The most beautiful 7 places in England

England has many beautiful landscapes, this article is an introduction to the most beautiful 7 places in England:

1: Cotswold
Cotswold is not only a paradise for hikers, where the hotels from decoration to service, have maintained an old style. If you want to feel the old UK in old films, you should travel to here.
2: Lake District
Lake District attracts visitors of all ages and different income levels. Whether it is a quiet holiday, or travel and sightseeing; or outdoor sports, or pure luxury travel, the Lake District is a very good choice.

3: Scottish Highlands
Many people refer to the Scottish Highlands as the best scenic area in Europe. The Scottish Highlands are sparsely populated with mountains, including the highest mountain in the UK, Ben Nevis.
4: Richmond Park
Richmond Park covers an area of 9.55 square kilometers, is the largest royal garden in London, and it owns more than 600 red deer and fallow deer.
5: Llanberis Pass
Llanberis Pass is famous for its desolate beauty and unique tranquility, where the world-class climbing sites are also popular with bold climbing enthusiasts and photographers. Maybe it can top the list of England's most beautiful natural scenery.



6: Jurassic coast
Jurassic coast has been included in the World Heritage list, over 140 thousand years of history, is the fifth largest natural landscape of England. There are many natural limestone arched doors, which is the most photogenic scenery on the coast.
7: Hope Valley
Peak District is the second largest tourist park in the world, with rugged, scenic landscapes, picturesque villages, and historic houses.  The Valley of Hope is the most unique scenery in Peak District.

The pictures are from Link 1, Link 2, and Link 3.

Strange forest hotel

It's a unique, strange hotel in primeval forest, like a hill covered with moss and weeds, the only one entrance is a suspension bridge hanging in the air; at the top there is a fountain, spraying water each day.

Located in a nature reserve area of Chile, very comfortable environment. When you go out for a walk, always have a chance to see some wild animals... It is understood that its accommodation prices range from 150 pounds to 260 pounds a night.

The pictures are from here.

Thailand Elephant Festival

The dates and locations of Thailand Elephant Festival:

Elephant is the largest living mammal in the land,  African elephant weighs up to 8 tons or so, 11 ft high, lifespan is about 45 years; Asian elephant weighs up to 4 tons or so, 8.8 ft high, lifespan is about 65 years. Thailand is known as the 'elephant country', on the third weekend in November each year, an elephant festival will be held in Surin, Thailand, which attracts many animal lovers and tourists each year.

The interesting facts and legends about Thailand Elephant Festival:

During the festival, many elephants covered with beautiful ribbons and hanging gold bells, will show their warm welcome to all visitors... the final program consisting of many soldiers dressed in ancient war uniforms and elephants,  will show the battle scenes of Thailand people's struggle for independence in the 13th Century with the help of elephants. After the performance ends, visitors may ride elephant.

More interesting facts:

African elephants, you may recognize them from their large ears, besides Africa elephants usually sleep standing up, Whereas Asia elephants sleep lying down.  

The pictures are from here and Here.

20 cultural taboos in 20 countries

When you travel in some countries, must know local cultural taboo, or DON’T; this article is an brief introduce about 20 cultural taboos in 20 countries:

In New Zealand: Do not press the horn;
In Japan: Do not give a tip;
In France: Don’t ask or talk about anything about money;
In India: Do not touch the opposite sex in public places;
In Norway: Do not ask anyone whether to go to church;
In Ukraine: when buy flowers, the number of flowers must be odd numbers.

In UK: Do not ask the income or salary of others;

In Germany: Do not celebrate birthday ahead of time: 

In Ireland: Do not imitate their accent;

In Kenya: Do not call the name of others first; 

In Chile: Do not eat anything with your hands;

Singapore: Do not eat anything on public transport, such as buses and subways;

In Turkey: Do not make OK gestures, which means attack locally; 

In Hong Kong:  Don't stand road;

In United States:  Must give a tip;

In Italy: Do not choose cappuccino at the restaurant;

In China: Do not take umbrellas and clock as gifts; 

In Hungary: do not make a sound when clinking glasses:

In Malaysia: Do not use your index finger to point at other people;

In Taiwan: Do not knock at a bowl or put chopsticks upright in a bowl; besides the number 4 means unlucky.

For detailed cultural taboos in some countries, please consult local travel agents which may be found on our blog.

The pictures are from Link 1, Link 2 and Link 3.

Where to travel in winter?

This list will give you some ideas about some best winter travel destinations, these winter resorts all own warm weather and bright sunshine even in winter:

Dumaguete in Philippines:
It is very easy to swim together with whale shark in here, you may every day encounter them;  there are many original coral reefs, after entering into 10 m below the sea surface are all kinds of beautiful tropical fish,  a good time to play diving.

Bohol Island in Philippines
In addition to snorkeling and watching the sea, parent-child activities are also very rich, such as one of the shots for "Harry Potter" - Chocolate Hill, as well as the world's smallest monkey - glasses monkey, 10 CM long or so, weighing about 150 gram.

Saipan Island in the United States
Visa-free entry, seven-color sea water ... besides coconut trees, sea breeze, sunlight, blue waves, snorkeling, there are adventure activities:  driving a sports car or off-road vehicles, shuttle in mysterious jungles, and even pilot a plane to overlook the whole island!

Bintan Island in Indonesia (leased to Singapore)

Still retains original natural landscape, boating in mangroves, small squirrels and golden monkeys can be seen everywhere. May ride elephants strolling in the rain forest, then in the Kollam restaurant eat cheap but delicious black pepper crab when seeing the most beautiful sunset ... 

Sri Lanka: 

Windsurfing or surfing extreme sports, watch blue whale (from December to next April). Besides, this country also owns the world's most beautiful train travel routes including the train travel on the sea. As well as Unique stilts fishing on the Kolkar coast, Lion Rock in the air palace and so on.

Tahiti in French Polynesia

Known as "the closest place to heaven", also owns the world’s only one oysters which can produce black pearl!  Local travel activities include submarines adventure, sea walking and helicopter air travel and so on.

Phuket in Thailand

Many visitors, but very cheap hotel fee, even five-star resort hotels; there are very exciting water sports, lively Patong night market and delicious food, you may also experience the local people life in Banzan seafood market.

Bali in Indonesia

Not only attractive white sandy beaches, the tourists who like outdoor activities may go to the east and north of Bali island, the diving lovers may go to the Tulamben, the climbing lovers may go to the Badol volcano, the art lovers may go to the middle area where you may visit stone carving village, silverware village, and so on...

Of course, not all travelers like warm winter travel, for the travelers who like cold winter travel, both Russia and Iceland are good choices.
Pictures are from Link 1 and Link 2

The waterfall with the biggest drop in the world

The angel waterfall in Venezuela is not the global most famous waterfall, but its drop height is the biggest in the world: 979 meters; the scenery is also very unique, it's best to see it from the air. The Animation movie: UP Michael Giacchino was shot here.

5 hours by boat to the foot of the mountains from Canaima City, then climb mountains for more than 2 hours, the mountain trail is rugged, difficult to walk, above all, there are a lot of mosquitoes, once bitten, maybe the tumescent bump eliminates after 3 months. The angel waterfall looks very spectacular, water drops, flying apart, a vast expanse of water mist.

Must go in summer (July, August or September), it’s necessary to take a pair of waterproof shoes, raincoats, waterproof camera, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, cold-proof clothing and waterproof plastic bag – and of course, drinking water and food.

The pictures are from Link 1 and Link 2.

Courtyard Festival

In Cordoba Spain, no matter kings and nobles, or ordinary people, are keen to decorate their courtyards.

From May Cordoba welcomes the most beautiful holiday: Courtyard Festival which is a flower festival, many pots of Geranium will be hung in the courtyard and streets, everywhere are flowers, if the front door reads "patio", you may enter to enjoy this beautiful courtyard.

The Vienna Palace with 12 beautiful courtyards has a history of more than 500 years, has won numerous awards in local courtyard competition, known as the garden museum. Additionally Cordoba has also a famous flower alley where flowers always flourish at all seasons, everywhere is colorful flowers, the air is rich with a delicate fragrance.

The pictures are from here.

Windy city

Where has the strongest wind speed in the world: Wellington, what you feel first isn’t beautiful harbour and busy streets, but strong wind, and it isn’t to blow for a while, but blow every day. a real Windy city.

Here No matter when and where, you may hear wind, and your hair is always flying. In order to protect pedestrians to walk in strong wind, local government installed many ropes in the streets, you must grasp the ropes to walk, otherwise you'll be blown away!

The Windy city is very ancient, in AD tenth Century Maori people had settled here. Now it's the capital of New Zealand. If you want to challenge wind speed, must come !

The pictures are from here.

Best 10 places to watch whales in the world

Where are the best 10 places to watch whales in the world?

1, The Azores: from Apr. to Sep, may see the largest mammal animal—whale, rent a boat to arrive on any one small island, the best viewpoint is Pico Island.

2, USA Cape Cod: a small fish village 180 kilometers far from South Boston, mainly fin whales and humpback whales, from Apr. to Oct.

3, The West Indies, Dominica: well known for the beautiful coral and attractive hot springs, the most common are sperm whales and killer whales, from December to next June.

4, Hawaii, Every winter, this tropical island with clear water and blue sky is very suitable for watching whale, humpback whales in groups swim into the North pacific, the best time is from December to next April.

5, New Zealand, Kaikoura:  may watch sperm whales all year round, from December to March is orcas; in June and July is humpback whale; Besides may also encounter rare pilot whale, dolphins, seals and seabirds.

6, Africa, Hermanus: the best place to watch right whale, every July, from cliffs can see broad sea area, here even offers benches, telescopes and so on.

7, Mexico Los Cabos: in early Dec, gray whales will swim to this warm gulf for mating and reproducing, then leave in next Feb.; so visitors have the opportunity to see the whales’ honeymoon and their babies.

8, Quebec: mainly the unique endangered North Atlantic right whales, now less than 350, also has lovable white whale. Need to hire a local whale watching boat.

9, USA Orcas Island: Washington State's largest island -- the orcas island, in the spring and summer, gray whale and killer whale will swim here.

10, USA San Diego: Must not miss the wonderful performance in local ocean world, Gray whales every winter will pass through the Santiago gulf, more than 50 foot long... absolutely an extraordinary experience.

The pictures are from here.

Ancient houses on cliff wall

These cliff wall houses in Beijing's outskirts, have complex structure and ingenious design. It’s said  to be excavated by a tribe during 581 AD to 907 AD, in a quiet valley less than 10 meters wide, nearly 100 thousand square meters of steep cliff wall are covered with various sizes of 117 cave rooms. As a result, tourists keep coming.

These cliff wall houses or cave houses are connected with each other through stone steps and stone ladders, very orderly.  Each cave house is about 1.8 meters high, most has three bedrooms, but only 1 bedroom has windows.  The biggest cave room is about 20 square meters, whereas the smallest about  4 square meters, equipped with stone beds, stoves and closets and so on. Different cave rooms have different functions, with a stone bed are for people, with a manger are for horse...

Besides one cliff wall house similar to ancient palace, has 4 stone pillars supporting the roof, and 2 small bedrooms on both sides, not only very tall and spacious, but owns excellent indoor lighting and fine carving...  why did ancient Chinese live in a steep cliff wall? because no definite historical records, it's still a mystery!

The pictures are from here.

World's Highest Bridge

Siduhe River Bridge in Badong County, Hubei Province, was built in 2009, is a suspension bridge over a deep river gorge, 1365 meters long, 496 meters high, 226 meters higher than France’s Millau bridge, well known as World's Highest Bridge.

To visit Siduhe River is really a very special travel, you may see this magnificent bridge from different positions. However, it won’t be World's Highest Bridge after several years, why? Woluohete Bridge under construction in Yanyuan County will be 575 meters high.

The picture is from here.

Top 3 hiking trails in the USA

If you are brave enough and in good health, must try the top 3 hiking trails in the USA, absolutely a challenge for backpackers:

The hardest hiking - Continental Divide Trail
4988 kilometers long, it passes through New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado, nearly no supply points, and no enough guideposts, more serious is that you’ll meet with frozen snow, thunderstorm as well as grizzly bears, but in Bob Marshall Wilderness you may enjoy the most spectacular Wilderness Scenery.

The coldest hiking trip -- The Ice Age Trail

About 1931 kilometers in Winconsin, you may be here in search of mammoth footsteps, near the Milwaukee river have many geological features after the ice age: drift boulder, potholes etc., some temporary shelters can also be found here. So far only a few of backpackers have passed through the whole trail.

The oldest trail– the long trail

The most ancient long-distance trails with a history of about 90 years, located in Vermont, 438 kilometers long, but there is a rest room every 15 kilometers or so, the best season is from the end of Sep to early Oct.

The pictures are from Here and Here.

3 unique fishing techniques

Many people like fishing, however the following fishing techniques which seem very funny, are really not easy.

Fishing on a wooden rod,
In Sri Lanka, there is a seaside town called Koggala, each late afternoon local fishermen will swim to a wooden rod, then sit on it and fish, really not easy, but the key is it can't not yield good results.

Kite fishing
In New Zealand, local people prefer to fish with kites in the sea, they hang a fishing thread with fishhooks on the kite string, the fishhooks will fall into water, it's said the effect is very good.

fishing tips and techniques

Fishing in water
Burmese think fish also have a nest like birds, so if standing near fish’s nests in water, must catch many fish... you see, they all stand in the lake to fish! but many people don't believe that it's a good way to catch fish.

the picture are from HERE, HERE and HERE.

Best 9 campsites in the USA

The List is about best 9 campsites in the USA for your reference:

1: The Appalachian Trail is very famous, if want to camp in the hill road, the best place is Roan Mountain State Park,Tennessee. 
2: free camping in national forests: If you love the ecological exploration, camping in the San Gorgonio's wilderness is the best choice. Hiking enthusiasts will love here, there are 12 roads to choose.
3: The Cumberland Island dotted with spanish moss is a good campsite, may camp in Paul Brickhill cliff, but because of the humidity there are some mosquitoes.

4: campsites in California USA: Kirk-Creek campground is located 30 miles away from the south of Big Sur coast in California, where you can watch the sun slowly falling into the Pacific Ocean at the 100-feet-high cliff. 

5: Go camping at the coast, please select the Mount Desert Island in Acadia National Park. You may experience a high-tide adventure, climb sea cliff, or hike along the coast. 

6: Arkansas White River, since the campground is located just within the Ozarks fishing area, trout and salmon make it the best fishing campsite.

7: The Juniperus forest campsite in Catskills，New York, is a family-oriented and open place to relax, you can enjoy a barbecue, partying, and singing in the middle of the night. 
8: Stirling Highway in Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. From the crossing of Stirling to Homer Spit, is nothing but a charming coastal scenery, best to go here in the summer, you may enjoy the world's biggest salmon fishing party. 
9: national forest campgrounds Colorado: USA Colorado National Park has more than 60 campsites, don’t forget to take a fishing rod.

The pictures are from here.

10 best overseas adventure travel destinations in the world

This list is about Top 10 Destinations for Overseas Adventure Travel for your reference:

01, As the highest peak in the world, undoubtedly Himalayas adventure is the dream of all explorers. Mount Everest runs across Nepal and Tibet, 8848 meters high, there are 2 main climbing routes, one is in Nepal, the other is in Tibet, but you have to apply to Nepal government or China government at least 3 months in advance due to security, and it’s hard to get approval.The International climbing andmountaineering federation may help you to apply.

02, Belize's blue hole in the sea, a huge sea cave system, over 300 meters wide and 124 meters deep, about 70 km from Belize City, is rated one of the top ten diving sites in the world, which can bring you a bottomless experience. It’s first explored by Jacques Cousteau n the mid 1970s. Local sea creatures include nurse sharks, giant groupers, and reef sharks. Below is the video about the great blue hole.  A local travel agency is for your reference.

03, Ecuador's galapagos islands, full of many rare unusual animals, such as the land iguana, the giant tortoise and finch, which cannot be found anywhere else in the world; Wildlife lovers prefer to the Amazon region and explore Mindo, the Avenue of the Volcanoes and Baños, but all uninhabited islands are strictly controlled with tourist itineraries limiting visitation. You may get more info from a local travel website.

Ecuador Galapagos islands

04，South Africa's Gansbaai, the world's most dangerous waters, is well known as the Great White Shark capital of the world. In 1995, local government introduced a travel project of diving with Great White sharks, or called: Shark cage diving, very popular with adventurers. It's one of the most unique and astonishing land-based whale watching spots in the word,  a local travel agency is for your reference.

05，Colorado, the Grand Canyon in the United States, not just a heritage site. It’s a steep-sided canyon, managed by Grand Canyon National Park, 446 km long, up to 29 km wide and with a depth of over 1857 meters. Aside from casual sightseeing from the South Rim, rafting, hiking, running, and helicopter tours are also very good, but attention please: North Rim campsites are only open seasonally and all overnight camping below the rim requires a permit from the Backcountry Office, more info please visit one local website.  

06，Mammoth cave in Kentucky, USA, is the world's longest cave system, every corner of which may have been unexplored. The surface of Mammoth Cave is about 80 square miles, but nobody knows how big the underside is. Now a five-level cave system has been mapped, over 365 miles long. Mammoth Cave visitor center is located on Mammoth Cave Parkway, offers several cave tours to visitors. More info please visits the official website. 

07，Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, is a shield-type volcano that makes up the southeastern side of the Big Island of Hawaii, 1227 meters high. Some explorers like to go there for canoeing, although from time to time there is 1093℃ of volcanic lava to fall down. In general visitors go to the volcano from the Kilauea Visitor Center near the park entrance. Besides there are also a lot of hiking trails. For more info please visit the official website.

Hawaii Kilauea Volcano

08，Brazil's Amazon rain forest is the world's largest tropical rain forest, the majority of which is located in Brazil, followed by Peru and Colombia and other countries.  It is very wet in this area, no matter what time of year, visitors will need to prepare for these conditions; besides some toxic and lethal unknown creatures like men-eating flower at any time, , as well as local dangerous human elements (drug lords, and so on),  so it's necessary to be led by a professional tour guide. One local travel agent is for reference. 

Men-eating flower

09，African High Atlas Mountains, ranging in central Morocco in Northern Africa, over 4000 meter high, easily accessed from Marrakesh, now full of climbing travelers and backpackers from Europe, they all want to become the first permanent residents here. Travel over the high mountain passes is worthwhile, one of the dramatic routes through the Atlas Mountains is the Tizi n’Test (may be closed in winter), but without stops, 222km long, taking about six hours or so, passing Berber villages, Kasbahs and fine landscapes. One local travel agency is for reference.

African High Atlas Mountains

10，The hottest place on earth is the Lut Desert in Iran, according to statistics its highest temperature reached 71℃, so it's the hardest desert adventure to challenge intense heat and drought climate. In fact it’s a sandy and muddy salt desert plain with a number of eroded towers and walls, which eastern part covered with ridges of large sand dunes is hard to reach. There isn't any public transportation, so you have to hire a guide or choose the day tours in Tehran or Kerman. One local travel agent is for reference.  

the Lut Desert in Iran

Others adventure destinations: Africa safaris and Papua New Guinea: the last exploration team went to Papua New Guinea in 1960 or so, many local tribes and animals have been unknown so far.

The pictures are from Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4, Link 5, Link 6 and Link 7.