Travel is fun, when you plan things properly. If you have visited many countries, then surely you have made many mistakes such as booking resorts at wrong places or buying costly souvenirs which are easily available in your country. We all make silly mistakes when we visit a new country and there is no need to feel ashamed. What you need to do is make sure that you don’t repeat those mistakes.

When it comes to mistakes, I am not talking about flight or hotel ticket booking blunders. There are many more small oversights that can ruin your vacation. Let’s explore some of the common mistakes that tourists make every year.

No research about the place: You may know the name of the country, its capital and its currency exchange rate, but do you really know the place you are visiting? For example, in India, there are many prepaid taxi booths that charge right amount for a trip, but if you just pick any cab from the road, the driver may charge you double because you don’t know the route to your destination. Similarly, it is important to know the things you can and can’t do in the place you are visiting. For example, taking pictures is prohibited in many religious places.

Over-packing: Never carry too many clothes, because you are going to carry your bags, and if those are too heavy, you will curse yourself. Besides, the airlines charge hefty amount if your luggage crosses the weight limit. Always pack only those things that are necessary for the place you are visiting. For example, if you are going to Tadoba tiger reserve forest and staying at Tadoba tiger resort, then you don’t need to pack a cocktail party dress. It is better to pack a few jeans and t-shirts.

Speaking English only: Try to learn a few sentences in the local language. For example, words of greetings, how to ask for road directions and how to ask the price of something. The more you communicate with the locals in their own language, the more confident you will feel.

Disrespecting the customs: India is a conservative county, and the culture of Indians is very different from Americans. However, that does not mean you can mock or disrespect their culture. For example, Americans enter churches wearing shoes, but in India, you can’t wear shoes in a temple. Respect the rule while visiting any temple in India. After all, you are visiting a new country to understand its culture.

Reading guidebooks only: Guidebooks are for references and they can’t give you all the information about the place. For example, a guidebook may tell you that Taj Mahal is wonderful, but unless you raise your face from the book, can you truly appreciate its beauty?

Booking hotels and flights separately: Take a look at the famous travel portals and you will find that they are offering great hotel + airplane deals. When you book return tickets and also hotel rooms, you can save a few hundred dollars. Besides, it is a hassle free process as you are getting everything from one site.

Interrupting the guide: You can be the history professor in a college, but if you interrupt the guide when he is talking about a historical place, then you are being rude. All the other tourists have paid for the guided tour and by interrupting the guide frequently you are making everyone angry.

So, when you visit a foreign country this year, make sure that you don’t make the mistakes mentioned above. Enjoy nature, history and culture of the place you are visiting and you will feel rejuvenated by the end of your vacation.

If you like traveling to exotic places, check out our Machu Picchu Tours page

So you've decided to hike Machu Picchu? Well great! There's no doubt that you're in for the experience of a lifetime. However, the truth of the matter is that now you've got some additional decisions to make. You see, there's more than one route to arrive to the world-famous Inca site, and even once you've arrived there are a few choices to make as well.

But don't fret! If you're looking to hike Machu Picchu, we've got the information you need to start planning your trip.

Hike Machu Picchu: Arriving to the Site

1. Classic Inca Trail

The Classic Inca Trail is a four-day trek stretching some 42 kilometers along an ancient road built by the Incas themselves. This is undoubtedly the most famous route to Machu Picchu, and it's the one way that offers the opportunity to enter the city through its storied Sun Gate. Frankly, we've got tons of information on the Inca Trail on other pages of our site, so we won't waste too much space being redundant here. Check out these pages for more information on the trail's itinerary as well as for access to an Inca Trail map.

2. One-Day Inca Trail

Whether you're crunched for time or simply don't feel physically up to four full days of trekking, don't fret--a small taste of the world-famous Inca Trail is still available to you! A number of tour companies offer an abridged version of the trek, either one full day of hiking or a shortened day followed by a night of camping and a dawn arrival at Machu Picchu. Besides the Inca Trail's famed destination, the one-day version of the trek also takes you past Wiñay Wayna, another favorite ruins along the trail. The bad news here is that you'll still need to reserve one of only a few hundred daily Inca Trail passes, meaning that, just like the full Inca Trail, you'll need to book this trek months in advance.

3. Lares Trail

Just north of the world-famous Sacred Valley sits the comparatively lesser-known Lares Valley, and whereas the former can be swarmed with tourists especially during the high season, life in the Lares Valley continues humming along relatively unchanged. So whether you're looking for a simpler, more culturally-immersive experience or if you just didn't book an Inca Trail pass in time, the Lares Trail is an excellent option! Lucky for you, we've already gathered plenty of information on the Lares Trail including the trek's daily itinerary and a side-by-side comparison of the Lares and Inca Trails if you're struggling to decide how to hike Machu Picchu.

4. Vilcabamba Traverse Route

Warning--this option is neither for the faint of heart nor the out of shape! The Vilcabamba Traverse Route is one of the newest on the Peru trekking circuit, clocking in at nearly 100 kilometers over the course of a week of trekking. Though very difficult, the route is especially rewarding--think a variety of diverse biomes and the ruins of Choquequirao, often compared to Machu Picchu although less than 40% of the site has been excavated (pictured above). Though visited by only 5,000 or so brave trekkers last year, be warned--the local government is pushing a plan to build a cable car to the site! If you want to see the ruins in their current, undisturbed state, it would be best to go sooner than later.

Hike Machu Picchu: Once You're There

5. Huayna Picchu

Just because you've finally arrived at Machu Picchu doesn't mean your hiking experience has to end! The famous mountain soaring in the background of most iconic Machu Picchu photos is possible to hike, and the experience is certainly recommended. The views from the top are great, and on the way down you can even take a back route to the storied Temple of the Moon. For more information on Huayna Picchu, you can check out this past post on our site.

So that's it for today! If you're planning to hike Machu Picchu and have any questions you'd like to ask us, feel free to reach out in the comments section below. And, if you've already done one of these hikes, feel free to share your experience as well. We appreciate all of your comments!

*Guest Post* Many of my followers ask me how I travel so frequently and how do I manage my budget. I book my flight and hotel through FareoAir deals, I have been using this website for quite some time and I find their deals pretty good and economical. Anyhow, here is a collection of a few destinations which I find the best in terms of cuisine and suggest that you visit them if you are a food lover too.

Morocco

Want to know where you will find the best Berber cuisine? Well go to Morocco as it’s the best place on the planet for Berber cuisine. This means you get to eat your food in ancient medina towns served in tagine fragrant pots with delectable herbal teas. Plus you get to taste some of the North Africa’s freshest sea food.

India

Have you ever tried the spicy veggie Biryani? If no then a visit to India is must in Southern Kerala you will find delicious spicy veggie biryani. In Uttar Pradesh the thali platters of different food will amaze your taste buds and the smoked fish of Nagaland is scrumptious. Indian cuisine is without any doubt the most varied and has the most use of spices in it. It’s the perfect place to tease your taste buds.

Jamaica

We all like fresh food – and honestly speaking who doesn’t like fresh food? If you love fresh food too then Jamaica is the place to be. Stroll down in the Negril early morning an pick fresh plums from the branches of the trees before you settle at a rustic bamboo island hut for some fried salt water fish and ackee with a shot of rum. Delicious isn’t it.

New Zealand

Well the phrase surf and turf is perfect for New Zealand, it’s a strange combination of the finest Oysters from the Pacific Ocean and the highlander lamb cuts in the high-class restaurants of New Zealand with their traditional Maori style cooking. And yes how can I forget their wines, visit the cellars of Otago and you will never want to leave the place again.

Peru

Peruvian food is a true melting pot of multicultural flavors and cultures. In the last few years it has gained a reputation for being one of the finest fares on the culinary list of international favorites. Peruvian food is a little bit chinese, a little bit Japanese, Inca and Spanish thanks to the varied immigrant population of Japanese in this country - even Peru's leader is of Japanese descent. In Peru you can try many dishes like Cuy Asado (guinea pig), Lomo Saltado (the dish below) and Aji de Gallina (a thick testy chicken stew) from our Peruvian Food You Can't Miss on Your Machu Picchu Trip article.

Thailand

No food-lover will forget the food street of Bangkok, with its delicious variety of street food Thailand is another attraction that attracts many food lovers. They sell everything from coconut masaman, to Thai noodle soup and barbequed critters on sticks. Thailand is a place with a very different yet enticing food.

Italy

Yes at last my most favorite destination Italy. There is simply no denying that the Italians gave us the best food in the world Pizza and Pasta. Those crispy cheesy bases from the wooden ovens of Napoli are the best there is no denying in that. The roman kitchens also produce the finest cheese, aromatic coffees, fresh smoked fishes, and ligurian pesto and saffron risottos. All these dishes make Italy one of the best food destinations on the planet.

1. Earthquake of magnitude 3.5 hits Delhi-NCR  Times of India
2. Magnitude 3.4 Earthquake Strikes Delhi, Epicentre Near UP Border  News18
3. 3.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Delhi-NCR, no Casualty Reported  India.com
4. Breaking news live : Eathquake tremors felt in Delhi, adjoining areas  Times of India
5. Earthquake in Delhi: Tremors felt in national capital region  The Financial Express
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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Filed under: Food and Drink, North America, United States

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With their reputations on the line, travel agents Joanne and Gary will tackle any request, no matter how impossible, and any client, no matter how unreasonable. Full of overzealous travelers, overbooked flights, and hoteliers who are just over it, Craving for Travel reminds us why we travel-and everything that can happen when we do.

Continue reading Off-Broadway Comedy 'Craving for Travel' Showcases Travel Agents Trying to do the Impossible

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• This week's most popular movies on Netflix include its original thriller "Dangerous Lies" and "Den of Thieves."
• Netflix introduced daily top lists of the most popular titles on the service in February.
• Streaming search engine Reelgood keeps track of the lists and provides Business Insider with a rundown of the week's most popular movies on Netflix every Friday.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Netflix action movie "Extraction" is pacing to be the streaming giant's biggest movie premiere ever, but it was dethroned this week as the service's most popular movie. Another Netflix original, "Dangerous Lies," stole the crown.

Netflix introduced daily top 10 lists of its most viewed movies and TV shows in February (it counts a view if an account watches at least two minutes of a title).

Every week, the streaming search engine Reelgood compiles for Business Insider a list of which movies have been most prominent on Netflix's daily lists that week. On Reelgood, users can browse Netflix's entire movie library and sort by IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes ratings.

This week's list also includes "Den of Thieves," another movie starring Gerard Butler after his "Angel Has Fallen" enjoyed a few weeks on the list.

But the real winner this week is Netflix itself, as five of the seven movies on the list are Netflix originals. 

SEE ALSO: Insiders say major questions hang over DC Universe as its parent company prepares to launch Netflix rival HBO Max

7. "The Willoughbys" (2020 — Netflix original)

Netflix description: "Four siblings with horribly selfish parents hatch a plan to get rid of them for good and form a perfectly imperfect family of their own."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 89%

What critics said: "Though the film-makers are indebted to Edward Gorey and Lemony Snicket — and pay musical homage to Mark Mothersbaugh's work on The Royal Tenenbaums — they find their own voice, when it counts." — London Evening Standard

6. "Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story" (2020 — Netflix original)

Netflix description: "After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 75%

What critics said: "A moving reflection of what criminal justice reform means in personal terms." — New York Times

5. "Arctic Dogs" (2019)

Netflix description: "When he stumbles upon evil Otto Von Walrus's scheme to melt the Arctic, ambitious delivery fox Swifty assembles a ragtag crew to protect the planet."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 13%

What critics said: "There's really not much to recommend about this film: the animation lacks texture, the score is overwrought, the plotting is scattershot, and the character design is uninspired." — AV Club

4. "Den of Thieves" (2018)

Netflix description: "A highly skilled crew of bank robbers plotting a heist at the supposedly impenetrable Federal Reserve faces off against an elite unit of L.A. cops."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 41%

What critics said: "It often resembles a men's rights bonding weekend more than it does a movie." — Guardian

3. "Extraction" (2020 — Netflix original)

Netflix description: "A hardened mercenary's mission becomes a soul-searching race to survive when he's sent into Bangladesh to rescue a drug lord's kidnapped son."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 68%

What critics said: "Illustrates an important principle in escapist entertainment: you don't have to one-up your predecessors. Sometimes, it's enough to replicate what made them successful." — Newsday

2. "All Day and a Night" (2020 — Netflix original)

Netflix description: "While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 56%

What critics said: "'All Day and a Night' lingers and sometimes meanders in that gray zone, where the story can accrue texture and feeling and emerge as more than the sum of its plot mechanics." — Los Angeles Times

1. "Dangerous Lies" (2020 — Netflix original)

Netflix description: "A broke caregiver unexpectedly inherits her patient's estate, but dark secrets swirl around her newfound wealth, tangling her in deceit and danger."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 39%

What critics said: "Looks like it cost the amount of your monthly Netflix subscription and is as satisfying to watch as it is paying that particular bill." — Globe and Mail

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