June 29th, 2010
Sentosa- Eternal Art of Beauty
Sentosa, the island resort, just located off the south coast of Singapore, the bustling trade center of the Asia. The Singapore is known for the tall skyscrapers with well developed locality and living conditions. During Second World War, Sentosa served as the strategic fortress for Englishmen. After that, sentosa has been rebranded into one of the hot centers of tourism. Further there were lots of tourist activities like museums, beaches, recreational facilities and entertainment features can be found on this island. Tiger Sky Tower, an observatory tower, gives a panoramic view of Singapore and adjoining seas and smaller islands. Fort Siloso, former military base, gives a fascinating idea about the guns and sea battles. The Songs of Sea, cultural amusement along with colorful pyrotechnics and live cast, attracts millions of people around the globe. The Underwater World, an aquarium and Dolphin Lagoon, a dolphin tricks park, also pulls the tourists to the greater extent. The Kusu Island, a nearby island, is a paradise of the tropical forests and unspoiled beauty of nature. Tua Pekong and Keramat Kusu, the holy shrines of Tao and Islam religions respectively, are found on the Kusu Island. The sandy beaches with number of sea sports and recreational activities make Sentosa, an attractive tourist center around the globe.
Not many of us, doesn’t know that Azores was the western most tip of the Europe. Azores is an autonomous region of Portugal and a well known tourist center from good old times. Actually Azores is a group of about nine islands. The green mountains that forms the most of the islands would surely been a treat to the tourists. The steep hills would turns out to be the best place for adventurous sports. Apart from the natural sceneries, Horta, the sailing port of island, would be an ideal place for the beach lovers and sea sports adventurers. There were many blue water bodies like Sete CIdades, Furnas, and etc all around the islands. Fogo Lake, commonly known as Fire Like, is a beautiful lake located at the top of mountains and is known for its heart robbing views and amazing sand beach. The climate in the Azores will be mainly sub-tropical with mild seasonal variations. The Angra, a historic town, is a place which is worth to watch and it contains some of rare glimpses of early Portuguese events. Here the marinas were abundantly found in all these islands. In recent years, whale watching and adventurous sea diving are being developed too much extent to woo the visitors.
Like many other African nations, South Africa is gifted with a variety of natural resources and wildlife. One among such place is Kimberley, the world famous center for diamond mines. The city is situated near the confluence of two rivers namely Orange and Vaal Rivers and remained as a place of strategic importance and historic influence. The mining of diamonds were started at the late nineteenth century. The renowned “Big Hole”, which was dug by thousands of workers for finding the diamonds, is the biggest tourist attraction in the city of Kimberley. The Open Mine Museum brings about the significant proceedings and artifacts including ‘Eureka’ of the Kimberley mines. Apart from mining, Kimberley is also famous for Bird’s sanctuary of Flamingo Island, built on the waters of Kamfers dam. The islands serve as the home for about thousands of flamingos. The memorials such as Digger’s and Honoured Dead Memorial records some of the important historic events in the region. Some of the leisure monuments like City Hall and Kimberley Club can be useful in giving pleasure and joy to the tourists. The famous Museums like McGregor, Magerfontein Battlefield and Duggan Cronin Gallery houses many rare and old artifacts like photographs, paintings and sculptures.
The Eiffel Tower, the most renowned structures in the earth, is the prominent symbol for Paris and France. The nineteenth century structure is estimated to be made from ten thousand tons of iron. It was built in 1889 by Gustave Eiffel. The Eiffel tower remained as a symbol of France and Paris for several decades. It consists of three levels for visitors. For reaching each levels of the tower, the lifts were used. These lifts were designed to satisfy the safety and security of visitors. The spiral stairs were also used to access up to third level and is rarely used because of small width of stairs. The highest level of the tower can utterly deliver the whole view of Paris and its surroundings. In the World War times, the tower was served for communication purposes. There is a small museums situated at the base of the east and west tower. The famous restaurants located in the Eiffel tower are Altitude 95 and Jules Verne. During the night time, the whole Eiffel tower was glow by the lights and looks very beautiful, which draws tourists from all walks of life. The Eiffel tower would be a best destination for weekends as the nearest air destination is Paris, the one of busiest airports in the world.
Petra, the capital of ancient Nabataenans, has the impressive buildings and extraordinary grandeur. The city seems to have faced a disastrous earthquake in seventh century and later abandoned. The UNESCO, due to its grand culture and splendid edifice, had announced Petra as the cultural heritage site. There existed an excellent water management system that supplies the city from the mountain stream, later it was crippled. The Petra can be reached only by the camel and horse. The Siq, the long canyon entrance to the city carries lots of sandstone patterns. The treasury seated upon the Siq looks like jaw-drop and has many myths about it. The theater, built in Roman style has a huge capacity of crowd and it used to hold many cultural events. The royal tombs and monastery, the major monument of the Petra enchants the tourists with amazing beauty and architecture. The altars at the top of the mountains, used for the sacrifices, are also a favorite destination for visitors. The Aaron Mountain is known for its religious importance and also the highest peak in the whole of Middle-East. It can be noted that the inscriptions and carvings were made on the red colored rocks and thereby the city is known as ‘Red-Rose City’.
Bagan, the home of rich artistic temples and cultural heritage, is situated on the banks of river Irrawaddy. The city of Bagan has very close ties with the history of Myanmar. For many centuries, the city has been the control center of the Myanmar. The city has as many as twelve thousand Buddhist temples, stupas, pagodas and monuments. Moreover the city is located on the dry plains with green vegetation, which is ideal for the construction of such historic monuments. The Bagan has promoted as the cultural capital of the country because of its tremendous and spectacular tradition. The Bagan is well connected with the capital city of Yangon through air, rail and road transports. The hot air balloon ride over the Bagan gives a spectacular view of the traditional Buddhist monuments and is completely safe. Ananda, the prominent Buddhist temple is such a nice place to visit. Ananda has four Buddha statues in each direction indicating the Buddhist philosophy. The monuments look very beautiful and pretty during sunset and sunrise. Some of the majestic monuments found in Bagan are Mahabodhi Temple, Dhammayazika Temple and Nanpaya Temple. The Myazedi inscription, another important historic place, is often referred as the Rosetta Stone of Burma and is carved in four ancient languages.
Galapagos Islands, which gave Darwin an inspiration for his theory, are the home of millions of rare plants and animals. These islands belong to Ecuador and are located in the eastern Pacific Ocean. In olden days, it served as a famous port for pirates to hide. The Spanish Colonialism has resulted in the mixed culture with the Native Americans. Some of the major islands are South Seymour, Bartholomew, Culpepper, Isabela, Fernandina, among which Isabela is the largest one. The best season to visit Galapagos Islands is during the summer months of May and April. Some of the noteworthy species include Blue-footed booby, Waved Albatross, Iguanas, Flightless Cormorant and a variety of tortoises, which decorate the islands. Charles Darwin research center is located at Santa Cruz where rare tortoise species are being bred. Galapagos Islands are famous for Snorkeling and Scuba diving. Darwin Island and Wolf Island are two world premier diving places, which attracts divers from all parts of the world. Trekking to the Bartholomew Island can take the tourists to an exciting and mind boggling landscapes. The best way to see all the beautiful and gorgeous wildlife is through boat from Puerto Ayora or Quito. Because of the astonishing wildlife and forests, Galapagos Islands were recognized as World Heritage Site and Biosphere reserve.