Melbourne, Australia

    Melbourne is a hotspot travel destination, and it's easy to see its beautiful beaches and busy city life.

    Why it's a great choice: Australia as a whole is considered a safe destination for international travel, and because of that, many solo travelers go there. As an English-speaking country, you won't be faced with any language barriers. Melbourne is easy to get around because you can walk or bike practically anywhere!

    Thailand

    Thailand is great for solo travelers — perhaps because it is one of the Buddhist mindsets, which promote equality among the sexes.

    Why it's a great choice: Thailand is known for its friendly atmosphere, and as a travel hotspot, there are plenty of chances to meet other like-minded travelers. Well known for being very cheap, especially in the north. A good choice if you want to get away on a budget. Thailand has a lot to offer, from the party- central Bangkok to beautiful beaches and tropical (热带的) jungle.

    Hong Kong, China

    Hong Kong is a great place to relax for solo travelers as it is full of “Zen Moments”, such as beautiful gardens and Tai Chi classes.

    Why it's a great choice: Hong Kong is regarded as one of the safest cities in the world. If you're not well traveled, or perhaps a bit tired of things like language barriers, Hong Kong is a great place to start, as it mixes both Eastern and Western at the same time.

    Bali, Indonesia

    Bali is a spiritual place with yoga, spas, healthy food and beaches. The combination of friendly people and splendid visual culture has made Bali number one tourist attraction.

    Why it's so great: you won't be the only solo traveler in Bali. Everyone is known for being extremely friendly and you're sure to meet some amazing characters along the way. As a Hindu island, Bali is the perfect place for a relaxing and spiritual retreat (静修). The Sacred Monkey Foresting Ubud is fantastic 一 if you like monkeys, anyway.

    While there are a few ways to make use of your old smartphone, one of the better ways is to convert into a dash cam (行车记录仪) that you can use on your bicycle. With the camera, you can record your rides, which is especially helpful if you are involved in a crash with another vehicle.

    To use your smartphone as a dash cam on your bike, you will need to make sure it is properly secured to your bike. To do this correctly, you must take two strips of heavy-duty Velcro (a kind of cloth used as fastening) along with two pipe Clamps (管夹) and a flat corner brace (角撑) to properly attach it. You will start by attaching the comer brace to your smartphone.

    Next, attach a Velcro strip to your phoned back. You will put the second strip on the end of the brace comer and cut any extra Velcro off and away from the brace. By using heavy-duty Velcro, you shouldn't have to worry about the camera brace must be attached to the bicycle directly.

    Take two pipe clamps so you can attach the part of the corner brace so the phone can be held up and used. The pipe    clamps must be positioned near the center of the handlebar, which will enable you to get a better picture when videotaping.

    To run a dash cam app on your old phone, you will just need to download a dash cam app onto the old phone. You will then just start the app at any time you head out on the road. There is always the chance of flaws, but you will be giving yourself a way to protect yourself in a friendly, eco-friendly manner that is much less expensive than purchasing a dash cam.

    One silly question I simply can't stand is "How do you feel? Usually the question is asked of a man in action — a man on the go, walking along the street, or busily working at his desk. So what do you expect him to say? He'll probably say, "Fine, I'm all right," but "you've put a bug in his ear" — maybe now he's not sure. If you're a good friend, you may have seen something in his face, or his walk, that he overlooked that morning. It starts him worrying a little. First thing you know, he looks in a mirror to see if everything is all right, while you go merrily on your way asking someone else, "How do you feel?" Every question has its time and place. It's perfectly acceptable, for instance, to ask "How do you feel?" if you're visiting a close friend in the hospital. But if the fellow is walking on both legs, hurrying to catch a train, or sitting at his desk working, it's no time to ask him that silly question. When George Bernard Shaw, the famous writer of plays, was in his eighties, someone asked him, "How do you feel?" Shaw put him in his place. "When you reach my age," Shaw said, "either you feel all right or you're dead."

    The Japanese have always been at the forefront at deploying (利用) robots to perform jobs that are traditionally done by humans. Over the past year, humanoid robots have been seen helping customers at the Mitsubishi Bank and even filling in for human science communicators at museums. Therefore, it is not surprising to hear that the country has the worlds first hotel that is staffed almost entirely by the Androids!

    The aptly (巧妙地) named Henn-na ("strange" in Japanese) Hotel which opened its doors on July 17 is located at Nagasaki's Huis Ten Bosch theme park. It is the idea of Hideo Sawada, a Japanese businessman who is fascinated by the possibility of replacing humans with robots. His aim is to have this futuristic hotel be run mainly by the intelligent humanoids.

    Guests checking-in are welcomed by a family friendly English-speaking robot wearing a bow tie and bell-hop (侍者) hat. Though experienced at his job, he does request guests not to ask him "a difficult question" since he is after all, "just a robot!" Those seeking a more "regular" experience, can approach the human-like Japanese-speaking robot.

    When ready, visitors can request the robot "porters" to help carry belongings to their room. Those that need to stow away valuables can hand them to a helpful robot who will place them inside an individual safe box in exchange for a small fee. A one-foot-high concierge (管理人) is available to provide information about the hotel's amenities (便利设施), nearby attractions, and even order a taxi if needed.

    So how much does it cost to live in this crazy cool hotel? It depends on when you decide to go. During the low season, guests can get away with paying as little $60 a night for a basic room. However, during the peak season when rates, are determined by an online auction, the price can get as high as $153.

The age of technology is a great and convenient thing, but it does have effects on us in many different ways.

It causes long-term memory loss. Thanks to Baidu, we don't really have to remember much of anything. Questions are answered at the drop of a hat because Baidu is all-knowing! Is that a good thing, though? People aren't digging through their brains anymore to find answers. Here's the good news: we can still exercise our long-term memory by simply thinking before we Baidu. If we don't want to go down that road, we can search Baidu for some memory games to play. Turn Baidu into an asset instead of an enemy.

It makes us lack patience. Baidu gives us what we want. Everything is instant. In fact, if we have to wait for even a handful of minutes for anything, we start losing our minds. This idea of instant satisfaction carries through to many other aspects of our lives, too, like when we go out to eat, drive in traffic, or even deal with workplace accidents. Instead of using Baidu to lessen our anger, try searching for some mindful meditations (沉思).Focus on our breath and realize everything doesn't have to move at lightening speed. We can actually listen to some peaceful spa or meditation music on our Pandora, too!

It wastes our time. Be honest, how much time are we spending on Baidu every day? Whether we're doing research for our own personal needs, buying clothing, or writing a research paper, we all spend a ton of time on the trusty Internet. Are we always being efficient with this time? For the sake of our precious time, if we haven't used Baidu Drive, we should. Keep spreadsheets, text does, PDFs, slideshows, and even recordings exactly where we can easily find them. Keep a running list of websites we know we'll revisit.

Overall, things are different these days. Yes, there are noticeable negative side effects because of the Baidu invasion, but we don't have to fall into that trap. Stay sharp and don't let ourselves become imprisoned doing the Baidu god's bidding.