Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
SOUTH AFRICA
As the provincial capital of the Free State, and South Africa’s judicial capital, tourism in Bloem (as the locals call it) is generally business oriented. But it’s also a university town, so when school’s in session, nightlife is raging. There’s no real reason to go out of your way to visit Bloem, although it has a few interesting sights if you are in the neighbourhood.
Commemorating the 26, 000 women and children who died in British concentration camps during the 1899–1902 Anglo-Boer War, the National Women’s Memorial depicts a bearded Afrikaner, setting off on his pony to fight the British, bidding a last farewell to his wife and baby, who are to perish in one of the camps. It’s a powerful image and one still buried in the psyche of many Afrikaners.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Bloemfontein,+Free+State,+South+Africa&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=21.53778,56.25&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Bloemfontein,+Free+State,+South+Africa&z=10
Good-looking, fun-loving, sporty and sociable. If Cape Town was in the dating game that's how her profile would read. And - for once - it's all true. The Mother City of South Africa occupies one of the world's most stunning locations, with an iconic mountain slap-bang in her centre.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Cape+Town,+Western+Cape,+South+Africa&sll=-29.11813,26.223091&sspn=0.369515,0.878906&g=Bloemfontein,+Free+State,+South+Africa&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Cape+Town,+Western+Cape,+South+Africa&ll=-33.872696,18.468018&spn=0.702369,1.757812&z=9
Commemorating the 26, 000 women and children who died in British concentration camps during the 1899–1902 Anglo-Boer War, the National Women’s Memorial depicts a bearded Afrikaner, setting off on his pony to fight the British, bidding a last farewell to his wife and baby, who are to perish in one of the camps. It’s a powerful image and one still buried in the psyche of many Afrikaners.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Bloemfontein,+Free+State,+South+Africa&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=21.53778,56.25&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Bloemfontein,+Free+State,+South+Africa&z=10
Good-looking, fun-loving, sporty and sociable. If Cape Town was in the dating game that's how her profile would read. And - for once - it's all true. The Mother City of South Africa occupies one of the world's most stunning locations, with an iconic mountain slap-bang in her centre.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Cape+Town,+Western+Cape,+South+Africa&sll=-29.11813,26.223091&sspn=0.369515,0.878906&g=Bloemfontein,+Free+State,+South+Africa&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Cape+Town,+Western+Cape,+South+Africa&ll=-33.872696,18.468018&spn=0.702369,1.757812&z=9
Stretching along a swathe of butter-yellow sand, South Africa’s third-largest city offers a lively, if slightly tacky, prepackaged seaside holiday. The beachfront, with its multi-km stretch of high-rise hotels and snack bars, remains a city trademark, and the city centre, peppered with some grandiose colonial buildings and fascinating Art Deco architecture, throbs to a distinctly African beat. Home to the largest concentration of people of Indian descent in the country, Durban also boasts the sights, sounds and scents of the subcontinent. While the beachfront is still a favourite spot, many visitors, wary of the city’s increasing reputation for crime, base themselves in the suburbs, which are chock-a-block with accommodation, shopping malls, funky bars and stylish eateries.
INDIA
Tripura’s low-key capital is centred on the imposing Ujjayanta Palace. The town feels refreshingly organised and manageable if you’re arriving from Bangladesh, whose border is just 3km east of the centre.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Ujjayanta+Palace,+INDIA&sll=20.593684,78.96288&sspn=25.158102,56.25&g=INDIA&ie=UTF8&ll=29.993002,75.849609&spn=5.859603,14.0625&z=6
Looking at the scuffy village today, it’s difficult to believe that Badami was once the capital of the Chalukya empire, which covered much of the central Deccan between the 4th and 8th centuries AD. However, climb up into the red sandstone ridge and explore the magnificent rock-cut cave temples surrounding the village, and you’ll find ample evidence of Badami’s former status.
Nearby Aihole hosted the earliest Chalukya capital; later the site was moved to Badami, with a secondary capital in Pattadakal. The result of this relocation is that the whole area around Badami is liberally scattered with ancient temples. Badami is the best base for taking in all these sites; a day or two should cover it.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Badami,INDIA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=21.53778,56.25&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Badami,+Bagalkot,+Karnataka,+India&ll=15.924356,76.448364&spn=1.626917,3.515625&z=8
No matter how determined you are, you'd be pretty hard pressed to find much to gush about when it comes to Chennai. The streets are clogged with traffic, the weather oppressively hot, the air heavy with smog, and sights of any interest are uncooperatively thin on the ground. Even the movie stars, as one Chennaiite put it, are 'not that hot'.While it may not boast the money of Mumbai (Bombay) or the buzz of Bengaluru (Bangalore), Chennai does feel friendlier than most cities its size. Chennai is so modest you wouldn't even know it’s an economic powerhouse, much less a queen of showbiz: India's fourth-largest city is its most humble.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/activities
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Ujjayanta+Palace,+INDIA&sll=20.593684,78.96288&sspn=25.158102,56.25&g=INDIA&ie=UTF8&ll=29.993002,75.849609&spn=5.859603,14.0625&z=6
Looking at the scuffy village today, it’s difficult to believe that Badami was once the capital of the Chalukya empire, which covered much of the central Deccan between the 4th and 8th centuries AD. However, climb up into the red sandstone ridge and explore the magnificent rock-cut cave temples surrounding the village, and you’ll find ample evidence of Badami’s former status.
Nearby Aihole hosted the earliest Chalukya capital; later the site was moved to Badami, with a secondary capital in Pattadakal. The result of this relocation is that the whole area around Badami is liberally scattered with ancient temples. Badami is the best base for taking in all these sites; a day or two should cover it.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Badami,INDIA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=21.53778,56.25&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Badami,+Bagalkot,+Karnataka,+India&ll=15.924356,76.448364&spn=1.626917,3.515625&z=8
No matter how determined you are, you'd be pretty hard pressed to find much to gush about when it comes to Chennai. The streets are clogged with traffic, the weather oppressively hot, the air heavy with smog, and sights of any interest are uncooperatively thin on the ground. Even the movie stars, as one Chennaiite put it, are 'not that hot'.While it may not boast the money of Mumbai (Bombay) or the buzz of Bengaluru (Bangalore), Chennai does feel friendlier than most cities its size. Chennai is so modest you wouldn't even know it’s an economic powerhouse, much less a queen of showbiz: India's fourth-largest city is its most humble.
The major transport hub of the region, this 70-sq-km city is a conglomerate of urban villages connected by a maze of roads ruled by hard-line rickshaw drivers. Its central location and excellent plane, train and bus connections actually make it an interesting alternative entry point into India. If you do happen to be caught here between connections, it's certainly worth your while poking around the markets of George Town or taking a sunset stroll along pretty Marina Beach.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Chennai,INDIA&sll=15.924356,76.448364&sspn=1.626917,3.515625&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Chennai,+Tamil+Nadu,+India&z=11http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/activities
BRAZIL
Dia do Índio, Rio de Janeiro, Apr 19
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=beaches+near+Salvador+-+Bahia,+Brazil&sll=-22.901478,-43.209229&sspn=0.389632,0.878906&g=Rio+de+Janeiro,+Brazil&ie=UTF8&hq=beaches&hnear=Salvador+-+Bahia,+Brazil&ll=-12.928945,-38.441849&spn=0.206125,0.439453&z=11&iwloc=A
Iguaçu Falls
More than 250 spectacular waterfalls surrounded by Atlantic rain forest
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Igua%C3%A7u+Falls+Brazil&sll=-12.928945,-38.441849&sspn=0.206125,0.439453&ie=UTF8&hq=Igua%C3%A7u+Falls+Brazil&hnear=&ll=-12.693933,-38.529053&spn=0.825264,1.757813&z=9
ACTIVITIES
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/brazil/activities
April 19 is recognized in Brazil as Indians' Day, with a week of special events held at the Museu do Índio. Exhibitions, dance and film presentations are staged daily.
Salvador beaches
So summer's over, and you're feeling flat, exhausted and samba-ed out. It's not too cold yet to escape to an idyllic beach and recharge. Catch a bus up the coast to Piatã or Itapuã beaches, where smooth white sands, calm seas and swaying palms will revive you.http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=beaches+near+Salvador+-+Bahia,+Brazil&sll=-22.901478,-43.209229&sspn=0.389632,0.878906&g=Rio+de+Janeiro,+Brazil&ie=UTF8&hq=beaches&hnear=Salvador+-+Bahia,+Brazil&ll=-12.928945,-38.441849&spn=0.206125,0.439453&z=11&iwloc=A
Iguaçu Falls
More than 250 spectacular waterfalls surrounded by Atlantic rain forest
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Igua%C3%A7u+Falls+Brazil&sll=-12.928945,-38.441849&sspn=0.206125,0.439453&ie=UTF8&hq=Igua%C3%A7u+Falls+Brazil&hnear=&ll=-12.693933,-38.529053&spn=0.825264,1.757813&z=9
ACTIVITIES
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/brazil/activities
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