Last Year on Earth Bucket List

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What if the Mayans are correct (which I think is unlikely) and the world finishes on 21 December this year. How would you spend your last year?

First Choice recently asked a group of travel bloggers, including Travel Wonders for their bucket list of destinations if they only had one year to live, resulting in this fine infographic (click on it for a larger view). It resulted in the selection of countries that represent some of the finest in natural travel wonders and cultural diversity. Where would you choose to go?

A wider survey showed that over half would spend it with family and a little under a quarter would spend the year travelling.

Lake Matheson: A Taste of the South Island of New Zealand

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The picture-perfect reflections of the Southern Alps in the slightly tannin-tainted Lake Matheson offers a preview of the wondrous, visually inspiring South Island of New Zealand. The next few weeks sees a journey, I've alliteratively titled Kiwi Kapers that circles New Zealand's larger but less populated island exploring the natural travel wonders of snow-capped mountains, sweeping glaciers, sparkling fjords, rock formations, verdant pastures and marvellous marine life.

On a clear day, New Zealand's highest two mountains, Mt Cook and Mt Tasman (sadly, Mt Cook is masked by cloud) mirror into this small lake near the foot of Fox Glacier.

Fox Glacier Vacations

Ten Places to Visit in Taipei (Taiwan)

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guest post by Flight Centre

If you are thinking of taking a vacation in the near future and the call of cultural alarms are ringing in your head, you may want to start checking flights to Taipei. Located on the Tamsui River, Taipei is the economic, cultural and political center of Taiwan. There are many diverse attractions to be found for tourists in Taipei, and certainly something for everyone to enjoy. Here are ten popular attractions that are worth exploration.

For museum buffs, the National Palace Museum is a must-see place to be. With over 680,000 artifacts from the ancient Chinese period, this collection is one of the largest in the world. Pieces include bronzes, ceramics, paintings, jades, documents in Manchu, Mongolian and Tibetan, as well as calligraphic works, tapestries, coins, and carvings. Some of these relics can be traced back to the 10th century. For historians that may be interested in a more specialized type of art, the Museum of Jade Art may be of interest. It is the first museum in the world devoted specifically to jade art.
Outdoor adventurers may want to consider Yehliu, a cape located on the north coast of Taiwan that canopies 1700 meters into the ocean. Its distinguishing features referred to as hoodoo stones, are tall pinnacles that extend from a dry terrain, where rocks and soil have been abraded by water and wind.

For those not faint of heart, the Taipei 101, at 509 meters high, or 1670 feet tall may just what the fearless ordered. Until the Burj Khalifa was built in Dubai, the Taipei 101 was the world’s tallest building with 101 floors above ground, five floors below, multi-level shopping with a deluge of restaurants, stores and clubs. Elephant Mountain is also an easily accessible hiking trail with great views of Taipei 101 and downtown Taipei. Maokong Mountain is great for viewing the entire city of Taipei and is also well known for its tea plantations and tea houses.

The National Revolutionary Martyrs Shrine is a great testament built in the memory of 330,000 men who died during the revolutionary years. It is located on the slope of the Chingshan Mountain overlooking the Keelung River. It is guarded by military officers trained to remain unflappable in the presence of visitors. The ceremonial changing of the guard is very popular at this site. The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall was built to memorialize the former Taiwan President Chiang Kai-shek. It is covered in blue, white and red, the colors of the Taiwanese flag, and it embodies equality, independence and universal love.

Religious connoisseurs may be enticed by the Longshan Temple. It is often called the meeting place of the gods due to the affluence of the gods that worshiped there. Those who loved to be entertained should certainly investigate the Taipei Eye. This attraction is the home of the Traditional Chinese Performing Arts and the show includes folk music, folklore, aboriginal dance, opera and much more.

As you plan your next trip for business or pleasure and continue to consider flights to Taipei, just remember, your perfect pastime artistic pleasure awaits your arrival.

Photo Credits: night, Yehliu, guards, Longshan Temple

Photo of the Week: Half-Timbered Beauty (Nordlingen, Germany)

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Roughly halfway along the 350-kilometre Romantic Road (Romantische Strasse in southern Germany is the delightful medieval half-timbered town of Nördlingen. As part of a bowl-shaped cratered area created by a meteorite strike (many millions of years ago), Nördlingen is rich in history. The circular 14th century town walls along with its towers and gates survive intact and make for a superb three kilometre stroll around the edge of this picturesque town centre.

Nordlingen Vacations

Games Around the World: Mancala (Africa)

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An old Congolese man on his haunches nods knowingly. Seated on the dusty smooth ground on the banks of the Congo River (how can people crouch for hours?) in Kisangani (destination for the Congo River boat) under the cool of a tree, I know my fate. He utters a few words in his local language in a rumbling voice so deep the sounds seem to emanate from the earth below. His beaming smile and sharp mind illuminate the shaded area, glistening white teeth against a wizened dark face. The swelling crowd (that started at none) laugh, my hesitant moves no match for his decades of experience. After a couple of bad losses I am receiving assistance from the crowd and at one point even a pointer from the opponent but to no avail - Mancala is a game of skill and experience.

Mancala appear to be a little like chess or go, the rules are easy enough to grasp but the strategy to be a good player takes a lifetime to gather. Even after a few months of playing in many villages, I am little more than a novice.

Mancala is one of my most abiding memories of a year in Africa. Especially in West and central Africa, this game is played everywhere. Whether played with seeds on a carved wooden board with seeds or with pebbles on a makeshift board with holes dug in the ground, Mancala is an enthralling game.

While the rules of Mancala appear to vary from nation to nation (as does its name which include awale and kalah), the basic game is played as follows. Mancala is played on a board with two rows of six shallow holes, and two larger holes on each side of the board. You own the holes nearest to you while your opponent owns the holes on the opposite side. The large hole in front or to the right of you is called the mancala.

The object of the game is to capture as many seeds as possible with the winning player having the most seeds at the end of the game wins.

To play, a player selects one of their holes and distributes the seeds anticlockwise in a move called sowing. Distribution of stones wraps around the board, placing a stone in the player's mancala along the way, but not placing one in the opponent's mancala (if the stones get that far).

If the last stone placed in a hole lands in your mancala, you get another turn. Otherwise it is your opponent's turn. Additionally, if the last stone placed lands in one of your holes that is empty, and the hole opposite contains stones, you steal your opponent's stones. Your last stone and your opponent's stones are placed in your mancala, and it is then your opponent's turn. General protocol doesn't allow the physical counting of seeds in a hole so judgement is important.

The game is over when one player is out of stones, or when a player has more than half the stones in the game.

Mancala is a great introduction to village life in Africa and brokered a number of special moments journeying across Africa. My win-loss record through the year was shameful but the memories stay deeply treasured. My Mancala board bought from the Ivory Coast (home of the world's largest church) remains ready for play, though players in Australia are trickier to find!

Photo Credits: game in progress, red dirt game