A Visit to Cape Town, South Africa

CAPE TOWN is southern Africa's most beautiful, most romantic and most visited city. Indeed, few urban centres anywhere can match its setting along the mountainous Cape Peninsula spine, which slides into the Atlantic Ocean. By far the most striking – and famous – of its sights is Table Mountain, frequently shrouded by clouds, and rearing up from the middle of the city.

More than a scenic backdrop, Table Mountain is the solid core of Cape Town, dividing the city into distinct zones with public gardens, wilderness, forests, hiking routes, vineyards and desirable residential areas trailing down its lower slopes. Standing on the tabletop, you can look north for a giddy view of the city centre, its docks lined with matchbox ships. To the west, beyond the mountainous Twelve Apostles, the drop is sheer and your eye sweeps across Africa's priciest real estate, clinging to the slopes along the chilly but spectacularly beautiful Atlantic seaboard. To the south, the mountainsides are forested and several historic vineyards and the marvellous Botanical Gardens creep up the lower slopes. Beyond the oak-lined suburbs of Newlands and Constantia lies the warmerFalse Bay seaboard, which curves around towards Cape Point. Finally, relegated to the grim industrial east, are the coloured townships and black ghettos, spluttering in winter under the smoky pall of coal fires – your stark introduction to Cape Town when driving in.

To appreciate Cape Town you need to spend time outdoors, as Capetonians do: they hike, picnic or sunbathe, often choose mountain bikes in preference to cars, and turn adventureactivities into an obsession. Meanwhile, Cape Town's rich urban texture is immediately apparent in its diverse architecture, an indigenous Cape Dutch style, rooted in the Netherlands, that finds its apotheosis in the Constantia wine estates, which were themselves brought to new heights by French refugees in the seventeenth century; Muslim slaves, freed in the nineteenth century, added their minarets to the skyline; and the English, who invaded and freed these slaves, introduced Georgian and Victorian buildings.

A Visit to Athens, Greece

For all too many people, ATHENS is a city that happened two-and-a-half thousand years ago. It's true that even now the past looms large – literally, in the shape of the mighty Acropolis that dominates almost every view, as well as on every visitor's itinerary. Yet the modern conurbation is home to over four million people – more than a third of the Greek nation's population – and has undergone a transformation in the twenty-first century. The stimulus of the 2004 Olympics made it far more than a repository of antiquities, lifting it above the clichés of pollution and impossible traffic that have blighted its reputation in recent years.

A Visit to Berlin, Germany

As heart of the Prussian kingdom, cultural centre of the Weimar Republic, headquarters of Hitler's Third Reich and a key frontline flashpoint in the Cold War, Berlin has long been a weather vane of European – and world – history.

World War II may have left the city devastated to such an extent that there was serious debate about leaving it in ruins, but in the following years the city did a remarkable job rebuilding. Reconstructions of its sixteenth-century core exist in the Nikolaiviertel, while nearby stand many rebuilt nineteenth-century buildings from the time when the city prospered as capital of the Second Reich. Little from the Third Reich has survived, and no one has cared to rebuild it, with the notable exception of the 1936 Olympic Stadium.

The rest of Berlin is the product of post-war rebuilding, when the city was divided – ideologically and physically – by the Berlin Wall. West Berlin became a capitalist showcase of subsidized experimental architecture – the Philharmonie and the Neue Nationalgalerie for example – while in the east vast projects such as the Karl-Marx-Allee apartment blocks and radical TV tower were hymns to socialism. On both sides the era also produced vast housing estates, soulless prefabricated dwellings that remain reality for thousands of Berliners.

During the Cold War, West Berlin's unorthodox character made it a magnet for bohemians who flocked here attracted by a military service loophole and huge West German subsidies that funded a cutting-edge arts scene. Non-Germans came too, lured to Germany by promises of work, and to Berlin by its tolerance. Turks, Greeks and Italians arrived in the 1960s making Berlin Germany's most cosmopolitan city – reflected in the excellent variety of cuisines on offer.

A Visit to Las Vegas , USA

Are You a traveller? Are you looking for visiting nice cities?Do you want to visit in USA?There are a lot of place where u can visit. A lot of tourists attractions are waiting for you. Different cities and towns have different outlook. One of the most tourist attraction in USA is Las Vegas.
Las Vegas is the most dynamic, spectacular city on the earth.At the start of the twentieth century, it didn't even exist; at the start of the twenty-first, it's home to well over one million people, with enough newcomers arriving to need a new school every month.

Las Vegas is not like other cities. No city in history has so explicitly valued the needs of visitors above those of its own population. All its growth has been fueled by tourism, but the tourists haven't spoiled the "real" city; there is no real city. Las Vegas doesn't have fascinating little-known neighborhoods, and it's not a place where visitors can go off the beaten track to have more authentic experiences. Instead, the whole thing is completely self-referential; the reason Las Vegas boasts the vast majority of the world's largest hotels is that around thirty-seven million tourists each year come to see the hotels themselves.
The telephone area code for all phone numbers in the text, unless otherwise indicated, is 702.

Each of these monsters is much more than a mere hotel, and more too than the casino that invariably lies at its core. They're extraordinary places, self-contained fantasy-lands of high camp and genuine excitement that can stretch as much as a mile from end to end. Each holds its own flamboyant permutation of showrooms and swimming pools, luxurious guest quarters and restaurants, high-tech rides and attractions.

The casinos want you to gamble, and they'll do almost anything to lure you in; thus the huge moving walkways that pluck you from the Strip sidewalk, almost against your will, and sweep you into places like Caesars Palace. Once you're inside, on the other hand, the last thing they want is for you to leave. Whatever you came in for, you won't be able to do it without crisscrossing the casino floor innumerable times; as for finding your way out, that can be virtually impossible. The action keeps going day and night, and in this windowless – and clock-free – environment you rapidly lose track of which is which.

"Little emphasis is placed on the gambling clubs No cheap and easily parodied slogans have been adopted to publicize Las Vegas, no attempt has been made to introduce pseudo-romantic architectural themes or to give artificial glamor or gaiety."
– WPA Guidebook to Nevada, 1940

Las Vegas never dares to rest on its laurels, so the basic concept of the Strip casino has been endlessly refined since the Western-themed resorts and ranches of the 1940s. In the 1950s and 1960s, when most visitors arrived by car, the casinos presented themselves as lush tropical oases at the end of the long desert drive. Once air travel took over, Las Vegas opted for Disneyesque fantasy, a process that started in the late 1960s with Caesars Palace and culminated with Excalibur and Lu xor in the early 1990s.

These days, after six decades of capitalism run riot, the Strip is locked into a hyperactive craving for thrills and glamor. First-time visitors tend to expect Las Vegas to be a repository of kitsch, but the casino owners are far too canny to be sentimental about the old days. Yes, there are a few Elvis impersonators around, but what characterizes the city far more is its endless quest for novelty. Long before they lose their sparkle, yesterday's showpieces are blasted into rubble, to make way for ever more extravagant replacements. The Disney model has now been discarded in favor of more adult themes, and Las Vegas demands nothing less than entire cities. Replicas of New York, Paris, Monte Carlo and Venice now jostle for space on the Strip.

The customer is king in Las Vegas. What the visitor wants, the city provides. If you come in search of the cheapest destination in America, you'll enjoy paying rock-bottom rates for accommodation and hunting out the best buffet bargains. If it's style and opulence you're after, by contrast, you can dine in the finest restaurants, shop in the most chic stores, and watch world-class entertainment; it'll cost you, but not as much as it would anywhere else. The same guidelines apply to gambling. The Strip giants cater to those who want sophisticated high-roller heavens, where tuxedo ed James Bond lookalikes toss insouciant bankrolls onto the roulette tables. Others prefer their casinos to be sinful and seedy, inhabited by hard-bitten heavy-smoking low-lifes; there is no shortage of that type of joint either, especially downtown.

On the face of it, the city is supremely democratic. However you may be dressed, however affluent or otherwise you may appear, you'll be welcomed in its stores, restaurants, and above all its casinos. The one thing you almost certainly won't get, however, is the last laugh; all that seductive deference comes at a price. It would be nice to imagine that perhaps half of your fellow visitors are skilful gamblers, raking in the profits at the tables, while the other half are losing, but the bottom line is that almost nobody's winning. In the words of Steve Wynn, who built Bellagio and the Mirage, "The only way to make money in a casino is to own one"; according to the latest figures, 85 percent of visitors gamble, and they lose an average of $665 each. On top of that, most swiftly come to see that virtually any other activity works out cheaper than gambling, so end up spending their money on all sorts of other things as well. What's so clever about Las Vegas is that it makes absolutely certain that you have such a good time that you don't mind losing a bit of money along the way; that's why they don't even call it "gambling" anymore, but "gaming."

San Francisco, California

San Francisco is quite small, yet its hilly terrain and patchwork demographic profile gives it more distinctly defined neighborhoods than a city five times its size. As a result, the sights, sounds and flavors of this community—and even its climate—can change within a single block.

Castro Street & Noe Valley
The center of San Francisco's gay community and a landmark for gay culture everywhere, the Castro is full of bars, dance clubs, restaurants, and one-of-a-kind shops, located in the commercial area around 18th and Castro Street. There's arguably more street life in the Castro than anywhere else in the city, especially on weekends. The gleaming neon sign of the Castro Theater greets visitors as they make their way down the street, with its Spanish colonial architecture and various blockbuster and independent film screenings. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence sometimes make an appearance at special events (they're really men in nun drag) such as the Castro Street Fair, and take it from us—this is the place to be on Halloween. Trek up Castro to Liberty Street to see exceptional Victorian homes. Over the hill lies Noe Valley and its main shopping strip, 24th Street. Cute and relatively quiet, Noe Valley has enough great restaurants and gourmet food shops to make it sophisticated, but not enough many chromed-up bars and Italian clothing boutiques to make it stuffy.

Chinatown
The greatest single concentration of Chinese people outside of Asia—a population of roughly 80,000—live in the approximately 24 square blocks of Chinatown , making it the most densely populated area of San Francisco. As you walk around, you'll be richly rewarded by the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of this vibrant community. Grant Avenue is the decorative showpiece of Chinatown, each year hosting the Autumn Moon Festival Street Fair and the ever popular Chinese New Year Festival & Parade. The neighborhood is also known for its excellent Chinese dishes from freshly-prepared poultry and seafood, to the staple, Dim Sum.

Civic Center & Hayes Valley
Stately Beaux Arts buildings like the War Memorial Opera House and the domed, renovated City Hall are situated near the modern Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall and the Public Library's graceful Main Branch. The Asian Art Museum is also in the area, housed in the former Main Library building. Nearby Hayes Valley offers fine dining and apres-symphony toddies for concert-goers, as well as tastefully creative stores for clothing and gifts.

Cow Hollow & Union Street
The grand, imposing homes of Cow Hollow (so named for its original bovine residents) are nestled against the Presidio where Pacific Heights dives to the Marina. Spectacular views are the norm. Straight, single yuppies pack the Balboa Cafe , Sushi Chardonnay, and other bars and restaurants on Fillmore and Union Streets. Clothes hounds can easily fritter the day away in Union Street's many upscale and tasteful boutiques.

Downtown & Union Square
Union Square is the heart of San Francisco's bustling and stylish downtown shopping district. Posh department stores such as Neiman Marcus and Macy's ring the one-block square park. Hundreds of other exclusive stores, boutiques and shopping centers, such as the Westfield San Francisco Shopping Centre , lie within a three-block radius of the square. If you've shopped till you've dropped, pick yourself up at an outdoor cafe in tiny Maiden Lane , and restore the soul at one of the many art galleries on Sutter and Geary Streets. This is also the home of San Francisco's modest Theater District.

Financial District & The Embarcadero
"The Wall Street of the West": Bank of America, Charles Schwab, and the Transamerica Corporation (in its landmark, 48-floor Pyramid ) are among the many banks and corporations headquartered here. The Embarcadero Center features dining, shopping, a fine art cinema, and a health club, while Justin Herman Plaza is the site of many New Year's Eve bashes. The Embarcadero itself fronts the Bay for miles on either side of the imposing Ferry Building Marketplace , modeled on the cathedral tower in Seville, Spain.

Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square & Aquatic Park
This area was once the thriving center of San Francisco's fishing industry. Many fishing boats still dock at the Wharf, but Fisherman's Wharf today is more of an extended tourist trap. Pier 39 is a great place to catch a view of the bay thanks to the delightful colony of sea lions. Aquatic Park features a beach, of sorts, and a long pier spiraling out into the Bay. Old sea-dogs will enjoy adjacent Hyde Street Pier, where several historic ships are docked, along with the Maritime Museum . Ghirardelli Square , a chocolate factory turned shopping and restaurant complex, features some of the city's better dining and views. This area is nice for an evening stroll.

Golden Gate Park
With 1000 acres of gardens, meadows, lakes, golf, archery, and internationally recognized art and science museums, Golden Gate Park offers endless recreational possibilities for visitors and locals. The DeYoung Museum and the Japanese Tea Garden are some of the main attractions of the famous park, drawing millions of visitors each year. At the western edge of the park, Ocean Beach, although unappealing for swimming, attracts hard-core surfers with its rough, frigid and unpredictable waves.

Lower Haight
At once, the area around Haight and Fillmore feels more bohemian and less unsavory than the Haight Ashbury to the west. The streets are usually packed with college-age inhabitants who tote guitars and well-worn paperbacks. Ethnic restaurants like Persian Aub Zam Zam , unpretentious cafes, and independent bookstores are mushrooming in this neighborhood. The street life is lively on nights and weekends at popular haunts like Nickie's and Toronado .

Nob Hill & Russian Hill
On impossibly steep Nob Hill , California's early industrialists built fabulous mansions that looked down upon the rest of San Francisco. While only the imposing Flood Mansion remains—now the Pacific Union Club—the area's five-star hotels bear the names of other Nob Hill denizens: the Mark Hopkins , the Renaissance Stanford Court Hotel , and the Huntington . Facing Huntington Park is Grace Cathedral , a 3/4 replica of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. Adjoining Nob Hill is Russian Hill, where San Francisco's old money has a great view of the Bay. The "Crookedest Street in the World" resides here and snakes down Russian Hill for the 1000 block of Lombard Street . The traffic is generally impossible—walk it!

North Beach & Telegraph Hill
Originally settled by Italians, North Beach became a magnet for Beat Generation writers and poets in the 1950s. City Lights Bookstore and the cafes and shops on upper Grant Avenue still exude Beatnik funk. A new wave of entrepreneurial Italians has brought a sense of Roman style to exciting new restaurants along Columbus Avenue. On Broadway, barkers still pull tourists and sailors into charmingly seedy strip joints. Clapboard sea captains' cottages and mossy flower gardens seem to dangle in space from the cliffs of Telegraph Hill. Coit Tower , at 210 feet, commands a stunning panorama from the hilltop. The boardwalk Filbert Steps leads from the Tower down through the Grace Marchand Gardens to Levi's Plaza Park at the base of the hill.

Fillmore Street & Japantown
Fillmore Street, Pacific Heights' commercial spur, features noteworthy restaurants, epicurean food, and antique shops, all attended by a lively trade from young professionals. Fillmore and Geary has become a popular nightlife destination, thanks to John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom Room and the Fillmore Auditorium . Be advised that the neighborhood gets a bit sketchy to the south and west of Geary and Fillmore. The Kabuki Cinema and neighboring Kabuki Springs & Spa are part of the Japan Center, the commercial heart of Japantown. A sort of miniature Ginza, the Japan Center features a 100-foot pagoda, bonsai gardens, sushi bars and other businesses. Each spring it holds the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival.

Pacific Heights & Presidio Heights
Stately homes and high-rent apartment buildings line the ridge high above Cow Hollow in old-money Pacific Heights. Genteel, renovated Victorians ring the peaceful Alta Plaza Park . Washington Street between Presidio and Arguello features exceptionally palatial residences. Those fortunate enough to live here shop for antiques and dine in quiet refinement on a few understated blocks of nearby Sacramento Street. San Francisco's largest synagogue, Temple Emanu-el , can be found on Arguello Street.

SoMa
Once an unglamorous stretch of warehouses with a seedy undercurrent, an exciting modern San Francisco has emerged in the area South of Market Street—SoMa. Conventions, art, and entertainment possibilities abound in the Moscone/YerbaBuena Center area. Locals can be seen at leisure at the South Park Cafe , Brain Wash (a cafe/performance space/laundromat), or other fashion-forward restaurants and watering holes.

South Beach/China Basin
One of the city's most popular residential areas for young professionals, South Beach arose from a virtual wasteland at the southern end of the Embarcadero and the western edge of SoMa. Apartment complexes and boat marinas squeeze together between the foot of the Oakland Bay Bridge and the San Francisco Giants' waterfront baseball stadium, AT&T Park . Warehouses and factories have either been converted into stylish lofts or are being razed in a swath of development extending down Third Street to the Mission Bay development.

Haight-Ashbury & the Panhandle
This small, but densely concentrated cradle of the hippie movement has tried to retain much of its flower-power, peace and love appeal. While real Summer-of-Love generation hippies may be hard to find, young people, dreadlocked, skinheaded, or skateboard-crazy have continued to come to the Haight to break boundaries. The colorful bars and restaurants of upper Haight Street, however, are always packed with professional twenty-somethings. The annual Haight-Ashbury Street Fair is quite a scene. Architecture buffs will want to take a look at the regal Victorians on the Panhandle—the grassy, tree-lined strip extends east from Golden Gate Park along Fell and Oak Streets.

The Marina District
Tanned, fit and energetic twenty-somethings run and rollerblade along the Marina Green, a vast expanse of grass fronting the Bay between two yacht harbors. Mountain bikers crowd cafes, restaurants, and brunch hangouts along busy Chestnut Street after Sunday morning rides to Mount Tamalpais. The graceful Palace of Fine Arts houses the Exploratorium , the one-of-a-kind, hands-on science museum—a must-see for those with kids. At the southern end of the Marina Green is Fort Mason Center , a waterside arts and cultural center.

The Mission District
The nexus of Hispanic culture, and a mecca for edgy bohemians, the Mission now houses increasing numbers of young professionals and their sport utility vehicles. Mexican and Central American businesses line teeming Mission Street. Visit popular La Taqueria , and be assured that the wait is worth it. Along the Valencia Corridor, one block to the west, bars, cafes, and restaurants of every description, notably Casanova Lounge , lead to the buzzing 16th and Valencia hub. Paxton Gate stands as one of the most unique among the array of shops in this stretch. The neighborhood draws its name from nearby Mission Dolores , founded in 1776. The dolled-up, postcard-perfect Victorians on Dolores Street are worth a look—in the daytime—from adjacent Dolores Park .

The Presidio
14,000 acres of forests and beaches, 75 miles of bicycle-friendly roads, a golf course, and scenic grandeur without end make this the jewel of the Fort Miley Golden Gate National Recreation Area . The Presidio was a military base from 1776 to 1994; antebellum Fort Point , under the Golden Gate Bridge , is a favorite for cannon enthusiasts, as well as for surfers, sailboarders, and Hitchcock aficionados (it's the site of Kim Novak's attempted suicide in Vertigo).

The Richmond District
Fog-bound and quiet residential streets stretch to the Cliff House and Sutro Baths at the ocean, with the occasional Irish pub along the way. Some of the city's best Chinese restaurants are to be found in "Little Chinatown" on Clement Street, and Cyrillic lettering fills store windows around the imposing, gold-domed Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Cathedral on outer Geary Boulevard. Exclusive Seacliff, home to Robin Williams and other celebrities, is next to Lincoln Park, site of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor and a spectacular golf course.

The Sunset
A quiet and intensely foggy residential district, the principal attractions to the Outer Sunset are the San Francisco Zoo and the natural amphitheater at Stern Grove, where free concerts are held on summer Sundays. As well as being home to the Strybing Arboretum & Botanical Gardens , the Inner Sunset features a lively stretch of shops on Irving Street, near 9th Avenue where students from nearby UCSF Medical School crowd ethnic restaura

Manila, Philippines

Fourteen cities and three municipalities make up what is officially known as Metro Manila, referred to by most residents and visitors simply as MANILA, a massive, clamorous conurbation that covers 636 square kilometres and is home to almost 10 million people. To add to the confusion the old part of Manila – the area near the old walled city of Intramuros – officially remains the capital and seat of the Philippine government. In practice, the seats of government are all around Metro Manila, with the executive, administrative and judicial branches in Manila, the Senate in Pasay City and Congress in Quezon City.

At first sight Manila (in this book, the word refers to the whole conurbation) is intimidating: noisy, unkempt and with appalling traffic. There are few open spaces and only a handful of remarkable buildings. Signposting has improved in recent years, but is still woefully inadequate or misleading. Finding your way around is made even more difficult by the absence of significant modern or historical landmarks – most of the buildings are low concrete structures built in a hurry since the end of World War II. Skyscrapers have gone up in some of the business districts, but none is as notable as Hong Kong's Bank of China or Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers.

Manila has no proper city centre. To some Manileños, the central business district of Makati is the city centre, to others it might be Quezon City or the Roxas Boulevard/Manila Bay area. Each is a city in its own right. Roads run everywhere like capillaries, and suburbs act as connecting tissue between new centres of population. It is this apparent lack of order, though, that imbues Manila with character. Its flaws are what make the city human, giving it an anarchic charm that sweeps you along. Manila is also a city of striking emotional counterpoint. Frothy mansions belonging to tycoons and politicians fight for space with squalid shantytowns built along railway tracks. One of the problems Manila faces is the unceasing influx of provincianos, people from the provinces who believe the streets are paved with gold, most of whom end up squatting illegally on any spare scrap of land they can find. The fight for space is intensified by the city's apparently insatiable appetite for shopping malls.

To understand Manila completely, to get under its skin, you need a grasp of its complex and sometimes tragi-burlesque history. It has been razed by an earthquake, bombed, occupied, bombed again and rebuilt. It has expanded inexorably, but public services have not kept pace. The result is a rakish megalopolis that lives on its wits and maintains a frenetic pace 24 hours a day just so it can get things done. The roads are always busy and the buses always full, but in Manila you learn to go with the flow, never worrying about whether you'll be late or whether your taxi is going the wrong way down a one-way street. The Filipino maxim bahala na – what will be will be – applies as much to Manila as it does to life.

Despite its problems and troubled history, Manila is a sociable city, with a populace who take pride in their cultural affinities to the West and their embrace of all things American. Most tourists, however, use Manila as a transit point, a place to spend a day or two on the way to the islands and beaches of the south or the mountainous tribal areas of the north. A couple of days is all you really need to explore the key sights in and around Intramuros, the city's only notable historical enclave, its stone houses and grassy courtyards much as they were when the Spanish regime came to an end in the nineteenth century. If you've got a bit more time on your hands, take a wander through nearby Binondo – Chinatown – or head out of the city on a day-trip. There's plenty to see and do in the vicinity of the capital, from the Manila Bay island of Corregidor, a fascinating reminder of the horrors of war, to the rapids and waterfalls at Pagsanjan.

Manila also prides itself on the quality of its nightlife and the ability of its residents to kick up a good time. For many tourists, this will be their enduring memory of the place: funky bars and nightclubs in areas such as Malate and Makati whose attraction stems from their egalitarian nature. It doesn't matter who you are or what you are, you will have fun in Manila. All you have to do is take a deep breath and dive in.

A Visit to Paris, France

Long considered the paragon of style, Paris is the most glamorous city in Europe. It is at once deeply traditional – a village-like metropolis whose inhabitants continue to be notorious for their hauteur – and famously cosmopolitan. While such contradictions and contrasts may be the reality of any city, they are the makings of Paris: consider the tiny lanes and alleyways of the Quartier Latin or Montmartre against the monumental vistas from the Louvre to La Défense; the multiplicity of street markets and old-fashioned pedestrian arcades against the giant underground commercial complexes of Montparnasse and Les Halles; or the aristocratic wealth of the grand quarters against the vibrant chaos of the poorer districts.

At times, Paris can feel inhumanly magnificent, the arrogance of its monuments encompassing the chilly pomp of the Panthéon, the industrial chic of the Eiffel Tower and the almost spiritual glasswork of the Louvre pyramid. Yet it also operates on a very human scale, with exquisite, secretive little nooks tucked away from the Grands Boulevards and very definite little communities revolving around games of boules and the local boulangerie and café. And even as Paris's culture is transformed by its large immigrant and gay populations, even as extravagant new buildings are commissioned and erected, many of the city's streets, cafés and restaurants remain remarkably, defiantly unchanged.

In the great local tradition of the flâneur, or thoughtful boulevard-stroller, Paris is a wonderful city for aimless wandering. Relaxed quarters such as the vibrant Marais, elegant St-Germain and romantic Montmartre are ideal for street-browsing, shopping and café-sitting, and the city's lack of open space is redeemed by beautiful formal gardens, by the pathways and pavements that run beside the River Seine, and by endless hidden or unexpected havens. And everywhere you go, historic landmark buildings and contemporary architectural wonders remind you of the city's pride and grandeur – and stop you getting lost.

There are over 150 art galleries and museums in the city – few of them duds – and an uncounted number of cafés, brasseries and restaurants lining every street and boulevard. The variety of style and decor is hard to beat, ranging from ultra-modern fashion temples to traditional, mirrored palaces, and from tiny bistrots where the emphasis is all on the cooking to bustling Vietnamese diners. After dark, the city's theatres and concert halls host inventive and world-leading productions of theatre and dance, while many classical concerts take place in fine architectural setting

A Visit to New York City

The most beguiling city in the world, New York is an adrenaline-charged, history-laden place that holds immense romantic appeal for visitors. Wandering the streets here, you'll cut between buildings that are icons to the modern age – and whether gazing at the flickering lights of the midtown skyscrapers as you speed across the Queensboro bridge, experiencing the 4am half-life downtown, or just wasting the morning on the Staten Island ferry, you really would have to be made of stone not to be moved by it all. There's no place quite like it.

While the events of September 11, 2001, which demolished the World Trade Center, shook New York to its core, the populace responded resiliently under the composed aegis of then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Until the attacks, many New Yorkers loved to hate Giuliani, partly because they saw him as committed to making their city too much like everyone else's. To some extent he succeeded, and during the late Nineties New York seemed cleaner, safer, and more liveable, as the city took on a truly international allure and shook off the more notorious aspects to its reputation. However, the maverick quality of New York and its people still shines as brightly as it ever did. Even in the aftermath of the World Trade Center's collapse, New York remains a unique and fascinating city – and one you'll want to return to again and again.

You could spend weeks in New York and still barely scratch the surface, but there are some key attractions – and some pleasures – that you won't want to miss. There are the different ethnic neighborhoods, like lower Manhattan's Chinatown and the traditionally Jewish Lower East Side (not so much anymore); and the more artsy concentrations of SoHo, TriBeCa, and the East and West Villages. Of course, there is the celebrated architecture of corporate Manhattan, with the skyscrapers in downtown and midtown forming the most indelible images. There are the museums, not just the Metropolitan and MoMA, but countless other smaller collections that afford weeks of happy wandering. In between sights, you can eat just about anything, at any time, cooked in any style; you can drink in any kind of company; and sit through any number of obscure movies. The more established arts – dance, theater, music – are superbly catered for; and New York's clubs are as varied and exciting as you might expect. And for the avid consumer, the choice of shops is vast, almost numbingly exhaustive in this heartland of the great capitalist dream.

A Visit to London,UK

With a population of just under eight million, London is Europe's largest city, spreading across an area of more than 620 square miles from its core on the River Thames. Ethnically it's also Europe's most diverse metropolis: around two hundred languages are spoken within its confines, and more than thirty percent of the population is made up of first-, second- and third-generation immigrants. Despite Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolution, London still dominates the national horizon, too: this is where the country's news and money are made, it's where the central government resides and, as far as its inhabitants are concerned, provincial life begins beyond the circuit of the city's orbital motorway. Londoners' sense of superiority causes enormous resentment in the regions, yet it's undeniable that the capital has a unique aura of excitement and success – in most walks of British life, if you want to get on you've got to do it in London.

For the visitor, too, London is a thrilling place – and in the last few years, the city has been in a relatively buoyant mood. Thanks to the national lottery and the millennium-oriented funding frenzy, virtually every one of London's world-class museums, galleries and institutions has been reinvented, from the Royal Opera House to the British Museum. In the Tate Modern and the London Eye, the city can now boast the world's largest modern art gallery and Ferris wheel, and the first new bridge to cross the Thames for over a hundred years. Furthermore, following sixteen years of being the only major city in the world not to have its own governing body, London finally acquired its own elected assembly in 2000, along with a mayor who's determined to try and solve one of London's biggest problems: transport.

In the meantime, London's traditional sights – Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London – continue to draw in millions of tourists every year. Monuments from the capital's more glorious past are everywhere to be seen, from medieval banqueting halls and the great churches of Christopher Wren to the eclectic Victorian architecture of the triumphalist British Empire. There is also much enjoyment to be had from the city's quiet Georgian squares, the narrow alleyways of the City of London, the riverside walks, and the quirks of what is still identifiably a collection of villages. And even London's traffic problems are offset by surprisingly large expanses of greenery: Hyde Park, Green Park and St James's Park are all within a few minutes' walk of the West End, while, further afield, you can enjoy the more expansive countryside of Hampstead Heath and Richmond Park.

You could spend days just shopping in London, too, mixing with the upper classes in the tiara triangle around Harrods, or sampling the offbeat weekend markets of Portobello Road, Camden and Greenwich. The music, clubbing and gay/lesbian scenes are second to none, and mainstream arts are no less exciting, with regular opportunities to catch brilliant theatre companies, dance troupes, exhibitions and opera. Restaurants, these days, are an attraction, too. London is now on a par with its European rivals, and offers a range from three-star Michelin establishments to low-cost, high-quality Chinese restaurants and Indian curry houses. Meanwhile, the city's pubs have heaps of atmosphere, especially away from the centre – and an exploration of the farther-flung communities is essential to get the complete picture of this dynamic metropolis.

A Visit to Miami, FL

Far and away the most exciting city in Florida, MIAMI is a stunning and often intoxicatingly beautiful place. Awash with sunlight-intensified natural colors, there are moments – when the neon-flashed South Beach skyline glows in the warm night and the palm trees sway in the breeze – when a better-looking city is hard to imagine. Even so, people, not climate or landscape, are what make Miami unique. Half of the two million population is Hispanic, the vast majority Cubans. Spanish is the predominant language almost everywhere – in many places it's the only language you'll hear, and you'll be expected to speak at least a few words – and news from Havana, Caracas or Managua frequently gets more attention than the latest word from Washington, DC.

Just a century ago Miami was a swampy outpost of mosquito-tormented settlers. The arrival of the railroad in 1896 gave the city its first fixed land-link with the rest of the continent, and cleared the way for the Twenties property boom. In the Fifties, Miami Beach became a celebrity-filled resort area, just as thousands of Cubans fleeing the regime of Fidel Castro began arriving in mainland Miami. The Sixties and Seventies brought decline, and Miami's reputation in the Eighties as the vice capital of the USA was at least partly deserved. As the cop show Miami Vice so glamorously underlined, drug smuggling was endemic; as well, in 1980 the city had the highest murder rate in America. Since then, though, much has changed for two very different reasons. First, the gentrification of South Beach helped make tourism the lifeblood of the local economy again in the early Nineties. Second, the city's determined wooing of Latin America brought rapid investment, both domestic and international: many US corporations run their South American operations from Miami and certain neighborhoods, such as Key Biscayne, are now home to thriving communities of expat Peruvians, Colombians and Venezuelans.

Capt Cox's Bazar , Bangladesh

In love with Nature, the winds and the waves. The blue waters reflecting the clouds that float by for the lovers eye. The playful mirth of the surf crashing onto a beach painted silver by the moon shining in the heavens.

The only word to describe the feeling on first glimpse is breathtaking. It's love at first sight. Hard it may be to comprehend, but it is the same feeling each time the rolling waves come into view. And it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this is unique to Cox's Bazar. One of the reasons could be the wide expanse of sandy beach leading onto the picture-perfect blue waves tossing the surf to the winds. Another reason, the cool blue radiance lifting off the waves, lifting the spirits. For a world in search of alternative medicine, the therapeutics of the wind blown music of the waves could be the magic.

It wasn't the magic though, that brought a young British Captain to this beautiful beach. Hundreds of years of internecine warring among the peoples of the region had finally ended in victory for the Burmese. They avenged themselves on the defeated Araknese in what todays' world has come to know as ethnic cleansing. The Moguls had given the British East India Company the right to govern Chittagong upto the Naf river. When Burmese king Bodhpaya's purges forced thousands of refugees to flee the land, they crossed the Naf river and sought refuge in Ramu and the southern coastal belt of Chittagong. This area now being the domain of the East India Company, they had little choice but to deal with the refugees. The East India Co appointed a superintendent for the rehabilitation of the Arakanese refugees. 1799 Capt Hiram Cox had arrived. In the land that still bears his name. This too is unique in a world where the fortunes of war or politics determine the name game. Earlier Capt Cox had been the company Resident in Rangoon and therefore familiar with the local cultures and conflicts. He had actually arrived in India in 1779 as a cadet. By 1796 his prowess in the Bengal Frontier Regiment Infantry got him promotion as Battalion Captain. But luck deserted him in Rangoon and he ended up in the malaria infested jungles of Chittagong. Tasked with the rehabilitation of the refugees Capt Cox Formulated a policy whereby the refugees could settle in one place and govern themselves according to their traditional laws. The company had earmarked the northern areas of Chittagong for refugee rehabilitation but Capt Cox allowed them to remain in the southern parts where they had already settled. The reasoning was based on sound ground. First the refugees would be with Arakanese who had settled earlier but most of all because they would clear the malaria infested jungles for cultivation. So the East India Co agreed to settle the refugees along the southern banks of the Bankkahli river. Not so, declared Sher Mustafa Khan, Kalli Charan, Saaduddin, Mir Chand Gouri Shankar and Shibchand Ray. These half a dozen feudal landlords, Zamindars, laid claim to the land. Capt Cox referred the matter to the Board of Revenue, requesting a Commission to determine ownership of the lands. The Company appointed Hiram Cox Superintendent and Commissioner and informed him that none but they had rights to the land. In typical British management fashion the new superintendent sought to create a road from Ramu to Ukhia Ghat ensuring quick access from the center. Obviously the Arakanese refugees would provide the labour, for which 3,500 spades were ordered by the Board of Revenue from the Dhaka Collectorate. Capt Cox had literally made inroads into the hearts and minds of the refugees. He then proceeded to distribute lands and almost a ton of foodgrains to each family of six all to be repaid in three years. The gratitude of the refugees was eternal.

The English countryside with rolling hills and dales, fields of daisies dahlias and daffodils is the prettiest of sights in spring. The beauty is fleeting at best, withered by a short hot August. 'If summer is here can winter be far behind' wondered Nancy as she stepped out of her dainty little cottage where she lived with her mother. Primroses decorated the doorway, carnations lined the walkway right up to the fence where the sweetpeas were already withering. No, Winter couldn't be far behind. But it wasn't winter yet and the fairs, fun and frollick rolled on. This could be anywhere in England, she knew, but what would a hot humid Burmese jungle be like? He didn't really have to go, but the British Raj made men of boys and strangely men always seemed to have a driving compulsion to prove they were men. Though this often triggered events which forced them onto currents beyond their thought regimes. Little did she suspect how the currents flowing down the Naf river would ebb out her own destiny. On this lovely English morning that was a river too far. Merriment was on hand and many young men too. The boisterous laughter of ladies young and old, as they grandiosed about their membership privileges in the colonies and the tales of the men mixing in, to make the exploited look ridiculous and brown, was common but yet with undeniable appeal. In the hot August sun the cool shade of a native holding up a frilled parasol was an inviting idea. Why stay with chilled lemonade when the peshta-sherbet was being wasted down the throats of debauch Nabobs and Rajas. Tales of the temptatious orient were all aglow with the splendor and magnificence of rubies, pearls, emeralds and diamonds; not just the right of the royalty but of all the British. Oh, add to that the right of the white to show both the kafirs and the Saracens the highway to heaven.

So it was really divine will that took Capt Cox and thousands like him to the Far East, to be joined at appropriate times by their adoring women. Nancy watched the administrative abilities of her man and basked in the glorious admiration of the administered. To the Arakanese Capt Cox had become a saviour fit to be worshipped.

In 1799 Superintendent of Immigrants Capt Hiram Cox set up a small colony of 10,000 Arakanese refugees in the village of Aung Sun Tha which came to be called Cox's Bazar.

This influence of Arakanese still adds an aura of the exotic orient to Cox's Bazar. The Rakhaines add another colourful hue to the windswept southern shores though they are hugely outnumbered by Bengalis. It is truly remarkable to see how a people so different in culture religion, language and food habits from the dominant local population could survive and retain their ethnicity. That the Rakhaine women do most of the work, is not intended as a another tourism technique but a continuation of a male dominated inequity. Its not a pretty sight to see men lazing around smoking while the women are tilling the lands, tending the babies and toiling over the fire. The colourful scarves and lungees woven and worn by the Rakhaine women are a reflection of their vibrant spirits. Moonlit nights call for merry-making with all it's ingredients, singing, dancing and drinking. The men sing interesting tunes.

Between the Bankhali river and the Bay of Bengal is the world's longest unbroken sea-beach, 125 kilometers, down to Teknaf, the southern-most tip of Bangladesh. Here even till today, in the compound of the police station is the well-known water-well of Ma-Thin, holding in its depths another lover's tragedy. Ma Thin daughter of the Magh King with her countries, would come and spend afternoons and evenings sitting beside the well. The officer-in-charge of the police station Dhiraj Bhattacharya, a hindu, fell in love with Ma Thin and married her. His infuriated father summoned him away to Kolkata. Ma Thin pined away refusing food and accepting water, only from the well, to perhaps drown her sorrows and finally died a tragic death. Just before Dhiraj returned. The ebb and tide of animosity between religions did not return Ma Thin.

A short drive down the beautiful beach is Himchhari. Development has put a concrete tourist bungalow on top of a beautiful hill. Nature has taken a 100 or so steps back in angry red scars cut into the hillside. But then the beauty is on the beach against the backdrop of green hill-forests is perhaps unique only to Cox's Bazar.

Another 8 km across the waters from Teknaf is the pristine island reserve of Narikel Zinjira. Thats what the local call the only coral island of Bangladesh. It is better known as St Martin's island, named after a governor of the British Raj. A veritable underwater aquarium, huge varieties of shells including mother of pearl, an equally large variety of fish including flying fish and dolphins inhabit the waters around the island. Living corals swaying tantalizingly can be seen even 5 or 6 meters deep, through the lovely lucid waters.

A hundred kilometers north near Ramu, Capt. Cox lost his fight against malaria. Born in 1759 in England, the saviour of the Arakanese died, aged only 39. His coffin draped in the colours of the Union Jack was placed on a dais. British soldiers under the command of Major Morgan paid military tribute. A 19-gun salute was fired. Half a dozen Zamindars placed floral wreaths on his coffin. The mahouts had their majestically decorated elephants trumpet with raised trunks. Magistrate John Stonehouse paid respect on behalf of the governor general of India. At this point the rebel leader of the Arakanese, Sin Piyan, came forward and requested that they be allowed to bid farewell to Capt Cox in their own traditions. In life Cox had been their messiah. In death he had achieved Nirvana. The Arakanese raised his coffin onto their shoulders, chanting their own mantras. Then at the behest of San Piyan the Arakanese refugees poured all their gold silver, gems and ornaments into the grave. The Englishmen watched in silent amazement. The refuges sang and danced. Cox was lowered into the grave and tears turned to cheers of joy. All except Nancy's. She stood weeping motionless with a bouquet of flowers to place on his grave, on the bank of the Bankkhali river. A place they had both loved to come to. To walk on moonlit nights. To talk under starlit skies. For a breath of fresh air even as malarial fever wracked his body. She placed her little bouquet and stepped back. Lightning streaked across the sky and thunder rocked the banks. Natures tribute? Then came the pouring rains. Sin Piiyan's soldiers stood guard. But in high tide and amid the torrential rains the whole bank of the river collapsed and raging torrents washed Cox's grave away to the sea. Folk tales had it that the sea always returned the bodies. Nancy came back day after day and stood still till the darkness of night hoping the sea would return the body of Capt Cox. It did not. A heartbroken Nancy left. Cox's name remained, despite the shifting sands of time.

Teknaf Sea Beach

This bustling smugglers’ town is on the southern tip of the narrow strip of land adjoining Myanmar, 92km south of Cox’s Bazar. The Bangladesh–Myanmar border is formed by the Naaf River, a branch of which divides the town. Most of the town is a crowded area of narrow alleys.

It is illegal to cross into Myanmar from here, and since its army has planted minefields along the border to deter illegal immigrants and smugglers, it’s not wise to try.

Chittagong Hill Tracts

Decidedly untypical of Bangladesh topography and culture, the 13,180 sq km of the Hill Tracts comprises a mass of hills, ravines and cliffs covered with dense jungle, bamboo, creepers and shrubs.

About half the tribal population are Chakma; the remainder are mostly Marma (who represent about a third of the tribal population) and Tripura. Among the many much smaller groups, the Mru (called Murung by Bangladeshis) stand out as the most ancient inhabitants of the area.

The culture and lifestyle of the Adivasis (tribal people) are very different from that of the Bangladeshi farmers of the plains. Some tribes are matriarchal, and all have similar housing – made entirely of bamboo and covered by thatched roofs of dried leaves. In most other respects, the tribes are quite different, each having its own distinctive rites, rituals, dialect and dress, eg Chakma women wear indigo-and-red striped sarongs.

The women are particularly skilled in making handicrafts, while some of the men still take pride in hunting with bows and arrows.

The area, full of the flavours of Burma, is utterly fascinating and very beautiful. It also offers a chance to stretch the legs with some exciting hiking between tribal communities.

Satchari National Park

About 60km southwest of Srimangal on the Dhaka–Sylhet Hwy is the small Satchari National Park (formerly known as the Telepara Forest Reserve). This 243-hectare park is part of a much larger protected region. Although less popular than Lowacherra, it is a superb slab of tropical forest with a higher diversity of plants and animals than Lowacherra, and with far less human disturbance.


There are a number of marked walking trails of between 30 minutes and three hours, seven streams, a population of hoolock gibbons, fishing cats, Phayre’s langur, jungle fowl, pygmy woodpeckers and oriental pied hornbills.

The Satchari National Park is on the south side of the main road, about 1km east of the Satchari bus stop and Telepara Tea Estate, where the highway takes a sharp left bend. You could get the driver of the Dhaka–Sylhet bus to drop you off here, if you don’t mind missing the early hours when bird-watching is best. Alternatively, get a bus from Srimangal and walk to the trail head 1km away. To return to Srimangal, flag down one of the Dhaka–Sylhet buses, or walk back to Telepara Tea Estate and catch one there.

A Visit to Kuakata

This isolated beach at the southern tip of the delta, about 100km from Barisal, was named by the original Mogh (Rakhine) Buddhist settlers whose ancestors remain today. Kua means ‘well’, and kata means ‘dug’.


The river mouths east and west of the beach ensure that the sea is rather murky, and sharks drying on racks along the beach similarly don’t augur well for swimming. Though Kuakata isn’t the archetypal turquoise, tropical ocean, the vibe is right. The town suffered heavily at the hands of Cyclone Sidr in November 2007.

There is a Buddhist temple close to the Parjatan Motel, about 100m from the beach on a slightly raised mound. The ugly tin-walled shrine holds a much prettier 100-year-old statue of Buddha, said to be the largest in the country. The nearby forestry reserve is pleasant but succumbing to illegal logging. Some travellers report that hiring a fisherman to take you to nearby forested islands is a fun excursion.