Accommodation Options on Your Holy Land Trip

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Since my goal is to get you over to Israel, it might be a good idea if I go through some of the accommodation options available on your trip to Israel. Basically, you have the following three options:

* Hotel

* Guest House (Bed & Breakfast)

* Hostel (& Budget accommodation)

Hotels in Israel Israel has some mighty fine hotels these days, and caters for all tastes and budgets. I won’t be recommending any particular hotel, but after some extensive research (unfortunately that research hasn’t meant sleeping in some of Israel’s tastiest hotels…though we have managed to grab a night or two in some of them over the years) I’ve come to the conclusion that a hotel review site such as hotel.info will probably provide you with some of the best Israel hotel deals out there on the Web.

Israel does have the usual international big players, so if you’re used to that level of hotel, I’d say stick with it. What could be more of a risk, but an interesting risk, is a stay at one of the boutique hotels that have recently been popping up throughout Israel, especially in Tel Aviv. Google and enjoy!

Guest Houses in Israel Israel has a number of great guest houses, some of which you can find on a kibbutz, most however, are privately owned. These bed and breakfast type places can be found all over the country, but in the North are particularly popular for Israelis looking for a short weekend break. Prices can range from 250 shekels per night for something very basic, to 1000 shekels plus per night for a bit of luxury. These guest house/B&B places are often known by the name Zimmer.

Our own personal recommendations for guest houses are to visit the north, and in particular to check out the moshavs Amirim and Had Ness. You also can’t go wrong in Rosh Pina, a small town with amazing views over the Galilee.

Hostels in Israel Israel also has some great budget accommodation, ranging from dorm beds in Christian youth hostels, to private rooms in hostels just a step away from the beaches of Tel Aviv. I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing hostel life, and, in the right place, it can take your trip to another level. You get to meet up with other travellers from all over the world, people often looking for the same experiences and fun.

One hostel we know from our (very) early days in Israel and that we can heartily recommend for that backpack/traveller experience: the Old Jaffa Hostel in Tel Aviv/Jaffa. Unique atmosphere and still charming, by all accounts.

How to Get Rid of an Annoying Travel Buddy

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Most of us want a buddy to travel with. Traveling alone can get really boring and at times even unsafe. Therefore we go through various stages to find suitable travel buddies. Like asking best friends first, then work people, then family, then friend’s friend, sometimes just acquaintances also. Lastly if nothing else, we don’t hesitate to log on internet to find people to travel with. Some people in fact take this as a first option rather then wait till the last moment as you get to meet new people and at the same time fulfill the solitary time or privacy.

Often in such cases where one does not know his or her new travel buddy much, it turns out that the person they were looking forward to have a good time with is a rather annoying creature to their taste.

I once came across a blog where the person left her travel buddy in middle of a semi jungle in Malaysia because she just could not take it any more! We can only hope the person found his/her way back.

Does this scare away your plan?

Worry not; there are few things one can keep in mind to get out of such situations

Never finalize with any body a ‘No spaces left’ travel plan. So you found somebody who also wants to backpack across Western Europe like you do, you hit it off on internet. Cool. But always convey about the elasticity of your plans, like you can go to many places unlike the other person, or I just want to have a travel buddy to share few laughs with, nothing more or that your plans are not permanent etc. If you set the expectations right from the first place, drifting away after the journey has begun becomes easier and more acceptable to the other person.

Try talking to your travel buddy, before taking any drastic steps. Who knows maybe he’ll understand and get better.

Their can be cases where you just can’t leave the person in mid journey. What to do then, well – start doing different things or same things at different times then your buddy.

Make ‘Genuine’ excuses about why you can’t come along this hour. Well we can’t be proud about making excuses, but ones got to do what ones got to do!

Pretend to read or be busy with something when he or she is around. Hopefully they will get the idea.

Another very effective way is to mingle with other people and groups. This takes the strain off by huge amounts. Maybe you’d even start liking the buddy in small doses then.

Driving Test Tips

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In most of the states in America, you are required to pass a written exam as well as the practical driving test. The written test is a test of traffic laws, road signs, and driving safety rules. Certain tips do come in handy while taking the this.

It is important that you gather useful driving test tips before the test. To study for this test, you would need to go to your local Department Of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office and pick up a copy of your state’s driver manual. It should be readily available among the various forms and other educational materials.

Start your test preparation by first reading the manual cover to cover. This will give you a fair idea of things to come and an initial reading can make a lot of the matter stick to memory once you begin to study. You need to study the manual thoroughly and there is no skipping this part. Instead of trying to cram it all in one day, set aside some time for it every day and study one section daily. Also look out for any driving test tips while you are at it. It helps to use colour highlighters to highlight the most important information or some useful test tips you’re afraid you wouldn’t remember otherwise.

Studying with a licensed parent or a friend who is also preparing for the test can help make the study more interactive and interesting. You can take turns quizzing each other on each section and make a note of any missed answers. The different road signs and markings can be a little tricky to remember, so quizzing each other through cue cards of the signs can be very helpful. You can also share this with each other. Also, one of the best methods of learning signs and road markings is when you are on a journey. If you are on the bus or being driven, keep an eye out and mentally note the different signs you see. This will help in your practical driving test as well.

These days, it is very easy to practise for the test online. Look at sample tests on the DMV website. Mock examinations are the best way of evaluating yourself before you book yourself in for a test. Multiple choice questions will allow you time to think and could help to jog your memory. There are many websites that have these quizzes available. On entering your zip code, you can get a driving test quiz based on the questions on your state’s driving test. Read through your manual again and try to recollect the driving test tips before the big test. Pay special attention to any of the questions you missed while studying with friends or taking the online test quiz and also remember important driving test tips. Do this and you should breeze through the test with flying colours.

Training Restaurant Servers

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Here is the new approach to training servers.

The author operated table service restaurants as pancake houses, coffee shops, family theme, steak houses, International gourmet, Polynesian, Tex-Mex, Delicatessen, Seafood and others too numerous to designate. What they all had in common was that they had waitresses or waiters, now referred to as servers. These servers were expected to perform the duties of handling guests, gathering orders, communicating these orders to the kitchen, assembling the orders for delivery to the tables, delivering these orders, correcting snafus, handling complaints, collecting the payment of the checks and all of the other activities associated with making a restaurant visit a pleasant experience.

To the uninitiated this seems to be an insurmountable task requiring a wide range of food handling talents, a good psyche, a calm inner strength and a genuine liking of people. Where do you find such a talented person and how can he or she be turned loose in your specialized dining room, entrusted with the life blood of your business – your customer? Yes, it is possible to recruit, train, motivate and supervise such fine people to respond adequately to the needs of your food establishment. The newest approach is to train servers from the view point of a trainer taking on a new server recruit on a one- on- one trip to a successful conclusion, ie; making great money for the server and the establishment!

Here is solid advice for every food server everywhere… Deliver the orders as soon as possible. Check the quality of the foods carefully before serving them. Never serve any food you believe to be spoiled, soured, or tainted, that you think might be dangerous to the customer’s health. When you discover spoiled, sour, or tainted food, don’t throw it away – call the manager and have him double check you. If he agrees with your detection, he will agree to the disposal of the questionable food items. Always serve the correct portion. Observe to learn the portions for each item listed on the menu portions sheet posted in the service area. You can’t keep customers happy and your restaurant functioning properly if foods are over or under- portioned. Management, in setting a price for a food item, takes into account that a certain weight or size of that item will be served for the price to be charged. Exceeding that portion short changes the business and makes it difficult to make the cash return to pay wages and stay profitable. On the other hand, if a guest sees a smaller than usual portion they will resent it and may not return again.

Understand your employees that you are training.

How can you inspire people to work harder and produce more? After years of research, Success Motivation Institute found that these seven basic actions are still among the strongest motivators. There is nothing here that you don’t already know. But in your daily work, how many of these actions do you forget to practice?

1. Flatter your people with your personal interest: There is nothing wrong with flattery when it is sincere. Genuine flattery, as opposed to mere “buttering up,” will give your people a lift, and will give you a boost in their eyes. Cash in on your personal interest dividends today. Learn the first names of the husbands and wives of your people. Find out about their children, their family problems, outside interests. Get to know them as human beings, not just workers.

2. Be consistent in your treatment of your people: This may sound easy, but it’s not. It takes practice and constant self-examination to remain impartial.

3. Build up the confidence and pride of your people by consulting with them regularly: Seek out the ideas and advice of your people. Show your respect for their opinions and judgment. Show that they can learn from you but that you also want to learn from them. Make your people feel they are participating, not just taking orders.

4. Be generous with credit: When one of your people performs well, don’t keep it a secret. Let others know about it.

5. Treat ideas with interest, consideration, and respect: When one of your people comes up with a suggestion-even a poor one-make him/her feel glad he brought it to you.

6. Own up to your errors honestly: Don’t strut around like a superior being. If you make a mistake, admit it and take full blame. If one of your people is right and you are wrong, tell him so. And let others involved know that the mistake was yours, not his. Show the people who work for you that you are just as human as they are.

7. Make facts flow freely: Knowhow is a man’s link to opportunity and advancement. Sharing your facts, your knowledge, and your experience will convince your people that you are on their side. And it’s only human to reciprocate.

In short, to double the output of your people, treat each individual as a person first and as an employee second. The greatest need of the food service industry today is teamwork by agreement. Our industry is a vast complex of many different businesses and widely varied views. Yet our differences fade into insignificance when we consider our many over-all mutual interests.