Visiting the Land Down-under

If you have ever fancied taking a vacation that is literally jam-packed full of variety, you might be wise to think along the lines of the country of Australia. This is by far the largest nation in the continental region known as Oceania, and is actually considered to be a separate continent in its own right. Stretching thousands of miles across and incorporating the large island of Tasmania, this is a land that will have something to appeal to everyone.

If you love city breaks, you will find some fantastic destinations at both ends of the country. In Western Australia, you have the large city of Perth, but when you are there, it feels difficult to believe that more than one million people live within the conurbation—Perth definitely has a rather small-town-feel about it. Nevertheless, everything you could ever need on vacation is here for you: from a good central shopping area, great parks and plenty of recreational facilities to keep you busy for the duration of your stay.

At the other end of the country, you have Australia’s largest city of Sydney and this truly is a cosmopolitan metropolis – which is very rare in this country. All the world-famous tourist attractions are waiting to be enjoyed here: including The Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Bondi Beach and Taronga Zoo. Shopaholics will be in their complete element here and the choice of restaurants and cuisine is probably the very best in the Southern Hemisphere. Some other cities you might like to bear in mind include Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.

Moving away from the cities, Australia offers even more when you venture out into the bush and rural areas. For a start, if you want pristine and honey-hued sandy beaches, you are falling over them in this vast country. However, just one word of warning, you would always need to be vigilant of sharks at many Australian beaches and saltwater crocodiles can pose problems in the far north of the country.

Much of the interior of the country consists of deserted bush-lands with little or no real features. Nevertheless, you will still find that some of the hardiest Australians make their homes in these rather inhospitable regions. One popular inland tourist destination that you should definitely set time aside to visit is Uluru Rock (formerly known as Ayers Rock). This natural topographical feature is known to have connections with the Aborigines for many thousands of years and this is perhaps the best place to visit in Australia if you are keen to learn more about this country’s original people.

One state of the country people tend to overlook, when booking a vacation to Australia, is the island of Tasmania which can be found to the south-east of the nation. If you thought the flora and fauna of the mainland were different in Australia, you will be filled with even more wonder and awe at the unique land mass that is Tasmania. From duck-billed platypuses to the infamous Tasmanian devils, the animals here are absolutely awesome and proof of the fact that these areas of land have been separated from other main continents for many millions of years—allowing such weird and diverse species to evolve independently over time. 

Travel Destinations: Thailand and Songkran

Thailand is known as a tropical destination for some and a site seeing destination for others. One of the most unique times to visit Thailand is during the festival known as Songkran. This New Year’s celebration usually takes place in the middle of April and lasts for three to ten days.

Songkran: New Year’s Celebration
Because this is the New Year’s celebration as the sun moves into Aries, the Thai people take the opportunity to clean their homes, their Buddha statues, and their streets. This festival celebrates the coming spring and it is also a time when farmers have been relieved of hard work and they have time to offer respect to the elders and ancestors.

Water Fight Takes Center Stage
Songkran has gone through many different shifts over the centuries and the festival has now become a world-wide sensation. People from all over the globe travel to Thailand to participate in the cleansing of the streets, the people, and anything else that can get wet. Songkran has truly turned into the world’s largest water fight.

Biggest Events in Chiang Mai
In Chiang Mai (the northern capitol), the celebration is like no other. The locals are commonly found throwing buckets of water at on-coming traffic, spraying pedestrians with their water hoses, and dowsing pedestrians from moving cars. Young children will use water guns to spray anyone who comes near. Travelers are often amazed at the buckets and buckets of water that are thrown from everywhere at everyone.

Most people who Chiang Mai during Songkran are not disappointed in the celebration. The temperature in this part of Thailand is incredibly hot, so the splashes of water offer relief from the excessive heat.

Symbolism of Throwing and Sprinkling Water
Visitors should remember that the water throwing is truly symbolic as the people of Thailand symbolically clean dirt and grime from the old year and make way for the New Year. Even though Thailand officially celebrates the New Year on January 1 like the Western World, they still use the astronomically based Songkran as a way to cleansing and reflecting on the previous years and welcome in the new.

Other Traditions of Songkran
In Chiang Mai and other parts of Thailand, there will not just be people throwing water and having fun, but it is very common to see locals sprinkling flower-scented water on their Buddha statues. Families who are cleansing the Buddha will do so while wearing traditional Thai costumes and wearing leis made of Jasmine.

Young people will gently sprinkle water on their elders as a sign of respect. This tradition is different from the water-throwing show that happens during the celebration in Chiang Mai. These young people will also say prayers and good wishes to their elders.

Some people will also use a chalky white paste to ward off evil spirits. They will wear the paste on their faces or neck and then place some on people they encounter. The paste will not stain clothing and it is proper to accept this from a local Thai elder.

Feasts are also very common during Songkran and many people will even place delicious looking food at temples. The food should not be taken from the temples, but left for the monks.

Old vs New: The Seven Wonders of the World

In our fast-paced, modern lives, it is sometimes easy to forget that the world is still full of ancient and awe-inspiring wonders.  That all it takes is a week and a plane ticket, and you can be anywhere in the world… soaking up a foreign sun, exploring another culture, being amazed by the beauty of the world.

Now most people have heard of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but few could name perhaps more than two or three of them - at best! 

Originally compiled almost 2,500 years ago by the Greek historian, Herodotus, these ancient monuments conjure up a sense of awe and wonder that sometimes seems lost in our new world of technology and 24 hour living.

Here’s the original list that was compiled thousands of years ago -

The 7 Ancient Wonders of the World:

1.    Great Pyramid of Giza
2.    Hanging Gardens of Babylon
3.    Statue of Zeus at Olympia
4.    Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
5.    Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
6.    Colossus of Rhodes
7.    Lighthouse of Alexandria

Controversial – The 7 New Wonders…

Recently a new list of world wonders has been causing some controversy.

Since antiquity, a number of different lists were created to replace this famous ancient selection of  ‘wonders’ because when Herodotus first put his list together, the known world was a much smaller place based mostly around the Mediterranean Sea.  It was very limited and only included monuments from the local area, completely excluding the rest of the as yet, unknown world.

However, it was only very recently that an entirely new and generally accepted list was put together by the New7Wonders Foundation a not for profit  organization based in Switzerland. 

This new list was compiled based on the votes of over 100 million people from around the globe, and was historically announced on the date of 07-07-07 in homage to the number seven.

It was extremely controversial with some countries upset that they did not receive a place in the top seven wonders.  And because nothing prevented multiple votes from being cast during the contest, some countries tried to sway the results in their favor.  Many actually ran vigorous campaigns for their citizens to vote on a national monument, including Brazil, where phone companies allowed people to vote for free, and even sent them text messages to remind them!

Now that the hype and controversy has settled down the New Seven Wonders of the World has been generally accepted by most people, although not everyone is happy. 

What do you think?  Here is the new list:

The New Seven Wonders of The World:

1.    Taj Mahal, India
2.    Chichen Itza, Mexico
3.    Christ the Redeemer, Brazil
4.    Colosseum, Italy
5.    Great Wall of China, China
6.    Machu Picchu, Peru
7.    Petra , Jordan

Probably the most exciting thing about this list is that unlike the ancient and myth-like wonders… these are all still in existence.  They are truly magnificent places that you can visit just as soon as you get the time, money and the inclination!

What About You?
Have you been lucky enough to travel to any of these thrilling locations? 

If you have been to any of these amazing places we would love to see your photos on our facebook page. 

And if you think that somewhere else should have been included in the top seven, tell us where and why!

We would love to hear your comments.

Why Nothing Beats a Magical African Safari

Picture this, my friends: You wake early in the morning, just as the first rays of sunlight are penetrating above the distant horizon. A low mist clings to the cooled ground and the eerie noises from animals greeting the day meets your ears. Giraffes can be seen in the distance, walking serenely between the largest trees to grab their first meal of the day; and then, a tiny deer-like creature scuttles in front of you: this is a dik dik which is a small species of antelope that you probably wouldn’t have heard of until you have ventured to Africa.

Absolutely no where else on this great planet of ours will you feel and marvel at the magical natural beauty of our world, other than on safari in Africa. Unless you do it for yourself, you can only imagine how you might feel when you are there. To really immerse yourself into this whole experience, it is imperative that you spend at least a couple of nights at either the campsites or lodges which are located deep within the African savannah.

If you do fancy the idea of an African safari, you need to ensure you book with a reputable and knowledgeable tour guide. This way they will know exactly where to take you to see the biggest range of animals; otherwise, you may simply spend several days aimlessly wandering around without hardly seeing a thing.

Of course, most people go on an African safari in the first place in order to catch what is known as The Big 5 Game. These are the animals which are deemed to be the most highly sought-after on a safari and originally they were believed to be the most difficult hunting targets on foot. They are the lion, leopard, buffalo, black rhino and the African elephant. If you manage to catch sight of at least three of these during your safari, you may count yourself as being very fortunate.

There are numerous other different types of animals to enjoy during a safari and for many people, they may feel that the giraffe, hyenas, mongooses, ostriches or warthogs etc. are equally rewarding sights during their trip. Be prepared to be overwhelmed with the sheer number of species of animals in this part of the world; you will definitely appreciate the fact that this part of our planet has an amazingly diverse eco-system in play.

If you are definitely contemplating the prospect of an African safari, you may be wondering where to go. Top of the list has to be Kenya, where you will find that the country has set many different national parks aside for the animals to wander around freely. Tsavo East and Tsavo West are the largest national parks, however, The Masai Mara is perhaps the best known. The Serengeti, in Tanzania, is also world-famous; especially for the mass migration of millions of wildebeest every year. You might also like to think about South Africa or Botswana.

Wherever you eventually decide to go on your African safari, rest assured that if you have a heart beating in your chest and a soul, you will not be able to help feeling moved and totally inspired by such a life-changing experience.

Visiting the Most Magnificent Mountains on Our Planet

There is no denying the fact that we live on an extremely diverse planet, covered by myriad different landscapes. One of the types of landscape that seems to intrigue us the most are the mountainous regions which can be found in many different locations across the world. From The Rockies and Appalachians of North America, to The Southern Alps of New Zealand, you are never far from the awesome beauty of this specific type of landscape.

Pictured: Machu Picchu, an ancient settlement high in the mountains of Peru.

Of course, nowadays, many people head to the mountainous regions in order to indulge in popular winter sporting activities such as skiing and snowboarding; but for others, the sheer beauty of these areas is a massive draw in itself. There is a lot to be said for taking in deep and crisp breaths full of mountain air and for centuries now, mankind has recognized the fact that this can provide healing qualities for respiratory medical conditions.

Mountains owe their very presence to tectonic plate movements which are still continuing on our planet to this very day. As large landmasses collide with each other, this pushes the land upwards, and in turn, this is exactly how mountains are formed. This process has been occurring on Earth for millions of years and we now know that the mountainous regions were formed at different periods in our planet’s history. It is interesting to note that The Appalachian Mountains in North America are thought to be very ancient mountains indeed (dating back hundreds of millions of years); whereas the mighty Himalayas, in Asia, are known to be relatively new (in fact they are still being formed today as India continues to collide with the Eurasian plate).

Some of the most magnificent mountainous regions to consider visiting on our planet include The Andes, in South America, which runs close to the west coast of the continent. If you get the chance, you really should head to Machu Picchu, which is an ancient settlement high in the mountains that was abandoned long ago.

The Rockies runs along the west coast of North America and are home to some of the world’s most spectacular landscapes. From the United States right up to Canada, this is a tremendously long chain of mountains that still boasts areas of totally unspoilt wilderness.

Europe’s most famous mountains can be found in The Alps. The mountains stretch across the countries of Switzerland, Austria, France and Italy and are easily the most popular destination for Europeans during the winter months. Again, though, this is usually for the enjoyment of winter sports.

In Australia and New Zealand, the highest mountains can be found on the South Island of New Zealand. Mount Cook is the highest peak in this area and reaches 3,754 m (12,316 ft) above sea level. Australia does have moderately high mountains on its east coast, but these are ancient peaks which have been whittled-down in size over the millennia due to the process known as weathering.

Wherever you are in the world, you should never be more than a couple of hours’ flying time from a beautiful mountainous landscape. By all means head to these mountains in order to enjoy some popular winter sports, but also bear in mind that these truly idyllic locations make for a perfectly relaxing vacation at any time of the year.