Section: Snapshots
Bypass Tokyo and head for some fine Japanese climbing country
Kamikochi, Japan (dpa) – Mount Fuji in Japan is regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful mountains. With its even flanks and almost symmetrical cone, Fuji, or Fuji-san, has also been revered as a sacred site since time immemorial. Europeans are familiar with the prominent silhouette of this 3,776-metre-high peak, which stands as a [...]
An Adriatic town that likes to party: Kotor
Kotor, Montenegro (dpa) – At the end of a nearly 30-kilometer-long scenic fjord on Montenegro’s Adriatic coastline, and with dark mountains towering behind it, lies the small city of Kotor. For a long time, Kotor was known only to insiders. But now, cruise ships plying the Adriatic Sea between Italy and the Balkans have discovered [...]
Rejuvenated Quito a real jewel once you get there
Quito (dpa) – Quito nestles in the Andes in north-central Ecuador and is the highest capital city on earth. Not surprisingly due to its altitude and location, the most difficult part of any visit to Quito is actually getting there. The city’s Mariscal Sucre International airport is located in the middle of Quito and surrounded [...]
A tour of the lofty heights – atop Frankfurt’s skyscrapers
Frankfurt (dpa) – At the Kaiserplatz square in Frankfurt, Christian Setzepfandt holds his group up for a moment. “From this point the development of the high-rise buildings becomes particularly clear,” the city tour guide tells his guests. “Look over to the left – the Degussahaus from the early 1950s is barely 50 meters tall. Off [...]
The Florida Keys offers a truly American experience
Big Pine Key, Florida (dpa) – The Florida Keys is usually explored by car but the island landscape and its shallow, crystal-clear waters are probably best discovered using a kayak. The effort is also rewarded by seeing the wide and varied wildlife that live among the mangrove of the Florida Keys. The mangroves hang so [...]
The riddle of Jim Thompson continues to fascinate Bangkok visitors
Bangkok (dpa) – Has he gone to ground? Was he devoured by a wild animal? And is Jim Thompson really one of the most famous Americans in Asia? These are just some of the questions which confront visitors to the Jim-Thompson House in the heart of Bangkok. Here between huts made of teak, Buddha statues [...]
A vegan day out in Cairo
CAIRO: Certainly Cairo is not the easiest, or most diverse, place to be a vegan in today’s world, but there are some options and any vegan resident of Egypt or just a visitor does have some places to head on a daily basis. For the most part, street food in the country – ranging from [...]
Climbing God’s Mountain
MT. SINAI: In the heart of the Sinai Peninsula lies the biblical mountain that Moses supposedly received the Ten Commandments from God thousands of years ago. When Moses went to traverse the sharp edges of the mountain to pray at the summit, God granted him what has come to characterize monotheistic religion at the present [...]
Eyeballing the lions on big game safari in South Africa
Sabi Sand, South Africa (dpa) – Just one swipe of the paw, a bite in the neck or a leap forward and my first African big game safari would have been by last. Only a few meters separated me from the lion. Sitting in an open Land Rover I feel like a meal on wheels. [...]
The Aztec “Great Temple” in Mexico City continues to astound
Mexico City (dpa) – More than five centuries after Spanish conquerors buried it and the passage of time also helped cover it up, the “Great Temple,” an imposing architectural compound in what was once Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec empire, still holds some surprises. Archaeologists have over the last five years discovered a monumental [...]
Bali: The island of the Gods
Bali is a small island located within Indonesia. The island has for years been the number one touristic destination for Australian tourists and surfers. The image permeated constantly by tourist agencies has always been one of paradise. In less than two decades, the growth of the tourism industry has managed to transform what once was [...]
5 Great places to have shisha worldwide
Berto Cafe – Amman, Jordan This is one of those places that just doesn’t seem like an ideal shisha cafe. Located on an unassuming street in the Jordanian capital, a few roads from a grouping of 5-star hotels, Berto somehow does the trick. Last time we were in Jordan, this quickly became our early afternoon [...]
Egypt’s natural beauty in white and black deserts
The Black and White Desert is a natural beauty in the Egyptian desert that can be explored by anyone who can withstand some heat and a short car ride. This giant depression in the land has created the Black and White Desert in the Western area of Egypt, between Dakhla and Bahariya. The Black desert [...]
Discovering Santeria in Havana
Cockleshells click in the hands of the small man in front of me while he murmurs something to himself. My eyes catch on the bizarre ornamentation hanging around the room, darting from a statue of the Virgin Mary to a roughly-hewn pot of animal bones to a bottle of Havana Club rum sitting upon an [...]
Thailand’s Phuket vegetarian festival begins next month
DUBAI: There’s no better time to be a vegetarian and head to Thailand than the end of September, when Phuket plays host to a massive vegetarian festival. Phuket-bound travelers will be able to experience the festivities surrounding the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which will take place this year between September 27 and October 5, during [...]
Oman celebrates 41st anniversary of Renaissance
Oman’s large growth is a source of inspiration for most developing countries, particularly in areas concerning human development, local media reports. The most important event in the modern history of the Sultanate of Oman was the takeover of power in a bloodless achievement by the then 29-year-old Sultan Qaboos from his father on 23rd July, [...]
Agadir: My City
AGADIR, Morocco: Agadir is a city in the southern part of Morocco. It is of interest primarily because of its location, as the Atlas Mountains, the Sahara Desert, many natural parks and secluded beaches, which are all easily accessible from Agadir, surround this great city. The city of Agadir itself is primarily a tourist resort [...]
LA, vegan and March Madness
LOS ANGELES: It’s that time of year again: March Madness. With the games already under way, it can be a frustrating, often debilitating time of year for the vegan sports fan. Most bars are not thinking of a vegan lifetsyle when they draw up their menus, but here in Los Angeles, there is one location [...]
Ice Cream or KindKreme in LA
Vegan ice cream. The perfect dessert for the early afternoon or the late evening. Take your significant other and grab a couple scoops from KindKreme, Los Angele’s premier vegan ice cream joint. Vanilla, chocolate, mango, or a dozen other flavors to whet the palate. The coffee chip has to be one of the top choices, [...]
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