History Hound Travels

We all know that that one of the major costs of a trip is food. One way to save money on that is to prepare your own food instead if eating all your meals out. This is especially important in areas that are major tourist attraction. In order to do this, you may need to spend a little but more on accomadations. Say you want to visit Disney World. You can compare the cost of Orlando Villas and cooking to the cost of a hotel plus meals out. You may find cooking saves you a substantial amount.

I’ve read that Orlando is constantly changing, and that the theme parks are adding new and better stuff all the time. I haven’t been in a very long time, but it’s certainly something I would enjoy!

I told you several months ago that the first known engagement ring was given by Archduke Maximilian of Austria in 1477. And that’s where I left it. Smooth, right? I though I would follow up on that today. Maximilian gave that first diamond engagement ring to Mary of Burgundy. Interestingly enough, at least to me, is that diamond engagement rings did not become popular until the 1930s. De Beer’s started a massive marketing campaign to drive up demand in part because of the large amount of diamonds that were found in South Africa.

This is a classic example of creating demand for a product. Diamonds had been around as jewelry for centuries, and their price was high and sustainable. The in-rush of massive amounts of diamonds would have caused the price to drop as they became more common. That drop would have killed the diamond market, and created havoc with the wealth of many of the world’s richest families who had invested in precious stones. By creating a demand to match and even exceed the new supply, De Beer’s ensured not only their own profits but the fiscal solvency of other businesses, institutions and families.

Sheer marketing genius. Make people think diamond rings are a necessity. Then let them think you are doing them a favor by offering to sell them one at a “real good deal”.

Do you readers (all three of you), ever think I must surely know something about every square inch of this planet? If so, you will surely enjoy hearing that when I first saw “Xian”, I had no idea it was an actual place, but instead thought it a bastardization of the word Christian. How lame is that? How much lamer is it from someone who writes a travel blog? Heh, I’m may not be the brightest bulb in the light strip, but I can at least learn new things.

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Xian is the the capital of Shaanxi province in China, and is more than 3,100 years old. It’s the home of the Terracotta Army (which I had heard of), as well as over 8 million actual living people. Because if it’s incredible age, Xian has a rich and varied culture, and there is plenty to see, from the city wall rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty, to the Big and Small Wild Goose pagodas. Xian is a sister city to Kansas City, MO.

Of course, when you visit, you’ll be looking for a good hotel, and where better to find that than an outfit who prides themselves on their selection of cheap Asia hotels? Xian hotels run the gamut in price and amenities, so there is something for every budget.

How often do you get phone calls asking if you want a free vacation in exchange for xyz? What about a direct mailing? Did you know that those aren’t always cold calls in the way we think of cold calls? Companies like Martnn Worldwide had developed Mailing Lists full of names of people who have shown that they will respond to these types of solicitations. Martin calls their product ResponseCom, and they have even trademarked that name. So, here’s what that means for us: Our business is even less private than we thought. In order for Martin to develop a database like this, it means that the companies Martin sold their original lists to sold information back to them on who responded. Nice, huh?

Have any of you seen Ten Canoes? I saw the trailer today, and I was disappointed to find that I had missed it, since it opened in June. It’s set in
Northern Territory - Australia, and tells a story of ancient aborigines. It’s no surprise, even after seeing just the trailer that the Northern Territory is a top travel destination. It’s incredible natural beauty, both lush and stark in a way I can’t quite explain, is as much a draw as it’s indigenous populations. And I think just the privilege of seeing the art of the aborigines would be worth the cost of the trip to some.

Did you know that there are only about 200,000 people there? And we haven’t even touched the wildlife yet! There are about 400 species of birds, 50 kinds of frogs, over 400 kinds of birds there, let alone the mammals, reptiles and fish.

The diversity of the habitat lends itself to numerous activities as well. Back-packing, fishing and canoeing are all popular sports. Believe it or not, you can even dive there, and visit some of the wrecks from WWII in Darwin Harbour! And then there’s walking, just following the trails and seeing what you can see. Plainly, you will never run out of things to do in Australia’s Northern Territory.