Vacation Dreams

Category: Sidebar

  • More Funny Signs

    Tokyo hotel's rules and regulations:
    GUESTS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIOURS IN
    BED.

    On the menu of a Swiss restaurant:
    OUR WINES LEAVE YOU NOTHING TO HOPE FOR.

    In a Tokyo bar:
    SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS.

    In a Bangkok temple:
    IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER A WOMAN EVEN A FOREIGNER IF DRESSED AS A MAN.

    Hotel room notice, Chiang-Mai, Thailand: PLEASE DO NOT
    BRING SOLICITORS INTO YOUR ROOM.

    Write in and tell us your funny sign! Drop a line to
    the Beetle!

    the Beetle!

  • Visit the Qingzhou Buddhist sculptures, London

    At the Royal Academy from 26 April—14 July. This
    exhibition shows 35 of the best-preserved figures, carved from limestone
    (around 550—577 AD) out of the 400 or more Buddhist sculptures found
    in 1996 in a field in the Shandong province in eastern China.

    According to early written sources the area in which
    the sculptures were found once formed part of Longxing Temple, a name
    that means 'Dragon Spring'. The figures show the sculptural styles
    that developed as Buddhism spread along the trade routes across central
    Asia, mixing foreign with Chinese qualities. Among the statues uncovered
    are beautiful examples of Buddhas, bodhisattvas (attendants of the Buddha)
    and triads, in which a Buddha, flanked by two bodhisattvas, stands against
    a leaf-shaped nimbus.

    Experts wonder why were so many figures of Buddha were
    buried during the twelfth century in a carefully constructed pit within
    the precincts of a monastery. Whatever the reason, the discovery of a
    Buddhist treasury at the former temple site confirms the important role
    that Longxing played as a centre of Buddhist culture in the Qingzhou region
    during the sixth century.

    Thanks to Kevin Brackley from London for spotting this!

  • Mutual Aid

    Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a
    place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our
    Mutual Aid section of the Website:Mutual Aid

    Can anyone help Jane? She is a retired college teacher
    with extensive international experience looking for a short-term volunteer
    opportunity in East Africa. (Her website is www.mystudybuddy.org) and she says she has no
    idea where to look, and would be grateful for your suggestions. If you
    can help, or have any suggestions, please contact
    Jane    .

    Can anyone help Mike, who has not heard from his friend
    for four months? His friend is sailing from the UK to Australia, and his
    last letter was from Fatu Hiva. He was looking for crew to sail to Fanning
    island. Can anyone suggest a web-site to help Mike find his friend? If
    you have any suggestions, please contact Mike Thorneloe:

    Thomas from Munich offers up to date advice for anyone
    planning on going to Kazakhstan, as he has just returned. To contact Thomas,
    e-mail him

  • China Internet Cafes

    According to press sources, the authorities in China’s
    second largest city, Shanghai, have closed down nearly 200 internet cafes.
    The move is reported to coincide with the launch by the central government
    of a drive against “harmful” content on the web, to prevent
    young people from being corrupted. One official said the premises were
    in areas overlooked in previous campaigns. Last year, the Chinese authorities
    reportedly shut down 17,000 internet cafes that failed to install the
    necessary software, or they are being used for “illegal activities”.
    Some say that the move is in line with the government's desire to
    encourage the internet as a commercial medium without creating a forum
    for political dissent.

    Beijing requires internet bars to install software to
    block restricted web sites and record user activities. Unsurprisingly,
    banned websites include those run by democracy activists, outlawed groups
    such as Falung Gong, and some foreign news organisations. Those containing
    pornographic material are also blocked.

  • Animal Facts

    The zebra is a member of the horse family and no two
    zebras have the same pattern. Stripes help confuse predators chasing the
    zebra, making them misjudge distances.

    Source: STA Travel

  • Have you got a tale to tell??

    If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell.
    Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website
    and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites

  • Free Concerts in London

    Cultural Co-operation are putting on free concerts featuring
    300 musicians from 25 countries. The concerts are scheduled as follows:

    • Kew Gdns on 29/30 June.
    • Regents Park on 6/7 July
    • Greenwich Park on 13/14 July.

    For full details and a voucher to enter Kew Gdns for
    free on those days, you can either:

  • Dakar and Dhaka!

    Thomas from Munich wrote in to say that he read the Beetle’s
    story about the confusion between Oman and Amman. The same thing happened
    to an African friend of his who went back to his home country with his
    family of 4 people. He booked a flight to Dakar in Senegal or so he thought,
    instead he received, five days before his departure, four tickets getting
    him to Dhaka, Bangladesh. Imagine the hassle to change the booking of
    four people 5 days before the intended departure. Madness!

  • North Korea Encourages Tourism

    Funded by the United Nations Development Programme, The
    Secretary General of the World Tourist Organisation, Francesco Frangialli,
    has signed agreements in North Korea, to help develop North Korea's
    tourism potential.

    The World Tourist Organisation has been involved in projects
    with North Korea since 1989 – including giving the Communist state assistance
    in developing the Mount Kumgang, or Diamond Mountain, resort. Mt Kumgang
    is now open to foreign visitors, including tour cruises from neighbouring
    South Korea. New tourist sites, such as Mount Chilbo in the country's
    northeast, are likely to be earmarked this time. But the tourist organisation
    says its efforts will largely focus on capacity development and training.

    Only about 200,000 tourists visited North Korea last
    year, although officials believe the country's tourism potential is
    huge – despite current problems with access, infrastructure, lack of training
    and its rigid centrally planned economy. Ecotourism and cultural tourism
    are two areas that experts believe could be developed, bringing the country
    much needed hard currency, as it opens its doors a little more to the
    outside world.

  • Sierra Leone

    Voting has finished in Sierra Leone and political pundits
    believe that for the first time in 10 years, peace will ensue. Perhaps
    now, tourism will return to a country with a beautiful unspoilt coastline,
    mountains and national parks. Watch this space!