Anchorage: Alaska’s largest city

When people think of Alaska, they visualize, snow peaks, skiing, polar ice caps, frozen tundra, frozen lakes, etc.

But that is now the whole picture of Alaska, especially, if you visit Anchorage, Alaska’a largest city, which surprisingly, is quite warm. Though, the winters can be harsh, but summer time, when it is the prime tourist season, the temperature falls to 65 degrees F, ideal for all those touristy activities.

With its rich culture and tradition, the city offers a good opportunity to learn about the history of its natives Indians as well as history of the city itself. There are museums, and events take place regularly to enthral the visiting tourists.

Then there are the outdoor activities such as visits to see the fjords, glaciers, and or viewing the local wildlife in their local habitats. No matter, what you choose to do, there is something for everyone at Anchorage, Alaska.

Hence all those visiting this city, can choose from any one of these hotels:

Homewood Suites by Hilton Anchorage:
140 W Tudor Rd, Anchorage, AK 99503

Anchorage Grand Hotel:
505 W 2nd Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501

SpringHill Suites Anchorage Midtown:
3401 A St, Anchorage, AK 99503

Dimond Center Hotel:
700 E Dimond Blvd, Anchorage, AK 99515

Voyager Hotel:
501 K St, Anchorage, AK 99501

Joshua Tree National Park – California

One of the newest parks – if it can be called that – is ‘Joshua Tree National Park’ in California. It is basically a desert park that incorporates two American deserts – Mojave and Colorado.

Before 1994, when it achieved the special status of a park, it was more of a monument, and not very known among the more famous natural treasures such as the Grand Canyon or the Great Mississippi Basin.

Joshua National Park has some ancient petroglyps and is home of endangered desert tortoise and bighorn sheep. For some night time stay, there are about nine campyards, which can accommodate around six people, two tents and two cars each.

The ‘national park’ is open all year round, but this being a desert, it is advised that the best times to visit is either spring or fall, when the temperatures are bearable. It can be reached via Highway 62 or Interstate 10 towards the south. The paved roads leading towards the park are narrow but well maintained.

Wonderful resorts at Little Corn Island

Lying about 45 miles off the east coast of Central American country of Nicaragua, is a drumstick-shaped island called Little Corn Island, which forms a part of a group called Corn Islands.

Though, why is it called that, remains a mystery, but this little piece of real estate is so isolated that is literally unspoiled. With less than a hundred people, many of whom are not even permanent residents who call this island home, this island is truly a tropical paradise.

With no shoppers areas, no nightlife of whatsoever, just a few resorts and miles of unspoilt forest and sandy beaches, this little paradise is yet to be discovered.

With easy access from Nicaragua, this island can only be reached via ferries or a high-speed boat.

For tourists, there are many resorts that can offer a relaxing stay. These are:

Casa Iguana:
Little Corn Island, Corn Islands, Nicaragua

Hotel Los Delfines:
Little Corn Island, Corn Islands, Nicaragua

Sunshine Hotel:
50 minutes north of the Fresh Lobster Company, Little Corn Island, Corn Islands, Nicaragua

Lobster Inn:
Pelican Beach, Little Corn Island, Corn Islands, Nicaragua

Cape Breton (Canada) – Final resting place of Alexander Graham Bell

Cape Breton Island, a part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, lies at the northeastern tip of the province. The province, itself lies at the east –northeast side of the mainland Canada, touching the Gulf of St. Lawrence on its northern and western coasts.

The Cape Breton Island is separated from the larger Nova Scotia Island, by the Strait of Canso, a thin, strip of causeway, and is also connected to the mainland by the’ Canso Causeway’. Though, the island is situated in the Atlantic Ocean, its eastern side is the Northumberland Strait, while on the western front is situated the Cabot Strait.

Measuring a good 10,000 sq km, the island is the 75 largest in the world and Canada’s 18 largest. It is basically composed of rocky shores, glacial valleys, woodlands, plateaus and farmlands. Geologial studies have shown that the island may once have been part of the Scanadavian peninsula, millions of years ago.

Cape Breton is also famous locally for being the final resting place of the inventor of phone, Alexander Graham Bell and his wife.

After his successful invention of the telephone, Alexander, being quite wealthy, purchased some land, in the island, whose surroundings, reminded him of his homeland – Scotland. It is here, that he established his series of laboratories and worked with deaf people, one of whom was Helen Keller.

His newest inventions included the AEA Silver Dart, a powered flight; an iron lung; and the world’s first genetically modified sheep.

Puerto Rico – A typical Caribbean destination

One of the many island nations occupying the Caribbean Sea region, Puerto Rico is one of the larger ones.

Part of the Greater Antilles Group, Puerto Rico is also its smallest island nation. Itself an archipelago, the island nation contains various large and small islands, called the keys.

Apart from the main island of Puerto Rico, the other significant ones are Mona, Viegues, Culebra, Desecheo and Caja de Muertos. Other than the main island, only the Culebra and Viegues are inhabited year-round. All the others are basically populated during the tourist season.

Lying south of the mainland US, with Miami being the nearest US port, some 2000 kilometres away, Puerto Ricans are US citizens by birth. This is due to the reason that their country is an ‘Unincorporated Territory’ of the US Government, meaning that only certain US Government rules and regulations apply to the locals.

Being in the Caribbean region, Puerto Rico is virtually a tourist paradise. And believe it or not, here, you can literally, travel on a road towards Paradise.

Puerto Rico offers the best of both worlds – natural, such as scuba diving among some of the world’s richest underwater flora and fauna. They can visit coffee plantations, go off the beaten track on various hiking or biking trails along the coast, visit a few of many waterfalls.

Those seeking the more urbane kind of pleasure, well, they can taste some of the wonderful local cuisines at roadside cafes; visit the local bazaars for those charming little trinkets to take back home.

Island of Newfoundland (Canada): Home to world’s largest estuary

One of the largest islands off the eastern coast of world’s second largest country by mass – Canada – is the Island of Newfoundland.

Not to confuse it with the state of Newfoundland, which is a separate administrative region, the island is Canada’s forth largest and world’s 16 largest.

Separated from its namesake region on the mainland by the Strait of Belle Isle, it is situated at the head of Saint Lawrence River, creating the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, which is the world’s largest estuary.

It’s small capital city, St. John is one of the oldest inhabited places on the Northern American continent. It was already established port and a commercial city, long before, New York, its’ closest commercial neighbour to the south, was even registered as a settlement.

Being able to boast of having one of the oldest English speaking settlements in the region, the island of Newfoundland is also home to some of the worlds’ finest natural sites.

The ‘Gros Morne National Park’, located on the west coast was recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its rich and diverse geological formations and remarkable scenery.

The ‘Terra Nova National Park’ on the island’s eastern side is home to the Bonavista Bay, a region diverse range of flora and fauna.

Then there is a major hiking trail that winds all along the eastern coast. The so-called hiking trail extends for 215 kms taking in some of the beautiful scenery that nature has gifted to this island.

Though, the main centre of the island is St. Johns, its capital, but there are other smaller towns like Cappahayden, Fort Amherst, Stephenville, Corner Brook and Sandy Point.

‘Bon Bini’ – or “Welcome to Bonaire”

Bonaire is an island in the larger group of Netherlands Antilles, which themselves are governed by Netherlands. Within the larger group, Bonaire, together with Aruba and Curacao, forms the sub or lesser Antilles, called locally, ‘Leeward Antilles’.

Situated at the southern part of the Caribbean, though much closer to the South America, it was also inhabited, initially by the local indian tribe, Caiquetios, a sub-tribe of the larger nation of Arawak Indian who were also the main settlers of nearby islands.

Bonaire, among other activities, has been ranked, consistently, as the finest snorkelling and scuba diving destination in the Caribbean. And all these lie in the Bonaire National Marine Park that hugs the island from almost all sides.

But there are other activities to do as well. The fast winds over the island, provides ample chance for the daredevils to thrill themselves with windsurfing. For the other mortals, there is an assortment of wildlife and natural landscapes to enjoy.

Flying within budget, but in style

Fancy owning a private Gulfstream Jet, but doesn’t have enough dough! Well, you may just be in luck.

With private travelling in such a high demand with each passing year that companies have sprung up offering manageable options where executives and even others can travel in fancy styles.

If you do not a cool 12 million dollars to splash out for a brand-new Cessna, if you do have, say, half a million to spare, then you can very well become a partial owner of such an aircraft.

But you will still need to fork out monthly fees, as well as hourly rate of flying time, if and when you travel.

Companies like Netjets, offers deals, which in their parlance, is called fractional ownership. Having a fleet of over 600 aircrafts, ranging from seven-seater Cessna to a 20-seater Boeing Business Jet, NetJets can offer a choice in 15 types of small aircraft.

Or, if you do not wish to bog down with a princely asset, then you can always opt for a jet-card. Jet cards are like debits cards but of different values. These offer a range of flying time, though, mainly within the continental US, but for a wee extra charge, can take you anywhere in the world.

Virgin adds ‘Dreamliners’ to its arsenal

Are you one those who get panic attacks just with the mere thought of travelling in small, tight seats, especially, God forbid, if you are allocated the middle seat, in a three-seat aisle? Imagine, stuck between two complete strangers for hours on end, with no respite. And add to that, no leg-room, especially if you tower over six-foot.

It is no surprise that many people develop all sorts of aches, ahead of their flights. If you are one of those people, then fear not, you are not the only one in this quagmire. Thousands of travellers suffers such anxiety attacks.

Well, goods news is at hand. Or, at least for those, who travel by Virgin Atlantic.

It is recently been announced that Virgin has become one of the early birds in purchasing those new airy, large air-lounges aptly titled ‘The Dreamliners’. These huge, sophisticated, comfortable flying machines, which can easily accommodate around 290 passengers, suitably adjusted, have large comfy seats and enough leg-room to satisfy any person, no matter how large his or her girth may be.

So far, Virgin has taken the delivery of 15 of these planes, and has placed a order for further 28 of these flying lounges.

According to Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, these planes produce much less noise and are more energy efficient than their nearest large counterparts. By consuming less fuel per passenger mile these planes are economically suitable for long-haul flights. Virgin plans to replace its aging Airbuse fleet with these, eventually by 2011.

Got a good deal on your ticket? Think again!

Have you ever had that particular feeling of being ripped off by some unforeseen powers-to-be? Or, maybe there have been times, when you thought, that ‘wow! I have got a good deal’, but then on closer inspection, your short-lived exhilaration, literally, vaporizes into thin air on discovering that what you thought was a good deal, was actually, a rip-off.

Well, this is what happens every year to thousands of Aussies and even to our brothers and sisters across the Tasman Sea who chose to travel via air through their local national as well as regional airlines.

All airlines, even Qantas, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines, can be blamed for not advertising certain hidden charges that are part and parcel of the cost of an airline ticket. These charges are often slapped onto your face, when unsuspectingly you think that you have secured a good bargain on an air ticket.

These charges include Federal Government taxes, aircraft landing fees, airport charges or duties and fuel surcharges, which, unfortunately, on almost every occasion depend on the fluctuating US dollar. These hidden charges are as much as 60 percent on top of the actual ticket price.

Those who travel frequently are well aware of this ‘deceptive’ promotion. It is only the other category that gets caught unaware in the net. And they end up feeling being ‘ripped off’ by the airlines.

For example, you may think that you may a received a great deal on a return ticket from Sydney to Auckland for only AU$450, but by the time, you go and pay for the ticket, you will be further slugged AU$200 for these hidden expenses.

Thus, the final amounts on these charges vary, often and accordingly. But the sad part is that there is no way out of these charges. These have to be paid by every traveller, irrespective of the airline and the destination.