Colourful Truck (Nigeria)

Tweet

All over Africa, brightly painted trucks with overt religious messages (like Get out of my Life, Satan on this one) trundle up and down the roads carrying food, animals and products to the markets. Incredibly reliable for the rough roads and the age of the vehicles, their colour complement the exceptional colours of the clothing and jewellery. The trucks (including this one) were a great source of rides traversing Africa from town to town, north to south and a great chance to meet a wide variety of folks travelling to market, visiting a neighbouring village or crossing a border to work.

Luxury Holiday Locations - Sandy Lane, Barbados

Tweet

guest post by Elegant Resorts

Sandy Lane - Barbados is a luxuriously serene resort hotel located in St. James on the Barbados West Coast near Holetown. Situated on the beautiful, calm Caribbean Sea beach amidst exotic, perfumed gardens and swaying mahogany trees, the majestic Palladian style architecture and gorgeous surroundings create the perfect setting for an unforgettable holiday. Couples looking for a romantic interlude will find it at Sandy Lane - Barbados. Families with children will appreciate the effort extended by the first-class staff to entertain young children through the teenage years at the popular Treehouse Club. Complimentary programs and fun are provided daily by a staff that is wonderful with children.

This is also a luxury holiday destination for golfers as they are treated royally with three world-class courses complete with lush grounds and stunning vistas of the Barbados coastline. The Old Nine, the Country Club Course and the Green Monkey Course are a golfer’s paradise. Enjoy the ocean view at the Clubhouse Restaurant while you sip your favorite wine from the 2000+ wine list.

Other fine dining possibilities at Sandy Lane - Barbados include the L’Acajou, situated beachfront, and offering gourmet French international cuisine and fresh seafood; the Bajan Blue located beachside on the Lower Terrace with a menu that includes a sushi bar, a wine bar and grill, and fantastic nightly buffets with a variety of themes; and the Spa Café nestled beneath a cascading waterfall near the luxurious pool and offering a casual dining experience and cool, tropical drinks, while you lounge in the warmth of the Caribbean sun.

Sandy Lane’s room choices are nothing short of astounding. The Villa is an elegant five bedroom beachfront home perfect for families or groups. With a private entrance, pool and large Jacuzzi, the Villa is a private haven, cloistered from public view. The Villa’s own private staff includes a butler, housekeeper, chef and security guard, making Sandy Lane - Barbados the perfect hideaway. The two bedroom penthouses are almost 4,000 square feet in size and include a kitchen, patio dining area and whirlpool tub, all set amidst the beautiful and fragrant tropical gardens. Luxury two bedroom suites include balconies where you can enjoy the fantastic views of the rising and setting sun over the Caribbean’s sapphire waters. The colonial architecture, elegant furnishings and amenities afford each guest a luxurious and memorable experience.

Enter an awesome Romanesque building and climb the magnificent winding staircase to a world of pampered relaxation and personalized treatment at the Sandy Lane – Barbados state-of-the-art spa. This 45,000 square foot award winning facility offers the latest massage therapies plus a full menu of choices for a rejuvenating experience. Choose from deep tissue massages, hot stone treatments, full body scrubs and exercise facilities complete with personal trainers.

Sandy Lane’s Beach Club offers water sports and ocean cruise tours. The adventurous can even swim with the turtles or go sailing on a catamaran.

In addition to the fine amenities offered by the Sandy Lane Barbados resort, the Holetown area offers a variety of restaurants from beach bars to gourmet dining. Shop duty-free at Holetown’s many boutiques or enjoy a night on the town at one of the nightclubs.

The sophisticated Sandy Lane – Barbados resort has many return visitors to this tropical haven, and that speaks volumes about its excellent hospitality and numerous services and amenities. The luxury, the beautiful location and the service are all impeccable. Sandy Lane - Barbados has entertained royalty and many celebrities over the past fifty years of its history. This majestic resort provides the perfect romantic setting for honeymooners and anniversary celebrations. Catered facilities are offered for private parties. Many weddings are held each year in the beautifully manicured gardens and on the sandy beach. Luxury, elegance and tropical beauty abounds at the Sandy Lane-Barbados. Visit Sandy Lane - Barbados for a superior resort experience!

Photo Credits: golf, sunset, restaurant, turtle

Rafting the Dunajec (Slovakia / Poland)

Tweet

For millennia, the jade green waters of the Dunajec River have carved a torturous path through the limestone crags of the narrow Pieniny Mountains creating a natural border between the modern countries of Poland and Slovakia. And for centuries, the Flisacy - a rugged, mountain version of the Venetian gondoliers – have been guiding and paddling their wooden rafts down stretches of the river carting fish, timber and goods.

Today, the raftsmen and their plť (the vowel-less Slovak word for raft) carry visitors on a relaxing and scenic jaunt down the emerald waters, gently bobbing along while unveiling breathtaking mountain vistas. Little appears to have changed over the centuries. With weathered complexions and clad in blue felt waistcoats hand-embroidered with colourful floral designs, the Flisacy steer the simple rafts (made of five hollowed out logs lashed together) along the gentle currents and sharp bends of the river skilfully maintaining course by wielding a two metre pole.

Leaving from Cerveny Klastor, a quiet village with a Carthusian monastery of the same name, replete with colourful frescoes, a museum highlighting the lives of the monks and a high-roofed chapel, the raft steers past the striking Three Crowns Mountain (see top photo) and through the trans-national Pieniny National Park.

The Flisacy, with their elongated Eastern European vowels, regale the passengers with folkloric tales in a mixture of English and Slovak, laughing uproariously and entertaining their visitors and themselves. Their national pride comes to the fore with the Slovak guide comparing housing standards by revealing an upmarket Slovak hotel on one side of the river with an old farming barn on the Polish side remarking that the Polish houses have free air-conditioning, half of one wall of the barn completely missing. On a more serious note, there is a slightly uneasy feeling of competition between rafting companies from the two countries.

Along with stunning limestone scenery and harsh cliffs, castles in various states of repair litter the high grounds, strategically guarding key grounds in times past. In more peaceful parts of the river, the forests and farmlands reflect superbly in the Pieniny waters.

Our journey briefly stopped at a wooden fence that indicated a border between Poland and Slovakia (no immigration post in sight though the sign says Attention National Border) and offers some feel for this potentially unusual border crossing, before resuming gently tracking the bends and curves of the waterway before arriving at a wonderful location for lunch.

Sitting over a plate of fresh pstruh (trout) and an unusual sheep-milk cheese, served with cranberry sauce, it is easy to fall under the gaze of the therapeutic Dunajec currents and the brooding beauty of the Pieniny. In a less travelled part of the world, the Dunajec and Pieniny are a treasured travel wonder worth exploring via the centuries old tradition of rafting.

Photo Credit: map

Photo of the Week: The King Cheetah

Tweet

The king cheetah is a truly regal and extremely rare animal. Only seen a handful of times in the wild over the last hundred years, the strikingly beautiful cat has a distinctive coat. Unlike the traditional cheetah spots on a golden background (the cheetah on the right of the photo), the king cheetah (left) features spots that have run together into erratic splotches as if the paint hadn't quite dried.

Famed for their speed as the fastest land animal, cheetahs are purpose-built speed merchants. With their long tails acting as a rudder, huge lungs and long sleek bodies, cheetah are majestic at full flight, effortlessly gliding along at over 100 kilometres per hour over short distances.

King cheetahs can only be born to parents that both have a recessive gene (though not necessarily the unusual coat) and hence are rare. Less than fifty exist at all, nearly all in zoos. At Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo (Australia), a city around five hours drive west of Sydney, a mother gave birth to four cubs (two are in the photo) of which two are king cheetahs - the only two king cheetah in Australia.

Indeed, cheetahs in general are a genetic wonder. All cheetahs are effectively identical clones with a belief that they neared extinction many thousands of years ago and were maybe reduced to one or two females. Though still endangered, it is a relief that the world can enjoy these majestic cats with their alert distinctive faces scanning the horizon.

A Small World

Tweet

guest post by travelsupermarket.com

Landmarks have been aiding explorers in finding their way around for many years, with many being considered places of interest for the humble tourist. Whether natural or manufactured, there are plenty of famous and awe inspiring sights to see around the world.

Natural sites such as the Grand Canyon and the famous Mount Everest have been around throughout the ages, but what about man’s attempts at making iconic marks, sites such as the Eiffel tower, the Pyramids of Giza and the Taj Mahal? These haven’t been around that long if you compare them to places such as nature’s Son Doong cave; however they are able to attract the same respect and admiration.

Man-made landmarks are truly impressive, and are thought so highly of, that there are a few sites around the globe that have built miniature versions in gratification. Whether you’re just passing through, or have looked for travelsupermarket.com hotels nearby, then these exhibits are worth featuring on your holiday to do list:

Mini Europe


A visit to Brussels, Belgium, will leave you with memories of the native country, especially if you were to stop by at Mini Europe. This Belgian gem offers the truly unique experience of a tour around Europe’s most beloved monuments in only a few hours. At the base of Brussels’ astonishing Atomium, Mini Europa as known by the Belgians attracts over 300,000 visitors each year.

Every one of the 300 monuments featured are made on a 1:25 scale, with Big Ben’s model scaling four metres high and the Eiffel tower’s ‘mini’ replica towering to an impressive fourteen metres.

Every piece has been designed and made with intricate detail; the model of Italy’s most recognised building, the Tower of Pisa (top photo), has been made with marble to make its appearance as genuine as possible, while Big Ben retains its chimes.

Mini Europe will make you feel as though you were a giant roaming Europe’s best monuments. Particularly noteworthy is that the majority of pieces in the display have been funded by their featuring countries.

There are package deals available for those wishing to visit the Océade or the Atomium as well as exploring Europe's finest sights and buildings in Mini Europe.

Epcot’s World Showcase


The Walt Disney World Resort in Florida is the most visited resort on the globe, as well as being the largest. Epcot theme park is one of four theme parks within the resort, stretching over an outstanding 300 acres, Epcot comprises of the World Showcase and Future World.

The Epcot World Showcase is a collection of eleven pavilions; each pavilion features the culture of a specific country and hosts attractions, food courts and shops characteristic of that country. A visitor is able to explore a selection of world cultures all within the space of a few hours covering nations as broad as Canada, China, France (pictured), Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, United Kingdom and the United States.

Each pavilion is within easy walking distance of each other, and during your venture between them, you can enjoy live performances and displays from dancers, comedians and a spectacular firework display just before the park closes for the night. Of course, being in Disney World, there are plenty of characters walking around to greet children and adults alike.

Every pavilion within Epcot’s World Showcase has its own entertainment to suit its homeland culture, and the pavilions themselves keep with the theme of their respectable places. The French pavilion has its own Eiffel Tower, while a visit to mini China will greet you with ancient Chinese architecture and tranquil temples.

Legoland


In the resort city of Carlsbad, California, you’ll find their very own Legoland. First opened in March of 1999, Carlsbad’s Legoland has come a long way in regards to entertainment and advancement. A sea life aquarium opened its doors within the park back in 2008, and was the first to in North America. They have also recently opened their own water park, a Legoland first.

The park has an array of different areas, including Miniland USA. Miniland USA showcases seven areas of the United States with the use of over 40 million Lego bricks. Each area replicates to a 1:20 scale its corresponding cities, and a model of the Empire State building can even be found in the New York area. Miniland USA took around three years to complete, and has accomplished what all Lego lovers wanted to do while they were younger, by creating a mini world in which to play.

Mini Siam


Mini Siam is an amazing display of Thailand’s most famed buildings. If you missed the real experience of the country’s temples, then Mini Siam is the perfect place to check out what you may have missed. You can also visit Thailand’s answer to Mini Europe with the addition of a few extra buildings from around the globe, such as the Sydney Opera House and the Statue of Liberty.

Mini Siam offers a 1:25 scale model of sites such as the Wat Arun (Temple of the dawn), the Anantasmakom Hall (The marble throne hall) and Bangkok’s Victory Monument. A great time to experience the park is near the end of the day, when the sun has started to set, as not only do you get to enjoy the sun setting over Thailand’s backdrop, but this is when all the exhibits lights come on to make your visit even more spectacular.

Photo Credits: Mini Europe Pisa, Mini Europe General, Epcot, Legoland, Mini Siam