Man’s build

Around 81 billion pounds is spent on holidays each year by British people, new research suggests. A study carried out by Abbey - part of the Spain-based Santander group - found that average Britons spend an amount equivalent to 10.1 per cent of their net income on sojourns each year.

And this figure equates to around 1,650 pounds per person for holidays over the course of a year, the study found. While some people raid their savings to pay for their breaks, others may choose to opt for a low cost loan to help cover the cost of a trip overseas. The survey found that some 50.4 billion pounds is taken from savings accounts to pay for holidays - meaning that other forms of cash make up the remaining 30 billion pounds.

“If people cut back a small proportion of the amount they spent on holidays and kept their savings, this would make a real difference to their financial wellbeing. With savings rates at excellent levels, there has never been a better time to save for the future,” said Reza Attar- Zadeh, director of savings and investments at the firm.

But people may consider other options that will not affect their savings if they wish to go on a holiday. Choosing to take out a low cost loan to pay for a trip away may be an effective way of paying for a holiday without having a large expense leave an account at once. With loan repayments being made monthly, the costs could be spread more evenly over a number of months.

In related news, Abbey earlier this month revealed that homeowners wishing to make some money could do so by renting out their back rooms to lodgers. The organisation noted that there are around 18.2 million homeowners have at least one currently uninhabited room in their house and could be making money by letting out a spare room to a lodger. Taking such a step could yield returns of more than 3,500 pounds each year, the company claimed.

Apparently, there are currently some 388,000 adults renting out a room in their home. Over the course of a year, these individuals are earning in excess of 1.1 billion pounds from their spare space. But before taking this course of action, it is worth checking with a mortgage provider, Abbey notes, as although there is unlikely to be any problems over payments, any changes to circumstances could have an effect.

Last month, it was noted by moneysupermarket that individuals about to head off on their holidays should be sure to take out a relevant travel insurance policy, particularly if active pursuits, such as white-water rafting, bungee jumping or skiing off-piste, are likely to be followed. Taking part in such sports presents the average holidaymaker - including those who may have used cheap loans to help them cover the cost of their break - with a greater level of risk to their health and safety and therefore adequate travel insurance cover should be taken out, the organisation suggested.

Abbi Rouse writes for All About Loans where visitors can apply online for cheap UK loans We also specialise in poor credit loans, and cheap consolidation loans

Paint Ball courses consist of many challenges, terrains and structures which along with your opponents must be overcome to maintain a shred of dignity as well as to minimise you own bruise count. Lets be honest there is not much more satisfaction than shooting your mates on the forehead with a paintball gun at any range, it certainly brought a smile to my face! On the opposing side of the fence there is not much worse than being ambushed by a gang of the enemy a close range neither. For sheer satisfaction and thrills this is a must do activity! In paintball the motto has to be shoot first and ask questions later

My first taste of this came in the dark ages when we were young! My superb cat like reflexes and steady gun arm practically massacred the opposing team single handedly. Jealousy soon turned to revenge however when the corpses of the opposing team waited for me in the victory hut, only to ambush me with 10 rapid fire paint ball guns at close range, NASTY!! They know who they are. Truly though, it is a quality sport in which those who haven’t been in the armed forces can taste the thrill of non lethal combat in realistic situations!

The sport of paintball in Dorset has been endorsed by a few sporting celebrities recently and has benefitted as a result of this! Most of the courses in the region are set in natural woodland and have a good variety of terrain as well as excellent instructors and facilities. Some even have other activities to indulge in. So for a great day out don’t delay and have a go today!

The article was written by “david Copeland” with http://www.1activity.com/paintball.html as a reference guide

The Char Dham is the most important Hindu pilgrimage circuit in the Indian Himalayas. All sites are located in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand previously known as Uttaranchal. Char Dham Yatra consist of four sites-Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. While each site is unique in its own fashion, inclusion in the Char Dham has, over time, caused them be viewed together in popular imagination and actual pilgrimage practice.

Most pilgrims to the Char Dham embark from the famous temple town of Haridwar. Others leave from Haridwar’s sister city, Rishikesh, or from Dehra Dun, the capital of Uttarakhand.

Yamunotri, the source of the Yamuna River and the seat of the goddess Yamuna, is a full day’s journey from Rishikesh, Haridwar or Dehradun. The actual temple is only accessible by a six km walk from the town of Hanuman Chatti. The site includes hot springs where raw rice is cooked and made into prasad. Gangotri, the source of the Ganga (Ganges) River and seat of the goddess Ganga, can be reached in one day’s travel from Rishikesh, Haridwar or Dehradun, or in two days from Yamunotri. More popular than Yamunotri and is also accessible directly by car and bus, meaning that it sees many more pilgrims. Adventurous pilgrims can make an overnight 17 km trek to Gaumukh, the actual current source of the Ganga.

Kedarnath is a two-day journey from Gangotri, is one of remotest dham among the four. Besides its affiliation with Siva, Kedarnath is also believed to be the site of Shankaracharya’s samadhi. The actual temple, an impressive stone edifice of unknown date, is accessible only after a steep 13 km walk. Kedarnath is flanked by breathtaking snow-capped peaks. Badrinath is a two-day journey from Kedarnath. It is the most important of the four Char Dham sites. Badrinath receives many more visitors than the other three sites.

Author is an associate editor of http://www.chardhamyatra.net.in The website offers exclusive information of Chardham Yatra 2008 and other Hindu Pilgrimages tours. We also provide information about online reservation of Chardham Yatra.

A landlocked country in South Africa, Zambia is flanked by Congo, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi and Angola. With its tropical climate, plateaus, mountains, hills and forests, Zambia is resplendent with natural splendour. Waterfalls, beautiful river basins and lakes, make Zambia a haven for the nature lovers.

For pristine natural beauty, a tourist can visit the Zambezi river basin and Congo River basin. For the adventurous travellers or tourists, canoeing, white water rafting, bungee jumping, tiger fishing and river surfing can be a great way to exhibit their bravado. Zambia comprises of national parks that are full of exotic animals and birds. Amidst untamed nature, a visit to Zambia provides opportunities to enjoy fine safaris.

Lusaka is the capital of Zambia and the capital has an assortment of nightclubs, restaurants, and cinemas. Lusaka is situated on a plateau, in south central Zambia. The capital is buzzing with energy with people thronging the shopping malls and other places. The city is a mix of skyscrapers, malls and ancient colonial buildings.

The Kabwata Cultural Village that preserves indigenous arts and crafts and showcases the traditional dancing is a part of Lusaka. Lusaka is also home to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the Munda Wanga Botanical Garderns and Zoo and the National Museum at Lusaka.

There are many national parks in Zambia and Kafue national park is one of the most famous parks in Zambia. Kafue national park is located in the central part, in the southern part of Zambia. The park covers a large area and is a second largest park, in the entire world. A beautiful park, Kafue national park is divided by the Kafue River. The river allows many to indulge in fishing. There are innumerable wildlife species in the park.

A commercial centre that is located about 320 km from the capital is Ndola. It is a significant commercial centre and is a great mineral producing region, in Zambia. The Copperbelt Museum is situated in Ndola. Lake Chilengwa and Lake Kashiba are two of the sunken lakes and the latter one is deal for bird watching. Ndola is situated near Zaire.

The second largest city in the country, Zambia is Kitwe. Kitwe is also a major tourist attraction in Zambia. Kitwe was popular for copper but now, it has become a haven for industries. Kitwe has malls, theatre, cinema and many other facilities, owing to the urbanization and modernization that has uplifted the image of the city. The Mindolo Dam and Makwera Falls and Lake are locate near Kitwe and are popular tourist spots, in Zambia. The Chembe bird sanctuary is also around 30km from Kitwe.

Zambia also has a splendid cascade called Victoria Falls. The Victoria Falls is one of the mightiest gushing waterfalls in the world. The spray that comes from the flowing water can be seen 30 km away. Knife Edge Bridge forms the ideal place for viewing the main falls and the boiling pot. Zambia is the best place to enjoy the beauty of the landscape through walking safaris, bird safaris, river safaris, canoeing safaris and elephant back safaris. Zambia with its lovely landscape with natural beauty offers an enthralling experience to a visitor, to the region.

Andrew Gibson is MD of Direct Holiday Bookings. It is one of the fastest growing online travel websites for booking holiday homes. To see an example of why Direct Holiday Bookings is growing so rapidly have a look at Holiday Villas.

Direct Holiday Bookings also has a great selection of Holiday Cottages and self catering holiday apartments that can be rented as holiday homes all over the world.

There are a huge number of skydiving facts which one is always eager to know before skydiving. Skydiving is the sport which thrills, but certainly does not kills. When the skydiver jumps from the airplane, he heads down towards the earth with acceleration in the speed.

Gradually, skydiving has become an extremely popular sport. People normally progress as from a onetime jump and end up making it as their hobby. For a skydiver with the parachute closed, the down velocity is close to 200 km/hr or 124 mph while the down velocity of a person with arms and legs outstretched is about 192 km/hr or 120 mph.

One must set out early and arrive in good time to learn and get trained. It always helps if the person has some light breakfast. A light meal helps maintain hydration of the body and keeps dehydrated.

If children come with you, this could be an all day event and could be more fun. Normally, the airplane ride is close to 15 minutes and the view of the land and rivers from the sky is always an eye candy.

Normally, people of any type of health can attempt skydiving. It is believed that people with certain health problems such as epilepsy could not attempt skydiving, but it is not always true. Every person who decides to experience sky diving fills a form which states that they are fit and fine to attempt sky diving.

There may be instances when a person may still not be able to sky dive with the approval of their doctor. It depends on the illness of the disease. Normal acceptable age of skydiving is over the age of eighteen, but most of the sky divers are around the age of forty.

Overall, skydiving could be an expensive sport to take up. One has to buy the gear and pay for the jump and they attach the parachute which opens after you have jumped from the airplane. If someone jump for the sake of charity, he could skydive absolutely free of charge. Of the money, some of the money pays for the jump and the rest of the money goes to charity. But there must be enough sponsors with you.

People usually have a fear of going skydiving because they think that it is a dangerous sport and could cost them their lives. And it’s completely understandable as one is throwing himself out of the airplane and skydiving much above the earth for sometime without opening the parachute

But, one of the most interesting and eye opening fact is that skydiving is safer than it is to take a ride in a train, because of the safety measure that are taken before one skydives. And the fact is that that skydiving is an extremely thrilling and enjoyable sport to take up.

By understanding skydiving facts, you now know that with the right skydiving equipment, you are almost guaranteed to not die.

The hill of Tara is a famous for the panoramic views it offers up over Ireland. Situated in County Meath, the hill of Tara is 155m above sea level and on a clear day you can see over nine Irish counties and as far north as Antrim. Tara or (Teamhair in Irish) means lofty height and the meeting place of darkness and light. The hill of Tara dates back to prehistoric times and was called the seat of the High Kings in old documents.

From the hill of Tara an unbelievable twenty five other monuments can be seen and many more have since been discovered by modern technology using aerial photography and satellite images. Fires could be lit on the hill of Tara to signify important dates in the calendar or important events. These fires could be seen over a vast area ensuring the message is passed at terrific speeds across much of the land. Examples as to why the fire would be lit are the crowning of a new King or to mark the change of seasons and hence the important agricultural dates.

The passage tomb of Dumha na nGaill (Mount of the hostages) dates back to the third century BC and was excavated during the 1950s. There are more than 25 ring ditches on the hill of Tara, many dating back to the bronze age. In 1810 two large gold artefacts were found and are now in the property of the National Museum.

Recently the hill of Tara has been involved in some controversy as Government plans to build a motorway nearby have stirred many emotions. Firstly there is the need to develop proper infrastructure in Ireland and to provide Navan, the capital of Meath, with a motorway link to Dublin.

On the other hand, the motorway may damage the area surrounding this magical place and may damage other historical sites in the vicinity which have yet to be discovered. The problem is that no matter where you dig or build in Ireland you are bound to come across sites of historical reference.

Ronan Menton is the webmaster for a number of travel related websites and has been for some time in Ireland, associated with search engine optimisation in the Irish travel industry. He spends two months a year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and now sees it as his second home. Among the many sites he is currently working on are the following: Car Rental in Ireland and International Car Rentals.com.