To Malaysia

This post is sponsored by Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysia Airlines is offering travelers great deals to over 100 destinations including Europe, India, China, Africa, Australia and many more locations across six continents. The Global Deals, Dream Getaway campaign presents something attractive for everyone. The promotion kicks off from May 3 – May 18, 2011 (booking period) for the travel period of May 3, 2011 until March 31, 2012. Visit their daily deals page: Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Air is offering great deals for business and economy classes around the world--including departures from Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and London. With flexible travel periods until March 31, 2012, as well as competitive fares, it’s more tempting to travel to Malaysia and other destinations. With so many wonderful travel memories from Malaysia, I'm looking at planning a vacation away (though I need to check on personal funds (would anyone like to sponsor me?)). While I may not be able to afford the trip, I know a few people who are still in Asia that may want to take advantage of this offer.

All promotional airfares are for one-way economy or business class travel on Malaysia Airlines and includes airfare, airport tax, fuel surcharge, insurance and administrative fees. For a complete list of destinations and fares please log on to www.malaysiaairlines.com. MasterCard Worldwide is the official card of the Global Deals, Dream Getaway. MasterCard cardholders who charge their eligible cards on Malaysia Airlines’ ticket purchases will stand a chance to bring their partner to an exclusive "Priceless Moment" event at the end of the year. Those looking for exciting holiday packages, for both international and domestic destinations, can choose from the wide range of “Global Deals, Dream Getaways” bargains from MASholidays.

MASholidays, the travel and tour arm of Malaysia Airlines offers packages to over 59 destinations on Malaysia Airlines’ extensive network. All packages are inclusive of return airfare on economy class, airport transfers (selected destinations), hotel accommodation and breakfast. MASholidays’ tours and packages can be booked online at http://holiday.malaysiaairlines.com or through its hotline at +603-7863 4000/4040 or for enquiries please email masholidays@malaysiaairlines.com

Reasons I Need a Job

This post is sponsored by Alaska Denali Tours

As anyone who reads this blog can tell, I love to travel. I particularly enjoy adventures centered around culture and nature. Vacations are more enjoyable when the two are combined.

A few years ago, my family took a cruise to Alaska for my grandfather's birthday. It was definitely cool going fishing in Juneau, canoeing near Skagway, and hiking through Tongass National Forest in Ketchikan. Unfortunately, the cruise only included the Inside Passage, but it whetted my appetite for more Alaska travel.

Now that Jia is a permanent resident and can travel anywhere in the US, I've been thinking of where I'd like to take her. I know she'd enjoy seeing Alaska, and I'd like to see more of it. One of the places I'd like to travel to next time is Denali National Park.

Searching through AlaskaDenaliTours.com, I can plan a great trip to Alaska (not just Denali). They have a lot of options that sound really nice. There are so many options on the site that I may have to reconsider convincing Jia to move to Alaska (not an easy task--I've already tried). It's either that or we better start making a lot of money because those trips up north aren't cheap. But at least I now know there are options for us when we decide to travel Alaska.

Time for a Vacation

This post is brought to you by Riverbend Angler Resort

Although it's been nice relaxing for an extra week due to the error in class scheduling, I'm already looking forward to this summer's break. Unfortunately, because my university is from the north of China, we're on the northern schedule. This means we get a longer winter break and a shorter summer, which is almost torture in the heat and humidity of Shenzhen.

One place I've wanted to visit for some time is Montana (and it has nothing to do with that kid of Billy Ray Cyrus). Montana vacation rentals do sound like an intriguing getaway. It seems like a bit too much luxury for adventure in the outdoors, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who would love some nature from the comfort of a cabin equipped with a 50-inch plasma TV. Personally, I'd enjoy the Bighorn River fly fishing--although I've only tried fly fishing once.

The Web site for the Montana cabin rentals and vacation packages is rather interesting. They provide some useful information about the area, including history of Fort Smith. The sire is easy to navigate and loads quickly (even on a slow connection from China Telecom). Unfortunately, I doubt I'll scrape up enough money by July to rent a cabin out there. If I'm lucky, I might persuade my wife to go camping--but that's not likely either. I suppose I'll just have to keep dreaming of my kind of vacation.

A Variety of Travels

This post is sponsored by RealTravel.com

The editors of RealTravel.com have created a blog of the best content from its online community. The travel blog consists of travel stories, recommendations, and photos from around the world. The main page is a free Web community for users to submit their own blogs, stories, and such for the benefit of other travelers.

The editors' picks are usually for destinations that would appeal to seasonal readers--currently there are a couple posts about skiing in the U.S. However, there are also plenty of international destinations being chosen for the blog. The editors' picks blog is straightforward commentary from the editors with links to various blogs from the community members. It would be better, however, if the format included more posts per page (currently only two per page) so that visitors didn't have to keep clicking "next" to read more.

The blog has a simple layout for easy reading and navigation through the rest of the site. There are numerous links to community blogs and travel guides (including hotel information). While this blog may not have all the information travels want and need, it does provide the basic information to attract attention to other pages with useful resources.

You can visit the blog at http://blog.realtravel.com

European Vacation? Wish I Could Go

This post is sponsored by EasyToBook.com

Planning a vacation to Europe this summer? I know I wish I could. Well, if you're not in my situation of staying in China, you can use Easytobook.com to make your hotel reservations in some major tourist destinations (yeah, I know, it rhymes).

The site is very easy to navigate--there really is very little showy HTML involved there. It's probably why they claim to have such low prices on hotels (and they have a large listing). However, their choice of cities is limited to Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Prague, Dublin, and New York City. So, they have one place for you American domestic travelers too. I'd recommend some places to stay, but I've never had to get a hotel in NYC and all the places I stayed in Europe were pretty cheap.

Easytobook.com offers some insight into its destinations as well. Check out their description of the Red Light District in Amsterdam (does anyone really go there for the history?). They also have some travel articles written by staff to help you plan your vacation--they even allow users to add their own articles for inclusion. Their terms and conditions and policies seem fairly standard for hotel reservations. So, you can check them out and compare prices before you book your next trip.

Going to Jersey

This post is sponsored by DestinationJerseyCity.com

I can't believe I've never heard of this site before. DestinationJerseyCity.com has all the possible information anyone could ever need about visiting Jersey City. There are links for dining (not just Jersey diners), parks, museums, and art galleries around the city. I had no idea there were so many art galleries there.

For someone who spent the first 23 years of life in New Jersey, I'll admit I don't know much about the city. I know how to get to my brother's house near the Holland Tunnel and the way to the PATH station to get me to NYC. But to think, I've been missing out on a lot of cool parks and museums (I don't really need to go to the Liberty Science Center, but I know plenty of people would like to go). I didn't even realize it was a shorter ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty from the Jersey side.

DestinationJerseyCity.com offers everything to find your way around. It provides a list of every shop and shopping center (alphabetically or by district) and restaurant within the city limits. Of course, I recommend the Hamilton Park Ale House (there's also a great Vietnamese restaurant nearby, but I can't remember the name). Don't forget to check out the events calendar if you plan a visit--it looks like there are a bunch of art exhibitions coming up.

I'll have to keep DestinationJerseyCity.com bookmarked for the next time I go home. I'll even bet my own brother who has lived in Jersey City for about seven years doesn't know about some of the things to do. I'm sure I can have lots of fun when I bring Jia home to show her around.

On another note, reading through this Web site made me a little homesick. I really need to take a few weeks off and get home to Jersey this summer.

Booking Travels

This post is sponsored by HotelReservations.com

Do you need Hotel Reservations? If you’re planning a vacation, holiday, or business trip, give HotelReservations.com a try. Their Web site offers a variety of deals for travelers to numerous destinations worldwide.

You can book more than just hotels from the site—flights, car rentals, vacation rentals and packages—and the prices are on par with other major travel-booking sites.

I checked on summer flights from Hong Kong to New York’s JFK airport to find approximately the same price I had seen on Expedia (about $1400 for a round-trip economy seat). It appears as though their focus is on North America and Europe, which makes sense considering the number of travelers from the two continents.

On flight search pages, they offer a link in the top right of the screen for destination guides. The guides offer quite a bit of information on cities. The Beijing guide is quite interesting with the overview focusing on the modernity and demolition of hutong neighborhoods.

HotelReservations.com offers mostly high-end hotels in China. As for Asian airports, Shenzhen was not recognized by the system for flights, however, Guangzhou was recognized. The flights within China were slightly more expensive for the upcoming May holiday than my usual Chinese travel site.

The site is fairly easy to navigate, even from the almost cluttered homepage. They offer how-to guides and FAQ on every aspect of the site to ensure effective browsing and booking. You can also switch languages to Spanish if you so desire.

For those weary of online booking, they offer 24-hour telephone service for users worldwide. The phone service can be used for booking as well as travel inquiries.

From now until May 31, the HotelReservations.com offers a mail-in rebate worth up to $100 on a 12-night hotel reservation. You can also receive $20 on any three-night reservations. Check the site for further details regarding this offer.

For more information, visit their web site: Hotel Reservations.