Archive for Travel Stories
A Short Holiday In Monterey City
My wife and I drove to Monterey along the Big Coast highway one USA, which is supposed to be one of, if not the most beautiful drives in the world.
I would dispute that personally as I have been on more scenic drives. Never the less, it is certainly a drive worth taking if you are in that neck of the woods.
We had been at Lake Tahoe to celebrate our son’s birthday and we had driven to Heavenly from San Francisco. So we decided to make it a round trip.
Driving south from Lake Tahoe towards San Louis Obisco and calling at the Pinnacles National Park on the way. After a day’s hiking at the Pinnacles we journeyed south and then turned north to take the Big Sur coastal highway one.
We had planned to call and see the Hearst mansion but when we realised the only way to do this was to book very strictly (or so it seemed to us) controlled tours with no room to vary it, we gave it a miss.
We looked to see what else there was on the way up and opted for a walk in the Pffiefer National Park. But when we got there the trails were closed due to fire hazard. So we walked over to the coast view where there was a spectacular waterfall , that was worth the stop off.
The drive was certainly very dramatic with the hills coming right down to a rugged and dramatic coastline.
All along the road there were viewing points at quite regular intervals and at one of these pull offs there was a seal sanctuary. There were lots of seals with their pups, which we watched for quite a while.
The drive itself is not very long but because the road is twisty you have to drive fairly slowly but then this allows you to take in the scenery.
Our destination for a short getaway was Monterey before driving back up the coast to San Francisco.
We really liked Monterey, it is a lovely bay and there is plenty to do.
While there we drove to Carmel, which is also a very pretty small town, and visited the famous Mission there. Carmel is great for wandering round and it has a fantastic beach.
Then we went on to Carmel Valley where we thought we might visit a winery. This was not to be, because all the wine tasting seemed to be in wine shops and galleries in the village.
I personally thought the village was a little run down considering the area but not everything can be a picture postcard, even in the USA.
However,it’s always good to have seen different places even if they don’t quite live up to expectations we have in our mind.
We were glad we had chosen to stay in Monterey as it is a great base for the whole area with a wide choise of accomodation and restaurants.
It was interesting to walk along Cannery Row made famous by John Steinbeck, and Fisherman’s Wharf was nice to wander around too.
We also did the famous sixteen-mile drive. You basically paid to drive along the sixteen miles of coastline where people had built expensive houses. It’s just one of those things you have to do. Here is were you view the iconic ‘Lone Pine’.
Also we celebrated my birthday at a restaurant called Latitudes,at Lovers’ Point, which we really enjoyed. The headwaiter sang ‘Happy Birthday’ or any other appropriate song depending on the occasion.
We visited in April, which was a lovely time of year there and the gardens around the bay were carpeted with colourful flowers. And the view at sunset from sunset point is worth taking in.
I think Monterey California would be a good place to live.
It certainly made for a great short break.
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Do You Want To Hike Mount Kinabalu – South East Asia
Mount Kinabalu National Park is the place to start if you want to climb this mountain on Borneo in South East Asia.
Mount Kinabalu at 13,435 feet (4095 meters) above sea level is situated in the East Malaysia state of Sabah on the island of Borneo.
It is the highest climbable mountain in South East Asia.
I went up the mountain in October 2009 and had a great time.
I will share with you my experiences and give you some pointers.
What to do and what not to do.
I quite like a bit of adventure, something different from relaxing on a sandy beach or by a hotel pool.
I’ve trekked in the Himalayas and in the jungles of Borneo so I really liked the idea of climbing one of the highest mountains in the South East Asia region.
In preparation you need to reserve your accommodation in Kinabalu National Park at Laban Rata, which is two thirds of the way up the mountain and you need to sleep there before you tackle the final one third.
After registering at the main park entrance, you will need to arrange for a guide to accompany you on the Trek up.
You then get a bus up to the entrance to the mountain. After an initial descent to cross a bridge by a waterfall.
Then the path becomes steep and remains steep until you get to the top.
Within the first hour we had a torrential downpour that made us very wet and the path very slippery.
There were handrails in some places but I would not call it a well-maintained path.
Some parts of the path are stepped but the steps are uneven and can be very high.
It is very hard on the knees.
Unless you are very sure footed you will need at least one walking stick, which is important for the ascent and descent.
Also be aware that the last third of the climb on the second day starts about 3am and the terrain is sheer smooth rock.
You have to pull yourself up by a rope, to get to the top; this is not for the totally unprepared.
Remember that acclimatisation is very important as you climb Mount Kinabalu you climb up quite quickly.
So you need to stop fairly frequently.
I would strongly suggest that you stay in the Park or in the near vicinity, the night before your climb.
The advantages are that you can start earlier and have a walk the day before your climb to adjust to the altitude.
Also you can enjoy the delights of the Malaysia countryside.
On the many Mount Kinabalu websites it shows happy people walking along a flat path in the sunshine and nowhere did it show just how steep it got. Only the bit at the very top was featured as steep.
I did speak to some fellow climbers on the way down and the general consensus was that the website made this climb look as though anyone could do it regardless of age or fitness or experience.
This is not really the case.
It is fairly tough not a pleasant walk but something that must be accomplished.
I would say that with enough correct preparation, most people could at least make it to Laban Rata rest house that in its self is satisfying.
Do not expect to always have views of the sunrise, at the top of Kinabalu because cloud or bad weather often prevent it.
You may not see a wonderful sunrise but at least you will have the satisfaction of getting to the top.
I would encourage anyone to have ago just … BE PREPARED!
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The Hotels I’ve Visited – The Good, The Bad, The Quirky
Being a family man and a salesman at the same time can be enormously challenging. My family comes first, but I can’t support them without travelling. My wife isn’t happy about it, but she wouldn’t be happy about being broke, either. She constantly says I should find a sales position in my field locally. To be honest, she has a point. It’s just that we’d be losing about $15,000 of income per year, and that’s not a situation we can currently afford. Well, enough about my problems (for now). What I’d like to go over are a few of the hotels I’ve been to around the country. To keep things simple, I have only included three of them: the best, the worst, and the quirkiest.
I’ll stick with the whole ‘save the best for last’ theme and begin with the worst. Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to disclose the exact location of this hotel because my friend is a high up for this chain — Comfort Inn — and gets me discounts all the time. I realize I already gave up the name, but not the location. Without getting into further details, it makes a difference. All I’ll say is that it’s located outside a medium-sized city in the south.
Where should I begin with this Comfort Inn in the south? Should it be that the man behind the counter talked to his friend on his cell phone for fifteen minutes while I waited? Maybe it should be the television that only operates at extremely high or low volumes? How about the opened and used soap on the bathroom counter? The papers left in the drawer from the last visitor indicating the room was never fully clean. If that’s not bad enough, how does being able to feel hundreds of bedbugs crawl up and down your legs when you’re under the covers sound? Yes, I ended up sleeping above the covers (with all my clothes on). If that’s not enough, when I went to get fries at McDonalds across the street, I found police cars surrounding the place. There had been a robbery only a few minutes earlier. I retreated to the hotel, hoping I could go for a swim or workout to eliminate the stress. No pool. No gym. I spent the remainder of the evening listening to a man and woman argue and make some other unique sounds from the next room as I tried to sleep. Needless to say, I will never return to this particular hotel.
The quirkiest place I’ve ever stayed was the Red Lion Hotel in San Diego. It seemed like whoever designed the hotel suffered from multiple personality disorder. I could only imagine what was going through the architect’s head: Upscale. No, let’s go for value over here. Modern downstairs? Okay. Then let’s go country upstairs. Okay, it wasn’t that extreme, but you get the idea. One of the first things that stood out about the place was an upscale Asian-style restaurant being only a few feet from an American sports bar. The people in the Asian restaurant wanting to enjoy a quiet meal could hear the shouts from the sports bar. The second thing that stood out was that there were only balconies on rooms facing the highway and parking lot, but none on the rooms facing the pool. When I got to the pool, I noticed that you had to walk nearly 50 yards from the pool to the hot tub. Not so much fun when it’s barely above 70 degrees. Oh, and the gym was about the size of a large walk-in closet. All that said, I loved the place! There was just something charming and friendly about it. The food was terrific and so was the convenient location. I’d go back in a heartbeat.
The best hotel I’ve ever stayed it is actually a Homewood Suites. It was in Bethlehem, PA. I had just had a big argument with my wife and I was really annoyed. To make matters worse, it was snowing, so travelling wasn’t much fun. Well, from the second I walked into that place, things began to turn around for the better. I hit the pool and Jacuzzi area right away. It was far from the most extravagant place on Earth, but with no one else in there — something you can’t find at hotels in major cities — and the snow falling on the ground just outside the windows, it was truly serene. The location was very convenient. My business needs were minutes away and I made a mental note to come back with the family so we could go to Dorney Park. Seeing all the farms and beautiful country while driving from the airport was an added bonus.
Good hotels, bad hotels, quirky hotels – in the end, I love them all. Why? Because they offer different experiences. They’re also my homes away from home. I’m glad I got to write about them.
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A Timeless Moment In Naladhu
Ever wanted to experience an everlasting moment in an island? Your dreams may come true if you opt for a Maldives Holidays. Imagine. The dream of a Maldives luxury resort hideaway. Ultimate comfort. A private house on a beautiful Maldivian beach. Living adventures of a lifetime at Naladhu.
Remember. A time when not much thought was given to luxury and elegance was given more importance than trend. When indulgence was defined by comfort – not pretension. Break away from the crowds of other Maldives resorts and get to know Maldives better through maldives news. Live on your own terms. Allow the spirit within you be free and flow away.
Unwind in free-flowing space in the delight of the Maldives. Let the rustling palms and rolling waves be a dream of your own.
Plunge into your private infinity-edge pool or surrender to the aroma of an exotic Ayurvedic essential oil. Seek refuge in the familiar cool of hardwood floors and goose-down pillows. Let the well-known comforts of love encircle you. Glee in the surprises of the islands.
Naladhu Maldives is more than a luxury resort. It is more than just a maldives holidays. A collection of timeless moments you’ll create – as perfect as you’d imagined them to be.
A whole new world of dining adventures can be experienced in Naldhu. At Naladhu, dining satisfies more than just your taste buds. Here, we cater to all your senses. Your sense of home. Your sense of romance. Your sense of adventure. With our endless dining options and wide range of cuisines, you can tailor every meal to your moment’s requirements.
As night falls, you may also discover the varied settings available for sundown cocktails, from a leisurely wine tasting at Naladhu’s own Living Room, the stylish yet laid-back scene at Anantara Dhigu’s Aqua, or the truly casual Dhoni Bar at Dhigu.
Clearly you will have a timeless moment of extraordinary memories in Naladhu Maldives. On April 24, 2007, Naladhu Maldives has been named one of the world’s hottest new resorts by Conde Nast Traveler in the 2007 “Hot List”. Check our Naladhu Maldives Website in Maldives Directory for rates and reservations and other important information.
Overall, Naldhu Maldives is the ideal location for your perfect holiday. It is suitable for family and honeymoon couples. Distance from Airport to the resort is 13 km, which is 30 minutes transfer by luxury speedboat. Naladhu offers two types of accommodations, namely, Beach Houses and Ocean Houses. Activities such as watersports (wakeboarding, canoeing, windsurfing), Diving, Sailing and Fishing can be enjoyed during your stay. Health and Fitness is given much importance here. The Yatch and the Spa should also be noted. In addition, Naldhu offers and expedition to Male’, the capital city of Maldives. Guests have often praised on the resort for its natural beauty and services.
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„The Transfiguration“ – One Of The Greatest Masterpiece In Vatican Museum
The eternal city of Rome is well-known of its cultural and historical sights, but one of the indispensable treasures in Rome’s surroundings are Vatican Museums. If you decide to Travel to Rome, surely take a whole day tourist’s tour to visit the city of Vatican. In fact, when you get there, you’ll catch that one day is to short to see all that treasures. My recommendation is to book hotel accommodation close to the Vatican. Than you can ramble around whenever you want and get the feel of the city and its spirituality. Moreover, nearby the Vatican, you can make reservation Hotel Accommodations at affordable prices.
It’s better to use the City Metro, than you can arrive to any other sightseeing puunct in Rome in a few minutes.
On permanent Exhibition in the Museums of Vatican are few thousands of masterpieces that represent more than four thousands years of history, from the head of the Egyptian king Mentuhotep, a portrait dating from 2050 BC, to art-pieces of modern art.These heritage from the art of the past and the present have been assembled in the Vatican collections through the intelligence and taste of art of numerous popes. It is not easy to choose just a few pieces of art to be mentioned from the thousands of works on exhibition in the Vatican. But if I have to mention only one of masterpieces in Vatican, that have made me breathless it would be the final work of my favorite painter, one of the greatest artists ever, Raphael.
First, I have to stress that even the main doorway of the Vatican Museum is something that it is worth to be mentioned. The door was finished in 1932 by the famous architect Giuseppe Momo as a new entrance into the Vatican Museums, opens through the very massive walls constructed in the 16th century for the defence of Vatican. It consists of two statues, works by Pietro Melandri, representing the two marvelous artists who spent a great part of their lives improving the riches of the Vatican and the city of Rome: on one side there is genius of the Renaissance, Michelangelo, holding the sculptor’s mallet in his hand; and on the other side is the famous painter Raphael, holding the painter’s palette and brushes.
My most impressive masterpiece in Vatican Museum you can find in Room VIIII. It is one of Raphael’s greatest works, painting named „The Transfiguration“, oil on wood, 410×279 cm, made on 1520.
Raphael, one of the most famous artists ever, died on 1520. and he was only 37, before he could complete this painting. Because of the colours beauty, its formal perfection and its almost tangible spirituality, this painting can beconsidered as Raphael’s artistic and religious testament. The painting looks like almost to be divided into two sections, one above the other, depicting two motives described in the Gospels. Before his crucifixion Jesus asked the apostoles Peter, James and John to go with him to the summit of Mount Tabor. The Gospels, in conversation with Moses and the prophet Elijah. This scene frightened the apostles and at the same time gave them strengths.
The lower session of thepainting shows young man’s possessed by the devil. He is struggling with demon inside him. The man’s parents and relatives beg the apostles for help. The beautifuamazingl female figure in the foreground is representing the Faith. She also invites Christ’s disciples to action. The apostles point to Jesus, who actually expels the demon.
In this final work Raphael shows how, after seeing the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, he has completely understood and assimilated Michelangelo’s genious new artistic message. All the figures are powerfully rendered. Faith has the strength and beauty of Sibyl one of the figure on Michelangelo’spainting. Raphael came close to completing this piece and it was subsequently completed by his pupils.
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Discover More About South African Safaris
After an early morning pickup from Emerald Guesthouse in Kempton park, we made our way in the direction of Nelspruit and the Kruger National Park. Upon arrival in Nelspruit, we changed our vehicle from the nice air-conditioned microbus and into one of our open safari vehicles for our short journey to the the Kruger National Park. After arriving at the Numbi gate, we checked in and made our way to the camp of Pretoriuskop were we checked into the accommodation and gave the guess time to enjoy some lunch, prior to them leaving on their first game drive. We took a drive down the Napi road, getting good sightings of Rhino, Elephant and the general plains Game.
After some good tea and Coffee, it was off and out of camp to see what we could find. We took a drive down the Napi road on route to Skukuza and then on to Tshokwane for breakfast. While on route we had good sightings of rhino, buffalo, elephant Zebra, Kudu and impala. After breakfast we decided to take the H10 down to Lower Sabie, a road that had proved to be very good on the last safari. As we turned right onto the H10, we were met by a lioness leading her three small cubs over the road. While standing there, one of the cubs became tired, and the female then proceeded to pick it up in her mouth and carry it over the road. This was really good to see. We carried on with the H10 picking up some really large Elephant bulls and some good Rhino and Buffalo. We stopped at lower Sabie for a well deserved break,l before making our way up Eloff Street running parallel with the Sabie River back to the camp of Skukuza. On route back, we stopped of at Sunset Dam, having a chance to see the Hippos, and Crocodiles together with the prolific bird life found around this dam. After arriving back at Skukuza, it was time to have a lunch break, after which it was time to start making our way back to camp. After a good day of game viewing and some good dinner, it was off to bed for a good rest before we started again the next day.
I woke up the clients at 04h30, had tea and coffee at 05h00 and then we were out on our merry way. Something said to me to take the same road as the day before and then take a different route late closer to the camp of Skukuza. The morning started off slowly, until at about 7,1 Km’s from the Napi Boulders exit on the Napi road it’s self, we came upon quite a nice sighting of Wldebeest with there calves, Zebra, Impala and Giraffe. While watching these guys to our left hand side, my head turned to the right from something moving in my field of vision, and to our surprise it was a cheetah standing right next to my vehicle using it as cover from the potential prey. We watched this for around5 -10 minutes, we also called it in over the radio, and heard that there were other vehicles on the way to us. After a while the cheetah moved passed the front pf the vehicle keeping very low and went to lie down on the ground 6 to 7 meters from the vehicle right behind a termite mound. By this time other vehicles had arrived and many of the Wildebeest, Zebra, Impala and Giraffe knew that something was up. it was at this time sensing that time was not on it’s side, the cheetah broke cover and started it’s charge bringing down a wildebeest calf around 80 – 100 meters in front of us. Visuals were lost at this point due to the long grass being encountered at this time of year due to the large amount of rain that has been experienced over the last 2 – 3 months.
After this wonderful sighting and with the guests on a high, we made our way down to the Nkulu picnic spot for breakfast. After a well deserved breakfast, we found out that there were some lions lying on the road that we had taken the previous day to breakfast, so we decided to take a drive in this direction and we could maybe get lucky in seeing them. We made our way to the N’walindlopfu River bridge, where we found the two large male lions lying out to the right hand side right in the middle of the dry river bed. As if the lions were waiting for us, one of them got up and started coming closer to the bridge in order for us to get some better photos of him. He was making his way closer to the water in order to take a drink. This proved to be a wonderful sighting and as we took our leave, it was good to finally see some of the larder males in the lion species doing so well.
The day seemed to speed past with many other sightings, and soon it was time to make our way back to the Pretoriuskop camp, as the clients were going out on there night drive.
The clients left at 17h00 on their night drive and returned at around 20h30, having seen some good animals and also seeing more lion walking on the road.
on the morning of the 21st January, we left camp early again for our final game drive before coming back to the camp for breakfast and time to packup, before climbing back onto the road in the direction of Nelspruit were we changed our vehicles and then took to the road in the direction of Johannesburg.
Guests feedback was that they had the time of their life, and certainly want to come back and enjoy another safari to the Kruger National Park. The highlight of the trip was seeing the cheetah hunting and using our vehicle as cover to stick away from the plains game it was trying to hunt.
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Unique Treasure Hunt In Vietnam
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Read More About South African Safaris
It was the first visit to South Africa by Lenore and Claudia Vitantonio from Cleveland Ohio in the United States. We left Johannesburg taking a drive north east to Witbank and then turned eastwards to Nelspruit and on to the Kruger National Park, we entered through the Numbi Gate and made our way to the camp of Pretoriuskop. After booking in to the huts we had a break in order for Lenore and Claudia to get some lunch before leaving on a afternoon game drive. We left camp at 15h30 and made our way down the Napi road in the direction of Skukuza. Our forst animals encountered on the drive was two huge white rhinos grazing near the road. after a good viewing of them we proceeded down encountering elephant, kudu, Impala and warthogs on the afternoon drive. we got back to camp at about 18h15. After agood dinner, it was time for some sleep before the early start the next morning.
On the morning of the 10th December, we boarded the open safari vehicle at 05h00 and turned right back on the Napi road in order to make our way to Eloff Street and a breakfast stop at the Nkhulu picnic spot. 900 meters down the Napi road we came across 4 lionesses lying in the middle of the road sleeping, they were not at all disturbed by our presence and continued to sleep as we passed them in the bush aftwer being there for more than 45 minutes. We continued down Napi road getting good sightings of buffalo, elephant, rhino, kudu, impala and Zebra. At about 2 km’s before the transport dame turn off i received a radio message of some lions lying near to Klipspringer Kopies, we decided to make our way down there. Upon arrival, we were the only car in the area, so the guests could get a good view of the pride of lions together with there cubs lying on the flat rock next to the road. At this stage the lions were only about 5 meters from our vehicle. after this fantastice sighting we were again called to the sighting of a giraffe kill about 1 meter of the road on the S114, upon arrival we narrowly missed the lions, but were treated to a sighting of six Hyenas and about 200 vultures that had tucked in to the kill to get there fill. After quite a protracted sighting, we had to make our way to Skukuza instead for breakfast as time had got away from us and all the animals that had been seen. After breakfast things started to quieten down as the weather got a bit cold. We decided to make our way back to camp for a rest before continuing out again in the afternoon.
At 15h30 we left camp, only to get a radio message from one of the other safari companies that there was a pride of 21 lions next to the natural pan about 2,2 km’s past the Napi Bolders exit, we decided to go and look for them, after a fifteen minute drive to the area, we came to the area and found them all lying on a rock next to the water looking in a southerly direction at some buffalo. While we were watching the large pride of lions, we noticed a breeding herd of elephants crossing the road behind our vehicle in the direction of the lions. This was only temporary, as the elephants soon made of in a southerly direction after smelling the lions. All in high spirits we decided to make our way back to camp taking some of the back roots. On the way back, we had good sightings of Kudum, Impala, White Rhino and more elephants grazing in the open area next to the Shithavie waterhole.
On the 11th we left camp early again at 05h00 and made our way down the Napi road to see what was going on, after an initially quite start to the mornings game viewing, we decided to make a turn at the Giraffe kill on the S114. I decided to drive down to Kwagga Pan and then take the S112 coming out on the S114 which was the road that the Kill was on. After turning onto the S112, we came across some Elephant, Wildebeest, Impala and some hyena.While on S112 we got a call of a male lion walking in the road on the S23, we decided to investigate. Upon arrival we found this huge male lion walking towards us. After turning around, we managed to follow him for another 500 meters while he was busy marking his territory. After he moved off, we made our way back to the S114. After turning right en-route to Skukuza we found one of the lions lying right next to the road busy sleeping. After getting some good photos, we moved onto the kill, to find a hyena busy eating on the kill with a huge amount of vultures around him, some good photo opportunities were enjoyed.We got a call on the radio from one of our open vehicles further up the road that they had the lions from the kill busy walking on the road in front of them. We decided to investigate, but by the time we got there, they were lying about three meters of the road on the left hand side. Good photos were enjoyed by everyone. After this sighting we made our way for breakfast. After breakfast was enjoyed, we made our way to the doispane road looking for a good leopard sighting. This was unfortunately not to be, as we had a quite trip back to camp with good sightings of general game as well as a good sighting of some hyensa pups outside their den next to the road. The afternoon game drive was pretty much the same with good sightings of general game, Elephants, buffalo and rhino being seen.
On the morning of the 12th, we left camp a little later as Lenore and Claudia were finding it difficult going, getting up so early, we made our way down to the S112 and the S114 to have a final view of the giraffe and see if we could see the lions again. This time we found one of the young males next to the road and a bit further up, we found the rest of the pride sleeping off all of the meat thet they had eaten during the past three days.
We made our way back to camp for breakfast and to get cleaned up for the trip back to Johannesburg. After breakfast, we left the camp of Pretoriuskop and made our way to the gate and then onto Johannesburg.
Both Lenore and Claudia said that they thoroughly enjoyed their Kruger Park Safari and would love to return again to do another one.
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Christmas Ruined By Eurostar
Extreme weather conditions have caused numerous Eurostar train break downs over the weekend, leaving many travellers stranded. Six train break downs have resulted in 55,000 travellers having their journeys disrupted.
It has been reported that although the snow shields used to protect train electrics for 15 years had been effective in the past, the unusually acute weather conditions in Northern France had caused severe problems. Eurostar have identified the flaw that has caused their trains to fail and they are taking steps to fix the issue.
As many as 2000 passengers found themselves trapped in the Channel Tunnel on broken down trains. Some spent up to 16 hours incarcerated in their train beneath the English Channel. Many have reported a lack of information and no food and no water on the stranded trains. Some travellers abandoned their stranded trains and attempted to walk through the cold, dark tunnel which extends for 24 miles beneath the channel.
Many passengers have expressed dismay at the way in which Eurostar have managed the issues and failed to communicate with travellers. Some passengers are reported to have suffered from panic attacks and others have experienced the effects of claustrophobia. Many have complained about the lack of information, food, water and support.
Many people, 31,000 on Saturday and a further 27,000 on Sunday, were stranded due to train cancellations.
Freezing weather conditions have continued to disrupt travel in all parts of the British Isles with flight cancellations from many airports. As weather forecasters warn of further heavy snow in many parts of the UK further travel disruption is expected as Christmas approaches. Police authorities in Scotland have advised people to stay at home unless their journeys are absolutely essential.
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When flying from Scottish airport save money by booking your Glasgow airport parking, Edinburgh airport parking or Aberdeen airport parking in advance.
Filed under: Travel Stories | channel tunnel, chaos, disruption, eurostar, Travel|Comments off
Chicago Travel Adventure Contest
Welcome! Thank heavens you have come to visit us! We have a story to tell and we hope that you may be of assistance to us in our quest! There are prizes to give away if you successfully help us through to the end of our game. The first five successful adventurers will receive an 11 1/2 inch life-size replica of any one of GnomeFrenzy’s sports-themed gnome brothers or you can also choose their one sister who is a heavy supporter of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Fifteen more prize gnomes will be given through a raffle which you can enter once you reach the end!
I am sure our Travel Adventure game will delight! It takes place in Chicago and there are 20 clues that are hidden throughout our QuestionFish website. You can save your progress to play at your own leisure and you also have the ability to share the adventure by using our Facebook share widget at each clue check point! You will leave the game entertained and also feeling like you have taken a piece of the great city of Chicago with you. Yes! It’s like a mini vacation! And we have a few celebrities sprinkled throughout for added pleasure. Please come sneak a peak and share the adventure with all this Holiday Season!
Introductory Sample
Let us fill you in on what has happened!!! Two gnomes from Gnoien, Germany, named Quiso and Fushar, were digging a tunnel to visit their friends in Querfurt and accidently took a wrong turn which took them terribly off track. They somehow unknowingly ended up on lower Wacker Drive, an underground tunneling system, in the city of Chicago! Scared of the mole people that linger in the tunnels there, our two friends quickly scurried above ground and found themselves next to the Chicago River amidst an incredible but yet frighteningly busy city with fast paced, giant traveling humans and buildings 200 times the size Ogres! Trying not to get kicked into the river or squashed by the tall oblivious humans, Quiso & Fushar scattered for their dear lives and found themselves alone, one without the other in a world that was definitely strange to them.
Quiso desperately scurried around to find Fushar and happened upon a kind, observing first year University student named Sara. Hearing fushar’s plea and understanding exactly what it felt like to be alone she made it her mission to help Quiso find Fushar. After hours of searching downtown, darkness fell upon the city and the search had to be postponed until the morning.
If you would like to help us search for Fushar, it is advisable that you learn a little about gnomes and there is no better place to start than with a book. Instead of going to a bookstore or a library and spending hours through everything that is available, why don’t you use the QuestionFish Website to see if anyone has previously asked for a recommendation on a good book about Gnome Folklore. Maybe there you will find your first clue. Read up and share your clue with Quiso and Sara in the morning.
P.S. Don’t forget in helping us search for Fushar, that we are in Chicago, so don’t go roaming around and getting lost in the other 60+ facinating cities on QuestionFish!
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Filed under: Travel Stories | Travel Adventure Contest|Comments off