Holidays, now a click away

AS THE summer vacation nears, the travel bug is set to bite almost everyone. Travel plans are drawn and people head to the rail and bus stations in a mad rush to be early birds. For getting such information and guidance, online services are available. Sitting in the comforts of a house or a browsing centre, travel information can be obtained at lightning speed. Fishing in the Net are some travel portals with exhaustive information and excellent guides. www.traveljini.com is one such place where the usually hesitant or unorganised Indian traveller can go to. You name it and they have it.

Submit your queries about places and dates with a budget and you get a mail back within three days about your travel plan and offer of help for booking tickets and accommodation. This is something significant as people normally struggle to put everything together in a short time.

This site has put up a vast amount of travel info, tips about 59 cities of the country. With fantastic use of interactive maps - a unique feature of the website - you can zoom in and out of specific areas of a city and public places such as rail and bus stations, airports, places of recreation and entertainment by following guidelines on the site. That is when you are right there.

The "rail route finder" is simply superb. Just name the from and to info and you get the names and numbers of trains that will take you there and the distances. And booking of tickets and accommodation is done at a nominal cost. You can also get to know about popular destinations, which do not have railway stations.

If you do not have a time-share for travel and health resorts and estates just do not worry, as there are people who go online on this site to sell their shares on bargain.

This site has links with a clinically efficient bid or buy e- park, baazee.com. You can sign up for free on this site to sell or buy not only time-shares but also virtually anything at the pries you notify. A special rating system based on the deals struck is put up on the site for new visitors to gain confidence.

As for general sale of articles, it is advisable to attach a photo of the article for quick deals. In "bid history" one can see previous bids and the current winning bid is notified separately.

The rating section details previous transactions and feedback on a scale. All deals take place in a transparent way and there are safeguards against frauds.

www.Sitagita.com

Move over, Valentine's Day. Celebrate womanhood today. And don't forget to send specially devised greeting cards by hopping to this site. Exquisitely created on saree designs, these cards are a novelty.

This women's portal, which has made its presence felt in five metros including Chennai, opens many windows to the mind and soul of a visitor.

It is symbolic of the spirit of womanhood in this era of liberalised norms and a great offering for upwardly mobile IT- savvy women.

It has a special chat room! And with Arundhati, you can discuss a variety of topics. 'Money-honey', 'Lifestyle guru', and 'Glitch and glamour guide' tell you about different aspects of living.

Interactive tools such as the monthly expense planner (sure, they are the ones who seem to have it or manage it as FMs!) and recipe machine are quite interesting features. Customised information on monthly expenses is posted back to you if you give your profile.

They do not stop with advising how to be economical but offer you special discounts on a slew of products and services, including 10 to 20 per cent on Internet browsing and special free hours in select cafes. For this, you have just to get a Privilege Card offered free after registering and visiting the site.

Post your opinions on nagging problems and topical issues in the letters section and general messages on a board for others to see and interact.

A useful slot has been allotted to working women who are a major force in the urban areas. Issues are discussed threadbare and it offers info on jobs, employment rules and tax planning.

Want to discuss medical problems, learn dance and music! Experts are ready on the site to guide you. The links given are exhaustive and exclusive, something women would never have thought about.

Not to be left out there is a section on "Men", where you can write about special men in your life, including brothers, fathers, friends and colleagues.

It is aimed at coping with men, how to find the genuine among them and develop supportive relations.

(Compiled by K. Kirubanidhi)

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