My 10 years old backpack...

 

My 10 years old backpack....

 

Madrid, Spain

Think Europe is expensive these days? Remember these two little magic words: Madrid, Spain.

 

Cheap Eats

Fixed-price lunch/menu del día
Lunch is the biggest meal of the day in Madrid. Most restaurants offer a fixed-price lunch on weekdays (called the menu del día); for 9-10 euros you get a first course, a main course, bread, drink, dessert, and coffee or tea.
If you eat breakfast and then fill up with everything on your menu del día plate, you might just forget about dinner.
University cafeterias and canteens
For hearty, budget-friendly food and a slice of local life, head to the cafeterias of Madrid’s facultades (university departments) and colegios mayores (residence halls). You don’t even have to be a student.

When in doubt about where to go, just show up in Ciudad Universitaria and ask someone to point out a cafeteria. Each building has its own, so you’ll find one easily and probably meet up with some cool university folk. (Metro stop: Ciudad Universitaria)
Hare Krishna Restaurant
As an alternative to student cafeterias, try the all-you-can-eat vegetarian lunches of the Hare Krishna Restaurant (Calle del Espíritu Santo 19, Metro stop: Tribunal). In fact, they offer free dinner on Sundays.

 
Cafes & Bars
Madrid’s infinite assortment of cafes and bars deliver reasonably-priced fare of varying quality and atmospheres: from your Spanish grandpa cafe to the hip, hot breakfast nook on the corner.
For breakfast, try the combinations on offer: pastry, toast, pan con tomate, or churros with tea, coffee, or pudding-thick hot chocolate. For lunch or dinner, try a bocadillo sandwich and a drink.
Self-catering
If you want the freedom to choose what you eat and don’t mind a scavenger hunt, then try self-catering. Head to the supermarket (the Día chain is the cheapest) for your main items, but buy your greens from the Ay! Madre chain (or another cheap frutería).

Cheap bars and open-air cafes
For a good time on a budget, stick to these areas: Malasaña (Metro stop: Tribunal), Argüelles (Metro stop: Argüelles), and Lavapiés (Metro stop: Lavapiés), where you’ll find a mix of bohemian and student crowds.
If you’re here in summer, be prepared for the treat of terrazas (open-air cafes/bars). Terrazas combine the best of the cafe with the best of the street. Note that prices are slightly higher outside than if you sit inside.

El paseo y el botellón
The paseo (a leisurely stroll) is indispensable to Madrid residents of a certain age, and the botellón (an outdoor drinking party) is equally common among its youth.
Simply grab some wine, spirits and friends, head for the nearest park, square, or street corner, and voila! A portable party.

Free drinks and clubs
If you don’t mind working the nightlife industry for a few drinks, then get ready to party. Just cruise Madrid’s nightlife districts (Huertas, Chueca, Malasaña) and soak up the ambiance.
You will inevitably be stopped in the streets by promoters (many speak English). Some may hand you flyers for drink specials or discounts on clubs, but what you’re really looking for is an offer of a free drink or free entrance to a club.
The promoter will walk you to the place, make sure you get what you were offered (usually a cheap shot of liqueur), and then go off to lure someone else to the bar.
The idea is that you’ll stay on and order more drinks, but no one will make you. So rinse, repeat, and feel free to have a night out on them.

Cheap Accommodation

Hostels
For a hostel bed in Madrid, plan to spend around 15-30 euros a night. A good, fun choice – among many – is Cat’s Hostel (Calle Cañizares 6, Metro stop: Antón Martín).
Accommodation swap
With some ingenuity, you can exchange your digs with someone who lives in Madrid for the duration of your holiday. To give it a go, put up an online classified ad on Loquo.
Couchsurfing
Need I say more? If you’ve read this far in this article, you really must visit www.couchsurfing.com.

Read more at http://matadornetwork.com/trips/how-to-enjoy-madrid-on-the-cheap/#zBWvfJHyldcS5j2G.99

က မာၻ တစ္ ခြင္ သို႔ လွည္႔ လည္ ေလာ႔........

"က မာၻ တစ္ ခြင္ သို႔ လွည္႔ လည္ ေလာ႔ ဘဝ တစ္ သက္ သာ ဆို သည္ မွာ တစ္ ခါ သာ ေရာက္ လာ သည္ဘဝ တစ္ သက္ တာ အ တြင္း မွာ လည္းပ်ိဳ႐ြယ္မႈ႔ ဟူသည္ တစ္ႀကိမ္ သာ လာ ေရာက္ မည္။ "

 ရာဟုလာသံကိစၥည္း

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Majestic and mysterious, inspiring and imperious: words alone cannot do justice to the natural wonder that is Halong Bay. Imagine 3000 or more incredible islands rising from the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin and you have a vision of breathtaking beauty. Halong Bay is pure art, a priceless collection of unfinished sculptures hewn from the hand of nature.

In 1994 it was designated a World Heri­tage site. Visitors can’t help but compare the magical, mystical landscape of limestone islets to Guilin in China and Krabi in southern Thailand, but in reality Halong Bay is more spectacular. These tiny islands are dotted with beaches and grottoes created by wind and waves, and have sparsely forested slopes ringing with birdsong.
Beyond the breathtaking vistas on a boat cruise through the bay, visitors to Halong come to explore the caves – some of which are beautifully illuminated for the benefit of tourists – and to hike in Cat Ba National Park. There are few real beaches in Halong Bay, but Lan Ha Bay (off the coast of Cat Ba Island) has more than 100 sandy strips.
Halong City is the gateway to Halong Bay but not the ideal introduction to this incredible World Heritage site. Developers have not been kind to the city and most visitors sensibly opt for tours that include sleeping on a boat in the bay. In short, Halong Bay is the attraction; Halong City is not.
As the number-one tourist attraction in the northeast, Halong Bay draws a steady stream of visitors year-round. From February to April the weather in this region is often cool and drizzly. The ensuing fog can make visibility low, but this adds an ethereal air to the place and the temperature rarely falls below 10°C. During the summer months tropical storms are frequent, and tourist boats may have to alter their itineraries, depending on the weather.
Halong Bay is the stuff of myths and naturally the Vietnamese have concocted one. Halong translates as ‘where the dragon descends into the sea’. Legend has it that the islands of Halong Bay were created by a great dragon that lived in the mountains. As it charged towards the coast, its flailing tail gouged out valleys and crevasses. When it finally plunged into the sea, the area filled with water, leaving only the pinnacles visible.
Dragons aside, the biggest threat to the bay may be from souvenir-hunting tourists. Rare corals and seashells are rapidly being stripped from the sea floor, and stalactites and stalagmites are being broken off from the caves. These items get turned into key rings, paperweights and ashtrays, which are on sale in the local souvenir shops. Obviously the fewer people buy, the less the local people will take to sell, so don’t encourage the trade.

Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/vietnam/northeast-vietnam/halong-bay#ixzz2VPYLZWiO

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/672

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

 

River Cruise in New York City

http://www.circleline42.com/new-york-cruises/cruise-details.aspx?id=1


If you don't have time in New York City, just take  full island circle line cruise from 42nd street. You will not be regretted. It's about 2 1/2 hours tour and well worth it.
Photo opportunities are amazing and the cruise around the statue of liberty is as close as you can get.
"Totally recommend this trip, just don't by snacks on board very expensive!!! "