“Do they speak English here?”

This is what I overheard one tourist asking another tourist in a store here…I’m not sure what nationality they were, but they were speaking English.

Think about it, they are in Western Canada (French is only really spoken in Quebec - a province of Canada no where near British Columbia), they must have arrived at an airport, border crossing or cruise terminal where I am sure they were spoken to in English (I have never had anyone speak another language to me) or they are staying somewhere & would have had to speak English and  the only time I ever hear another language is when they are tourists.

Their question does bother me a bit, because who would go travelling to a country without knowing what language they speak!!! Plus everything is in English - the street signs, the menus, the item they were holding! It makes me wonder how they booked their holiday?!

2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

As I was watching TV the other night, I noticed that they have started to advertise the 2008 Summer Olympics… an entire year in advance. Does this seem a little early to you or are they just being smart? Maybe they are trying to plant a seed in our minds to think of going to Beijing in 2008?

After doing a little research, you can actually apply for your tickets to events now & for the next 26 days before a deadline approaches. If you are interested in applying for tickets you can get them at the official website.

Maybe they are advertising just at the right time…

How do you research your next holiday?

I guess that most people these days use the internet for finding the majority of information about their next holiday (I know I do), but there are other ways too such as…

• The old fashioned way of walking into the Retail Travel Agent & having a chat - this is still quite a popular choice, otherwise they wouldn’t be surviving.
• Getting recommendations from friends, co-workers or family members.
• The library - most of the time the travel guides are a little out of date, but they are still helpful.
• Local tourism offices generally have good information for your destination & sometimes they can tell you things that others can’t!

If anyone has any further suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment.

What do you remember most about a holiday?

Is it that gorgeous street that you walked down, a great restaurant or an attraction that you couldn’t believe existed?

Most of the time I remember the best parts like the wonderful & friendly people, the place that I stayed or that amazing meal , but when someone asks me about Los Angeles (California, USA) , the only thing I really remember is watching 2 guys beat up another guy. Luckily I was in a tour bus at the time & I know that the guide was trying to divert our eyes to the other side of the road, but unfortunately that was my impression of L.A. and it has stuck.

Would I love to go back there? Sure, I want to go to back & get a new impression of LA…but I will always have the image of those guys in the back of my mind.

So I ask you…what are the things that you remember most about your holidays?