The Cheap Cruise

Xcaret is located roughly 45 minutes south of Cancun, Mexico. The park is advertised as an ecological and archaeological Disneyland. While there is a definite back to nature feel to the place, it is expensive and crowded with more than a slight overtone of commercialism.

Xcaret

Pronounced eshcar..it, Xcaret is an extremely popular tourist resort, perhaps the biggest one in Mexico. At first glance, the overall impression is extremely impressive. The park contains beaches, snorkeling areas, hiking areas, horseback riding, botanical gardens, captive dolphins and so on. The park is essentially a jungle and beach play area for adults and kids.

Unlike Disneyland, a must see at Xcaret is the re-enactment of Mayan games. In a game resembling basketball, Mayan park staff plays Pok-Ta-Pok for visitors. For some reason, the park staff fails to take the game to its historic conclusion which involved the losers being killed. So much for authenticity!

Commercialism

My biggest gripe with Xcaret is it to similar to Disneyland. First, you cant walk five feet in Cancun without someone sticking a brochure in your hand. Once you cave in and go to the park, you can expect to pay $40 to get in. After that, the giving just keeps on going. You can expect to pay for practically everything. Want to go snorkeling? You better have your own gear with you or be ready to pay. Need a beach chair? That will cost you. Horseback riding? Well, you get the idea.

Should You Go

Deciding whether to go to Xcaret is a personal decision. If commercialism bothers you, Xcaret may be a place to pass on. One visit was good enough for me. My bank account cant take another!

Why You Should Travel To Hong Kong For The New Year’s Parade

The New Year’s parade in Hong Kong is an event not to be missed! The city is dressed up with bright decorations and colorful lights for its biggest celebration of the year, and thousands pour into Hong Kong to take part in the festivities.

Winding along Hong Kong’s picturesque waterfront, the New Year’s parade is filled with colorful, lavishly decorated floats. Representatives from Hong Kong and countries all over the world sing, dance and play music. The songs of marching bands fill the air along the parade’s route as performers in bright costumes prance along the streets.

The forthcoming year (2006) is the Year of the Dog. No matter which zodiac animal is being celebrated for the coming year, there are always plenty of lions and dragons in the parade. Energetic dancers wearing giant lion heads leap in the air as long dragons held aloft by more than twenty people snake past the enthralled parade watchers.

The New Year’s parade is the biggest event of Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year celebration. Close to 300,000 people attend the parade and millions more watch it on television. In recent years the parade has taken place in the evening, featuring vivid, dazzling light displays.

The Lunar New Year is one of Hong Kong’s most important and well-loved holidays. Each year one of twelve different animals is celebrated, according to the Chinese zodiac. Many of the city’s towering skyscrapers are decked out in glittering lights for the holiday. Throughout the three-day celebration, dancers in colorful costumes perform lion and dragon dances in the streets, malls and hotel lobbies. Traditionally, people exchange small, red envelopes filled with money as gifts. Flower markets show up all over the city during the holiday, selling plants and flowers with special significance, and stores and restaurants display flowers meant to bring immortality and good luck.

The New Year celebration usually begins anywhere from January 21 to February 19, depending on the year. While the holiday officially lasts fifteen days, in Hong Kong it is celebrated for three days, with the New Year’s parade taking place on the first day. January 29, 2006 is the first day of the forthcoming new year.

The day after the New Year’s parade a brilliant display of fireworks lights up
Hong Kong’s famous Victoria Harbour. The fireworks can be viewed from the waterfront or from boats cruising the harbour. On the third day of the celebration a large horse race takes place at the Sha Tin racetrack. This lively race is a favorite for gamblers and horseracing enthusiasts.

It’s no wonder why so many travel to discover all that Hong Kong has to offer, with the vibrant fusion of ancient customs and modern day fun at one of the world’s biggest Chinese New Year celebrations.

It’s almost vacation time. Do you know where you’re going? If it’s overseas, chances are it’s in Europe. It was the top choice for nearly 13 million American vacationers last year and this year promises to be even hotter, say travel trackers, who have already seen significant increases in vacation, tour and cruise bookings to Europe.

Where are these Europe-loving travelers going? All over! Many vacationers are returning to their tried and true favorites like Paris, Venice, Florence and Milan, as well as Dublin, Athens, Zurich, Glasgow, Budapest and Istanbul. As repeat visitors, they are enriching their journeys with day trips and river cruises, soaking up picturesque villages, medieval castles and unspoiled countryside.

Then there are those travelers who want to explore the places they’ve never been before-especially countries in Eastern Europe like the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Not only are they rich in history and culture, they are remarkably light on the budget.

For travelers on top of the latest trends, Hollywood movies have inspired exciting new itineraries. The buzz around “The Da Vinci Code,” for example, has sparked a number of city tours to locations in the book-the museums and historic churches, abbeys and chapels where the plot unfolds in Paris, London and Edinburgh. Cruise lines such as Regent Seven Seas, too, are featuring announced pre- and post-cruise Da Vinci Code packages.

“Pride and Prejudice” and “Match Point” were filmed in England, and tourist offices offer maps pinpointing their locales-and if traveling with children, you’ll also want to explore the dramatic landscape of the Czech Republic captured in “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

What Is The Correlation Of Free Trade And Holiday Making?

What is the correlation between free-trade, real estate prices and holiday making? Perhaps, the first one ignites the race for the rest two. This has been taking place in Dubai’s case for at least two decades now, and the lineage from free-trade to tourism is very apparent. Those likely to go on vacationing should therefore, learn about the various trade policies of the concerned region before making out their travel plans. Liberal governmental policies are bound to show up in the nature of hospitality that you might experience. If there are emerging signs of conflicts from within any administration, better keep off from visiting that place and move on elsewhere.

Duty free shopping and well-planned infrastructure were two main reasons why so many tourists started flocking on Dubai’s roads. Allowing freehold property ownership to the foreign nationals was another smart move, which transformed Dubai’s real estate market dramatically. Speaking with any of the real estate brokers running their operations from Dubai, supports these arguments. Additionally, tax exemption to the corporate world has also played a crucial role in the booming real estate values. Companies are granted 15 to 50 years of tax exemption on starting up their operations in one of Dubai’s free-trade zones. This financial paradise has ensured Dubai will continue to have a booming real estate market for many years to follow.

The level of foreign direct investment has begun growing rapidly in Dubai in the recent few years. According to some estimates, investments in the private equity market have already crossed the $1 billion mark. If this does not seem remarkable then you should note that it is expected to cross $2.5 billion by 2007. There has been a sudden turn around in the recent times and the companies looking forward to making the investments elsewhere have begun making the best out of Dubai’s tax exemptions.

The result is obvious. As more and more foreign companies arrive to do business in Dubai there will be an ever-increasing requirement of skilled work force. That means a further increase in the inflow of foreign nationals who will obviously need a place to stay on. In the final run, we conclude that the high demand for real estate combined with the recent changes permitting all these foreigners to own their property can only lead to a real estate explosion the likes of which the Middle East has never seen before. Already more than 30 percent of all the tower cranes in the world are engaged in Dubai. That, in itself, should give you an idea about the scale at which construction is proceeding in this world renowned city.

With the kind of luxurious life Dubai owns, the ever expanding world events taking place there, the highly competitive air fares that you might enjoy while being on its way, and the increasing number of landmarks like Burj Al Arab, Dubai Marina and Dubai Palm Beach getting constructed day in, day out, the world is bound to keep visiting Dubai for many years to follow now.

A visit to the catacombs is a fascinating part of any trip to Rome. The catacombs in Rome are a place where art meets history and religion in a very powerful way. There are several catacombs along via Appia Antica, but not all are open to the public.

The catacombs are located on the ancient way that connected Rome to southern Italy Via Appia Antica. This ancient road was opened in 312 B.C. and went all the way to Brindisi on the Adriatic sea.

At the time, there was a law against burying the dead inside the city, so Via Appia Antica became the place of choice for burials. The catacombs and fantastic burial monuments are located along the way from Casale Rotondo to Cecilia Metella’s tomb.

If by now you imagine yourself spending your day in dark, gloomy caves, staring at bones, you can forget about it. Via Appia Antica has a great view. It is one of the most luxurious areas in Rome. The rich people of modern Rome live nowadays next to the burial location of their ancient ancestors, so while you admire the art work of the tombs, don’t forget to take a glimpse at the houses and gardens of the area.

Inside the catacombs you will not see bones, but the work of art that decorated the ancient tombs of the rich and important.

Entry to the catacombs is only possible with a guide, for safety reasons. The guide, a priest or friar, will explain you all about the history, art and symbolism of the place, and then walk you through the catacombs.

The Catacombs of San Callisto (or Callixtus) The burial location of the Bishops and Popes, are named after Callisto who restored and enlarged them.

Until the third century, Christians in Rome had no official grave yards. At the beginning of that century, the Pope nominated St. Callisto to be in charge of the burial lands on Via Appia Antica. This was the beginning of the custom of burying Christians in lands that belonged to the church. As time passed, these underground grave yards that were dug in a soft rock, evolved to a maze of canals, layer upon layer.

Whenever the room in one layer was exhausted, another layer was dug, so the most ancient layer is at the top.

Santa Cecilia was buried in one of the graves here. Later, her tomb was moved to the church of Santa Cecilia, and a copy of her statue now stands in the place of the grave.

The tunnels here resemble a dark labyrinth, so stay close to your guide. The guides walk rather quickly through the place to make room for the next group. A tour takes about 40 minutes.

Continuing on Via l’Appia Antica, we find the catacombs and church of San Sebastiano. There are four floors of catacombs here, and a statue of St. Sebastian by Bernini. These were the first to be named “catacombs” after the greek words “Kata Kymbas” that mean “by the graves”. These catacombs are the only ones that are easily accessible to visitors. Of the four floors only the second is usually open.

In the Tricila area of the catacombs there are hundreds of graffiti writings on the walls, mentioning St. Peter and St. Paul. Those are probably from the time their relics were kept here, until they were transferred to the Vatican. Christians used to gather here in order to commemorate them.