A Culture of Retrospect and Reflection

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Tokyo just might be the biggest city in the world, comprised of twenty-three individual wards, all with their own unique characteristics.  Foreigners are easily intimidated by the sheer expanse of Japan’s leading city and its 17,000,000 inhabitants ( 5,000,000 are commuters ) ; {however ,} due to this volume alone Tokyo has developed an unequalled public transportation system and a complex network of visitor friendly info resources.  The best way to travel Tokyo’s delirious bustle is to permit the subway to guide the way.  A loose itinerary will draw you into true jap life through surprising encounters and more intimate experiences. 

Tokyo : A patron Capital

It may be ironic that one of the most expensive cities in the world also has one of the most rampant and showy buyer cultures.  Visitor attractions in Tokyo consist of many gargantuan shopping complexes additionally to the cultural tops.  The Ginza shopping district reigns supreme for ostentatious spending habits, with thousands of mega-stores, boutiques and an excessive array of non-functional novelty stores for the simply entertained within us all.  For a dose of New York in Tokyo, visit Shibuya, which is rife with higher-end shops, shrines, King-Kong-sized plasma television screens and the most hectic pedestrian street crossing in the world. 

A Culture of Retrospect and Reflection

There is an inclination to become inundated and desensitized by the fluorescent lights that line the town streets like masts in Japan’s sea of technology.  While these electric churches help to extol a hyper-modern age, Tokyo also possesses some of the most idyllic and unruffled shrines and pagodas in the country.  Meiji-jingu is the most impressive of Tokyo’s Shinto shrines, built with jap cypress and copper plates for the roof.  Even though the shrine was annihilated during World War Two, the reconstruction has not lost any of the grandeur.  Just north of the town, Bonsai Park treats visitors to the zen-like art of cultivating these carefully placed miniature trees and experiencing the calming of the mind.  A necessary experience for anyone journeying to Tokyo is the view of Mount Fuji in the early hours of dawn.  This is possible from inside the town, atop one of the massive skyscrapers like the governing body Building in Shinjuku.  Directly in the middle of Tokyo, the Imperial Palace ( Kokyo ) is an inner-city sanctuary that is home to the Imperial Family.  The public can visit the encompassing East Gardens and walk along the double bridge over the tranquil moats of the palace grounds, but the palace buildings and inner yard are closed to visitors. 

Travel to Tokyo with a willingness to get lost among the hustle and maybe find yourself again in the silence of a shrine.  The expansive city and system of subways make it virtually impossible to make a wrong turn.

Thinking about traveling outside of the country? Famouswonders.com can help you decide where to go on your next vacation, or you can view The Imperial Palace Tokyo.

A Destination Worth Discovering

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, must be one of the least visited and most misrepresented cities of South America. It’s capital Asuncion boasts a working port which is frequented by barges, small container boats and ferries. Destination guides for Asuncion are sometimes hard to get.  Even more difficult to find are destination guides for handicapped travel.

The location where Asuncion is situated today was most likely visited by the Spanish conqueror Juan de Ayolas n the 16th century. He disappeared without a trace and Juan de Salazar was sent to look for him. In August 1537 the latter stopped at a bay in the left bank of the Paraguay river and decided to establish fort there. He named it “Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion” (Our Lady of the Assumption).

A city soon began to take shape around the fort. From here many explorer in turn left to establish a number of other cities. These include Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina and Santa Cruz de Sierra in Bolivia. Asuncion is thus one of the oldest cities in South America and one that can rightly claim to be the “mother of cities”.

Asuncion is located next to the river Paraguay. The old part of the city, including the harbor, looks out over the Bay of Asuncion. A natural bay permits small vessels to come and go to their various destinations, one of which is Brazil.

It is a crumbling, atmospheric old city. When you walk down the main street (called Palma) you will meet pavement vendors selling the famous Nanduti embroidered lace, you will hear the sounds of harp music coming from various music stores and you will be approached by hawkers selling chipa – a delightful and very typical Paraguayan bread made with manioc or corn flour.

If you stay at the characterful old Hotel Armele, you will be able to watch the sun go down over the Bay of Asuncion and the Chaco stretching far, far away into the distance.

At night the city comes alive. South Americans love music and there are a large number of locales where you can listen to live bands playing everything from traditional Paraguayan music to rock. The city has a wide variety of restaurants. While buffet restaurants are very popular, especially around lunchtime, there are a diversity of restaurants available to suit every culinary taste.

Make your way to the east of the town and you will be totally astounded at it’s modern buildings and opulent Villas. The two main arterials namely; Avenida Espana and Avenida Mariscal Lopez connect to this area which is known as Villa Morra. Here you’ll find glitzy shopping malls and upmarket coffee shops and restaurants. If it’s culinary delights you are after, then you need not look any further than Asuncion. The locals are excellent chefs and their food is prepared in such varieties that it’s truly a feast for the eye. You can also catch a movie at many of their multi-screen cinemas. If it’s orchestral music or a ballet you are after then the Paraguayan National Bank Theater offers concerts on a regular basis.

The city has a large number of hotels to suit all pockets. Budget hotels cluster around Plaza Uruguay, while near Plaza de los Heroes there are a number of four- and five star hotels.

Destination guides for Asuncion are difficult to find. We recommend that you print this page and keep it for reference purposes.

Characteristics of a Good Hawaii Vacation Guide

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

The things that go into making a Hawaii vacation guide are the same things that go into making any good guidebook. The difference is the tropical sweep and scope of America’s paradise in the Central Pacific. The region encompassed by the seven islands of the State of Hawaii is large, and each island is a little different in color and makeup. Good Hawaii vacation guides recognize this, and have common attributes.

To start with, the best guides tend to treat each island in the chain – and remember, there are at least four worth seeing – as a separate and distinct entity. This is a wise decision, as the four of them also have somewhat different terrains and even cultural outlooks. Oahu, which is home to Honolulu, is the island in which most of the population of the state resides. And it combines a very large city alongside a North Shore surfing atmosphere.

The Big Island – more formally known as the island of Hawaii – has at least three different climates, and even a bit of snow, found on the peaks of the Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea dormant volcanoes. Kilauea, an active volcano, also sits on Hawaii. Kauai has some of the rainiest terrain, in spots, in the world. And Maui stands as a picturesque example of a classic tropical environment with an easy-going attitude.

Because of all this, the top guidebooks will take each place on their own merits, and cover all the things to see and do which make that particular island unique. The best guides also make an effort to impart a little knowledge about the native Hawaiian culture which has made Hawaii what it is. And all of them try to avoid the trap of falling into just being a big discount coupon book, though all will also have some of them within.

If you fancy a venture out on your own, Hawaii car rental services are usually available at the airport, however you can make an advanced booking online or by phone with a local rental company.

So, now that we know the things that go into making a Hawaii vacation guide, we no longer have to worry about not being able to pick out a good one and utilize it properly. They’ll try to teach a little bit on the native Hawaii way of life, along with something on at least the four main islands in the chain which play host to large numbers of tourists. Hawaii is, after all, a jewel in the Pacific and hard to beat as a vacation destination.

Hawaii vacation packages and vacation guides can easily be booked online. So browse through the web and find one you like. If you are uncomfortable making such a purchase online, many places offer a handy book-by-phone option.