Festivals bring out the best in people. Whether the sun is splitting the rocks, the rain is falling freely or the mud is knee-deep, you’re still guaranteed to see smiles and good humor. Here are a just a few on around the world in January.
Zoos are not the only place where the treatment of elephants has been of concern for animal activist groups. Elephants are regularly used as a tourist attraction in Asia, and elephant riding is considered a “must” when visiting Thailand. In addition to providing rides, elephants are often used to perform circus tricks, paint pictures, or give massages. It’s a contentious issue.
Normally, I’m not one for revealing too much about myself online – I leave that to other bloggers who are happy to share a lot more of their personal lives, and who are often much more adept at crafting inspirational messages as a result.
This slideshow was complied for World Travel Market in London last month by Sallie Grayson of peopleandplaces, as part of World Responsible Tourism Day. It’s a great message about responsible volunteering – what it is and what it really means, in SIMPLE terms.
If there’s one person I owe my fascination with the natural world to, it’s the wonderful Sir David Attenborough. Watching a natural history documentary narrated by him is completely mesmerizing. His unique dulcet tones hypnotise like an environmental siren. It’s impossible to look away.
Stairway to the moon occurs once a month over a three day period from March to October, so if you want to see it you need to plan your travels around those dates. Broome’s community website releases the dates every year.
The irreplaceable historic and architectural treasures of Mali’s great desert city, Timbuktu, are under threat of destruction by Islamist rebels occupying the city. Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988, has already suffered several attacks on its religious monuments, including the destruction of several ancient shrines of Muslim saints that the fundamentalist attackers consider to be idolatrous.
During one of my many moments of procrastination *cough*, erm, research, I happened upon this wonderful contraption. The answer to all my island life problems: the KANZ Field Power Desk.
Like great grey fingers reaching for the sky, the basalt columns of The Organ at the Giant’s Causeway held me totally captivated as a child. I would stand as close to the columns as possible, lean my head back and stare skyward up along the length of hexagonal stones stacked neatly, one upon the other.
Love it or loathe it, the word staycation is here to, erm, stay. Used more and more frequently in the last few years, staycation describes a vacation in or near home, or within your own country.
