KHL GIRLS!
Russia’s KHL (Kontinental Hockey League) features girls at every game!
The Kontinental Hockey League was founded in 2008 and is considered the top hockey league in Europe and second only to the NHL in the world. The KHL is comprised of 26 teams across 7 countries, 20 of which are based in Russia. The KHL is a top destination for many NHLers during the lockout for it’s skill-level and proximity to home for European NHL players. As this lockout continues on you’ll be seeing and hearing a lot more about the KHL with some of the NHL’s biggest stars competing in the rival league.
Each team in the KHL plays a 56 game season with 4 games against teams in their division and and two games against non-divisional teams. Teams are divided into two conferences and then divided into four divisions named after Russian legends: Bobrov Division, Tarasov Division, Kharlamov Division, and Chernyshev Divison. The playoffs run pretty similar to the NHL’s in that the top 8 teams in each conference qualify and play best-of-seven series until the two conference champions face off to be the Champion of Russia.
And here’s a little gallery of the girls that are at every KHL game. Do you have a favorite?
CYBER SPECIAL!
Weekly World News is throwing a Cyber Monday Party at the WWN Store! Aliens will be in attendance!
Cyber Monday 2012 is officially underway and the best Cyber Party, the best deals, the best Bat Boy paraphernalia can ONLY be found at:
Free Shipping on all orders of $20 or more!!! Forget Call of Duty, Black Ops, forget Squinkies, forget iPhones or iPads or IPORN – what that special someone in life REALLY wants is to be part of Bat Boy Nation!
Here’s just SOME great gift ideas for the holidays:
1) The Bat Boy Bobblehead
3) GOING MUTANT- Bat Boy Exposed
4) Custom Framed WWN Covers
*FREE SHIPPING on all orders over 20$! So, come join the party!
Here’s the Today Show talking about Cyber Monday madness. Matt will be attending the WWN Cyber Monday party in cyberspace:
Hotel Review: Andaz Napa in Napa, Calif.
A much needed alternative to Napa’s cutesy bed-and-breakfasts and wine-centric resorts, from $199 to $339.
BASICS
Opened in September in the shell of a former Avia hotel, the 141-room Andaz Napa is the first in Hyatt’s stylish Andaz chain in the Bay Area. Tech-savvy touches (guests are checked in by roaming staff members carrying iPads) and Napa-focused features (from the artful map on the lobby wall to the locally produced toiletries) make this Andaz seem surprisingly at home in Northern California.
LOCATION
While the area’s allure — hills lined with vineyards, celebrated restaurants and rural beauty — lies in its small towns and countryside, there’s much to be said for a downtown hotel. Minutes off Highway 29, the main artery through the valley, Andaz Napa is also within several blocks of a dozen or so tasting rooms, the Oxbow Public Market and Napa’s revitalized riverfront.
THE ROOM
The hotel’s common areas evoke an arty, youthful, cosmopolitan sensibility, but rooms are more subdued and rooted in Northern California cool. There are greens, browns and creams, marble and wood-grain, maroon and gray. They range from my Andaz King, which was only somewhat larger (though several notches more luxurious) than a standard motel room, to the 945-square-foot Vintner Suite with a double-sided fireplace and balcony.
On a recent visit, local Fatted Calf beef jerky, a seasonal tomato salad and sourdough crostini were delivered as a free snack upon check-in. It made up for the dirty, half-empty mini-fridge, which included Fentimans fermented soda and craft beer from North Coast brewery and Anderson Valley Brewing Company. The countertop mini-bar had a modest selection of artisanal liquors, like gin from Alameda’s St. George Spirits.
THE BATHROOM
Spacious and austere, the marble and glass room had a large walk-in shower with a waterfall head and a small teak bench. True to its all-things-local approach, bath products are Lydia Mondavi’s 29, named for the Napa highway.
AMENITIES
The hotel doesn’t have its own workout room, but has partnered with a full-service gym next door that offers yoga, Pilates mat, Zumba and other classes. There are also frequent wine tastings in the lobby, a hardwood roof deck with porch swings and a fire pit, free wireless Internet and free self-parking (valet is $17).
The Farmers Table restaurant has the obligatory locavore menu, complete with a list of purveyors and uninspired but appetizing dishes like herb-broiled California sea bass with roasted vegetables ($20) and a grass-fed beef burger ($15). While service was slow and indifferent, the homey dining room (think green velvet couches, communal tables and a glowing fireplace) is a pleasant place to wait.
ROOM SERVICE
An after-dinner order of chocolate cake and camomile tea arrived in 20 minutes, with friendly instructions on steeping time. A $3 delivery fee and an 18 percent tip were charged automatically to the room.
BOTTOM LINE
While the staff can seem a bit too laid-back, business travelers, wedding parties and urbanites will appreciate the hotel’s contemporary style, downtown location and bustling lobby bar.
A ‘Little Jerusalem’ in the Heart of Italy
Over the years, I have gently teased them about their custom. Who appointed them Chroniclers of the Jews Worldwide? And yet, the older I become, the more I find myself following in their path.
And so, when I was in Rome recently and heard about a tiny medieval village in Tuscany called Pitigliano (known as La Piccola Gerusalemme or Little Jerusalem) I wanted to see it. My plan was to spend a day in this walled town in the Maremma region in the province of Grosseto, about 105 miles northwest of Rome. Pitigliano is blessedly untouristy, with only about 25,000 visitors a year. Most want to explore the Jewish culture, although some are simply besotted with the idea of yet another impossibly magnificent Italian village.
And that it is. As I drove up the winding road to the hill town, 1,026 feet above sea level, I was reminded of the first time I saw Jerusalem. With its parapets, ceramic tile roofs and multitiered buildings perched on layers of red volcanic tufa stone, Pitigliano resembles a sparkling, pint-size Holy City. The village, which was originally settled by the Etruscans, was once home to a thriving Jewish population that had settled there in the early part of the 16th century. They came mainly from the nearby Lazio region, which bordered the anti-Semitic Roman Papal States that periodically drove out Jews.
In Pitigliano, I met with a local guide, Rafaella Agresti, whose English was impeccable. Together, we walked through the medieval gate into the old city, passing the Orsini Palace, a 14th-century fortress, now a museum, and the even older Church of San Rocco. The remnants of a 17th-century aqueduct built by the Medici family runs through town.
As we navigated the narrow streets, Ms. Agresti told me that the Jews and Christians of Pitigliano had led a peaceful coexistence. In the 16th century, Count Niccolo Orsini IV, a member of the feudal Orsini family, ruled Pitigliano, an independent fief whose inhabitants were mainly peasants. Although he was Catholic, he thought Jews, mostly bankers and artisans, could help revitalize Pitigliano’s lagging economy. So, while Jews in places like Umbria and Lazio were imprisoned or exiled, in Pitigliano they worked as moneylenders, carpenters, cobblers and tailors.
That good will changed somewhat after the Medici family, which was appointed by the Pope, came into power. In 1622, the Jews in Pitigliano were confined to a ghetto; men were required to wear red hats, and women red badges on their sleeves. Still, the relationship between Jews and non-Jews was friendly; in 1773, the liberal Catholic Grand Duke of Tuscany, Pietro Leopoldo, officially recognized the Jews of Pitigliano, which meant they could come and go as they wished. In 1799 the ghetto was desegregated, and by 1850 there were about 400 Jews in town, roughly 10 percent of the population. But 11 years later that population began to shrink when the Jews of a unified Italy were granted equal rights and allowed to move freely about the country. Many left for Florence, Rome and elsewhere.
By 1938, when the Fascist racial laws were applied, only about 60 Jews were living in Pitigliano, among them the family of Elena Servi.
Now 82, Ms. Servi, who was born in Pitigliano, has dedicated her life to preserving and restoring her hometown’s Jewish history. I was eager to meet her at the Little Jerusalem Association (lapiccolagerusalemme.it), a cultural organization comprising about 150 Jews and non-Jews from around the world. Ms. Servi founded the association in 1996 with her son, Enrico Spizzichino. It is situated inside a series of interconnected buildings, one of which houses the Jewish Museum of Culture.
Ms. Agresti and I walked beneath an arch with a half-moon-shaped sign emblazoned with the words “La Piccola Gerusalemme: Antico Quartiere Ebraico” (Old Jewish Quarter) and into the museum, where Ms. Servi was behind the counter. Since she does not speak English, we communicated in a mixture of Hebrew and my limited Italian.
“We had no problems with non-Jews,” she said. “We were friends, sharing our matzo from Passover and their chocolate from Easter.” She credits her survival during World War II to the Catholic farmers in the valley who protected her and her family from the Germans. She also hid in a cave with her family for three months while neighbors took food and water to them. When she emerged, only about 30 Jewish families were left in Pitigliano. Other than a decade in Israel, she has lived her whole life in Pitigliano.
I descended a steep staircase into cavern-like rooms to find the ritual bath, or mikvah; a forno delle azzime, or oven for baking leavened and unleavened bread (which was in use until 1939); a textile-dyeing room; a wine cellar; and a kosher butcher — all of which are dug into the tufa stone. Sunlight streamed through windows, which had been carved into the stone.
Although services are no longer held in the neighboring synagogue, it is open for viewing. The gold-and-white building, with its carved pews, wooden pulpit and Holy Ark, was restored to its 1598 splendor after the roof collapsed in 1961. From their gallery upstairs, women glimpsed the goings-on through an intricate wooden screen, as was customary in Orthodox Judaism. In the courtyard a plaque commemorates the 22 Jews born in Pitigliano who were killed in concentration camps.
While the Jewish community today consists of only Ms. Servi, her son, a nephew and three grandchildren, there is no mistaking the Jewish influence in Pitigliano. Sfratti — stick-shaped biscuits filled with ground walnuts, honey, nutmeg, orange peel and wrapped in dough — are a local delicacy. The word sfratti is derived from sfratto, meaning eviction in Italian. Legend has it that the police would hit Jews with rods to force them into the ghettos; the Jews subsequently transformed their pain into something edible. (A good place to try the sweet, crunchy treat is at Panificio del Ghetto at 167 Via Zuccarelli, near the synagogue.)
Hebrew words have also penetrated the local dialect. Gadol, Hebrew for big, has morphed into “Gadollo” in Pitigliano. Kasher,a variant of kosher, means loosely, nice or O.K. Many homes still have mezuzas.
Non-Jewish culture also influenced the Jews, most notably in the Jewish cemetery hidden in a cypress grove along State Road 74. One can make private arrangements to visit through the Little Jerusalem Association. Unlike traditional Jewish cemeteries, some of the graves there feature monuments of angels and a statue of a young girl — a nod to the Christian way of “giving grief a face,” as Ms. Servi put it.
THE Jewish quarter is only a block or so long, and the rest of Pitigliano is small. It took only about three hours to wander the ghetto and the labyrinth of streets, winding stairways, piazzas and shops in the historic district. After about five minutes I was hopelessly lost and enjoying every second of it. The locals are welcoming in that extraordinary Italian way, always ready with a smile and a wave. Men sat on benches sipping the wine they had made in their cellars. They happily offered a taste, and I happily accepted.
Each street and alleyway culminates in a spectacular view of rolling hills dotted with olive groves, chestnut, oak and pine trees. The region is punctuated with tunnels and caves etched into the tufa stone, called Vie Caves (Etruscan Pathways).
Exhausted after so much wandering, I found an outdoor table at the Hostaria del Ceccottino (Piazza San Gregorio VII, 64; ceccottino.com), a neighborhood spot near the ghetto. I ordered a mozzarella and tomato salad and a glass of Pitigliano’s crisp white wine, bianco de Pitigliano.
Before leaving, I did as my parents do when they travel, and made a small contribution to the Little Jerusalem Association. Ms. Servi’s words made sense to me. “Who knows what’s going to happen to this place in 20 years?” she said. “We must preserve the past as long as possible.”
IF YOU GO: WHERE TO STAYAlbergo Guastini (Piazza Petruccioli; albergoguastini.it) is the only hotel in the old town. Some of the inn’s rooms have magnificent views, and it has a terrific restaurant. Prices for a double range from 50 to 90 euros (about $62 to $112, at $1.25 to the euro) until Dec. 20.
Il Tufo Rosa (Piazza F. Petruccioli 97-101; iltuforosa.com) offers six rooms in a restored house in the old town. Each room is named for a countess who played an important role in Pitigliano’s history. The owners also produce extra virgin olive oil. Prices for a double room are 55 to 68 euros a night.
Terme di Saturnia Spa and Golf Resort (termedisaturnia.it). A 30-minute drive outside Pitigliano is the 15th-century town of Saturnia, famous for its mineral springs. This luxurious destination spa, built around a 3,000-year-old mineral pool, is the only hotel in the area to offer a “heritage tour” package of Jewish Pitigliano, which includes three nights in a deluxe room; a daily buffet breakfast; dinner in the restaurant Aqualuce; a massage; complimentary use of the thermal pools and Roman baths; and a guided tour of Pitigliano. Rates start at 2,014 euros (based on double occupancy).
White water rafting and more in Kaudiyala
Every time you visit the Holy Ganges you experience something new and mind you the experience gets even enriching as you scale new heights and move beyond Haridwar and Rishikesh.
Purity of the Ganges, unmatched beauty and unfolding adventure at every step and level sets one's pulse racing. This area has something to offer for every age bracket and each personality type. Be it the spiritual set looking for peace and tranquility or hard core nature lovers to explore nature's bounty or the adventurous lot (like me) who are just looking for a life changing experience, the terrain has a lot to offer.
The area that is situated along the Ganges on the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway, has presence of large number of camps that offer nature, spiritual and adventure tours.
Situated on the banks of the mighty Ganga, these camps are themselves experience worth living for.
Located 270 kilometers from Delhi on the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway, Kaudiyala, has been a halt over for the pilgrims to the char dham yatra.
Approximately a 7 hour drive from Delhi, Kaudiyala is beyond conventional camping sites located in Rishikesh, Shivpuri and Byasi. Kaudiyala, is well connect by road, from Rishikesh and Haridwar, with the later being connected by rail from mall major cities.
The camp we chose to stay at Kaudiyala was the camp Ganga Riveria, located off Rishikesh-Badrinath highway, near Mahadev Chatti. The camp was 3 kilometer or 15 minutes walk from the highway, through natural surroundings and a quaint jhoola pul (suspended bridge), that was the old pilgrim's path to Badrinath. Located in peaceful setting and serene ambience, the camp provided an ideal setting for every human need.
The next level of adventure came in the form of rappelling or abseiling, waterfall climbing and an experience to get through from a 40ft waterfall.
But what was still awaiting us was in true sense was the rapid-fire round in the form of a rafting expedition. The stretch from Devprayag and Rishikesh has been on rafting and adventure tourism map of the country for decades now! There is nothing quite like the 'pure energy high' one gets from riding foaming white water rapids. The rafting stretch between Kaudiyala and Rishikesh, offers some of the fast action white water rapids. With opportunities for plenty of bodysurfing and bird watching, the rafting stretch offers an opportunity to enjoy the natural surrounding.
Starting from Daniel's Dip at Kaudiyala to begin with and then the biggest rapid on the Ganga - The Wall, Marine Drive, Three Blind Mice, Roller Coaster, Golf Course, Club House and Initiation are some of the rapids that can let one overcome the fear of life and death.
Save the ancient Hindu temple caves!
Not many know that amidst a slum dwelling inJogeshwari lie India's most ancient Hindu temple caves
History and sightseeing enthusiasts from the city often make trips to different parts of the state and the country to explore ruins, forts and rock-cut caves, while so many actually lie right under our noses — one such being the Jogeshwari caves.
These caves are well worth a visit as it was the first large Hindu stone-cut temple, say historians and archaeologists. Archaeological Survey of India's Superintending Archaeologist Madan Singh Chauhan writes about the caves, "It is one of the finest specimens of Brahmanical rock-cut architecture and bears similarity with other splendour specimens like the Elephanta caves' Cave 1 and the Ellora." Dating back to the 520 to 550 AD, the cave is dedicated to Lord Shiva and has a sculpture representation of Shiv Parvati playing the dyuta among other things.
Over the years, the local community has set up many deities in the caves. The Pathare Prabhu community set up the temple of the Hindu deity Jogeshwari Mata, after whom the locality gets its name. This temple reportedly dates back to 200 years, say historians. The cave also houses an ancient Shiva temple, a Dattatray temple, a Hanuman and a Ganesh temple.
Considered the longest ancient Hindu cave, in 1909, the British Government notified it as an archeological site, but it was only in 1931 that the caves became more accessible, eminent historian and activist, late Sharada Dwivedi once mentioned to this writer.
Its rock-cut passage is eight feet wide and around 50 feet long and leads to an open courtyard, which opens into a portico with 10 pillars. This portico was once very richly carved. The main sanctum has 20 pillars that divides the basalt stone caves into four aisles and the central hall. There are carvings all over. Unfortunately, leakage has destroyed most of it.
However, the ASI sprung into action to salvage whatever was left after a PIL was filed to protect the city's ancient caves in 2008.
Dwivedi told Bombay Times once how after reading about the "pathetic conditions" of the caves in the papers, she visited the sites with her driver and photographer. "I saw for myself that there was no regard for the ancient structure. All kinds of anti-social elements crowded the place." Dwivedi later went on to be a part of a special committee set up to study the historic caves in Mumbai after the PIL by an NGO demanded their protection.
Even the ASI officials had then acknowledged that the Jogeshwari Caves were the worst affected. "In 2005-2006, more than 600 trucks of debris was cleared from the rooftops of the caves," an official from the restoration wing of ASI tells us. And post the submission of the report by the special committee in 2009, ASI authorities started with restoration of the pillars and covered all openings with a mesh to tackle the bat menace.
Says the official, "Due to accumulation of rain water over the years, the pillars, that were last restored in the 1960s had decayed. In 2011, we restored all the pillars with RCC work, leaving one at the entrance, for people to identify how the original looked," he says.
Today, while a lot of the carvings have been lost due to unchecked leakage, encroachment and misuse, miscreants who'd earlier crowd the caves are at least no more. Instead, one often finds local school children coming here to find some solitude in the company of their books. A lot more, however, remains to be done.
History and sightseeing enthusiasts from the city often make trips to different parts of the state and the country to explore ruins, forts and rock-cut caves, while so many actually lie right under our noses — one such being the Jogeshwari caves.
These caves are well worth a visit as it was the first large Hindu stone-cut temple, say historians and archaeologists. Archaeological Survey of India's Superintending Archaeologist Madan Singh Chauhan writes about the caves, "It is one of the finest specimens of Brahmanical rock-cut architecture and bears similarity with other splendour specimens like the Elephanta caves' Cave 1 and the Ellora." Dating back to the 520 to 550 AD, the cave is dedicated to Lord Shiva and has a sculpture representation of Shiv Parvati playing the dyuta among other things.
Over the years, the local community has set up many deities in the caves. The Pathare Prabhu community set up the temple of the Hindu deity Jogeshwari Mata, after whom the locality gets its name. This temple reportedly dates back to 200 years, say historians. The cave also houses an ancient Shiva temple, a Dattatray temple, a Hanuman and a Ganesh temple.
Considered the longest ancient Hindu cave, in 1909, the British Government notified it as an archeological site, but it was only in 1931 that the caves became more accessible, eminent historian and activist, late Sharada Dwivedi once mentioned to this writer.
Its rock-cut passage is eight feet wide and around 50 feet long and leads to an open courtyard, which opens into a portico with 10 pillars. This portico was once very richly carved. The main sanctum has 20 pillars that divides the basalt stone caves into four aisles and the central hall. There are carvings all over. Unfortunately, leakage has destroyed most of it.
However, the ASI sprung into action to salvage whatever was left after a PIL was filed to protect the city's ancient caves in 2008.
Dwivedi told Bombay Times once how after reading about the "pathetic conditions" of the caves in the papers, she visited the sites with her driver and photographer. "I saw for myself that there was no regard for the ancient structure. All kinds of anti-social elements crowded the place." Dwivedi later went on to be a part of a special committee set up to study the historic caves in Mumbai after the PIL by an NGO demanded their protection.
Even the ASI officials had then acknowledged that the Jogeshwari Caves were the worst affected. "In 2005-2006, more than 600 trucks of debris was cleared from the rooftops of the caves," an official from the restoration wing of ASI tells us. And post the submission of the report by the special committee in 2009, ASI authorities started with restoration of the pillars and covered all openings with a mesh to tackle the bat menace.
Says the official, "Due to accumulation of rain water over the years, the pillars, that were last restored in the 1960s had decayed. In 2011, we restored all the pillars with RCC work, leaving one at the entrance, for people to identify how the original looked," he says.
Today, while a lot of the carvings have been lost due to unchecked leakage, encroachment and misuse, miscreants who'd earlier crowd the caves are at least no more. Instead, one often finds local school children coming here to find some solitude in the company of their books. A lot more, however, remains to be done.
Visit the pristine Kumaon Himalayas
Domestic tourism has received a shot in the arm with campaigns to popularise even lesser-known tourist destinations.
Can you recollect Big B's ad promoting Gujarat Tourism, Kerala's 'Gods own country' ad campaign and so many others? The tourism ministry is promoting India as a hot destination for discerning traveler under the slogan 'Incredible India'.
India is abound with rich culture and heritage, ancient monuments, forts, high altitude, snow-capped mountains in the North, beaches in South and a number of exotic virgin destinations to visit.
With the mercury level rising, a vacation to cooler regions is the need of the hour. Some people prefer to relax on the beach whereas a few like seeing the ethnic culture of the city whereas others like to endorse themselves in sports or hiking activities the location has to offer.
According to Sunil Maithani, public relation officer, Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd, Uttarakhand has picturesque sights, the weather is salubrious and the people are friendly. "Uttarakhand is the heartland of Himalayas. A wide expanse between the Himalays in the north and the Shivalik range in the south, it offers the most breathtaking views of the mighty peaks; mist covered deep gorges and verdant valleys. This state is also popularly known as 'Abode of Gods' as it includes many shrines and places of pilgrimage and nature lovers."
Uttarakhand is a popular spot for pilgrims. "Chardham, the four most sacred and revered Hindutemples- Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri are always been hot favourite during summer. The route is blessed with magnificent glaciers, majestic snow-clad mountains, gigantic peaks, valley of flowers and dense forest which attract all ages. Besides Chardham in Garhwal Himalays, Mussoorie, Dhanaulty, Lansdowne, Harsil and in Kumaon Himalayas, Binsar, Mukteshwar, are also known for their pristine beauty. Nature is something to feel and absorb so the only travel tip for those who are planning to visit Uttarakhand is to travel less and stay more. Stroll around the hills, breath pure air to rejuvenate the inner soul, go for a trek, visit local temples and see the mists encircling the town with its mysterious sound in any sudden hour of the day. Just unwind, to recharge your energy," says Sunil.
Ajit Sane, president of Yuvashakti speaks about adventure tourism, "Adventure tourism is traveling to remote, exotic and possibly virgin areas. Destinations like Manali, Rishikesh, Darjeeling, Nainital and Pithoragarh are becoming the new hubs of adventure tourism in India. These places are continuously adding to their adventure infrastructure in terms of new and safe equipment and trained experts.
Elaborating on the destinations, Ajit adds, "Rishikesh is the center for White Water Rafting with most of the white sand beaches along the Ganges. Very safe rafts with imported material, internationally trained guides and excellent camping facilities are now readily available. Manali is known for its beautiful trekking routes, which attract thousands of student groups.
Private Jets: The No-Frill Option
A number of companies are implementing the same strategies
that have turned low-cost airlines into success stories in the exclusive
private jet business.
Air transport is a merciless business. It’s capital and labor intensive and, while an airline might enjoy load factors nearing 100 percent, a spike in fuel prices can wipe out any profits.
Airlines flying above the turbulence, however, are low-cost carriers. Companies such as Dallas-based Southwest Airlines and EasyJet in Europe have expanded their fleets and raked in profits as full-service competitors mothballed aircrafts and filed for bankruptcy.
Alex Wilcox, a pragmatic Vermonter, who moonlighted during college as a baggage handler at Burlington’s quaint international airport, has taken a page out of the low-cost playbook and applied the industry’s focus on costs to the high-priced private jet business. Three years ago Wilcox convinced a group of A-list investors, including JetBlue founder David Neeleman and shoe salesman extraordinaire Tony Hsieh, who founded online retailer Zappos, to bankroll his vision of a low-cost private jet company called JetSuite, which is based in Irvine, California.
“We’re not about champagne and chateaubriand steaks,” explains Wilcox. “What we offer is a service, a transportation service.”
Wilcox is not the only entrepreneur eyeing profits in the relatively new low-cost private jet segment. Another is Massachusetts-based Linear Air, which aims to offer a “business jet service for less than first class.”
A Photo Tour of The World’s Cheapest and Priciest Private Jets
Linear Air charges roughly $7,000 to charter one of its jets for a
round-trip from Boston to Toronto. That works out to be about $1,750 a
seat, making Linear’s Toronto round-trip, on a per passenger basis,
significantly cheaper than the $2,500 paid on average for the same
flight on a commercial airline.
Linear Air chief operating officer Peter Schmidt tells The Financialist that these prices will “broaden the number of potential customers who can afford to book a private jet flight.”
As for JetSuite, its members pay between $2,950 and $3,150 an hour to travel on one of the company’s 13 jets. Customers can also charter a whole plane for $499 to $1,500 in last-minute deals posted every afternoon on Facebook and Twitter. JetSuite’s Wilcox says this is a good way to fill up jets flying empty. “At the very least the last-minute deals help pay for gas,” he explains.
Popular JetSuite routes include the virtual highway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas and San Francisco. It also flies in Texas and earlier this summer expanded its East Coast service, starting flights between New Jersey’s Teterboro airport and Nantucket, as well as to Toronto, Boston and Chicago.
Linear and JetSuite can afford to charge these competitive prices because they use some of the same strategies that turned Southwest from a modest airline that bridged a few Texas cities into one of America’s largest passenger carriers. Like Southwest, both JetSuite and Linear use a single type of aircraft, which, according to Wilcox, “saves money across the board: in pilot training, fuel and aircraft maintenance.” While JetSuite uses the fuel-efficient Embraer Phenom 100 jet, Linear operates 15 Eclipse 500 aircrafts – a very light, twin-engine jet that can fly 800 nautical miles.
While Embraer’s Phenom 100 costs about $4 million, the Eclipse 500 retails for $2.1 million. These are relatively cheap jets compared with the $65 million price tag for the Rolls-Royce of the industry, the Gulfstream G650.
Wilcox is adamant that JetSuite’s toy-looking planes, which sport large red stripes on their tops, aren’t just catering to the platinum set looking for a quick Vegas getaway.
But well-crafted business plans and first-mover advantages don’t always shield private jet operators from the pitfalls of the air transport industry. Take the case of industry pioneer DayJet, a low-cost operator which in 2007 set out to connect small airports throughout the US Southeast by selling individual seats on one of its four Eclipse 500s — the same jets used by Linear Air. For five years the company executed a detailed business plan, raised growth capital and was poised to order up to 270 Eclipse jets. But DayJet stumbled during the Great Recession in 2008. Unable to secure financing, it was forced to file for bankruptcy less than a year after it began flying.
Linear and JetSuite are confident that their low-cost prices will appeal to a large enough customer base to help them overcome the sluggish economy. “We are faster, better, in some cases cheaper and nicer than commercial airlines,” Schmidt explains.
This year JetSuite expects to generate roughly $14 million from its charter and retail business. To increase its load factor, the company has also struck partnerships with major carriers such as the deal inked earlier this year allowing Singapore Airlines passengers to connect in California and Texas on JetSuite planes. Linear says that in the past two years it has sold about 600 trips. As the economy improves, Schmidt says he’s confident it will be able to charter up to 3,000 trips across the US annually.
With private jet operators like JetSuite and Linear transforming private jets into a viable option for business people, yet another segment of the airline industry is being reinvented from the bottom up.
Photos: Eclipse Aerospace, JetSuite, Cessna Aircraft Company, Honda Aircraft Company, Gulfstream, Bombardier, The Boeing Company, Airbus
Air transport is a merciless business. It’s capital and labor intensive and, while an airline might enjoy load factors nearing 100 percent, a spike in fuel prices can wipe out any profits.
Airlines flying above the turbulence, however, are low-cost carriers. Companies such as Dallas-based Southwest Airlines and EasyJet in Europe have expanded their fleets and raked in profits as full-service competitors mothballed aircrafts and filed for bankruptcy.
Alex Wilcox, a pragmatic Vermonter, who moonlighted during college as a baggage handler at Burlington’s quaint international airport, has taken a page out of the low-cost playbook and applied the industry’s focus on costs to the high-priced private jet business. Three years ago Wilcox convinced a group of A-list investors, including JetBlue founder David Neeleman and shoe salesman extraordinaire Tony Hsieh, who founded online retailer Zappos, to bankroll his vision of a low-cost private jet company called JetSuite, which is based in Irvine, California.
“We’re not about champagne and chateaubriand steaks,” explains Wilcox. “What we offer is a service, a transportation service.”
Wilcox is not the only entrepreneur eyeing profits in the relatively new low-cost private jet segment. Another is Massachusetts-based Linear Air, which aims to offer a “business jet service for less than first class.”
A Photo Tour of The World’s Cheapest and Priciest Private Jets
Linear Air chief operating officer Peter Schmidt tells The Financialist that these prices will “broaden the number of potential customers who can afford to book a private jet flight.”
As for JetSuite, its members pay between $2,950 and $3,150 an hour to travel on one of the company’s 13 jets. Customers can also charter a whole plane for $499 to $1,500 in last-minute deals posted every afternoon on Facebook and Twitter. JetSuite’s Wilcox says this is a good way to fill up jets flying empty. “At the very least the last-minute deals help pay for gas,” he explains.
Popular JetSuite routes include the virtual highway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas and San Francisco. It also flies in Texas and earlier this summer expanded its East Coast service, starting flights between New Jersey’s Teterboro airport and Nantucket, as well as to Toronto, Boston and Chicago.
Linear and JetSuite can afford to charge these competitive prices because they use some of the same strategies that turned Southwest from a modest airline that bridged a few Texas cities into one of America’s largest passenger carriers. Like Southwest, both JetSuite and Linear use a single type of aircraft, which, according to Wilcox, “saves money across the board: in pilot training, fuel and aircraft maintenance.” While JetSuite uses the fuel-efficient Embraer Phenom 100 jet, Linear operates 15 Eclipse 500 aircrafts – a very light, twin-engine jet that can fly 800 nautical miles.
While Embraer’s Phenom 100 costs about $4 million, the Eclipse 500 retails for $2.1 million. These are relatively cheap jets compared with the $65 million price tag for the Rolls-Royce of the industry, the Gulfstream G650.
Wilcox is adamant that JetSuite’s toy-looking planes, which sport large red stripes on their tops, aren’t just catering to the platinum set looking for a quick Vegas getaway.
But well-crafted business plans and first-mover advantages don’t always shield private jet operators from the pitfalls of the air transport industry. Take the case of industry pioneer DayJet, a low-cost operator which in 2007 set out to connect small airports throughout the US Southeast by selling individual seats on one of its four Eclipse 500s — the same jets used by Linear Air. For five years the company executed a detailed business plan, raised growth capital and was poised to order up to 270 Eclipse jets. But DayJet stumbled during the Great Recession in 2008. Unable to secure financing, it was forced to file for bankruptcy less than a year after it began flying.
Linear and JetSuite are confident that their low-cost prices will appeal to a large enough customer base to help them overcome the sluggish economy. “We are faster, better, in some cases cheaper and nicer than commercial airlines,” Schmidt explains.
This year JetSuite expects to generate roughly $14 million from its charter and retail business. To increase its load factor, the company has also struck partnerships with major carriers such as the deal inked earlier this year allowing Singapore Airlines passengers to connect in California and Texas on JetSuite planes. Linear says that in the past two years it has sold about 600 trips. As the economy improves, Schmidt says he’s confident it will be able to charter up to 3,000 trips across the US annually.
With private jet operators like JetSuite and Linear transforming private jets into a viable option for business people, yet another segment of the airline industry is being reinvented from the bottom up.
Photos: Eclipse Aerospace, JetSuite, Cessna Aircraft Company, Honda Aircraft Company, Gulfstream, Bombardier, The Boeing Company, Airbus
Emirates expands, extends ‘Cash + Miles’ offer in Colombo
Emirates’
sensational ‘Cash + Miles’ offer in Sri Lanka has been extended and
expanded with more destinations in response to popular demand, the
award-winning airline announced this week.Valid for Sri Lanka-resident members of Skywards, the frequent flyer programme of Emirates, the offer now enables travellers to save on fares to nine popular destinations -- triple that of the original offer -- by paying part of the fare with accumulated Skywards Miles.
Extended for bookings made between October 25 and November 30, 2012 on all three classes of travel, this exciting offer is applicable for outward bound travel before December 10, 2012, to London (Heathrow), Dubai, Frankfurt, Milan, Rome, Venice, Paris, Singapore and Malé.
All existing members of Skywards or passengers who become members of the programme before November 30 are eligible to purchase tickets under this offer.
“The savings generated by this offer are significant and Skywards members have an opportunity to utilise accumulated Skywards Miles which do not yet add up to the amount needed for a full ticket,” said Emirates Sales Manager in Sri Lanka Devika Ellepola.
“The positive response we received for the Cash plus Miles promotion which ended in mid-October prompted an extension and the addition of more destinations.” Under the terms of the offer, a Business Class return ticket to London will cost Rs.208,000 and 16,000 Skywards Miles, while an Economy Class return to the same destination can be purchased for Rs.65,600 plus 12,000 Skywards Miles.
To Paris, a Business Class return ticket is priced at Rs.176,000 plus 16,000 Skywards Miles. On Economy Class, a passenger will pay just Rs.69,600 and 12,000 Skywards Miles.
The offer for Frankfurt is Rs.163,900 plus 16,000 Skywards Miles for a Business Class return and Rs.69,600 and 12,000 Skywards Miles on Economy Class. All cash prices quoted are exclusive of taxes.
The Cash + Miles offer is only applicable for tickets purchased at the Emirates office in Colombo and is not available for online bookings.
The winner of more than 500 international awards, Emirates operates 21 flights a week from Colombo to Dubai, 14 of them direct and seven via Male, offering First, Business and Economy Class services. The airline also operates daily flights from Colombo to Singapore. The Emirates route network now extends to 126 destinations in 74 countries.
Kingfisher mgt calls employees for talks
Grounded
and tethering on verge of bankruptcy Vijay Mallya promoted Kingfisher
Airlines has called for a meeting with its engineers and pilots from
across its operating bases for what is being seen as a make or break
meeting for the struggling debt ridden carrier at its Mumbai
headquarters on Monday.In an email to employees written on Friday company’s executive vice president Hitesh Patel asked one representative each from the engineering and pilot divisions for the meeting the time and venue of which has not been conveyed to the employees till now.
Time is running out for the airline as it has to submit a viable business plan to the civil aviation regulator if it wants to start flights by October 21 as Kingfisher has opened sale of inventor from this date onwards subject to regulatory approval. Unless deadlock with employees over salaries is not resolved the management would fail to stick to that deadline.
Kingfisher employees struck work since October 1 on account of non-payment of dues demanding seven months of unpaid salaries to be cleared before the staff report back to work. The move by the employees forced the airline to declare a partial lockout till October 4 that was subsequently extended twice till October 20 now.
It is learnt that Kingfisher management that till now was handling the crisis and attempting a solution is likely to side step and the meeting will be addressed by daft UB Group top brass and Mallya’s trusted lieutenants like Sammy D.Lalla and Subhash Gupte.
While Lalla, it is said, knows the pulse of employees and has carved most of Mallya’s spirit deals and has spent more than 25 years with UB, Gupte is an experienced old hand who was also an acting chairman and managing director at the state owned Air India. They are likely to convey what Mallya would want to communicate with the employees.
Importantly, Mallya himself has not commented till now on the worst ever crisis faced by the his airline and some say he would only come out in the open once he has figured the future course of the airline which has liabilities of over Rs.15000 crore and has an investor to back him up . Mallya had said he is in discussion with a foreign airline after foreign carriers were allowed to invest in Indian airline companies by a change of regulations last month.
October tourist arrivals grow 15.5 percent; Chinese tourist inflows to Maldives continue
Tourist
arrivals to Sri Lanka during the month of October increased by 15.5%
Year-on-Year (YoY) to 80,379, whilst total arrivals from the start of
the year increased by 16% to 774,151, the data issued by Sri Lanka
Tourist Board showed.In terms of region, the highest number of arrivals on both a monthly and cumulative basis was from Western Europe which recorded 24,303 arrivals during the month, up by 3.7% YoY. From January, the region recorded 293,472, an increase of 17% YoY, indicating a potential resurgence despite the region’s current economic woes.
The majority of visitors from Western Europe were from the United Kingdom, at 8,767, a notable 18.3% increase, followed by Germany with 5,485 arrivals, a 6.9% increase.
Arrivals from the South Asian region stood at 23,538 during the month, as compared with 22,689 last year whilst on a cumulative basis, the country recorded arrivals at 193,465, an increase of 3.2%.
Notably arrivals from India dropped by 1.5% to 17,654 during the month, whilst still remaining the highest single source of arrivals for the country on a monthly and cumulative basis.
Arrivals from the East Asian region during the month increased from 8,261 last year to 11,168 and 31.1% YoY to 100,678 from January with visitors from China increasing to 2,200, from 1,099 last year.
Arrivals from Russia grew up 18.9% YoY to 2,559, less than arrivals from Ukraine, which increased by a drastic 79.9% to 2,600 visitors.
Meanwhile, data showed that total tourist arrivals to Maldives grew by 6.9% YoY in September with 76,806 visitors whilst on a cumulative basis, arrivals stood at 691,608, an increase of 3.4% YoY.
The country continued to attract more tourists from China, with 25,178 arrivals during the month, as against 20,107 arrivals in the previous year. However, arrivals from the European region declined by 3.2% YoY to 33,975 arrivals during the month.
The country also recorded a 20.1% YoY decrease in arrivals from the United Kingdom to reach 7,106, however arrivals from Germany increased from 6,956 last year to 8,248 in 2012.
Cathay Pacific introduces ‘Getaway Surprise to China’
Ranked among the top travel destinations in the world, China is renowned for its scenic landscapes, delicious and diverse cuisine, and wonderful folk art and opera which form the basis of its rich cultural heritage.
Cathay Pacific provides an opportunity for travellers to make the most of an adventurous excursion to this famed destination through ‘Getaway Surprise to China’. Travellers can purchase special Economy and Business Class tickets to Beijing and Shanghai until the December 31 and travel until April 30, 2013.
“We seek to add value to our passengers’ travel options in the coming months, as well as through our world-class inflight services,” comments Cathay Pacific Airways, Colombo Sales and Marketing Manager Ruhan Abbas.
“The frequency and schedules of our flights to Shanghai and Beijing also enable travellers to make the most of their trip.”
Cathay Pacific Airways is represented by Finlays Colombo PLC as general sales agent. For more details regarding this offer, call the Cathay Pacific Colombo office on 2303514/5 or your preferred travel agent.
Lanka becomes ideal wedding destination at WTM
Sri
Lanka as a destination has been promoted under two new themes at the
World Travel Market (WTM), one of the largest global travel and tourism
events at the London ExCel Exhibition Centre.Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) launched two key promotional themes at the WTM ‘Sri Lanka -Ideal Wedding Destination’ and Cricket during their four day hard promoting events towards one million arrivals by the end of this year.
The Sri Lankan delegation at WTM, comprises of nearly 125 members, representing 53 destination management companies in the hotel and resorts sector. During WTM 2012, exclusive media interviews will take place with the view of promoting Sri Lanka under the main theme of ‘Wonder of Asia,’ whilst enhancing the two sub themes of promoting Sri Lanka as an ideal destination for weddings and honeymoons and also as a destination for cricket. Accordingly, during the first two days of the exhibition, a traditional wedding ceremony, enriched with customs was featured at the stall, providing an ideal opportunity for visitors to witness the culturally-rich traditions of Sri Lanka. SLTPB will focus on promoting Sri Lanka as a cricketing destination on the third day of the exhibition, during which stall staff and exhibitors will wear Sri Lanka Cricket T-shirts.
Sri Lanka Cricket T-shirts and miniature bats will be distributed to visitors to the stall and SLTPB has also invited the English Cricket Board, main cricket clubs and their presidents to grace the event by contributing to the planned raffle draws. In addition, a programme to promote Ceylon Tea will be held at the time of the exhibition, providing a rare chance to the visitors to enjoy a cup of pure Ceylon Tea.
NASA's science rover Curiosity zaps first Martian rock
The
Mars rover Curiosity zapped its first rock on Sunday with a
high-powered laser gun designed to analyze Martian mineral content, and
scientists declared their target practice a success.The robotic science lab aimed its laser beam at the fist-sized stone nearby and shot the rock with 30 pulses over a 10-second period, NASA said in a statement issued from mission control at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Los Angeles.
Each pulse delivers more than 1 million watts of energy for about five one-billionths of a second, vaporizing a pinhead-sized bit of the rock to create a tiny spark, which is analyzed by a small telescope mounted on the instrument.
The ionized glow, which can be observed and recorded from up to 25 feet away, is then split into its component wavelengths by three spectrometers that give scientists information about the chemical makeup of the target rock.
The combined system, called the Chemistry-and-Camera instrument, or ChemCam, is capable of discerning more than 6,000 different wavelengths in the ultraviolet, infrared and visible light spectrum and is designed to take about 14,000 measurements throughout Curiosity's Mars mission.
The purpose of Sunday's initial use of the laser, conducted at roughly 3 a.m. Pacific time (7.00 a.m. EDT), was as "target practice" for the instrument. But scientists will examine the data they receive to determine composition of the rock, which they dubbed "Coronation," NASA said.
"We got a great spectrum of Coronation - lots of signal," said ChemCam principal investigator Roger Wiens of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where the instrument was developed. "After eight years of building the instrument, it's payoff time."
Curiosity, a one-ton, six-wheeled vehicle the size of a compact car, landed inside a vast, ancient impact crater near Mars' equator on August 6 after an eight-month, 354-million-mile voyage through space. Its two-year mission is aimed at determining whether or not the planet most like Earth could have hosted microbial life.
The rover's primary target is Mount Sharp, a towering mound of layered rock rising from the floor of Gale Crater. But mission controllers are gradually checking out Curiosity's sophisticated array of instruments before sending it on its first road trip across the Martian landscape.
The $2.5 billion Curiosity project marks NASA's first astrobiology mission since the Viking probes to Mars during the 1970s and the most advanced robotic science lab sent to another world.
The technique employed by ChemCam has been used to examine the composition of materials in other extreme environments, such as inside nuclear reactors and on the sea floor.
The technology also has experimental applications in environmental monitoring and cancer detection. But Sunday's exercise, conducted during Curiosity's 13th full day on Mars, was the first use in interplanetary exploration, NASA said.
Before Curiosity embarks on its 4.3-mile (7-km) trek to the foot of Mount Sharp, a journey that could take six months, mission controllers plan to send it out on a shorter jaunt to a spot 1,600 feet from its landing site.
Tourist traps you don't want to miss
(Photo: Courtesy davidspiel/myBudgetTravel)Yes, they are mentioned in every travel guide. Yes, they're teeming with tourists. But not all "tourist traps" are created equal. Here are 10 places our audience couldn't resist. And neither should you.
The Great Wall
Built between the 5th century B.C. and the 16th century A.D. to block outsiders, the 5,000-mile Great Wall has ironically become the very thing most visitors come toChina to see. From Beijing, skip the most popular section, Badaling, which can be an exercise in dodging crowds. Instead travel an extra 30 minutes to the well-preserved segment in the model village of Mutianyu, itself worth exploring. Make the 90-minute journey by taxi—independent cabbie John Ping charges $112 round trip. Book him a week in advance and factor in a customary 10 percent tip (beijingcardriver.com).
Why it's a must: It's an astonishing testament to human ambition, ingenuity, and xenophobia, not to mention the fact that its size is astounding—it drapes the mountains in sections for 1,500 miles, from the Yellow Sea to its curiously abrupt conclusion in the middle of the far-west Gobi Desert.
Eiffel Tower
(Photo: Courtesy lavenderdays/myBudgetTravel)Believe it or not, the Eiffel Tower wasn't appreciated when it was built as the entrance to the International Exposition of 1889. A "barbarous mass overwhelming and humiliating all our monuments," and "a truly tragic street lamp" are just two of the protests published before it was built. Gustave Eiffel's contract called for the tower to be dismantled in 1909, but—luckily for the rest of the world—by then it was being used as an important communications tower and was allowed to stay. Today, it's the most visited monument on the planet. Skipping the elevator and taking the stairs to the first or second floor (1er or 2ème étage) can easily save you an hour or more in wait time and leave you with a few extra euros in your pocket.
Why it's a must: Yes, Paris' appeal goes well beyond classic images, but there's also something to be said for paying your respects to the most visited landmark on the planet—and the quintessential symbol of Paris.
Pisa
(Photo: Courtesy ibnelly/myBudgetTravel)The ornate bell tower's dramatic flaw made it an engineering calamity, then a curiosity, and ultimately, an icon. The tower started leaning shortly after construction began in 1173, and the tilt got worse as work on the building continued over two centuries, with several delays and attempts to correct the problem. Blame the marshy soil of coastal Tuscany. An 11-year, $27 million restoration that removed soil beneath one side and shifted the top of the tower closer to vertical by 16 inches, or half a degree, was completed in 2001 (but don't worry, it's still leaning to one side). Most people make Pisa a day trip from Florence; it's an hour-long $10 train ride away.
Why it's a must: Because there is nothing else like it in the world. Go in knowing that you're there for the obligatory picture of you pushing or leaning on the tower.
Acropolis in Athens
(Photo: Courtesy tsanta/myBudgetTravel)Towering above Athens you'll find the architectural pinnacle of one of history's most advanced civilizations. The 2,500-year-old complex includes the Parthenon temple and Erectheion, the tomb of the mythical Athenian king, Erectheus. Come early in the morning—not only will you beat the crowds and the heat, but you'll get to watch the sunrise rise against the ancient pillars. Just down the hill from the Acropolis sits architect Bernard Tschumi's modern three-decades-in-the-making addition to the ancient site. The exterior of the glass-walled space, which holds 40,000 artifacts, reflects the Parthenon. One of the coolest features is the glass floor built over an excavation area dating back to 500 B.C.
Why it's a must: Yes, you've seen countless images of the acropolis, but no photo can prepare you for the feeling you'll get when you're standing before this massive, ancient structure.
Chichen Itza
(Photo: Courtesy Akwinelvr/myBudgetTravel)The mysteries surrounding the ancient Maya seem only to heighten their appeal. Yet, there is one fact about this Mesoamerican civilization that we can all agree on—the architecture they left behind is some of the most elaborate of all of the Mesoamerican civilizations. The massive Maya site of Chichen Itza is a prime example of their structural prowess. The site was recently named one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World. One of the most visited archeological sites in Mexico, visitors come from far and wide to see ruins such as the sacrificial altar, the stone temple of the warriors, the ball court with its incredible acoustics, and, of course, the pyramid itself. Chichen Itza can be reached by car or organized bus tours (typically about $35 per person) from nearby tourist hubs like Cancun or Cozumel.
Why it's a must: There's no better way to understand the scale and mystery of the ancient Maya.
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
(Photo: Courtesy Abdul Mirza/myBudgetTravel)Just outside the city of Siem Reap, in northernCambodia, lies a vast complex of ancient temples so breathtaking they've become a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a national symbol. In the 1960s, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy ventured here despite the Vietnam War raging across the border just to see the site; more recently, portions of Angelina Jolie's first Tomb Raider movie was filmed in one of its tangled, tree-filled ruins. The main "city temple" is a 12th-century structure that began as an homage to the Hindu god Vishnu, then switched to a Buddhist sanctuary in the 16th century. An example of Cambodian Khmer architecture, the complex has three rectangular galleries, central towers, a moat, and elaborate bas-relief carvings illustrating scenes from Indian mythology.
Why it's a must: When a country considers a place so iconic that they emblazon an image of it on their national flag, that's a sign that it's worth seeing. Join the visitors who flock here during sunrise and sunset for the best photos of the towers.
Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the Australian Outback
(Photo: Courtesy loua71/myBudgetTravel)Located in Australia's Red Centre, in the heart of the continent, this natural rock formation is one of the main attractions in the World Heritage Site Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Uluru is a flat-topped sandstone rock standing about 1,100 feet high and almost six miles around, with a soulful, deep-red hue that changes throughout the day.
(The site is also known as Ayers Rock, so named by the colonial surveyor who "rediscovered" the place in 1873.) The site is sacred to the Anangu people of the Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal tribe, who believe the rocks were built during the ancient creation period and are still inhabited by ancestor spirits. Visitors can drive or join a bus tour to the park from Alice Springs (280 miles away), or fly to Ayers Rock Airport/Connellan (AYQ); Qantas and Virgin Australia offer direct flights from several major domestic cities.
Why it's a must: It's the world's largest monolith and one of Australia's most famous natural landmarks. If that's not enough, Archeologist work suggests there were humans in this area over 20,000 years ago.
The Pyramids of Egypt
(Photo: Courtesy SusanHalay/myBudgetTravel)The pharaohs built things to last. That's why the name of Cheops has survived for 4,500 years. After all, nothing says "Cheops was here" like a 450-foot-high pile of stones weighing 6 million tons and covering 13 acres. This Great Pyramidis the oldest, and last surviving, member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It bakes under the desert sun in the western suburbs ofCairo, surrounded by nine smaller siblings and the inscrutable gaze of the Sphinx. An old Arab proverb holds that "Man fears Time, but Time fears the Pyramids." Summer delivers 90-plus-degree temperatures and winter brings tourist throngs, but the shoulder seasons (March to May; September to November) promise fewer, and less-sweaty, crowds.
Why it's a must: It's a scene that mankind has been marveling at for the past 5,000 years.
Barcelona
(Photo: Courtesy Olney20866/myBudgetTravel)Whether you're a first-time visitor or a regular, Barcelona has a way of seducing all who pass through. You have the daring design of Antoni Gaudí, whose gorgeously macabre Gothic cathedral, La Sagrada Familia, is the city's most famous tourist site. You have loud and lively tapas bars, which range from rustic spots with sawdusty floors to clean-lined spaces starring globally trained chefs—the very embodiment of the mashed-up nature of Barcelona's culture. And then you have the beaches, where you can sunbathe, people watch, and swim to your heart's content. It's all so intoxicating, you'll find yourself thinking one thing: What should I try next?
Why it's a must: Culture, cuisine, and coastline—what more do you want in a vacation?
Venice
(Photo: Courtesy Kaeli Conforti)Venice teeters on the edge of cliché with its lacework of canals, its domes and gilded spires, its kiosks with straw gondolier hats and refrigerator magnets in the shape of the Piazza San Marco. Postcard fodder, and yet ... Venice is beautiful. It has been so for centuries.
To be a tourist in Venice is to join a procession reaching back to the 14th century, when pilgrims stopped en route to the Holy Land. To capitalize on its geography as the departure point for voyages to the East, the canny Venetians created festivals to coincide with the influx, a hint of the commercialism to come. Irritating, that wallet-squeeze, but one you inevitably force yourself to stomach, particularly when catching sight of the Venice silhouette for the first time from the mainland shore of the lagoon. Yes, you have to take a boat or walk to get anywhere and then there are infinite detours, but that is all part of the charm. Embrace it, and make sure you see the city as it was intended to be experienced—on foot and by boat.
Why it's a must: It's one of the most unique cities in the world, not only for its breathtaking architecture, but for its frailty. Visit now, while you still have the opportunity.