Ranch culture prevails in Amarillo, Texas. Two of its chief attractions, located off former Route 66, have the word “ranch” right in their name. We’re talking, of course, about the Big Texan Steak Ranch and the Cadillac Ranch – just a couple of the cool things to see and do in Amarillo. Don’t stress if you forget your cowboy boots at home, though. Read More

Time travel is a hot topic in the office today, so I thought I’d step into my own time machine (after consulting this helpful guide, of course) and revisit Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. I stopped there briefly in late August of 2006, during a rather chilly South American winter. It was absolutely gorgeous. Thanks to a near-cloudless sky, it even warmed up enough in the afternoon to enjoy an orange or two lying on a picnic blanket by the lighthouse. (So far, my trip back in time has not affected the weather, nor fruit. It’s still brisk, but sunny. The oranges still bursting sweet citrus-y goodness.) Read More

Angkor Wat: Ranked amongst the foremost architectural wonders of the world, it is one of the world’s greatest achievements but also the ruins of one of humankinds most darkest moments.

Wat Banan: Built during the 11th century, it is one of the best examples of a preserved temple of the Battambang area. The temple rises 400 m above ground, and showcases some breathtaking views, turning your gasps of air into gasps of delight.

Angkor Thom: An assortment of crumbling sandstone temples, palaces and monuments, Angkor Thom covers nine square kilometres of jungle. Its 12th century founder, the King of the Khmer empire, made Angkor Thom the capital city during his reign, and the name Angkor Thom literally translates to mean ’great city’. Look out for the giant monsters that accompany each of the towers.

Wat Leu: Surronded by manicured forests, Wat Leu looks down on the town of Sihanoukville from the top of Sihanoukville Mountain. Watching the sunset from this temple will make you feel you’ve never been closer to heaven.

Wat Phnomh: Ever get the feeling you’re being watched? All eyes, around 215 of them, belonging to some very eerie looking faces carved into stone will be watching you as you move around this ancient fortified city.

Image credits- Angkor Wat Angkor Thom

Finding a good bar to go to in Melbourne is the stuff of urban legend. Often without signage, behind unassuming dumpsters and down dark alleys, a visitor to Melbourne needs more then a map, they need a local expert. With our very own Melbournian on the Offbeat Guides team, we’ll share with you the best hidden bars to go to in Melbourne.

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Right in the nick of time for the beginning of the holiday season, Offbeat Guides is proud to announce the launch of Offbeat Guides Gift Certificates! If you have a friend or family member currently planning a trip (or you just want to treat yourself before your own vacation) check out our new gift certificates!

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While Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, countries all over the world celebrate similar harvest festivals in countries such as Canada, Ghana and Southern India.

Canada:

In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October every year and Canadians give thanks at the close of the harvest season. Thanksgiving in Canada will occur on October 12 in 2009 and is a paid holiday in all Canadian provinces and territories.

Croatia:

“Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day”  in Croatia is, unlike the U.S. Thanksgiving celebration, not a harvest festival but a commemoration of the seizure of the city of Knin by the Croatian Army during Operation Storm in the War of Independence. A public holiday in Croatia, “Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day” is celebrated on August 5.

Ancient Greece:

An autumn festival held for three days known as Thesmosphoria was celebrated by the Greeks to honor Goddess Demeter, the deity of food grains. This festival was related with fertility and thus, fertile married women used to build a home for the Goddess to stay on the first day and equipped it with all the comforts. They purified their souls and body on the second day by keeping a fast in her honor and then prepared a grand feast on the third day. As the festival was around the harvest season, the specialties of the table included fruits, pigs, and corn.

Ghana and Nigeria:

Ghana and Nigeria celebrate the harvest in August. They celebrate the  Yam Festival because yams are the most common food in many African countries and are the first crop to be harvested.

Southern India:

Southern India celebrates the harvest at a festival called Pongal in January. Named after a sweet rice dish, Pongal features a communal feast during which neighbors get together to share their crops and give thanks to everyone who contributed to a successful harvest.

Image credit- Ancient Greece harvest festival

Croatian Kiss

Thanksgiving Canada

Yam Festival

Pongal

Americans will be celebrating Thanksgiving soon, which means that Black Friday is almost upon us. Some retailers like Kmart and Gander Mountain have sent out their ads to draw in the crowds, and others (Target, Amazon) have special sections of their websites dedicated to helping you find the perfect gift for anyone this holiday season. Amazon also has a Holiday Giving feature that allows you to easily donate to a number of charitable causes while doing your holiday shopping.

We’ll be having our own Black Friday sale at Offbeat Guides, which should be helpful to holiday travelers this year! From 11/27 – 11/30, enjoy savings of 30% off printed guides to 50% off PDFs. Use the coupon code blackfridayBOOK09 or blackfridayPDF09 at checkout to take advantage of the offer.

Image credit- The Inquisitir

We’ve all gone on that amazing vacation full of wonderful new sights we want to share with friends back home. We’ve also been that really bored friend sitting through slideshows of clotheslines and random landscapes on someone’s MacBook, while they insist passionately, “You could smell the sea air drying the clothes! Look at the way the light hits this clothespin!” And while that might be a good exercise in friendship, we all know there’s something key missing from the photos. Read More

What do you buy someone that is always traveling and has no fixed address? When your life consists of one big backpack, what holiday gift is lightweight and compact enough to accommodate? With our Offbeat Guides team comprising of a mix of international travelers on the go, we thought we would share our secrets to give the perfect gift to your global nomad.

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It’s hard to believe that twenty years ago a whole new realm of travel was about to open in a region that was previously closed to the entire world. This week marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of socialism in Hungary and since then the country has become destination for travelers in search of a culture, language and history that are truly unique for Europe. The best place to get started is right in the capital: Budapest.

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