Rofi HOWEVER there was a move (which surfaces oclasionalcy and then gets quietly strangled) to get internet airlines to give a cooling off period on their sites. My wife has a skincare website and there, if someone makes a boo-boo basically they ring up or email and change/ ammend/ cancel the order no problem. With airlines, once you press the button, that's it and we could be talking serious money if it is a cancellation that is made just a few moments later. (Daren may want to pick up on this). With legacy airlines, you may choose to book through an IATA agent who can usually hold a reservation at least for a short while the fare may change (usually not dramatically) but your reservation is held. Further, many airlines, through an agent, will give you 24 or even 48 hours (or in some cases longer still I have held a CAT45 (warehouse/ consolidated/ cheapo how you wish to describe it) fare on a middle east airline for a whole week) yes, there is a fee, but if one is not 100% sure it can be helpful (and it was cheaper then the expedia's so-called special fares which are ruddy expensive, bleat, bleat )

Patricia I agree that Tweeting constantly (or spdnnieg too much time on other types of social media, in net cafes or taking video/photos constantly, as Inga says) can be detrimental to your experience. However, I think Twitter can be a great tool for finding out about things happening in the places you visit and for meeting other travellers that you might not otherwise get to. We tend to shed our inhibitions a bit more online. So I think it needs to be balanced, not necessarily eliminated all together. I find it hard to limit my Twitter usage when at home hopefully travel will make this easier. Though I just bought a netbook today for our upcoming travels I'm hoping to just use during rest time. Maybe easier said than done?

Godza You're just winding me up, aren't you, Darren? Twitter has aloelwd me to make connections out there in the world that I'd not have made otherwise, I could easily write the contrary post on Why Twitter Makes Your Vacation Better. Yes, you should unplug. Yes, you should turn off your damn phone. Yes, you should talk to locals. Yes, if you have a tech addiction, you should be mindful of how that's eating your free time. But all things in moderation. Your camera can cause the same problem you can be addicted to taking pictures and not really SEE. You'll ruin your own vacation with your obsessions, no matter what they are, if you can't chill long enough to enjoy yourself. Twitter is no more or less at fault than any other distraction that you can't set down long enough to be where you are.

Gisse Additional to my post last night I can only image, low cost holidays bokoed your holiday arrangements the same way that Travel Republic do. The fact that you say low cost holidays bokoed Supplier Failure Insurance/Cover Insurance' on 16th December 09, is odd. Maybe this is why the Supplier Failure' is not covering you even if you bokoed before that date. The 16th is the date of the fail. Bad business policy all round if you ask me. I would go to ABTA for some ansers. ATOL are not going to cover you because of they way low cost bokoed your travel arrangements.

Bright Hi all, I got a phone call from Lowcost Holidays, to say that it was indeed tough luck and that they were in no way rpossneible for my holiday flights with F.G.S. but would return the cost of accomadation transfers etc .Then asked me if i wanted to book another holiday with them ..Erm NO!!!! i still find it hard to believe their attitude they took my money they booked the flights and accomadation as well as transfers etc .I never even knew whow i was flying with until two days before the collapse but as for ATOL yes they are protected but the customer is not i feel they need to address the website as anyone can be misled into thinking as a customer you are ATOL and ABTA protected .their get out clause is held within the reams of small print. To say im dissapointed is an understatement .

Mirna Wow Dave!Thank you so much for your kind words! I wish I was as fluent in English as you are. English not being my first lgungaae, I have a hard time expressing my thoughts appropriately (I love your appropriate adult beverage' Your blog post inspired me to start a page about nifty English expressions I learn along the way. Your adult beverage will obviously be the first entry!

Galia Wooohooo! Congrats on the bloggiversary, Andy!! Just a coulpe of months after I have gone through mine! Way cool! And still as fresh, thought-provoking, educational and enlightening as ever!! Oh and with some incredible photos taken thus far!! Really enjoying the Flickr stream you have been sharing from Thailand. Just out of this world! Thanks for sharing and congrats again with that huge achievement! Keep it up and for another 5 to 10 years more of successful blogging!!

Alexuus Dean,I live in the tourist mecca of Charleston, SC. Well, aclluaty, I live in Mount Pleasant, which is just over the Charleston Harbor from the Charleston Peninsula. So, I have both perspectives of tourism.Yes, it is nice in early fall when the tourists leave and we locals get our beach back. The locals here like to rent Harley Davidson's, so the sound can get deafening. Jimmy Buffett has a song called, When the Coast is Clear, which speaks poignantly to this point.However, there is another side to the tourists, which is they bring in money. In Charleston's case, which is a tourist attraction to a lot of wealthy snow-birds from the Northeast, they bring in a lot of money. Tourism is the number one industry in Charleston County and if the tourists stopped coming, many businesses would go under. So, as I can surely understand from one aspect, the lack of tourists in Yosemite is nice, I'll bet my paycheck that there are local hotel owners, tour-guides etc., who are hurting from it.The door swings both ways.So, what my wife and I like to do is become tourists in our own town. Of course, we're lucky enough to live in a place where people go on vacation. However, most places in the US have something different to offer. We often take historic tours, go to the beaches, take boat-rides, tour the forts etc., things that the tourists do. That way, it's like we're vacationiong, but we're not spending money on gas or hotels, and we're putting money into the local economy.Moreover, a lot of the places are close enough to ride our bikes to or even run, well except for my wife. She's not a big runner.We still take the occasional trip but when we do, we do like to take eco-friendly trips.Be a tourist in your own town. That's a really green way to be a tourist and most people have no idea what their local communities have to offer, because when most people take vacations, they typically want to go somewhere else.Have a good one. I hope to see you out on the trail.regards,Tom from SCp.s. I have to be honest. I'd never heard of you until about 2 weeks ago, when I saw a replay of your 60 minutes episode from 2004 on 60 minutes on Yahoo!. That led me to checking out your website and your book. Without sounding to sappy, I'd just like to say that your message has gotten me back into running after about a 5 year hiatus and has had a really positive impact on my life in general. Keep it up!

Mas Love your comment about being an ielcunnfe, Andrea. Great way to look at it; it's way too easy to let the world tell us we should keep giving and giving to our kids and others and neglect our own well-being. Great way of seeing how one benefits the other!

Berat I love love love Athleta! I am 6 tall and wear a size 6, I have a horrible time fiinndg yoga pants long enough, but Athleta carries so many different styles in TALL!! My favorites are the Chaturanga pant, and the kickbooty pant. I also own many dresses that flatter my tall build, like the printed pack everywhere dress. I love that the dresses travel so well without having to worry about wrinkling. We make an annual trip to Jamaica and I always buy a few new dresses for the trip!! If I win, I will be buying the Rio Maxi Dress which I have had my eye on for a whilie!