Wednesday, 24 September 2014

Bruce Acacio Shares Top 10 Wonders of The World


Bruce Acacio is a freelance writer who specializes in creative content and writes for fashion magazines and travel portals. Bruce Acacio has keen interest in local architecture and also travels all over the world in search of adventures & experiences.
There is the list of top 10 wonders of the world which are the masterpiece of the skill and handwork of the people of that era. Today we become astonished to see these wonders that in so remote ages without any modern technology and machine how so great construction were made.

The Top 10 Wonders of The World.

1. The Great Wall of China.
Top 10 Wonders of The World
The Great Wall of China was constructed 7th century BC. It is a series of fortification built to protect the empire of China.
2. Petra.
Top 10 Wonders Petra
It is an archeological city of Jorden that is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system.
3. Cristo Rendetor Statue.
Cristo Rendetor Statue
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It is largest Art Deco statue in the world and the 5th largest statue of Jesus in the world.
4. Taj Mehal of Agra.
Top 10 Wonders of The World
It was constructed by famous Mughal ruler Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.
5. Hagia Sophia.
Hagia Sophia
A famous mosque in Turkey and masterpiece of construction was a cathedral and converted into a mosque by Mehmat II. It is now a museum in Turkey.
6. The Hanging Garden of Babylon.
Top 10 Wonders Hanging Garden
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one of the Wonders that may have been purely legendary.
7. Lighthouse of Alexandria.
Lighthouse
It was a tower built between 280 and 247 BC on the island of Pharos at Alexandria, Egypt. Its purpose was to guide sailors into the port of Alexandria. With a height variously estimated at somewhere between 393 and 450 ft .
8. Temple of Artemis.
Temple of Artemis
It is situated near the present Turkey, also known less precisely as the Temple of Diana. It was completely rebuilt three times before its eventual destruction in 401.
9. Victoria Falls.
Victoria Falls
It is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
10. “Valley of Love” – Lost Wonders of the World.
Valley of Love
Lost Wonders of the World, The “Valley of Love” was built by a mystery race that inhabited what is now a remote part of Ireland.
This ancient valley is one of the lost wonders of the earth. Valley of love is a mile wide and high. Many controversies revolves around it. It is believed that the valley remained hidden from the eyes of world for many centuries and was built by a mysterious race that now lives in a remote area of Ireland. This valley is more than 3000 years older than the pyramids of Egypt. The only intact structure in this valley referred as ‘Memorial of joy’ is awe-inspiring.  This fantastic stone structure has an equally flabbergasted interior which is fully functional to this day.

Saturday, 20 September 2014

The World’s 10 Best Vacation Islands

Bruce Acacio is travel blogger who is passionate about writing and loves to share his experiences with online audience. Presently, Bruce Acacio is traveling Asia to write a travel guide for backpackers. Bruce Acacio is also a photography enthusiast that loves to share his clicks on social media profiles. In this blog post he share information about The World’s 10 Best Vacation Islands,This post originally share here.

We’ve all heard the ultimate wish, uttered under breaths in the midst of a strenuous work day or after a tedious task. “I wish I was on an island.” Islands are the ultimate destination for fun, sun, and plain old relaxation. There’s no reason why your next vacation destination can’t be an island, and there are dozens of choices all over the world. Here you’ll find just a few of our favorites!

1. Bali

Bali

Located in the Asian Pacific, the island of Bali is an exotic oriental destination in Indonesia. It is here that you will find yourself immersed in authentic Indonesian culture, dance, and food. The level of customer service on the island of Bali is astounding and you’ll never feel out of place as the locals bend over backward to help you get acclimatised to the atmosphere. Relax on the beach by day, explore the bustling nightlife, and then find comfort in some of the world’s finest villas and hotels. Experience ultimate relaxation while enjoying the authentic Indonesian spirit and drinking in the fantastic scenery. You won’t want to go home.

2. Boracay

Boracay

Also located in the Asian Pacific is the island of Boracay in the Philippines. Arguably one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places in the world, Boracay is an incredibly popular tourist destination. The island is the perfect destination for both those seeking relaxation and those in search of adventure. The island boasts beautiful climbing, hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails as well as amazing locations for snorkeling, scuba diving, and jet skiing. The White Beach is more commercial, home to dozens of restaurants, spa services, and sun bathers. The Bulabog Beach is for more active guests interested in windsurfing and other water sports.

3. Bora Bora

Bora Bora

In the Australian Pacific you’ll find the island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia. The island was once used as a strategic landing point for the United States Military but was home to hundreds of soldiers who decided to return, or just stay, after the war was over. Now known as a hot destination for tourists, residents of Bora Bora are dedicated to exposing visitors to authentic Polynesian culture. It’s your choice – stay in a beautiful hotel or camp in the great outdoors. Go fishing in the tropical waters or spend the day sunbathing on a sandy beach!

4. Maui

Maui

Maui, the second largest island in Hawaii, is known not only for its incredible beauty but also for welcoming both romantic couples and families with open arms. Relax on your own or consider taking advantage of a healing massage, often given right on the beach. The beautiful weather and amazing waters make Maui an optimal destination for surfers. Honeymooning couples will enjoy evening walks on the beach and private Jacuzzi’s in their hotel rooms while families with children will find hula lessons and bamboo fishing trips an excellent way to spend the day.

5. Anguilla

Anguilla

In the heart of the northern Caribbean you’ll discover the tiny island of Anguilla. Currently under British control, Anguilla is a melting pot of cultures blended with the beauty of the beaches and landscape of the island itself. The locals do everything possible to accommodate tourists while at the same time holding dearly to their own cultural standards. You’ll stop by for a relaxing vacation but you’ll leave treasuring and appreciating the island’s rich heritage.

6. Jamaica

Jamaica 

Last minute Jamaica hotel deals

A perfect climate, amazing tropical plants and landscapes, sandy white beaches, and crystal clear blue waters – what more can you ask from an island vacation destination. The island is affordable for anyone as you can choose to camp or stay in a lavish hotel. Spend some time on the beach, experience true Reggae, party with the locals, or hike the Blue Mountains. There’s something for everyone in Jamaica.

7. The Seychelles

Seychelles

Situated in the Indian Ocean is a cluster of 115 islands known as The Seychelles. The islands are old, but are largely undeveloped, making them a perfect destination for someone who wants to visit an island (or group of islands!) that hasn’t been taken over by commercial resorts. Relax on the white beaches under a shady palm tree, or explore the marine life by taking a dive in the coral reefs. Better yet, each of the 115 islands is easily accessible, so you’re free to explore (though we recommend finding a guide so you don’t end up lost)!

8. The Island of Hvar

Hvar

The Island of Hvar can be found in the Mediterranean Sea amongst a myriad of other islands. The island is situated along the Croatian Dalmation Coast and is full of history. It takes a bit of travel time to arrive at the Island of Hvar, but the scenery, culture, food, and history makes the trip well worth the effort.

9. Galapagos Island

Galapagos Islands 

The South American Galapagos Island is well loved by those interested in nature and botany. The group of islands is home to more than a dozen islands, and hundreds of amazing animal species, including iguana, hawks, penguins, sea lions, and turtles. While the islands are protected as a national park, they are constantly plagued by littering and illegal fishing activities which threaten to damage the plants and animals that call the Galapagos home. If you should visit, please take care and treasure one of the most amazing gifts nature has given the planet.

10. Aruba

Aruba 

Aruba, found off the coast of Venezuela, is yet another amazing destination for individuals, couples, and families alike. Choose to stay in a hotel or, if you’re independent enough, simply rent a local villa for a week or an extended period of time. Everyone will enjoy the beautiful white beaches, blue waters, relaxed fishing trips, or adventurous water sports. The island is home to some of nature’s most beautiful art projects – explore the landscape and enjoy.

You are guaranteed an amazing, educational, and relaxing vacation regardless of which island you choose to visit. All you have to do now is make your reservation and pack your bags.

For More Interesting post about travel & tourism keep visiting our blog.



Wednesday, 17 September 2014

49 International Disney Park Differences Only Hard-Core Fans Will Notice



If you're a Disney fan, you've undoubtedly made the pilgrimage to Disneyland or Walt Disney World at some point in your life. Upon opening Disneyland (the original Disney park in Anaheim, CA) in 1955, the wildly successful mass-media corporation became a staple in more than just family movies — its theme park topped the bucket lists of travelers worldwide. Disney mania couldn't be contained when parks eventually opened in Florida, Japan, France, and Hong Kong. Today, there is construction on a sixth park: Shanghai Disney. While every Disney park maintains a similar atmosphere, the magic feeling at each location is totally unique. Take a look at the features that make each Disney resort special, and then decide for yourself which is truly the "happiest place on earth."

Tuesday, 16 September 2014

When is Social Media Anti-Social?

Social media is all about sharing, right? Sharing ideas, information, pictures, jokes, gossip and, of course – questions – based on the premise that the wisdom of the crowd will inevitably lead to the best answer.

If you boil it down to the basics, the best way to answer any question is with the most robust information put in front of the most experienced people, leading to the most informed, and therefore accurate, opinions on the solution. While it all sounds good in principle, the journey to the best solution often involves input from very differing schools of thought. And for some of the more complex questions, the answers are not immediately obvious, leading to quite heated debates over which opinion is right and wrong.

This is why good social media channels have clearly articulated rules around how you can engage, normally based around some basic principles, such as:

  • Don’t make negative claims about people or companies you can’t back up
  • Don’t share private / confidential information
  • Don’t use offensive or aggressive language
  • Basically, don’t upset other folks!
 But 
it’s
not always that simple in reality - something which was reinforced to me in a discussion with a friend of mine who had just been booted out of a LinkedIn group. I’ll spare the specific details to protect the innocent, but suffice to say that while he’s not afraid to make his opinions known, he is not the sort who will flagrantly breach these rules, or go out of his way to upset anyone.

The challenge therefore, is that ‘grey’ area between someone having a strong, but opposing opinion to others, and crossing the line of deliberately causing offence. I say ‘deliberately’ quite, err, deliberately as, quite frankly, we all get a little hot under the collar when someone vehemently disagrees with us. The even bigger challenge is, as I suspect may have happened in this case, that the ‘offending’ opinion voiced is contrary to that of the people making the rules for the discussion – the moderators.

It’s a tricky one. As a moderator myself, I know that finding the right set of rules is hard enough, but enforcing them in a pragmatic way is even harder. Also, as a group grows more popular, enforcing them also has to be a time-efficient process, which can limit pragmatism.

It’s also a debate that cuts to the very heart of ‘free speech’, in the much broader context of how the online world is shaping up. I’m thinking of Google being forced to remove links to protect the rights of people offended, or feeling misrepresented by them.

Democracy, it seems, is being tested on the internet.

So, as avid social media users, what is our role in this?

Simple – we should be using these channels to have exactly this debate. Where do we draw the line between democratic disagreement and acceptable levels of free speech, versus inappropriately offending people? Where is that line when it comes to embracing multiple different viewpoints as part of the journey to finding the best crowd sourced answers? And are those two lines in the same place, or do we have to accept that to find the best answers, we have to have a level of honest conversation and diverse opinion that is inevitably going to upset someone?

Perhaps we should all remember the popular saying, “you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs”.

I’m really interested to hear people’s thoughts on this one. At what point does a strong advocate of their opinion become a troll? And at what point does a staunch defender of theirs become a victim? And perhaps the biggest question of them all – is the quick-fire nature of social media, combined with the lack of non-textual communication cues, making us all intolerant, grumpy and anti-social?

 

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Monday, 15 September 2014

FROM SHIP TO SHORE

Jumping onto shore the hangovers started to set in all at once, luckily we had accommodation booked for a night in Split. The next day Paul, Naomi, Ellie and I took a bus back to Dubrovnik to for a few extra days of the beautiful old town and surrounding city.

View of the port and city




Our Airbnb host Anita, suggested a trip to the Island of Lokrum for the day which is not far off the port. The island is home to a monastery and a salt water lake. 
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Here we are on the ferry over
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Tits out for the Monks
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Salt water lake in the middle of the island
A beautiful day spent at the beach and a fancy dinner later we are done in Croatia and off to Corfu in Greece! Now, if you are going to Corfu STAY IN KAVOS or BOOK A RENTAL CAR BEFORE HAND. We stayed near the airport which was close to the old town, I honestly thought a plane was going to run me over in the shower it was so loud. We were stuck out there away from the nicer beaches and nightlife but it was only for two days.
On the plus side, Naomi and I got fish pedicures! Siobhan, I know you would love fish touching your toes. Our feet were so soft and clean after, definitely something worth doing, also the pictures and videos turn out hilarious 
DCIM100GOPRO   
 DCIM100GOPRO




 

Saturday, 13 September 2014

Paradise Santorini

Santorini, Greece

Screen Shot 2014-06-09 at 12.34.05 AM

Wow! Wow! Wow! It has been almost a year since I update my blog. Anyone miss reading my blog? Anyway, I don’t think so except myself. I guess I am losing myself bits by bits, getting a little lazy to travel and writing crap/memories on my blog. Gonna try my best to find back my passion for travel and photography.

How to get to Santorini from Singapore? 

I took Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Istanbul, Turkey. From Istanbul, I took Aegean Airlines to Athens and then to Santorini. However, you can now take the twice weekly flight from Singapore Airlines to Athens directly between June and October 2014. I was really anxious to travel to Santorini and I had a long break from work and this was why I decided to pay more to travel.

Screen Shot 2014-06-09 at 12.44.27 AM

Why did I choose Santorini?

Stunning photos right! I have always wanted to travel to Santorini. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I really have to say this is one of my best holidays ever. On top of that, this is the first time I took an airplane out of Singapore and explored a foreign place entirely alone. It is not that dangerous as I thought it might be. It is a great experience and I have always wanted to do it badly. So glad that I have the guts to do it! YOLO MAN!
 
Some of the places that I have visited

1. Fira 

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2. Oia

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3. Amoudi Bay

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4. Volcano Island

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5. Kamari Beach

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6. Ancient Thira

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These are some of the dishes I have in Santorini. Seafood like fresh sea bream and fried calamari are MUST-TRY! I really enjoyed my life in Santorini. Who says traveling alone is boring? I have so much fun. I wake up everyday late, eat what I want and go where I want. I plan my trips very impromptu and I believe this should be the way how you should enjoy traveling. I used to plan my holiday itinerary and follow it rigidly which really stresses me out. So now, I will just google the must-go places but the best and easy way is just ask the locals especially your friendly concierge!

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Ending my blog entry with the sunset photo I took in Fira. Miss the days I get to watch the sun set everyday while enjoying my dinner with a glass of wine. Till then…






Europe for beginners: what you need to know

There a reason why Rome's Colosseum and other famous European sites are so popular - they're amazing.

There a reason why Rome's Colosseum and other famous European sites are so popular - they're amazing. Photo: AP

Step one: slow down. Take your time.

It's tempting, when you plan that big first trip to Europe, to try to do everything, to fit every single highlight into a whirlwind tour around perhaps the planet's most diverse continent. You want to eat pasta in Rome, and stand on top of the Eiffel Tower, and smoke a joint in Amsterdam, and party in Dubrovnik, and, and...

You can't do it all. Unless you've got years up your sleeve, you're going to have to do some culling. That's one of the keys to enjoying your first stint.

I got an email a few weeks ago from a guy who's about to set off on his first overseas adventure. His question – "Got any tips for a first-time visitor to Europe?" – sounded like a perfect topic. So here we go.

First, the culling. Europe is an incredibly diverse continent full of bucket-list, postcard locations, and you can't do them all. If you even attempt to do them all you'll spend more time on buses, trains and planes that you will actually seeing things.

So here's a tip: choose a top five, your must-dos for that first OS adventure. Maybe it's drinking in the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, or eating tapas in Barcelona, or visiting the Tate Modern in London. Whatever it is, mark those down and plan your trip around them. The between bits will start to fall into place.

Then you have to figure out how you're getting around. Gnarled old travel dudes like me will tell you to forget about tours and go independent, but that's not necessarily the case. Think about what's right for you. People might sneer at the drunken tour passengers, but the drunken tour passengers are having a ball.

Maybe start off with a short tour, a 10-dayer, to find your feet in Europe and meet some people. If you fancy the idea of an organised tour like a Contiki or a Topdeck, go for it. If you'd rather a bit more freedom, think about something like Busabout – your transfers and accommodation are organised, but you have far more spare time to explore.

Prefer to go independent? It's easy enough in Europe. Book hostels ahead using sites like HostelBookers and HostelWorld. Book train tickets online. Book budget flights well in advance. And remember that using intercity buses is often much cheaper than trains or planes.

Don't avoid the clichés. The Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower and Charles Bridge are all extremely popular with tourists for a reason: they're amazing. Don't feel you have to get off the beaten track just for the sake of it. If the big-ticket items appeal to you, then go and see them.

By the same token, don't do everything the guidebook tells you. It might say the Louvre is an absolute must-do on a trip to Paris, but maybe you'd have a better day searching for Blek le Rat pieces on alley walls.

Travel in the shoulder seasons. July, August and September are mental in Europe, when you'll be sharing every single experience with millions and millions of your closest friends. Accommodation will be booked out, or expensive. Trains will be full.

Think about going in autumn or spring. Or better yet, if you don't mind the cold, go in winter. You'll feel like you have the place to yourself.

Another thing to consider when you're timing your trip, however, is festivals. Europe does a mean festival, from Oktoberfest to San Fermin to La Tomatina to Biennale to Glastonbury to Exit to Tomorrowland. Get along to any one of those and your holiday just became a lot more memorable.

Be wary of scams. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That hot Eastern European girl isn't necessarily talking to you because you're so charming. Those guys aren't befriending you because you seem like such a cool Aussie. Go with your instincts.

Try to get to at least one of Budapest, Krakow or Lisbon. They're all amazing, and underrated. (Although when planning this, take the "do what you want" paragraphs into account.)

Learn at least a tiny bit of the local language. Even if it's just asking, "Do you speak English?" This very small amount of effort will get you a long way.

Pack light. You don't need three pairs of jeans in a European summer. You don't need a big tub of laundry detergent. You don't need special "travel" clothes with extra zips bought from some rip-off store.

You do, however, need a towel. And at least one set of decent clothes to wear when you decide to go for that fancy dinner and don't want to look like a backpacker for a night.

Lash out on a few amazing experiences that are out of your price range. Budget travel will make your trip last longer but if you plan for one expensive dinner, or a night in a big hotel, or gondola ride in Venice, or high tea in London, or anything similar, you'll never forget it.

And on that note, my last tip is probably the most important: take lots of money. Lots of money. As much as you can possibly save. And then some more. Don't be the people drinking in the hostel lounge at night because they can't afford to go out. You didn't come all this way to not see the sights.

Take a few more months to save before you go. Be stingy at home so you can lash out when you're away.