Rock of ages

The train line from Prijepolje, in southern Serbia, to Podgorica, in Montenegro, is one of the most dramatic in Europe. You go through countless tunnels, skirting the precipice of one of the world's deepest canyons. The mountains here are indescribably rugged, barely cultivable and scarcely inhabited. Here and there in the midst of this gray wilderness of barren rock, you see a lonely hut surrounded by grassy plots cleared of stones for the grazing of sheep. But you see no people. The landscape is far too inhospitable.

Gradually, the mountains give way, and the train descends along a green river to the fertile plain upon which sits Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. As soon as you disembark from the train, which is full of jolly young holiday-goers from Serbia, the change in climate hits you. The air is almost tropical, and you sense that the Mediterranean is now upon you.

I'd come to Montenegro to get a sense of the western Balkans, a region that had fascinated me ever since the end of the Yugoslav wars. The multiethnic nature of this small mountain land appealed to me: Here, Montenegrins, Serbs, Muslims and Albanians coexist more or less peacefully. I was also inspired by the colorful history of the place, Montenegro's tradition of resistance to the Turks during the nearly 500-year Ottoman occupation of the Balkans. Not least, I'd come to see mountains and sea.

Podgorica struck me as a rough-and-tumble town. During the civil war in the 1990s, it was rife with mafiosi. Gasoline, cigarettes and guns were smuggled from abroad through Montenegro into Serbia, and something of the illicit atmosphere of those times still clings to the city. It is loud, fast-paced, flashy and cheap at the same time. You cannot call it a charming town by any stretch of the imagination, but it does have a certain Wild West, frontier-town kind of life to it.

But I was only passing through Podgorica. Within hours of arriving, I boarded a hot, crowded bus heading in the direction of Niksic. Leaving Podgorica, it climbed rocky, barren mountains. Never have I seen so much rock; Montenegro is all rock, when it is not water.

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Thanksgiving travel, airport food, Megabus destinations: Coming & Going

Coming & Going

Traveling on Thanksgiving, eating at the airport, bus services expand

Thanksgiving travel trips

More than 42 million people will be traveling this Thanksgiving, an 11.4 percent increase from last year, AAA estimates. If you're one of them, and you're planning to fly home from the District, expect some changes at Ronald Reagan National and W ashington Dulles International airports - for better or for worse.

Let's start with the good news.

Searching for a parking space won't be as difficult at National. Earlier this year, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority a dded more than 1,400 parking spaces to the airport's parking garages, bringing the total number of spaces to almost almost 9,000.

Another addition to National: JetBlue Airways, which began service in Terminal A earlier this month. (Other gate changes: Northwest Airlines merged with Delta and moved from Terminal A to Delta's location in Terminal B. And Frontier and Air Canada both moved to Terminal A).

Dulles said goodbye to most of those rickety mobile lounge shuttles. In their place, the AeroTrain underground airport system began running in January, providing service between the Main Terminal and the A, B and C gates. (Sorry, Gate D passengers. You'll still have to put up with the shuttles.)

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Travel deals of the week

l Book a South Pacific cruise aboard the MS Paul Gauguin by Nov. 30 and receive shipboard credits of $250 or $500 per person. The $500 credit applies to the 14-night Marquesas, Tuamotus & Society Islands cruise, which travels round trip from Papeete, Tahiti. For the deal, depart Jan. 15 or April 16. Rates start at $5,797 per person double, plus $28 taxes. The $250 credit applies to all other departures of the 332-passenger ship from January through June, including the seven-night Tahiti & Society Islands cruise, with eight departures. Rate starts at $3,997 per person double, plus $14 taxes. The credits can be used for shore excursions, spa services, onboard shopping, etc. Info: 800-848-6172, www.pgcruises.com.

l Reserve a Nile River cruise and Cairo hotel package with Lindblad Expeditions by Dec. 15 and save $700 per person. The deal is valid on six December-through-March departures of the 10-day Exploring Egypt itinerary. Price for 2010 sailings starts at $4,000 per person double after discount; in 2011, price starts at $4,490. The trip includes two nights at the Four Seasons, private air transfers from Cairo to Abu Simbel and from Abu Simbel to Aswan, four nights aboard the Salacia, private air transfers from Luxor to Cairo, two nights at the Mena House Oberoi, 18 meals, daily escorted sightseeing and taxes. Info: 800-397-3348, www.expeditions.com.

AIR

l Cayman Airways will resume nonstop flights between Washington Dulles and Grand Cayman beginning Dec. 18. The seasonal service will run Wednesdays and Saturdays through April 30. Round-trip fare starts at $367, including taxes. A 14-day advance purchase is required; holiday blackout dates apply. For connecting flights, fare on other airlines starts at about $400. Info: 800-422-9626, www.caymanairways.com.

l Virgin America is offering discounted fares for flights through Feb. 15. Sale fare from Washington Dulles to S an Francisco or Los Angeles starts at $109 one way, plus $11 taxes, or $240 round trip. Other airlines are matching to L.A.; for San Francisco, fare starts at about $140 each way, including taxes. Cheapest fares apply to Tuesday and Wednesday travel, and holiday blackout dates apply. Seven-day advance purchase required. Book by Nov. 15 at www.virginamerica.com, or pay $15 more by calling 877-359-8474.

PACKAGE

l The ultra-luxe Turtle Island Resort in Fiji is offering a free night's stay, worth $2,499 per couple, and one free airfare from Los Angeles to Nadi, a value of about $1,000 (air taxes of about $360 are extra). Rates at the all-inclusive private island resort start at $2,499 per couple per night. Minimum seven-night stay required; holiday blackout dates apply. Deal applies to stays through 2011; book by March 31. The island, where the movie "Blue Lagoon" was filmed, accommodates 14 couples in private beachfront villas. The package includes meals, drinks, activities and taxes. Transport from Nadi, which costs $200 round trip per couple by boat or $999 via seaplane, is extra.

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Chandipore Tour

The Chandipore beach is a one of the most picturesque yet least defiled (mercifully) beaches in India. Ironically, it being little known outside Orissa, is a blessing in disguise.The amazing thing about the beach here is its calm and placid nature. If at other places the sea is known to roar and lash at the coast, the waves at Chandipore gently kiss and caress the shore. If at other beaches, the visitor is subdued by the might of the sea, here the sea pampers her visitors.

The beach

The beauty of the Chandipore beach is its receding waters. Twice a day, the sea waters recede backwards into the sea (about five kms stretch) and visitors can actually drive into the sea. As the sea recedes, the beauty of the exposed bosom is there for all to see; small red crabs are everywhere.
Others:

About 45kms from Chandipore is Panchalingeswar. Nestled in the lush green Nilagiri hills, the place of worship is known for five lingams over which runs a perennial stream. You have to lie flat on the rock parallel to the stream to touch and worship the lingams.

Elephants are regular visitors to the hills. Trekking is also an option there with an Orissa Tourism Department running a tourist stay as well. (Reservation - Tourist Officer, Balasore, Tel.: 362048).

Similipal (100 km)

The wildlife sanctuary (area of about 2750.sq. km) is tiger reserve. Apart from tigers, it is the home of leopards, elephants, deers, crocodiles and reptiles.

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Tour Organizers

That means,a person or company that organizes package tours.Tour organizers are provides us many type falsities such as travel cars,airplane tickets. also reach in travels place of there tourist places.
Tour operators are businesses that combine two or more travel services and sell them through travel agencies or directly to final consumers as a single product (called a package tour) for a global price.A tour operator typically combines tour and travel components to create a holiday. The most common example of a tour operator's product would be a flight on a charter airline plus a transfer from the airport to a hotel and the services of a local representative, all for one price.
Travel agency is a retail business, that sells travel related products and services to customers, on behalf of suppliers, such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays that combine several products. In addition to dealing with ordinary tourists, most travel agencies have a separate department devoted to making travel arrangements for business travelers and some travel agencies specialize in commercial and business travel only. There are also travel agencies that serve as general sales agents for foreign travel companies, allowing them to have offices in countries other than where their headquarters are located.As the name implies, a travel agency’s main function is to act as an agent, that is to say, selling travel products and services on behalf of a supplier. Consequently, unlike other retail businesses, they do not keep a stock in hand. A package holiday or a ticket is not purchased from a supplier unless a customer requests that purchase. The holiday or ticket is supplied to them at a discount.

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Travel And Tour

Travel means moving or going from one place to another,as for the purpose if any work or for enjoy.A trip with visits to various places of interest for any kind of purpose such as business, pleasure, or instruction.Tour trip is a long journey including the visiting in one or many places.

Tour Traveling is two types-1'st is individual tour in there only single person is traveling and 2'nd is group traveling,in there are many peoples.

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