Monday, March 08th, 2010 /
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I was recently asked by some friends about where the best place to get a beer would be in Hong Kong. Apparently, they had wandered the streets on the island and couldn’t find a single pub, club or bar. Unfortunately, they gave up and resorted to going to a corner shop to buy drinks and then going back to their hotel room.
I had to come to the conclusion that my friends weren’t very avid travelers since Hong Kong is full of drinking places but I would recommend a couple of places on Hong Kong island. One of the most popular places, especially for the expatriate community, is Lan Kwai Fong. It’s basically a couple of streets full of bars, and you can find any type of bar that you’d like. There’s Bit Point, a small bar serving European beers and a multitude of different types of Schnapps. Right opposite there’s a club called Insomnia, which has live music from some amazing Filipino bands most nights.
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Saturday, March 06th, 2010 /
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Anguilla is not one of the most popular islands when talking about Caribbean travel sites, but for that very reason, it is great if you are looking for a more private Caribbean vacation, without lots of other tourists. Anguilla is actually a British overseas territory and is the most northern of the Leeward Islands. Anguilla is comprised of one larger island, including the capital city of The Valley, and also includes a number of tiny islands and cays, most of which are privately owned or uninhabited. Some of the other smaller islands that are part of the Anguilla chain include Dog Island, the Prickly Pear Cays, Scrub Island, Seal Island, and Sombrero, or Hat Island.
The climate on Anguilla is generally what you would expect to find in this tropical region of the world. The island does get northeastern trade winds, so it is fairly dry compared to other tropical islands, with the most rain coming in September and October. Anguilla is also along the path of some hurricanes in the summer and fall.
When traveling to Anguilla, make sure you spend some time in the beautiful Caribbean water. Anguilla is known for its coral reef, which is home to a variety of sea animals and plants. The land itself is mostly sandy and not particularly good for farming industries. However, the waters along the coast are great for fishing, so if you enjoy that sport, you may be interested in applying for a fishing license and talking to some fishing outfitters in Anguilla when planning your Caribbean travel.
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Friday, March 05th, 2010 /
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When I was in Beijing on business, I couldn’t resist visiting one of the seven wonders of the world. The hotel that I was staying at was able to book me onto a tour on short notice. The coach was supposed to be picking me up the next morning but due to the size of the tour (there were only two of us), they decided a car was a better option.
From the centre of Beijing, it’s around forty five miles to the Great Wall of China, so it’s quite a long trip to get there. The driver also insisted stopping at these Jade shops on the way and it really felt that we would never get there, especially with the terrible traffic.
When we did finally arrive, the Great Wall was indeed a great sight. It felt tremendously surreal and I did feel dwarfed by it. There are lots of different sections to the wall that you can visit and I went to the Badalinkg section, which ended up being very touristy but also well preserved.
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Tuesday, March 02nd, 2010 /
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Aruba is found not far north of Venezuela and is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. One of the best things about this island is its climate. Unlike many of the other island in the Caribbean, Aruba does not have a generally rainy climate, and in fact is home to desert-like terrain featuring a few species of cacti.
The standard of living in Aruba is very high, and they cater toward a classy, high-end market. Therefore, if you wish to travel to Aruba, your stay may be a bit pricier than in some of the nearby islands in the Caribbean, like the Bahamas or Jamaica. However, the stay is definitely worth it. Aruba has famous white sand beaches and beautiful clear blue waters. If you like water sports, you don’t have to lie on the beach all day! You can try diving, snorkeling, sailing, swimming, parasailing, jet skiing, or any number of other fun adventures.
The Carnival season is important in Aruba and takes place from January until Ash Wednesday. Just as in many other Caribbean countries, Carnival in Aruba has a variety of great festivities in which vacationers on the island can take part. This includes midway games and children’s rides, parades, contests, parties, and special foods. If you’re looking for an exciting time to visit Aruba, try during the Carnival season.
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Sunday, February 28th, 2010 /
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A Salmon River run offers something for the whole family, with berry picking, campfire singing, cave exploring, even pedicures.When the cool, deep shaft of the abandoned copper mine ended in a wall of rock, guide Mike Thurbert turned to the group and said, “Turn off your flashlights.”
We were about 100 yards into an Idaho hillside. The lights went off as instructed and, in a moment of solemnity, 19-year-old Thurbert quietly asked us to contemplate the phenomenon of utter darkness. For that instant, each of us was an island, alone in the black tunnel. Then somebody made a spooky ooooo-ing sound and, to squeals of laughter, all the flashlights clicked back on, most of them shining up under chins, turning faces into grotesque Halloween masks.
Solemnity is in short supply on a river rafting trip full of kids. If you’re wondering what a walk in a copper mine has to do with river rafting, you’ll probably wonder the same about blackberry picking, hurtling down sand dunes, Wiffle-ball and toenail polishing. Our white-water rafting trip on the Lower Salmon River had as much to do with old-fashioned family fun as it did with running rapids. It was the warm and fuzzy things — singing around the campfire, eating meals together, inventing games, telling bad jokes, debating big issues with know-it-all adolescents — we remembered long after the white-water thrills faded.
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