1 . Some websites help make our travel easier! The following are some of them. You may find one very useful before you start your journey.

Home Exchange

You list your house on the site, find another house where you’d like to stay, and contact the house owner to see if he or she wants to exchange homes. This exchange system lets you live like a local in a comfortable house or apartment instead of a tiny and expensive hotel room. In addition, you needn’t pay any accommodation fees!

Tripadvisor

It is the biggest online community of travelers and also the first stop for vacation planners. Not only can you book flights, hotels, car rentals, and get tickets for scenery spots here, but you can also get reviews and tips from other travelers. The destination guides on Tripadvisor are often much better than the expensive guidebooks in a bookstore.

Yapta

Yapta stands for Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant. Yapta reminds you when the price for a particular flight drops. It can do it even after you purchase your tickets, giving you a chance to get a refund (退款) of the difference from the airline. If you prefer, Yapta will bargain (讨价还价) with the airline on your behalf for a $15 fee.

Roomorama

Roomorama is a website for short-term rental website. With its large choice of house listings worldwide, you can find whichever house suits your needs. Whether you’re looking for a single bedroom or a large apartment, Roomorama has that all covered! It also provides a unique and secure payment system to keep your money secure. Roomorama can only hand over the payment code (密码) to the host until you check in.

2 . Sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck Tickets

From $20.10

Lowest Price Guarantee 1 to 11 hours

See the beauty of Hong Kong from above by visiting Sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck. Pre-booking admission means you’ll guarantee your entry and avoid waiting in long lines to purchase tickets. Get 360° views of Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong’s top landmarks. If you work up an appetite, you don’t have to leave, as there’s even a restaurant on site - Café 100 by The Ritz-Carlton.

Hong Kong International Airport Plaza Premium Lounge

From $66.19

Lowest Price Guarantee 3 to 12 hours

After arriving in Hong Kong, relax and unwind with hot showers, delicious food, and wireless Internet access before taking off on your departing flight with this Hong Kong International Airport Plaza Premium Lounge access. Customize your choice based on your layover to be sure there’s plenty of time to decompress and refresh before departure. Enjoy amenities such as hot food, beverages, wireless internet connection, and shower facilities.

Hong Kong Street Food Tour with a Local: 100% Personalized & Private

From $154.96 Price varies by group size

Lowest Price Guarantee 4 hours

Get your bearings of Kowloon and taste your away around the city on this exciting Hong Kong night markets and street food tour. Take the stress out of getting lost by having a guide to lead the way. You’ll explore small side streets and night markets in Mong Kok and learn local secrets that you wouldn’t find out about otherwise. Your guide will advise you on the best local dishes to try, and you’ll enjoy 6-8 food tastings.

Brush Calligraphy Class / Chinese Ink Painting Class

From $65.32 Price varies by group size

Lowest Price Guarantee 1 hour 30 minutes

Art Connect and Communication is an institution that integrates art creation and cultural teaching. It hopes to create more diversified products with art and provide relevant courses to different people. ART CONNECT connects life with art, and affects life with life. We provide a variety of Chinese cultural experiences and exchanges. We provide the four Chinese arts of “Qin Qi, Calligraphy and Painting”, including cultural experiences such as guzheng, Chinese chess, calligraphy, and Chinese painting, to promote Chinese culture to people from different counties.

3 . Traveling along the old Silk Road can be a quite interesting and rewarding experience. Here is some information that the visitor should consider when planning a possible travel on the road.

Language. While traveling along the road, the visitor can meet with about 20 different nationalities.     1    . However, Some ethnic groups began learning Mandarin（普通话）and adopted the lifestyle of the Han people. Chinese became the official language in the autonomous regions.     2    .

Accommodations. The Silk Road spans most of China, from modern cities in the central China to villages and towns in the remote west. Accordingly, accommodations along the route range from high standard hotels to simple guesthouses.

In big cities like Dunhuang, Urumqi, Lanzhou, the visitor can enjoy high standard hotels. They all provide excellent conditions, good services and they are quite safe.     3     . Visitors without money may consider the cheaper guesthouses because these guesthouses with simpler equipment and basic service are fit enough to live in for most Chinese travelers. In the remote villages, only simple accommodations are available.     4    

Travel by Road. Buses are the most inexpensive method of transport along the Silk Road but, unfortunately, they are very slow.     5     . A travel by car can be the only way to visit sites far from cities or towns that would otherwise be hard to reach. Rental prices are based on the number of days and kilometers traveled, and sometimes they can be negotiated（协商）.

5 . Some best places to go in Shanghai

The Bund

1.3 miles to city center

Type: Free, Neighborhood/Area，Sightseeing

Time to spend: 1 to 2 hours

Shanghai’s picturesque waterfront, known as “the Bund,” is where you’ll find those classic skyline photo opportunities. With the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the Shanghai World Financial Center and other skyscrapers standing across the Huangpu River, the view stuns. And behind you, attractive European-style buildings housing restaurants and shops line the waterfront boulevard, affording plenty of activities.

Shanghai Museum

0.2 miles to city center

Type: Museums, Free, Sightseeing

Time to spend: 2 hours to half day

Located on the People’s Square near Nanjing Road, the Shanghai Museum is hard to miss thanks to its distinct architecture and remarkable size. And you really shouldn’t skip this historical gem. Frequently called one of the best museums in China, this expansive museum houses a diverse collection of artifacts that chart the nation’s history. Highlights include ornate calligraphy, beautiful jade carvings, thousand-year-old bronze works and traditional Chinese garb.

Zhujiajiao

26.3 miles to city center

Type: Free, Neighborhood/Area

Time to spend: half day to full day

This ancient water town, the Venice of Shanghai, saw its heyday during the Ming Dynasty, when its success as a commercial hub resulted in the construction of its picturesque waterways. The area remains composed of numerous canals with bridges connecting visitors to scores of charming narrow streets. Expect to find tiny cafes down back alleys, friendly boatmen offering rides and hole-in-the-wall shops selling souvenirs.

Nanjing Road

0.9 miles to city center

Type: Free, Neighborhood/Area, Shopping

Time to spend: 2 hours to half day

Whether or not you have money to bum, consider visiting Nanjing Road to witness the hustle and bustle of Chinese commerce. The Shanghai equivalent of New York’s Fifth Avenue, Nanjing Road stretches six miles total and boasts retailers from all over the world in addition to local shops and department stores. In the daylight, you’ll admire the graceful architecture of the surrounding buildings. At night, you’ll be surprised at the beautiful logos and brand names that line the avenue.

6 . I was born in Venice, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy, and studied designing at university here. Though I have also spent time away, I have always come back because it’s my home.

In Venice, there are no roads, only canals, so you have to get around on foot or by boat. I live on a canal in the Rialto area in a house that was built in 1588 for the Muti family, who were businessmen in the silk trade. In the mid-eighteenth century, it was home to the Vezzi family, who made things like plates and bowls in fine china and became rich by sending these around the world. These businessmen’s houses in Venice are like palaces. Their owners had to have space to show off their goods, but the building also had to be an office, a factory, a store and a home. My house came into our family in 1919, when it was bought by my grandfather. He died before I was born but he was the director of a museum where I often do research on old documents. On some of these, I’ve seen notes in his handwriting, so, in a way, I met him through these documents.

Sadly, the population of Venice has dropped from 120,000 in the 1950s to about 60,000 now. This doesn’t include the thousands of tourists who come to visit. I welcome the tourists but unless something is done to stop everyday shops like bakeries from disappearing, the city will die. I want people who love the city to come here to live and work and give Venice back a life that is not just about tourism.

8 . One of the best advantages of technological advancements is the fact that it has given us so much more freedom in the way we work. That so many jobs can be done remotely means you can travel and work from anywhere you want in the world. Here are some of the best cities to live and work in.

Tallinn, Estonia

Often overlooked as a tourist destination, Tallinn has become known as Europe's next Silicon Valley. Not only that, it is absolutely amazing. The Old Town has been named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is full of Gothic architecture and lots of historical landmarks.

Budapest, Hungary

Budapest is an ideal city for anyone who is crazy about wandering. It has a diverse culture, delicious and affordable food, and best of all, a low cost of living compared to other major cities. Its Neo-Renaissance architecture has made it one of Europe's most beautiful cities.

Da Nang, Vietnam

Unlike large cities like Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, Da Nang's advantage is that it is still pretty unknown to many people. That means there are fewer tourists while still providing the same attractions of a big noisy city. Enjoy the most delicious food, buy fresh coconuts on the beach, and rent a motorbike and drive over Hai Van Pass.

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon is becoming popular as a co-working community, and it's clear why so many flooded into this city. With 300 days of sunshine each year, unbelievable nightlife, and delicious food, there are certainly worthwhile places to spend your time at. Lisbon has a growing tech scene but is still very leisurely.

10 . Life Outside London: Five Reasons to Visit the North of England!

Most people when visiting England will go to London. In fact most people don't even know much about England outside of London. It makes sense. It's the capital. There are lots to se there. However, as a northern girl, from a place just between Manchester and Liverpool, and a university student in Sheffield. I'd say the north is well worth a visit, and definitely as good if not better than London! Here are five reasons:

Friendliness

Northerners will chat to you on the bus, say hello in the streets and won't think you're crazy if you smile at them when you walk past. Friendly northerners might also call you "duck" or "love" don't worry, they call everyone that.

Gravy

Now although Southerners have gravy (a delicious meaty sauce that goes well with everything), they don't do it properly. You haven't lived until you've tried chip-shop chips swimming in gravy.

Beautiful Countryside

We have the Peak District, and the Lake District. They're both absolutely beautiful and definitely worth a visit. We also have some pretty amazing beaches too.

Excellent Party Cities

We have Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield You can't go wrong if you want to go on a night out here.

Low Cost

The same night won't cost you anywhere near as much up north! In London you can pay over for a pint, which is outrageous! For some reason, everything up North is cheaper, from food to drink to getting around, you can't go wrong when you're spending less money.

There are lots of lovely things to see in the North, so if you can brave the weather being a bit colder and wetter, it's definitely worth a trip.