Located about 45 minutes from the famous Canadian Niagara Falls, you’ll find a town of familiarity at Canada’s Niagara on the Lake. You’ve likely seen the streets, shops and homes in a famous picture or portrait before. Niagara on the Lake is known for its rich history, fine wines, relaxing carriage rides, and (more prominently) art galleries. Niagara on the Lake is one of Ontario’s most enticing and beautiful towns. Kick off your enchanting vacation to Niagara on the Lake with a stroll down Picton Street. You will pass the luxurious Prince of Wales Hotel, the grand Clock Tower, and the shopping district. Continue walking until you’ve reached 177 King Street. Surrounded by maple trees, bushes and bright pink flowers is the former home (now ...
Every January, the small village of Ladera in Bikaner, Rajasthan becomes the venue of the two-day and night Bikaner Camel Festival. People from all over the world come to India to attend the Bikaner Camel Festival where camel owners flock to show-off their camels. Camel and owner alike, dressed in their finest designer jewellery and accessories, kick-off the Bikaner Camel Festival with a regal march. This is a spectacular sight as the camels parade past spectators to the open sands with the Royal Junagarh Fort in the background. Colorful bridles, bejeweled necks, jingling anklets and long, lanky camel shadows on the dusky sand casts a magical atmosphere over the Bikaner Camel Festival. The Bikaner Camel Festival also holds numerous sports and cultural activities, but the ...
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people come to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland to pay homage to the one million people that died there. Indeed, some believe that the visit is an essential rite of passage lest humanity ever overlook this most unforgettable moment in history. An official UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum is made up of two camps in which virtually every stone is untouched, and all areas are open to visitors. The first camp, Auschwitz I, is where you will find the famous 'Arbeit Macht Frei' (Work Makes Us Free) sign that prisoners walked under on their way to and from enforced labour at the camp. Here you can see the site of the execution yard where individual prisoners ...
New Zealand is a country famous for its beaches, laid-back surf culture, and natural beauty. Often, this can all be found at one place, such is the case with the west coast beaches resting on the Tasman Sea 30 km outside Auckland: the country’s largest city. Whether it is to swim, surf, or simply to take in the majestic view, Piha Beach and its surrounding are some of the most magnificent in the country. Piha Beach has a beautiful black sand beach located on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island. Its proximity to Auckland ensures that Piha Beach is always packed, especially in the summer season, attracting travellers and Aucklanders alike. Aside from the tourists, there is a small surf community in Piha ...
It was midnight, and our Egyptian driver was impatient as 10 tourists tried to stuff themselves into a rather undersized van. Making sure we had our passports to show for the midnight checkpoints, we were soon en route, sleepy but excited, towards our destination: climbing Mount Sinai by night. The night route for climbing Mount Sinai is a popular one, undertaken by many in order to bask in the beautiful Sinai sunrise. We were dropped off at the front gate along with hundreds of other travellers making the night trek. Waving flashlights, the Bedouin guides called for their assigned tour groups to make their way through the metal detectors to begin climbing Mount Sinai. Our guide was a friendly, quiet fellow who had an odd ...
When a diver visits a dive spot for the first time, the energy leading up to the descent into new and uncharted territory is electrical. Your imagination runs wild with all the possible creatures you might encounter, and you cross your fingers in hope of catching a glimpse of something surprising and unusual. When you dive Davis Reef, Florida Keys you can forget all your lucky charms, as the sheer quantity of marine life is staggering. They say that the Lower Keys are for partying and the Upper Keys are for diving. The discerning diver, intent on a first-class experience, opts for Ocean Quest Dive Center. With a modest seaside office in Islamorada, the Ocean Quest Dive Center staff's warm and welcoming humour makes you ...
Almost all towns and cities in the Philippines have their own festivals, but one particular festival in the Visayas island group stands head and shoulders above the rest—the Ati Atihan Festival. Held every third Sunday of January, this jovial celebration transforms the quiet district of Kalibo, in the province of Aklan, into a lively and upbeat place filled with dancing, music and other merry-making activities. Known as the “Mother of All Festivals,” the Ati Atihan Festival has been celebrated for more than 700 years, and still ranks as one of the main festivals in the country. The Atis (or Aetas) are one of the indigenous people of the Philippines. Dark-skinned, and short with kinky hair, these Atis were the first settlers of the Philippine archipelago ...
The Old Faithful geyser is the quintessential Yellowstone National Park experience. It sits at the head of the Upper Geyser Basin, which is home to the majority of the geysers in the Park. Yellowstone on the whole holds more than 60 percent of the geysers in the world, but none more famous than Old Faithful. The Old Faithful geyser, named during an expedition in 1870, shows off the power of nature every 65 to 90 minutes, depending on the length of the previous eruption. An eruption can shoot up to 8,400 gallons (32,000 litres) of water 185 feet (56 metres) high. The internal temperature of the water has been measured at 244°F (118°C), with steam at 350°F. Old Faithful erupts about twenty times a day, ...
Europe’s churches and cathedrals are celebrated for various reasons: breathtaking architecture, deep-seated history, and stunning stained glass windows. Religious convictions aside, Europe’s cathedrals house beautiful works of art and offer a chance for quiet reflection. Throughout my travels I’ve toured many impressive churches, but Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is a spire above the rest. The abundance of sights available in Paris can be daunting, especially if you are tight on time. If unsure where to begin, a shuttle boat called the Batobus which travels along the Seine River is a good start as it stops at eight of Paris’ main attractions: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Notre Dame Cathedral, to name a few. As we approached Notre Dame Cathedral, the misty grey ...
Akumal is a wonderfully laid back, quiet village 60 miles south of Cancún, along Quintana Roo’s Mayan Riviera coast in Mexico. A world away from the turbulent goings-on farther north, Akumal has held onto its rich history and Mayan roots, which is very evident when mingling with the residents on a walk along the town’s narrow avenues. One of the former residents is celebrated just inside the town arch, where a statue of Gonzalo Guerrero and his family stand. Guerrero was a Spanish conquistador, who, after being shipwrecked at Akumal, made the very best of his situation by becoming a respected warrior and marrying a Mayan princess to start the first known Euro-American family. Re-discovered in the early 1950s, Akumal’s sugar sand beaches, coconut palms ...
