Travel Wonders of the World

The Capitol in the Capital (Washington DC, USA)

2009-07-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

With more American readers than any other, it seems appropriate on Independence Day to write about the iconic travel wonder of the US Capitol Building in Washington DC. The glorious white-washed classical building perches defiantly on Capitol Hill looking down a long verdant mall of national monuments, memorials and museums.Built over 200 years ago, the building is grandly decorated with Greek

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Drinks Around the World: Chimay Beer

2009-06-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

Last month, Lifecruiser initiated an international cocktail party run at the start of each month where writers highlight a notable drink from their travels or experiences. For Travel Wonders last month was Pisco Sour from Peru and Chile, while this month's comes from the hallowed walls of a Belgian monastery.Chimay beer, served in a specially designed and appropriate chalice glass (top photo is

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Exploring the European Alps (Grossglockner, Austria)

2009-06-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

The travel wonders of the Austrian Alps including Austria’s highest mountain is undoubtedly one of Europe’s finest drives. The Grossglockner High Alpine Road (Hochalpenstrasse) was one of the first roads purpose built for tourism, constructed as a government employment project during the harsh economic years between the two world wars. This 48 kilometre road with its 36 hairpin bends traverses

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The World's Steepest Street (Dunedin, New Zealand)

2009-06-24T16:29:00.000-07:00

Renown for having a sheep population which outnumbers humans by twenty to one, New Zealand is also home to the world's steepest street. In the delightfully English town of Dunedin on the South Island, Baldwin Street obtains a slope of 35 degrees (that is, travel less than three metres for a one metre vertical rise). It is proudly signposted with the superlative claim.The explanation has it that

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Breakfast at the Floating Markets (Bangkok, Thailand)

2009-06-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

Actually 100 kilometres south of the Thai capital and very touristy, a morning trip to the travel wonder of Damnoen Saduak is still worthwhile. Similar to the highway chaos in central Bangkok but on water, small canals (klongs) are packed with long narrow boats piled high with fresh produce or simple stoves and a surprisingly varied menu. Expertly piloted by determined straw-hatted women, boats

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The Intrigue of Thai Massage (Bangkok, Thailand)

2009-06-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

Her hands explored my back with the assurance of a surgeon. An elbow eased into a knot in my shoulders brings a sharp shot of pain followed by a strange sense of relief. My arm is stretched backwards into an unnatural position, seemingly loosening tension from my stiffened frame.I am in a corner of a plain room full of dozen thin mattresses, surrounded by the tuneful singsong conversation of

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Photo of the Week - Fall in Vermont (Newfane, USA)

2009-06-16T16:30:00.000-07:00

While out of season, I recently tripped across this photo from around ten years ago of the small town of Newfane in southern Vermont at the peak of the kaleidoscopic fall colours. The contrast of the white-washed county court house and church with the rich red, bronze and golden leaves makes for a visual feast. More photos from a trip through New England show Vermont in fall.

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Lake of Dancing Icebergs (Jokulsarlon, Iceland)

2009-06-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

In a country packed with natural travel wonders including thundering waterfalls, freaky rock formations, snaking glaciers and thermal pools, one of the most unusual experiences in Iceland is the glacial lake, Jökulsárlón, full of powder-blue icebergs. From nature’s perspective, this is a recent phenomenon related to the receding glacier with the lake only present for the last seventy-five

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Opera House Light Art (Sydney, Australia)

2009-06-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

Sydney is currently in the middle of a three week festival based on lighting. Centrepiece of the festival is an ever-changing light display on the sails of the Sydney Opera House, based on the work of Brian Eno, whose work includes producing several U2 albums and composing the familiar short startup music for Windows.A "Smart Light" walk through Sydney's historic Rocks area towards Circular Quay

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Travel Website with a Difference - Hitchhiking Around the World

2009-06-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

In 2003, Frenchman Ludovic Hubler commenced a five year journey hitchhiking around the world spending nothing on transport between towns, countries or continents over the entire journey. Hubler refused all rides involving payment. In that time, Hubler travelled through 59 different countries covering around 170,000 kilometres in 10 ships (working on the ship) and 1,300 different cars and

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All the World's a Stage (Stratford-Upon-Avon, England)

2009-06-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

If John and Mary Shakespeare had not borne a son, William, who proved to be the world’s finest English language writer and playwright of all time, then it is doubtful whether the travel wonder of Stratford would have progressed beyond a pleasant English market town. Rather, people gather in their hordes to make a literary pilgrimage to Stratford-upon-Avon and “The Bard”. Stratford has captured

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Drinks Around the World: Pisco Sour

2009-06-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

With a recent South American theme exploring the travel wonders of Nazca, Riobamba and colourful Caminito in Buenos Aires and a diet of Peruvian guinea pigs, this week's photo is the favourite South American cocktail of Pisco Sour. I have joined Lifecruiser and many others in celebrating an international cocktail party. The Pisco Sour is the national drink of Chile and Peru. It is made with pisco

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Raiders of the Lost Tombs (Nazca, Peru)

2009-05-31T11:37:00.000-07:00

Nazca would remain off the map of all but the most intrepid travellers except for the mystifying Nazca Lines. Once in Nazca, there are two more far less known but still remarkable travel wonders to explore, namely the Nazcan aqueducts and the Chauchilla Cemetery.Scattered across the arid lunar landscape are thousands of graves, most of which have been recently discovered and looted of pottery,

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Aqueducts for Life (Nazca, Peru)

2009-05-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

There is little doubt that Nazca would be little more than a dusty remote Peruvian town were it not for the world-famous mysterious lines and images that cover the desert. If travellers venture this far to explore the Nazca Lines, then there are two more travel wonders to discover.The advanced culture that etched the lines in the hash desert also constructed an extraordinary aqueduct system that

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Photo of the Week - Emu (Australia)

2009-05-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

The flightless emu is native to Australia and is the second tallest bird in the world. Though not regularly seen in the wild, this one was sighted in Western Australia not far from the moonscape area of The Pinnacles. It seemed contented to stay near its waterhole. Despite their slightly bedraggled shaggy feathers, emus are powerful runners capable of deceptive speeds. Seeing a flock of emus

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Pathways to the Gods (Nazca, Peru)

2009-05-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

Ever since reading Erich von Daniken’s Chariots of the Gods? as a child, I’ve been enchanted by the mysterious travel wonders of the Nazca Lines. Though, even as a child, I have never entertained the notion that this was used as an airport for alien spacecraft, the idea that a past culture etched super-sized motifs of animals, birds and sea-life into this harsh desert landscape struck me as truly

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The Waterfall Hidden in a Mountain (Trümmelbach Falls, Switzerland)

2009-05-19T14:52:00.000-07:00

If one location can summarise the travel wonder of the European Alps and Switzerland, it is Interlaken and the Bernese Oberland. Sandwiched between two sparkling azure lakes, Interlaken stares at the towering giants of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau and the snaking icy river, Aletsch Glacier, which is Europe’s longest. Beautiful days in nature can be spent wandering between the traditional mountain

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Photo of the Week - A Window to China (Sydney, Australia)

2009-05-16T16:37:00.000-07:00

The Chinese Garden of Friendship in Darling Harbour near the centre of the bustling city of Sydney was given to Sydney in 1988 as a gift for Australia's bicentennial. It is a tranquil, restful place with beautiful lakes holding reflections of various Chinese temples and weeping trees. There are many points of symbolism as characterises a typical Chinese garden.

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Lake of Stars (Cape Maclear, Malawi) - Part Two

2009-05-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

See Lake Malawi for part one of this story.Undoubtedly, the highlight of this area is a day trip to one of several rocky islands off Cape Maclear. Guided by young locals, small fishing canoes ferry visitors to a nearby island. On the way, our small group stopped at an island with giant monitor lizards distinctly annoyed at having been disturbed from their basking slumber. With huge heads that

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Lake of Stars (Cape Maclear, Malawi) - Part One

2009-05-11T19:39:00.001-07:00

More than any country on Earth, Malawi’s character is predominantly defined by its major travel wonder, a large freshwater lake that runs almost the entire length (over 500 kilometres) of its eastern border and represents around 20 percent of its total area. The lake is extremely deep, sitting in a rift in the continental shelf.Nicknamed the Lake of Stars, this majestic lake sets a photogenic

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Photo of the Week - Busy Shopping (Congo)

2009-05-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

A small town in East Congo, not a long way away from Goma and the mountain gorillas, bustles with lively activity in the food markets. Though taken over a decade ago, I still enjoy the contrast of the colourful women's outfits and vibe of the market with the drab grey exteriors of the sad surrounding buildings and their corrugated iron roofs.

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Bad Karma? (Hong Kong)

2009-05-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

I rolled over trying to work out where the alarm was. I'd only got into Hong Kong late the night before so what moron had set the alarm for 5:30 in the morning? Startled from my deep slumber, I suddenly realised it wasn't the alarm but a phone. I flapped about the table in the semi-dark slowly coming into mild consciousness and finally answering this obtrusive device. I scrambled open a curtain

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Chianti Classico (Tuscany, Italy)

2009-05-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

The word Chianti evokes images of tasty light red wines served from strange squat bottles wrapped in straw, marked with the telltale black rooster emblem on its neck. Though most actually come in conventional bottles, these wines are produced among stunning rolling hills in an area between the two pillar cities of Tuscany - Florence and Siena. One of the truly great Italian experiences is

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Photo of the Week: Mahatma Gandhi's Memorial (Delhi, India)

2009-05-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

In a beautiful verdant park on a river in Delhi, a simple, elegant platform of black marble, adorned with floral wreaths and lit with a single lantern marks the cremation of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation of India. The simple words "O God" in Hindi mark the bottom of the platform at Raj Ghat (as the site is called), believed to be Gandhi's last words on being shot. Even today, visiting

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Astride the Continents (Iceland)

2009-04-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

Iceland is one of the world’s most remarkable countries, full of natural travel wonders and contrasts. In a small area, soaring icy glaciers, spouting geysirs, black lava flows and plunging waterfalls compete and complement to paint an extraordinary landscape. Much of this highly active landscape is due to the gradual parting of two continental plates – where Europe and America truly meet. Most

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