Wednesday 26 September 2012

My Trip to Milan Fashion Week: The Appy Affair

This year’s Milan Spring 2013 Fashion Week has seen curtains with Armani and Cavalli putting up their showdowns on the last day. No, I’m not gonna talk about the apparels and saucy and flamboyant designs exhibited there. Instead, my concern, as always, is more related to travelers who have been there for this fashion fiesta. Being an ardent traveler, I can empathize with itchy-feets for the hassles in dealing with people with lingual and cultural diversities that they have to deal with during their stay in the country.

I could still remember the first time I visited Milan for a family hangout. It was one memorable timeout. But it wasn’t all well everywhere. We missed on so many exciting fun places just because we had scarce info about those. Yeah, I admit, I screwed it big-time by opting for those maps and guidebooks. My bad, I know.

However, I took control before it got totally berserk and used my smartphone to rescue us. I was never that tech-savvy, but my 9-year old told me about the travel apps I could use to make things better. I surfed through the App Store, and Eureka, I’ve got my solution bundled in those miniaturized pieces of software. I checked out the travel section and found many travel apps there. Although it took me some time and research to pick the best app, but later I realized that all that time was worth spending. Having downloaded many travel-related apps on my mobile, exploring Milan became a cake walk. Since then, I’m a strong proponent of having useful apps on phone. So cheerio folks

Tuesday 18 September 2012

Your Cultural Visit to Paris: What Should be There in Your Knowledge Kit




 When it’s about ranking cities on the basis of their completeness in terms of cultural opulence and modern outlook, there’s hardly anyone who wouldn’t name Paris in that list. The majestic French capital gets massive footfall from pleasure travelers, students, business travelers, alike. In fact, Paris is no less than a gold mine for culture and art aficionados. One can find several art exhibitions in Paris at any given point of time. It has a lot to offer to the world, but the critical question is are you ready to embrace it? Are you sure the next time you’re planning a visit to Paris you wouldn’t let lack of language be a handicap? Have you made plans to do away with that perplexing sign language that might have its own characteristic cultural implications?

If you’re also one of those super-curious souls who’re looking forward to read the story of the development of the mankind through those artifacts, the here are a couple of advices for you:

  • Avoid using those hard-to-carry travel guidebooks, as in addition to being bulky, they’re usually not well-updated. Instead, go for smartphone or tablet apps. These apps are generally more affordable, and reliable than those obsolete manuscripted accounts.
  • Since big cities are cultural melting-pots, it’s always sensible to have a hands-on knowledge of different languages. You should get apps that can address your different travel-related needs with adequacy.
  • Try hands on the demo versions of some language apps, and go for the one that doesn’t make you a language expert but lets you converse smartly with people there.

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Global Travel Market : Apps are the New Genie Lamps


With the Globe condensing into a small yet profoundly wired village, the travel industry has grown leaps and bounds. These days, the travel paraphernalia doesn’t only include travel gears, and some guide books, but it’s also about enriching smart devices with an umpteen number of apps that’ll come handy for users in their bid to explore the world.

Smartphone and tablet apps have emerged as saviors, and turn the world travel market right on it’s head. These bite-sized pieces of software have literally shrunk the information to best fit in to the people’s pocket. Not just that, the revolution doesn’t confine only to delivering information concisely, but also making sure that it’s available at super affordable prices.

Travel apps is an umbrella term that includes multitude of other apps under its ambit like Travel Info Apps, Language Apps, Apps for finding Hotels and other facilities, among many other intriguing verticals. It’s just a matter of finding the best that suits both your wallet and needs equally. It’s recommended to go through the app descriptions properly before making a purchase. In addition, a sound analysis of the Demo Version (if any) is recommended before opening your wallet to any app.

Monday 3 September 2012

Hugo Award: A Snapshot



Hugo Award: A Snapshot


Are you concerned that your scientific fantasies and stargazes have to die a usual fainting death? Well, you should start penning those fantasies as organically-linked thoughts in a book, and who knows you might get a nomination for the coveted Hugo Awards. Established back in the year 1955, Hugo Awards recognizes science fiction works in around a dozen categories. It’s not just about the written pieces, but dramatic works also fall under its ambit.

Hugo Award is given out by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), and it’s christened after Hugo Gernsback, a prolific science fiction writer, renowned for his cult fiction magazine Amazing Stories. The society acknowledges popular works in English which have been published in the past calendar year. Since it’s all about fiction and fantasies, the nominations understandably have no pre-defined criterion.

This year, Jo Walton, bagged the award for her work “Among Others” in the highly-anticipated Best Novel category. However, the grapevine had it that George R. R. Martin would be the clincher, but Jo Walton edged him out. although his widely popular “Game Of Thrones” did manage to grab the best in the Long Form category.