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Volunteering Goa

Volunteering is relatively new to the growing network of work opportunities in Goa, India . Goa established new project sites in the Himalayas and the desert state of Rajasthan . The one I volunteered for though, is the program concerning Goa’s beaches. I figured this would offer possibilities of not only travel, but recreation; oh and to make a contribution to the socially deprived areas along the coast.

Goa remains a stark reminder of many social issues, despite the obvious benefits of a massive tourism industry. Social issues such as a poorly developed educational infrastructure and it’s almost 3rd world health institutions are still in need of a large scale undertaking from Goa’s government. But, Goa’s beaches is India’s most well known and beloved beach destinations because of it’s music, food and climate. So, my volunteer home base in Goa is situated only 2 kilometers from Colva beach in southern Goa. It’s 30 kilometers long and the palm trees and silver sands is one of the least explored regions. Colva is also the oldest, largest and my personal favorite. I hire a bike, and being a volunteer, I only pay 50 INDR per day. If I had an international license I could hire a scooter to get around, but, I have gotten into better shape using the bike because I not only help with Colva beach, I also travel 6 kilometers to Margao beach . Magao is 25 kilometers long and has the finest white sand lining along the shores studded with coconut palms extending all the way to Bogmalo.

I had a friend fly in from the States and she booked a Goa India Hotel right on the very beach i was assigned to that week. Very fortunate indeed, so not only was I contributing to the betterment of the Goan beaches, I also got to experience the wonderful offerings of a luxury hotel, which my friend was happy to include me in her daily spa treatments. Very nice indeed. But, I too got to treat her to two spectacular beaches and show her around some less touristy hot-spots and show off my newly volunteered shaped body.

Tags: Goa, Goa beaches, goa india hotel, goa volunteering, himalayas, india

Cape Town Restaurants

Cape Town is a well-known city in South Africa and is also one of the country’s most popular tourists centers. People from all over the world are attracted to its cultural aspects, dining and entertainment options and also its beautiful beaches. Tourists who come to explore this dynamic city are often interested in experiencing the local cuisine as part of their experience. The best Cape Town restaurants are located near some of the 5 star hotels which makes accessing them even easier, and sometimes offers the opportunity for late night after hour hunger strikes.

Catherine’s Restaurant has recently reopened and boasts a new and fashionable contemporary look for this 90 seat eatery. The interior features custom made timber based furniture with tactile fabrics. This is an extremely comfortable atmosphere to go with great food. Along with its new look, chef Garth Almazan has developed a new menu that features a lot of contemporary South African Cuisine. The restaurant will continue with its Sunday Jazz Luncheon, which offers great music along with a fabulous buffet. This is an extremely popular luncheon and the perfect end for many people’s weekends. The restaurant also has a fire place, which adds to the ambiance, and keeps people warm on cold rainy days.

Bouillabaisse Restaurant has finally opened in Cape Town. It has been known throughout South Africa and has finally arrived in this great and eagerly awaiting city. The restaurant has been extremely popular with tourists in other parts of South Africa and Cape Town is one of the country’s most popular vacation cities and Bouillabaisse hopes to generate the same kind of enthusiasm for its new location. One of the unique aspects of this restaurant is the menu structure. It is not based on the traditional appetizer, entree and side order format. The dishes are all freshly prepared in the open kitchen, and guests are allowed to order anything at anytime.

Tags: best cape town restaurants, Cape Town, cape town restaurants, South Africa

Dubai Sugar Conference

When looking for five-star hotels, Dubai offers a multitude of choices. Set in one of the world’s hotspots, Dubai is a sumptuous combination of old-world hospitality and new-world amenities. With an exciting music scene, a blossoming art world, and the presence of extremely high tech shopping malls in the same place as some old market districts, Dubai is a city of curiosities. The number of recent expats setting down roots here is a testimony to the attraction of the place. There is the solitude of the desert, but there is also the extreme social life on the beach. Whether the purpose of the trip is business or pleasure, there is something for everyone.

Sugar plays a very important part in Dubai culture, and in the UAE generally. A key ingredient in the delicious baked sweets recipes, generous amounts stirred into mind-bogglingly good coffee, and used quite liberally in other culinary concoctions, sugar is a magic elixir. Sugar, of course, has a long and peculiar history, and its story is by no means unfinished. In Dubai, sugar refineries are shifting from India to Brazil for the favorite sugar exporter. The distance between Dubai and Brazil is much, much further than between Dubai and India, but the cost is so much less for Brazil’s sugar, that buying patterns are changing. In Brazil, the choice is often between exporting unrefined sugar or ethanol, but changes in petrol consumption and production are starting to shift, which will be fascinating to watch in the global market in the coming years.

Sugar’s importance here is further exemplified by the Dubai Sugar Conference. Held in this city for five years running, the conference focuses on world trends in sugar production, exportation, and consumption in the world. Last years conference had 411 delegates representing 29 countries, from Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Asia & Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. It is attended by shippers, consultants, traders, producers, refiners, and bankers. Lately focusing on issues of contemporary sugar and ethanol consumption, the conference is a chance to network on some of the most important issues facing the sugar world today.

Tags: dubai, dubai hotels, five star hotels dubai, sugar

Jimmy J. Walker, New York Mayor, USA

During the 20th Century, the United States was shifting ideas on cultural and moral issues,and this is exemplified by the city of New York USA, hotel and tourism businesses, the arts, the community and the Mayor of NYC in the 1920′s. James J. Walker. Walker was elected mayor in 1925, after spending the first half of the decade as a Democratic senator. This was a time in American History of easy ideas of virtue, money and vice. Walker was the personification of attitudes of rebellion during the era, attitudes that went against the restrictions placed upon society and culture. The ban on the sale of alcohol had begun with the Volstead Act of 1919, and although it was illegal to sell it, it was not illegal to consume it. The nightclubs had been providing release and social interaction, and the US government professed that this was immoral and was looking to discourage the newest craze, nightclubbing, in New York City. For at no other time in US history had there been such a concentration of clubs, than on 42nd Street, in New York City.

Walker, like other city mayors such as the Daley’s of Chicago today,tended to look the other way when their cities are thriving, even if it be through means not necessarily legal. When Walker became the mayor of the city, more than thirty-two thousand ‘speakeasies’ were in operation. This was a booming industry in the city, and Walker looked the other way, at the same time pushing legislation through which made him the endearment of the working class, the legalization of baseball, movies, boxing and post-service entertainment on Sundays. He understood the need for entertainment and relief from the work week and was in turn, elected mayor. For the people of New York at this time, he was their mayor. A man with the charisma that rivaled even the most celebrated stars of Broadway. And for a very long time, in the history of the city, he was well loved, and he provided an abundance of opportunity to the citizens of his city.

Tags: hotels new york, Jimmy Walker, new york, new york usa hotel

Libations Bali

Western tourist are arriving into Bali , by the thousands, every day and are being told they can only drink local beer, rice wine, fruit lassies and soft drinks. Interesting news for Bali’s tourism business and it begs the questions “Why?” After all, the libation industry is a very important and extremely profitable business for the Hotel in Bali Indonesia and all local restaurants and bars; how could anyone mess up like this? Well, really, no one has ‘messed’ up, despite being the official line; the real truth is about as drinkable as a warm glass of milk.

The official reason given involves a string of misinformation. Like, ‘The state owned importer forgot to order anything’, or ‘The customs department is in the state of reorganization’, or ‘This is all connected with a smuggling ring where the smugglers are using counterfeit duty seals’. One has to smile because this kind of reasoning or rather an attempt of deception or, perhaps, a deflection repeated time and time again in Indonesia when something goes wrong is actually amusing. But, if one looks long at the snippets between the lines, one will find the real reason. The Indonesian Military (TNI) control the alcohol business in Bali. The TNI operate mostly clandestine businesses in Indonesia, such as alcohol and security for major foreign corporations. Now, I ask you, who even thought of making the military in charge of Alcohol distribution? So, now in Bali, there is now an initiative from the civilian administration headed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to separate the TNI from running any business at all.

Recently, the International community have been encouraging the civilian administration AKA the Indonesian Government to get their armed forces out of politics and business. Part of this process was to have the TNI publicly reveal all of the official companies that they are in charge of. The TNI reported they only control 6 businesses and most of those are owned along with the civilian administration / government. They further stated that they do not keep any money in the businesses they operate and use the state assets to keep the businesses running. I’ll drink to that.

Tags: bali, hotel in bali indonesia, indonesia, liquor in bali

Shrek in New York on Broadway

Shrek is a popular animated film that was turned into a Broadway musical. For the staged version, the music was written by Jeanine Tesori and the book and lyrics were written by David Lindsay-Abaire. It opened in December of 2008 at The Broadway Theatre in New York. Musicals are one of the most popular aspects of Broadway productions and they continually draw huge crowds from the local audience as well as from tourists who come to the city specifically to see a Broadway show. Guests staying in a best New York City hotel can often receive ticket information and assistance for the concierge.

The original animate film first opened in theaters in 2001. It had an all-star cast including Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, John Lithgow and Mike Myers. Chris Farley was originally cast for the voice of Shrek and had completed much of the voice over work. Unfortunately he died before the film was completed and he was replaced by Mike Myers. It was based on William Steig’s 1990 faire tale picture book by the same name. It was produced by Dream Works and its success helped to establish the company as a prime competitor of Disney, which is an extremely difficult status to achieve. The story revolves around the character Shrek who is a peaceful ogre who enjoys his solitude. His quite life is interrupted by a myriad of fantastic creatures who entice him to join them on their quest to free the captive princess Fiona.

The transition to its staged version was somewhat complicated, though as has become popular with successful animated films, it was emanate. This marks a transition in audience targeting, and the majority of these shows are aimed toward families with children. They usually contain themes and circumstances that adults appreciate as well, which keeps the parents interested and happy. The staged version of Shrek proved to be an enormous success and received 8 Tony Award nominations, including that for Best Musical. It also received 12 Drama Desk nominations, 10 Outer Critic Circle Award nominations, and 3 Drama League Award nominations.

Tags: best mew york city hotel, mike myers, shrek

Facebook In Goa out of MySpace

I’ve been on the social networking site MySpace for over five years. I just now signed up to Facebook because all of my friend prefer Facebook over MySpace . I really resisted creating a Facebook account because I put so much time into building up my MySpace site and was very attached and dedicated to it, like it was a dear friend. So, when I created my Facebook account, I felt I was betraying that old dear friend. But, now that I’ve been on Facebook for approximately a month now….I love it! I now know why my friends abandoned making daily entries on their MySpace site and strictly dedicate their social networking time on Facebook. It truly is a superior site. About the only thing I miss which MySpace offers that Facebook does not is the music. But, apparently, I don’t miss it enough because now I too strictly dedicate all my social networking time to Facebook.

I even found friends which have a Facebook account now living in Goa and working for the Goa hotels. It truly amazes me that when I was using Myspace, finding these people never occurred to me; never crossed my mind. But, it crossed the creators of Facebooks’ mind. They have created a program that check your current Facebook friends for common friends and add on top of that Facebook will suggest ‘Friending’ the common friends the common friends have. Truly amazing and ingenious. Not only have the creator of Facebook aid with finding old friends, they get you hooked on playing these little stupid games, like Farm Town or Mafia Wars which was terminated at one point, but brought back on line due to the demands of angry Facebookers that Mafia Wars was cancelled.

It seems MySpace has gone back to it’s original purpose of promoting Music and Musicians and has become less and less the hot social networking site. Of course there are those holdouts clinging tenaciously to their MySpace site either because they hate change or because, like how I was before my Facebook account, they have invested many hundreds of hours on creating their visual personality and compiled their favorite songs for their ever diminishing list of MySpace friends when they visit their frontpage. My staunchest MySpace friends consider me a trader. I must admit, when I do visit my MySpace friends it almost feels like I’m visiting a loved one in a convalescence home. Sad and desolate.

Tags: facebook, goa hotels, hotels goa, myspace

Madrid Celebrates May 2

Madrid is an amazing city, full of a rich cultural heritage and a vibrant arts scene. It also has a significant place in Spanish history and the gaining of its independence. While today, tourists are fascinated by the many landmarks and entertainment options of the city, they often overlook its historic importance. A romantic meal at one of the best Madrid restaurants is more likely to include a discussion of the museums and other cultural attractions, than Madrid’s magnificent history.

The day of the second of May, Dos de Mayo holds a significant place in Madrid’s and Spanish history. That day in 1808 the residents formed a rebellion against the occupational troops of France, which triggered the great war for Spanish Independence. The repressive forces of Imperial France were finally being seriously fought against and the struggle created a significant cultural transition for Spain. At that point, the city of Madrid had been under the occupation of Napoleon’s army from March 23. Meanwhile, the abdication of King Charles IV had been forced and he was replaced by his much-favored son Ferdinand VII.

On that fateful day in May, a large crowed began to gather outside of the Royal Palace Madrid. They were there to prevent the removal of Francisco de Paula to the French city of Bayonne. When this happened, a battalion from the Imperial Guard was sent to fire upon the crowd. This had the effect of dispersing them throughout the city, where riots and violence soon erupted. This event was captured in the famous painting by Francisco Goya, The Charge of the Mamelukes, which depicts the fighting in the streets. The resistance was suppressed that day, however, it inspired greater enthusiasm and strength in Spain’s efforts for Freedom. Today May 2 is honored as a holiday in Madrid and the surrounding region. The original barracks of Monteleon are now a square called Plaza 2 de Mayo. The surrounding area is known as Malasana, in memory of a young teenage woman who was murdered by the French troops.

Tags: best madrid restaurants, francisco goya, Madrid, madrid restaurants, Spain, spain restaurants

De-Stress with Hawaii Travel

One of the best ways to take the stress away is booking a vacation to Hawaii. There is no better way to dissolve all your cares than to spend time on a beautiful tropical isle with nothing to do but enjoy the sun, water, and sand. With gorgeous nature all around you, you have your pick of a thousand things to do, whether its swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, surfing, hiking, horseback riding, fishing, golf, or simply pulling that beach chair closer to the shore’s edge and listening to the waves softly lapping by your feet. By night you can take long walks under the Hawaiian moon, dine in some of the best restaurants imaginable, enjoy an authentic luau, dance the night away at a local disco, sip tropical drinks in an ocean side bar, or take an evening cruise. Visiting each island brings a special thrill as they all have their distinct personalities. Take a Kauai vacation, for example, and then visit Lanai and Maui. Whatever you do, you will be doing it in one of nature’s great paradises. So call your travel agent or book a trip online and take yourself to a place where you can throw all your worries to the wind. You will come home like a new person, refreshed, in balance, and with a nice little tan to boot on your Hawaii vacation.

Tags: Hawaii, Hawaii vacation, Kauai vacation