My name is Farah Liana Binti Hamidin. I am 22 years old on this 24th June. I am Universiti Malaysia Kelantan's students. My course is Degree in Entrepreneurship in Health. Now I am third year student and this blog is one of my assignment for travel and tour subject. I was born in Kuala Terengganu but todays my family is live in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. I have four siblings and i was the number two. The first is my brother and others is my younger sisters. Actually I am twin and my sister now study in University Teknologi Mara in Degree of Event Management. Peoples always say that you are so lucky to have twins and I am glad that I am twin. This is because I can share any story or problems with her. Sometimes we can share about our interest. Even though we are twin sometimes we also argue with each other.
I am not talkative person. I also hard to make a new friend because of I am not good in communicate with others. I am also hard to easily get comfortable with everybody. It take time for me to get close to some one. Maybe there are people thing that I'm an arrogant lady but actually i'm not. It just because I'm not really friendly person. That was my bad sight in my life and I know it will be hard for me when it come times for me to get a job. I do not know what is my specialty. But I think I am a flexible person. Sometimes it good to be flexible but sometimes it will become bad.
Actually i did not really know myself yet but maybe sometimes I will know it.....
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Destination 1 - Prague Astronomical Clock, Czech Republic
To celebrate its 600th anniversary in 2010, a 3D light show played over the tower and faces of the Prague Orloj, with high definition animations showing events in its history. Twenty-first century innovation was honouring the cutting-edge technology of the early 15th century, but Prague's beautiful astronomical clock doesn't really need new-fangled bells and whistles to give crowd appeal. It is still the most popular and distinctive attraction in the city's Old Town Square. Although is dates from a period of politics turmoil in Prague, the clock is a miraculous legacy from the medieval city's golden era, when the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV made it his capital. Prague became the empire's economics and cultural centre and the foundation of Charles University in 1348 turned into a hub European learning. Charles IV also oversaw a vast expansion of the city, but the clock is the oldest part, overlooking the tenth century marketplace from the wall of the Old Town Hall, s building erected by Charles's father, John of Luxembourg.
The clock and astronomical dial - in effect an astrolabe - was made in1410. It was the work of the clock maker Mikulas of Kadan, based on the calculation of Jan Sindel, professor of maths and astronomyat the university. The sun and mood circle around the still earth in the centre os the dial, while the sun also moves around the zodiac and the moon indicates its phases. The sun and the golden hand on its arm point to the time in various ways: on 24-hour dial and as a period of daylight divided into 12 'unequal hours' - longer in summer shorter in winter. Beneath the clock is the calender flanked by four carved figure: a chronicles, an angel, an astronomer and a philosopher. But the figure the crowds gather every day to see are the moving ones, which go into action on each hour.
Four seedy 17th century characters stands beside the clock: Vanity admiring his reflection, a miser clutching his bag of gold, a turbaned Turk and skeletal death, who rings his bell and eyes his hourglass. Above them the 12 Apostles added in 1860s, peer out as they shimmy past their two doordays, and finally a golden cockerel crows to signal the end of the show.
The clock and astronomical dial - in effect an astrolabe - was made in1410. It was the work of the clock maker Mikulas of Kadan, based on the calculation of Jan Sindel, professor of maths and astronomyat the university. The sun and mood circle around the still earth in the centre os the dial, while the sun also moves around the zodiac and the moon indicates its phases. The sun and the golden hand on its arm point to the time in various ways: on 24-hour dial and as a period of daylight divided into 12 'unequal hours' - longer in summer shorter in winter. Beneath the clock is the calender flanked by four carved figure: a chronicles, an angel, an astronomer and a philosopher. But the figure the crowds gather every day to see are the moving ones, which go into action on each hour.
Four seedy 17th century characters stands beside the clock: Vanity admiring his reflection, a miser clutching his bag of gold, a turbaned Turk and skeletal death, who rings his bell and eyes his hourglass. Above them the 12 Apostles added in 1860s, peer out as they shimmy past their two doordays, and finally a golden cockerel crows to signal the end of the show.
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| Prague Astronomical Clock |
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| Prague Astronomical Clock |
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| Carved figure in Prague Astronomical Clock |
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| Prague Astronomical Clock Tower |
Destination 2 - Windmills of Kinderdijk, Netherlands
Painted on countless tiles, teapots and trinkets, the windmill is a cliche of the Dutch tourist trade. But it became an icon for good reason: wind-powered pumps kept two-third of the country from disappearing beneath the sea. The Dutch didn't invent the windmill, which was in use in the Persian Empire in the ninth century, and the earliest mills were built to grind corn. But from 14th century Dutch engineers installed and developed windmills as part of ingenious drainage systems to create and maintain productive manmade landscapes and to power some of the world's earliest industrial operations such as sawing wood for shipbuilding.
In the low-lying coastal regions of Holland and Utrecht, a constant battle had to be fought against flooding from the time the first dykes were built around AD 1000, but the Dutch also became experts in land reclamation, draining the marshlands by digging canals and regulating the flow of water with networks of sluices and reservoirs. Windmills, powering rotary iron scoops, made it possible to lift water out of low-lying fields and over the dykes into reservoirs that were emptied into the rivers at low tide. The orderly rectangular fields between the waterways, known as polders, were used as pasture and for growing crops in the fertile, peaty soil. Polders now make up approximately 60 per cent of the country.
In the 18th century thousands of windmills dotted the Dutch landscape, but in the age of steam they were gradually replaced. the graceful Kinderdijk mills were erected in 1738 - 40, and are among the few survivors of over 150 mills in the Alblasserwaard area, which battled to control water levels between the Lek, Noord and Merwede rivers for over a century until steam pumps were installed in 1868. The windmills of Kinderdijk are a serene and beautiful monument to an old technology, but one that is now becoming relevant again as we face a post-oil world. Tellingly, they were brought back into regular use during World War II when there was no diesel available to power the pumps and they are still maintained in working order in case the modern equipment breaks down.
In the low-lying coastal regions of Holland and Utrecht, a constant battle had to be fought against flooding from the time the first dykes were built around AD 1000, but the Dutch also became experts in land reclamation, draining the marshlands by digging canals and regulating the flow of water with networks of sluices and reservoirs. Windmills, powering rotary iron scoops, made it possible to lift water out of low-lying fields and over the dykes into reservoirs that were emptied into the rivers at low tide. The orderly rectangular fields between the waterways, known as polders, were used as pasture and for growing crops in the fertile, peaty soil. Polders now make up approximately 60 per cent of the country.
In the 18th century thousands of windmills dotted the Dutch landscape, but in the age of steam they were gradually replaced. the graceful Kinderdijk mills were erected in 1738 - 40, and are among the few survivors of over 150 mills in the Alblasserwaard area, which battled to control water levels between the Lek, Noord and Merwede rivers for over a century until steam pumps were installed in 1868. The windmills of Kinderdijk are a serene and beautiful monument to an old technology, but one that is now becoming relevant again as we face a post-oil world. Tellingly, they were brought back into regular use during World War II when there was no diesel available to power the pumps and they are still maintained in working order in case the modern equipment breaks down.
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| Windmills of Kinderdijk |
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| Windmills of Kinderdijk |
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| Windmills of Kinderdijk |
Destination 3 - Eiffel Tower, Paris
As Paris planned its International Exhibition for 1889, marking the centenary of the French Revolution, it held a competition to design a spectacular tower to stand at the entrance of the site on the Champ de Mars. Out of 700 entries, the design submitted by Gustave Eiffel's engineering company was unanimously chosen for the project. Building began on January 1887, but not everyone welcomed the unmissable new landmark. It was the bolted metal construction that made the height of the new tower possible. Experience of building bridges had taught Eiffel that the most important consideration was the strength of the wind, and the shape of the curved pylons was developed so that at any height the downward force was equal to the force of the strongest wind at the point.
There were formidable challenges. The pillars on the riverside had to be supported by air-compressed foundations in the underwater steel caissons, and Eiffel devised a system of hydraulic jacks to position each foot at the correct angle to meet the horizontal beams on the first level. The iron components weighing a total of 7300 tons, were assembled in Eiffel's workshop and bolted together on site. The tower open on 31 March 1889.
Now it is carefully preserved, and every seven years 25 painters set up safety nets and harnesses and repaint the whole structure, starting from the top and painting by hand using brushes. The whole job takes 18 months. The original colour was reddish brown, but red has also been used and even yellow; since 1968 the paint has been ' Eiffel Tower Brown', specially mixed to blend with the cityscape and applied in there shades - darker at the bottom and lighter at the top to give a consistent appearance.
The individual ticket price is between 3.00 euro to 14.00 euro it depend on age and ways to go up there either by lift or stairs.
There were formidable challenges. The pillars on the riverside had to be supported by air-compressed foundations in the underwater steel caissons, and Eiffel devised a system of hydraulic jacks to position each foot at the correct angle to meet the horizontal beams on the first level. The iron components weighing a total of 7300 tons, were assembled in Eiffel's workshop and bolted together on site. The tower open on 31 March 1889.
Now it is carefully preserved, and every seven years 25 painters set up safety nets and harnesses and repaint the whole structure, starting from the top and painting by hand using brushes. The whole job takes 18 months. The original colour was reddish brown, but red has also been used and even yellow; since 1968 the paint has been ' Eiffel Tower Brown', specially mixed to blend with the cityscape and applied in there shades - darker at the bottom and lighter at the top to give a consistent appearance.
The individual ticket price is between 3.00 euro to 14.00 euro it depend on age and ways to go up there either by lift or stairs.
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| Eiffel Tower night view |
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| Eiffel Tower |
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| Eiffel Tower |
Destination 4 - Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, Edinburgh
Scotland is a land of castles. There are have been over 2000 of them, but Edinburgh's, towering above the city on its forbidding rock, sets the pattern, even if little of its medieval fortification remains. It even has a couple of ghosts, a piper and a headless drummer. The castle rock is the hard basalt plug of an extinct volcano that resisted later glacial erosion, leaving an almost impregnable crag with only one approach route - the ultimate safe refuge. It was known to the ancient Scots as Din Eidyn until it fell to the Angles in AD 638, when it took the English name Edinburgh.
David I moved his capital here from Dunfermline in the 12th century, giving the castle royal status. Only one structure remains from this period, the little Romanesque chapel dedicated to his mother on the summit, which is the city's oldest building. When the Earl of Moray's forces captured the castle from the English in 1314, by scaling the precipitous north face to rock , it was the only building that was spared, and Robert the Bruce later left money and instruction for its repair. The monstrous cannon that sits outside the chapel arrived in 1457 as a gift from Philip Duke of Burgundy. It fired balls weighing 150kg for up to 3km, but really its bark was worse than its bite: firing generated so much heat that it could be used only few times a day, and its was barely manoeuvrable on a battlefields. From 1540 Mons Weg was saved for ceremonial use, until the barrel burst in 1681when James Duke of Albany - a rather had bad omen for the future king, who managed to reign for only three years.
The 15th century saw the creation of royal apartments and the great hall, although after the royal family moved down the royal Mike to Holyrood Palace the castle was mostly used as an arsenal. But Mary Queen of Scots took refuge here to give birth, in a tiny wood-panelled room whose panels are vividly painted to commemorate the events: before her baby was a year old she was forced to abdicate and he became James VI, later James I of England. In all, the castle suffered 13 attacks, culminating in the ' Lang Siege' when the garrison held out for nearly two years in support of the deposed Mary Queen of Scots. Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745 was the last to test defences - the castle held out easily - but in the face of the Napoleonic threat the vast New Barracks was built in 1799, large enough to hold 600 troops. In the event the castle never needed to defend itself against the French - its vaults held prisoners of war instead.
Soldier still guard the castle, but the besieging hordes turned into tourist as Victorians went wild for 'auld' Scotland. Walter Scott dashingly searched the castle for the crown jewels and masterminded its tartan-and-bagpipes image. With gatehouse and great hall restored in baronial style and the One O'clock Gun set up on the ramparts, the annual Military Tattoo on the Esplanade has cemented Edinburgh's status as Scotland's top castle.
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| Military Tattoo |
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| Edinburgh Castle |
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| Edinburgh Castle |
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Destination 5 - Hagia Sophia, Turkey, Istanbul
East meets west in Byzantium, also known as Constantinople and Istanbul. Perhaps the main meeting point is the Hagia Sophia, which has variously been an eastern Orthodox Cathedral, a roman catholic cathedral, an imperial mosque and a secular museum. The clutter of names around a building also known as Sancta Sapienti, Aya Sofya and Magna Ecclesia result from a culture and architectural clutter sometimes willed by existing incumbents, sometimes introduced by new ones. Its instigator, Emperor Justinian, plundered building materials from throughout the Byzantine Empire. Hellenistic columns came from the nearby Temple of Artemis and Corinthian columns were shipped from Lebanon along with green marble from Macedonia, black stone from Bulgaria, yellow stone from Syria and porphyry from Egypt.
Walls and ceilings were covered on gold mosaics revealing God's holy fire surrounded by lords and ladies, young lovers, shoals of leaping fish, ecstatic musicians and choirs, solemn saints and soaring angels. Justinian declared ' Solomon, I have outdone you,' and the Hagia Sophia remained the largest temple in the world until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520. By then, the building was a mosque and many of its mosaic had been plastered over, in accordance with the Islamic ban on figurative images. At ground level, most of what now confronts the visitor is still Islamic. Higher up, Orthodox Christian iconography is being uncovered. Maintaining balance of religious, restorative and conservation interest is most difficult in the dome, where Islamic calligraphy overlays an Orthodox picture of Christ.
The 30 m diameters dome is uncluttered in form, and what was without precedent when Hagia Sophia was built in the sixth century remains utterly extraordinary. It is monument of unageing intellect, designed by physicist and mathematician who between them realized the world's first pendentive dome. The elegance is augmented by an arcade of 40 windows around the dome's base from which, in a way that invokes a spiritual responses regardless of creed, light diffuses through the whole building and makes the dome seem to hover above the nave. Hagia Sophia now hovers above religious divides. A museum administered by a secular state, this monument to wisdom has somehow overarched the vicissitudes of time, volcanic eruption and violent regime change.
Walls and ceilings were covered on gold mosaics revealing God's holy fire surrounded by lords and ladies, young lovers, shoals of leaping fish, ecstatic musicians and choirs, solemn saints and soaring angels. Justinian declared ' Solomon, I have outdone you,' and the Hagia Sophia remained the largest temple in the world until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520. By then, the building was a mosque and many of its mosaic had been plastered over, in accordance with the Islamic ban on figurative images. At ground level, most of what now confronts the visitor is still Islamic. Higher up, Orthodox Christian iconography is being uncovered. Maintaining balance of religious, restorative and conservation interest is most difficult in the dome, where Islamic calligraphy overlays an Orthodox picture of Christ.
The 30 m diameters dome is uncluttered in form, and what was without precedent when Hagia Sophia was built in the sixth century remains utterly extraordinary. It is monument of unageing intellect, designed by physicist and mathematician who between them realized the world's first pendentive dome. The elegance is augmented by an arcade of 40 windows around the dome's base from which, in a way that invokes a spiritual responses regardless of creed, light diffuses through the whole building and makes the dome seem to hover above the nave. Hagia Sophia now hovers above religious divides. A museum administered by a secular state, this monument to wisdom has somehow overarched the vicissitudes of time, volcanic eruption and violent regime change.
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| Inside Hagia Sophia |
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| Hagia Sophia |
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| Hagia Sophia Dome |
Destination 6 - Alhambra, Spain, Granada
The Alhambra is , in a unifying sense. A hyphenated place. The palace-fort in southern Spain is an Arab-European. Moslem-Christian melting pot. Its sprawl of small interlocking spaces reveals that paradise on earth may not necessarily be a contradiction in terms. An architectural realization of an earth-paradise is what the 14th century Nasrid craftsmen had in mind when they enclosed a complex of domestic buildings within a set of fortifications. Moorish towers looked out over Spain and in on an evolving maze of buildings clustered around quadrangles of varying sizes and joined into a whole with alleyways and sub-courtyards. Everywhere trees and flowers rub against formalized decorative foliage.
Stilt arches, columns, domes and muqarna-stalactite ceilings give a distinctive non-European feel. Walls and floors are covered with painted tiles of intertwined flowing patterns that echo that architectural complexity and suggest infinity. At the root of Alhambra's geometrical iconography is an Islamic conception of divine order. It follows the Mudejar style, which saw Western ideas influencing Arabic craftsmen who worked in isolation from the rest of Islam. The culture mix changed when eight centuries of Muslim rule over Granada ended in 1492. By 1527 Charles V has inserted a Renaissance palace, beginning a process of Italianate revisions that continued until Philips V's death in 1746. Spain's empire then dwindled and the Alhambra was neglected until 19th century.
A highlight of the complex is the Court of the Lions, a quadrangle where a central fountains play into an alabaster basin resting on the back of a dozen marbles lions. Galleries and pavilions enclose a space that seems under the benign guard of 124 slender columns. Blue and yellow tiled walls are framed in enamelled blue and gold. Colour and light defines the Alhambra. An unnamed Arab poet describe the exterior walls surrounding woodland as 'a pearl set in emeralds' and there is a kaleidoscopic richness to its appearance.
Stilt arches, columns, domes and muqarna-stalactite ceilings give a distinctive non-European feel. Walls and floors are covered with painted tiles of intertwined flowing patterns that echo that architectural complexity and suggest infinity. At the root of Alhambra's geometrical iconography is an Islamic conception of divine order. It follows the Mudejar style, which saw Western ideas influencing Arabic craftsmen who worked in isolation from the rest of Islam. The culture mix changed when eight centuries of Muslim rule over Granada ended in 1492. By 1527 Charles V has inserted a Renaissance palace, beginning a process of Italianate revisions that continued until Philips V's death in 1746. Spain's empire then dwindled and the Alhambra was neglected until 19th century.
A highlight of the complex is the Court of the Lions, a quadrangle where a central fountains play into an alabaster basin resting on the back of a dozen marbles lions. Galleries and pavilions enclose a space that seems under the benign guard of 124 slender columns. Blue and yellow tiled walls are framed in enamelled blue and gold. Colour and light defines the Alhambra. An unnamed Arab poet describe the exterior walls surrounding woodland as 'a pearl set in emeralds' and there is a kaleidoscopic richness to its appearance.
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| Court of the Lions |
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| Alhambra |
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| inside Alhambra |
Destination 7 - Mont-Saint-Michel, France, Normandy
The gothic apparition rises above the flat fields and salt marshes of the Normandy coast. The abbey's spire crowned with a golden figure of St. Michael. Pilgrims have been walking out to it across the sand for centuries. Legend tells that Micheal, the fiery archangel, appeared to Bishop Aubert of Avranges in 708 and told him to build a shrine on the craggy island in the bay. The bishop was slow to act, even after a second visitation, so Micheal appeared a third time and burned a hole in his skull with his blazing finger - that got the work started. Holy relics brought from Italy drew pilgrims to the island, though they were probably following an establish route, as many hilltop sites sacred to the Celtic solar god Bel were reassigned to St Micheal when Christianity absorbed older pagan traditions.
The granite outcrop was originally part of the land, but as sea levels rose after the last Ice Age it was cut off from the coast, except for a small natural land bridge covered by the tide, which rises rapidly by as much as 14m. Early pilgrims had to pick their way across the flats a low water, taking care to avoid treacherous patches of quicksand, and local guides still recreate this hazardous journey for modern visitors. A permanent causeway was added in 1879, but this has created a build-up of silt carried down the River Couesnon. Work is now under way to replace the causeway with a bridge, allowing the sea to flow freely around the mount so that its island status will be restored.
The granite outcrop was originally part of the land, but as sea levels rose after the last Ice Age it was cut off from the coast, except for a small natural land bridge covered by the tide, which rises rapidly by as much as 14m. Early pilgrims had to pick their way across the flats a low water, taking care to avoid treacherous patches of quicksand, and local guides still recreate this hazardous journey for modern visitors. A permanent causeway was added in 1879, but this has created a build-up of silt carried down the River Couesnon. Work is now under way to replace the causeway with a bridge, allowing the sea to flow freely around the mount so that its island status will be restored.
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| Mont-Saint-Michel sky view |
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| Mont-Saint-Michel night view |
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| At Mont-Saint-Michel |
Destination 8 - Angkor Wat, Cambodia
The temple's three-tiered structure steps up to five lotus-bud towers. There is mystery here. The polished sandstone pinnacles probably represent the five peaks of Mount Meru, mythical home of the Hindu gods. The building faces west, either because it was intended as a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II or because it was dedicated to Vishnu, god of the west. World's largest temple with an estimation five millions tons of sandstone was brought down river from a quarry 25 miles away. The central tower, once a holy of holies accessible only yo the priesthood and now a tourists' viewpoint over the city. The moat proved a strong defence, for Angkor Wat is but a fraction of a large metropolis that was reclaimed by nature after it was abandoned in the early 16th century. It is the only Angkor temple to have survive as a significant religious centre, first for Hindus and then for Buddhist.
The workmanship is awesome. Instead of mortaring, the stone blocks are seamlessly interlinked with carved mortise-and-tenon or dovetail joints, and then buffed to a marble sheen. The internal work is equally fine, and equally immense, with endless bas-relief carvings covering walls, columns and roofs. One frieze shows the Hindu creation myth, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, with Vishnu in the centre above his turtle avatar Kurma, and there are depiction of scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata epics. Sculpture becomes architecture in expanses of exuberant stone comic strips showing battles and chariots, unicorns and gryphons, dragons and elephants, garlands, dancing girls and cheery guardian spirits.
The workmanship is awesome. Instead of mortaring, the stone blocks are seamlessly interlinked with carved mortise-and-tenon or dovetail joints, and then buffed to a marble sheen. The internal work is equally fine, and equally immense, with endless bas-relief carvings covering walls, columns and roofs. One frieze shows the Hindu creation myth, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, with Vishnu in the centre above his turtle avatar Kurma, and there are depiction of scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata epics. Sculpture becomes architecture in expanses of exuberant stone comic strips showing battles and chariots, unicorns and gryphons, dragons and elephants, garlands, dancing girls and cheery guardian spirits.
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| Angkor Wat |
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| Inside Angkor Wat |
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| Angkor War skyview |
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| carve on Angkor Wat wall |
Destination 9 - Genting Highland
Genting Highlands is a popular holiday destination in Pahang, perched high up on the peak of Gunung Ulu Kali at about 1,800 meters. Only an hour's drive away from Kuala Lumpur (about 50km), its close distance makes it a suitable getaway from the hot and humid weather of Malaysia. Colourful theme parks, casinos, resorts and attractions line the mountain peak, while vast surroundings of lush rainforest contrast starkly. Tourists make the trip to discover the theme park, farms and enjoy the view, with their families or friends.
The only attractions are its casinos, extravagant theme park and occasionally splendid view on a clear day. The rest are composed of mediocre shopping, commercialized farms and expensive restaurants. On the other hand, if you're not looking for a serious holiday but a quick getaway into cooling weather, then Genting is one of the easiest places to reach from Kuala Lumpur city. It's also enjoyable for a day or weekend of meaningless (but relaxing) activity and sightseeing, especially with children. Meanwhile, nature lovers will be grateful for the slopes surrounding Genting Highlands, which are perfect trekking grounds with beautiful waterfalls hidden behind lush drapes of tropical rainforest.
Genting Highlands has a cooling weather between 20°C to 25°C during the day and 15°C to 20°C during the night. Misty weather is an ordinary element and thunder storms are frequent towards the year end. However, you can visit Genting Highlands anytime during the year as it has a good network of roads that are not flat to landslides. If you wish less rain on your holiday, the best time to come here would lie between March - September. From October till February, the rainfall is at its heaviest. Be sure to wear some thick clothing at night if you're susceptible to cold. The mist around the peak can obscure panoramic views of Kuala Lumpur city and the landscape below. The best time to get a clear view is during the early mornings and late evenings, but this is not a hard and fixed rule. Also, travel during non-peak periods and outside school holidays and festive seasons, if you want to have cheaper accommodation rates.
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| view of Genting Highland |
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| Genting Highland indoor park |
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| Genting Highland |
Destination 10 - Niagara Falls
Earlier than you even get close to the Falls, you'll listen to it. Millions of gallons of water run over its 170-foot cliffs every few seconds. Twenty percent of the world's freshwater is in the Great Lakes, and nearly all of it flows over Niagara Falls, making it one of the most powerful and beautiful works of nature you'll encounter anywhere.
You've maybe seen the Falls in pictures, however up close and in person, the power and grandeur of the roaring waters still takes you by surprise. Feel the passion as you stand in the middle of clouds of rising mist and rainbow-painted spray on the Maid of the Mist boat tour or the Cave of the Winds walk. You can even dine with an amazing view at the Top of the Falls restaurant.
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| Niagara Falls |
Niagara's history is dramatic, too. From its Ice Age legacy, on display at the Niagara Gorge Discovery Center, to the stories of daredevils who tried to go over the Falls in barrels. At the Daredevil Museum you can learn about high-wire tightrope acts that were performed across the Gorge, including that of The Great Blondin, who carried his manager on his back. Fascinating exhibits include a two-person barrel and a jet ski used in an attempt to go over the Falls.
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| Niagara Falls |
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| Niagara Falls at Night |
Friday, May 18, 2012
Destination 11 - Keukenhof, Holland
For those who love tulips will have a dream to come to Holland. This is because Holland is the place that famous with tulips and it famous all over the world. If want to see Dutch tulips fields in bloom, should come visit Holland in April and May. At this month the biggest flower park in the world, Keukenhof will open the doors and let us enjoy the blooming flowers. Keukenhof is a park where more than 7 million flower bulbs are planted every year. Gardens and four pavilions show a fantastic collection of tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, orchids, roses, carnations, irises, lilies and many more. Everybody whose go there will overwhelmed by a wonderful colours and scent.
The uniqueness of Keukenhof is give an unforgettable experiences for all people at any stage of age. The park only open 8 weeks a year. Kuekenhof can be reach within half an hour from The Hague, Haarlem, Leiden, Delft and Amsterdam. However, traffic is a problematic around Keukenhof during the opening weeks. The alternative is by staying in Zandvoort, Noordwijk or Leiden and reach Keukenkof by bike. You will cycle along the tulip fields and enjoy the unique Dutch landscape.
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| Keukenhof Garden |
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| Keukenhof Garden |
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| Keukenhof Garden |
Destination 12 - Cameron Highland, Pahang
Cameron Highland is a one of attraction place located in the state of Pahang. It is the largest and most famous hill resort in the country also still retains much of the charm of an English village. Cameron Highland also being a primarily agriculture domain. There are lot of vegetables and fruits farms . Besides that it also one of the place that produce flowers and tea in Malaysia. Located on the Titiwangsa Range at about 1500 metres above sea-level and the temperature here can drop to 16 degrees celcius or lower at certain times. There are 4 main townships followed by smaller settlements at different elevations. The first town from the from the south is Ringlet then Tanah Rata, Brinchang, Kea Farm, Tringkap, Kuala Terla and Kampung Raja. In Ringlet you cannot find any hotels. It only one of main agriculture hub in the highlands. The Bertam Valley that located about 5km away is one of the main flower and vegetables producers. Tanah Rata is the place where the main bus station located. Most of the chalets and backpacker's accommodation is located here in and around Tanah Rata.
There are many attraction place at Cameron Highland. One of it is tea plantations. Trip to Cameron Highland is not complete without a trip to the tea plantations. A visit to the factories can learn about the tea making process and also have a sit and enjoy a cup of tea with the beautiful scenery of tea plantation place. The 3 top tea plantations are Boh Tea Plantation, Sungai Palas Tea Plantation and Cameron Valley Tea Plantation.
Strawberry farms also one of the attraction place in Cameron Highland. There are a lot strawberry farms and it almost everywhere in Cameron Highland. There you will be offer locally grown strawberries and home made strawberry jams. You also can pluck your own strawberries and charge is according to the weight. The most popular strawberry farms are Big Red Strawberry Farms, Healthy Strawberry Farms, Kasimani's Strawberry Farms, KHM Strawberry Farms and Raju's Hill Strawberry Farm.
There are many attraction place at Cameron Highland. One of it is tea plantations. Trip to Cameron Highland is not complete without a trip to the tea plantations. A visit to the factories can learn about the tea making process and also have a sit and enjoy a cup of tea with the beautiful scenery of tea plantation place. The 3 top tea plantations are Boh Tea Plantation, Sungai Palas Tea Plantation and Cameron Valley Tea Plantation.
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| Boh Tea Plantation |
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| Big Red Strawberry Farms |
Other attraction in Cameron Highland are vegetables farms, museum and galleries, flower nurseries, market, honey bee farms and butterfly centres.
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| Vegetables Farm |
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| flowers nursery in Cameron Highland |
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Destination 13 - Bukittinggi, Indonesia
Allocated in Padang, Indonesia Bukittinggi or 'high hill' is town of West Sumatra's culture center. With 900 meters over sea level, Bukittinggi will give you experience with refreshingly cool climate. Even though it is a place that always rain it did not deter travelers to enjoy what many claim is the most hospitable city in Sumatra. The town also called Tri Agra which refers to the three majestic mountains that shape the region fortune. Many travelers taht come to Bukittinggi will visit a remarkable Ngarai Sianak Canyon. The canyon is a a place where giant rock cliff faces, rugged trees which grow on the top and the dramatic surrounding mountains make this canyon a spellbinding view. This is a place to go if you want to get beyond the average tourist trail. Compared to other spot in Sumatra, Bukittinggi only receives a handful of visitors that use town as a base for nearby hikes or take cultural tours to the Minangkabau highland.
Places that can be visited are Ngarai Sianak Canyon, Jam Gadang, Kota Gadang and many more. Ngarai Sianak Canyon is located on the southwestern edge of Bukittinggi. It have a unique geographic wonder. A river meanders through the rice fields below dissapearing in the hazy distance beyond. The best look out over the canyon is from Panorama Park is also a popular spot with locals come here to stroll in the afternoon air. Meanwhile Jam Gadang is the main land mark in Bukittinggi. It is the clock tower and give the overlooks at the market square, a beehive of activity and the best place to do some souvenir shopping. Visitors also can know Minang culture by attending a dance performance at the museum's open stage at Sliguri. Besides that visitors also can see bullfights at Padang Lawas about 6km south of Bukittinggi. If got time, visitors also can visit Rumah Gadang Museum, a traditional house build in the 19th century. Other places that can be visited are Pagaruyung Minangkabau palace, Lake Maninjau and lake Singkarak.
Places that can be visited are Ngarai Sianak Canyon, Jam Gadang, Kota Gadang and many more. Ngarai Sianak Canyon is located on the southwestern edge of Bukittinggi. It have a unique geographic wonder. A river meanders through the rice fields below dissapearing in the hazy distance beyond. The best look out over the canyon is from Panorama Park is also a popular spot with locals come here to stroll in the afternoon air. Meanwhile Jam Gadang is the main land mark in Bukittinggi. It is the clock tower and give the overlooks at the market square, a beehive of activity and the best place to do some souvenir shopping. Visitors also can know Minang culture by attending a dance performance at the museum's open stage at Sliguri. Besides that visitors also can see bullfights at Padang Lawas about 6km south of Bukittinggi. If got time, visitors also can visit Rumah Gadang Museum, a traditional house build in the 19th century. Other places that can be visited are Pagaruyung Minangkabau palace, Lake Maninjau and lake Singkarak.
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| Ngarai Sianok Canyon |
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| Jam Gadang |
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| Pagaruyung Palace |
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Destination 14 - Jeju Island, South Korea
Jeju Island located at southwest of the Korean Peninsular. It was a volcanic island in the shape of oval. The size of the island is 73km from west to east and 31km from north to south. Because of the island is located at Korea's most southern region, the weather over there a bit warmer compare to mainland even though during cold winter month. Since the island is separated from mainland the citizen in this island have their own unique culture and dialect. Before this Jeju Island is a land of fishing villages. Women on that time were responsible in family income. Therefore, there are many woman divers in Jeju Island and the collect shellfish and seaweed. To go there can go by plan. From Gimpo International Airport to Jeju International Airport and it take about an hour.There are 3 airlines that can choose, Korea Air, Asiana Airlines and Jeju Air. Besides that can go by ship from Busan to Jeju Island but it takes longer time about 11 hours.
Every visitor that come to Jeju Island will sure to see their fair share of "Dolhareubang" (old grandfather stone statues). Sometimes serious-looking, sometimes almost comical, these statues dot the landscape and have become one of the most widely-recognized symbols of the island. “Galot” is refers to traditional Jeju clothing that is dyed with persimmon juice. Normally associated with the area’s agricultural way of life, these orange-hued, lightweight pieces of clothing are a trademark of Jeju. Another special sight in the Jeju Island are the "Bangsatap" piled all around the island: at houses, beaches, and even tourist attractions. "Bangsatap" is these small, round towers made of many stones were thought to ward off evil, protect the village, and bring prosperity to the people. It is because of this deep-seated belief that one can still see "Bangsatap" near the entranceways of many buildings.
Every visitor that come to Jeju Island will sure to see their fair share of "Dolhareubang" (old grandfather stone statues). Sometimes serious-looking, sometimes almost comical, these statues dot the landscape and have become one of the most widely-recognized symbols of the island. “Galot” is refers to traditional Jeju clothing that is dyed with persimmon juice. Normally associated with the area’s agricultural way of life, these orange-hued, lightweight pieces of clothing are a trademark of Jeju. Another special sight in the Jeju Island are the "Bangsatap" piled all around the island: at houses, beaches, and even tourist attractions. "Bangsatap" is these small, round towers made of many stones were thought to ward off evil, protect the village, and bring prosperity to the people. It is because of this deep-seated belief that one can still see "Bangsatap" near the entranceways of many buildings.
Besides that, Jeju Island also have a lot of interesting place to visit. In Jeju Island there are places that recognize as World Heritage Sites which are Hallasan Mountain and Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak. There also have sandy beaches along the blue sea. Among all of Jeju’s natural wonders, three sites have been recognized as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO (2007): Hallasan Mountain, Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak, and the Geomunoreum Lava Tube System. Hallasan Mountain is perhaps Jeju’s most prominent geographical feature, rising out of the very center of the island. Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak has been recognized for its sedimentological characteristics and is one of the best places in the world to study Surtseyan-type volcanic eruptions. The third and final World Heritage Site is Geomunoreum Lava Tube System, one of the most extensive series of lava tube caves in the world.
There are many attractive places in Jeju Island. Besides of World Heritage Sites there also small island around Jeju Island. The small island named Udo Island, Marado Island and Biyangdo Island. There also have waterfalls in Jeju Island which are Cheonjiyeoun Falls, Cheonjeyeoun Falls and Jeongbang Falls. There is road that have been selected as "The Most Beautiful Road In Korea" in 2002. It is Bijarim Forest Road. There are many more interesting place in Jeju Island.
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| Old Grandfather Stones Statues |
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| Jeju Island |
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| Jeju Island |
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Destination 15 - Bukit Tinggi, Pahang
Bukit Tinggi is located at Pahang. It is over one hour drives from Kuala Lumpur City centre and to get there, we can use South North Highway. It lies on about 2,500 feet above sea level. Over there we can feel how the north-eastern village in France in back to the 16th century. There is a place called Colmar Tropicale that serve us the replica of collection buildings from France. The French themed resort was opened in July 2000 and it is surrounded with lush tropical forest land. There also have clock tower at the entrance welcomes the visitor. With the price of RM16 for adults and RM8 for children under twelve, you can enjoy the various entertainment in Colmar Tropicale.
There is a theme hotel made up of eight blocks of architectural wonder and each of it have own unique style. The buildings itself have colourful roof tiles to cobblestone ground. The hotel has several outlets where you can dine in the French way. The central to the village is Colmar Square where the aroma of the blooms will touch your senses. There are also have fountains and park benches in the square for relaxation. There are also have 17 theme shops in the themed resort. You can do many activities such as the drawbridge reminiscent of ancient castles, clock tower with an original cuckoo bird clock, and the viewing tower complements the ambiance.
There is live bands and snake performances that will entertain the visitors on a stage and a clown juggles balls and pins, rides on his cycle, hops around playing tricks and acting merry. Visitors can feel the authentic French food that is served from sidewalk cafes and restaurants. The tables are placed strategically around the square so you can enjoy a meal while taking in the ambiance.
Over there also have Rabbit Park and children can enjoy playing with the rabbits. The Japanese Village also build in Bukit Tinggi and can make us feel the Japanese culture. The Japanese Village is located at 3,500 feet above sea level. It encompasses a Japanese Tea House, Sakura and Ume Tatami Suites, and a Botanical Garden. An hour long authentic Japanese Tea Ceremony conducted by Kimono clad ladies can be observed at the Japanese Tea House located within a Japanese garden with mini waterfalls and a pond of colourful Koi.
A one kilometre walk path built on four acres of virgin forest lies the Botanical Garden. Here amidst lush greenery, one can appreciate the sight of multi coloured and multi shaped floral and fauna, hear the call of birds and monkeys, insects buzzing and the fragrance of the growing forest. Signs with names and information snippets of trees, plants and flowers were put up for visitors.
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