Things To Do In South Beach Miami

Victoria Harbor
By far the best tourist spot to visit in Hong Kong, the Victoria harbor boasts of one of the most beautiful skyline in the world. A cool fact about the harbor is that because of some reasons, either land reclamation or demolition or reconstruction, the cityscape keeps changing. If you had visited the city a few years back and are visiting it again today, you’ll notice a lot of difference between the two photos of the harbor taken from the same spot.

Every evening at 8 o’clock, as the darkness settles and the skyline lights up, you get to see one of the most amazing sights of buildings lighting up. The Victoria harbor light show holds the Guinness World Record for being ‘The world’s largest permanent light and sound show’. The best vantage points to witness this spectacle are by the Avenue of Stars and the Cultural center. Another good way to see this is the ‘Symphony of lights’ dinner cruise.

Victoria Peak
You can get the best view of the city from the Victoria peak, if you’re lucky enough. There are two major obstacles to your enjoyment. The first one is the crowd – if you happen to go to the peak during weekends or in the peak season, you’re going to wait in the line for hours together just to get in! The other problem is the obstruction to your view because of the smog. It’s a rare chance for tourists to get to the peak on a cloudless and clear day.

You can make it to the top on a clear day and you’ll realize the effort was worth it. The spots on the peak are a photographer’s delight. The shopping center (yes, a shopping center on the peak) is a fun place to visit too. The funicular tram ride is what tourists all over the world come to Victoria peak for and will swear that it was the best 7 minutes of their trip to Hong Kong.

Avenue of Stars
If you believe Hong Kong to be ‘the Hollywood of the Orient’, then you cannot miss out on this. The place has everything a movie buff can appreciate – a walk of fame dedicated to all the top contributions of the biggest Japanese movie artists, including a huge bronze statue of Bruce Lee. The Avenue of Stars provides one of the best views of the symphony of lights. You can also catch a fireworks show if you happen to be there on special occasions. Read the rest of this entry »

What to Do Before Leaving?

The safety begins at the time of packing for your trip. You should be very careful while you are selecting your stuff otherwise you will end up facing some unwanted situations. Here are a few suggestions as to what and how much to carry, what to wear, etc., when your are on your foreign trip.

Money
•Do not ever carry cash more than required. Try to make maximum use of your credit and debit cards.
•Men should keep the cash as well as cards in the front pockets whereas women can use a hand bag tucked under the arm so that no one can reach it without your notice. Use different places to keep the cards to avoid credit card problems like losing them all at once.
•When you reach the hotel put your credit/ debit cards in the main safe of the hotel or in your personal locker in the room.
Jewelry
•Do not allow yourself to be targeted by wearing wrong attention seeking jewelry. Keep all the gold and other precious jewelry at home and wear something light and artificial.
•If you have to carry the expensive jewelry, like when you are attending a wedding, confirm places in your luggage to hide your jewelry.
Dressing
•You might wonder, how can dressing help you stay safe while traveling. But, it actually makes a lot of difference.
•If your plane suffers a hi-jack, you should go unnoticed among all the people. This can only happen when you are dressed in casual wears and dull colors. Slacks and T-shirts will help you move easily in an emergency.
Prescriptions and Documents Read the rest of this entry »

Prospect Park South is an area of notable homes which was developed in 1899 by Dean Alvord. His motto for this development was rus in urbe or country in the city. Along the property lines of the houses trees were planted to give the illusion that each house was alone and totally separate from the others. Alvord had a house built here for his family the Alvord Mansion was located at 1522 Albemarle Road but after it was sold to Israel Matz who was the founder of Ex-Lax Company, the house burnt down in 1955. In 1979 the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Prospect Park South as a historic district. There are many notable residences in this area that are worth seeing; most of them are found on Albemarle, Buckingham and Marlborough Roads.

Prospect Lefferts Gardens

Prospect Lefferts Gardens is a residential neighborhood that was settled by a Dutch family in 1660. In 1893 James Lefferts divided the Lefferts estate into 600 building lots which are now known as Lefferts Manor and they were sold to developers. Lefferts made sure that the homes in this area would be notable and made restrictions which required that each home be a single family residence of brick or stone and be at least two stories high. These houses were constructed in the late 19th century. In 1979 the houses in Lefferts Manor were granted landmark status by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission and in 1992 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Lefferts Manor Historic District.

Prospect Park

Prospect Park is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. This public park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux both of whom also designed New York’s Central Park. Within the park one can find the Long Meadow which consists of 90 acres, the Picnic Houses where you can rent a hall for parties and see the pre-existing house of Edwin Clark Litchfield who was a developer of the area and formerly owned the southern part of the park. It is called Litchfield Villa. Here is also the Prospect Park Zoo which is run by the Wildlife Conservation Society. At the Boathouse by Brooklyn’s only lake (60 acres) is the visitors center and the Audubon Center. In the summer, people come to the park for free outdoor concerts at the Prospect Park Bandshell. If one is into sports the park offers seven baseball fields located in the Long Meadow, the Prospect Park Tennis Center, basketball courts, soccer fields and the New York Petanque Club in the Parade Ground. As if that weren’t enough, there is also a private Society of Friends cemetery on Quaker Hill which is near the ball fields. Actor Montgomery Clift is buried here.

•The word Dubai may have evolved from the word Daba, which means to creep, referring to the process by which the Dubai Creek slowly flows inland. Another interesting version is, the poet Ahmad Mohammad Obaid claims that Dubai got its name from the same word, Daba, which also refers to a swarm of locusts.
•Dubai had a flourishing pearl business, which collapsed with the advent of the First World War and the Great Depression.
•Dubai is a part of the Arabian Desert, but is topographically different from it. It is dotted with sandy deserts, where wild grasses and palm trees grow. To the east of the city lie the sabkha, coastal plains covered with salt, which see an abundant growth of desert hyacinths.
•Every year, in spring and fall, over 300 bird species migrate through Dubai.
•Dubai experiences extremely arid and hot climates, with the mercury shooting as high as 104oF. Average precipitation is not more than 140 mm annually. Summers are prone to severe sandstorms, locally known as shamal, which can last for days on end, and reduce visibility.
•The Al Maktoum dynasty has ruled Dubai since 1833. Dubai does not follow the federal judicial system of the United Arab Emirates.
•The culture and dress code in Dubai is much more diverse and liberal than the other emirates of the UAE. Though music, arts, and food have a distinct Arabic and Bedouin influence, the large influx of foreigners visiting and working in Dubai have left their indelible mark on the place, which is evident in the cosmopolitan culture of the society. Traditionally, men wear a kandura, a long white robe, that reached up to the ankles, and is either woolen or made from cotton. Women can be seen wearing the abaya, a black garment worn over the clothes.
•Dubai has stringent behavioral laws in place, and kissing and dancing in public is considered illegal. It is imperative that Muslim religious restrictions be obeyed by non-Muslims as well.
•Dubai has world-famous shopping malls, and tourists flock here regularly to enjoy the Dubai Shopping Festival. The Dubai Mall is the seventh largest mall in the world, and the city is called the Shopping Capital of the Middle East.
•On either side of Dubai Creek, lie commercial districts known as souk. These districts are traditionally famous for the exchange of commodities, which were brought in by Arabian cargo vessels known as dhows from east Asia. Visit a souk to get a feel of true Dubai shopping, where customers bargain heavily.
•Dubai is famous for its gold market, and the Gold Souk itself has over 250 gold shops! It is said that one in every five persons in Dubai buys at least five pieces of jewelry annually.
•Dubai is home to some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world. The Burj Khalifa is the tallest man-made structure on the earth, at a height of 2,717 feet. The tallest residential building in the world, the 23 Marina is also located in Dubai. The world’s tallest hotel, the Rose Tower or Rose Rayhaan, is also found in Dubai, standing tall at 1,092 feet.
•The Burj Al Arab, built in the shape of a dhow sail, is one of the most luxurious hotels in the world, and the fourth tallest, is built on an artificial island, nearly 280 feet from Jumeirah beach. One of its restaurants, Al Mahara, features a massive seawater aquarium, made of acrylic glass. The entry to this restaurant is through a simulated submarine voyage.

Established On: February 7, 1908

Type: Limestone

Location: Custer, South Dakota, U.S.A.

Size: Length= 153.500 miles, Depth= 632 feet.

Description:
Jewel cave is the second largest cave in the world. Its entrance had to be enlarged with a dynamite. Even though the cave was announced as a national monument in the year 1908, it was only in 1939 that, cave-tours were offered. This cave is a home to the longest straw stalactites in the world. You will also get to see several exotic ‘colossal formations’. It is open year-round, except for thanks-giving day and on the 1st of January.

Things to do:
You can opt to go for a cave-tour. Jewel Cave offers four varieties of guided tours, ‘Scenic Tour’, ‘Discovery Tour’, ‘Historic Lantern Tour’ and ‘Wild Caving Tour’. You can also try some surface activities. Jewel Cave gives you an opportunity to explore the surface of the cave. You can visit the ‘Acre Park’ and witness the evidence of the ‘Jasper Fire’. You can also attend Ranger programs. Ranger programs are scheduled throughout the year. These programs will include a tour through the wildlife, exotic plants and animals, jasper fire and the ecology of the cave. You can also go wildflower-viewing, where you will get to see 393 documented plant species. You can go bird watching and there are 120 species of birds for you to see in this cave. Finally, the best activity of all: Hiking! There are three hiking trails, available to the visitors, which are ‘A walk on the Roof Trail’, ‘Canyons Trail’, and ‘Hell Canyon Trail’. Do look out for the Jewelery box, Giant shawl, Friendly ghost and the Organ pipes!