Things to Do on Summer Time

Summer is knocking at your doors. It’s time for you to take some fun and enjoy the heat of the summer. Summer visits only once so make the most out of it!

Summer offers numerous activities where you can surely enjoy. Here are some things that you can possibly do in a hot summer time.

• Call your friends and gather for a picnic at your backyard or any place where you can feel the summer breeze.
• Splash in the beach. Beach is a perfect place for cooling your body. Summer without beach is not complete. So don’t let the summer pass without diving on the water.
• Plan a vacation with your friends or family. Summer is the best time to bond with your loved ones.
• Have a pool party. If you can’t go to the beach then have it around your house. Gather your friends for a pool party.
• Make some cool and refreshing foods. Eating such will ease the hot summer and will give you pleasure at the same time. A yummy summer, isn’t it?
• Go camping or mountain climbing. Summer is the right time to do such adventure with the calm weather and clear sky above is an ideal blend.

Whatever summer activities you have in mind, make sure you will not miss one important thing: HAVING FUN! That is what summer is all about.

Basamanggas Resort and Restaurant

Basamanggas for the unoriented is a resort in Jasaan, a sleepy town in the northern portion of Mindanao in the Philippine archipelago. The locals pronounce the place as “hasaan” where you simply glide the two a’s. But Westerners which by the way abound pronounce it as “hasa-an.” Weird huh?

There are many Westerners who troop to Basamanggas because it is located in a tropical place and its amenities there can compete with other tropical places in the world such as Phuket in Thailand. This is a resort waiting to be discovered by movie producers. It is ideal for dates especially on a clear moonless night. Of course, there are always two lifeguards on duty but if you want to have some adventure, then go for it by all means. After all, the purpose of going to a resort is to relax, right? So enjoy the moments in Basamanggas while you are there. The cottage rates are very affordable indeed and there are both closed and open-types of cottages available.

Related Post:
Basamanggas Resort - Misamis Oriental

Breathtaking Lakes - pictures from all around the world!

There are many marvels of nature Mother Earth has in store for us. Let's take a look at some of the most beautiful lake landscapes - maybe you'll get inspired by those spectacular views and include those lakes in you future journeys?

Grinnell Lake by James Neeley

The Eden of that Dim Lake by Ben Heine

Yamdrok Tso (Turquoise) Lake, Tibet by Katarina 2353

Reflection in Saif-ul-Malook Lake by meansmuchtome

Mirror Lake… no, Kinney Lake! by Claude@Munich

The Baikal Lake

Lake Baikal, Russia

 Rush Lake (4700m) - Highest in Pakistan by windinhishair

Twin Lakes by tropicaLiving

 Wast Water by Ennor

Lake Michigan

 Black Lake, Pass of Dunloe by kaysare

 Sparks Lake, Oregon by David Gn Photography

 Mono Lake by janetfo747

And now - some facts about lakes on our planet Earth:

• The majority of lakes on Earth are fresh water, and most lie in the Northern Hemisphere at higher latitudes. 
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• More than 60 percent of the world's lakes are in Canada.
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• Finland is known as The Land of the Thousand Lakes, (actually there are 187,888 lakes in Finland, of which 60,000 are large).
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• the U.S. state of Minnesota is known as The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes.
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• The license plates of the Canadian province of Manitoba used to claim 100,000 lakes as one-upmanship on Minnesota, whose license plates boast of its 10,000 lakes.
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• Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for hydro-electric power generation, recreationalindustrial use, agricultural use or domestic water supply purposes. 
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• Large lakes contribute to the area of standing water with 122 large lakes of 1,000 square kilometres  or more representing about 29 percent of the total global area of standing inland water. 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake

http://www.flickr.com

Malaysia: Truly Asia

EVER since the movie Entrapment came out in 1997, Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas towers became a byword in those days all over the world. True, it was the tallest building on Earth at the time and in those pre-9/11 days, marveling at such an architectural masterpiece was awesome. But the height of the Petronas Towers were not the bulk of people’s curiosity at the time. It was on how actors Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones managed to precariously hold on to the tight bridge connecting the towers at 57 stories high. When Petronas Towers was overtaken by a Canadian structure and later by a Taipei building and now the Burj al-Arab in Dubai as the world’s tallest building, the byword slowly faded. But not the tourists coming in. They still come in groves to Malaysia which has been modernized by the then visionary Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.

Because of Mahathir’s visions, Malaysia has been at the forefront of tourism in Southeast Asia for the past decade or so. Its tagline is Malaysia – Truly Asia. It has a mix Malay and Chinese culture and that in itself is a tourist attraction – the various races that are peopling Malaysia.

Bohol Island

IF there is one thing that I like about Bohol, it’s the Loboc river since it is said to be the most romantic place in the area. This is where lovers converge from time immemorial. We perhaps hear of grandparents dating on the same river the way their children and grandchildren date now. Was skinny dipping a trend back then? That we don’t know.

Bohol can be accessed via ferries from the nearby larger island of Cebu. No, there are no majestic shopping malls in Bohol but tourists floch here exactly to be in a serene area where there is nothing except bikinis and babes. No, there is no nudist beach here. Filipinas are perfectly wholesome women. That’s what makes us one of the most adored creatures here on earth. Bohol is smacked right in the middle of the tropical archipelago that is the Philippines.

Another landmark in Bohol is the Chocolate Hills which turns golden brown during the rainy season. These terraces have been built way before the Spanish times and their ancestors are now the caretakers of this amazing manmade creation. So if you are in the Philippines, try to visit and lay back in Bohol. It is one of the most leisure vacations you’ll have.



Photo Credits: Daisy Lopez

Ladakh - Day 2

I do not believe in the concept of must see places, for every place casts its magic on me - be it an unknown or an offbeat location , a known city or a tourist destination. But Ladakh was an exception.

It was a dream destination , something that had always seemed unattainable . It did not matter to me that I had not yet seen the Taj Mahal, but it irked me that I had not visited Ladakh. It was a destination that had given me sleepless nights. But when I woke up on a sunny morning in the capital town of this land of high passes, after spending a dizzy first night , it seemed like a dream still.

It was extremely hot and all the giddiness had vanished. We feasted on some aalu paratha with some garden vegetables freshly plucked from the garden and started our monastery trail.

 

In ladakh as in any where else, the dilemma is always the same. So many places to see and yet so little time. Earlier, I wanted to see almost everything possible and my eyes used to greedily devour every possible sight . But now, I decided to pick and choose. Its not so much about the choice of these sights , but its more to do about how much you want to soak in them.

If you just need a picture against every Buddha statue that was built in Ladakh, then you could cover as many places as you want. Also there is something called stamina when it comes to Ladakh. Even if you are acclimatised to the heights, most monasteries are atop hills and you need climb several steps to get there . They are breathtaking alright, but chances are with less oxygen, you would feel breathless climbing them.

 

Nevertheless, we started our day rather early. We skipped Leh and decided to do the monastery circuit outside the town.We planned on four monasteries, which in retrospect was quite a bit for a day. However, as they were rather close, we managed to spend quite some time at each place, absorbing the sights and sounds. We went to Stakna, followed by Hemis and then Thiksey and Shey before returning to Leh with a quick trip to Sindhu darshan..more on each of them in a while.

For more beautiful skies around the world, click here

Carnivals Around Spain and Brazil

THIS year’s Rio carnival is somewhat more exciting with the crowning of a preteen as the samba queen, leading a parade of scantily-clad sexy female dancers. Yet 2010 – the Year of the Tiger – spells a very adorable climate for the carnival since all walks of life from various parts of the world in various ages will troop to this exotic city to party for a full week. Isn’t that amazing? Nudity is definitely not an issue for these guys and gals. For them, the message is to let loose and hang out.

Spain on the other hand also has parties all year round. Let’s tour the exotic and landlocked city of Salamanca for instance. Incidentally, the carnival in Rio coincides with the carnival in Salamanca – it also occurs on a February. Like in Rio, there are also bullfights and exotic parades in this month. Then by March of this year, there will be the Muestra Nacional de Jazz.

Off to the coast we go and visit the capital of trance music, Ibiza. Ibiza has its own carnivals with occasional so-called air parties with DJs playing music in planes bound for Ibiza. Planes, especially those on red-eye flights, are instantly transformed into house clubs.

3rd Home is Premiere Home Exchange

WANT to know which website to browse when it comes to home exchange and vacation property management matters? Worry no more. There is 3rd Home. If you have more than one properties, you may exchange this with other vacation homes in other parts of the world. Isn’t it amazing that if you’re living in Connecticut, you’ll have exclusive access to the resorts in the Carribean or Palma de Mallorca? Have your vacation property management be taken care of by 3rd Home.

As the name suggests, 3rd Home is for folks who have vast properties and vacation houses elsewhere but are not accessible to world-renowned resorts. Exchanging your home or home exchange with 3rd Home is reasonably priced and definitely affordable for the average American. Some of our most hottest destinations for home exchange are Nantucket in Massachusetts, Palm Springs in California and Miami in Florida. We’ve got log homes in Colorado, upscale lofts in the Mediterranean and beach villas in Mexico. Now there’s something to look forward to in vacation property management.

Ladakh - Day 1

There is always a special moment when you land in a new city . A new wave of excitement seizes me..its something that Ive never been able to explain .

I took a deep breath and felt the pulse of the city inside me the moment I landed in Leh . The mountains crowded me and they formed the entire cityscape of Ladakh. Subconsciously I touched my head to wonder if I felt giddy, but I could only feel the slight shiver of excitement running through my bones. Ladakh was waiting for me .

The journey from airport to the hotel was over within minutes. We passed crowded market of Leh and entered Chubi where my guest house was located. The mountains gave us company and as I climbed the first step, I felt breathless. And then the dizziness hit me. The windows of my large room opened into a beautiful garden of flowers and vegetables and that probably was the only source of oxygen to us out there..and then it hit me as I fell into a deep slumber just before dinner.

The twilight hour had come and gone and we were slowly acclimatising to the heights.The weather had already changed from foggy to sunny to being cold . We walked down the steps to join the other guests in the garden for an early dinner. There was an Italian at the table next to ours and he was waiting for his friends. We politely opened the conversation to realize that he could speak only Italian. Sharath and he hit it off and the conversation was purely through signs and images. The dinner arrived and with it another round of deep slumber and all our headaches and dizziness vanished with the end of day 1.