My solo travels have mostly taken me throughout North America; but this last trip stretched my independence and my endurance. I was originally intrigued when several months ago I saw an online mention of airfare to Reykjavik from Los Angeles for $200. Wow, I cannot fly anywhere in the US for that price, so I made a mental note. Of course, by the time I had decided that I would venture to Iceland, the price had doubled; but it was still an unbelievable deal. I booked one week in Iceland a
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Nature’s Amber, Golden, and Crimson Leaves of Splendor Beckon Travelers on Tobu Railway – Traveling North from Tokyo’s Asakusa Station – to Nikko and Kinugawa in Tochigi Prefecture
While American domestic travelers marvel at New England’s autumn leaves in shades from saffron to crimson, Japan’s fall foliage also beckons leaf peepers from around Japan itself and across the globe. Japanese culture reveres the changing of the seasons. Plus, the ephemerality of ruby maple and the golden gingko, alon
Ach, du liebe! It’s that sudsy time of year again, as Germany’s Oktoberfest begins anew later this month. When many of us think “beer”, Deutschland naturally springs readily to mind – and for some, perhaps also Belgium, known for some distinctive brews of its own. But after more than a quarter century recovering from its unfortunate 20th-century stint behind the Iron Curtain of the Cold War decades and resulting beer-industry degradation, the beer-pioneering Czechs are once ag
If you’ve always wanted to go mountain biking in Costa Rica, but thought it beyond your ability, there is hope.
In Costa Rica, the northwestern province of Guanacaste is a big place for biking tours. Especially mountain biking due to its rugged terrain of mountains and volcanoes.
Now electric mountain bike tours in Costa Rica are making the sport of mountain biking accessible to everyone. This new technology allows people of all abilities to explore the Costa Rica countryside by bike.
“You can
We heard about a sleepy little fishing village just north of Puerto Vallarta from friends who had visited the area and found this relatively hidden gem of a vacation destination, situated on a prime section of sandy beachfront with a long, gentle surf break of warm, clear water.
The story goes that Sayulita was “discovered” by groups of traveling surfers in the 1960s and has maintained the charm and warmth of the Mexican culture of years gone by, as well as keeping its laidback surfer vibe, with
taurusgio
Cliffs plummet dramatically to beaches and crashing surf. Lush green hills rise and fall, then keep rising until they swell into the craggy, majestic Picos de Europa range. In the compact principality of Asturias, roughly midway along Spain's north coast, nature is front and center. There are several good-size cities here, for sure. But the flavor of this land is bucolic and small-town, with picture-postcard views almost everywhere you look. It is not what most anyone would think of a
Bob Dass
Corporate art collections have been with us for generations (indeed, in some sense for centuries), but in recent years, an increasing number of hotels – both indies and entire chains – have been focusing on art as both a guest perk and a point of prestige (and some have even been theming themselves completely with art – I fondly recall staying in Berlin as far back as the early 1990s at the Art Hotel Sorat). If you’re an art lover, there are an increasing number of o
There are a number of tourist attractions around Vietnam's capital to domestic and international tourists, especially backpackers who use motorbike to explore their own pace. If you have never been to these below places, pack your luggage and prepare a plan for interesting experiences of sightseeing around Hanoi.
Bat Trang Pottery Village
Some 20 kilometers outside Hanoi on the left side of Red River, you can drive motorcycle or take a bus to
Argentina's rich winemaking heritage dates back to the early 16th century, putting it in an entirely different league than neighboring new world producers Chile and Brazil. Spanish settlers planted the first specimens of vitis vinifera in monastic vineyards throughout Argentina's central, western, and northeastern regions.
Soon an extensive agricultural irrigation system of ditches and canals modeled after those of the Incas drew water from melting Andes snow caps into reservoirs, utilized to th
Ana Clara Tito
In my time living in Brazil, perhaps the greatest lesson I have taken from Brazilian culture is to be quiet on the inside despite the chaos happening on the outside. Rio de Janeiro residents, Cariocas, spend a lot of time at the beach. This greatly contributes to their peaceful ways, their constant smiles, fit lifestyles and the abundance of tropical fruit and açai in their diets. Rio is quickly coming up in South America as a wellness destination. It is no longer a challenge to
“I am basically a finance professional,” said Arun Nanda, founder of Club Mahindra Holidays, a collection of nearly 50 family-oriented properties throughout India as well as four internationally, in Austria, Dubai, Malaysia, and Thailand). We had met Arun, (who is also one of the principals of automobile manufacturing and tractor sales company Mahindra and Mahindra) in Israel the year before when he was delivering a series of lectures at Tel Aviv University. And now, in the manner in which way l
GGtimeshares
Despite the fact that the industry having a bad reputation in some quarters, many people are still signing up to timeshares as they’re led to believe that they’re a worthwhile holiday option.
However, this is simply not the case and a large portion of these misguided holidaymakers find themselves with a money sponge which they can’t shake off.
In case you’re thinking of signing up to a timeshare contract, we’re going to take a look at whether or not they’re still a good summer hol
When it comes to tourism in Central America’s largest country, the city that tends to get most of the attention is Granada (while ironically, capital Managua is pretty much avoided by all but business people). But in many ways I find its traditional – and less tarted up for tourists/expats – rival Santiago de los Caballeros de León, even more fascinating, beginning with the fact that despite its somewhat lower contemporary profile among foreigners, Nicaragua's second largest city (aft
The world’s third most populous city (18½ million, metro area 25 million) is one of those places which are of course home to some of the most iconic historic sights on the planet, and now a heady mix of the old and the new China. Though compared to when I first visited back in 1993 swathes of Beijing (which to this day I often prefer to call by its traditional English name Peking) I found strikingly different on my most recent visit this year - awash in the cutting-edg
Astronomie Populaire 1879/Camille Flammarion
Today, many across the USA are watching in fascination a rare solar eclipse as the moon's shadow makes its way across the country this afternoon. These days that fascination is astronomical, but before astronomy, for much of the world it was apocalyptic. And the terror it inspired is at the root of a curious incident in 1502. Often lost in the grand saga of the conquest and colonization of the Western Hemisphere by Spain and P
Sunset at the Palms, an all-inclusive, adults-only resort in Negril, Jamaica, garnered a lot of attention this spring when its staff expanded to include Betty, a female goat who became an instant hit when she was adopted by the hotel’s grounds keeping crew.
In response to popular demand, the resort has found a new way for guests to interact with the nanny goat, who delights in being petted and scratched and craves attention from passersby. Now guests can also enjoy a gourmet picnic with the frie
Clever Cupcakes
There are many places on Earth you simply must visit at least once in a lifetime. The sooner the better, naturally. In this article, we will list five places in Europe you need to see before you blow out those 50 candles on your cake:
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is located 200 km southeast of Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It is the land of beautiful horses, as its name claims in the original Persian, and is on the UNESCO heritage list. It is a picturesque regi
I love a garden, and I especially like one that’s been rescued from near dereliction. Cornwall’s ‘Lost Gardens of Heligan’ are probably the best-known example, Coincidentally, the Tremayne family, who owned the Heligan Gardens were related to the owners of Plas Cadnant , in Wales - another ‘recovered lost garden’.
The estate, and the gardens were established on the island of Anglesey in 1804, when John Price chose the site for his elegant Georgian house, and started work on the gardens surroundin
It's no closely guarded secret that the region surrounding Monterey and Santa Cruz has the longest season for whale watching in all of California. In fact, whale watching in these parts more or less goes on all year round. No matter what time you decide to watch for whales, you will most likely see one or even more whale species migrating or feeding in the bay. What you can't see is what attracts the whales to these parts. The underwater canyons run below the waves, and this area makes for some
Located in Mai Chau District, about 135 km from Hanoi, Mai Chau is a little valley surrounded by green mountains and dotted with lakes, paddy fields, rivers and houses on stilts of the Thai people.
Tourists can take a car following National Highway No6 from Hanoi to Hoa Binh City and then continue going about 60km to the first intersection behind the mountain range, then turn left onto Vang Street and go about 5 kilometers further to Lac Village in Mai Chau Valley.
From above Mai Chau looks like a
