How to navigate around London Underground

How to navigate around London Underground:

Use a map of the underground to note which line your starting station is on (the easiest way is to note the colour).
If they are two different lines, make a note of where they cross which is where you will need to change trains.
Work out which direction you will need to travel in (ie eastbound, westbound, northbound or southbound) OR make a note of the station name at the end of your destination line.
Then note which line your destination station is on.

Signs and maps situated at the entrance to each station or each line will tell you which line you should take, with the stations marked on them. These will be colour coded according to the line colours on the underground map.
Make a note of how many stations there are until your stop, then get on the appropriate train and count the stops until you have to get off!

“Don't go here! They will try to cheat you!”

They came top in three out of four categories, including not ... How low can anyone sink when you try and cheat small cafe owners and taxi..

I would not recommend you to come this place. The surprise will come once you got the bill. We had things which we don't order and the quantities where wrong. At the end we couldn't do anything other than pay it.
Be careful, the prices are for 100g, not the whole dish!
London, United Kingdom

This was my first restaurant in Romania. All I had were American dollars, and after some discussion between the staff, it was agreed that they would accept my money. That was nice, I guess, but the service after that was a little less than mediocre. The desserts were best skipped, but I judge a restaurant on main courses, and pastry shops on desserts. We were seated at a small table next to a lot of foot traffic, so I always felt like we were in the way, or being observed from above by many patrons and staff. The place had lots of little nooks and crannies where we might have had more intimacy, but we didn't get reservations, so we got what we got.

The food was very good, and my first realization that Romanian "crap" has nothing to do with poop, but rather how they spell "carp". Unlike many Romanian restaurants that possess interesting ambience, the food here was better than mediocre.

Direct flights bring Vietnam closer for British travellers

Direct flights bring Vietnam closer for British travellers
From Thursday, Vietnam Airlines will begin twice-weekly services between Gatwick and Hanoi and the same number between Gatwick and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). The flights will take approximately 12 hours, cutting several hours off the journey to Vietnam – until now only possible via regional hubs such as Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Vietnam and neighbouring Cambodia and Laos have been attracting a growing number of British visitors since opening up to tourists some two decades ago. Last year, 80,000 Britons visited Vietnam, exploring the Mekong Delta and Halong Bay by boat, heading to the hills of Sapa, engaging with the legacy of the Vietnam War and relaxing on one of the country’s many beaches. Cambodia, home to the Angkor Wat temple complex, drew some 103,000 British visitors. Laos attracts those looking for a more laid-back atmosphere, beautiful scenery and the Buddhist charms of Luang Prabang.

“In Vietnam itself most people travel from one end of the country to the other, taking in all the different highlights along the way. With these new flights it will be possible to fly into Hanoi and out of Ho Chi Minh City – or vice versa.”

“For travellers wanting to explore south-east Asia, this new route will make things much easier and should mean one less flight at each end of the journey,” said Natalie Lewis of Audley Travel, a company that began as a south-east Asia specialist 15 years ago.

Best of Britain: hotels, walks and attractions

Best of Britain: hotels, walks and attractions:
Brighton
Our comprehensive guide to the best of Britain, from hotels and pubs to walking routes and unusual attractions.
Brighton manages to be both hip and quaint in a very British seaside kind of way; it’s also a shopping mecca.
Knoydart Peninsula, Highlands

Often described as Britain's last wilderness, the remote and rugged Knoydart Peninsula is cut off by road from the rest of the Scottish mainland by a ring of forbidding mountains. Those who do make the sea crossing from Mallaig to get there will be rewarded by pristine highland scenery in all its glory. There are walks to suit all fitness levels, ranging from gentle coastal meanders with views across to Skye to more challenging ascents of munros and corbetts such as Ladhar Bheinn and Sgurr Coire Choinnichean.

The latter gives spectacular views across the peninsula and conveniently starts and finishes at the Old Forge, the only pub in the tiny village of Inverie (population 80). The weather this far north can be unpredictable and those who are not familiar with this terrain are advised to use the services of the local rangers who run guided walks.

Alternatively they could sign up for a tour with an adventure company such as Wilderness Scotland , which operates winter walking holidays with tuition on using crampons and an ice axe.

Tunisia Carthage to the Sahara

Tunisia Carthage to the Sahara
The magnificent sites of northern Tunisia, the wide rural landscapes and the extraordinary artistry achieved by the north African mosaicists are described on the previous pages but yet more awaits those who have time to explore Tunisia further.

Our onward journey south leaves the Mediterranean climate behind. One notices the olive trees spaced further and further apart as they compete for the scarce moisture, until we arrive in the strange white landscapes of the chotts - the area of great salt lakes which divides the country in two - and enter the fringes of the great Sahara desert.

On the way, we continue to follow the story of the Roman world into the realms of its military past, climbing the foothills of the Aures Mountains to seek out the only legionary fortress in the whole of this vast province at Haidra, and exploring the empty landscapes of the south in search of traces of the frontier zone.
We drive south into the sand-sea desert in order to experience the real Sahara and to stay at a remote (but very comfortable) camp site under the stars.
In the semi-desert regions of the south, fortified farmsteads (Ksour) were a feature of the landscape from Roman times right through until the recent past, their remarkable Berber architecture demonstrating the ingenuity of the local people in adapting to harsh living conditions.

The Peloponnese from Homer to hadrian & beyond

The Peloponnese from Homer to hadrian & beyond
This is the land of Homer’s heroes and the great Bronze Age citadels from which they came. The home cities of Agamemnon, Menelaus and Nestor help us to put the Trojan War into its Greek context as a meeting with the world of the Hittites of Asia Minor, at a time when Greek colonists were hungry for land, and introducing their way of life to new territories across the sea.

In later times the Peloponnese was also home to major cities and sanctuaries of Classical Greece and, once again this part of Greece took centre stage in ancient world politics as the Peloponnesian War of the late 5th century BC brought the power of Athens to an end, and changed western civilisation forever.
Perhaps this was the memory immortalised by Homer in his epic poems. Certainly many aspects of the Mycenean culture rediscovered by Heinrich Schliemann clearly echo the world described by Homer.

We finish in Athens, and now spend two days here seeing not only the National Museum, but also the new Acropolis Museum, both with incomparable collections which illustrate all aspects of life and death in Ancient Greece.

Starting with the oracle at Delphi, as all great journeys should, we cross to the Peloponnese and travel through a beautiful countryside of mountains, plains and seascapes. Your journey follows the course of history through the coming of Rome, and then early Christianity, visiting the impressive Byzantine and Frankish city of Mistra.

Travel to New Orleans

New Orleans: back in full swing

The shop names say it all. Trashy Diva, Voluptuous Vixen, Constant Envy… Walk down Chartres Street in New Orleans's wilfully bohemian French Quarter, with its richly coloured houses and frilly cast-iron balconies gushing with flowers, and it is clear that this is a city where the sensual life matters.

Boutiques selling perfume, corsets and lingerie give way to handsome Jackson Square, lined with purveyors of hope. Fortune-tellers and tarot readers vie for attention with the pencil-point spires of St Louis Cathedral. A uniformed jazz band tunes up as a splendid white carriage with matching horse clip-clops off for a romantic ride through a bewitching ensemble of Spanish, French and Creole buildings.

Set beside a venerable bend of the Mississippi, New Orleans has always been that dreamy, steamy place where Uncle Sam finally throws off his top-hat and goes lindy-hopping. Tennessee Williams, Mardi Gras, Dixieland, voodoo, gumbo – the call is exotic and hard to resist.

Strangeness is everywhere. New Orleans has stalls selling alligator burgers, and tribes of men who dress up as Indians in outrageous feathered costumes that take a year to make. There are bars that resound to the foot-tapping beat of zydeco, and there are fish named pompano and sheepshead. The locals confer using words such as lagniappe (a little bit extra) and po-boy, which is a sandwich, not an impoverished youth.

It seems to have been like this for ever. In 1920, when Prohibition arrived and agents were despatched nationwide to assess the severity of the problem, New Orleans was found to have 5,000 bars.

While it took an inspector 14 minutes to be offered an illegal drink in New York, here it was just 37 seconds – generously proposed by his taxi-driver.

Comparisons with Venice are appropriate. Both cities have ravishing looks, bags of atmosphere and a precarious relationship with water. As we all know, in August 2005 Hurricane Katrina triggered floods that devastated the city.

The verdict is that this was a man-made disaster – levees meant to provide protection failed. This view is banged home emphatically in David Simon's hit television drama Treme, which is named after the city's historic and culturally rich African-American neighbourhood.

Beginning three months after the disaster, the series shows its citizens struggling to transcend the tragedy, with a superb backing track of home-grown tunes. Many locals consider it "hyper-accurate", and a third season is now in production.

"Some say we are the northernmost city in the Caribbean," a resident suggests – which is plausible given the warmth, colour and laissez-faire lifestyle enveloping me. New Orleans is the only city in the United States where it is legal to drink alcohol in the street, with 24-hour bars and signs saying "Cocktails to Go". Every weekend the pedestrianised party-strip of Bourbon Street becomes a raucous, boozy mayhem filled with out-of-town drunkards festooned with coloured beads.

Travel and leisure magazine: Turkey by charter

Travel and leisure magazine- Turkey by charter

turkey by charterI recently had the opportunity to travel to Turkey in a special way. I made the most of this tremendous occasion given of a cheap airfare given to me. I grasp this opportunity to discover new landscape and I flew to Turkey by charter.

Traveling by charter doesn’t have many requirements: A passport, a visa when needed and an airfare suffice for having an unforgettable journey to the Aegean Sea sunny beach.
The story of this amazing trip to Turkey

I was wandering in the street when I fall on travel advertising to spending a week in a sea resort in Turkey. I was in need of a few days escape abroad, so I grasp this opportunity to have a new journey.
The itinerary to Izmir in Turkey

I jumped in the charter in the afternoon and landed on in the city of Izmir in Turkey.
Then I get a bus with other passengers to the village hotel in the mountain.
It’s was late in the night when we arrived to our final destination. Just on time for a small rest before a new morning full of adventure.
My best records of Turkey

The discovery of the Aegean Sea was a tremendous experience. I even swim in the transparent water full of small fishes. Another great surprise was to know that the city of Izmir was the actual name of the Biblical city of Smyrna in the Book of Revelation.
And I learned that this city were located in few miles of Ephesus.
I spent an enjoyable week, and made the most of my trip to go shopping in the cheap market where leather clothes are not very expensive and tax free for small quantity.

Kyack travel

Travelers' reviews

Every trip we've taken to Disney World, my husband has been singled out in some way by Disney. Three trips in a row he's been placed on the screen at the Monsters Ins. Laugh Floor. so, it was his hope this year to blend into the back ground and not get "noticed" But alas, it was not to be. We were at Epcot and had stopped by The Rose and Crown to look over the menu for the "Ireland" stall during the Food and Wine Fest. and as we were stopped the British Players began setting up their " King Arthur and the Holy Grail" skit, so we decided to watch since we love it. Well on and on they go and begin picking their victims.... umm participants, and guess who gets picked to be Galahad! Yep my husband, it was awesome, the look on his face! But he's a good guy and went with it and got into the part, and we even good natured about all the photos and video I took.

Kyack travel
The Singapore HeritageFest, an annual signature event organised by the National Heritage Board's Education and Outreach Division, brings you on an interactive journey to Singapore's rich diversity of cultures. From exhibitions to heritage tours, culinary events to concerts, the festival's many events and activities is an appeal to both the young and old, and to a wide variety of interests as well.