holiday in hotel 004

Just returned from Goa and stayed at the Silver Sands. Only went for a week because time was limited. This was our first taste of Goa and initially there is a slight culture shock when you see how poor alot of the Goan people are. That said we found the people very friendly and welcoming. We were initially allocated a...

holiday in hotel 002

our 3rd holiday in goa and by far the best.the hotel is clean but basic the staff are polite friendly and very helpful...the beach is only yards away and is clean and quiet compared to baga.. the shacks are some of the best we have used.. the eateries on candolim road are varied many and exellent value

Holiday in hotel 001

at first i was very worry because it was my first time i go to a holiday through a travel agency, but thanks for trip advisor i could check the reviews and ask my agency to book us where we want, callisto hotel was as expected and its real value for money, we were 2 couples on bed and breakfast...

Holiday in hotel

Please note that Twin and/or Double rooms may comprise of 2 beds or 1 double bed in either type. Triple rooms may comprise 1 double bed and 1 rolloway bed, or 2 twin beds and 1 rolloway bed or 3 single beds. This will vary from hotel to hotel - the terms used (Twin/Double/Triple) are to specify the number of people allowed in the room. Requests for specific beds will always be subject to availability.

Holiday in hote

Aegean Village Hotel

This family owned luxury hotel located on the golden sandy shores of the south coast of Kos Island has just completed an extensive refurbishment program. Its layout and use of space is characteristic of the distinctive Aegean architecture. This type of architecture is apparent in the newly refitted rooms and the public areas, Staying at the Aegean Village Hotel is a treat for even the most demanding guest, as holidays of quality and style are offered. It is the hotel’s objective and first priority to offer its guests the very best in hospitality, accommodation and services, and it is no wonder that repeat-guest levels continue to rise.

Holiday in hote

I was charmed by the retro nature of the hotel, and don't need my accomodations to be state-of-the-art (no, the TV wasn't HD for example but I'm fine with that). The only problem with the place was the reservation system and the front desk. The online reservation system wasn't working so I called and made my reservation. When I arrived,...

Holiday in hotel

The word "quaint" gets overused, but it applies nicely to the Write Inn. We've stayed there a number of times and found that every room is unique. That's a good definition for quaint. Some rooms we may find more perfect than others for lighting or arrangement, but that's all part of quaint. We've always found the rooms to be clean...

China dam

OCT. 19, 2008:
And so we begin the process of saying goodbye to China and to each other. Most of us are flying home tomorrow (Monday), but a few of us have additional travel in Asia. In any case, we all agree that this was a grand adventure, that we brought sunshine with us at every stage of the journey, and that we have made new friendships and enriched those that already existed.

We had a day on our own and went in many directions from museums, to the Bund, to the bazaar or other shopping venues. I will be posting some Shanghai street photos when I get back that will give you a feel for city life. Our suitcases are full, and our wallets less so. We have learned or perfected bargaining skills and enjoyed the satisfaction of a good find.

Tonight we shared a farewell party with our Wisconsin friends, otherwise known as Bus 2 (we think they need a new fight song). Our AHI guides did a marvelous job leading us from place to place and to the head of many lines. And we looked out for each other and shared many laughs, sights, and adventures. This evening ended, as all Ohio State gatherings should, with Carmen Ohio and an impromptu and mercifully brief Script Ohio.

Thank you for reading our China story and sharing the highlights with us. More photos will be posted in a few days. We would love to have your feedback through the "Talk to Us" link at the left.

The world's largest dam is located in China

The Three Gorges Project, with 25,000 workers and a budget of $24 billion, is China's most ambitious engineering undertaking since the Great Wall. It has replaced Brazil's Itaipu Dam as the world's largest hydroelectric and flood-control installation, Chinese officials said, with the strength to hold back more water than Lake Superior and power 26 generators to churn out 85 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year when the final touches are completed in 2008. Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona border, by comparison, generates more than 4 billion kilowatt-hours a year.

"This is the grandest project the Chinese people have undertaken in thousands of years," said Li Yong'an, general manager of the government's Three Gorges corporation, which runs the project under the direct leadership of Premier Wen Jiabao.

germany boat trip 01

I believe I've ridden the ferry from Bainbridge Island over 1,000 times. Day in and day out, I embark and disembark 10 times per week, 10 hours of commute time. This gentle steel beast has glided through choppy, white-capped water, through a Sound as smooth as steel. It's been jostled by gales, bumped over waves. It's the place where I rediscovered my love for writing, and a place where I've devoured books and beer. Instead of viewing the ferry as part of an annoying commute, I viewed it as a place where I could relax both before and after work.

I will only ride the ferry another 10 times. This week will be my last few trips on the Wenatchee, or the Puyallup. It's been so long that I recognize people now - families with kids, a woman who wears the same boots and coat every day, men in neon biking gear. My fellow ferry commuters are like family, and I'll miss them. I'll miss the mirrored grays and blues of sky and sea.

germany boat

Travel by boat is a romantic proposition, harking back to a time when great explorers discovered new worlds in elegant tallships. There may not be many oceans left totally uncharted, but travel by boat can still open up an enticing array of destinations.

Many places you can only see by boat. Take Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands – cruising is the only way to reach remote bays clustered with curious sea lions, marine iguanas and giant tortoises. And to access the pristine expanses of Antarctica you’ll need a tough vessel to cope with icebergs and allow you to land on shores dotted with thousands of waddling penguins.

Boats are great ways to meet the locals too. Board a ferry down Mali’s River Niger, across Lake Malawi, along Alaska’s Aleutian chain or between the Caribbean islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines, and you’ll meet chatty people carting curious cargos, all with a story to tell.

Water-bound travel can also be relaxing. Watch Egyptian life scroll by as you glide down the Nile, G&T in hand – riverbank life here, complete with ancient temples, ox carts and swaying palms, hasn’t much changed for millennia. And Europe’s great arteries – the Danube, the Rhine, the Rhone – which lead you through cities such as Geneva, Vienna and Budapest, are great highways through history.

You can see a lot of wildlife from the top deck, too. Paddle a canoe through the Okavango Delta, Botswana, for close-ups with hippos. Or zip along tributaries of the Amazon in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador to spot birds and monkeys in the jungle. That’s not to mention the marine life – sail off the coast of the Azores, Iceland, New Zealand and Baja California (Mexico) for some of the planet’s best whale