Look what I found  today…

Happy cow.net. is a great resource for anyone who is interested in finding

healthy places to eat pretty much anywhere in the world.

It is simple to use…just type in the city you are visiting and up comes a list of recommendations.

Along with a google map, reviews in most cases and the menu. Another feature is you can stipulate the distance from your location so that you don’t get some an endless long list to wade through.

Now there is much more to the “happycow” you also have a heap of recipes which can be downloaded so there’s no need to travel enjoying lovely food.

You could of course always use happycow in you own city to experience how useful it may be when you travel.

If you have similar sites that you think other travellers should know about then please comment below or email me and I will review them…that way we can all enjoy even better travel experiences.

Her’s to your travel exceeding the highest expectations.

Cheers

John C Spark

Expert Travel Planner

You are invited to follow along with Nilla and I as we share our own person travel experience to Peru.

We will share it as it happens…along with many insights that we hope you will find valuable for your own travel.

Some insight will captured on video each day others will be photo’s with a commentary. We promise to share good and bad as it happens.

So please check out my first short 59 second video as we are about to leave our wonderful home here in Albany. We know from past experiences that our home comforts will not always be afforded us as we travel through some very undeveloped countryside in Peru.

What lies ahead is a very long couple of days flying with Qantas and no doubt more than a few delays before we get to experience wonderful places like Machu Picchu.

I am excited and apprehensive…but you will have to wait for tomorrow post to learn more.

So please stick around…I promise it will be interesting, informative and quite probably have some valuable life insights which I just know third world countries always offer travellers. Hence the attraction of such places.

Most travellers would find it hard to get too excited about a toilet…but not Tammy-Lee Spinks.

You see Tammy- Lee has suffered from Chrohn’s Disease for 8 years.

Correction she used to suffer from Chrohn’s Disease but since her operation a couple of years ago she now enjoys a full and rewarding life which includes travelling overseas.

Now for those among us who are free of such challenges in our life we probably just take finding and using toilets as no big deal…hey maybe we don’t even need a toilet!

But for Tammy-Lee  and other Chrohn’s affected people a toilet is very important.

This sign gives great comfort if you have Chrohn's issues

Tammy-Lee and her family recently enjoyed what Tammy-Lee describes in her own words the most amazing holiday of her life…in no small part because Japan is very Chrohn’s friendly. This allowed her to relax and soak in the whole spectrum of her holiday.

And now she urges anyone who either has Chrohn’s or maybe has a family member affected to not put off travel. Go to Japan and give yourself permission to really enjoy it.

It just maybe the tonic you need.

So please check out what Tammy-Lee has to say on her experience in Japan. Just click on the video below.

Enjoy all things good because if you don’t some else just might!!!

Cheers

John C Spark

Expert Travel Planner

This is just a quick warning which I want you to know about.

Hopefully you have not been caught out as some travellers have already.

I am passing on word for word what I have read as well as the contact numbers below.

Consumer Protection is acting quickly to close down a bogus travel website which is offering ridiculously low airfares and operating without a licence. The website -www.AusFlightz.net- is hosted overseas and is using a travel agent licence number and ABN of a legitimate travel business. It is also falsely claiming to be an agent for major airlines. The physical address on the site does not exist and the phone number has been disconnected.

Consumer Protection Commissioner Anne Driscoll said the Department launched an investigation after receiving complaints from licensed travel agents who were approached by consumers asking them if they could match the low fares.

“To sell travel in Western Australia you must be licensed and this business definitely does not hold a licence, despite its claims,” Ms Driscoll said. “The airfares being advertised are well below market prices, with the site claiming that the fares being offered are cheap because they are exempt from paying fees and taxes. We strongly recommend that consumers avoid making any bookings or revealing any bank or credit card details on this site until our investigations are complete.”

Consumer Protection is approaching the web hosting company overseas to suspend this account and is continuing to investigate. If in any doubt, travel consumers are urged to contact Consumer Protection to check that the agent or website they are dealing with is on our register of licensed agents. Consumers who may have had dealings with this particular website are also asked to come forward by calling us on 1300 30 40 54  or by emailing consumer@commerce.wa.gov.au

Again please be careful when something seems to good to be true…well you know how it goes…right?

Next week I share the top 10 safest travel destination…so please check in regularly.

Take care.

John C Spark

Expert Travel Planner

Well...what do you think of the South Pole?

Approximately 40,000 South Pole tourists in 2009 were either ignoring or ignorant of claimed scientific evidence that supports they contributed through the cruise ships they traveled on to increasing CO 2 emissions in this pristine environment.

Firstly I think we need to ask…“can scientists be believed when it comes to travel destination advice?”

Now I want to say I do not know if the studies done by Michiel Lamers, a Dutch Scientist reflect a true picture or not. I am a travel agent not a scientist.

What does interest me though is whether people will  knowingly travel to destinations even when they understand that their very presence may in fact be contributing to it’s  destruction.

Over the  years many people have come into our business wanting to visit somewhere before it is too late or not permitted. I have been guilty on a personal level of supporting such travel by offering travel advice. Now I wonder…was this the right thing to do?

What would you do in my position if someone asked you to arrange travel to the South Pole?

Maybe you can share whether you would personally take such a journey to a threatened destination…

Remember Your Travel Planners is here to help you make even better informed travel decisions…the key is sharing to gain.

Until next time…

enjoy all things good.

John C Spark

Expert Travel Planner