Tiny Costa Rica holds a very special place in Latin America — largely literate and completely armyless as well as beautiful and exciting. And Malpaís, a six-dude band named after a remote beach area at the end of the road on the Nicoya Peninsula coast (literally, the word means “badlands”), is an unmistakable product of the Tico culture and ethos, fusing jazz and rock with local musical and folk traditions. “Boceto para esperanza,” from their first album, Uno (2003), is a mel
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Dancing Fountains are a nightly show in the atrium of the Gaylord National Resort : © 2010 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
The opening of the Gaylord National Resort changes everything about a family vacation in Washington DC, Families finally have a true family-friendly, four-Diamond full-service waterfront resort to find rest and respite after a
busy and exhausting day being immersed in the nation's capital, taking in the most magnificent museums and attractions the country has to offer.
So
Amtrak's AutoTrain is wonderfully family friendly, and kids are utterly enamored with trains. At the Lorton,VA station - the northern terminus - there is even a playground.
The train goes to Sanford, FL, just outside Orlando © 2010 Karen
Rubin/news-photos-features.com
The idea of long-distance train travel invariably evokes a sense of romance and nostalgia for the golden years when trains were the high-tech way to travel.
That spirit is still alive here in the United States in perhaps the most une
Jaisalmer, the "Golden City", is located on the westernmost frontier ofRajasthan India. It is close to the border with Pakistan. This city is known for its proximity to the Thar Desert. You may enjoy the desert safari in the exotic sand dunes that is an unforgettable experience. Jaisalmer city is dominated by the Jaisalmer Fort, that is the living fort in India unlike most of the forts. You may find shops, hotels and historical havelis inside the fort. It was once a sleepy desert city that has t
Our well-travelled staff have brainstormed and come up with an adventure travel Wish List for Santa. Here are a few of our gift ideas and we'd love to hear some of yours.
(1) Small powerful flashlight. Think rural Chinese toilets at night!
(2) A colourful sarong. You can wrap yourself in it post-swim, cover for temple visits, brighten an outfit or use it as a sleep sheet on an Indian train.
(3) Extra camera batteries and storage. You can never have enough.
(4) Camp, water-resistant duffle bag that c
I tend to have rather funny things happen to me when I travel. Perhaps it is because I travel
for fun, usually. I don't mind much, except standing in line at immigration in
a place like Lima Peru. In Lima, at least three jumbos arrive within a half
hour of each other at night, about midnight. The immigration post has a dozen
or so stations, of which two or three are manned. The line snakes back outside
of the immigration room, into an adjoining hallway, where people crush and
elbow their way towards
My wife and I were on the 14th floor of the Hilton Hotel for NYE in Caracas, Venezuela. Everyone in Caracas bought BIG skyrockets, and with no organized program, complete mayhem ensued. That was the most impressive display of community participation in an event I have ever seen. Until now. The night(s) of the November full moon find the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand alive and vibrant in a wonderful celebration. Actually there are two different traditional celebrations happening at the same time.
By Ed Wetschler
The five ducks at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, are the most popular ducks in the world (sorry, Donald). Over the years, hundreds of thousands of people have watched them march, if “march” is not too dignified a term, through the hotel to the marble fountain in the Peabody's Grand Lobby every day at 11 a.m. And their fans gather again each day at 5 p.m. to watch the marching ducks waddle back through the lobby toward their home on the hotel roof. All this, of course,
Yesterday my wife came home with my passport. It had a full-page Visa in it. The visa has my photograph on it and a holographic stamp. It is quite impressive. AND, it is good for three years.
Now, We must proceed to the next step. We have to get the UAE national ID card called EIADs an acronym Emirites Identity Authority doodah. I look forward to having this card. Not only because it make me totally legal, and allow me to do things like get a driver’s license so I can rent a car, and a liquor lic
I was amazed when our guide took us to the sacred river where they deposit the cremains of Hindus who die. What I did not expect to see was the entire process of the cremation, from the blessing of the body to the actual funeral fire. Grieving family members stood by. Women cried while men took turns using sacred water that flows out of a spring in a temple above the river and then flows through the remains of a god ( not sure which, the Hindus have 1.3 billion of them according to our guide) an
The Galapagos Islands, literally translated to mean the Island of Grand Tortoises is simply fascinating. Located just 1000 kilometers offshore from Ecuador and situated directly on the equator; it enjoys only two seasons but is home to several hundred species of animals. There is simply no place in the world as diverse in wildlife as these isles, as noted in the famous On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.
Many animals that call the islands home today are thought to have floated there and t
Many animals that call the islands home today are thought to have floated there and t
Warm. Exotic. Remote. Unforgettable. All these describe beautiful Maui -- one group of Hawaii's breathtaking islands-- especially this time of year. It is plentiful in luxury accommodations and activities, which are as varied as the thousands of people that visit throughout the year. Whether you like to hike, shop, jog, sun bathe, ski, or just take in the beautiful scenery, Maui is a great place to vacation. It is definitely more than another beach vacation as there is so much more than beaches
There seems to be increasing confusion about appropriate tipping behavior while traveling. This type of travel etiquette is a source of many travelers concerns -- from staying in hotels to traveling on luxury barges or cruise ships. Small cruise ship tipping, including Riverboat Cruises, is based on industry standards and also our two decades plus experience in this business. Luxury travel comes with all the extras included in the experience, dining, locales, and especially service. On Riverboat
It’s not often I get the opportunity to right a wrong or set the record straight while thoroughly immersing myself in sugar white beaches, clear blue ocean waves, and warm tropical breezes. Pair that with total engagement in culinary nirvana, a high-end waterfront condo stay, art, music and eco-friendly golf cart tours and I can truly say I’ve lived the life of an oil-free Diva in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama.
A few weeks back the Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism Bureau invited me to
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| From NMT Images |
Recently I met a vivacious, young mother of two, Vera Sweeney, who is very much an entrepreneur.
Vera runs three rather clever web sites, one of which, ladyandtheblog.com is a sassy example of “fashionistas” taking to the web, often with video cameras (vloggers), to share their shopping successes and opinions for those of us (all of us), ever eager to find deals and good goods.
Vera talked about her recent trip to New York’’s Shoegasm (she lives
Everest. One word, wow. It was a beautiful clear day. Our Buddha Air flight was on a 17 seat Beechcraft. This aircraft is a small tubular unit with one seat on each side of the aisle. A six foot tall person cannot stand erect in the aisle. My wife dislikes small planes and she was uncomfortable at first. Once we got to the mountains, her demeanor changed.
We flew out of the domestic airport. This is a major tourist attraction, and we found out why.
We left at 6:30 in the morning and were back in t
Everyone should see Nepal.
My bonafides for saying that are simple. I have done my share of traveling (not enough yet mind you) and a lot of that has been in back water bizarre places. I have been all over the Altiplanos of Peru and Bolivia. I have been on an island in the middle of Lake Titicaca. I’ve been to Machu Picchu three times. I’ve been so far south in Chile I can almost say I have been in Antarctica. I have walked in the Atacama Desert in a place with zero rainfall ever. I have walked o
Taking a 'gap-year' is an experience that everybody can do and it doesn't mean being irresponsible.
I took two gap-years during my career in human resources (the first at 28, the second at 31), moreover having to face the Italian culture where the topic of the 'sabbatical' is still seen as an 'holiday'.
We often create some excuses to ourselves. Let’s start with the first three:
1. “Where can I find the money?”
Let’s try to have a realistic look at the money we really need to travel the world ‘on th
An architectural phenomenon, the hotel blendes together the Moorish, Oriental and Florentine styles, and offers panoramic views of the glorious Arabian Sea. Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Mumbai is a majestic hotel that reflects the contemporary Indian
(After the book Paris Movie Walks came out last year, I've discovered several more sites that I want to share with my readers. Inception is one of them. For others, feel free to read them in my official site.)
Just before Inception came out, when anything everybody had ever seen from it were a few clips and a print synopsis, it was hailed, even by journalists from serious newspapers as a masterpiece, a thinking man’s adventure entertainment, half reflection on the nature of human consciousness, h
