Blogs

The Shaolin Temple is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in China and the home of the famous Kung Fu practicing monks. The style of Buddhism developed here centered on martial arts training and meditation. The tradition was carried on through the years from master to student. Today, Shaolin is still the focal point for Kung Fu in China and a great place for visitors to experience this ancient art form.

Located on Shaoshi Mountain just outside of Luoyang, the temple offers many different opportuni

The entire country arguably could be considered one hug outdoor classroom – filled to the brim with amazing nature and exciting adventure. For this reason, Costa Rica has become one of the top family vacation destinations in the world.

All in one small country you can find warm tropical weather, beautiful beaches along two oceans (Pacific and Caribbean), rainforest, cloud forest, volcanoes, rivers, and fascinating wildlife that is actually “in the wild.”

For families looking for a safe, educationa

Una red de montañas, parques naturales, balnearios y pueblos medievales se ha tejido a lo largo de los siglos en el centro de Europa. Y sin embargo no es nada conocida. ¿Y eso? El turismo aún no ha puesto sus ojos en Eslovaquia, un país diminuto que se separó de la República Checa en 1993. Hay que empezar por su capital, Bratislava, que es como una oda a los pequeños detalles.

Cercana a Viena, Praga y Budapest y eclipsada por la grandeza monumental de esas tres ciudades construidas para dejar

Whale sharks are sharks the size of whales, but unlike other sharks, they are not the least bit scary.  Even so, swimming with creatures as large as 60-feet is an adrenalin experience, as I found out on a recent whale shark tour in the Gulf of Mexico near Cancun.

Whale sharks are annual visitors to the area around the Maya Riviera, esspecially around and the islands of Isla Mujeres, Holbox and Contoy, between May and September. Their presence is celebrated with daily whale shark tours, and celebr

Let me get my "conspiracy theory" out here first: Imperialistic, giant players like Google, Twitter, Facebook build  social nets to ensnare us into doing their bidding by populating them to an extreme, which in turn makes big bucks for them. Are we then willing tools of their master plan to do their bidding?

But to lighten up, it may simply be that I'm on social media overload. Or maybe I'm struggling to find relevance with the travel category in Twitter.
But when I look at streams on, say, #so

I’m based in Miami, Florida these days, and both here and on my travels down to Latin America – and especially in and around the Caribbean — I regularly come across a board game that I had just a glancing acquaintance with growing up. Dominoes have been around for literally millennia, of course. Originally from China, like pasta they found their way to Europe and beyond centuries ago, and still have a worldwide following. But when was the last time you played, or even heard of anyone actually p

Village Center, Vaqueros, Salta, Argentina

Located in the foothills of the Andes at 4000'above sea level, Vaqueros is a small country village at the northern edge of the city of Salta, Argentina. With a resident population of about 4000 persons, here you will see traditional Argentina Gauchos (cowboys) on horseback making their way around the hamlet, enjoy a small town atmosphere and great low prices in restaurants or local shops.

Enjoy Local Delicacies

Visitors can experience horseback riding on

I'm in the middle of a job that I have a love-hate feeling about - filing the photographs I've shot over the past few months. I spent a lot of time travelling this year, and my purchase of a little Fujifilm S1800 point-and-shoot camera back in mid-May has probably increased my always-prolific shooting a bit because it's so handy.

In any case, just since the 16th of May I've shot 8,716 images just on the Fuji (I seldom use my Canon Digital Rebel anymore). After editing, I have just under 8,000 le

Travel writing not only has the potential to compete with novels on literary merit, but to excel.  After all, it’s potentially got everything: exotic locations, true adventure, multiple story lines, peak emotion, honest reflection, and poetic insight… for starters.  So why is most of it—in short (magazine) form, anyway—so bad?  Follow the money.  No other literary genre is expected to sell peripheral products—tickets and tours and gear and (gulp) insurance—in addition to magazines and books. 

“How much onion?”  “It says about half.”  “A half, a whole; onions are good for you.  Let’s use the whole onion.”  “It says a teaspoon of paprika.”  “This looks like about a teaspoon.”  And so it went.  One of us chopped, one sautéed, another mixed.  All the tools were there, all the ingredients ready to go.  And so we created.  The Wine Council made the perfect dishes to pair with some outstanding wines from the La Rochelle and Steven Kent Wineries.   Three hours, six dishes, six wines.  A trul

The Central Pacific region of Costa Rica is one of my favorite places in the country. Glittering jade and turquoise on the Pacific Ocean, Manuel Antonio is the Central Pacific’s crown jewel of destinations.

Why is this area so intensely popular? Easy. You can find so many of Costa Rica’s top activities and attractions all in one jaw-dropping, gorgeous place. Thick, verdant rainforest spills down steep hillsides to white sand beaches and the azure Pacific Ocean. A scalloped coastline begets coves,

Buddhist cave art was first developed in China during the Northern Wei Dynasty around 400 A.D. The thousands of caves held temples and intricately detailed statues of Buddha and his disciples that ranged in size from the length of a finger to the size of four story building. The carving frenzy continued until the Song Dynasties hundreds of years later. Once a place for worship, these caves are now a major destination for art fans and history buffs from around the world. Of the surviving caves, t

Kos forms part of the Dodecanese archipelago and is the third largest island after Rhodes and Karpathos.  It is actually the result of a range of mountains sinking, following a colossal seismic shift back in the distant past.  The nearby islands of Kalymnos and Nyssiros share the same origin, being remnants of the same mountain ridge.

The lovely climate, with the sun shining all year round, and above all the beautiful beaches, make Kos one of the most appealing destinations for travelers.

The

Gapping season has arrived, and adventurers from across the globe are now looking forward to twelve months of unabated thrill seeking on distant shores.  According to Acacia Africa, a growing number of independent backpackers are opting to add in a group tour – overland expeditions, voluntours, and small group safaris proving popular with gappers.

Arno Delport, Sales & Marketing Manager for Acacia Africa comments, “Social networking has played a huge part in this trend, and it’s no longer group e

Costa Rica posee 27 parques nacionales, 58 refugios, 32 áreas protegidas, 15 humedales pantanosos, 11 reservas forestales y 8 reservas biológicas. La totalidad de territorio protegido representa el 25% de su extensión geográfica completa. Un lugar especial dentro de estos lo ostenta la Reserva Natural Absoluta de Cabo Blanco. Esta forma parte del Área de Conservación Tempisque, en la provincia de Puntarenas. Cuenta con una superficie terrestre de 12,7 Km.² más 17,9 Km.² marinos. Fue la primera z

In a region where you wouldn’t find even a stray camel, naming a road after the ungulated dromedary should have been the work of some intrepid imagination. Or a distinct lack of it. During the British Raj both were in abundance. But whatever the Camel’s Back road lacks in nomenclature aptness, it makes up with sheer panorama. The four kilometres of clean air, good health or introspection winds serenely from Library Chowk to Kulri Bazaar in Mussoorie, the popular hill destination in the northern

The case involves Mr. Ziggy Hussain who runs the popular Ziggy's Spice House in downtown Halifax (Nova Scotia), Canada.

According to the Halifax Courier, TripAdvisor summarily removed 280 reviews after its "fraud detection system indicated suspicious activity."

The result: Hussain's restaurant was demoted from the number one position in the town to the bottom of the list. Worse, TripAdvisor actually claimed the restaurant was engaging in "criminal activities" by breaking the law in publishing fr

Estamos acostumbrados a ver fotos espectaculares de aviones. Ya sea  en tierra, despegando, aterrizando, en crucero (volando en altitud de crucero), en hangares o en pistas, de día y hasta de noche,  muchas veces nos sorprenden porque no somos capaces de averiguar desde dónde han sido tomadas.

Los spotters, son fotógrafos en su gran mayoría amateurs, cuyo hobby es el de fotografiar aviones. Para ello buscan los lugares más recónditos para tomar la mejor instantánea, normalmente desde los aerop