Larger Muziris Heritage Project kick starts in Kerala

God’s own land in India - Kerala, is expecting another conservation project to take off by November of this year. Chennamangalam situated 40km to north of Kochi city hosts a palace, which the Dutch East India Company built for Paliyath Achan of the Paliyam family. The families served the Kochi kings as the hereditary ministers and were instrumental in dislodging the Portuguese for the Dutch.

Inspired by the help and as a token of reciprocation, the Dutch East India Company built the palace in 17^th century for the Paliyam family.

The ‘Nalukettu’ standing beside the palace, which was frequented by women and children of the family, also stands to gain. These monuments are being converted into museums, which would display the glory of the Paliyam family’s rich history. Kerala architecture is quite different from the rest of India, which is in accordance with the weather of the state. The Danish architecture is quite obvious with steep roofing and heavy wooden structures.

Visitors to India may earmark this place for the future. The place is 40km north of Kochi and the museums would be thrown open to the public and tourists as soon as the constructions are over. Keep updates about the opening of the museums.

Bon Frontalis Festival 2010 - Arunachal Pradesh, India.

Arunachal Pradesh, one among the seven sisters of North-eastern India is to witness an important festival that would focus on preserving rare species native to the region.

The ‘Mithun’ (Zoological name: Bon Frontalis) faces near extinction due to mass slaughter during native festivals in the region. The commercial consumption of ‘Mithun’, which also reportedly yields 1.5 liters of milk equivalent to three-liter milk of a hybrid cow, needs to be saved from its genocide to highlight the importance of its conservation; a two day festival by the Center for Cultural Research and Documentation (CCRD) will start on May 28.
The festival named ‘Bon Frontalis Festival 2010’ would center on its cultural significance and conservation.

To know more about the semi-domesticated animal usually found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam, tourists may bookmark the event on their itinerary.

Crowne Plaza Hotel, Copenhagen

Denmark is known for its concern towards ecology. If you happen to be in Copenhagen, Capital of Denmark, you will be happy if you stayed in Crowne Plaza Hotel. You get a meal worth 200 Kroner ($36) in return for power generation that you may provide for by pedaling bikes connected to generators. This is being done with a view to go green in terms of energy and avoids power generation by conventional means. Small monitors on handle bars of the bicycles show the amount of electricity generated. This is a win-win situation for everybody as the guests get a meal worth $36, and a service to nature is also done in the process. Another important advantage is that you burn lot of calories when you pedal the bicycles. What better bargain one would get? You also have an experience in the 366- room hotel, which bills itself as one of the world’s greenest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKHJAb6rSsg

Resorts World Sentosa- Asia's Biggest Integrated Resort

Singapore has another feather to its cap. A magnum opus of its kind, Asia’s biggest amusement park ‘Resorts World Sentosa’ has been inaugurated at Singapore, which has all the elements of a grand entertainment. Situated in the island of Sentosa , off the southern coast of Singapore, the salient feature of the integrated resort are the two casinos, a Universal Studios Theme Park - a magnum opus of its kind, where even other allied entertainments like movies are also screened here. Group Chairman Lim Kok Thay of ‘Genting’ group, the gaming giant form Malaysia that owns the Resort, opined that the ‘Resorts World Sentosa’ is Asia’s biggest theme park and would increase manifold the already booming tourism of Singapore. He also feels this will attract tourists around the globe including from India.

The welcome feature of the integrated resort includes 24 attractions, out of which 18 are unique. World’s tallest roller coasters and shows by look-alikes like Marilyn Monroe are added specialties of the park. Oceanariums, Spas and water parks add color and chillness for the visitors. Designed by American architect Michael Graves, seven zones such as Sci-Fi city, Ancient Egypt, New York, The Lost World, Far Far Away and Hollywood would welcome tourists and visitors for an enthralling experience in the resort. Hotels, malls and commercial complexes are there for added amusement to check the shopping spree of tourists. You are sure to be a proud tourist if you visited the resort and say that you have visited one of the biggest integrated resorts in the world. An expected arrival of about 13 million is the projected figure for the current year, while 17 million visitors a year is the target that the group has set for the resort.

Jumbos In Action- Little Karoo, South AFrica

Elephants are finding themselves crushing and making wine in South Africa. Are you surprised to hear that the jumbos are doing something constructive? If you happen to be in Little Karoo in South Africa, you have a good chance of catching these pachyderms, crushing grapes to make wine. The four-meter mammoth creatures respond to commands like “foot up” and “foot down” and elegantly crush the grapes under their feet. The juice is later shifted to cellars and stored in fermentation vessels. Don’t you think it’s not a bad way to usefully engage the elephants?

By the way, a little bit of info on Little Karoo. It lies between the Swartberg Mountains in the North, and the Langeberg and Outeniqua Mountains in the South in South Africa. The Little Karoo regions are best known for the town of Oudtshoorn, which is the home to the world’s largest Ostrich population. Cango caves are world famous that adds credit to Little Karoo as one of the best tourist spots in the world. It is also known as ‘Klein Karoo’ in Afrikaans.

Three ton chocolate 'Easter Bunny' in Johannesburg

To carve a three-ton sculpture in itself is a big task. Perhaps, if it were for a sculpture made out of a stone, it would have been something normal to perceive. But the ‘Easter Bunny’ sculpture is something different. If you hear about it your mouth would water, as the sculpture is made out of chocolate. Harry Johnson, who is known as the fastest sculptor in the world has made the ‘Easter Bunny’ within three days. He took the assistance of four people to chip and melt to make the sweet bunny, which sits in Johannesburg right now. Too much of association with the chocolate has made co-creator Mark Fruhaf frown on the name of chocolate. After all, staying so close to chocolate for three full days ought to have the effect. However, Harry Johnson must be rejoicing for having placed the ‘Easter Bunny’ in the list of records. And any of you had the chance to be in Johannesburg to view the mega-chocolate bunny?

It's bloom time for 'Jacaranda' in Nilgiris- India

Nilgiris in India abounds in Jacaranda flowers right now. The beautiful purple colored flowers have started blooming in the ‘Blue Mountains’ or ‘Nilgiris’ as popularly known. Indian tourists are having visual delight and express their joy with the blooming of the Jacaranda. Jacaranda is native to South America, Central America, Mexico and Carribean. The tree has another name ‘Exam Tree’ as it coincides with the examination season. Introduced to Israel 50 years ago, these can be found most parts of Sothern California in the US. And the list extends to Brisbane in Australia, Auckland in New Zealand, Bhutan etc. Jacaranda can also be found in the Indian city of Bangalore in its peak boom - should I say ‘peak bloom’ rather? By the way, Pretoria in South Africa is known as the ‘Jacaranda City’.

Ice Hotels in Norway

Norway in best known for its sub Zero temperatures and as a place where sun rise is very minimum. This has enabled enterprising people to think differently. And now you can cool yourself by dining in ice hotels in Norway, where the biggest of them boasts of keeping you in temperatures ranging from -4°c to -6°c (25°F to 19°F).

The hotels are sculpted in an enchanting manner and provides excellent ambience. A mere look inside gives an idea of a different experience that we would have. One of the hotels in Northern Norway is built in 2000 Square meter area with 30 rooms. The best part is, there are even 2 bridal rooms for couples desirous of getting married ‘cool’. A small place of worship is also there, where a Chief Priest comes and conducts worship once a year. Marriages are also solemnized over there. It has consumed 600 tons of ice blocks and 1000 tons of ice pieces to build this hotel and it has been estimated that around 2000 guests arrive at this hotel to cool themselves. Would you like to be one among them? If so, don’t you forget to visit these ice hotels if you happen to be Norway.

Konark Sun Temple

Konark is a temple in Orissa, which is situated in eastern India. The temple shines in the pages of history as it is famous for its Sun Temple - and Sun naturally shines. ‘Kona’ means ‘Energy corner” and ‘Arka’ means ‘sun’. The sum total meaning hence stands for’ Sun’s Energy Corner’ and the history of the temple is quite interesting. According to temple history, king Champa was suffering from Leprosy and he came to know that worshipping sun was the only way to get rid of the disease. He came to Konark as it was the ‘Sun’s energy corner’ and took a holy dip in the ‘Chandrabhaga', river near the temple. After ablutions, he meditated on Sun god and by the grace of the radiant Sun, he was cured of the disease. As a mark of gratitude to Sun god, he constructed the temple, which was renovated by king Narasimha deva in the 13^th century. It took 200 sculptors and 12 years to complete the beautiful temple. The chariot shaped temple stands tall in-spite-of attacks from alien invaders during historical period. The chariot shape has 24 wheels of 10 feet diameter on all four directions. The front has sculptures of 7 horses pulling the chariot. The temple is famous for its fantastic scene of the sun rays falling on the sun god.

The entrance known as ‘Mukhashala’, the dance auditorium, Chayadevi temple (Chaya Devi happens to be the wife of Sun god), Sculptures of humans, gigantic elephant, sculptures of horse, soldiers and arches of artistic finish are few among the salient features of this temple. ‘Brahma Purnima’ is an important festival, where many devotees throng the temple for a holy dip in the month of January/February. In the month of December the ‘Konark Dance Festival’ adds color to the festivities. Thus the temple enters a festive mood two times a year. The temple is a UNESCO maintained site as it has been awarded the heritage status. The main deity was transferred to ‘Puri’ - yet another temple town in Orissa, in 1696 A.D. as the temple was in ruins by then.

Sim's park at Coonoor welcomes you with 'Neelakurinji'

If it’s Hailey’s comet that falls from the skies once in 76 years, then which flower blossoms every 12 years? Well, it’s the ‘Neelakurinji’ or ‘Strobilanthes kunthiana’ that blossoms once in 12 years. The flowering has begun in Sim’s Park at Coonoor, Nilgiris. It is believed that ‘Nilgiris’ might have got its name from the’ Neelakurinji’ flower that beautifully spreads like a carpet. The Nilgiris also get their name, which means ‘Blue mountains’. The Sim’s Park has an age old history dating back to 136 years in Nilgiris, Tamilnadu, India.

The park is awash with the flower which is also a well-known shrub. About 56 species are found in India, which offers visual delight for the tourists. On the whole, the flower has a vast range of over 500 species with a flowering cycle that ranges from one year to sixteen years. Tourists may like to look into the purple colored flower in case they happen to be in Tamilnadu, India.

World's largest Luxury Cruiser

We have heard ‘Oasis in the desert’. And now we have Oasis in the water too. Don’t be taken by surprise. The world’s biggest luxury cruiser ‘Oasis of Seas’ is 360 meters long and has 16 decks with a massive accommodation of 2700 rooms. With a guest capacity of 5400 people the giant cruiser gives a stunning look and true to its majestic looks it really may be the Oasis of the Seas. The Royal Caribbean International Company has constructed the ship at a cost of Indian rupee 7500 Crores (1 Crore = 10 million). The ship has been rightly christened as ‘Oasis of Seas’, which took nearly 2.5 years to complete the construction.

You have more than several reasons to keep yourself fit even while you are on the blue waters. Yeah! The giant cruiser has 4 swimming pools, Basketball and handball courts to burn those calories and a H2o Zone Aqua park for kids to enjoy. There are youth zones, spas, yoga classes and fuel discos to keep youth in high spirits. You may also arm yourself with a tee, as you shouldn’t be surprised to know that the Oasis has also a mini Golf course. The luxury cruiser was formally introduced by ‘Good Morning America’, the broadcasting agency in USA.

Sweet ladies with chocolates in Shanghai Chocolate garments show

Sweet ladies further sweetened themselves with garments adorning them with chocolates at the Salon du Chocolat show in Shanghai on 20 Jan 10. Chinese models posed with clothing partially made from chocolates and were seen walking on the ramps with items like hats, fans, sword and dagger. Things resembling helmets were also seen to sensitize safety on roads. A model sounded music to the ears with a chocolate piece of a musical instrument decorating her dress notwithstanding her beauty for the beholders.

Beijing also celebrated chocolate show at World Chocolate Wonderland at Bird’s nest, Olympic venue, Beijing. The 20,000-square-meter 'World Chocolate Wonderland' with five indoor areas and two outdoor sites inside the Beijing Olympic Green showcase nearly more than 1,000 handicrafts of chocolate and candy, including replicas of 560 terra cotta warriors and a 10-meter Great Wall. The cost was a staggering $ 10 million and consumed a whopping 80 tons of chocolate.