The lure of the Galapagos Islands Cruise

Galapagos Luxury Catamaran
Giant Galapagos tortoises meander distant highlands, and prehistoric marine iguanas sun themselves on black lava rocks along the shore. Flightless cormorants and tiny penguins dart through the waters while graceful red-billed tropicbirds screech across the sky. In the company of a Galapagos naturalist guide aboard a luxury Galapagos cruise, you set out to explore remarkable island ecosystems as you inch past lounging sea lions, scout for breaching whales offshore and pink flamingos in hidden lagoons. The volcanic Galapagos islands sit about 650 miles west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. At first, they appear to be desolate. Yet, these rough and rocky isles are home to wonderfully strange and abundant wildlife. As Charles Darwin some 200 years before us, we marvel at the highly adapted creatures found nowhere else on earth.

When it comes to arranging distinctive Galapagos tours and Galapagos cruises, there is no substitute for the in-depth knowledge offered by the experienced staff at Big Five Tours & Expeditions. Galapagos tours and cruises begin right here, at Galapagos.com. Learn more about this remote yet surprisingly easy-to-reach destination from the comfort of our luxury Galapagos cruises.

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Karon Beach,Phuket Most beautiful beach Resort

Karon, featuring an incredibly long stretch of squeaky white sand, is less hectic than Patong but it still offers a full range of facilities, dining and activities.

While it's a fast-growing area, Karon is nicely spread out and rarely feels crowded. Karon is concentrated around three main areas. In the Karon Plaza area on the south end there a number of budget guesthouses, restaurants and bars.

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China to invest 1 billion Euros for tourism centre in Murcia, Spain

The Chinese government and a variety of businesses from different sectors will be investing around 1 billion Euros for the development of a tourism, logistics and leisure centre in Murcia, Spain next year. The project is known as Special Zone of Chinese Investments and will include 2000 apartments, shopping and entertainment complexes, and educational facilities in addition to a theme park showcasing the Chinese cultural heritage.

The construction work on the project is expected to begin next year in the city of Lorca and likely to be completed in 2013 or 2014. The project has been made possible by negotiating with Chinese and Asian private initiatives for two years.

The logistics centre will showcase Chinese monuments and have eight themes including one on Chinese culture and history. Around 187,000 square meters of area would be given to Chinese business companies which will invest in ZEIC.

A commercial area where Chinese products and services will be provided is also part of the plan. The centre will also have a business training school and the leisure zone would have a casino, food services, entertainment services, a five star hotel and a golf course.

The ZEIC has been described as a ‘bridge between Spain and China’ by the Spanish government.

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Popular Places to Visit in Paris

Who doesn’t know Paris? A city that is almost always associated to romance, love and adventure.

What to see in Paris? Wow, lots of things. The most famous sites are: The Eiffel Tower, The Museum of Louvre, The Museum of Orsay, The Montparnasse Tower, The Notre Dame of Paris, The Sacré Coeur Basilica, Avenue of Champs Elysées, Garden of Luxembourg, Garden of Tuileries, The Versailles Palace and garden, La Defense, Center of Georges Pompidou,… and lots of other big sites

But choose your own places, according to what you like and to what interests you. Let me give you additional tips for your visit in Paris:
* To save some budget, avoid using taxi. Use the Metro and RER service (the subway of Paris), or the bus. But due to the traffic, I’d rather take the Metro. You can find Metro stations everywhere, but always watch your bags, watches, or cell phones!
* You can ask for free the map of Metro and bus lines everywhere! But preferably ask for it when you arrive in Paris in the airport… You can also ask for it in the Metro stations, some big department stores (for example Galeries Lafayette), etc…
* Learn a little French before coming… Just some little useful expressions to say: how do you do, how much does it cost, I would like some water, etc… It will be very useful!
* I know that Paris sounds glamorous… But just bring your comfortable clothes (according to the season), comfortable shoes (girls, our high heels are not made for the streets in Paris), one or two formal clothes if you want to watch opera or ballet, and you’re ready!
* What to eat??? Hah, welcome to France my friend. Try and dare your self to eat French food. If you’re afraid to wrong-order, ask the waiter first what it is. One suggestion, if you go to restaurants, ask for ménu, which doesn’t means the menu card, but a meal consisted of entry, main menu, and a dessert. Usually it’s cheaper to buy ménu than to eat à la carte, which means to choose one by one the entry, the main menu, and the dessert from the menu card/book. If you want to save some budget, try French famous sandwiches, or pizza, or Kebab (sandwich from Turki), or panini (sandwich from Italia), or the famous French crêpes!

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History of Stonehenge England

Stonehenge one of the World's Favourite Megalithic Stone Circles. Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) west of Amesbury and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones and sits at the centre of the densest complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds. Stonehenge itself evolved in several construction phases spanning at least some 1500 years. However there is evidence of large scale construction both before and afterwards on and around the monument that perhaps extends the landscape's time frame to 6500 years.

New archaeological evidence found by the Stonehenge Riverside Project indicates that Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. The dating of cremated remains found that burials took place as early as 3000 B.C, when the first ditches were being built around the monument. Burials continued at Stonehenge for at least another 500 years when the giant stones which mark the landmark were put up. In April 2008 Professor Tim Darvill of the University of Bournemouth and Professor Geoff Wainwright of the Society of Antiquaries began another dig inside the Stone circle to retrieve dateable fragments of the original bluestone pillars. They were able to date the erection of some bluestones to 2300BC, although this may not reflect the earliest erection of stones at Stonehenge. They also discovered organic material from 7000 B.C., which, along with the Mesolithic postholes, adds support for the site having been in use at least 4000 years before Stonehenge was started. In August and September 2008, as part of the Riverside Project Julian Richards and Mike Pitts excavated Aubrey Hole 7, removing the cremated remains from several Aubrey Holes that had been excavated by Hawley in the 1920s, and re-interred in 1935.

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Machu Picchu Above Urubamba Valley

Machu Picchu is the pre Columbian, Inca empire site that is located almost 8,000 feet above the sea level. The site is located on a mountain ridge above the valley of Urubamba in Peru. The city is also called the “lost city of Incas”. When tourists make a list of the best world tour destination, Machu Picchu is the site that undoubtedly gets the maximum number of votes.

It is said that the journey to this spot is a dream journey, which one must never miss. It is a journey to the top archeological site on the planet earth. Data says that the Machu Picchu Tourism is one of the proudest industries in the country. Whatever your expectation out of the place would be, you will really be more than delighted to see the picturesque beauty of the place and the intoxicating power that it will have on you.

Machu Picchu was built in 146 AD, however, it was left by the Inca rulers 100 years later. Legendary stories suggest that the place was neglected for quite some time. In the year 1911, Hiram Bingham, who was an American historian, got the world’s attention to it and then there was no looking back. Recent discoveries also show that the site was dug many years ago by a German businessman. The site became a part of the UNESCO, world heritage site in 1983. The site as built in typical Inca style with dry stone polished walls and it most famous buildings are ‘ the temple of sun’ and ‘ the room of three windows’.

Traveling to Machu Picchu
The site is located 80 kilometers northwest of Cusco and sits between two mountains. From Cusco, you can take a train to Aguas Calientes and then take a bus up to the actual site. If you are of the more adventurous type, you may want to take a one-way bus trip up to Machu Picchu and then walk down to Aguas Calientes on your way back.

Pictures & Photos

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