaganza celebrating authentic folk music from various visiting European groups.

The iconic Red Square casts a spell at night: the crimson and ivy colored St. Basil’s Cathedral amidst those majestic Russian plazas and the red stars upon the Kremlin towers prove to be talented hypnotists.

Red Square (Source: McBadge)

Red Square (Source: McBadge)

September – Morocco

Morocco might seem just a little far away. But in reality, a lot changes over the voyage across the Mediterranean Sea. It is a land of spice-scented mystery and medieval kasbahs;. The capital of Morocco, Rabat is a rather laid back and easy going city. A must see here is Kasbah des Oudaias. A truly unique quarter – medium lanes dotted with houses pained white with bright blue parapets. The place also offers lovely views of the Atlantic and of Sale, the exotic neighbouring city. It is a quiet town, and is difficult to find too many people walking around the amazing maze of streets.

Marrakech people (Morocco) (Source: Ahron de Leeuw)

Marrakech people (Morocco) (Source: Ahron de Leeuw)

Meknes is vitality personified! With a plethora of amazing restaurants, lively nightlife, the imposing Royal Palace, and the local markets, Meknes is a very charming town.

Taghazoute has come up as a prime spot on the surfing holiday map. Surfers have been lured by the locale’s mystical waves and the interesting culture does not hurt either. The tiny village of Taghazoute has lots of cafes, restaurants and shops to spend some post-surfing time in. And, although there are many accommodation options, one of the original, and the best ones is Taghazout Villa, located right along the water’s edge on Hash point. It has a unique character with a very cool and “beachy” decor.

Ahmed (Source: eelke dekker)

Ahmed (Source: eelke dekker)

October – Munich

Come October and there is not better choice than the pulsing prosperity and the gemütlichkeit (cosiness) of München. The city takes pride in its contradictions – folklore and traditions marry sleek BMWs, with designer boutiques and modern industry for sides. The music and culture of Munich give Berlin a run for its money.

Oktoberfest | Spinning (Source:jchihos)

Oktoberfest | Spinning (Source:jchihos)

Munich comes as festive and downright traditional in more ways than one. The magnificent Pinakothek galleries and the fascinating fashion of Maximilianstrasse, are only some of the things that beckon; apart from the Alps. If that’s not enough, there’s Oktoberfest a.k.a. Beerfest – for many of us, Europe’s biggest annual party, with six million revelers carrying on this 172-year-old free event.

November – Myanmar

‘This is Burma’, coined Kipling. ‘It is quite unlike any place you know about’, he writes soon after. This South East Asian country is nothing like Malaysia, Thailand, and the others that people keep flocking to.

Even after a century since Kipling said those words, Myanmar remains worlds apart. Picturing 4000 sacred stupas dusted all over the planes of Bagan is more definitive. There is a “golden” rock teetering with almost magical impossibility upon the edge of a chasm. The women are smothered in thanaka and grannies chew betel leaf by the sack-full. We have not yet left the airport! The monks teach their cats to jump and trading jokes with monarchs who prefer to move their capitals based on the whims of fortune tellers seem like viable pass-times. Indeed, we are in Burma. A place where holy men are placed far above rock stars and real-gold buddhas are still bathed every single day upon the first light.

Asia } Myanmar/Burma } Nov 2010 (Source: travelmeasia)

Asia } Myanmar/Burma } Nov 2010 (Source: travelmeasia)

December – India

The question here is not why India but rather why not India? Be it for a 2 hour lay over in an airport or a month long trip across this country of colours, India never fails to mesmerise. From the Great Thar Desert to the wettest place on earth, Cherrapunji with its endemic living root-bridges, the cold desert and the Himalayas in Ladakh, the world’s highest motorable road, the pristine Andaman and Nicobar Islands, yoga, the beaches of Goa, to Kerala‘s back waters, called God’s own country. There are too many reasons.

Cherrapunji (Source: Subharnab Majumdar)

Cherrapunji (Source: Subharnab Majumdar)

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have, arguably, the very best beaches in not only India but also the rest of South East Asia. But the attractions of the archipelago do not stop there; there is so much to do for the adventure and offbeat locale seekers alike.

Bikaner is found to be a vibrant and dust-swirling desert town. The brilliant colors and the fabulous forts are to be found here just as much as any other city, town or village in Rajasthan. What sets it apart? The refreshing outpost feel that is attached to it. Jaisalmer is equally vibrant and colorful. There are the desert tents; one of its kind luxury in the world and camel rides to two of the smallest villages in Asia; Sam and Khuri, a safari across the dunes.

Musician, Jaisalmer (Source: Dey)

Musician, Jaisalmer (Source: Dey)

Sun kissed beaches, soulful breeze, vibrant nightlife, mouth-watering seafood, even casinos; you name it and Goa has it. This tiny state boasts of a unique mixture of rich colonial history and architecture with its enticing native culture and coastal scenes. Even after so many years, Goa has not lost its charm and attracts about 2.5 million visitors from world wide. Quite an intriguing fact, if we keep in mind that Goa’s indigenous population is just 1.5 million.

The world is growing smaller by the day. And even so, the there’s too much to see and too little time! ‘Tis 2012, Anno Domini and there’s a lot to cover.

-Debnath

Tags , , | Category Articles | Permalink | Comment (0)

Travel Calendar 2012 (Part I) – best destinations of the year

February 1, 2012 – 2:48 pm

Its the time of the year again when resolutions are made. Endless possibilities, and the entire world to explore. But what’s there beyond the usual? With the same wanderlust that fuels every one of our followers, mygola created triplist, a personal resolve to reach out to, before the world ends or at least before the world turns into yet another year. Going forward, I started wondering about the best places to visit. There has to be something better than the regulars. Something better than gondolas in Venice and cafes in Paris, no matter how romantic they sound. And hence this travel calendar – a purposeful resolve for the year.

I have divided the post into two halves; call it your travel semester!

January – February – Georgia

Given, that January is well nigh over. But better late than never, specially when there’s Georgia! There’s a lot to experience here; be it for winter sports pursuers or city breakers on the look out for somewhere new. The country is fringed with mountains, dusted with ancient castles and churches. There are mesmerizing towns like Svaneti and Kazbegi, and capital Tbilisi where quite dramatically, Europe meets Asia; an ancient Eurasian crossroad, mingled with the elements of a 21st-century city. Of course, it will not be warm but travelers would not mind.

When silence took a holiday (Source: mortsan)

When silence took a holiday (Source: mortsan)

Awaiting here are sublimely sitting churches, castles and battle-ground watchtowers that add a character to the mountain scenery. A land where after a Soviet internal strife and economic stagnation, Georgia now progresses with its tourism booming.

Mount Elbrus Panorama (Source: Kuster & Wildhaber Photography)

Mount Elbrus Panorama (Source: Kuster & Wildhaber Photography)

February – Cádiz

Come February and it is time to travel past the coastal marshes and those heavy industrial sprawl around town and head into Cádiz central; what emerges is an elegant port city with extensive 18th century construction. Walking on the streets Cádiz, a new image of the city comes through – that of a huge and crowded ocean-going ship. There’s definitely that tang of salty air and amazing ocean vistas not too far away. However, what makes Cádiz a must in February is Spain’s most riotous carnival.

Carnevale (Source: SantiMB)

Carnevale (Source: SantiMB)

Cadiz’s carnival is by far, one of biggest and most extravagant parties in all of Europe. It is fast, there is an unmistakable and exuberant burst of extreme revelry. There’s a riot of colours. All this revolves around Shrove Tuesday, a day of major importance that falls around the end of February or beginning of March by the English calendar. The festivities go on for about ten days including two weekends. This year, the dates are from February 16 – 26.

March – Japan

“May you live in interesting times” – Japanese | Anonymous. Japan has always been that way. The above is considered by many to be one of the most sinister curses in man’s history. And also one of the most allegorical and personified. Japan has always been and still is an awe inspiring duet of polar meanings. From the tallest high rises to the most enchanting gardens, the cherry trees, the enigmatic geisha, the mysterious samurai to the very edge of modern technology, talk of Sony and Mitsubishi – Japan has it all.

anterns at night - Koyasan (Source: Stéfan Le Dû)

anterns at night - Koyasan (Source: Stéfan Le Dû)

Without a doubt, the best times to visit Japan are the climatically stable seasons of spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November). Spring is the time when Japan’s famous cherry trees (sakura) burst into bloom. Starting from Kyushu sometime in March, the sakura zensen (cherry tree blossom line) advances northward, usually passing the main cities of Honshu in early April. Once the sakura bloom, their glory is brief, usually lasting only a week. What’s the best time to catch the blossoms? Without doubt, be here by March.

For a look into the original Japan, even before Buddhism swept across, it is mandatory to go for the Shinto Shrines. Shintoism is the original religion of Japan and the most important of these shrines are the Grand Ise Shrine the Izumo Shrine, which according to legend, is the venue for an annual meeting of the Gods.

Takihara no miya (Source: Geku)

Takihara no miya (Source: Geku)

Japan’s gardens are the closet things that you will find to Elf lands. Cherry trees, little bridges over bubbling brooks, archways, landscaped gardens and the Zen rock/sand gardens.The official top three are the Kairakuen in Mito, Kenrokuen in Kanazawa, and Korakuen in Okayama.

Harajuku is the Oriental capital of cult fashion. Every Sunday, young boys and girls throng the streets of Harajuku, dressed as gothic lolitas, decoras, cosplayers and visual keis. The district is a shopping hub, with shops selling affordable items at the top of fashion.

コスプレー (Source: don.lee)

コスプレー (Source: don.lee)

April – Titanic Tours

The centenary of the epic but sad, nonetheless, sinking of Titanic is this April. And this is big news for top cruise operators who plan on cashing in on the interest.

There are some lines that plan on recreating the exact voyage (minus the drowning), and there are others that have Titanic-themed voyages on the calendar. Belfast, the city where the ship was built, and Southampton, from where it set sail to the New World, are both cities with particular importance this spring. There’s going to be parades and special events. Cruise & Maritime Voyages have cruises planned and so have many others. Even some dives to the wreckage. Definitely a one-time event. After all, we will not be marking a similar event for the next hundred years!

Marco Polo At Arnish Lighthouse (Source: Donald Macleod)

Marco Polo At Arnish Lighthouse (Source: Donald Macleod)

May – Tel Aviv

Jerusalem being just 80 kms up the road, it is but a natural question as to why Tel Aviv. However, as far as culture, society and the general psychology goes, Jerusalem is essentially millions of miles farther.

While Jerusalem is dotted with holy shrines, Tel Avivans miss no opportunity hit the clubs. Kippas take the place of sun visors, gefilte fish pushes off sushi and quarried stones take the place of concrete. If it’s history that’s important, all 3000 years of it, heading straight for the hills make sense. But Tel Aviv thrives on high spirit. We might have seen Vegas and London but this little Israeli town is a world of its own. There’s partying by the Med shores, and let’s not forget about the volleyball and the bathing suits.

Tel Aviv (Source: Meir Jacob)

Tel Aviv (Source: Meir Jacob)

June – Helsinki

Helsinki is fringed with numerous islands and skerries; a waterfront capital that’s in commune with nature. When winter arrives, there’s solid sheaths of ice to be seen stretching all across from the bay to the island fortress of Suomenlinna. However, this is summer, and Helsink’s Harbor and the Gulf of Finland will glisten in near-perpetual sunlight; more than 20 hours out of 24.

Helsinki (Source: jordmanjr)

Helsinki (Source: jordmanjr)

Helsinki has been termed as a sea-town par excellence and an exciting, dynamic place. Half the city seems to be water, and the tortured geography of the coastline includes any number of bays, inlets and a speckling of islands. The harbour is at the heart of the city, and watching the giant ferries glide into port is a defining memory and an essential Helsinki experience. Talking of experiences, there’s an unlimited list. However, the most endearing ones include taking a Finnish Sauna; something that has an almost religious awe. Lending a ear to a Sibelius Concert; Jean Sibelius’ work has been termed sensitive and one with a “universal melodic language”. Cruiseing the archipelago; Helsinki is the capital of as many as 188,000 lakes, and naturally, they are best seen from the water. Best taken on a warm summer day, June would be the capital time for this. Or, heading over to Tallinn, the nearby capital of Estonia – also across the water sound equally charming.

This is for the first half of the year in travel.

-Debnath

(To be continued)

Category Articles | Permalink | Comment (0)

Biking across Europe – France, Netherlands and Belgium

January 19, 2012 – 5:18 pm

Talk about cycling and Lance Armstrong comes to mind. Perhaps one of the most unique ways to explore Europe is biking across it. The cobble stone streets, the beaten tracks and occasional unmarked trails. Not to mention, the breathtaking scenery and the changing sights.

It pays to concentrate on the biking routes in the three countries that remain the holy grail of outdoor travel in Europe – France, Belgium and Netherlands. There’s a mighty lot to devour – how to go about the trip and what to expect en-route, catching up with the Paris–Roubaix are the most important in the list.

Essentially, the plan is not to combine the locales in one gargantuan cycling trip. That would be epic but quite likely physically overwhelming. But rather, here, we explore three routes in these countries.

pra variar um pouco (Source: Vitorio Benedetti)

pra variar um pouco (Source: Vitorio Benedetti)

Route one – France

It makes sense to start the tour from Paris. Yes, lets play on with the cliché – all things good start in Paris! All right, the main reason is that April – May is by far the best time to visit these locales and it coincides with the Paris–Roubaix race.

While participation in the event would be very lovely, the difficulty level is known to be excruciating. Also, the exact details (entry formalities) for the 2012 race are yet to be announced by the officials. However, nothing stops us from following a lighter version of the notoriously difficult route by ourselves.

After seeing the flag off at Compiègne (about 60 kilometres north-east from Paris center), spending a couple of days exploring the City of Lights comes up as a prime idea – refer to “Paris under 50 Euros”.  Now here’s the plan after that  -

Starting off at Compiègne and moving on along the route to Noyon and then Saint Quaintin. Lots of local attractions and things to see along the path. After that, the trail is considered by many illustrious bikers to be unnecessarily treacherous. Taking a comparatively milder route to Cambrai (beside the A2/E19 highway) via Le  Cateau Cambre and Caudry makes more sense. The total distance covered up till now would be about 70 Kms.

Cambrai,dans la rue (Source: isamiga76)

Cambrai,dans la rue (Source: isamiga76)

From Cambrai, the compass points north towards Fenain, a place of amazing beauty and right at the edge of lush green forests. The route promises to be endearing. Cambrai to Fenain is approximately 40 kms. And then, from Fenain, it is a ride through the forest to Orchies, onward to Cysoing and finally ending in  Roubaix.

This is essentially a mellowed-down version. The actual Paris-Roubaix Race is a one-day professional bicycle race and has been a legend since 1896, and until 1967 it started off at Paris and ended in Roubaix.

From 1968, the start point has shifted to Compiègne. The finish line however remains Roubaix. The event has quite a few catchy nicknames; The Hell of the North, Queen of the Classics, The Easter race, A Sunday in Hell and l’enfer du Nord. I’m sure I don’t have to point out the consistency of the term “hell”.

The route is maintained by Les Amis de Paris–Roubaix, a fan group of the race since 1983. The forçats du pavé sees to it that the course remains as safe as possible. The event, however, has seen its share of criticism and controversies.

Paris Roubaix (Source: foto!)

Paris Roubaix (Source: foto!)

Route two – Belgium

Belgium keeps its promise of being a haven for cyclists, specially with the long distance marked routes called the LF-routes,  the national cycling trails; all signposted in both directions. These are a network of cycling routes that span throughout the country, identified by unique names and numbers – the suffixes ‘a’ or ‘b’ indicating the direction of the route.

Bike Sign (Source: Nathan Guy)

Bike Sign (Source: Nathan Guy)

Flanders is the key region that extends into Netherlands and France, and is particularly known for cycling. The Dutch prefer to call it Vlaanderen and the French, Flandre. Either way, the political community of Flemings is essentially a geographical region spread across, in parts, the present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. The history of this territory is just as varied.

Flanders in Belgium and the European Union (Source: Wikipedia Commons)

Flanders in Belgium and the European Union (Source: Wikipedia Commons)

Cycling across this region shows that it is the undisputed home to a particularly popular circular Long Bike (LF – “landelijke fietsroutes; long distance) Route which stretches over 800 kms, looping through the 5 provinces of the area and leading from the beautiful coasts through places like Bruges, Ghent, the Scheldt River basin (Antwerp), Lier, the Kempen area and Haspengouw.

Then comes the border town (with Netherlands) of Limburg. The return is via Tongeren, Leuven and the lovely Green Belt around the mesmerizing city of Brussels to Oudenaarde and finally  onwards to the Flanders Fields region and back to the starting coast.

Bike lane markings (Source: Kristina D.C. Hoeppner)

Bike lane markings (Source: Kristina D.C. Hoeppner)

All along the way, the much appreciated add-ons are the bike-friendly camping sites and accommodation options, providing facilities such as hose-down areas, repair kits, bike shelters and more.

Route three – Netherlands

Turns out, just like its neighbors, Holland too goes a long way in offering an extensive network of LF-routes. It’s possible (and also very popular) to cycle across the country along these signposted trails. They are usually small country-roads which ensure serenity and unobstructed views. While here, it is an almost overwhelming compulsion to cross over the border from Belgium to Germany along these paths. And yes, its legal.

There are as many as 20 different signposted routes, putting in a total of a mammoth 6000 kilometers. Since these are well frequented roads, accommodation and amenities prove to be difficult to miss.

Biking in Zaanse Schans (Source: Nir Nussbaum)

Biking in Zaanse Schans (Source: Nir Nussbaum)

When the cycle rests alongside the track and stunning view seeps through and the lungs complain, often a recurring resolve trickles through – there’s so much more to travel than just getting there and doing that and chatty co-passenger in open-jaw coach flights.

-Debnath

Tags , , , , , , | Category Articles | Permalink | Comment (0)

mygola, the “Robocop for travel” gets $1M to bring a personal travel planner to everyone

December 19, 2011 – 3:05 pm

We noticed something funny in travel a few years ago. If you were “going to amsterdam”, there were a zillion sites that would totally rock your boat. But as it turns out, none of us is just “going to amsterdam”. You’re probably going there for the second time, or traveling with your kids, or have a conference to attend, or like vegan food or hate Vermeer.

That, is what our *typical* trip looks like. But try telling that to your favorite travel website!

Another thing that gets our goat. Somehow everyone in the travel industry tends to believe that the hard part is getting recommendations on what to see & where to stay – hence all the activity in the social / local space. But if you’re anything like me, the stressful part is actually all the stuff in between – how do I get from the airport to the hotel? Will my phone work? Can I rent a stroller in Amsterdam? Close your eyes for a moment and try to remember the last trip you were planning? Did it resemble Google -> Tripadvisor -> Forums -> Google…all while you’re noting down stuff in a spreadsheet? What does that experience remind you of?

I knew you would say filing your taxes! :)

Unfortunately, the travel web has been denying this reality all along, despite all the love from their users. So two years ago, we set out to make travel planning radically simple.

Source: http://www.getthebigpicture.net/

Our approach is simple – you ask any question about your trip, and one of us will do all the research & bookings for your trip! We then turbocharge this by:

1. Having tens of thousands of travel enthusiasts sign up and train to become travel researchers.

2. Building an amazing technology platform that aggregates the entire travel web and auto-categorizes it – deals, events, hotels, sublets, even tips from locals on foursquare and your friends who’ve recently been there.

We call this the 90% tech + 10% human insight approach. Which made one of our users call it

“the Robocop for travel!”

This hyper-personalization has earned us lots of love from our early users!

And now as we begin our next chapter, we’re happy to share that we’ve received investments from some notable investors who immediately shared our passion for bringing the human back in a massive category! Our investors now include Blumberg Capital, Dave McClure / 500 Startups, Lewis Cheng, Mac Harman, Sandeep Bapna, Priyavrat Bhartia, Aldo Monteforte and Alvaro Gutierrez.

Thanks for your support. You can follow along on Twitter and Facebook.

Category General | Permalink | Comment (0)

Cities under 50 Euros – Paris

December 16, 2011 – 7:55 pm

Is backpacking a craze only because it goes light on the pocket? The draw towards this type of travel is much more than the money factor. Even the Frommer’s-packing, Leica-wearing variations of our species overlook some of the most endearing experiences of a place.

A labyrinth of pristine chapels, works of art by Masters, engineering marvels, suave fashion boutiques, fine restaurants and historical landmarks. A turn left off mainstream Paris – for the casual traveler, there would seem little hidden by the mammoth shadows of the Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay and the Eiffel Tower. One could not be more wrong. The whole city is a sight in itself. These are the ones which a frugal traveler always catches.

Rain forest in Paris

Rain forest in Paris (Source: Éole)

read more »

Tags , , , , | Category Articles | Permalink | Comment (1)

Holidays in a Galaxy Far Far Away

December 15, 2011 – 10:49 pm

Say you are a humble worker bee on the DeathStar and fancied a vacation on Tatooine or Coruscant or one of the outer rim planets, how would you go about planning such a thing?

Why? You’d ask us, of course. Not only do we plan amazing vacations here on Earth, we do an equally amazing job for people wanting to hyperspace across the universe. Here’s what one of our guides Vaishnavi planned for the intrepid explorer:

I must say the Death Star HR did an awesome thing by asking you to take a vacation! Your choice of destinations are brilliant as well, and it is my pleasure to help plan this trip perfectly!

Since you’re based on the Death Star, I would suggest you start with Tatooine, hop over to Bespin, next to Coruscant and end your trip at Earth before you zoom back to the Death Star. Let me guide you through the trip, as I see it for you!

(Source: elfidomx)

Read the full trip.

And boy, wasn’t the vacationer pleased!

Remember to give us a shout if you have trouble deciding where to head for your vacation – either here on Earth or somewhere far across the galaxy!

Tags , , , | Category General | Permalink | Comment (0)

Local advice in travel planning. Fact or Fiction?

December 3, 2011 – 1:39 am

mygola was one of the presenters at Phocuswright’s Travel Innovation Summit in Fort Lauderdale a couple of weeks back. Since this was my first PCW conference, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

As it turned out, the attendees list was stellar and the production quality was great. Also, as it turned out, we didn’t win anything, which bummed me no end.

Here’s my presentation (sorry, no embeds possible), you be the judge :)

But this is not a defense of how awesome we are. Instead, I wanted to talk about a peculiar reaction that I got from almost everyone who heard about what we do. It came up on the critics’ panel, on twitter, in idle hallway chatter and even during cocktail receptions.

“How can someone who’s never been to Amsterdam give good advice for a trip there?”

On the face of it, the question makes sense. A New Yorker would instinctively know that renting a car in NYC is foolhardy, something that’ll be hard to grasp by someone who’s never been there. And then there are cultural issues – Holiday Inn might be considered upmarket in some parts of the world but unlikely it’ll be someone’s idea of a honeymoon hotel in US.

And yet, the funny thing is, we’ve never heard this question from a single one of our tens of thousands of ACTUAL users. In fact, this is what we hear from our users!

Here’s my theory why. All the “local” stuff is already on the web!

This is definitely true for the top 500 popular destinations and increasingly, inevitably, so for others. When our guides research, they’re sifting through traditional sites like NYTimes but also local blogs like spottedbylocals, dailycandy and legions of others. In a way, they are digging up local stuff, just that it’s coming via a trusted source like the ones above. I’ve lived in NYC for 4yrs but I’m constantly surprised by the stuff the guides dig up for that city. A few times we get it wrong but you’ll be surprised how unusual that is.

What we’re doing to localize mygola

Turns out, we’ve been thinking of this problem for a bit now. There are a bunch of things already on the site, and more coming down the pike!

  • We automatically fetch recommendations from amazing local / city websites for our guides to choose from
  • We’ll find people who’ve recently checked into some of our recommendations (say a nightclub) and reach out to them for tips. Again, you’ll be surprised how many people like to be acknowledged for what they know about their city
  • Soon, a way to let you speak to a local in any city you’re traveling to, all privately & safely.

At mygola, we have strong opinions on how broken travel planning is & what’s needed to fix it. Long way to go, so stick around and let us know how to improve!

Category General | Permalink | Comment (0)

A cool Rs 10,000 to find us that rockstar designer…

November 4, 2011 – 2:44 am

We love good design as much as the other guy. And yet, we’ve struggled mightily to find someone who can build all this cool stuff for us. So we’re turning to you for help!

If you help us find a designer (freelancer, full-time or even a firm) that we end up sticking with after 2 months of a trial project, we’ll give you Rs 10,000 to take home.

Here are some examples of the kind of UI / typography that rocks our boat.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Find someone who can kick ass like that, and the bounty is yours!

Note: Please make sure you include their portfolio (a link, or send by email). All submissions are private.


 

Category General | Permalink | Comment (0)

The most unusual hotels in the world – Sweden

September 8, 2011 – 6:38 pm

How does one define Scandinavia? There is the cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region mainly known as the Nordic countries of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, the Peninsula, and, according to some, also Finland. Now add to that the Nordic charms.

And this Nordic charm goes a little farther. Bored with the box in a city, or lounge in the beach types of accommodation options, the Swedish decides to ruffle things up a little (or a lot). Unusual hotels is the way the red and white goes while in Sweden.

The IceHotel

Take for instance, the Icehotel. Considered to be one of the 7 Wonders of Sweden. Not a medieval church or an art gallery or even a natural grand showdown. But a hotel.

Clear ice and the natural wilderness, the pristine waters of river Torne nearby and the stark frozen interiors make this place one of the most unusual and yet fascinating staying options in the world.
The inspiration for the Bond flick “Die Another Day”, the Icehotel is definitely one of its kind. The constituent Ice Church and the Main Hall are made during the Christmas and the entire hotel is completed each year by early January.

124 miles north of the Arctic Circle lies the Swedish Lapland and it is here that the lcehotel sits and it is all about the architecture. And it is strikes harmony with nature; melting away every April come spring. The thermal sleeping bags placed on reindeer pelts keep things warm and a cup of hot lingonberry juice to wake in the morning gives me the answer as to “why splurge?”

Temperatures hover between 5-8° Celsius (41-46 Fahrenheit). Quite interesting is the hotel’s ice bar, aptly named the Absolut Icebar. The lighting behind the ice sculptures produce a lovely ambiance where guests mingle, and the amiable bartender hands out drinks in glasses made of ice.

Icehotel (Charley1965)

Icehotel (Charley1965)


read more »

Category Articles | Permalink | Comment (0)

Customer acquisition through Twitter – It Works!

September 7, 2011 – 4:00 am

At mygola, we’ve struggled with how to use social media smartly. Why does it matter how many followers you have on twitter or fans on Facebook? I can see why a business would like a gazillion followers (spam ‘em!) but what’s in it for your follower & your fan? And if that dynamic is not true, what’s the point?

Since we like to think things through first principle, we picked Twitter & tried a bunch of things. Here’s what worked for us, ymmv.

So what’s Twitter good for?

One-on-one communication. NOT broadcast.

Twitter may sound, smell & walk like a broadcast medium. And maybe it is. For Coca-Cola. But for a startup, it just ain’t that duck. Why spend that extra minute crafting the right tweet for an unknown audience with questionable attention when you can bang out few more lines of code?

For medium-sized / well-hyped companies, Twitter may serve as a better tool for customer service (another example of one-to-one communication). But for the starving startup, there’s only one hard fact that should convince them to invest the time – it gets them new customers.

Why should customer acquisition work well on Twitter?

Here’s my theory: the majority of people of twitter follow less than a dozen people. An @mention gets their attention, perhaps the way an email would have in, umm, 1993. If you abuse this attention, you go to spam hell. But if you are relevant, you’re golden. And what’s more relevant than responding to a call for help?

As it turns out, twitter users are asking for help every minute, every second.

Now imagine you’re one of the folks in the image above. If you have just a few dozen followers, and a feed that’s always moving, guess what happens? Your request for help echoes emptily in the twitterverse before dying a quick death, hashtag notwithstanding. That’s what we realized early on when we saw a huge number of people asking for suggestions for trips they were taking – restaurants, things to do, hotels etc. We started responding to them (always manually, see spam hell above) and were happily surprised to see how big the uptake was. The tweeters loved the convenience & direct connection, and happily retweeted their love for us after seeing how high-quality our answers were. See all the love we get here!

In fact, it worked so well that we now acquire almost half of our users through twitter. Yes, half.

I agree that Twitter is not a massively scalable channel (yet). But for comparison sakes, cost of acquisition in travel can range anywhere from $5-50, so this is a solid return on the effort (in addition to the benefit of getting the word out there about your startup). Obviously, we’re not the first ones to realize this. I’ve lately seen Inboxq & another hotel-focused tool come up that offer this as a service to anyone.

Tips on how to make Twitter customer acquisition work for you

  • Don’t automate. Rather, automate only the discovery part, not the actual tweet & responses
  • Don’t try to push the conversation to your website. Twitter is the natural place for it, so keep it there as long as it makes sense
  • Eventually, write your own tool. We discovered a bunch of thumb rules that worked for us – ignore any user who has a link in their tweet (they’re companies, not people!); use follower / follows / tweet numbers in combination with what they say in their bios to rank influence & so on. Since Twitter search sucks only a little less than LinkedIn’s, we wrote our own tool to accommodate these.
  • Ask to be retweeted. Remember, ask & ye shall be given

Let me know in comments if you have some pro tips for us. In fact, we struggle mightily with what’s the authentic thing to do on facebook, so please share your awesome ideas on what worked for you.

 

Category General | Permalink | Comment (0)

Next Page »

Next Page »