The Earth

10/10/2020

https://youtu.be/RCQwWUGB6xM Somewhere in India

Well, the good news is that Discovery Channel decided to drop Episode 1 of the 'Lost Essence of India' online a week before its TV telecast. Here it is! Also...

08/04/2016

Natural wonder, backpacker mecca, party central, Lima Site 6: Vang Vieng, 155 kilometres north of Vientiane on the road to Luang Prabang, has endured many labels. Ever since Laos reopened to foreign visitors in the 1990s, the small town’s striking river landscape lined with towering karst has lured travellers. There are mysterious caves to explore, lagoons of turquoise water to dive into and sheer cliffs to climb.

17/01/2016

Peru is best known for Machu Picchu, but this mysterious country has a multitude of hidden gems, including the floating islands of Uros. Built with Totora Reeds, these man-made islands are self-sustaining, providing shelter, transport and many other necessities to their inhabitants. A two-hour boat ride from Puno on the Peruvian side of the lake will land you amongst over 40 of these makeshift islands. Santa Maria is the largest home to the Uros tribe, which preceded the Inca civilization and who, legend has it, came into existence before the sun, and they were impervious to lightning and to drowning. These floating islands have survived past the mighty stone-walled Incan developments, and you may experience them first-hand, even sleeping overnight there.

20/03/2015

Location: Siquijor, Philippines

Known to many as a place of mysticism, enchantments and magic, Siquijor also has great tourist attractions to offer. It is also called “Isla del Fuego” or the “Isle of Fire” and is frequently associated with events that are out of the explanation of science. For some, traveling here is dangerous but for those who already visited this island, it is a beautiful place full of natural white sand beaches, coral reefs, caves and forests that are worth discovering.

Rating:4.5/5

25/12/2014

Merry Christmas!

Lapland, Finland: Finnish Lapland is as close as reality gets to those who dream of a winter wonderland. Contrasts are a key factor in the allure of Lapland where 24-hour sunlight in the summer replaces the dark winter days. The hustle and bustle of towns and ski resorts is just minutes away from the peace and quiet of the wild wilderness.

Rating: 5/5

Best Review: we stayed at the winter wonderland log cabins for Christmas and i can honestly say it was the best Christmas ever. We travelled as a 5, 1 child and 4 big kids. We borded the plane on the 21st December where each child was given a goody pack with colouring pictures and a games book, during the flight they were given a santa hat. On arrival at Rovaniemi airport we were picked up by Frosty our First Choice rep and Holly Berry the elf. the transfer time was about half an hour with a pit stop on the way to collect the warm weather clothing, this consisted of outer waterproof suit (very warm) a balaclava, waterproof mittens thermal sock and a scarf and of course snow boots. On arrival at the hotel/log cabins we were all booked in very quickly and made our way to our log cabin. If you can i would highly reccomend these, we had a sauna juccuzi and the most amazing views over the frozen lakes. The taster day on the first day was a great experience to have a go on snow mobiles, a husky sleigh ride and a reindeer seigh ride, you have the oppourtunity to pay extra for one or all of these for a longer experience. We did the elves adventure day at Mrs Claus' workshop, here we made tree decorations with Jack Frost, decorated cookies with Mrs Claus, our son was quite overwhelmed by this meeting and was lucky to have his picture taken with her. Lunch is supplied which was lovely. During this visit, the children went with the lumber jack to chop down a christmas tree and decorate it, next we got to try snow tubing bit of skiing and our son even had a go on the snow shoes. After lunch all the big kids including the reps and elves had the biggest snow ball fight i have ever seen, it was fab. Our reps at the WWL were Frosty Flatman, Sleigh Bell Shell, Artic Andy, and Jingle Bell Boo, all lovely people, brillant with the children . The hotel staff were all very friendly and helpful, we even had a chance to meet Rudolphs trainer one day in the tee p*e, he told us about the rudolph magic, Gala nite on christmas day, what can i say dinner was lovely, and then we were all called outside to see fireworks over the frozen lake and who could be seen coming up the snowy road pulled by comet the reindeer, Santa himself. Santa was lovely each child had a proper 1 on 1 with him a chat and a gift. Our son loved this and was a bit shell shocked i think.
I would definatley reccomend this hotel/log cabins to stay at, the FC staff were great, the activities were great for all ages and the visits to santa park and santa village are a must.
This time of year is must and see how a country should run with snow on the ground!

13/11/2014

7 Places to Visit Before You Turn 40

09/11/2014

Oia, Greece: Oia is carved out of the cliffs, and visitors can see houses built for Venetian sea captains as well as the more typical "cave houses" of the villagers. You’ll find the pure white buildings with colourful roofs that are typical of Greek architecture, and you’ll probably enjoy poking around the town. But don’t breeze through in an hour—you must stay for the sunset. It’s legendary. Watch from a café, or, better yet, from a boat—you’ll be spellbound.

Rating: 5/5

Best review: The view to die for. The private balcony and breakfast and acerbic fantastic. The whirlpool bath in the Captains a special spoiling touch. The apartment was comfortable and relaxing but the bed was hard. The staff quickly added a soft mattress on top do that fixed that. I think new sofas are needed at the price. Not ultra modern but very clean great service and a short walk into town. Amazing sunset from your private balcony. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay but next time I might book more modern and closer to the town.

09/11/2014

Mount Roraima, Venezuela : Roraima is the highest tepuy (Spanish for table mountain) on the triple border of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. It is around 2,800 metres tall. Its name is derived from 'Roroi-ma,' which in Pemon means 'big blue-green.' The only way visitors can climb to the top is from the Gran Sabana side, in Venezuela.

Rating: 5/5

Best review: Trekking Roraima has been, without a doubt, the hardest, most difficult experience of my life. Mentally, physically and psychologically exhausting and challenging, but I would do it all over again a 1000 times.

How to describe the experience? I have little words.. I don't know how to express it, I will just say it was amazing and epic. One of those things you have to do before you die. The place is simply magical and mystical, and the energy of the mountains is breathtaking.

We went there with Backpacker Tours. Everything with this guys was superb. The organisation of the trip was perfect and our Pemon guides were super nice and extremely helpful. We loved it all. We did the 6 days/5 nights tour, and now I wished we would have done the 7 days one.. and stayed in the top of the mountain a little but longer.

And pleaseeeee, make sure you dive in the whirlpool bathes for a little bit. It was freezing cold when we went and not getting in those pools is one of my biggest regrets.

06/11/2014

Yeh Leh Beach, Bali, Indonesia: You probably wouldn’t have heard of the Yeh Leh Beach unless you are a local fisherman.

Located in Jembrana, just off the Denpasar-Gilimanuk highway, Yeh Leh is not decorated with soft white sand like your ideal beach.

Instead, thousands of boulders litter the shore, either covered in algae or washed clean by the waves. These mysterious rocks have been smoothed over for hundreds of years, leaving few clues about their origin.

The beach is actually easily accessible, and you can visit at low tide to see Yeh Leh in all its glory, with the boulders unearthed and many interesting marine animals caught in the rock pools.

And if you can, don’t miss its stunning sunset, which lights up every shining rock on the shore.

Rating: 4/5

25/10/2014

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia: Salar de Uyuni is the worlds largest salt flat, spanning 10,582 km2 (4086 meter square) in south-western Bolivia. Unlike traditional deserts, which have sand in abundance, the Salar de Uyuni features vast expanses of glistening white salt. The landscape is entirely flat, bar a few small ‘islands’ such as Isla Incahuasi, which only accentuates its surreal beauty. Underneath the cemented salt are large reservoirs of lithium-rich brine. In fact, approximately 70% of the world’s lithium reserves are found in Salar de Uyuni and thus it’s not surprising that there’s an entire industry devoted to its extraction. Unlike any other place on earth, the Salar de Uyuni is breathtakingly beautiful and provides an extraordinary experience that will not be quickly forgotten.

Recommended best time to visit : Between July and October

Rating : 4.5/5

Best review: If i could choose where i could get my last breath it would be there!

So peacefull, get there and let your imagination do the rest!
This is exactly the kind of "landscape" i love where you can loss your mind and not thinking about anything but what you have in front of you!

And at night such a clear sky , a neat Milky Way again to let you loose your mind into it!

This place is a cure, whatever your problems are i am pretty sure they'll fly away as soon as you'll have a chance to experience a trip on the Salar!

YOU HAVE TO SEE IT ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!

I've been travelling quite a lot since i was kid and as the title says there is no other place like this that i had the chance to visit!

24/10/2014

Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon, USA: Located twenty miles east of the city of Portland, Oregon, and the northern Willamette River valley, the Mt. Hood National Forest extends south from the strikingly beautiful Columbia River Gorge across more than sixty miles of forested mountains, lakes and streams to Olallie Scenic Area, a high lake basin under the slopes of Mt. Jefferson. The Forest is divided into four separate districts - Barlow (with offices in Dufur), Clackamas River (Estacada), Hood River (Mount Hood-Parkdale), and Zigzag (Zigzag).

Rating: 4.5/5

Best review: The Cascade Streamwatch trail is definitely a truly amazing outdoor place to be at with its scenic forest setting and the salmon river running through it. Sure does make the trip worth it up here to the Wildwood recreation site in Mt Hood national Forest.
I came here last Saturday with my nephew of 13 and he truly enjoyed what this place had to offer, with its and believe you me, it truly offers a lot, from anything with a beautiful view of the trees and the river to the underwater fish viewing area that is very well set up and to finally the picnic areas by the river with BBQ pits which makes for one heck of spot for a great family gathering.
The trail has a amazing amount of craftsmanship with its log benches and sculpture of the native fishes of this area like the Salmon and Trout that pass through this area during the seasons. My only disappointment was I didn't see any fish in the underwater viewing area but I will have to make second trip back here just for that.
The trail itself was only about a mile and 1/2 long with a few zigzags and a couple of uphill parts which are very mild by the way. There are plenty of restrooms before the trailhead and on the actual trail itself, and the trail probably took only maybe a hour and 1/2 to do.

23/10/2014

Diwali or Dīpĝvali is a significant religious festival in Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism. It is also popularly known as the "Festival of Lights" and is a lunar-calendar based event that occurs between mid-October and mid-November. The word "Diwali" is a contraction of "Deepavali" which translates into "row of lamps". Diwali is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia, Singapore, and Fiji.

For Jains, Mahavira attained Nirvana or Moksha on this day at Pavapuri on Oct. 15, 527 BCE, on Chaturdashi of Kartika, as Tilyapannatti of Yativrashaba from the sixth century states.
Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of this era, revitalised Jainism Dharma followed by Jains even today. Though few outdated history books still mention that he established Jainism. According to tradition, the chief disciple of Mahavira, Ganadhara Gautam Swami also attained complete knowledge (Kevalgyana) on this day, thus making Diwali one of the most important Jain festivals..

For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of their religious calendar and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. This involves the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. These lamps are kept on during the night and one's house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome. Firecrackers are burst in order to drive away evil spirits. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.

Sikhs celebrate Diwali after celebration of Bandi Chhorh Divas.
Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhorh Divas to mark the return of the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Ji, who was freed from imprisonment and also managed to arrange the release of 52 Hindu kings (political prisoners) at the same time from the famous fort of Gwalior by making clever use of Emperor Jahangir's orders. Jahagir had ordered that to allow anyone who could hold on to the Gurus coat tails to leave the fort with the Guru (October, 1619).
And so the kings/rajahs were freed and the Guru became known popularly as the "Bandi Chhor" (Deliverer from prison). He arrived at Amritsar on Diwali day and the Harmandar (also known as the "Golden Temple") was lit with hundreds of lamps to celebrate his return and hence the day came to be known as the "Bandi Chhor Divas" ("prisoner release day", "freedom day").