world best travel places

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Dizzy Heights of Nepal


If you ever have a chance to visit Nepal, never miss it! This is an amazing country with breathtakingly beautiful mountainous landscapes. So let's walk around some of the most picturesque Nepalese places and admire the nature.
The roads leading to the mountains are very narrow thus drivers have great difficulties in passing each other on them. Here and there you can see buses slipped down in a ditch or even precipice at the side of a road.
The landscapes are just wonderful. It's summer in Nepal. The temperature is +25 and the mountains seem to be sunny and fresh.
Sometimes traffic jams appear on the roads for short periods of time. 
A rather fanciful landscape.
The road is hard and long but at the same time very picturesque.
In summer the Nepalese celebrate their own local New Year and decorate not only themselves but also their cars.
The height is about 2000 m. To walk is very difficult but to breathe is still quite easy - yet there is enough oxygen.
Some beautifully blossoming trees.
And this is one of the well-to-do Sherpas (an ethnic group from the most mountainous region of Nepal). Why is he well-to-do? Look at his shoes - these are sneakers. Besides, he often smokes and refuses to be photographed.
The road is covered with shining stones. It's quartz which is easily crumbled and divided into layers.
The higher you climb the more magic and shaggy the forest becomes. All the trees are covered with fern here and look quite unusual.
At an altitude of 3000 m there is the tea-house of a very hospitable Sherpa. In fact, there lives the whole family. This is father.
A couple of wonderful horses.
If you squint you can see a very nice bird in the middle of the picture.
Only one word comes to mind when looking at these pictures - beautiful.
But what can impress you even greater is the view of a praying man in the distance. 
Nobody's around... Only fog, silence and the praying man.
It turned out to be a very nice girl from Switzerland admiring the beauty of the landscape as all the common tourists but there was still some mystery in her eyes...
This is Mount Gosaikunda in the morning. An altitude is more than 3000 m. To walk and to breathe are unbelievably difficult here! It takes much effort to get over another hundred of meters. Amazing views are the only consolation for the tourists.
Not far from this place is a pass.
This is the man living in a tent on the bank of a river. His look is quite threatening. Do you know, by the way, why the Nepalese don't cut their hair? Because they believe there is some magic in it and if they cut them, it will disappear. They also smoke their Nepalese buns and try to see God while doing it. 
On your way uphill you can see some wonderful spots with Nepalese traditional colorful rags.
And this kind of pyramids. The local believe that if you build such a pyramid in the mountains, you will get a house in the paradise.
There are many beautiful waterfalls there as well. When passing by them all the clothes become wet at once. But the Nepalese sun makes wonders. It takes about 40 minutes to make them absolutely dry.
It turns out to be much easier and landscapes become more lively and colorful. Plenty of oxygen makes you happy again.
Goodbye, mysterious forest. 
Amazing clouds above the mountains.
The height is still quite dizzy.
Spiders are united and made a huge web between the two trees.
One more Nepalese girl who attracts tourists' attention at once. Unlike other Nepalese children she doesn't ask them for sweets and money and is very glad to pose for a photograph.
That was the beautiful country of Nepal and its wonderful Himalayas.






Climbing Machu Picchu Mountain


Machu Picchu Mountain is situated not far from Aguas Calientes town, Peru. At the bottom of the mountain there is an ancient Incan town with homonymous name. A ticket to Machu Picchu costs about $35 and can be bought only with passport submitting.
In this post there are no photos from the ancient city itself - it's devoted to the climbing the mountain and beautiful views which open from it.
This steep staircase paved with stones many centuries ago leads to the very top of the mountain.
The rise goes up higher and higher. Even if there are no steps the path goes up. The town itself is situated on the height of 2400 meters above sea level - this photo was shot 300 meters higher.
Everything around is nebulous and sometimes visibility does not exceed a couple of meters. Somewhere on the left in the gorge the Urubamba river flows.
From that point views of surroundings begin to open.
In the centre of the panorama there is Putucusi Mountain, about 2500 meters high.
And here is Huayna Picchu Mountain, also very popular among Machu Picchu visitors. Its height is about 2700 meters.
And that's how the empty Machu Picchu looks in the end of the day. As a place of interest it works only till 5 p.m. No, it's of course not padlocked - the thing is that the last bus from here departs at 5 p.m. So take it into account, if you decide to visit the amazing ancient Incan town!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Place Full Of Illusions: The Dali Theatre and Museum


The Dali Theater and Museum is located in the home town of Salvador Dali, Figueres in Catalonia. The museum opened in 1974, it houses the single largest and most diverse collection of Salvador Dali`s works, the heart of which was from the artist's own collection.
The way to Figueres.
Catalonia is famous for its wine. But sometimes vineyards may be in a sad condition.
It is rather easy to find the Dali Theater and Museum. Indications or a map will always help tourists. The museum has red walls decorated with golden details and a spherical dome that became a symbol not only of this town but also of all the country.
Previously this building was a ruined city theatre. The construction of the museum required 14 years and practically all Dali`s fortune.
"I want this museum to be a monolith, a maze, a huge surreal object. It would be an absolutely theatrical museum. Visitors would leave it thinking that they had seen a theater dream," - once said Dali.
The parquet and stage in the art deco style welcome visitors and invite them to the museum full of illusions and hints.
Not only museum but also every exhibit is saturated with abstractness and surrealism.
 The statue of painter Meissonier whom Dali admired.
Tristan and Iseult, 1944.
The yard with symmetric niches. There is a feeling of a world turned over, so you may feel giddy here.
The rainy taxi, 1938.
The museum has 2 floors, the upper one divides it into additional levels. The huge glass dome creates an atmosphere of an experiment, where a visitor is an experimental object.
The Barcelona model, 1927.
Picasso`s portrait, 1947.
Naked Gala
Abraham Lincoln, 1975. It was the first usage of digital methods in painting.
The decoration sketch for the Labyrinth ballet, 1941.
Another portrait of Gala.
Sex-appeal in ghost appearance, 1932.
Mae West`s face, 1934-1935.
Galatea with spheres, 1952.
The constancy of memory, 1931.
American poetry, 1943.
Saint Caecilia`s rapture, 1955.

Petra By Night


Back again we are in wonderful Petra. But today we'll tell you about a night show that is reguarly held in Petra.
The most famous construction of Petra - the treasure house that meets all tourists who come out of the kilometer-long canyon leading from the entry to the ancient city ...
This is how it looks in the daylight. Pay attention to the man to feel the dimensions...
At night it's dark here, and inside the canyon such paper boxes with candles are placed.
And thus they light up all the canyon more than for one kilometer long!
If there are no tourists around, you will feel that all this is unreal.
Occasionally the road is paved.

And so many stars in the sky.
Here is the place where many tourists will come soon and be treated with tea. Some guy will be playing the ancient bedouin instrument, and people will be discussing how unique Petra is.



Swim Together With Shark-Rays


Swimming with dolphins is not a thing to surprise you anymore, isn't it? But what about swimming with a stock of shark-rays? That's the pleasure you can pay for and try in the Cayman Islands.
Such a piratic ship is the first adventure...
Our destination is the Cayman capital - George town. And this is the local White House. It's a former British colony, so everything is neat, beautiful, but the driving, as it's supposed to be, left-hand. 
You won't be thinking how to entertain yourself. Day spent on the water gives much pleasure. One excursion costs $40 for a person, but soon you understand that in fact it might cost 100 times more...
The open waters of the Caribbean Sea.
The reef boundary. Unreal turquoise color of the sea...
Cruise liners
A guy has caught a shark-ray, would you dare?
Sweet kiss...
Everyone have been brought here, water is knee-high, and 20-50 shark-rays are swimming around, catch any you like ...
Unusual massage.
By the feel shark-rays are like dolphins below, and skin above is a bit tough.
Cayman numbers
Underwater world.
Hovering like a bird...




Birth of Indian Tea


The first tea was brought to India from China in the middle of the 19th century. On the same occasion there was founded the first tea company to trade with England, and by 1900 India had become one of the main tea suppliers to the international market. Today India is the second world's tea producer after China, and Indian tea is characterized by its rich taste, but not as good as Chinese black tea.
Munara tea plantations are from the most high-mountain Indian plantations. They are situated on the heights from 1800 to 3000 meters above sea level. South Indian teas are a bit harsh, that's why they are often drunk with milk.
In Kerala, most of plantations belong to the famous Tata company, which is also the main car and metal producer of India.
Performance rate is at the same time awful - every worker has to collect 25 kilograms of tea leaves per day, and earns no more than $150 per month!
In these bags leaves are delivered for weighing.
Woman's hands...
Delousing spray treatment.
And here is the tea fabric itself. Here, on 75-year-old English equipment, Indian tea is made...
...and packed.


Searching For the Whitest Sand


In the eastern coast of Australia are lots of various beaches. They are mostly similar to each other, but among them all there is quite a unique place named Jervis Bay...
It's located 20km to the south from Sydney. One part of it it belongs to New South Wales state and another - to Australian Capital Territory.

The population is bit more than 600 people.
More than 700 thousand tourists come here annually, mostly for New Year and in January. However even in this time there is no feeling of crowd here.
The bay is very rich in different fish and dolphins can be often watched right from the shore. Despite the summer heat, the water of the bay is never warm enough.
One of the beaches is marked in Guiness Book of World Records (Hyams beach) as a place with the whitest sand in the world. 


South Bavaria, Alpine Royal Castle


Neuschwanstein Royal Castle is situated on one of the Alpine cliffs, in 350 kilometers from Füssen town, South Bavaria, Germany. The castle built by Ludwig II is the most popular place of interest in Bavaria -  more than a million people visit it annually!
The centre of Füssen. Here is a railway station and a big tourist information centre. Although the town is very cute, let us move the castle itself.

Here is a bridge, from which the most exciting views open.
One of the most popular and accessible views of the castle. The main disadvantage of visiting that place in winter, is that the castle is lit with sunlight only for a short period of time, and mainly stays in the shadow.





Do You Like Gaudi's Architecture?


Antoni Gaudí was a great Spanish architect with a perfect sense for geometry and volumes. One of his wonderful works is Casa Milà, that is fortunately available for exploring.
Casa Milà is a house built for the Milà family in the beginning of the XXth century. It was the last Gaudi`s secular work. Now this building corresponds to the capital sights of Spain.
The house has a ferroconcrete construction with supporting columns.
This project was a novel for its time: there was a considered ventilation system, partitions between rooms and an underground garage. Even lifts were planned but they appeared later on.
Firstly Catalans did not like this house because of its heavy and rough facade.
Roofs are very impressive.

Inlays on a block of flats.
Fences spoil the view a little.
A look on Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family.
Three little courtyards are special elements in Gaudi`s works. He used them to fill buildings with light and fresh air.
The furniture in rooms is less exiting but still rather interesting.
In 1984 Casa Milà was put on UNESCO World Heritage List. Now this building is used as an exhibition hall and offices. Some Catalan families still live here.
Casa Batlló is a house built in 1877 for a textile magnate and reconstructed by Gaudi later on.
Gaudi added 2 facades to the previous version.
There are practically no straight lines. Facade details have wavy shape.
The most probable symbol of the main facade is a giant dragon, that is Gaudi`s favourite personage.
Gaudi constructed the Palau Güell, the city house, by the order of a Catalan manufacturer. And it was also put on UNESCO World Heritage List.




Dubai Sailors' Routine


On the shore of the old district Deira, there is Said port -  a quay for merchant ship coming to Dubai. Most sailors in the port are sleeping or just loitering around, but on the other hand Said port creates its own inimitable atmosphere.
The length of the port line is small, so sometimes sailors have to berth in 2,5 or even 7 ships from the pier.
A snapshot of the port from Google Map.
The ships stand very close to each other.
Sailors' suitcases are lying in one pile with office chairs and toys.
Anchors and rope.
That's how a ship ready for shipment looks like.
A companion cabin of quite a staid boat.
This is the "shower cabin" on one simple ship.
A semicircular construction on the stern is a toilet.
Another variant of a loo.
As it was already told, lots of sailors are just sleeping in different places and postures.
Those ships that don't have and automotized system of loading are loaded by human force.
This is, for example, the process of Hitachi refrigerator shipment.
Nearby sit a person responsible for the technics accounting.
A fishing pier. Fishing boats are far smaller than cargo ones.
Near the ships a couple of fishermen repair the old fishnet and web new ones.
The take is sent to local fish market, where everybody can buy fresh fish.



When The Sea Runs Out Of Fish ...


Indian Horbor is a place in Labrador, Canada, where a transshipment base for fishermen was situated. Formerly here was plenty of codfish and little fishing villages were spread across the whole coast. Now they are all abandoned. Why? One day the sea simply ran out of fish!
There are very beautiful unique mosses in Canada.
And these black streaks in stones are called "dikes". They are the result of underground volcanic activity, and to be more concrete - it's solidificated lava.




Red Factory Where Both Adults And Kids Work Hard


Goa is not only the world famous resort, but also a place where people from poor Indian states arrive for earnings. One family working on the Bricks Factory should make 1200 bricks per day, and their boss will give them 200 rupies (about 4$ \day). But still.. they are very positive, maybe even happy, they look in the future with hope, find a place for love in their hearts.
Living in huts made of defective bricks and polyethylene they still find reasons for a smile.





Up In Smoke Or Global Marijuana March


On the 2nd of March, Toronto holds a big and freaky march - International Marijuana Fest, as well as 263 cities including New York, London and Paris do. The march is often attended by eccentrically dressed crowd, which calls out for the legalization of marijuana, carries different signs, laughs, has fun and is of course a bit "elated"...