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Vacations provide the ideal excuse to let your hair down, let loose and indulge. We tend to consume more alcohol when we travel and for good reason. Without the constraints of daily routine to bind us to conventional and even responsible behaviour, our collective guard is down. As such, we imbibe. A few daiquiris at the poolside bar, a couple of cold beers on the beach, wine with dinner and so on. All in the name of innocent escapism.

For some however, alcohol is the reason they travel and choose a particular destination. This coincidentally is what our top 10 list is all about. National drinks, or in other words, tipples that are so woven into the cultural fabic that they constitute indelible symbols incapable of separation from their country of origin. These wonderful concoctions have become tourist attractions in and of themselves. Visitors are drawn to consume them as an effective means of “blending with the locals” and spend considerable amounts touring their secretive facilities of invention.

Continue reading Best National Drinks Part I »

There is no vision more welcome, more flush with giddy excitement at the possibility of pure relaxation, than the oasis that is a city park. When urban sprawl has run roughshod on your soul, sweet escape is mandatory to maintain your sanity. The best city destinations in the world have large parks within plain view, the most notable of which serve as actual attractions that demand an explicit visit.

Vacations can be tough on the feet, especially when you have drawn up a schedule more ambitious than Napoleon’s to conquer Europe. Even with a reliable pair of shoes and bottles of water in tow, city pavement is harsh to negotiate, what with the incessant call of attractions, museums and shops. In our quest to pack every possible experience into a narrow timeframe, we lose sight of our initial purpose to get away and enjoy. Fortunately, some of the most popular tourism destinations also boast some of the best parks in the world. Set amid skyscrapers and noisy streets, these green confines offer splendid contrasts.

Here then is our list of the best city parks in the world, which exist not only for residential recreation but tourist delight as well.

Hyde Park, London

The most famous Royal Park of London is a household name and major tourist attraction in a city where they run rampant. Once a deer park under the domain of Henry VIII, notable sites at Hyde Park now include Speakers’ Corner, Holocaust Memorial, Crystal Palace and Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial.

Continue reading Top 12 City Parks in the World »

Our look at demography gone mad resumes as we round out the top 25 most explosive urban areas in the world. In terms of population growth of course, not actual explosions. The great fun with trend observations, of which this is certainly one, is to speculate on what is going to shape our world over the next generation. What nations are on the rise? Where will the new economic powers come from? What new spheres of influence and social forces will emerge?

A quick glance at this list in a vacuum will lead to several inferences. India for one, is a country to watch. As continents, Africa and South America may have the most potential for change and growth over the next century. Conspicuous in their absence are urban areas in Europe and North America. With population growth not exactly a harbinger of stability, what will that spell for their collective fate? All worthy of consideration as we plunge ahead with our top 25.

13. Kampala, Uganda

With a population of 1.2 million, the capital city of Uganda will grow so long as conditions outside of the urban vicinity lag. Most residents still identify with tribal roots above other considerations, as the city reconciles with a role as one of the most important financial capitals on the continent.

Continue reading Top 25 Fastest Growing Cities II »

It never fails. Cultural misconceptions and discombobulations while on vacation in a strange new land. Certain mores and customs just never quite make it past the borders and thus, puzzle visitors and incite gales of laughter. This is who we are as humans. We find hilarity in our differences and base most of our humour on the fact that other people are not like us.

So what better way to ingratiate yourself to locals than to mock them? In particular the signs that line their roads, museums, landmarks and parks and prove impossible to decipher and translate. Our fourth installment of weird and wacky signs around the world takes a stab at doing just that.

Park sign in Beijing, China

We thought China’s goal was to increase tourism in anticipation of the Summer Games in Beijing. Surely this type of rampant municipal paranoia can only have the converse effect. Imagine your dismay as you attempt to stroll casually through this park in Beijing and instead, come across a sign that harkens back to the iron rule of Mao. No taxis, motorcycles and rifles? Strange, needless even, but a reasonable request nonetheless. But for the love of God, no trombones?

Continue reading Weird and Wacky Signs Around the World Part IV »

My first ride on a motorcycle scared the living daylights out of me. Now, I’m constantly begging my friends for a ride and dream of the day I get my own bike and ride off into the sunset. Ok, maybe not into the sunset, but definitely to the closest motorcycle rally in my hometown.

Each year thousands upon thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts gather in some of the country’s wildest party spots to mingle, and of course ride, with their fellow bikers. Looking to plan your next bike trip? Consider one of these fabulous festivals:

1. Laconia Motorcycle Week

Continue reading The Top 10 Motorcycle Rallies »

When it comes to city populations, most of the big names out there are readily familiar. Tokyo, Mumbai, Seoul, Cairo, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Shanghai, Karachi, Dhaka and a host of others, most likely in Asia, if not China and India, promptly come to mind to anyone with a cursory knowledge of world demography.

Hyper growth however, is not the exclusive domain of these notorious populaces. Over the next 25 years in fact, the most awesome leaps in urban population numbers will occur in such farflung regions as Yemen, Bolivia and Guinea. To be sure and without much astonishment, the nations with the most rapid growth will remain China and India, whose collective denizens could one day comprise half of our planet’s population.

Outside of the notorious pair however, major strides in growth will occur in Africa and the Middle East over the next few decades. While shut out of the top 25, Brazil is also on the rise in terms of population expansion, as Sao Paulo swells to the limit and other urban areas in the country ebb and flow with the economy.

Continue reading Top 25 Fastest Growing Cities I »

You thought the first time you ate in an airplane was amazing, but how would you feel about eating dinner at a table and chairs suspended in mid-air? Looking for a unique alternative to the standard business meeting, dinner, or convention? Consider Dinner in the Sky, an event so unique your guests will never forget it.

Continue reading The World’s Most Exhilarating Dinner »

Anyone with long road trip experience can appreciate the small details on the way that break the incessant monotony. Toll booths, rest areas with unusual fast food outlets, bad drivers, a good song on the radio or even a herd of cows will suffice to spice up the journey.

A bridge normally elicits a glance and perhaps a sigh of relief, once the car arrives safely on the other side. Some bridges however, cause drivers and passengers to gape in amazement and break out the digital camera. These are the best of the best, bridges that break the mold and blaze new trails in structural achievement. Without further ado, here are 10 Awesome Bridges Around the World.

Bosphorus Bridge, Istanbul, Turkey

The Bosphorus has a claim to fame that no other bridge in the world can challenge. Perhaps one day the powers that be will erect a colossal link between Russia and Alaska across the Bering Strait. Until then however, only Turkey can boast of a bridge that connects two continents: in this case, Asia and Europe.

Continue reading 10 Awesome Bridges Around the World »

As we our look at the most expensive urban areas on the planet - the basis of which are results compiled by Swiss bank UBS - rolls on, we must hedge the hullabaloo over the results. Remember, this is not a definitive list by any stretch of the imagination, much like similar reports by firms such as Mercer or publications like Forbes.

The reliance on the U.S. dollar to measure expenses certainly raises legitimate questions about accuracy. In tandem with this quandary is the wrench economic forces such as inflation throws into the entire analysis.

Whatever the case may be, let the debate rage on and in the name of free speech, let us persist in our critical investigation of the results. Here then, in perfect sequence and order, are more World’s Most Expensive Cities.

Luxembourg

The capital city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg - whatever that means - consistently ranks as one of the safest and most secure destinations for visitors. The problem now is the fact that the U.S. dollar is virtually impotent against the Euro. So even if you just pass by on a Euro road trip, the price of gas here will murder your budget.

Find affordable accommodations in beautiful Luxembourg.

Continue reading The World’s Most Expensive Cities II »

Congratulations to Dylan for winning the last Travel Trivia competition, Dylan won an easy $50 cash for being the first to correctly guess The Britannia Hotel, Manchester

Now its time for Travel Trivia Round 2…make sure you get in quick!

All you have to do is tell us the name of the hotel pictured below and the city in which it is located.

First correct answer WINS $50 Cash

Here are some clues to help you pick the city.

Continue reading Travel Trivia No. 2: Guess this Hotel and City to WIN $50 Cash »