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Travel Destinations For 2012 : Sri Lanka

At Maya you feel as though you are surrounded by a sea of paddy fields that have been there since the beginning of time.

Sri Lanka’s lush hill towns and pristine beaches have long appealed to a certain breed of worldly traveler, but the flare-ups of the country’s brutal on-again, off-again 26-year civil war kept all but the most devoted of them away. The conflict ended three years ago, and as a prolonged peace finally takes hold, this Indian Ocean island is on the cusp of a tourism boom.

Sri Lanka’s beach-lined southern coast, centered around the popular town of Bentota, is the country’s strongest draw—and big developers are moving in. The Minor Hotel Group chose the area to debut its sister brand to Anantara with last month’s launch of the 75-room Avani Bentota Resort & Spa (94-34/227-5353; doubles from $180) in a restored Geoffrey Bawa–designed building. A second Avani, a Six Senses resort, and a Shangri-La property are also in the works.

In the meantime, a handful of designers have opened boutique hotels, including the 15-room Villa Bentota (doubles from $224), the latest project from Sri Lankan tastemaker Shanth Fernando.

Maya - Sri Lanka

 

Farther south, in Beliatta, Hong Kong decorator Niki Fairchild has turned a century-old house into the glamorous five-suite Maya (94-47/567-9025; doubles from $170).

 

Alankuda Beach Resort - Sri Lanka

In the northwest, an ambitious government scheme aims to transform the Kalpitiya peninsula into the country’s next big resort destination. Until those plans are realized, the laid-back Bar Reef Resort (94-777/352-200; doubles from $125) has airy cabanas and a quiet one-mile beach.

Perhaps the biggest peace dividend has been the reopening of the leopard- and elephant-filled Wilpattu National Park, in the northwest. Stay at the two-year-old Ulagalla Resort (doubles from $374), which has 20 thatched-roof bungalows on 58 acres an hour from the park.

—Jennifer Chen. More in series coming soon Courtesy of : Travel & Leisure

 

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Europe – Town And Villages to see.

Mykonos (Greece)


Mykonos, little venice [ Photo by sailko / CC BY-SA 3.0 ]

Mykonos is a Greek island and a top tourist destination, renowned for its cosmopolitan character and its intense nightlife. The island is part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. It spans an area of 105.183 km2 (41 sq mi) and rises at an elevation of 341 m (1,119 ft) at its highest point. The island is composed primarily of granite. It has little natural fresh water and relies on the desalination of sea water in order to meet its needs. There are 9,320 inhabitants (2001) most of whom live in the largest town, Mykonos, also known as Chora (i.e. the Town in Greek, a common denomination in Greece when the name of the island itself is the same as the name of the principal town), which lies on the west coast. (based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

Europe – Town And Villages to see.

Lindos (Greece)

Lindos in Rhodos.
Lindos in Rhodos. [ Photo by Böhringer Friedrich / CC BY-SA 2.5 ]

 

Lindos  is a town and an archaeological site on the east coast of the Greek island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese in southeastern Aegean Sea. It is about 55 km south of the town of Rhodes and its fine beaches make it a popular tourist and holiday destination. Lindos is situated in a large bay and faces the fishing village and small resort of Haraki. Above the modern town rises the acropolis of Lindos, a natural citadel which was fortified successively by the Greeks, by the Romans, the Byzantines, the Knights of St John and the Ottomans. This makes the site difficult to excavate and interpret archaeologically. The acropolis offers spectacular views of the surrounding harbours and coastline. Lindos was founded by the Dorians led by the king Tlepolemus of Rhodes, who arrived in about the 10th century BC.

(based on a wikipedia article / cc by-sa)

Food around the world

Food and travel go together like planes and airports. No matter where you go you’ll have little trouble finding at least one culinary experience that will help you understand the local culture. In some countries the food is the highlight, drawing many a foodie to its borders, like a moth to a flame. In a series 11 countries hers is number one(in no particular order) that your taste buds will thank you for visiting.

Greece


Image by Klearchos Kapoutsis

From olives to octopus, the true taste of Greece depends on fresh, unadulterated staples. Masking or complicating original flavours is not the done thing, especially when you’re dealing with oven-fresh bread, rosy tomatoes and fish fresh from the Mediterranean. The midday meal is the main event with a procession of goodies brought to the table as they’re ready. With Wednesday and Friday traditionally reserved as fast days (ie no-meat days), vegetarians are also looked after.

Courtesy of The Travel Planet

How Much to Tip, by Country

This Tipping Etiquette Around the World infographic compares tipping customs for many countries around the world. In addition to the tip rates, the informative visual includes helpful notes about national tipping customs and goes into more detail for common US tipping scenarios.

This graphic is an interesting way to see how customs differ by location, and it may come in handy next time you’re jet-setting internationally.

Bourdain: The Layover

“You can say that we are deliberately tackling a tired and well worn format for the sheer challenge of
seeing if we can make it interesting and possibly even useful. We are well aware that many of the
meals and experiences on No Reservations are, frankly, impossible to duplicate. The upcoming last
meal at El Bulli show being a particularly extreme example. The crew and I got drunk one night and
said, “hey, let’s make Samantha Brown’s show! Only….different…and good! ” unlike No Rez, you
will actually be able to do the stuff covered on the show. And unlike other shows of the genre, you
might actually want to. We were very pleased with the techniques show—which was also a very classic,
well travelled and restrictive format. We managed to make that fun and interesting and put our own
stamp on it. So why not this? It’s faster, more democratic and more caffeinated than No Rez.
But just as obnoxious.”
For more see See Bourdain on Tumblr:The Layover here

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‘The Rum Diary’ Trailer: Johnny Depp Drinks His Way Through Puerto Rico


‘The Rum Diary’ Trailer: Johnny Depp Drinks His Way Through Puerto Rico (Video)

No more Lone Ranger? Not to worry. The official trailer for Johnny Depp’s new film The Rum Diary has hit the web.

The big-screen adaptation of the novel by Hunter S. Thompson stars Depp as Paul Kemp, a journalist unhappy with New York and the U.S. under Eisenhower’s rule, who goes to Puerto Rico to write for The San Juan Star. Paul starts drinking rum and becomes obsessed with a woman named Chenault, played by The Playboy Club’s Amber Heard.

Set to be released on Oct. 28, The Rum Diary is written and directed by Bruce Robinson and co-stars Aaron Eckhart, Giovanni Ribisi and Richard Jenkins.
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Hotel Hell

Hotel Hells wed

Hotel Hell follows Gordon Ramsay and his team of hospitality experts as they travel across America to fix failing hotels, mediocre motels and bed & breakfasts where you’d rather not sleep and definitely won’t want to eat breakfast.

After over a decade of running restaurants in some of the top hotels around the world, traveling extensively as a guest himself and running an award winning hotel in London, Gordon knows first-hand the crucial importance of surpassing guests’ expectations. To get to grips with the problems, Ramsay will endure hotels at their worst so you don’t have to. From dirty bedrooms and mold-ridden bathrooms to incompetent staff or customer service that’s not up to par, Ramsay and his team will work with the hotel owners and employees to turn these hapless establishments around.

Gordon is determined to give each location the competitive edge they need to survive in the cut-throat hospitality industry, so he’ll turn these struggling establishments upside down, from the bar staff to the bedrooms, the receptionists to the room service. As he tries to turn these “No”-tels into successful hotels, Ramsay – in his own inimitable style – will go head-to-head with the owners and staff, raising the tension to maximum capacity.

With reputations on the line, one thing is certain: if they can’t meet Gordon’s high standards, they will never check out of HOTEL HELL.

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How to do Broadway on a budget

Mario Tama / Getty Images

Looking to save money on expensive Broadway tickets? There are a number of services that can help.

 

By Kaeli Conforti, Budget Travel

It’s been a few years since we’ve written anything about Broadway. We’ve already sung the praises of saving money on Broadway shows with TKTS and made an instructional video about how to take advantage of standing room only, general rush and student rush tickets. Since our last story on Broadway ticket savings, there have been a number of great websites created to help you save even more money on Broadway tickets. Whether you’re a student, senior or just an admirer of all things theater, here are some websites you need to know about.

StudentRush.org, something I now check several times a day, offers free tickets — yes, you read that right — to Broadway and Off– Broadway shows on a regular basis. All you have to do to get access to the list is sign up for their “Will Call Club” e-mails. The only thing you have to pay is usually a $5 handling charge, depending on the show, that is paid via Paypal. You then receive an e-mail confirmation and instructions as to where to meet the StudentRush.org representative.

 

While the company is named StudentRush.org, the website states, “Anyone may join this site, although some of the discounts are restricted to current students with ID. All free ticketed events and non–ticketed events are available to anyone.” You’re able to purchase up to four tickets at a time; just pick them up from the representative before heading to the theater. Apparently it’s a seat–filler type of thing — show producers provide them with a certain amount of tickets for each available show. Remember to check back a few times a week for the most updated list of opportunities.

Thanks to this website, I’ve been able to see “Baby, It’s You” — twice — and I surprised my father with a trip to see “Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles” a few months ago. Each time, I paid $5 per ticket, picked them up from the representative, and was given excellent seats — I’m talking front–row–almost–center for “Rain” and middle-mezzanine for “Baby, It’s You.”

It should be noted that those under 35 are about to hit the budget ticket jackpot: The Roundabout Theatre Company understands that students — and a few unpaid interns out there — love going to shows but high ticket prices make that quite a struggle. Seeing our plight, they’ve come up with HipTix, a program that allows anyone between the ages of 18 and 35 to purchase $20 tickets to shows at their theaters — a great deal if you’re hoping to see the Tony Award winning show, “Anything Goes.” Just call their box office, sign up for HipTix and even order tickets (2 per person only) to a show—be sure you call to order tickets at least one month in advance, as their shows tend to sell out quicky. Last I checked, tickets to “Anything Goes” were being offered for early October, so plan ahead.

The Big Apple, the USA’s largest city, thrives on relentless energy and buzz. Here are its highlights.

 

A list of discounts for students and seniors can be found at NYTheatre.com, but it’s always a good idea to contact the theater you’re interested in to see what their specific policies are in regards to discounted rush tickets.

My next discovery is Bloomspot. Think of it as Groupon for Theater. Same idea: Sign up for free with your e-mail address and let the deals come to you. There was an offer for a New Orleans Jazz show at Lincoln Center recently, so it seems to be entertainment–based, not strictly for Broadway shows, but still offers great deals.

I recently came across a new program that lets theatergoers accumulate “Show Points” to exchange for discounted Broadway show tickets. Audience Rewards has you sign up for free using your email address, and you are given the option to earn points by playing trivia games about different shows, purchasing items from partner sites, or you can simply earn points by buying tickets to shows and listing your membership number during the ordering process. This is definitely one of those websites I wish I had found earlier.

For more Broadway (and Off–Broadway) discounts, you can visit websites like Playbill.com, BroadwayBox.com, and TheaterMania.com for general price cuts, or look up discount codes to your favorite shows at NYtix.com.

I have loved going to Broadway shows ever since I was taken to see Cathy Rigby’s “Peter Pan” when I was five years old. (Once she “flew” over the audience at the end of the show, I was hooked!) It’s a huge passion of mine, as is saving money. Lately I’ve been taking advantage of rush tickets, but be warned, you are not always guaranteed a cheap ticket (usually $40 or less) if you’re in line. I learned this the hard way while attempting to see “Anything Goes” last week. No matter what time the theater opens, plan on getting there one hour earlier than you’re thinking of. I got to the theater at 9am, one hour before the box office opened. Had I been there at 8am, I would have gotten a ticket or two. Never underestimate the fact that someone else might be willing to wait longer. Lesson learned.


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Officials: Keep your shoes on for now

By Pete Williams, NBC News

The nation’s two top airline security officials said today that while travelers will eventually be able to go through checkpoints without taking off their shoes, it will be much longer before restrictions are lifted on carrying liquids.

In separate appearances, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and TSA Administrator John Pistole said improvements in screening technology will allow passengers to go through the lines without taking off shoes or belts, though neither of them said when that would come.

But the two officials said liquids are a different matter. “One of the last things to change will be restrictions on carry-on liquids,” Napolitano said.

Pistole put it this way: “We are working on technology to get to the point where we can allow liquids to come back on planes, but we’re not there yet.”

Both stressed the Obama administration’s goal of making air security more responsive to intelligence and less of a one-size-fits-all approach. They said TSA is working to streamline security for frequent travelers, a concept it has just begun to test at a few airports.  Eventually, Pistole said, trusted travelers who agree to undergo an intensive background check would breeze through a separate screening line, could keep their shoes on, and would not have to remove laptop computers from their briefcases. “Those are tangible benefits we’re looking for,” he said.

And both said the decision by airlines to increase baggage fees has put more pressure on TSA, with more carry-ons to check.  Napolitano said it’s costing TSA at least $270 million more a year in manpower expenses.  She wants Congress to raise the security fee airlines pay to have the government screen passengers.

Pistole has been pushing TSA to adjust screening procedures when the threat from specific kinds of travelers is considered low. “It made little sense to me that we should require pilots who are literally in charge of the aircraft to go through screening,” he said.

Under his direction, TSA has been working with groups of World War II veterans who go to Washington, DC on charter flights.  “There’s a chance that one of these elderly gentlemen — the youngest is in his late 80’s — is a terrorist, but it’s not likely.”

But Napolitano said the government can never issue a blanket rule that certain travelers, such as very young children or people in wheelchairs, will never be subjected to enhanced screening. “That’s what would be exploited if we tried that,” she said.


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