Tokyo, Japan has been chosen over Istanbul to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games- 60 votes to 36 votes. Madrid had been an early contender but was eliminated in the voting , after it initially tied with Istanbul. Tokyo managed to convince the International Olympic committee, that Fukushima posed no threats to the games. Fukushima was seriously damaged in the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people. There was delight in many locations across Japan. It will be the city’s second games. Tokyo was also the location of the Summer Olympics held…
Place Reviews (Thursday)
Category Archives for Place Reviews (Thursday).
Visiting Penang, Malaysia
Whenever I said I was going to Penang, some people looked at me in confusion. Where was Penang? Was it in Indonesia? Thailand? Many had heard of it but could not quite place it. Those who have been there were universally excited by their visit. I have to admit I had one of the best holidays of my life! As always, with the places I visit, I rated Penang on six key factors. Aesthetics: 7.5/10 Penang is known as “The Pearl of the Orient” lies on the north-western coast of the Malaysian Peninsular. The state…
Trouble in Turkey
Had an amazing time last year in Incredible Istanbul. It has been astounding to watch the horrific scenes of citizens being teargassed and water cannoned on the very streets we walked down.
The Most Popular City 2013
Bangkok is now the world’s popular tourist destination with 15.98 million overnight visits expected for the year. Those tourists will spend $14.3 billion dollars in the city. Thailand’s capital has been growing rapidly (18% in 2011 and 2012 and 9.8% this year) and leap frogged over last year’s number one: London which is expected to host 15.96 million. Paris remains in third place but is the only destination city among the top 20 that shows a decline in the estimated number of international visitor arrivals with forecasts of a 0.7 per cent drop. Number 4…
Boosting the Image of Down Under
As an Australian, I am used to people reacting enthusiastically to the mention of my country. Last year, however, at the launch of a $180 million “There’s nothing like Australia” campaign, research was revealed that Australians have a mixed perception internationally. 80 per cent of international travellers see Australia as “different”, 60 per cent had knowledge of it, half thought Australia was a relevant place to them – but only 30 per cent held Australia in high esteem. Americans saw Aussies as “carefree and rugged” but believed Australians don’t deliver quality or good value. British believe Aussies are “charming and…
Aussie Capital Captivates
What is the Capital of Australia? a) Auckland b) Melbourne c) Canberra d) Sydney An unusual aspect of the Australian constitution is that it specified a brand new capital was to be created. The result was Australia’s largest inland city: Canberra. That’s right folks: the capital of Australia is not Sydney! After searching for a site for a city, the surveyors and politicians determined that one of the coldest places in Australia was perfect for the new capital because “<;The history of the world shows that cold climates have produced the greatest geniuses..Not sure how…
Dull Dunedin?
It was the challenge that started when one of my friends told me that Dunedin is dull. It spurred me to action. Dunedin is a small city (just 118 000 people) located on New Zealand’s south Island. It is a city that punches well above its weight. Dunedin scrapes into my Top 40 cities (of over 100 000 people) at number 39. It sits between Liverpool, England and Krakow, Poland with a rating of 83%. (Paris, France my number one city scores 98% and Lagos, Nigeria gets 45% from me). Dunedin is located 310km (192…
Paris Unplugged
Paris unplugged is a Blog featuring photographs of Paris through time. There are pictures of Pl d Bastille, Place de la Republique and Moulin Rouge through history, images of metro stations line by line, snapshots of the World Expos, maps of the Metro over its development and glimpses of Parisian shopping, fashion, culture and art all frozen in pictures. There are also pictures of buildings planned or imagined for Paris but never built. It is a fascinating and enjoyable wander through this amazing city.
My Favourite Places 2012
These are some of the key places I visited in 2012 (with my overall rating of that place). Reviews of a place, where available are hyperlinked. Paris (98%) Wild About Berlin (97%) San Francisco (93%) Wellington (91%) Adelaide (91%) Cornwall Captivates Me ( 90%) Beautiful Budapest (87%) Chicago (87%) Seoul at last (86%) New York(86%) Perth (86%) Incredible Istanbul (85%) Buenos Aires, Argentina (84%) Marathoning in Hobart (84%) Sydney (83%) Washington DC (83%) Hip Hamburg (80%) Philadelphia (78%) Auckland (76%) Fish Soup in Baja, Hungary London Pre Olympics Charlotte, NC (70%) Los Angeles (69%) Visiting Virginia’s Norfolk (68%) Related Posts 12 Places to…
12 Places to celebrate Christmas
Seasons Greetings from down under. If you are celebrating today, where are you doing it? Where would you like to celebrate it? Here are 12 options for next year. While, I have been to all of these places I have only had Christmas season in six of them. More on which six later! Quebec City, Canada – one of the most romantic cities in the world. At Christmas, it has a very high possibility of snow, giving you a white Christmas. New York, New York – this city does holidays well with shops full of amazing food,…
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