Best Beach for Beachcombing in Bali

Virtually all visitors to Bali spend some time at the beach — wandering along baking strips of sand watching bathers, surfers and sun worshippers, or even lying prone absorbing the sun’s uv rays. Few visitors, however, appreciate the natural interest that is all around them as they stroll toward the sunset, moan under a masseuses’ fingers or paddle in the shallows. There are two beach which are famous for beachcoming in Bali and is a must to visit all of them.

Kuta Beach
The striking thing about the sea at Kuta is its energy — the waves break close to shore and there is a long tidal reach, so the shore is heavily scoured. Few organisms can cope with the heavy surges of water. But wander along Kuta Beach at low tide and you’ll notice what look like the five-pad footprints of a large dog, but not arranged in tracks. Brush away the sand and just beneath the surface you will find Sand Dollars (Eckinodiscus bisterforatus), relatives of the sea urchins. Their flatshape offers minimal resistance to the moving water and hundreds can be found in a short walk.

Sanur Beach
The waves at Sanur break over a reef crest several hundred meters from the shore. As a result, only small and gentle waves reach the beach, and this protected lagoon is a very rewarding area biologically. Between the beach and the reef are some of the best seagrass meadows a casual visitor is likely to see, and it is worthwhile idling a while in this area. Seagrass is thought of as a weed, since the commonest encounter with it is when the broken or rotting leaves get caught in your hair while swimming. Indeed, staff of the large hotels can be seen at dawn busily sweeping this natural frass into holes or trucking it away lest sensitive visitors feel their idyllic beach is despoiled. The seagrass meadows can be explored either by walking around wearing sneakers at low tide when the water reaches only slightly over the ankles, or by snorkeling at high water.

The more time one spends at the beach the more one sees. Get out there and explore, but please leave live shells and other animals where you find them!

Amsterdam Luxury Break

An Amsterdam city break is just the holiday ticket for all ages and all tastes. Whether it’s cultural high from its world class museums or another sort of high from the city’s notorious ‘coffee shops’, Amsterdam is a city you can’t help but enjoy. Amsterdam is one of Europe’s top city break holiday destinations thanks to a unique mix of high art and low life, from cultural capital to cannabis capital it has so much going for it, it’s hard to know where to start.

The most difficult nights of the week for hotels to fill their rooms are Saturday and Sunday night. Combine this with the fact that car rental companies struggle to sell their fleet on a weekend too, and you could be on to a winner.

The best hotels to get great deals on weekend nights are business class hotels as they’re more likely to be empty at the weekend (as all their marketing efforts go on business customers) and they’re also generally very nice places to stay.

First is the ease of getting there. Schiphol Airport had been voted one of the finest in Europe and its high speed trains will whisk you the 14 km into the city centre every 15 minutes. Then there is the ease of getting around. Amsterdam has excellent tram and bus services, not to mention the canal cruises that take in all the cultural holiday hotspots as well as the beautiful byways. Above all Amsterdam city centre is physically small and relatively quiet, with many streets-traffic free and bicycles the transport of choice for most Amsterdammers.

If you’re planning a Amsterdam luxury Break, there are a lot of places you shouldn’t miss. The largest park of the city, Vondelpark, close to the Leidseplein and the big museums, is always alive with skaters, joggers and all sorts of street performers. During your city break you must visit Amsterdam’s most famous day market, with stalls lining both sides of the Albert Cuyp Street. The canals of course are one of the major attractions of the ‘Venice of the North’. By daytime already very charming, by night they become even more enchanting because a lot of the canal houses and bridges are beautifully illuminated. The flower market on the Singel between the Munt tower and the Koningsplein is one of the most colorful, sweet-smelling sightseeing attractions in Amsterdam.

No luxury break will be satisfying without some good meals to get you through the day. If you fancy yourself as a gourmand, you’d do well to plan your tailor made holidays to include a visit to the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. The restaurants and bars have won 3 Michelin stars.

If you are traveling in high season, don’t expect to pay low season prices on luxury vacations. The prices you will find might be the highest you have ever seen because you had previously considered traveling during low season. Be ready to pay up to $1,500 per person for international air in coach class. Expect three star resorts and hotels in tourist areas to charge five star prices, and luxury hotels and resorts to go through the roof. One good suggestion is to book early to try to take advantage of early booking discounts.

Adventures to the End of the Earth in Christchurch, New Zealand

It may be at the end of the earth for many international travelers but in a lot of ways that’s part of the reason it’s so great. I can’t guarantee that you’ll run into pirates on your travels through Christchurch but I can assure you of a truly unforgettable experience.

Christchurch is in the heart of New Zealand’s South Island, far removed from the overcrowded tourist hot spots of Europe, fighting in the Middle East and pollution in Asia. This is an area of rare beauty, offering visitors the chance to experience the snow capped ski fields of the Southern Alps one day and swim with dolphins the next.

New Zealand & Australia, aren’t they the same place?

New Zealand is often linked hand in hand with Australia and while they share a lot of cultural similarities, there are huge differences when it comes to why you would visit either. Australia is a South Pacific getaway blessed with beautiful beaches, friendly people and a whole lot of nothing called the outback. New Zealand shares the friendly people but offers a different experience, rich in cultural history, adrenaline pumping adventure sport, spectacular sightseeing, memorable landscapes and unique wildlife.

Christchurch encapsulates all things good about New Zealand and serves them to you on a plate, a new and exciting attraction never more than a couple of hours away. If you’ve seen the Lord of the Rings movies then you might have noticed some of the amazing environments that cover the New Zealand’s South Island. These were no CGI special effects; all these places are just a stone throw from Christchurch and can be part of an amazing vacation, holiday or tour. Be the envy of your friends as you showoff your vacation pictures with pride.

Christchurch sightseeing & attractions

Christchurch and the wider Canterbury region has a strong English heritage and much of this still remains in the city area. Visitors can enjoy a punt along the Avon River, a sightseeing experience on the Tramway or Gondola, a stroll through the majestic Hagley Park or delight in the wonderful Botanical Gardens. Christchurch is New Zealand’s garden city and proudly displays this in the sheer number of beautiful gardens citywide.

New Zealand’s unique location on the globe has led to Christchurch becoming the world’s link to Antarctica. This amazing continent of frozen ice can be experienced from Christchurch’s International Antarctic Centre. More than just learning about Antarctica, visitors can experience icy slopes, sheltering in an ice cave, braving an Antarctic storm and many more fun activities.

Venturing out of Christchurch, head towards the charming French influenced town of Akaroa. Just an hour’s drive from Christchurch, Akaroa is located on the South Island’s Banks Peninsula, an amazing area where numerous outdoor activities can be enjoyed year round. Kayak along an extinct volcano, hike through beautiful walking tracks, enjoy spectacular harbour cruises, mountain bike along coastal hills and enjoy the magical experience of swimming with dolphins. Akaroa’s rich cultural history complements these activities and creates an experience that alone makes a trip to Christchurch worthwhile.

Christchurch adventure sport

So you’ve taken in the sights, experienced the city and seen the surrounding areas, what’s next you ask? Well why not try the uniquely New Zealand experience of adventure sport! Strap on a parachute, hook on a bungy chord, clip on some skis and hold on for some exhilarating jet boating, white water rafting and more! Christchurch is a stones throw from all these fun adventure sports and more, you don’t have to be a pro athlete to enjoy them and they’ll be something you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Feel the rush as you jump head first from a bridge or plane and let the wild rivers of New Zealand give you the rush of a lifetime as you surge down rapids on a jet boating or rafting adventure. There are a lot of quality tour options available and you’ll enjoy the experience even more as you meet new faces and friendly characters along the way.

If you want something unique and adventurous in a world that is fast losing new and exciting destinations then head to Christchurch, New Zealand. Whether it’s part of wider New Zealand experience or a specific South Island adventure, you won’t be disappointed. Head to the edge of the earth and see a world you never knew existed. If Middle Earth were truly real you would find it right here in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Antarctica Cruise Travel Guide

Antarctica is the fifth largest continent in the world, and is the southernmost one. Generally speaking, Antarctica is the least traveled to continent in the world. Here at PureTravel, this in an incomprehensible statistic. Antarctica is like no other continent. It is the highest, windiest, and coldest continent, home to glaciers, penguins, ice flows, and other marvels of nature. Most travelers visit Antarctica during the summer months, largely to avoid the most frigid climate. Antarctica is quite obviously the least habited continent and the least developed, therefore it provides a great means to view mother nature in its purest form.

At 1,295 square kilometres, King George Island is the largest of the South Shetlands and, although it is mostly covered by ice and snow, it manages to be home to no less than twelve different research basis. Countries as diverse as Poland, South Korea and Ecuador have a foothold on the island, but tourists will most probably find the blue-eyed shags, Adelie and chinstrap penguins, southern giant petrels and Antarctic terns more to their liking. Aitcho (‘HO’) Island is one of the few of the South Shetlands where tourists are able to observe gentoo penguins alongside chinstraps, and further highlights include the large lichen and moss beds.

Bridgeman Island is never visited as it is home to an active 240m high volcano and Penguin Island features – yes – even more penguins. Here tourists can also climb the 170m high Deacon Peak and observe the local fur seals, southern giant petrels, skuas and Adelie penguins.

Many different countries have research stations on the Peninsula and, as Antarctica is governed in terms of the Antarctic Treaty, no one country is in charge, and the laws of whatever station a tour group may be visiting are the rules to live by while the group’s there. Some of the bases welcome visits from foreigners but others do not but, occasionally, not only will foreigners be allowed to visit and tour a base, they will also be taken on customized expeditions and given slide shows by base personnel.

Buddhist Tours in India

The doctrine or philosophy declared by Buddha is known as Buddhism. It is not a religion or a system of faith or worship. Buddhism starts from the point of reasoning or understanding. It does not advocate any prescribed system of ritual a worship or sndupplication of deities or gods. It is distinguished and different from other systems of “religion.” Buddhist Tours in India will take you on a journey to many important Buddhist sites in India. Travel on the Lotus Path to Buddhist Pilgrimage destinations. These Buddhist Tour Detonations are associated with important events of Buddha’s life, visited by Buddha or later thrived into great Buddhist centers. Each of the sites must be visited to get a novel experience of history aSome of the Buddhist Tour Destinations are famous for stupa, some as Buddhist learning centers and some for being directly associated with the visit or religious sermons of the Lord Buddha.nd religion of Buddhism.Some of the famous Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India attract a large number of devotees and visitors every year. Most of them are situated around the River Ganges. The significant sites to be visited as great Buddhist centres are Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Shravasti, Kaushambi, Kapilvastu, Sankashaya, Nalanda, Rajgir, Sanchi stupa, Amravati, Champanagar, Hajipur and other cave temples as in Ajanta and Ellora, Indasala Cave etc. On the day before his death Buddha declared Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar as the four places he considered to be sacred to his followers.

Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, is located near the Nepal-India border. It has the Sacred Garden, Maya Devi Temple, Puskani Pond, Asoka Pillar, Buddha Temple and Lumbini Museum to see. Many auspicious signs accompanied the Buddha’s birth, including the sprouting of the bodhi tree. Bodh Gaya is marked by Mahabodhi Temple. It is here that Buddha attained enlightenment at a very young age under a fig tree after years of search for the truth and knowledge. The tourist attractions of Bodhgaya are the Mahabodhi Temple, Mahabodhi Tree, Shakyamuni Buddha, Vajrasana, Ancient Railing, Lotus Tank, Chankaramana, Animeshlochana and Ratnagar.

Sarnath is the place where Buddha gave his first sermon after achieving enlightenment. It is in close proximity to Varanasi. The splendid Dhamekha Stupa at Sarnath was originally erected by King Ashoka, as was the famous lion capital pillar, now the proud symbol of India. The tourist attractions of Sarnath are the Chaukhandi Stupa, Dhamek Stupa, Mulgandha Kuti Vihar, Sarnath Museum, Dharmrajika Stupa, Lion Capital and the excavated ruins of the Saddharmachakra Vihar. In Kushinagar, close to Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India en route to Kapilavastu, Lord Buddha fell ill and left this world. The tourist attractions of Kushinagar are the Mahaparinirvana Temple, Nirvana Chaitya, Ramabhar Stupa, Matha Kuar Shrine, Meditation Park, Indo-Japan-Sri Lanka Temple, Wai Thai Temple and the Museum.

Besides these Vaishali, the place where Buddha preached his last sermon, Rajgir and Nalanda University, and Shravasti, Buddha’s favourite rainy season retreat where he performed his first miracle, are also of prime significance.
The places of birth and enlightenment of Buddha are perhaps the two most important sites of pilgrimage for Buddhists in the world today. These are accompanied by a number of other sites marking the spread of Buddhism throughout the Indian sub-continent. Though the sects and beliefs within Buddhism are many, they all look upon these sites in north India with great reverence.