Victoria Falls : Largest Waterfall In The World

One of the most spectacular natural wonders, Victoria Falls is a waterfall located on River Zamberi in Southern Africa between Zimbabwe and Zambia. “Mosi-oa-Tunya”- its local name means the smoke which thunders and the falls that are remarkable.

Victoria Falls is the most unusual in form and arguably the largest waterfall in the world. In fact, you can get a view of the diverse wildlife in this region. The name of the fall was given by the great Scottish explorer Dr. David Livingstone.

Victoria Falls claims to be the largest waterfall based with its stunning width of 1.7 Km and a height of around 360 ft that forms the largest sheet of falling water in the modern world. Zambezi River drops into a narrow deep slotlike charm and is later connected to a long series of many gorges. You will notice a very unusual form of Victoria Falls, as the whole width of the waterfall can be viewed face-on.

Since the river’s annual flood season is between February and May, it is best to visit Victoria Falls around. During this time, the spray of the waterfall raises twice its height of 1,300 feet and you can see it from a distance of 50 km. Many of Africa’s wild animals and birds can be noticed in close vicinity of the fall, which enables excellent sport fishing and wildlife viewing in the region.

Victoria Falls are shared by Zimbabwe and Zambia and has two national parks namely the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park of Zambia and the Victoria Falls National Park of Zimbabwe. It is one of major tourist destinations of Africa. To preserve the area from the hands of excessive commercialisation, it has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Travel In Rome (Italy)

Travel

Travel In Rome (Italy)

No other city comes close. It may no longer be caput mundi (capital of the world), but Rome is an epic, bubbling-over metropolis harbouring lost empires. One visit and you’ll be hooked. Rome has a glorious monumentality that it wears without reverence. Its architectural heirlooms are buzzed around by car and Vespa as if they were no more than traffic islands.

The city bombards you with images: elderly ladies with dyed hair chatting in Trastevere; priests with cigars strolling the Imperial Forums; traffic jams around the Colosseum; plateloads of pasta in Piazza Navona; sinuous trees beside the Villa Borghese; barrages of pastel-coloured scooters revving up at traffic lights as if preparing for a race.

People in Rome encapsulate the spirit of the city. Pass a central café and the tables outside are animated with people, downing fast shots of espresso and sporting big black sunglasses. They are neither posing nor hung over. Nuns flutter through the streets, on the trip of a lifetime or secondment from the Philippines, bustling across the road before treating themselves to an ice cream. Churches fill during Mass, and the priests, dressed in purple, cream or red silk (right down to their socks), read the rites to a hushed congregation (mostly from out of town).

Here the national preoccupation with the aesthetic fuses with incredible urban scenery to make Rome a city where you feel cool just strolling through the streets, catching the sunlight on your face outside a café, or eating a long lunch. It’s a place that almost encourages you to take things easy. Don’t feel like going to a museum? What’s the need when it’s all outside on the streets.

________________________________________________

Travel In Switzerland

Small, mountainous and wealthy, with a population of just 7.5 million, Switzerland is renowned for its enviable quality of life in a country that ticks along like clockwork. Its products are sought after the world over, from its delicious cheese and chocolate to luxurious watches whose timekeeping is as sharp as a Swiss Army Knife, another popular export from this sophisticated Alpine nation.

Switzerland's famed political neutrality, financial power and isolated location, ring-fenced by breathtaking mountains, have enabled it to play a safe but central role in European affairs. The conveniently central location in the middle of Europe has also made Switzerland a favourite meeting place for conventions and international conferences - Geneva, for instance, is home to the United Nations.

Switzerland is not only a place for professionals, though. As a stylish tourist destination it offers such top ski resorts as Zermatt, Verbier and celebrity-studded St Moritz, while the white peaks of mountains set against blue skies make a wonderful backdrop for summertime hiking. The ancient capital of Berne provides superb opportunities for sightseeing, shopping and traditional folk entertainment while the largest city, Zürich leads the way in arts, design and nightlife, from opera and world-class theatre to stylish bars and nightclubs.

Switzerland's unique political model is based on consensus-building, and, considering that the country consists of several culturally different groups speaking different languages (Swiss German, French, Italian and Romansch), its peaceful domestic situation is admirable. And while the Swiss in practice have been neutral in foreign affairs for several centuries, they are increasingly willing to get more involved in world affairs and deploy the skills in democracy and diplomacy they have developed domestically on the international stage. Switzerland finally joined the United Nations in 2002, and signed the Schengen treaty in 2005, showing their support for the European Union.

____________________________________________

Travel In Argentina

Argentina, (officially Argentine Republic; Spanish "Republica Argentina") is a large, elongated country in the southern part of South America, neighbouring countries being Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay to the north, Uruguay to the north east and Chile to the west. In the east Argentina has a long South Atlantic Ocean coastline.

Understand

Argentina is the second-largest country in South America, and the eighth-largest in the world. The highest and the lowest points of South America are also located in Argentina: At 6,960m, Cerro Aconcagua is the tallest mountain in the Americas while Salinas Chicas, at 40m below sea level, is the lowest point in South America.

At the southern tip of Argentina there are several routes between the South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans including the Strait of Magellan, the Beagle Channel, and the Drake Passage as an alternative sailing around Cape Horn in the open ocean between South America and Antarctica.

The name Argentina derives from argentum, the Latin word for silver, which is what early Spanish explorers sought when they first reached the region in the sixteenth century.

History

Following independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina experienced periods of internal political conflict between conservatives and liberals. In the first decade of the 20th century, Argentina became the richest nation in Latin America, its wealth symbolized by the opulence of its capital city.

European immigrants flowed into Argentina, particularly from Italy; by 1914 nearly 6 million people had come to the country.

After World War II, a long period of Peronist rule in subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976.

Democracy returned in 1983 after the abortive attempt to wrest the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) from United Kingdom sovereignty.

A painful economic collapse at the turn of the 21st century devalued the Argentine peso by a factor of three and ushered in a series of weak, short-lived governments along with social and economic instability. As of 2006, the country has stabilized under President Nestor Kirchner, and the economy has begun to recover.

___________________________________

Travel In Rome

Rome is a huge city with several district articles containing sightseeing, restaurant, nightlife and accommodation listings — consider printing them all.

Rome, the 'Eternal City', is the capital of Italy and of the Lazio (Latium) region. It's the famed city of the Seven Hills, La Dolce Vita, the Vatican City and Three Coins in the Fountain. The Historic Center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Understand

Situated on the River Tiber, between the Apennine Mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea, the "Eternal City" was once the administrative center of the mighty Roman Empire, governing a vast region that stretched all the way from Britain to Mesopotamia. Today it remains the seat of the Italian government and home to numerous ministerial offices. The metropolitan area is home to around 3.3 million people.

The abbreviation "S.P.Q.R" is ubiquitous in Rome, short for the old democratic motto "Senatus Populusque Romanus" (Latin) or "The Senate and People of Rome" (English translation).

History

Rome's history spans over two and half thousand years, starting as a small Italian village to the center of a vast empire, to the founding of Catholicism to the capital of today's Italy. Rome's history is long and complex; below is merely a quick summary.

Rome is traditionally thought to have been founded by the mythical twins Romulus and Remus, who were abandoned as infants in the Tiber River and raised by a mother wolf before being found by a shepherd who raised them as his own sons। Rome was founded as a small village sometime in the 8th century BC surrounding Palatine Hill, where the Roman Forum is currently located. Due to the village's position at a ford on the Tiber River, Rome became a crossroads of traffic and trade.

Redeployed from : travel and tourism and comfort

Travel In Kuala Lumpur

Travel In Kuala Lumpur

Travel In Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is a huge city with several district articles containing sightseeing, restaurant, nightlife and accommodation listings — consider printing them all.
Kuala Lumpur [1], or simply KL, is the capital of Malaysia. Literally meaning "muddy estuary" in Malay, KL has grown from a small sleepy Chinese tin-mining village to a bustling metropolis of around 6.5 million (city-proper population of 6,700) in just 150 years. With the world's cheapest 5-star hotels, great shopping and even better food, increasing numbers of travellers are discovering this little gem of a city.

Districts

Kuala Lumpur is quite a sprawling city and its residential suburbs seem to go on forever. The city also merges with the adjacent towns of Petaling Jaya (originally developed as KL’s satellite town), Subang Jaya, Shah Alam, Klang and Port Klang, creating a huge conurbation called the Klang Valley.

The city can be divided into the following areas, each of which offers a particular attraction or activity.

• City Centre – This is the traditional core of Kuala Lumpur where you’ll find the former colonial administrative centre, with the Merdeka Square, Sultan Abdul Samad Building and Selangor Club. This district also includes Kuala Lumpur’s old Chinese commercial centre which everyone refers to now as Chinatown.

• Golden Triangle – The area of Kuala Lumpur located to the north-east of the city centre, the Golden Triangle is where you’ll find the city’s shopping malls, five-star hotels, Petronas Twin Towers and party spots.

• Tuanku Abdul Rahman – Rarely visited by tourists, this is the traditional colourful shopping district of Kuala Lumpur north of the city centre that moves into high gear when the festivals of Hari Raya Puasa (Eid ul-Fitr) and Deepavali approach. Located just beside the Golden Triangle (northern neighbour) with many popular budget accommodations. The gigantic Putra World Trade Centre & the traditional Kampung Baru food haven are among the most important landmarks.

• Brickfields – This area, located south of the city centre, is Kuala Lumpur’s Little India filled with saree shops and banana leaf rice restaurants. Kuala Lumpur’s main railway station – KL Sentral – is located here.
• Bangsar and Midvalley – Located south of the city, Bangsar is a popular restaurant and clubbing district while Midvalley, with its Megamall, is one of the city’s most popular shopping destinations.

• Damansara and Hartamas – Largely suburban, these two districts to the west of the city house some interesting pockets of restaurants and drinking areas. This district virtually merges into the northern part of Petaling Jaya.

• Ampang – Located east of the city, Ampang is home to Kuala Lumpur’s Little Korea and most foreign embassies.

• Northern suburbs – This huge area to the north of the city is home to several attractions, such as the Batu Caves, the National Zoo and the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia.

• Southern suburbs – This district may not interest travellers much, although Kuala Lumpur’s main stadium at Bukit Jalil and The Mines theme park are located here.

Understand

Founded only in 1857 as a tin mining outpost, Kuala Lumpur is fairly new as far as Malaysian cities go and lacks the rich history of George Town or Malacca. After rough early years marked by gang fighting, Kuala Lumpur started to prosper and was made capital of the Federated Malay States in 1896. Malaysia's independence was declared in 1957 in front of huge crowds at what was later named Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium), and Kuala Lumpur continued as the new nation's capital. The economic boom of the 1990s brought KL the standard trappings of a modern city, bristling with skyscrapers and modern transportation systems. Like most of Malaysia's big cities, about 55% of Kuala Lumpur's population is of Malaysian Chinese देस्सेंट



Redeployed from : travel and tourism and comfort

World’s Best Sushi

World’s Best Sushi

The world’s best sushi restaurant is no doubt at the Tsukiji Fish Market.

At the very least, it is my best experience with sushi so far.

Tonnes of customers along the street with the sushi restaurants.

This translates to a supremely long wait, an hour or so.

Hello signboard, we choose you for our world’s best sushi experience.

We wait and wait.

peeping through the window when we finally get near enough.

I was staring GREEDILY inwards, amazed at the process of sushi making.

The chefs smile and wave at me when they see me doing that.

World’s best sushi chef! He is cheerful and friendly,

always ready to explain what he is making for us.

He asks where we are from and speaks to us in Mandarin when he hears Singapore.

He knows the name of all his sushi dishes in Mandarin & English.

He tells us which to eat with soya sauce & which not to, for the best taste.

I love him!

Our utensils & tools to conquer the world’s best sushi.

Tamago (egg) thing, similar to steamed egg dish in Singapore/China.

This dish is however richer and taste slightly sweeter.

Hello fatty tuna sushi, pleased to meet you and

hope you enjoy tour of my stomach soon.

these two are friends, they want to be together.

i cannot for the life of me remember what sushi this is.

photographing the signboard because I forgot to photograph some sushi

I ate it first

and I want to remember what I ate.

Hello! I think you are sea urchin sushi? Not sure.

This is my favourite sushi shot. It is octopus and you know what

it is so fresh, it is still moving as it is placed on my plate.

hello semi-fatty tuna sushi!

Hello salmon sushi (i think)

hello tiny shrimp sushi, you are transparent and beautiful

hello salmon roe sushi (:

For the last sushi you can choose anything from the sushi menu.

I chose scallop, it is funny tasting but nice.

If you visit Tsukiji Fish Market, hunt down sushi restaurant.

You cannot miss it.

It costs around SGD60 for 12 sushi dishes, but so damn worth it।

Redeployed from : travel and tourism and comfort

sea voyage

sea voyage

sea voyage

The anti-whaling and environmental awareness initiative TransparentSea has scooped the esteemed ASB (Australian Surf Business) Surf Industry Award at the annual Australian Surfing Awards incorporating the Hall of Fame held on Queensland’s Gold Coast on the weekend.

The ASB Surf Industry Award is presented to “a person, persons or organisation that has continued to support the growth of surfing industry through financial and non-financial philanthropic contributions in the areas of community, environment and humanitarian aid during the 2009 calendar year”.

Among the judging panel that voted in the category are world champion surfers Mick Fanning, Tom Carroll and Layne Beachley, renowned author/journalists Sean Doherty, Nick Carroll and Adam Blakey, and industry legends Derek Hynd, Norm Innis and Phil Jarratt.

TransparentSea involved a core group of surfers who undertook a 36-day surfing/sailing odyssey down Australia’s East Coast in sea kayaks last October to highlight the plight of the migrating whales destined for the Great Southern Ocean and the inevitable visits by the Japanese whaling fleets.

In conjunction with Surfrider Foundation Australia and environmental watchdogs Tangaroa Blue, the surfers also participated in beach-clean ups and highlighted other areas of environmental concern.

Professional surfer, activist and the driving force behind TransparentSea, Dave Rastovich, accepted the award before a room packed with luminaries at the Coolangatta Hotel. Rastovich’s gracious acceptance speech included a call to industry for further support and the suggestion to utilise the network of surf schools that expose thousands of participants each year to surfing and the surfing culture for the first time.

“To inform people at the entry level of our sport is such an awesome opportunity. We have a chance to teach them about the aspects of surfing that we can’t live without which includes the beaches and the need to respect and protect them,” said Rastovich.

“If we can communicate these messages and make them a part of the foundation for learning for everyone who makes the decision to surf, then we will affect our culture in a powerful way.”

The TransparentSea voyage topped a list of commendable projects that included Rip Curl’s Planet Days, the National Surfing Reserves and World Safaris for contributions to surf travel.

Past winners of the ASB Surf Industry Award include Billabong (2008) and Coastalwatch (2009).

ASB publisher Keith Curtain said, “ASB is extremely proud to be associated with these awards and we congratulate Dave and the cast and crew who participated in the TranparentSea voyage on their win.”

“The list of nominees are all winners in their own way and the finalists underpin the commitment of individuals like Dave and Australian surf businesses across the areas of environment, junior development and humanitarian aid in 2009,” added Curtain.

For more info, please see the links below, or contact:
TransparentSea Media Manager – “JJ”
Media contact: jj@premiummedia.com.au
Mobile: +61 (0) 421 384 431

ASB Magazine:
Australasian Surf Business (ASB) magazine is Australasia’s only surf trade publication. ASB is delivered six times a year to every surf shop in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. In 2008 ASB received the Pioneer Award at the Australian Surfing Awards incorporating the Hall of Fame. To subscribe check out http://www.asbmag.com for all the latest news, jobs and market research.

About Hall of Fame:
The Australian Surfing Awards incorporating the Hall of Fame Inductee were first convened in 1985 by the Australian Surfriders Association (now Surfing Australia) to preserve the history of Australian Surfing and honour its great achievers.
Each year the Australian Surfing Awards incorporating the Hall of Fame Inductee are presented to recognize those who have continued to develop surfing in this country. The awards include a number of support categories that recognize the broad spectrum of individuals and organizations who are involved in the industry through events, competition, business, media, photography, movies, clubs, travel, administration or pioneering new initiatives. For more info see www.surfingaustralia.com

_____________________

Thursday, November 5th, Bondi Beach, NSW, Australia): The anti-whaling and environmental awareness campaign initiated by professional free-surfer and activist Dave Rastovich (Brunswick Heads, NSW, AUS) reached its exciting conclusion at Bondi Beach, Sydney today following an epic and testing 36 day voyage by sea which began at Byron Bay on October 1st.

Anti-whaling and environmental campaigner, free-surfer Dave Rastovich rides his last wave to shore at Bondi following an epic 36 day, 700+km voyage from Byron Bay. Image credit Skennar/Transparentsea

Dubbed “Transparentsea” the campaign takes aim at the Australian Government’s lack of action on Japanese whaling activity in the Southern Ocean, as well as highlighting areas of environmental concern along Australia’s eastern seaboard.

Rastovich and his fellow campaigners, including surfer/artist Chris Del Moro (San Diego, CA, USA), musician Will Conner (Byron Bay, NSW, AUS), activist Howie Cooke (Byron Bay, NSW, AUS) and photographer Hilton Dawe (Byron Bay, NSW, AUS) were welcomed to shore by hundreds of well-wishers and supporters, having accrued nearly 800km at sea in their trimaran kayaks, as they traced the path of migrating humpback whales south.

Surfers show their support by paddling out to greet the Transparentsea team at Bondi. Image credit Skennar/Transparentsea

Rastovich, who in 2005 co-founded the group “Surfers for Cetaceans” and was this year one of just 300 invitees to Al Gore’s “The Climate Project” Asia Pacific Summit in Melbourne, recounted the incredible personal interaction he and his team had experienced alongside whales during their journey and encouraged the Australian public and all-like minded people to pressure Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Minister for the Environment, Peter Garrett to uphold their pre-election promises.

“Kevin Rudd and Peter Garrett told the Australian people they would enforce and uphold international laws that would prevent the Japanese from targeting whales in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. To date they have not acted on these promises,” said Rastovich.

“We’re here as representatives of the global surfing community and all people who are passionate about saving these amazing mammals, and we’re asking Rudd and Garrett to act now and do what they said they were going to do.”

“Everyone we’ve encountered during our trip, in every coastal town and at every beach, has been shocked to learn the Government is not acting on this issue,” said Rastovich.

During their frequent stops down the coast, the Transparentsea team in conjunction with Surfrider Foundation and Tangaroa Blue also initiated beach-cleanups with all the rubbish collected, tabulated and added to the National Marine Debris database.

“This journey has given us first-hand experience, undeniable proof, that our beaches may look good from far, but they are far from good. We visited beaches that did not have a single human footprint yet they’re covered with plastic and other forms of garbage that damage ecosystems and enter the food chain where it stays forever,” Rastovich added.

Rastovich asked that anyone who cared about the whaling issue to send a message to their local council or addressed direct to Peter Garrett and Kevin Rudd, to prompt the government into action.

Left to Right the Transparentsea campaigners included photographer Hilton Dawe, musician Will Conner, surfer Dave Rastovich, surfer Chris Del Moro, activist Howie Cooke. Image credit Skennar/Transparentsea

Redeployed from : travel and tourism and comfort