Gemma Longman, Pixabay, DFAT, libraryman
In the travel media business, the end of the old year is usually accompanied by articles on where to travel in the new year. But if you’re casting about for off-the-beaten-track ideas, you could do worse that starting to experience the delightful tropical islands of the world that will be the first, in the not distant future, to be threatened by the sea-level rise brought by climate change. expected to be 10 to 32 inches (26-82 centimeters) by th
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Shōgatsu (New Year's) in Tokyo used to be a time just for quiet reflection, but now celebrants have many more choices – from visiting a temple or shrine for the Hatsumode spiritual pilgrimage to partying at midnight with a countdown at Shibuya Crossing or a hip night club or theme park. This is in addition to slurping toshikoshi “year-end” soba noodles on New Year’s Eve, observing the Hatsuhinode (first sunrise) from a high point on New Year’s morning, and eating osechi ryori and other holiday
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home.”
- 19th-century American naturalist John Muir
Guest ranches have provided a means for city folks to air out their spirits since the turn of the century, but today they are multi-sport adventures, leapin
A 1960s city with a UNESCO World Heritage Site complex of buildings designed by the famous Swiss architect Le Corbusier, Chandigarh, capital of both of the northern Indian states of Punjab and Harayana, is a gateway to the western Himalayas. Exciting mountain getaways are just a few hours away, whether you are escaping the summer heat, looking for some monsoon mist or planning to enjoy a snowy winter weekend. Here are some top recommendations that make for an unforgettable journey.
McLeodganj
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Beaches are a huge part of Australia’s cultural identity. Not only are they some of our most iconic locations, beaches provide a range of health benefits, from relieving stress to boosting our immune system. In 2016, the Accessible Beaches campaign set out to improve the quality of life for the more than four million Australians living with disability by improving access to beaches around the country.
Now, there are 14 beaches with accessible features with more on their way. With summer coming
Alpha
Most foodies have heard of pho, the noodle soup consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and beef or chicken. But Vietnamese cuisine is known for its amazing variety of 'street food', much of it also noodle-based. A half dozen prime examples you can find in Vietnam's capital Hanoi:
Bún Riêu
A meat or seafood vermicelli soup (top), its distinctive crimson color comes from tomato paste and annatto oil, made from achiote tree seeds. It be also served with fried tofu to heighten its flav
Happy Boxing Day! Always a festive date in a festive season. But another phenomenon that helps keep that festiveness going all winter are the various cool pop-ups - restaurants, bars, galleries, shops, quirky experiences - always coming along to keep us entertained. Spring brought us all kinds of chocolatey treats and summer had its beach bars, but the chilly season in some ways brings us the most exciting new pop-ups of all. It’s time to get cosy with open fires, snug cinemas and a whole load
by Miguel Martínez Rabanal
Along with many other cultural traditions, Spain bequeathed Christmas and New Year’s to its American colonies, now the 17 Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America – and while quite a few customs have survived intact or close to it, many others have become modified over the years, and new ones have arisen according to local circumstances. Here are five of the most notable examples.
Colombia
The Christmas season is inaugurated in many of the country’s cities by the
In the UK we usually associate Christmas with family, eating and drinking (often to excess!), giving presents, Father Christmas and a Christmas tree. But how is the tradition celebrated in West Africa, a region of the World where Christianity is at its freshest, where missionaries have only been preaching for about 150 years?
West Africa is a culturally diverse region; comprised of 16 countries, where Islam and Christianity dominate thousands of different tribes speaking hundreds of different lan
Christmas & New Year holidays are the most awaited of the year for many. Spending the holidays with family and friends is the longstanding custom in almost all the parts of the Western world. To add to the joy of the festivities, many families and friends try to source out places where they can spend interesting quality time together.
As we all know Christmas is almost here and New Year’s Eve not far behind, so though it's probably too late this year, we've compiled a list of 7 amazing places i
photos | David Paul Appell
If when you think about Brazil, chances are it’s all about Rio de Janeiro, perhaps with some Amazon and Bahia thrown in (or just maybe even the futuristic architecture of capital Brasilia). But all the way down south in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the terrain is rolling to mountainous; the climate consistently temperate to cool; and the culture akin to the gauchos of neighboring Uruguay as well as strongly flavored by the German and Italian immigration
Danke & Peter
People like to travel alone for a number of different reasons. While some prefer the intimacy coupled with freedom of traveling all by themselves, others simply travel solo because they couldn't find the right partner or a friend to go along with them. More often than not, people make plans with their friends only to have those friends cancel at the last possible moment. Traveling alone can result in much-needed introspection and self-discovery, only with drinks, food and the prosp
Just 15 minutes from Colorado Springs Airport, one of the most convenient gateways to the Rocky Mountains was founded back in 1918 when real estate and gold mining baron Spencer Penrose opened The Broadmoor hotel to much fanfare. The location accommodated Penrose's dual goals of offering an otherworldly oasis in the Wild West and providing a launching point for more rugged leisure pursuits like speeding up hairpin turns on a dirt track to Pike's Peak in his Pierce Arrow Yellow Devil race car.
Pen
Nothing beats the feeling of traveling or going on a trip with your family. Vacations are necessary to de-stress and bond with your companions, and if they include temples, the results are even better- you come out with a well-rested body and a relaxed mental state. With that in mind, let's take a look at a few of the temple towns near the industrial giant of Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore:
Namakkal
Namakkal is not the first place that comes to mind when one thinks of temple towns, but that does not me
by Cristóbal Ramírez
In recent years, the capital of Angola – the southern African country which has long left the devastation of its civil war behind and whose annual growth rates of late have rocketed as high as 20 percent – has become this continent’s most thrusting boomtown (some have gone so far as to dub Luanda “the Monaco of Africa“). While much of this is due to petroleum (which despite the drop in world market prices is still the main moneymaker for this country), there’s also a nascent
A warm welcome at the Celestine Tokyo Shiba
As Tokyo starts gearing up for the Summer 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, new hotels are opening across the city. Here's what's just opened and what's ahead into the new year.
Exterior of MOXY by Marriott Tokyo Kinshicho
MOXY by Marriott Tokyo Kinshicho is located in the rapidly renovating Sumida-ward. The first MOXY to open in Japan, it will sport 205-guest-rooms ranging from 18 to 28 square meters, targeting a moderate price range and tech-savvy, mil
Melbourne is heralded as the cultural capital of Australia, and for good reason. The city plays host to a variety of events ranging from sports to music and cultural festivals, along with a great number of sights and attractions, perfect for both the tourist and the curious local. Here are the half dozen best places to visit in Melbourne:
Federation Square
While it opened in 2002, Federation Square has had a vibrant, yet somewhat controversial history, its unique architecture met with strong
Arsenie Krasnevsky
During a year when the European Union is commemorating the 25th anniverary of the momentous signing of the Maastricht Treaty which established the EU, no better time to take a look at this vibrant university city in the southeast Netherlands, on the border with Belgium and just over a couple of hours by train or car from Amsterdam.
With Holland‘s second highest number of national heritage sites after Amsterdam, this city of some 278,000 inhabitants (metro area 4
For those of a certain age, it is impossible to forget how consumed the American public was with the Vietnam War in the late 60s and early 70s. We ate it, slept it, watched it on TV every night. But not me – I was a student in a state of denial for most of its duration, even though many of my high school classmates were fighting and dying there.
Afterward, when Michael Herr’s “Dispatches” burst upon the world in 1977, providing gritty literary bulletins about what it had been like to be deep
Straddling two time zones and four climate zones, Kazakhstan is a country of startling contrasts.
Some would say it is the country of steppes, others of endless flatlands, of deep canyons such as Charyn, of deserts or of semi-saline lakes, like Balkhash. They would all be right. Richly endowed by nature, the country has embraced green policies with targets extending to 2050. Like an old nomadic tribe, change is part of the country’s fabric, as illustrated by the decision to move the capital f
