Summers in the southern hemisphere are filled with mystery, excitement, and sometimes even a little romance.

Anyone looking for a little bit of adventure, whether it is a simple day of romance and excitement or a full fledged summer fling, should check out these 10 incredible destinations.

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HotelClub are pleased to announce that we are now on Facebook. The HotelClub Special Deals Group is open to everyone and is a great way to get to know about special deals and start communicating with the rest of the club. Anyone can join in one of our discussion boards, drop by to say hi by commenting on our wall, upload a favourite travel video or simply check out our latest special deals on hotels.

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Christmas 2008 is just around the corner and HotelClub are celebrating early with the release of this years amazing Christmas hotel special!

For the next thirty days every booking made through HotelClub’s 2008 Christmas Specials page will receive thirty member dollars* (equivalent to $30 US dollars) to use towards their next hotel booking.

HotelClub proudly offer fast secure access to over 48,000 hotels across 126 countries worldwide. So no matter what kind of Christmas break you have in mind this year you are sure to find a great choice of hotels to enjoy a fantastic Christmas getaway in 2008!

*30 Member Dollars is equivalent to $USD 30. As this is a special offer, there is a maximum 30 Member Dollars per person that will expire on 10 December 2008 and is not to be used in conjunction with any other HotelClub promotion running. Otherwise all standard terms and conditions apply.

Looking to get off the beaten track this month, October certainly has drawn together a number of very interesting posts about places I have never even dreamed of, its certainly been a month of inspiration. Here are our top five posts for October 08 :-

Florin wrote about some of the creepiest places on Earth in Five of the Spookiest Places on Earth, check out the smoking cracks in the roads of Centralia, thats freaky.

Dave blogged about a Natural Cave on an Island off the coast of Scotland that produces eerie musical sounds from within in his post Musical Cave is a Natural Cathedral.

We visited Bolivia’s magical paradise, a photographers dream, one of the biggest salt flats on the planet in Alex’s post Salar de Uyuni: Delightful Retreat in Natures Salt-filled Paradise.

Alex also took us on a journey to the ancient Mogao Caves of China, a prosperous oasis on the famous Silk Road back in its day, now its home to giant fresco’s and sculptures.

Dave took us to visit the kayan long neck tribe, Buddhist Monks and elephants of Thailand’s Chang Rai, a truly unique region with many hidden surprises.

That’s our highlights for October ‘08 but stay tuned for Novembers posts are shaping up to be equally as interesting.

This weeks Travel Community News comes to you from Beth Whitman of the famed Wanderlust and Lipstick Blog.

India can be a challenging country in which to travel for anyone. Foreign women, more so than men, tend to garner more attention from Indians so it can be even more overwhelming. The Indian women will want to touch your skin, make polite conversation to understand more about your culture and tell you all about their country. Many Indian men may not be so altruistic and may be more interested in a sexual liaison. In either case, keeping the following tips in mind will help create a safer and far more enriching experience for women travelers.

Traveling Colorful India

1) Dress conservatively. Despite the fact that Bollywood stars wear skimpy, skin-bearing, shimmering clothes, India is a socially conservative country. Local women, who usually dress in saris or salwar kameez outfits, generally don’t bare their shoulders or knees. And neither should a foreign woman unless it’s in a very touristy area where the locals are used to seeing more Westernized clothes. Even a woman in a tank top in a rural area can be considered a prostitute simply for baring her shoulders.

2) Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. It’s not uncommon for a woman to be groped, rubbed, followed or have a man come on to her. It’s usually not in any forceful manner. However, it’s so important to make yourself clear in telling him that his behavior is not OK. We often feel like we have to be nice, particularly when we are traveling abroad. But all bets are off when someone violates your space. Just say NO!

3) Carry a cable lock and small locks for your bags’ zippers. These come in really handy, particularly on overnight train rides. Simply locking your backpack or luggage to your berth will thwart any would-be thief. And keeping the zippers locked together will prevent someone from opening your bag in order to quickly snatch its contents.

4) Stay healthy. I know. I’m making it sound simple. But one of the keys to staying safe and having the time of your life in India is to simply stay as healthy as possible during your journey. Eat well-cooked food, drink purified/bottled/boiled water, and keep your immunizations updated.

5) Make friends with local women. Join a homestay program such as Servas, Couchsurfing or Globalfreeloaders and connect with Indian women before you leave. Having a safety net of contacts before you even arrive will put you at ease and give some depth to your experiences. And, if you find yourself in need of help or a place to stay, you’ll have someone to connect with.

6) Take time outs when needed. India is everything all at once and sometimes it can be overwhelming to be exposed to so many people and so much poverty. When you’re feeling like your senses are on overload, find a place in which to retreat. This could be: poolside at your hotel; watching a movie in your hotel room; indulging in a one hour massage; or spending the afternoon at the restaurant of an upscale hotel. Treating yourself to some downtime will allow you to feel refreshed and ready to face the frantic yet fascinating street life of India.

Beth Whitman has logged hundreds of thousands of miles around the globe as a contemporary Wanderer: combining her love for travel with volunteer work, adventure trips, travel writing and business. Beth’s fantastic blog Wanderlust and Lipstick focuses on creating travel guides for women.

If you are in the travel blogging industry and would like to submit a guest post to us for review, please send an email to kristy dot foss at hotelclub dot com.

Photo Credits: 1, 2, 3,

This weeks Travel Community News is presented by some of my favourite travel bloggers - Julie and Francisco Collazo - you can read all about their travels on their blog Collazo Projects.

It’s 5 in the afternoon and we’re hungry. We don’t want tamales or gorditas. We want something different…something… exotic.

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