Generation Gap Surfing, Bali

Six hours earlier, the noise of waves crashing ashore had woken me from a deep sleep. Mounting excitement propelled me from the bed when I realised from the volume of sound that the waves were substantial. It was still dark, but I knew that I could catch the dawn from my suf-board if I left immediately. A while later I was several hundred metres out to sea, battling my way further out and, between soakings, watching the dawn paint the sky from a celestial palette of pinks, yellows and crimsons. I was totally alone and knew that this was not safe or sensible, but I did not care. I felt that my daring to be there gave me a kind of spiritual ownership of the place and that this feeling more than compensated me for my almost complete lack of other worldly possessions - the most valuable of which I had with me, my board. I usually love my board, but sometimes I blame it when I fall off and swear at it big-time. One of the reasons I love my surf-board is that, after I've blamed it for my shortcomings and sworn at it, it never holds it against me or sulks in any way. I can just jump on and ride away, as though nothing had happened.


I am now having lunch with my Dad, who has flown in from Perth, en route to a business meeting in Tokyo, to see me and presumably to try and coax me into his company - or any company at all, provided it's not the company of surfers. He's not had much luck at this task. Six months ago, when I was having a blast, neglecting my university studies in favour of chasing Perth surf, he tried pleading that I should pack in surfing as my Mum was worried sick that I might be eaten by a shark. This happens to a fair few surfers down-under. I felt a bit sorry for both my parents when their plan rather back-fired on them: I agreed that it wasn't safe, quit uni and came surfing here instead. I just hope he hasn't heard about the surfer who washed up here drowned the other month. I think a blow on the head from his board after a major wipe-out was probably the cause. I'll probably not make an old corpse myself, but I don't care. My Dad's hotel, the Maya Ubud, is quite a contrast to mine. It looks like a palace compared to my lodgings, but then so does everywhere. I look again and realise that I'm not doing the Maya Ubud justice by including it with 'everywhere'; it really is tastefully and typically Balinese, whereas mine is about as basic as you can imagine - thin mattress, fly-sheet, fan, shared cold shower.


My Dad asks me what I think of the Maya Ubud.


"It's lovely, Dad, exquisite".


"Wouldn't you like to be able to afford to stay here?"


"Not really, Dad. I think that right now, at this very moment, I'm enjoying being here more than you are, because you're used to staying in these places, whereas for me to come here and eat this fab food is a really special experience".


I suddenly remembered that Dad gets offended when I put his values down that bluntly. I had been talking to him just as though he were one of my surf buddies. To try to make amends I quickly added "I really appreciate your coming all this way to spoil me, but honestly there's nothing I need that I don't already have. I really enjoy my life here. Better than that, I love my life here, because I always live in the present. Everybody knows that living in the present is the key to contentment."


"Son, if you live in the present you'll never achieve anything in life. In order to achieve things it's necessary sometimes to dwell on the past and worry about the future". I had to disagree. "I'm sorry, Dad, but I totally disagree .There's no intrinsic meaning in achieving anything anyway, so why should I bother? I might as well live in the present and be as content as possible."


This isn't the first time we've had this conversation. My parents are so cool about my complete rejection of their value system, I really respect them, not just for their attitude about this issue, but also for all they've done for me in the past. Actually, there is one source of intrinsic meaning in my life - she's called Jenny and she's from California. In order to go and be with her in the States, I've realised that I'm going to need to go back to Oz and get some money together. So I discuss this with my Dad, who's delighted.


"I wasn't so different from you when I was your age" he said.


"Not quite so idle, but not far off it" he continued. "In those days there wasn't a sub-culture of idleness, so people who wanted to laze about had to laze about with low-lifes. The problem these days is that civilized young blokes like you can laze about with other decent young people, so it's much more enjoyable. "


"Your mother's more worried about you than I am. I reckon that you'll get bored rigid with this sooner or later. Besides, you said you were doing this to reject meaninglessness, but your life of pleasing yourself has got to be the most meaningless life imaginable. I stopped idling around when I set up home with your mother. I spent over a decade in jobs that were often rather dull, but it never really bothered me, because I knew exactly why I was doing it, I had all the meaning I could possibly have in my life, in providing for you and your sisters. So I'm not too worried, I reckon what you need is to really fall for some woman, then start imagining what you could do to make her as happy as you possibly can."


This article was first published in Adrenaline ezine


For island-hopping and adventure sports at the best beach destinations in Thailand, go to Andaman Adventures.com, the web's definitive guide to all the best beach destinations in Thailand : the perennially popular Railay/Tonsai (click here for the destination and here for the climbing), the rebolted Koh Phi Phi (click here for the destination and here for the climbing), plus the new destinations Koh Yao Noi(click here for the destination and here for the climbing) and Koh Lao Liang (click here for the destination and here for the climbing)


Ao Nang is currently the best all-round Thai beach destination, offering the optimum balance of an unspoiled environment with a wealth of accommodation and activity options. by simon ramsden

Best of Southeast Asia Highlights: Beaches

When one thinks of Southeast Asia, the attraction of its beaches inevitably pop up. Certainly, Asia has many sights to offer, and its beaches are a constant draw for many reasons.

A great draw of Asia's beaches is the selection of award-winning, internationally recognized resorts and hotels at reasonable rates. The selection of hotels to choose from is staggering: practically every international hotel brand from Hilton to Shangri-La is available. One unique luxurious Asian-based hotelier is the Banyan Tree Resorts that offer exclusive and decadent holidays in Asia. The hotel sector of the Southeast Asian tourism industry is extremely competitive. Hotels and resorts regularly undergo upgrading once every few years to keep up with the Joneses. This means one good thing for the traveler: great deals on hotels are always possible, even in the high season.

Most visitors to Southeast Asia will experience excellent and friendly service - 'pleasure' and 'pamper' are just some mottos these hotels operate by. Think luxurious suites with extravagant comforts such as private Jacuzzis and pools. Personalized spas, massages and beauty treatments in the privacy of your own room or villa. Dining options amidst lush greenery and panoramic sea views. If the 5-star hotels are above your budget, there is a wide range of mid-priced hotels and accommodations to suit different budgets. Some mid-priced hotels are operated by locals, and are a great way to get to know the colorful cultures in Southeast Asia.

The best part about beaches in Southeast Asia is the great variety of beaches and activities to cater for different interest groups. Beaches and island living is synonymous in many parts of Southeast Asia, so there will a beach to meet everyone's needs. The islands of Indonesia, the well-known beaches in Malaysia and Thailand, the new beach spots in Vietnam and Burma all offer great, if not different, beach experiences. While some will cater to families with their range child-friendly activities, facilities and services, others target the partygoers with a continuous stream of daytime and nightlife options. Others in search for privacy or pampering, such as honeymooners or corporate leaders, are literally spoilt for choice with the lavish range of spa and beauty resorts. What this also means for the traveler is that each beach experience will differ from another, given the rich diversity of the countries.

Bali is a popular choice among foreigners due to its good air connections. This mellow island is surrounded by stretches of great beaches and range of activity, and the locals are hospitable and friendly. Other popular, something-for-everyone-beach vacations include Krabi or Phuket in Thailand and Danang or Hue beaches in Vietnam.

The warm waters of Southeast Asia also attract many diving, surfers and water-sports enthusiasts for its rich and diverse marine life or waves, depending on what you are looking for. Thailand's Koh Chang or Koh Phi Phi, the islands off the west coast of Malaysia, and the Mergui archipelago in Burma are just a sampling of the range of great diving spots and sea adventure in Southeast Asia. Many diving spots are not as easily accessible as popular beach resorts, but the more remote the waters, the richer the marine life. Many specialized diving tour groups will make the land-transfer arrangements so that getting to such remote destinations is not impossible. Some diving spots operate seasonally due to the monsoon season, so check before booking your flight.

Finally, no beach retreat is complete without the mention of food. Many Asian cultures communicate their emotions and culture through their food, so food is seen as a very important aspect of the Asian identity. Travelers will never go hungry while on vacation at one of Southeast Asian beaches. Many cuisines are a mix of indigenous ingredients with influences from predominantly Chinese or Indian cuisines. Influences from other cuisines are also common, given the influx of top international chefs working in the luxurious beach resorts. Most hotels in southeast Asia will offer a sumptuous buffet breakfast as part of the accommodation package, and travelers will drag themselves out of bed for the breakfast buffet, as the buffet spreads are usually simply too good to pass. Travelers will also want to sample local fare that will be available. by www.WorldCheaper.com

Sacred Waterways of Bali, Indonesia

Take a break from the cold steel of modern times to be nurtured by a more symbiotic relationship with nature, in one of the most spiritually artistic places on the planet. World-famous Bali is celebrated for the artistry of its people as well as for its cultural intensity, spectacularly sculpted scenery and well-developed infrastructure. It is arguably southeast Asia's most stylish destination, with some of the most understatedly opulent resorts in the world vying to outdo each other in the fine lines of their architecture and the often exquisite taste of their fittings and furnishings. These designer resorts usually perfectly complement their often stunningly beautiful settings, either baking on white sandy beaches, nestling on terraced hills or perching atop sea-cliffs.


5-star resorts the world over are often beautifully designed, but on Bali the 5-star vacation experience is different. Here it is not necessary to insulate yourself in luxury establishments in order to avoid the outside world, as is unfortunately necessary in the capital Jakarta. The beauty of Bali's rice terraces can not be adequately described in words or art and must, like those in the Philippines Banaue, be seen with the eyes. These landscapes, sculpted by human hands, sometimes feel too man-made to be real and almost like journeys inside a painting, in which a careful artist has skilfully enhanced the bounties bequeathed by nature to maximum effect and optimal proportion. The serried rice terraces compete for the eye's attention with burbling irrigation canals and with the jungle-shrouded rivers which sometimes form a convenient path-way for Balinese women to sway gracefully beneath improbably precarious loads perched on the top of their heads. In a society where art is regarded as so fundamental a part of a person's life that the local language does not have a word for it, the entertainment is also stylish. Balinese dance is justifiably world-famous for its subtle sign language and beautiful costumes, but not so well-known are the coming-of-age dances in which one teenage girl at a time dances surrounded by a circle of up to a hundred boys. After she taps a boy with her fan, he dances with her, but in a very different style to hers. Whilst she is attempting to maintain grace and elegance, his sole objective is to squeeze her bum. It sounds uncouth, but is just hilarious, as she vigorously defends herself, often by jabbing her fan, to painful effect, into the most sensitive parts of the boys' anatomies.


In a deeply religious Hindu society, everybody pays great attention to the ceremonies that mark life's major events, with funerals in particular being very grandiose events full of colour and excitement: a Balinese's last journey takes so long to organise that bodies must be temporarily buried while the myriad arrangements are made.


All Balinese bear one of only four given names, Made, Nyoman and Ketut. A family's first child is always christened Putu/Wayan, with the second known as Made, the third as Nyoman and the fourth as Ketut. From the fifth child on the naming cycle starts afresh, with any fifth child that makes an appearance known as Putu/Wayan.


The latest threat to the lovely rice-terraces, after the solution of the pest problems caused by the Asian Development Bank's 'Green Revolution' project, comes from an unlikely quarter: prosperity. Balinese farmers, especially young ones, are leaving the land in droves for better-paid and physically less demanding jobs as caddies and waiters. It is hoped that some of the huge numbers of tourist dollars flowing into Bali can be spent subsidising rice farming, in order to preserve this unique landscape and its aquatic traditions. The best time to see the rice paddies is during the hour before dawn, the hour the Balinese call "the silk time". But, even for the chance to experience heaven, that is a little too early for most visitors, who prefer the twilight hours.


The night was balmy and, after supper, the moon rose, yellow and huge. After a short walk along a tree-lined lane we came to a gap in the trees. Water chattered and laughed in the gullies all around us and, spread out before us, was a blue, moonlit valley. The terraced paddy fields hugging the contours of the hills were filled with still water, drained of colour by the night. Each patch of black water reflected it's own little moon. A breeze crinkled the satin-like surface and scattered the golden moon-beams. Then the breeze died, the gold reassembled and the moons settled back into their pools. Frogs croaked. Water gushed. Briefly we mourned the loss of all those moons until our eyes adjusted to the dark and the banks of the terraces came alive with more light. Sparkling sequins of white light flashed around as our minds reeled in the attempt to take in such beauty. Whether the moons or the fireflies were the most beautiful is impossible to say, as both art and words are inadequate to the task of framing such serenity. If heaven exists then maybe it looks a little like Bali.


Water is sacred in Bali. Everywhere you go, you hear it bubble and gurgle and giggle and splash. The ancient irrigation system consists of a network of gullies and channels, dykes and runnels that carry the precious fluid from the river and through the sinuous, rice-paddied, terraces. Water is so vital to rice, and so to life, that in Bali the temples control its flow. The priests are the experts in how the waterways work. They know where each channel runs and when each sluice needs opening, and it's their duty to ensure that every terrace gets filled and that every farmer gets an adequate flow.


Every day, in the late afternoon, all over Bali, you'll see villagers, in their sarongs, sauntering down to the rivers to bathe. The women gather in one place, dipping and laughing, shampooing their long black tresses. The men gather in another, splashing each other and playing with their children. "They want to give us taps," I heard one man exclaim, "they say it will make life easier. But we don't want water from taps. It contains chemicals. We have this beautiful river, how can anybody improve on this?"


Tirtaganga is a special place where, in bygone days, Balinese Kings built a great Water Palace. The kings are long gone, but there is enough grandeur left to enable you to imagine attendants in vivid sarongs laying gold cloth on gleaming stone steps to aggrandize the journey of the king and his courtiers to the three jade-coloured swimming pools. These days the steps are mossy and the spirit statuary is mottled with lichen. Instead of gilded princesses, rice farmers wallow and chat while their wives offer flower-filled palm-leaf baskets to the Gods.


It is unsurprising that Balinese love their island, but it might surprise some readers to know of the lengths to which these gentle people have in the past gone to defend it. In the 1840s the Dutch established a presence by playing various distrustful Balinese realms against each other, before mounting large-scale naval and ground assaults, first against the Sanur region and then against Denpasar. The Balinese were hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, but rather than face the loss of their island, 4,000 of them marched to their deaths in a suicide attack on the invaders. Afterwards the Dutch governors were able to exercise little control over the island, and the religion and culture remained intact.


When Japan occupied Bali during World War II, a Balinese military officer, Gusti Ngurah Rai, formed a Balinese army of freedom fighters. When the Dutch returned to Bali to reinstate their pre-war colonial administration, they were opposed by the Balinese rebels. On 20 November 1946, the Battle of Marga was fought in Tabanan in central Bali. Colonel I Gusti Ngurah Rai, 29 years old, rallied his depleted and nearly beaten forces in east Bali at Marga Rana, where they made a suicide attack on the heavily armed Dutch. The Balinese battalion was entirely wiped out, breaking the last thread of Balinese military resistance.


The well-developed infrastructure for leisure activities, including golf, sailing, diving, dancing and partying, complements the island's idyllic landscape and turns Bali into, for many holiday-makers, the best destination in southeast Asia if not the world.


If dancing is your way of reviving your energy and spirits after an aeon behind a desk, then you will be pleased to hear that Bali has the clubs you need. Try the 15,000 watt Double Six, where DJs from across the world play eclectic and variable mixes that have only one thing in common: the ability to make you want to shake your bits till dawn. If you get bored of getting on down to the music then get on down in a more extreme way, courtesy of the club's bungee jump. KUDOS, the hippest place on the island, prides itself on a computerized colour mixer that synchronises the music with pre-arranged lighting sequences of the bar and interiors.


This article was first published in Adrenaline ezine


For island-hopping and adventure sports at the best beach destinations in Thailand, go to Andaman Adventures.com, the web's definitive guide to all the best beach destinations in Thailand : the perennially popular Railay/Tonsai (click here for the destination and here for the climbing), the rebolted Koh Phi Phi (click here for the destination and here for the climbing), plus the new destinations Koh Yao Noi(click here for the destination and here for the climbing) and Koh Lao Liang (click here for the destination and here for the climbing)


Ao Nang is currently the best all-round Thai beach destination, offering the optimum balance of an unspoiled environment with a wealth of accommodation and activity options. by simon ramsden

Your CSS Adventure Begins Here

When you are in need of qualitative website templates for your project there is a possibility to choose between their different types. One of the most popular web templates types appreciated by web designers nowadays represents CSS templates.

In general CSS - Cascading Style Sheets - means the technology on the basis of which CSS Website Templates are created. Cascading style sheets makes it easier for web developers to arrange and stylize web pages. Using CSS technology becomes more popular nowadays also because of its compatibility with all popular browsers which makes CSS a very useful and convenient option.

CSS Templates are valued by web masters as they possess modern technologies together with convenience of use. They are presented in different categories and will fit any of your purposes. Whether you decided to create a vivid personal homepage or want to launch competitive e-commerce website you won't regret if you choose CSS Templates. Using them as a basis for your online web presence you will make your source look impressive and striking.

CSS layouts imply the possibility of adding multimedia and animation effects and thus will make your website live and dynamic. And what is not less pleasant - making use of CSS Templates you can always expect to maintain high ranking by search engines which makes your website a popular source. Another advantage of CSS Templates is that they are easy to work with. There are little software requirements for using and editing these templates. You only have to install any of popular HTML editors you'd like to work with (e.g. Dreamweaver, Frontpage etc.), Macromedia Flash in order you need to add and edit animation attachments and Adobe Photoshop to work with the images.You don't need to have special knowledge to manage your CSS Tempalte and moreover you can always get the necessary help from the templates' provider support system.

One of the sources where deserving CSS Templates can be found is Layoutspack.com. This web company provides its customers with professional website templates of premium quality on the terms of templates membership. CSS Templates at LayoutsPack are created by professional team of web developers and possess high-grade graphics so you can be sure of your website's success.

So stay abreast of modern web technologies and choose CSS Templates to establish your vivid online presence. by Wendy Poo
__

Camping With Your Kids

Camping can be a very exciting activity for the children. It is often regarded by parents as an opportunity to bond with their kids during the weekends. Moreover, it will also be an opportunity to teach your kids new things about the environment and some life skills. You can develop team work and cooperation between your children while camping.

However, you should note that bringing your kids out to camp is not just a matter of pure fun and excitement. Rather, it brings certain responsibilities. To make sure that you can make the most out of your aspired camping experience, below are some tips that you should apply.

Involve your children in your plans

Make sure that your children are involved in planning for the camping activity. Let them play a part in choosing the camping site. However, as they make the choice, make sure that you explain to them the activities that they can do and the kind of environment that awaits them in their chosen camping ground.

Let them decide the camping activities

Aside from letting the kids choose the camp site, let them decide the camping activities that all of you will engage in. Choose camp games and activities that are quite exciting, entertaining, informative, and educational. Also, make sure that each of your children has camp responsibilities that fit their age and actual capabilities. You can ask them to help with the cooking, cleaning, or collecting firewood based on their capability.

Let them pack their own bags

Let your children pack their own things for the camping trip. However, you should provide them with a basic checklist in order to make sure that they will not forget to bring all the necessary tools and equipment needed. Also, you should double check their bags before you set out for your camping adventure.

Do a dry run in your own back yard

If your children are going out to camp for the first time, it will be best if you do a test camp out in your own backyard. Aside from the fact that such can be a good bonding activity as well, this will help you assess whether your children are really ready for an outdoor camping activity.

Teach them about basic camping rules

Before you bring your children to the campsite, make sure that they are well aware of the basic camping rules. This will not only keep them safe. Instead, such will also keep you and your kids out of harm's way. Tell them where exactly are they allowed to play and run around, what time is the curfew, what their tasks are, and other rules and regulations.

Pack emergency first aid kits

Never forget to bring emergency first aid kids for yourself and the children. Be aware of the fact that since children are quite playful and sometimes careless, they are highly at risk for a wide variety of potential dangers out in the camping site.

Assign partners or buddies

If you are planning to bring four or more children, assign partners or buddies. Explain to them that they are tasked to look after each other and they are supposed to watch out for each other at all times. This can help you manage your young companions a lot easier.by Benedict Smythe

How to Store Your Camping Gear Properly

Choosing camping equipment is a serious endeavor. Camping is not just a very challenging adventure; it can also be quite expensive as well since most of the gears and tools that you will need are high priced. Once you have bought the right set of camping gears, the next thing that you should do is to make sure that your investment is not wasted. You should store your camping gear properly so that you can use your gear over and over again every time you set out for a camping trip. Below are some ways by which you can store your gear properly.

Storing your Tents

a. Regardless of your tent's fabric, make sure that you store it in a dry place. Moreover, make sure that your storage area is free from pests such as mice, cockroaches, and other insects that may nibble your tent and render it useless for your next camping trip.

b. Before you pack your tent away, you have to check if the whole of the tent is completely dry inside and out. Keep in mind that extra moisture may promote the development of mould and mildew in your tent. Such may also introduce a rotting smell to your tent that is quite difficult to get rid of.

c. When packing your tents, make sure that your tent pegs are stored in their own bags. Never let sharp ends stick out of the bags as these may introduce tear and wears to other fabrics.

d. When you put your camping gear inside your cabinet, make sure that you do not place it under a heavy pile of objects that might introduce cracks and damages to the poles.

Storing your Sleeping bags

a. In the same way that you store tents, you should make sure that you keep your sleeping bags in a cool but dry place in order to avoid the formation of molds and mildew.

b. If you can, wash or wipe off your sleeping bag before you put it away. Make sure that you let it air dry out in the sun before you put it in your storage cabinet that is free from mice and insects.

Storing your heating equipment

a. Before you away put your stove or your lighting equipment, make sure that all of them are clean. You should also check if they are all working properly as well. If not, you might as well get rid of them right away and buy another one. Make it a point to keep some spare bulbs.

b. When you store your heating equipment, make sure that you put them in their own protective cases. This will help you ensure that they will not be damaged especially those gas lighting tools that have brittle glass parts.

Storing your cooking gear

a. You should gather all of your cooking gear together and check each of them for probable damages. List your cooking gears so you can easily verify anything that is missing. On your next camping trip you will know what needs to be purchased.

b. Make sure that all of your cooking tools are clean in order to prevent rust or dirt from rendering the tool useless. Store them properly. If you can, put them in separate boxes in order to prevent scratches and cracks.by Benedict Smythe

Nightshift Legacy: The Jaguar's Eye Game Review

After the Nightshift Code, PlayFirst releases the sequel to this hidden object adventure with Nightshift Legacy: The Jaguar's Eye. In this game, you again get to meet with the original characters, Mike and Isabel in a new storyline filled with greater dangers and mysteries. But how does the installment fare when it comes to gameplay? Well, that's what we aim to figure out in this review.

The story of the game starts with both heroes of the Nightshift Code still together exploring jungles in search of missing and hidden artifacts. This time around, they chanced upon the discovery of the Jaguar's Eye Codex, which is supposedly to bring unrivalled power to the person who owns it. However, this discovery also opened up dangerous encounters for the duo, ending also in the involvement of Isabel's relatives. Somehow, Isabel's past and the Jaguar's Eye are connected to each other too, but what that connection, however, is what you're here to find out.

Just like the original game, Nightshift Legacy: The Jaguar's Eye is a hidden object adventure where you are tasked to find listed objects serving as clues to further develop the game's storyline. A classic hidden object gameplay is employed in every scene and you have to find all clues before you go to the next level. But what sets this game apart is really not the gameplay because there's really nothing new about classic item finding. What's really significant in my opinion is the game's story, but before we discuss that, let's talk about the mini-games first.

In this installment, you also get to witness several unique mini-games that are sure to keep you interested in all the game's developments. For example, instead of just the usual jigsaw puzzle you encounter on other hidden object games, this time, the puzzle pieces can overlap each other too. This means that other than just placing the pieces on their correct locations, you also have to set their layers, thus adding more challenge to the gameplay. The other mini-games are just as unusual, making them more difficult but definitely more enticing to play.by Ruff

Enjoy The Extraordinary Culture In Chester.

Past is one of the toughest suits of England's tourism, but when it comes to stating the report of its folk, no one does it preferable than the drives, walls, and architecture of Chester. This vivid city is a pocket-sized pocket of experiences that introduces England in a whole new way. You never will know what Roman England is about until you have walked the allies of Chester. From red sandstone walls that organise Tudor and Victorian buildings, to the shopping roadways in the town centre, you will find concoction of England's past in elevated fashion.

Chester holds a legion of attractiveness to give tourists imbued enjoyment. Tourists should see the Roman section of the borough. Called the 'Deva,' the Latin name for Chester, it is one of the most exalted soldiery exit of the English island throughout the time of the Romans. Here you can pinpoint the urban place walls stationed in the centre. The place centre has civil pathways and alleys that will take you to ground experience of the urban place. You can also walk over the top of the Roman walls that surround the place. You can also locate the Amphitheatre in Vicars Lane. The Amphitheatre is of Roman origin. The excessive stone structure is still home to some of the classic plays of England.

Chester has modern attractions and contemporary tourist activities on top of the classic tours and museum exploration that one can do. Play seekers can visit the Catton Hall paintballing station, a 200-acre field that depicts Chester's fortifications, villages, bridges, and forts. Another fun combat simulation is available in the Catton Hall archery field. You can try out test targets with a wide variety of bow and arrows. Archery is a demonstration of England's roster of arrow snipers that helped fortify the urban place against foreign invaders. Other activities in Chester include adventure sightseeing and heritage tours.

Chester has attractive gourmet shops set to delight anyone who wishes to sit down and take in culinary excellence. One of the more favoured shops in Chester is the Watergates Wine bar in Watergates Street. Watergates stands in front of an 11th century cobbled street. The Piccolino is an Italian restaurant near the metropolitan area centre. Its huge selection of Italian food will bring you a taste of Italy Chester style. Finally, Siam restaurant in the place road will give you a glimpse of exotic Thai food.

Chester has a spectacle of sports events and art exhibits that will fill up your day holiday in the municipality. For local football, you can watch the FC Chester in action. The football club plays in the Coca-Cola 2 league, a 4th-tier league in the English football scene. You can also watch the Chester Roman if you want a taste of American football. Chester also has a strong tradition of rugby, winning the Cheshire Cup several times. Local pubs and bars have their TV sets pointed to the Chester Racecourse where you can bet on horse and dog races.

Only a few English towns can match Chester's history. Once you find the urban place centre, bask in the museums, and delight in the shopping outlets, you will be impressed with what Chester has to offer. Chester is perfect for single-day holiday trips, as you can easily fill a day's itinerary with memorable events.by Gracia Westolick

All I Want For Christmas is More Leads With Web 2.0

What do you want for Christmas this year? Is it more leads to build your business? Do you strive to have 50-100 leads each day? How can this be achieved in such a competitive network marketing industry? The answer today is Web 2.0. It describes the changing trends in the use of world wide internet technology and website designs. This technology is used to enhance creativity, communication, secure information sharing, and collaboration and functionality of the web world wide. It has led to the development of culture communities and hosted services, such as video sharing and social networking sites, blogs, wikis and folksonomies. We ask ourselves why Web 2.0? What was wrong with the old way of marketing? Why use Facebook, My Space, You Tube, Linkedin, Yuwie, Direct Matches, Twitter, or any other social media platform to connect with people and find prospects? The answers is simple just stick around and I will tell you why? The old way of marketing is no longer in existence. We can continue to do it that way, but we will not get any where fast in making money. In the past our up line told us to go ask our family and friends to join our business adventure. They will not turn us down they are family and friends. Well of course they joined our business, but that is as far as it went. They never purchased the products we were selling, they were just a name on our list. We were told to put up flyers about our business all over town. People will come running to us from all over to get into our business. Well that never happen no one called. We handed out business cards in restaurants, hair salons, and to strangers on the street. They looked at it and proceeded to threw it in the nearest trash can. The next step was to start buying leads and then making cold calls all day long. We spent all day making calls and maybe got two prospects. Time was lost and so was money. We worked hard and put more and more money went into our business just to find out we were making no residual income in return. What was the answer to this problem? Should we give up on our dreams to have personal and financial freedom? Should we go back to the corporate world and have our life's dictated to us by a boss? What could make life easier for network marketer so we could enjoy the life of an entrepreneur, business owner and network marketer? We want freedom and we truly thought we could have it with network marketing. What will we have to do to fulfill our life dream and desires? There was some serious thinking going on in the internet world to make life easier for the network marketer and also to reach out to people who may learn in different ways. The answer was Web 2.0 with the use of social networking platforms. Today there are several social media platforms available to anyone who wants to expose themselves and their business opportunities to the world. There are several reasons why we need to be active in social media. If you are in any business it is the way to build trusting relationships online. It is place for us to meet other network marketers and build a team of individuals who will become joint venture partners with us. People are connected to other people it is human instinct for people to be attracted to other people. People do not attract themselves to a product, they buy a product because they respect the integrity of who is selling it. Build your prospect list through attraction marketing by using the social media platforms. Web 2.0 has open the door for any network marketer to reach out to the world and expose any business with any technology which is available. It could be blogging, article writing, videos, podcast, and social networking. It is a whole new internet marketing world out there and there is plenty of competition. So check you Christmas list twice and find out if you have Web 2.0 written down because Santa is on his way to bring you some leads so your business will prosper in the New Year of 2009.by Ann Carron

How To Grow An Online MLM Business The Right Way

Growing your online MLM business is easier than most think. Most people overestimate what they can do online and tend to scare themselves away from hitting it big time. Growing a success online business boils down to 2 points.

1. Using online strategies that will help generate an endless total of newly recruited leads. The more leads you can generate, then more will turn into downline members.

2. Taking those new leads and showing the a proven automated system that has everything in place to create success.

Your online MLM business will succeed once you have tested and tweaked your own marketing system. Your marketing system will consist of both free and paid sources of marketing. Whether it is building your website to top the search engines or if you are paying for PPC.

Your system is what will be shared with your downline so they can duplicate your efforts. So you should have your marketing system down to a precise formula that will make it that much easier for you team to gain success.

No matter what you tend to do to grow your business you have to track everything you do. Tracking is too often overlooked because it can be boring and take some time to set up different campaigns, but it is crucial. The more you track the easier it will come for you to become wealthy.

Testing and tracking is what will set you apart from the rest of the online MLM business owners. Some started with the misunderstanding of what it takes to grow a business. Many think it some smooth sailing adventure with little or no work involved. They are wrong.

But to your advantage it can be easier with the right training, support and marketing system in place. Stop believing everything you see and start becoming a success story. Your future will depend on you.

With your online MLM business you can paid on the efforts of many around the world. Growing your business online allows you to touch 1,000's in as many countries as you want. Imagine going to bed tonight and knowing that you have people in your team all over the world growing your MLM business.

When you can start to have control over your whole process of generating an endless amount of leads then you are in the right position to grow a very successful online MLM business. Once you have your proven marketing system complete you know you have made it and your financial worries will no longer exist.

So if you want to take your MLM business online and create a free future then you need to become a leader and create a perfect marketing system. A marketing system that you can share with your downline and help make it easier for them to and in turn they can share with their downline as well. It is a win win situation when you have everything in place. It is time to take the next step and get started today with your proven system.by Matt Belock

10 Holiday Ideas for a Trip to Norway

Norway is a place of awe-inspiring beauty, where many people's lives are dominated by the sea as in the days of the Vikings. The smaller cities are undiscovered gems.

Here are Ten reasons to visit, to help start your holiday planning and further research

Cruising: The best way of experiencing the coast and fjords is on a cruise ship. Hurtigruten (Norwegian Coastal Voyage) operates departures up and down the coast on every day of the year, with cruise ship standards.

Fjords: Deep inlets from the sea give the coast its character. You will enjoy outdoor leisure activities, such as walking, cycling and scenic tours if you base yourself at Hardangerfjord or Geirangerfjord.

Arctic Adventure: The north of Norway lies above the Arctic Circle, experiencing the midnight sun in June/July and weeks of almost constant darkness in December/January. Go whale watching in summer or snowmobiling in winter.

The Northern Lights: This meteorological phenomenon occurs in winter when the night sky is lit up in a dazzling display. Your best chance of observing them is on a cruise ship or far from civilisation.

Winter sports: The most popular ski resorts of Hemsedal, Lillehammer, Geilo and Voss have a snow record you can depend on, as well as fine facilities for beginners. March and April are the ideal months.

Glacial attractions: Even in summer, you can experience the majesty of ice. Jostedalsbreen glacier is easily reached from the fjord country north of Bergen.

Food and drink: Prices might be high but you'll dine well on breakfast and dinner buffets where fish, seafood and maybe reindeer take pride of place. It's best to take your own drinks however!

Vibrant cities: Oslo has all you might expect from a capital city, but Bergen has the advantage of a real maritime feel and fascinating medieval history.

Island life: A trip to the remote Lofoten Islands is unforgettable. Fishing is still the main industry and they are served by Hurtigruten coastal ships.

Furthest north: The visitor centre at the North Cape tells you this is the furthest point north on the European mainland, but another promontory nearby claims the same distinction.

Norway has got to be one of the most scenic countries in the world, and one that is increasingly easy to reach as more air links open up - now is most certainly the time to think about a holiday in Norway - it is simple to organise an independent trip, or of course you will find many specialist tour operators who feature city breaks, cruises and special interest holiday packages. by Jimi St Pierre

Animal To Watch For In Caves

The sinister and damp chambers of a cave perform as home to several creatures that can be both scary and crawly. Some animals are accustomed to go inside caves just to relax or hibernate; while others stanch navy dwellers that can't live outside the caves. No concern how big a cave is, it is an universe to countless animals that can be delicate or risky, minute or gargantuan.

Getting into caves could be the essential adventure for you. Nevertheless such activity can show dangers that lurk in the dusk. Living creatures can rapidly capture you off protect and give you a prickling or, shoddier, killing. So be equipped for these animals when cave exploring.

Bats dwell inside caves to withhold from the light of day. A little disturbance could certainly start them and, before you know it, hundreds or thousands of panic-stricken bats will be rapid your way and you can simply get immovable in the blow. With razor definite teeth and claws, bats can rip your cave clothes or your skin. If this happens, sentry your eyes or you will live in darkness evermore.

Snakes honey the cold and unlit spaces; and the cave is a total haunt for these crawling predators. Snakes are perilous in two conduct; they could be noxious or constrictors. So be alert for snakes, they raid without alarm when they feel threatened. Be assured to attire protective clothes especially if you are new to cave exploration.

Bears live in caves to hibernate. It would be unfortunate if ever you would unsettle a bear in hibernation or encounter one that is on the way out of hibernation. Bears are amazingly sharp and tiring animals; and there have been actual news of bears attacking humans. So be ready, know if the cave you are exploring is within a region famous for bears.

Ever heard of the New York subway alligator? Well, that hearsay is pure urban legend. Nevertheless it signifies how crocodiles and alligators honey murky and damp environment particularly when they are laying eggs. When you are inside caves, especially those near lakes or swamps, be alert for these big reptiles because, no necessary to declare, they can easily have you for breakfast or dine.

Creepy crawlers are abundant inside caves. That is why you also have to watchdog out for spiders, frogs, insects, and minor reptiles like salamanders and iguanas. While some crawlers could be very vicious, most of them are downright uncomfortable if ever they get to you. by basketball753

Things to do on Holiday in Madagascar

With its exceptional diversity in geography, biodiversity and culture, there's something new for you to do each time you visit. The following are popular activities that you might like to consider:

Lazy Days at The Beach
Madagascar is famous for its fine white sands and calm, clear waters, making it ideal for a relaxing day at the beach as well as snorkeling when the tide is low. Some ideals spots to experience the characteristic sandy white beaches include Nosy Ve, and Anakao.

Madagascar's Unique Wildlife
Madagascar is home to some of the most extraordinary wildlife including lemurs, a rainbow-array of chameleon species and bird species you will find nowhere else in the world. Berenty Private Reserve is a popular hotspot for wildlife viewing in Madagascar and is most popular for its brown lemur, ring-tailed lemur and sifaka populations.

Madagascar's Unique Flora
Madagascar's unique wildlife is sustained by its unique flora. Two recommended spots are: Adohahela National Park - the reserve has three distinct zones of rainforest, spiny forest and the east-west transition forest, which is the last place on earth you will find the Triangle Palm tree. Mandena Conservation Zone - the zone protects rare littoral forest (similar to coastal rainforest), with 60ha of wetlands. It includes 22 species of endemic flora and 200 large tree species.

Hiking & Walks at Andringitra National Park
The national park was established to protect the fauna and flora in the area. Its main attractions are its landscapes, vegetation and hiking. The main hiking circuits offer a spectacular adventure of waterfalls, caves, medicinal plants, forests, granite peaks and escarpments, and an encounter with the characteristic ring-tailed lemurs.

Tombs & Sub-fossil Elephant Bird Eggshells
Location: Anakao in the south A day exploring Anakao fishing village by foot is rewarded by discovering some ancient tombs at the peninsula and fragments of subfossil eggshells from the extinct Elephant Bird (Aepyornis). The elephant bird is said to have been so large in size that it could easily carry away a creature the size of an elephant.

Diving in Madagascar
Madagascar offers outstanding biodiversity amongst its reefs and islands. The coral reefs in this area have not been affected badly by coral bleaching (an effect of global warming) and you may come across almost every species of coral known in the western part of the Indian Ocean. By boat you may come across dolphins and hump-backed whales, and underwater you may be lucky enough to spot a whale shark.by John Simms