Category: Lifestyle

February 3, 2017 Lifestyle

How To Pick The Right International SIM Card

How to pick the right international SIM card? #travel

Long endless mobile phone bills are a result when you travel to a foreign destination without carefully looking at the different options by which you will be able to make cheaper calls when abroad or lower data surfing rates when constantly being on the move.

Traveling abroad whether for work or for leisure requires systematic and meticulous planning of every small thing. Hence, it is very important that you spend some time getting the perfect mobile carrier for yourself. This post will help provide you with some useful and helpful points on how to get the best international SIM card while traveling.

It has become essential for everyone traveling overseas to get either a local SIM of the carrier company which is operative in the country to which he or she is traveling or to go for a roaming international SIM card which works in multiple countries.

How to pick the right international SIM card? #travel

Let us take a look at some of the parameters which you must take into consideration while buying one roaming international SIM card.

Be clear about your requirements

Before you buy an international SIM card it is very important that you make up your mind about your requirements from it. As we all know that a mobile phone is no longer only a tool by which you make or accept calls, but can do a whole lot of other things. Hence, be sure of whether you want the SIM card only for making calls or for data surfing or for any other purpose. This will make your search lot easier.

International SIM card

Go ‘carrier’ shopping

As funny as it may sound, but once you are clear about your requirements, then a good idea would be to go ‘carrier’ shopping. Do some basic online research and find out about the different mobile carriers in the country you are planning to visit. Once you collect this information, it will be easier to proceed ahead with the selection of plans.

Enquire about the different plans

When it comes to taking packs, there is no ‘one size fits all’ kind of practice. Hence, when you talk to the customer care executive of the mobile carrier company be clear about the purpose for which you want the roaming international SIM card. The carrier company will then offer you a customized package based on your requirements. Remember, customization is the key here.

Go for a Dual SIM Phone

If you wish to keep your original number as well, it would be a good idea to keep a dual SIM phone. Keep the original SIM in one socket and the international SIM in the other.

If your requirements are limited in the sense that you require SIM card purely for calling purposes then Ajura offers the best deals by which you’re roaming bills can reduce by a whopping 80 to 80 percent which is absolutely wonderful. So, just opt for a carrier like this by which you will be able to roam about freely without worrying about long roaming bills.

How to pick the right international SIM card? #travel

January 6, 2017 Lifestyle

A Complete Guide To Arranging Snacks For Your Kid’s Birthday Party

A guide to help arrange for snacks in kid's birthday party

So, your kid is going to have the birthday soon and you want to make everything arranged for the party. While the decorations are going on, it is necessary that you carefully decide and arrange the snacks for the kids. The food is something that makes the kids the happiest living soul on earth. Especially, when the food is delicious. Hence, if you really want to win their hearts, then, pick the right snacks for them.

The first and foremost thing you need to do is ensure that the birthday cakes delivered at the right time. Also, make sure that there is enough cake for all the kids in the party. If one is not enough, then it is better to order more to ensure the availability. After all, you don’t want a few kids to roam around robbing other kids for cake right!

Kids birthday party

Now, when you are done with the first step, let’s move ahead and plan other things for snacks.   

  1. Make a List Of The Possible Snacks

The taste of kids is pretty different from you. They like food items that you don’t eat due to your health-conscious nature. So, it is better to prepare a list of all the possible snacks that would be good for the kids. Well, “good” means “favorite” here! Items like sandwiches, rolls, wafers, popcorn, cheese balls, burgers, refreshing juice and other items. Try to keep it as healthy and tasty as it could be. For instance, you can avoid the soft drinks and offer orange or other fruit juice for the kids. However, you can lose the strict diet for the kids for one special day. Allow them to have French fries and pizzas.

  1. Get The Containers And The Serving Material 

Now, when you know what you want to serve, it is time to get the items required to serve them. You will require containers and boxes to keep all the snacks safe on the day. Plus, the serving plates, spoon, glasses, and napkin are the essentials here. It would be better to keep the serving plates and glasses disposable. The kids can’t handle the heavy plates and glasses. Plus, it increases the chances of unwanted messy situations. Having disposable serving materials will ease your efforts too after the party. 

  1. Provide Proper Seating Arrangements

Proper seating arrangements are required, so that, kids can comfortably have their snacks at one place. This reduces the chances of too much mess after the party. However, you can’t expect the kids to be less naughty on a birthday party. They will have fun and it’s okay. But proper seating helps a lot for their comfort too.

So, you need to have the cake delivery, prepare a list of snacks, get the disposable serving materials, and arrange proper seating for the kid’s party.

Keep all of these points in mind and follow accordingly. Hopefully, it will help you arrange the snacks better for the party. One last thing, enjoy with kids!

A guide to help arrange for snacks in kid's birthday party

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Ruby is an avid writer, who writes on a wide range of topics such as Health, Travel, Home Decor, Food, Beauty and much more. She has been writing on these topics for years now.

December 26, 2016 Lifestyle

8 Questions To Ask When Booking A Family-Friendly Hotel This Holiday Season

8 TIPS ON HOW TO BOOK A FAMILY - FRIENDLY #HOTEL THIS #SEASON

Ah, Christmas – the most wonderful time of the year where families are brought together. The ice-cold holiday season paves the way for family members to snuggle in their cosy homes, sing beautiful Christmas carols, exchange presents, and share a warm banquet next to a comforting fireplace. While most families stick to their annual Christmas traditions, others try to make the remaining days of 2016 memorable by going on a vacation, seeing new and exciting views, and dwelling in their temporary homes – hotels.

Family-friendly hotel

Just remember that not all hotels are the same. If you’re travelling with kids, it’s a no-brainer to look for a family-friendly hotel for accommodation. Clearly, something that says “intimate and romantic” and “off-limit to children” aren’t ideal for a family accommodation. But aside from these common red flags, how will you know if the hotel you’re going to book is a family-friendly one? Before signing your family up, start asking these 8 questions.

 8 tips on how to book a family-friendly hotel this Holidayseason

  1. How is the ambience?

Hearing a symphony of jackhammers next door is the last thing you’d want in your holiday vacation. What will make it worse is the old air-conditioning unit that doesn’t help to cool the air. No matter how beautiful the interiors are, all will fail when the ambience sucks. Always ask for the things you’d see, hear, feel, and smell during your stay, whether it’s good or bad.

   2.   Is there a free wi-fi?

Free internet connectivity is a holy grail for teens and tweens. You’d love them to update their social media status with real-time photos and message their friends regarding the fun they’re having, but you’d also don’t want to destroy your budget. Most hotels have free wi-fi in the foyer but try to look for the ones that include connectivity in the rooms as well.

  1. Where is the hotel located?

It’s not just about what’s in there but about where it’s located. When boredom strikes, your kids have no choice but to open their gadgets and get lost in the virtual world. Hotels close to places kids love to visit, such as children’s museums, amusement parks, water parks, beaches, restaurants, and shopping malls not only provide entertainment but also promote quality family time, which is the essence of a family vacation.

  1. What are the activities and attractions?

Apart from nearby attractions, check if the hotel offers fun activities and amenities kids and teens will enjoy during their stay. Modern hotels usually come with swimming pools, bowling alleys, carnival rides, and high-tech video games. Also, some hotels offer in-house camps for kids, like arts and crafts, book readings, and cooking workshops that keep the kids entertained every minute of the vacation, and parents relaxed.

  1. What are their dining options?

Do they offer free breakfast? How about a lunch buffet?  Are there nearby restaurants? Do they have special menus for the kids’ taste buds and tiny serving sizes? Do kids receive meal discounts?

Nothing beats a satisfied appetite and gut while making parents’ wallets happy. Look for lodging establishments that offer great dining options as well as discounts for kids. One of the hotels where “kids eat free” is Holiday Inn. The hotel offers free meals up to four kids aged 12 and under at any on-site restaurants. The family-friendly hotel also lets the kids stay free.

  1. Do kids have other special discounts?

Well, they should. Discounts for kids are pretty, common. Some hotels make parents even happier by offering a “kids stay and eat free” policy. Settle for hotels that give generous discounts for your little ones. Apart from offering discounted lodging and meals, some hotels even sell discount tickets to major theme parks and other diversions in the area.

  1. Are there family-friendly packs and services?

If you have young children, this is a must-ask question. There are hotels with toy boxes upon request, just in case your little boy forgot to bring his monster truck. If you need some alone time with your partner, check to see if there are babysitting services, which is a very common service at resort hotels.

  1. Can our pet stay?

A pet-friendly hotel is a family-friendly hotel. Max, the golden retriever, is family and family means no one gets left behind. And besides, your kids will surely pull a tantrum if you leave Max at home.

Numerous hotels allow pets but there are fees and sets of rules you should comply with. Hotels limit the number of pets allowed per room. Most of them allow only one pet per room while others may allow up to three. And since your pet is a family member, expect to pay for his/her accommodation. The price varies, though there are hotels that allow pets to stay free.

Author:

Carmina Natividad is a writer who has always been passionate about giving in to her wanderlust and collecting mementoes from different places. She also enjoys writing for Holiday Inn Parramata, a modern hotel in Western Sydney known for their exceptional accommodation, service, and location, which appeals to travellers in Australia.

8 TIPS ON HOW TO BOOK A FAMILY - FRIENDLY #HOTEL THIS #SEASON

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December 9, 2016 Lifestyle

Mobile Technology is Transforming Tourism Industry

#mobile #technology is transforming #tourism industry

Mobile Technology is Transforming Tourism industry. How do you Retain the Lead and Grow?

Transformation in the Tourism Industry

There are several factors that have transformed the tourism industry. One such factor is, of course, that of technology which is common to all the other factors that include the ease of transportation, the ease of booking, the Internet of course and the mobile devices. It is the digital transformation brought on by the challenge from the mobile devices that has totally changed the way we look at the tourism and travel sector today.

Cruise in tourism industry

What makes this last factor unique is that this is not an option. If you wish to remain competitive it is imperative that you embrace this technology. Today everyone is a traveller, whether he/she is a millennial or a pensioner. While the millennial will look for adventure sports, the pensioner will look for cruises. But, everyone is now using the digital device for accessing all forms of information prior to the trip, while comparing different offers, checking out the opinions offered by previous travellers as well as carrying out activities related to the reservation of tickets and hotels. They will also book tickets for various shows, museums and theatres.

When the trip is over, reviews will be added so that other travellers will make use of them before their trip. In a majority of cases, a mobile device will have been used to do all the above. For someone in the travel and tourism sector, one can either be proactive or reactive. Therefore, one can either offer new possibilities that have not been thought of before or incorporate newer technologies that help cater to the needs of the customer. Owing to this, tourism as well as hotel companies are not only putting all their web functions in the mobile format but are today willing to create new experiences that have been designed especially for users of mobile devices.

The Digitization Challenge

The digitization challenge has changed the rules of the game. The customer is central to the theme in every phase of activity as he moves up from surfing the net to finally booking the tickets or the reservation for the hotel.

  • While seeking information prior to the trip most users will check the Internet before reserving the trip or booking the hotel room. This demands that the site is designed to be responsive to the needs of the customer. It is also imperative that all the content is easily accessible to mobile devices. Recommendations are also checked in a like manner.
  • Checking in or out of the hotel or a flight is a process that irks most travellers. This is yet another area where an online facility can save both time and the paperwork besides helping in improving the internal management of the company. It is also true that in some cases an online checking in will save you an additional cost.
  • There is considerable anxiety to ensure security in personal and financial data. It is, therefore, a challenge to offer a highly secure solution that is also effective both in cases of online reservation or purchase.
  • Today many apps have been thrown up in respect of tours and hotels. It is now feasible for the user to have customised mobile services as per one’s preferences.
  • We are now evolving to the concept of smart cities wherein beacons give out information related to tourism and hotels, weather and culture or transportation among other services.
  • Free mobile connectivity may now be available throughout the city or at least in central areas, hotels, airports and restaurants.
  • There are chains that offer devices such as smartphones or tablets to their customers during their stay either for a small fee or free of any charge.
  • There are apps that are focused on specific sectors such as the entertainment or the tourism sector and in cases narrower sectors that may include hiking or scuba diving or even ornithology and a family based tourism with kids.
The emerging trend of mobile apps in travel and tourism industry – Why Mobile Apps are becoming increasingly popular in the industry?

Mobile technology and Technologies like tour management software is fast transforming the tourism and hotel industry. It is necessary for all those in this segment to use the mobile device for expanding their business and retaining leadership.

*/ Preethi Vagadia is a business architect. She has worked in Mortgage and Finance software department with top-notch companies and has over 8 years of experience in Mortgage Technology, Mortgage lending software management etc. She has also worked on several process improvement projects involving multi-national teams for global customers in warranty management and mortgage. /*

#mobile #technology is transforming #tourism industry
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