So what's the perfect gift for a world traveler? Bags, strollers, or backpacks are overrated I'm sure a traveler would have their favorite bag and they only need one that's durable. If you give them bags, chances are, they'll only use it once. Gadgets are good but then they would easily get lost especially if your traveler is a backpacker. So what's the next best thing? Well, I though of giving my hubby a Casio G Shock Watch. 

 

Don't be surprised if the next time you travel in the US, you'll be subject to a body scanner when previously, that airport doesn't have one. The Transportation Security Administration has announced that nine more airports in the US will receive body scanners. This is in response to the attempted bombing last Christmas. Body scanners are used to detect hidden explosives and other weapons. 

Still fresh from my recent travel, I am now looking into my next travel opportunity: Turkey. But before setting off to my next trip, I have to sit down and google cheap holidays to Turkey. I usually don't book flights and hotels as packages because I could save a lot by searching the cheapest flights and then the cheapest hotels separately but I've been doing some comparisons and when I book a travel package and then combine it with some coupon codes I could actually save more.

I actually found some pretty good deals on cheap holidays in Turkey from Travelsoon.com but the website only offers flights from UK to Turkey. Too bad. However, there's this coupon code from retailmenot.com for Orbitz that gives you $50 off 3 or more nights of flight plus hotel package: 50entertain. This coupon is valid until December 31, 2010. Anyways, my itinerary to Turkey would start with the Temple of Artemis.

Once I get a concrete itinerary I'll share it with you.

So, my first trip to the US was to Los Angeles, beautiful city and great beaches. I want to make the most of my 2 days in California so we planned a road trip from Torrance, California to Las Vegas.

First off, I have to agree when someone says LA traffic is the worst. A normal 30 minute ride would take around one to one and a half hour in traffic. Anyways, so we took interstate 15, I think, going to Las Vegas. I normally sleep during road trips but I have to make this exception because I’m in a foreign country. Well two hours into our road trip, my cousin’s Honda Civic broke down. I think it overheated due to a broken head gasket? I don’t know, I’m not the mechanic type. We broke down in Barstow and since the Los Angeles auto repair shop that my cousin usually goes to is two hours drive away and it would be too long a wait for them to bring in a two truck, it’s a good thing that we broke down near a city.

Anyways, what would have been a usual 6 hour road trip was extended to 10 hours. But I enjoyed LA and we were able to see the Hoover Dam. Just a mental note to self: Never ride a car on a road trip that hasn’t been checked in months.

If you're in Las Vegas, there are a lot of things to do in Sin City other than hit every casinos in the area. This place is hopping with entertainment and every hotel has events or concerts for you.

Bellagio Fountain

Get Yourself to the Bellagio. If you’ve seen Ocean’s Eleven, then you’re familiar with the fountain. There’s a light and sound show with the fountain display every day

Eiffel Tower

Don’t have enough budget to go to Paris? The Eiffel Tower Replica is the next best thing. If you’re on your honeymoon, have dinner at the restaurant on top. The view is breath taking.

The Strip

No visit to Las Vegas is complete without visiting the strip. This is the heart of Las Vegas after all and you can find different shows, activities, or just take in the sights.

National Finals Rodeo

If you’re in Las Vegas in December, watch the National Finals Rodeo. I think this has been feature in CSI Las Vegas? Anyways, you need to have tickets and teamonetickets.com is one of the places you can get NFR Tickets cheap.

Cirque du Soleil

A resident show at the Bellagio. This is no ordinary circus and tickets don’t come cheap but be prepared to be mesmerized.

Las Vegas Marathon

An event held at Mandalay Bay, it’s a 26 mile marathon and an all-day charity event. If you don’t plan on sweating it out and joining the marathon, the day is filled with parties and banquets for non-participants.

I've heard about hotels.com before but I haven't really looked at their service because I thought prices there aren't cheap. Well, I finally tried looking for a hotel at their website and was surprised to find some cheap hotels. Their featured hotels are of course, expensive but just narrow your search and order your results from lowest price to highest and you'll see what I mean.

I got so addicted to their service that I started searching for hotels and then basing my trips on the available dates of these hotels. Of course, if you're a backpacker, I don't think there are any rooms only on hotels.com but then again I haven't checked each and every city so it's worth a shot.

I’ve mentioned before that though I would love to visit the US, I never really thought of living there. However, with news like this, it makes me want to rethink my options. It seems like those who’re thinking of Buying First Home in the United States can get a tax refund from their purchase. This is because of the First-Time Home Buyer Credit. If you recall, the Global Financial Crisis that started around the end of 2008 and throughout 2009 has taken a toll in the real estate business. People are more cautious about buying and the credit freeze has made it harder for those who are looking for new homes to buy one. But thanks to the stimulus plan, new homeowners can get up to $8000 tax credit for their purchase.

The Federal Income Tax Credit has also been expanded to include those homeowners who want to move on from their current home provided that they’ve been living in their current property for 5 years. These home buyers can get up to $6,500 in tax credit. However, because of the extension and expansion of the of the First Time Home Buyer Credit, there’s additional documentation to be submitted. In order to not slow down the issuance of any refund, homebuyers should check out the filing requirements at IRS.

It would be nice to be able to own real estate in the US especially now that their economy is recovering.

Boothbay Harbor, Maine is a region in Maine, USA famous for its maritime New England village scene. Think clapboard homes, boat yards and marinas. The region is very picturesque and those looking for a place away from the city would find Boothbay Harbor to be a very relaxing place.