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Sustainable Travel is an environmentally aware form of travelling the world. It’s all about considering the environment with choices we make and choosing to lessen our impact wherever possible. The whole idea of sustainable travel is to travel the world while lessening the impact of carbon footprint.

It doesn’t have to big changes but little changes here and there can add up to make a difference. Although sustainable travel might seem idealistic it is not. You will soon begin to feel good when you see the positive impact.

Sustainable Travel Tips

Choose a green destination

Doing some research into which countries are more sustainable to visit. By visiting these countries and investing into sustainable and ethical tourism practices you are encouraging other nations to do the same.

Fly Non-Stop

This isn’t the way I would recommend a budget backpacker. By booking a non-stop flight you are helping the world reduce its carbon footprint. Most airplanes use much of the fuel during take off and landing. A non-stop flight will have less take off and landing resulting in fuel savings.

Pack Light

Packing light and travelling light is one of the most sustainable things that we can do. More weight means more fuel and less sustainability.

Use E Tickets

It’s a quite well known fact that we should save paper whenever possible and recycle it after we use it. Using e-tickets through security means using less paper.

Use Public Transport

If you are going to doing a lot of moving around travel destination consider making use of public transport. Instead of using domestic flights use the bus.

Road Trip If you’d rather avoid public transport why not make a little road trip out of your adventure. When travelling with a group of friends this will be more sustainable.

Use bicycle to explore local areas. It’s sustainable and can keep you fit and active as well. This phenomenon can be seen in Europe. 

Get a Refillable Water Bottle

Having access to safe drinking water is not only a backpacking essential but it is also a life essential. If you are backpacking in a country without safe drinking water you can spend less amount on plastic bottles.

Avoid Straws

Straws is again made up of plastic. Avoiding straws can help maintain ecological balance.

Eat Local

A well-known backpacker rule is to eat local or go where locals go. Not only you will find the best food in your area but it will also the cheapest food. However, do not drink locally made liquor. 

Buy Local

Any form of expensive food you will find will either be imported at a great cost and environmental expense. Buying local will reduce the carbon footprint.

Recycle

Recycle wherever you are.

Pick Up Trash

If you are feeling you are going the extra mile why not pick up some trash.

Ask Questions

Ask restaurants, ask hotel or hostels. May be this would help to travel more sustain-ably.

Flip the Switch

Whenever you go in and out of your accommodation remember to flip the switch. This will save much of the electricity. Also, remember to turn off the switch every time you put off the switch.

Avoid Plastic Bags

If you are planning to buy something from super market bring plastic bags with you. In many countries the government has already banned plastic bags. Mass tourism has led to enormous use of plastic which is very bad for the environment.

Minimize Water Usage

In many part of the world water is a scanty resource. Minimize its usage will help to maintain a sufficient water supply for everyone. Therefore, try to use as little water as possible.

Once you start to live a sustainable travel lifestyle it will definitely impact the people around you.

Avoid buying products made from endangered plants/ animals

Do not buy anything from endangered plants/animals. In some countries buying such products is considered illegal. Even if it’s not illegal in other countries it’s ethically wrong to buy such products. 

Learn the local language

Learning the local language is something you need to practice. You will be amazed how learning even a few phrases will change the way locals treat you. 

Travel on marked hiking trails

Marked hiking trails are there for a reason. Once you stick to the path you avoid harming native flora and fauna. 

Take showers not baths

Showers use 10-30 gallons of water while baths use more than 100 gallons. Hence, shower instead of a bath. 

Read Common Backpacker Illnesses And Diseases

Kerala is a special place regarded as God’s own country thanks to its unique destinations, which hold the attention of tourists from around the world. It is known for its numerous hill-stations, commercial cities, hamlets, backwaters, and many more features to explore.

Both natural and man-made and naturally beautiful places fill the landscape making it a paradise. The rest of the things seem inconsequential as it stands out of the rest with its beauty.

It is the place many tourists choose to make memorable vacations especially honeymoon and romantic getaways infrequently. Here are some of the best places to visit if you are in Kerala.

• Alleppey – This is the Backwater Hot Spot

• Bekal – Nothing Less Of paradise on earth

• Guruvayur – A Spiritual Spot recommended by the locals

• Idukki – The undeniable Gem Of Kerala

• Kannur – The Picture Perfect Coastal Town with unique panoramic views.

• Kasargod – A spacious and amazing coast for parties In Kerala

• Kavvayi Backwaters – The Stunning Backwater Landscape for boat riding and all water sports

• Kizhunna Beach – For Complete Solace filled with activities

• Kovalam – For Some family Beach Fun and picnics

• Kozhikode – For Authentic Malabar Cuisine

• Kumarakom – considered the most Tranquil Place in Kerala

• Kuttanad – this is the proud rice Bowl Of Kerala

• Malappuram – this is the Vedic Islamic Philosophy Centre for learning

• Munnar – Perfect For A Romantic Honeymoon

• Munroe Island – designed for an Exciting Canal Cruise

• Palakkad – A true and undisputable Nature’s Delight

• Ponmudi – The Golden Peak of Kerala

• Poovar – The Tropical Stay Paradise for lovers

• Thekkady – For The Love Of Wild game and enthusiasts of the wonder of the world

• Thrissur – Experience Rich Indian Cultural Heritage

• Vagamon – Solitude is Guaranteed here

• Varkala – among the most Scenic Seasides of Kerala

• Wayanad – The Land Of Heavenly Trails for family fun

Here are a few of the best spots in detail;

1. Alleppey

This is the renowned palace of backwater splashes with lots of fun, serene environment, houseboats, and all you would expect by the waters. It tops the list of tourist destinations in Kerala because of its history.

It has expanses of paddy fields, quaint chapels, lakes with water lilies, fishing lakes, and many popular places to check out. Many tourist reviews are positive and give more than a reason to repeatedly visit Alleppey.

Perhaps the fascination of the locals with coconut and banana leaves in almost all their food is another phenomenon everyone wants to see again.

This is a good experience to revisit even if you have been here before. Unlike most other places, you will notice the cobbled pathways and clean roads making you feel unique even within India.

2. Thekkady

This is home to most wildlife in India thanks to the efforts to the preservation of the forests and wild vegetation. You can find the near-extinct animals and the threatened species among the common ones.

The government is keen on preserving the unique species to attract more tourists and continue the generations. For example, rare tigers, gaurs, tailed macaques, and sambars are protected in the sanctuaries and natural habitats. Others include lions, deer, boars, and many elephants.

Most tourists love to see the great Indian tiger, which is also the most protected and favored animal in the Kerala national park. You can also engage in boating on the coastline as a favorite pastime activity here.

3. Wayanad

Wayanad means the land of paddy fields and is situated in Malayalam where you will find the greenest places. The beauty is undeniable by any visitor while the atmosphere is rich in culture and free.

You can spend time enjoying the man-made heritage items with a perfect mix of natural landscapes as the backdrop. You may not find a place richer with culture than Wayanad after experiencing their tribal traditions. There are small, unnamed waterfalls lining the city ruggedly but magnificently.

4. Munnar

If you are looking for a perfect romantic honeymoon spot in all of India, they hilly stations of Kerala are one of the best places to visit. It was once the summer capital of the British thanks to its gradient and alignment of hills designed for tea farming.

To date, there are at least 80,000 miles of tea plantation, which is of equal measure of romantic vegetation and misty valleys. Here you will enjoy the cool weather and low-flying clouds making it the best places in Kerala for a honeymoon.

There are cute bungalows and cozy homes to lodge if you want the lavish lifestyle. It brings back the memories of colonial years to the local elderly population but is luxurious and beautiful to the rest of the tourists.

5. Kumarakom

Kumarakom is located near Vembanad Lake where you can find silence and calm to enjoy a picnic. The background of alluring sceneries is undeniably pleasant to watch especially the flowers.

This is one of the loveliest places to visit because of a good mix of attractions. You can sample everything from backwaters, local delicacies, fresh air from the exotic flora and fauna, the friendly and affable Keralites, to an abundance of fresh coconuts.

Conclusion

Kerala is obviously a place you will want to visit more than once because you cannot find a single visit to satisfy. Choose the best season to visit and enjoy the best moments of Kerala without a hassle.

Read 20 Best Beaches To Visit In Goa

Read Best Things To Do In Thailand

 

YouTube is one of the most popular social media sites today. It is the leading site in video marketing; although other sites like Facebook and Instagram have the same capability, nothing beats YouTube. It is simple to start on the site; only create an account and work on increasing likes on your channel. Increasing likes and growing your YouTube channel is not as easy as it seems; you have to invest time in marketing your channel.  Actually, you begin from identifying a niche and finding interesting and specific information directed at a specific audience. This takes at least a year, depending on your efforts and competitiveness of your niche.

The other option to growing your YouTube channel, which is easy and fast, is using Tube Buddy. Multiple tools are provided for creators in growing likes and popularity on YouTube. YouTube has over 1 billion user accounts and channels, the competition is high; to be visible, you have to distinguish your channel from others. Uniqueness in YouTube is entirely dependent on type of content and SEO strategies implemented on a channel. Tube Buddy combines all these factors using quick links, social monitoring, Facebook uploads, bulk editing among other tools.

Quick Links

As the name suggests, it is a quick option to connect your YouTube channel with other sites on the Internet. Growing a YouTube channel is about marketing; links are an effective way of increasing traffic to your account without your active involvement. With your YouTube channel link to friends’ blogs and professional websites, you increase chances of clicks and likes thus growing your clientele. You can easily navigate to Quick Links on the left dashboard and check on progress with regards to channel traffic. Quick Links offers you an opportunity to view and evaluate previous strategies. Progress report is generated on a weekly basis hence regular analysis and actions where necessary. Apart from analytics, quick links also shows messages, subscribers, playlists, live streaming, and favorite videos.

Canned responses

Irrespective of whether you use YouTube as a professional site or not, it is important to remember it is a social media site. Posting appropriate videos on a regular basis is important but not all; you should be active on the channel to respond to users requests and comments. The fact that it is categorized as a social media platform means it has to be interactive. Do not post videos regularly and fail to comment; also, ghosting on the platform works on the negative in breaks down your channel. The few followers and likes will decrease or varnish because you are not interactive. Tube Buddy allows you to respond fast to every comment, compliment, or complain; canned responses help you to respond fast without typing. Canned responses has a drop down menu where you can easily click and send your response; the drop down menu list is automatically generated from repeated responses.

Bulk edits and removals

The business industry is dynamic, occasionally; you will need to go back to your video posts and change title or something to fit the market. It is important to regularly edit content to suit different trends in the market. If you are serious with your YouTube channel, you must be having countless videos because it is the only form of data on the site. Usually, any minor change should be applied to all videos; this is important for video optimization.  It can take a whole week or more to edit or remove elements on each video; it is often tedious but necessary. Tube Buddy offers bulk tools that allow you to analyze data in form of cards and annotations where you can easily select the targeted parts in every video at once and remove or edit with a single click.

Find and replace

With Tube Buddy, it is now easy to edit content. You can select a specific post and find specific words you need replaced. You don’t have to read the words one by one; find and replace is a quick pop up where you can type in targeted words and words you would wish to replace with. You don’t have to remember exact words, it can pick words and analyze basing on context then suggest replacement options. Optimizing a YouTube channel has never been easier. The user interface is friendly and interesting with regards to colors and fonts. Moreover, you can preview how the text will appear before finalizing on the replacement stage. Other than finding and removing texts; you can append, prepend, replace, and remove texts and links using this add-on. Additionally, you can create templates for efficiency; you don’t have to go through the creation process every time you need to update videos, annotations and cards save you time.

Social Media connections

After optimizing your videos and other posts, Tube Buddy allows you to share the posts on all social media platforms. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Linked In, and Pinterest among others. The share tracker of all these sites are on one screen; it is easy as copying and pasting a video link and sharing on a platform of your choice. Social monitor is also an added function for keeping track of likes and traffic.

Using TubeBuddy is simple and efficient; your YouTube channel can grow within weeks depending on how conversant you are with these tools.

Get Tube Buddy Now 

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Disability impairs people’s ability to do certain things in life. According to WHO, around 15% of the people live with a certain form of disability. Also, 2-4% of people have a major disability in their day to day functioning. 

But, that doesn’t mean disabled people have to abstain from enjoying what life has to offer. Many countries have tried to make their cities disabled friendly. But, only a few have been able to do it. 

1. Berlin

One city that has made progress in this area in Berlin. The capital city in Germany has a very good transport system. The city’s transportation system is one of the most wheelchair (WC) accessible public transport systems in Europe. In addition, the city has a good number of wheelchair taxis and the sidewalks are rollable and walkable for WC users.

Moreover, the city has invested heavily in making its restaurants, museums, and theaters more accessible. Some of the WC accessible places include the Berlin Wall, Museum Island to name a few. Many hotels in Berlin offer roll-in showers.  In 2013, the city was given the Access City Award.  

2. Denver

The second city in our list is Denver in Colorado. This city offers a good public transport system for the disabled.  By using a combination of light rail and bus service the public transport system is able to make the city accessible to WC users. Even the city museums offer special tours for people with hearing defects. The WC enabled taxi is also available. In addition, the sidewalks are rolled able and walkable. The attractions and sights, hotels and airports are also WC friendly. 

3. Singapore

The third city on our list is Singapore. The city has a great transport system. The city provides easy access to WC user in MRT and buses. There are certain WC enabled taxis which has enough space to accommodate the WC.

In addition, the city provides almost step-less access to most buildings.  Furthermore, the main tourist places like Sentosa Island, Marin Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay are WC accessible.  Also, the malls are made accessible to WC users.

4. Milan

The fourth city on our list is Milan, Italy.  Milan has a great transportation system which allows easy access to disabled persons. Apart from that, hotels, museums and other points of interests are disabled friendly.

Also, the city has improved its environment to make life easy for people with sensory impairments.  In 2016, Milan was awarded the Access City Award. This award is given by the European Commission to recognize cities that have made efforts to make life better for the disabled. 

5. Barcelona

A fifth city worth mentioning is Barcelona, Spain.  Barcelona’s public transport system like metros and buses are WC accessible. Plus, the city has WC enabled taxis. The museums cater to partial blind and hearing disabled users. The public toilets are also WC accessible. This city has also made its beaches WC accessible. 

In addition to the above cities, there are many other cities which are also disabled friendly.  

While choosing such cities, warm and dry are better than snow and cold. Also, a city with a good transport system is the first thing people need to look for. Areas that have no transit options makes it hard for people to move around. Moreover, people who own a car can look for some areas that give easy parking options. Further, people also need to look out for whether the city offers more health care options. 

Certain factors that make a place more disability friendly.  

• Wheelchair availability in pavements, public transport, beaches

• Easy availability of taxis, toilets, restaurants, shopping marts and points of interest.

• Easy accessibility of hearing equipments and braille system.

Thus, cities can be more disabled-friendly by having some good infra. Another point to consider is whether there is good social inclusion for the disabled. For instance, the ease with which a disabled person can access a job can also boost the disabled friendliness of a city.

Additionally, the use of modern tech and apps can also make a city friendly for the disabled. For example, the use of apps like Wayfindr helps blind to navigate. Tech can go a long way in making lives better for the differently abled.

Read 7 Tips To Stay Fit As Travelers

Read Airport Etiquette For Travelers