Fancy holidaying in Dubai this summer but worried about the cost of taking the kids?
Then you might want to take up this Emirates airlines offer if you can travel before 20th September 2009:
• Free flight to Dubai for one child under 16 (when traveling with both parents)
• Free accommodation and meals for two children (again when traveling with both parents)
• Free entry to 9 of Dubai’s top children’s attractions:
o Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo (Dubai Mall) with over 33,000 aquatic animals
o Dubai (Olympic sized) Ice Rink
o Magic Planet – with rides, bumper cars, soft play area and video games
o SEGA Republic Indoor Theme Park – the middle east’s largest Sega park
o Ski Dubai – complete with chair lifts, button lifts and toboggan run (the largest indoor snow park in the world)
o The Lost Chambers (Atlantis Hotel – the Palm) – explores the story of how the citizens of Atlantis might have lived with a maze of underwater halls and tunnels
o The Montgomerie Dubai – golfing destination
o Wild Wadi Water Park – with 30 rides and slides
• Discounts for some shops in the Dubai Mall
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I soon as I heard about Tiger Temple in Thailand I felt compelled to write an article. Of course we should do what we can to ensure Tiger survival as a species, but I am not convinced that this place is the answer.
It’s potentially a great concept – but unfortunately one that I am not sure is working. Called the ‘Tiger Temple’ and run by Buddhist monks with the intention of creating an island sanctuary where tigers can roam free and visitors can interact with them…..hum, how is that meant to work with the strongest and most ferocious of cats if they haven’t been sedated? Well, rumour has it they are.
The place started as a forest sanctuary for numerous different types of animals in 1994, and they received their first tiger (found and passed on by villagers) in 1999, and more have been handed over since - the sanctuary claim generally from poaching situations where the parents of young tigers have been killed. Critics claim that many of the tigers have been illegally imported from Laos and that they have an illegal breeding program.The tiger population there has grown to an astonishing 38 tigers (as at December 2008), and it is believed that since 2007 some 21 cubs have been born there, so they know of no other existence and would no doubt have trouble if released into the wild.
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Are you an adventurous type who looks for holidays out of the norm?
Not for you the all-inclusive resorts that are springing up all over the world where you never step foot outside your cosseted cocoon!
You like the wind in your hair, places to see, have the spirit of explorer in your soul – but you still like a little bit of luxury regarding accommodation.
I have the very place and holiday for you!
Three Camels Lodge is in Mongolia, a premier luxury expedition camp. With superb service, sophistication and adventure.
Where is it situated? In the Gobi Desert, in stunning landscape in the Gurvansaikhan National park, sheltered by the 47-million year old volcanic landscape.
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Posted by Jackie Hewett on Wed 15th October 2008 at 02:24 AM, Filed in Far East, December
On the 4th and 5th December 2008 Penang plays host to some 50 or more artists at the Bayview Beach Resort. This will be the 5th annual festival with several performers on each evening across a number of different stages. In addition to concerts there are gala dinners, workshops, talks and demonstrations. Usually musicians from a few other genres slip in too.
Generally the concerts are not held on the beach but in the hotel grounds and you can either take your own chairs or sit on the grass as most people do.
Many people are aware of The Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, but did you know there is now one in Macau, South China? With China’s huge population, their national interest in gambling, belief in luck and the fact that Macau is the only place in China where gambling is legal it was a pretty obvious place for Las Vegas Sands to locate the largest casino in the world. It opened in August 2007 (on a Chinese ‘auspicious’ date), and the developers state that the building is the second largest building in the world; others say it’s the third largest. But whatever – you get the idea….its big! A helpful comparison might be that you should be able to fit 90 747 jets inside.
Like its sister hotel in Vegas – no expense has been spared in the $2.4 billion project. Walls and ceilings are adorned with golf leaf, fresco’s and murals, floors are marble, there are countless statues and the ceiling above the shopping mall and canals is painted with a realistic sky effect that even darkens towards the evening. You can catch a Cirque du Soleil show while there or a concert or two.
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