Guest Post: Find Real Pleasure in Your Vietnam Travel

** This is a guest blog post. The views in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Operation Relax.**

If you are interested in cheap travel deals to Vietnam you are not alone. This is a destination that many people are interested in visiting. No matter if you live close by or far away, when you travel to this country you are in position to have the time of your life. There is so much to do in Vietnam that you know you will always be busy.

Are you worried about missing out on something big on your trip? If so, you should learn more about tours in Vietnam. This will allow you to see the area with the help of somebody who knows exactly what you are looking for. After all, if you have never been to Vietnam and have no idea of where you are going you will need a local to show you the way.

Before you begin your search for Cheap Travel Deals to Vietnam, make sure you take the time to learn more about what you should and should not be doing on your trip. After all, you only have so much time at your disposal. You need to be careful of how you setup your schedule. This will ensure that you have a good time, from the day that you arrive until the day that you leave.

As you begin your search for cheap deals, make sure you have a budget in mind. Remember, what you consider to be cheap may not be the same to the next person. This is why you need to know your budget from the start. When you book cheap travel arrangements, you know that you will have more money for spending when you finally arrive at your destination - and that is something that you will enjoy.

The best way to find cheap travel deals to Vietnam is online. This is by far the best place to search if you are interested in saving money. There are a lot of online deals, some of which are better than others. As long as you take your time, you know that you are going to find deals that you are happy with.

Before you ever leave for your Vietnam trip, you should think about setting up a tour. This way you have the time to plan your entire trip. This also makes it easier for you to budget your money. 

When searching for a tour guide, make sure you find somebody with knowledge of the area. And of course, you want to hire a company that is known for offering high quality and safe tours of the country.

There is a lot that goes into planning a trip to Vietnam. What are you waiting for? This can be more affordable than many people believe. In fact, a lot of travelers soon find that this country is more affordable than many others.

A good travel operator can play a major role in the success of your Vietnam holidays, especially if you are a foreigner. Besides planning your Vietnam Tour Package, there are many other things that a reputed travel operator can do for you. An experienced agent will help you obtain important documents to enter the country, obtain competitive prices for flight and accommodation bookings and ensure that all entry tickets to sightseeing destinations and holiday activities are booked much in advance so you don't waste time doing it yourself on arrival.

Now that you know more about cheap travel deals and tours, you can begin planning your trip to Vietnam. Are you ready to have the time of your life?

Notes from Travel Talk - Let's Talk About Scuba!

It was great to be back in decent enough health to put on another Travel Talk! November's travel talk was hosted by Diventures and was all about Scuba - what it takes to get certified, the various types of scuba, and recommendations on where to dive.

Ethan told us that there are 4 phases to scuba certification at Diventures. During these phases, you are able to get all of your equipment fitted exactly to you so that you are as comfortable as possible. Classes are offered all year round with various time options. You can also sign up for private sessions. Once you are certified, you can add additional special certifications, including but not limited to underwater photography, boat diving, and stress and rescue.

Diventures believes that the best places to dive are:
- Grand Cayan
- Australia
- Cozumel **This one is the most popular spot in the world!**
- Thailand
- Curacao
- Bonaire
There is a difference between the Atlantic and Pacific, Caribbean and Asia so they recommend checking out more than one spot!

If you're not sure you want to "dive right in" to a scuba certification, Diventures offers a "Try Scuba" class on Sundays. It is all ages and only $75. If you decide after that class that you do want to get scuba certified, they'll apply $50 of the class fee to your next Scuba class!

You do need to be able to swim and to get medical clearance from a doctor, but most people are able to get certified.

Diventures has an attached retail store with a variety of diving gear, and a pool that goes to 14ft deep for plenty of practice. They also offer some group trips to various diving destinations, and you can find flyers for those trips in the retail store.

If you prefer to scuba without the group, or would like to set up your own group, please don't hesitate to contact Operation Relax!

Gum Wall - Germy or Genius?

If you've ever visited Seattle and wandered downtown, you may have noticed an unusual bit of art on the wall of the Pike Place Market Theater.

Well, ok, "art" is a subjective term - some people think it's art, still others (myself included) find it to be a disgusting wall of germs and nasty.

Whether you see it as germy or genius, one thing is certain - the Gum Wall is coming down. What started as probably a bit of nasty vandalism by a theater patron who mistakenly felt that it was totally acceptable to leave their chewing gum stuck to a public wall back in 1993 found itself being added to by more and more people. Despite the poor theater workers trying to go after it and scrape it off, the gum kept accumulating and in 1999 the market officials deemed it a "tourist attraction" so the theater just gave up.

Apprarently, it has garnered a lot of attention, including being used as backdrop for wedding photos (really? ew!) and also appearing in the film "Love Happens." It was also rated the 2nd germiest tourist attraction in 2009 (not sure that's something to be proud of, Seattle!) - and was still on the list in 2013.

This week, the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority announced that they have hired a company to power wash all the gum off the wall once and for all. The move was because they were worried about how the gum (which we all know has sugar and all kinds of other weird additives) was eroding the bricks on the building.

The cleaning will begin on November 10th, so I suppose anyone who is worried that they can't have the happiest day of their lives memorialized in front of an estimated 1 million pieces of sticky and saliva better get over there fast. ;) The cleaning is expected to take a couple of days at a cost of around $4,000.

What will happen to the gum? The PPMPDA (because I didn't want to type their long name again lol) will have it weighed - because that's apparently a vital piece of information to have - and then they will just throw it into the garbage where it will sit for all eternity, because gum doesn't compost.

It is predicted that after the walls are scrubbed clean, people will restart the wall with new gum, which makes it feel a little futile.

What do you think - is the gum wall worth rebuilding, or should people keep their masticated rubber and spit to themselves?

Collect Memories, Not Things: Honeymoon Registries

Earlier today, I posted what has to be one of my favorite travel memes:

Obviously as a travel agent, one of the biggest priorities in my financial life is finding money for travel! ;) I don't usually go for gadgets (heck, I still use a Note 2 and they have already come out with a Note 5), and a couple of years ago my husband and I actually decided to downsize to try to live a more simple life.

While our lifestyle isn't for everyone, one thing that most people can agree on is that when it comes to wedding gifts, it's often the experiences that are treasured and not necessarily the toaster or wine glasses. I can't tell you what all I received from my guests at my reception, but I can tell you that I cherished the conversations and the gathering of so many people I loved - and I can tell you that without my loved ones, we would never have been able to take a honeymoon!! Back when we got married, there weren't really a lot of options to give the gift of travel without shelling out significant money, but we were blessed by an outpouring of gift cards and the donation of some hotel nights as we left our reception straight for our moving trailer and moved several states away!

Thankfully, giving the gift of travel is so much easier these days thanks to a genius idea called a honeymoon registry. Similar to a wedding registry you might find at a big box store, a honeymoon registry is a place where you can purchase different experiences for the bride and groom, picked out by the couple themselves! You can chip in toward airfare, resort fees, a romantic candlelight dinner on the beach, or even a couples massage.

At Operation Relax, we have partnered with Honeyfund to help couples create fantastic honeymoon registries, and help guests provide the perfect memories for their loved ones. The couple has total control over their registry and chooses what they add to the registry and how they want to handle payments. Honeyfund is a FREE platform, but it does offer some upgraded enhancements for a small fee. Couples can choose to book their travel prior to setting up the registry and then apply payments as they come in from guests, or can choose to wait to book their honeymoon until they see what kinds of funds they have been able to raise to cover some or all of the costs.

Overall, a honeymoon registry can be a wonderful experience for both the couple starting their new lives together and the guests who are celebrating their love! Feel free to contact Operation Relax to set up your honeymoon registry at any time.

Make your Technology Travel Savvy

Let's be real - most of us are unable to "unplug" from our technology these days, even while on vacation. Some people even get anxious about having less-than-stellar connections on their devices, to the extent that there are certain types of vacations and/or destinations that they refuse to even consider!

So, how can you make your technology less stressful while on vacation? Here's a few travel tips for your technology:

1)  Leave it at home!!
Yeah, ok, I probably wouldn't follow that one either. BUT, remind yourself that you do deserve to have some downtime, and make a rule that you can only use your technology devices for a certain amount of time per day. Then get out there and enjoy your vacation!

2) Know the costs involved.
Most of us don't have international plans, so before you leave check with your service providers to find out how much it might cost to check your email or send texts while overseas. Do a little research or ask your travel agent about wifi options at your resort or destination - many places these days realize how connected we are and are providing wifi at a cost or free.

3) Keep your devices safe.
When you aren't using your device, utilize your in-room safe if you have one. If not, or if you'd rather keep your device on you, make sure you pack clothing with big pockets! ;) Or you could purchase a HipKlip from me - it's a clippable pocket with enough room for your cellphone, ID, and keys. Just remember to always keep an eye on your device if you have it with you at the pool or other crowded place where it could be easily stolen.

4) Plug it in.
Don't forget your charger! But also, don't forget that not all countries have the same electrical outlets, so it's a good idea to invest in an adapter or converter if you like to travel frequently. Some rooms may not have a lot of outlet space, so if you have a little extra room in your luggage bring along a power strip too.

5) Get familiar with your device.
Devices can be a little complicated these days, so make sure you take the time to learn how to turn on the airplane mode, what it looks like when it's picking up a roaming signal, etc. It can help you to avoid unwanted charges.

6) Don't do data-heavy work.
Yes, sometimes emails are important to answer immediately. But you shouldn't plan on watching live-streaming services like Hulu or Netflix, or downloading huge files. While these may still work some places, most of the time international roaming or free wifi can lead to slower or lower quality connections that can make these things impossible.

As you can see, it is still possible to stay "plugged in" while on vacation if you choose - just plan ahead!