Travel Tuesday: “Screamin’” and other Cyber deals

We’re taking a break from our Tales of the South Pacific because we have some tips on travel deals for you today. . .

We’d been home from the South Pacific for about 72 hours, travel clothes were still piled in the family room awaiting their turn in the washing machine.

That’s when The Scout came across such a ‘screamin’* deal that we booked ourselves to Istanbul, Turkey. Just like that!

That’s the way it works most the time with the ‘real deals.’ They come and they go within hours so there’s not a lot of room to waffle. . . you book, and go. 

Since we’d already penciled in a return trip to Greece next spring, the deal just forced us to give it real dates and a starting point.

Now we can start planning the Greek trip with the bonus of Istanbul at either end.

Istanbul's Spice Market

The ‘screamin’ deal:  Round-trip ticket Seattle to Istanbul for $608US, flying Lufthansa Airlines with a stop and change of planes in Frankfurt.

 The Scout found and booked the deal on Kayak (this link takes you to the flight page).

Those low rates were still available Monday, Nov. 4, at the time of writing this post.To put that fare in perspective, the round-trip ticket price from Seattle to Honolulu in January on Alaska Airlines is $880 and the best we could find to Athens was more than $1,000!




Closer to Home – Some Tempting Pacific Northwest Cyber Deals

On Dec. 2, Provenance Hotels is launching its first ever Cyber Monday sale offering Facebook fans and email subscribers of the award-winning, art-filled hotels a discount of 35% off the best available rates at Hotel Max in Seattle, Hotel Murano in Tacoma, and Portland’s Hotel deluxe, Hotel Lucia and Governor Hotel for stays between December 2, 2013 and March 31, 2014. (They also have a hotel in Nashville).

Note: Cyber Monday sale booking links will be emailed to subscribers and posted on the hotels’ Facebook pages on Monday, December 2, 2013 at 10 a.m. PST.  Travelers can subscribe to email newsletters and follow the hotels on Facebook at:

•       Hotel Max - www.hotelmaxseattle.com, www.facebook.com/HotelMaxSeattle
•       Hotel Murano – www.murano.com, www.facebook.com/HotelMuranoTacoma
•       Hotel Preston – www.hotelpreston.com, www.facebook.com/HotelPrestonNashville
•       Hotel Lucia – www.hotellucia.com, www.facebook.com/HotelLuciaPortland
•       Hotel deluxe – www.hoteldeluxe.com, www.facebook.com/HoteldeLuxePortland
•       Governor Hotel – www.governorhotel.com, www.facebook.com/GovernorHotel

The catch: The 35% Cyber Monday discount will be available to the first 100 people that book prepaid nonrefundable reservations at each hotel or until December 5, 2013, whichever comes first. Blackout dates may apply.

Or check out Vancouver, B.C.’s "Holiday Shopping Days" Deal

· This deal is good from Nov.22 until Dec 1, 2013. 

· What you get: One-night stays at $88, $118 and $148 price points at a wide selection of Vancouver hotels and one $50 American Express Gift Card (which you can use anywhere) for every reservation booked.  · You also get passes to the Holiday Shopping Days Shuttle on Vancouver Trolley. 

From November 22 to December 1, The Shopping Days Shuttle will connect shoppers from the West End to the West Side with drop-offs at various shopping districts throughout the afternoon. The Shuttle runs four times each day so you can hop-on and hop-off as you want. · Book it at:  www.tourismvancouer/shop (will be live on Nov 5)


Thanks for the time you spent with us today~ please encourage others to drop by. Check out our Deal Finder page for links to other resources. Then head back here on Travel Photo Thursday.

And about that ‘screamin’ deal: our neighbor is from Istanbul and travels there often. We ran the deal past him and he labeled it, not just good, but screamin’ good! And  that's when we booked.

WAWeekend: A Taste of Our Northern Neighbor

One of the many good things about Washington State is its proximity to Canada. In Seattle, we are about a two hour drive or 30-minute flight from British Columbia, our next-door neighbor to the north.

So when news from Richmond, BC, a suburb of Vancouver arrived in the inbox last week, it tickled our taste buds enough to make us think about heading north this summer. And here are but a few samples of why the temptation is great. . .

Sweetly flavored mini-donuts. Skewered seaweed.

Squid pancakes. Roasted yams. Fresh duck wraps.

Sweet mango and cream. Chinese dragon’s beard candy.

Swirly hurricane fries. Japanese takoyaki.

Spicy BBQ squid. Grilled beef or chicken skewers.

Vietnamese salad rolls. Burgers with sushi rice buns.

Japanese corn dogs. Smoked turkey legs. BBQ abalone.

Grilled lobster.Chinese noodles and dumplings.Butter chicken. Soba noodles with savory toppings. Stinky tofu. Shaved ice . . .

. . .are among the goodies found at:

Richmond’s two acclaimed Asian night markets -- The Richmond Night Market and the International Summer Night Market. The two markets combined offer nearly 150 food stalls, more than 400 retail vendors and a variety of entertainment to their more than 15,000 visitors each weekend.

Richmond Night Market
Open: May 17 until October 14, 7 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturday, 6 to 11 p.m. Sundays and holidays.
Location: 8351 River Road next to Bridgeport Station on the Canada Line.
Cost: Admission is $2 or, buy a transferable Zoom Pass - $10 for 7 tickets or $20 for 15. Seniors and children 10 and under are free. Parking is free.
Get there (by transit): Take the Canada Line to Bridgeport Station and then walk about 200 meters west along River Road to the market.
Get there (by car): Head north on No. 3 Road at Bridgeport Road and follow the signs.
Website: http://www.richmondnightmarket.com/

 

International Summer Night Market
Open: May 10 through September 8, 7 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturdays, 7 to 11 p.m. Saturdays and holidays.
Location: 12631 Vulcan Way just west of the Knight Street Bridge.
Cost: Admission is free. Parking is $4, or purchase a transferable parking pass – 5 for $15 or 10 for $25.
Get there (by transit): Take the Canada Line to Bridgeport Station and then catch a free five-minute shuttle ride to the market (starting June 8).
Get there (by car): Head north on No. 5 Road at Bridgeport Road, turn right on River Road and then follow the signs.
Website: www.summernightmarket.com
There’s a free shuttle between the two, so you can easily visit both in a single evening.

Our friends at Richmond Tourism offer these tips for enjoying the markets to the max:
* Bring cash. Although some merchandise vendors accept debit cards and there are ATMs on site, it’s easier for everyone if you can pay with cash on the spot.
* Be prepared to haggle with the merchandise vendors, but not at the food stalls.
* To avoid the crowds, come on Fridays and Sundays and arrive early.
* For the most action-packed fun, come on Saturdays and stay late.
* For the best deals, come on Sundays, especially late in the evening when vendors are trying to sell as much stock as possible before the weekend is over.
* Don’t be daunted by the longest food lineups – they’re long because the food is good. Besides, they move more quickly than you think.
* Expect to spend between $2 and $8 on most food items.
* Note that pets (dogs and cats only) are welcome.
* Neither market is licensed, so no alcohol is sold on site.

If  You Go:

Drive time from Seattle: About two hours depending on International Border Crossing wait times. Passport/Citizenship documentation required:  http://www.dhs.gov/crossing-us-borders

Accomodations:

The two markets are near several hotels. The Richmond Night Market is steps from the River Rock Casino Resort Hotel or a short walk to the Westin Wall Centre.

The International Summer Night Market is a little further over from these two hotels – a 5 minute drive. Or, there is the Sandman Signature Hotel, a bit closer. All the hotels are 5-10 minutes from the markets.

For more accommodations and information: www.tourismrichmond.com

Photos used in this post were provided to us by Tourism Richmond. And a reminder to all of you using Google Reader to read TravelnWrite. Time to find a new reader and we are on both BlogLovin' and Digg these days. Google Reader is being discontinued this weekend.

Vancouver B.C.’s gone Canuck Crazy

When the city’s public buses start cheering for the team, you know the place has gone nuts over its ice hockey heroes.

The Canucks are in the playoffs to win the coveted Stanley Cup and the seven game race peaked Friday night in the neighbor to the north.

We arrived mid-day Friday and roads in the central area were already being closed for anticipated fans. (We are here so that I can attend TBEX 11, a writing conference for travel bloggers).

The town’s decked out in Canuck Blue – from flags on buildings to people wearing jerseys. Wafting scents of marijuana punctuated our stroll along the waterfront and around our hotel. 
 
 The craziness peaked Friday night when the Canucks managed to score the only point in the game against Boston.  Even the diners/drinkers in the Renaissance Harbor side's restaurant/ bar went nuts when the buzzer marked the end of play – and we cheered right along with them.

An estimated 70,000 jammed the streets surrounding the rink and many didn’t leave until police shoo-ed them away at 4 a.m. to re-open roads.

It’s a great time to be here.  I’ll get back to cruise and Madrid tales soon, but not until after I tell you five ways to get high in Vancouver,  B.C. – that’s coming next.

Countdown to 2010 Olympics

Washington State is as giddy over the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics as are our friends to the north. Those in our tourism industries are hoping to catch a bit of the spotlight as it sweeps the Pacific Northwest landing on the host city, Vancouver B. C.

I noticed the Bellwether Hotel (www.hotelbellwether.com) about 50 miles to the south of Vancouver in Bellingham, WA is in the spirit, offering an Olympics package: At the Gold level your three-night stay for two persons includes a personal town car service to and from Vancouver and other goodies, starting at $6,300. The Silver will get you the same length of stay in an Executive waterview room and a daily shuttle starting at $1,320. At the Bronze you also stay in a waterview room but you are on your own for transportation. That starts at $669.