Asia travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

At the crossroads of the great civilizations of Asia, seven groups of Hindu and Buddhist monuments, as well as the three residential and palace areas of the royal cities of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, illustrate Nepalese art at its height. Among the 130 monuments are pilgrimage centres, temples, shrines, bathing sites and gardens – all sites of veneration for both religious groups.

Continue reading Kathmandu, the crossroad of the great civilizations of Asia

One of the most visited tourist spots in the Philippines, is a geological phenomenon a volcano within a lake within a volcano. Taal is the world’s smallest volcano, but do not let appearances deceive you, it can be quite deadly when it erupts. A 45-minute ride on a banca (wooden boat) will take you to the volcano, a 15-minute trek will take you to the top of the crater. An older and larger volcano is an hour away, which requires the assistance of an experienced guide.

Continue reading Visit to Taal Volcano and Lake is number 1 thing to do in Manila

With a long history involving everyone from the Greeks and apostles to the Crusaders and Ottoman Turks, Cyprus is positively brimming with fascinating and historical religious sites. Paphos is a coastal town in the southwest of Cyprus. In Antiquity two locations denoted Paphos (Old Paphos and New Paphos) which left its mark in history with number of houses excavated and several beautiful mosaics revealed.

Continue reading Visit the Sacred and Religious sites of Paphos

The Colosseum – the greatest amphitheatre of the antiquity – was built in Rome, Italy, about 1920 years ago. It is considered an architectural and engineering wonder, and remains as a standing proof of both the grandeur and the cruelty of the Roman world.

The Colosseum or Coliseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is a giant amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome. Originally capable of seating 50,000 spectators, it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. It was built on a site just east of the Roman Forum, with construction starting between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian. The amphitheatre, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire, was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian’s reign.

The Colosseum remained in use for nearly 500 years with the last recorded games being held there as late as the 6th century — well after the traditional date of the fall of Rome in 476. As well as the traditional gladiatorial games, many other public spectacles were held there, such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions and dramas based on Classical mythology.

Continue reading Colosseum of Rome is One of the Most Dramatic Historic Monuments on Earth

Mount Everest is so famous for being so high that you’ve probably heard of it before. It has been known the world over since the early 1950s when Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzig Norgay first climbed to its awesome summit. Hillary surveyed Everest at the time and determined that it was 29,000 ft/8840m high – a figure amazingly close to the current reading of 29,035 ft/8850m, which was confirmed using radar and global positioning satellite (GPS) technology.Using state-of-the-art technology Professor Brad Washburn of the Boston Museum of Science, the world’s foremost mountain cartographer, and his team have calculated that earth’s highest elevation is actually 7 feet higher than the previous record. That makes the official height 29,035 ft/8850m.

Continue reading Mount Everest is the world’s tallest mountain.

The Taj Mahal, the most magnificent tribute to love and beauty and one of man’s proudest creations, is easily the most identified image to be associated with India. Built between 1631 and 1648 by Emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved wife, this fairytale like marvel took twenty two years and the labor of twenty thousand workmen employed on it daily for its completion. The intensity of the Emperor’s love is carved in white marble as the most beautiful and wondrous expression of love ever.

Standing tall and gracefully in its glory and splendor, the beauty of Tajmahal can be discovered and rediscovered time after time for it not only changes color according to the time of the day but also with every change in the season.

The splendid Tajmahal sparkles like a jewel on a starlit night as the semi-precious inlaid stones reflect the glow of moon. However, it is on a full moon night that silver brilliance of the Taj Mahal becomes evident. Dawn and dusk to flirt with the radiance of the Taj Mahal as it responds to the blush of the skies. The sight is indeed mesmerizing to the visitor.

Continue reading The Taj Mahal Agra is a vivid poetry in Marble. A marvellous piece of Pietra Dura.

Moscow is the capital of the Russian Federation and the largest city in the country, with a population of some 10 million people. The city covers an area of almost 900 square kilometers within the confines of the 109 kilometer-long Moscow Ring Road. The Moskva River meanders through the city for approximately 80 kilometers and with the help of various other rivers and canals, the Russian capital is accessible by water from the Baltic, Caspian, White and Black seas, which lie hundreds of miles away.

The city’s general layout is reasonably easy to grasp and consists of a serious of concentric circles radiating from the Kremlin, Moscow’s geographical, historical and political nucleus. The city was constructed on a massive scale and its buildings and streets appear menacingly imposing at first glance. The streets are typically broad four to six lane boulevards, lined with enormous buildings constructed in monumental Stalin-gothic style.

Within three days of your arrival in Russia your Visa must be registered with the local authorities, the OVIR. This is usually arranged by the party that issued your visa invitation, usually the hotel where you are staying, and may incur an extra charge.

Continue reading There are several points of arrival into the Russian capital

Wynn Las Vegas provides a unique fusion of nature and luxury in a resort. From the towering mountain at the front of the resort to the Tom Fazio – designed 18-hole championship golf course at the back of the hotel, nature permeates Wynn Las Vegas. Lagoons, waterfalls, terraced landscapes, floor-to-ceiling windows, atriums and skylights throughout the 217-acre resort create a tranquil environment that embraces nature.

When the resort was under construction, Steve Wynn vowed that it would offer unrivaled service, dining and entertainment.

Continue reading The Second 7-star Hotel on The World!

Angkor Wat is an architectural masterpiece. It was constructed in the jungle in the early 12th century, then – two centuries later – was mysteriously abandoned by the Khmer civilization. It was built for king Suryavarman II as his state temple and capital city. The largest and best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre—first Hindu, then Buddhist—since its foundation.

The Temple was constructed over a period of 30 years, and illustrates some of the most beautiful examples of Khmer and Hindu art. Covering an area of about 81 hectares, the complex consists of five towers, which are presently shown on the Cambodian national flag. These towers are believed to represent the five peaks of Mount Meru, the Home of Gods and Center of the Hindu Universe. Angkor Wat features the longest continuous bas-relief in the world, which runs along the outer gallery walls, narrating stories from Hindu Mythology.

Continue reading The architectural masterpiece Angkor Wat temple made by Khmer civilization

A real Tribute to Beauty and Human Love, The Taj Mahal monument is located in Agra, India and is constructed between 1631 and 1654 by a workforce of 22,000 humans. The Muslim Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned its construction as a mausoleum for his favourite wife, Arjumand Bano Begum, who is better known as Mumtaz.

The Taj Mahal (sometimes called “the Taj”) is generally considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Indian, Islamic and Persian architectures. The Taj Mahal has achieved special note because of the romance of its inspiration. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar part of the monument, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures.

The Mausoleum of the Taj Mahal at Agra stands in a formally laid-out walled garden entered through a pavilion on the main axis. The tomb, raised on a terrace and first seen reflected in the central canal, is entirely sheathed in marble, but the mosque and counter-mosque on the transverse axis are built in red sandstone. The four minarets, set symmetrically about the tomb, are scaled down to heighten the effect of the dominant, slightly bulbous dome. The mosques, built only to balance the composition are set sufficiently far away to do no more than frame the mausoleum. In essence, the whole riverside platform is a mosque courtyard with a tomb at its centre. The great entrance gate with its domed central chamber, set at the end of the long watercourse, would in any other setting be monumental in its own right.

The postcard picture of Taj Mahal does not adequately convey the legend, the poetry and the romance that shroud what Rabindranath Tagore calls “a teardrop on the cheek of time”. Taj Mahal means “Crown Palace” and is in fact the most well preserved and architecturally beautiful tomb in the world. It is best described by the English poet, Sir Edwin Arnold, as “Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones.” It is a celebration of woman built in marble and that’s the way to appreciate it.

What inspired the building of Taj Mahal?

Continue reading Tribute to Beauty at Taj Mahal travel wonder in India