Well, this is something beautiful to get thought about but there are a lot more interesting things that  need to be taken into account while talking about the Thanksgiving Day or Harvest Festival celebration, such as how do we celebrate them in our countries and how do they do it around the rest of the world?

We do offer you to have a look at Top 7 Thanksgiving Day and Harvest Festival celebrations around the world.

1. Mid-Fall Festival in China

The Mid-Fall Festival is the Chinese version of the Thanksgiving Day, which is also known as Moon Festival. The usual timing for this holiday celebration in made upon the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, as it is believed that the moon is the fullest and roundest by that time. Connected with that comes the traditional food of mooncakes baked and served in a variety of ways. Traditionally on this day, Chinese family members and friends will reunion for having a look at the bright mid-fall harvest moon. Other celebrations include planting mid-fall trees, carrying lit lanterns and having them hang around the tallest buildings and towers and collecting dandelion leaves and distributing them among family members and friends. The Mid-Fall Festival is the only holiday except Chinese New Year which is held in all the Chinese communities around the world.

2. Thanksgiving Day Celebration in United States

Thanksgiving Day is announced to be a time family reunions in America and the official beginning day of the Christmas season. Most of the common symbols of the Thanksgiving Day are associated with food such as carved turkeys, pumpkin and apple pies, cranberry sauce and corn. These dishes might be included in almost every house Thanksgiving meals Thanksgiving is  also the holiday of gift-giving to your family members and friends while showing your gratitude and respect to your elders and siblings. Popular Thanksgiving gift-list includes flowers, jewelry, chocolate gift baskets, wine and etc.

3.’Harvest Festival’ in United Kingdom
‘Harvest Festival’ is one of the most popular and oldest festivals held in United Kingdom. Its history roots go deep into the year of 1843, when Robert Hawker invited local parishioners for a special thanksgiving service at a church in Cornwall. Soon it turned into a custom of decorating churches with home-grown plants, fruits and vegetables as a showing of gratitude. The ritual of offering an animal sacrifice, generally a hare, is accompanied with the cutting of last sheaf of corn.
The celebration is accompanied with songs and fruit and vegetable giveaway.

4. Thanksgiving Day Celebration in Canada
Canadian celebration of the holiday takes place on the second Monday in the month of October every year. The timing difference between the American and Canadian versions of the holiday varies because of the earlier start of the fall timing. The first Canadian holiday celebration was symbolizing the gratitude to god for the recovery of King Edward VII from serious illness but the official announcement of the holiday by the Canadian government was only made in 1957. The thanksgiving celebrations include most of the typical American customs such as parades, ‘family feasts’ and ‘turkey’.

5. “Kadazan Harvest “ Celebration in Malaysia
While being a country based on a large number of islands -Malaysia has a local traditional celebration of the holiday. The Kadazan Harvest festival of Malaysia is celebrated by Sabah every year. This traditional religious holiday is held in May in favor to the local Rice God. The rice-associated holiday is accompanied with the homemade rice wine distribution among localities who wear their traditional costumes Carnivals are also considered to play an important role while celebrating the festival.
The celebration also takes into account lots of varying activities, cultural programs and agricultural shows, buffalo races and traditional games.

6. Homowo Festival in Africa
African Harvest Festivals as not a surprise have a lot of religious connotations and can be characterized by a variety of religious dancing and singing. Dancers usually wear national masks and clothes made of natural materials.  Homowo- which translated will be like ‘hooting at hunger’, is a popular festival in Africa. It is the largest cultural festival of its unique kind. The Homowo festival here is associated with the gratitude showing towards kings and queens.

7.’Ladainha’ Celebration in India
The State of Goa which is known as a most-Christian populated part of India has its unique tradition of Thanksgiving celebration, which is known here as ‘Ladin’ or ‘Ladainha’. ‘Ladin’ literally means a litany to the Virgin Mary. During the Thanksgiving ritual, people thank God not only for the material benefits gained but also spiritual. The preparation for the festival includes purchasing wheat and gram, candles, wine and colored tinsel paper.

Giant’s Causeway, Ireland
The main geological landmark of Northern Ireland is a “Giant’s Causeway” rock consisting of columns of fairly regular hexagonal shape. The place where the height of columns is nearly similar resembles the causeway. The world first learned of the existence of “Causeway“ in 1693, and since then this place is cluttered with legends and theories faster than the celebrity rumors. Someone thinks that these are the remnants of a stone gat, built by the giants between Ireland and Scotland; others argue that the “Causeway” has a natural volcanic origin, while others believe that it is the work of extraterrestrials.

Frozen waves, Arizona, United States
Photos of this natural formation have always been commentaries such as  “Photoshop!” Well a man who has not personally seen this miracle cannot believe in its existence. The gigantic stone wave looks too incredible to be truly natural. With its occurrence this miracle is obliged to water having washed away the layers of sandstone for millions of years, formed back in the Jurassic period!

McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
Located on the land of Victoria, to the West from the strait of McMurdo valleys there have not been rain for more than two million years. This is the driest place on earth. Endless sands, skeletons and rocks carved by a mad speed winds, looks like a fiction movie shooting area or  a decorative scenario. Landscapes and natural conditions of these places are very far from being earthy, and more resemble Mars. NASA had spent a lot of trials here before starting the “Viking” on a “Red Planet”.

Rio Tinto, Spain
Rio Tinto River passes its blood-red waters through the copper-rich mountainous lands in Andalusia. And this alien landscape, unlike the previous ones is the handiwork of humans. As a result of thousands of years output, launched by Carthaginians, local soils have been very strongly oxidized, and the water of the river, having acquired a strange color, became poisonous. And, although, the extraction of fossil is not conducted in the last decades, because of the rising prices on copper, it can be restored.

Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA
An amazing mystical place with a dry colorful cliffs and sparkling geysers attracts with its unearthly atmosphere. The appearance of the volcano-like seems rather attractive. And, apparently, that is why the unique festival of Burning Man is held here gathering tens of thousands of people who cannot sit in one place, and who want to be not the same as all. During the festival the circulation of money is completely prohibited on its territory, as well as the travel by car.

Cave of Crystals, Mexico
Crystals have already been popular among the people especially in their pricy forms. No surprise that the cave that has a temperature of almost 60 degrees and 100 percent humidity of air makes the area almost inaccessible to man, but  a lot of people are ready to go not only to such sacrifices to look at the giant crystals of gypsum. Crystals that were discovered here in 2000 are the largest on Earth; the largest specimens reach 11 meters in length and a half in circumference and weigh over 50 tons.

Spotted lake, Canada
Located about a mile to the North of the border of Washington and British Columbia (Canada) lake, known in the language of the local people as Klikuk, steaming under the hot sun, is divided into many small water reservoirs, painted in the most incredible shades of white, green and yellow. This is explained by one of the highest concentrations of minerals in the water. This is something worth to see. Trails between the lakes are actually composed of salts of titanium, calcium, sulfur and other useful minerals.

The mosaic pavement, Tanzania
It is hard to believe, but these are extremely flat rectangles, located on the isthmus of Eaglehawk Neck, are not the handiwork of man but a natural resulted scenario. As well as the stone waves in Arizona, this wonder of nature is the product of prolonged erosion, as well as tides and sea-salt deposits.

The dried salt lake, Bolivia
Stretching for tens of kilometers a dried-up salt lake (Salar de Uyuni) contains 10 billion tons of salt and looks like a piece of another planet,. Surprisingly it is listed as unknown in South America. The sky mirrored in the salt crust merges with the horizon, and there is a feeling that you are in a blue and white endless void, and the pyramids of salt, collected by local workers for further exports, evoke thoughts of the forthcoming visit of extraterrestrials.

Cappadocia, Turkey
Rocky lunar landscape of Cappadocia with caves, carved in stones of Hittites was the only example of its kind even 3 thousand years ago. More than anywhere else in the world there are not so many fantastically shaped rocks in the natural origin of which is hard to believe. Nevertheless, all these flourish is the handiwork of the Mother Nature. Local tour guides carefully cultivate the legend that it is from this point; George Lucas sketched landscapes of Tatooine for the “Star Wars”.

Moon Valley, Brazil
Finding yourself in the national park of Chapada dos Veadeyrus it is not difficult to imagine that you have left your home planet and travelled for miles to have a visit to a planet nearby. Located in the Brazilian savanna, near the town of Chapada (Chapada), washed by the waters of the river San Miguel rock formations got the name of Moon Alley for the unearthly view. These stone labyrinths are about 1.8 billion years old – one of the oldest on the planet and they are almost entirely composed of quartz ore.

White Desert, Egypt
Huge boulders of chalk rise in the middle of hot desert, like icebergs. The creator this time is wind.This surrealistic landscape looks mysterious and arcane, against the backdrop of the setting sun. Once you separate from the group of tourists, and you can feel bewildered in time, as if there is no civilization, but the scorching sun around and the endless sands and maybe upcoming other creatures.

Bloody Pond, Japan
In Japan, near the town of Beppu there are several such places, which the Japanese themselves call hell. It is not recommended to bath in them because of high temperature reaching 90 degrees, and high concentrations of iron salts, which dye the water in an alarming red color and shocking steaming. It is covering the water, and adding even more enhances the sense of alien presence.

Stone Forest, China
400 square kilometers of stone wonders, located in the Province of Yunnan, is an amazing example of the water effect on such a seemingly solid stone rock. “The trees in this forest are composed of limestone, which was tempted slowly for many millenniums by the retreating sea which has washed away all the soft rock, leaving only the high columns, like trees.

Caves Eisriesenwelt, Austria
Ice caves located near Salzburg are the largest of all known to man. They stretch for more than 40 kilometers, and only a small part of them is open to visitors taking into account of the fact of the safety. Entrance does not make an impression of anything unusual, but its worth to take a step, and you seem to find yourself in another world, consisting of frozen waterfalls, giant ice stalagmites and other ice formations.

Hotel-plane, Costa Rica
In the national park Manuel Antonio, located in 160 kilometers from the capital, there are lots of nice hotels and bungalows. The most original of them is built within a small vintage Boeing 727. From its illuminator-windows, opens up a magnificent view of the ocean coast. Liner was released in 1965 and served as faith-truth airlines of South Africa and Colombia, is set at a height of 15 meters above the ground. It has only a  couple of bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen and dining room. The decoration of the rooms includes trees and hand-made furniture. The outside of the plane  there is a lovely wooden terrace . To reserve such a housing-plane will cost you $400 per day in no season (without taxes) and for 500 – during the season.

Hotel-plane, Sweden
Transit passengers will definetely get a chance for renting a hotel room somewhere nearby,  but the case with the hostels is rather difficult?  What can do those who doesn’t want to pay for a room ? In the Stockholm Arlanda airport, it was decided to set up a hostel in write-offs “jumbo” – “747″. The huge ship can place 85 guests. They may stay in small rooms, compartments with bung beds and flat panel TVs. The most spacious and expensive room – is drivers cab: with the panoramic view of the runway. It is clear that maids, who serve guests, are uniformed as stewardesses Bed in a hostel costs 350 Swedish kronor (about 34 Euros), individual single room will cost 950 Croons (92 Euros).

Hotel-tram, Netherlands
A couple  opened their own exclusive hotel by restoring old trams in Germany and Netherlands. The name of the hotel was announced Tram Hotel  in honor of the famous album of the singer Prince. Initially there were four thematic numbers in the hotel: English, American, Italian, and French.  Not so long ago the ” family” of the trams was enlarged by adding a wagon train. Guests will  not be made huddled in the compartment for sure. The spacious room has everything – from great TV to the spacious bath-tub shaped hat (in fact the main theme of the new rooms is Mexico). And the hotel owners themselves have settled in standing nearby two-story London bus, built the house. The cost of living is from 60 Euros per person per night.

Hotel-train, United States
In Southern U.S. state of Arizona, in the hotel Karrels Double K Ranch, guests can settle in a freight car. Thoug it was going by rail in the beginning of last century and now turned into an original and relatively inexpensive hotel. In the car all three rooms have a private bathroom, telephone, TV and refrigerator. And guests are not attracted so much by exotic views or decorations but by cozy and charming homely atmosphere. There is a garden with huge cacti and exotic flowers around. Hosts created little toy town with little houses between them on the tiny train ride the train. Living in a freight car is worth $135 per night for two people.

Hotel-ship, Sweden
If you are not  bothered  to spend the night in a room with strangers, you can stay in a very inexpensive hostel-hotel-ship in the heart of Stockholm. The ship was built in 1950 and plied the North Sea. The last voyage of the spacecraft was completed  in 2005, and was then converted into hotel. 45 rooms-cabins are designed for 130 people. On board there is a restaurant and grill bar. Night in a room with 11 neighbors will cost 220 kronor (21 Euros), individual accommodation – 750 crowns for a single or double room (73 Euros).

Hotel-ship, Russia
One can live on a ship at the heart of  Russia- in its capital. River cruise ship “Alexander Blok”, built in 1984, is now converted into a floating hotel and moored near the Fairgrounds in Krasnopresenk embankment. In the hotel there is a complex of 31 rooms. The list includes cabins, junior suites and suites. Facilities include a restaurant and beauty salon. The cheapest room (cabin for two persons) with shower and toilet, TV and refrigerator costs about 3640 rubles per night.

Hotel-helicopter, U.S.
The first hotel helicopter was built in the United States not long ago. IThe Soviet Mi-18 aircraft serves as a basis for it. Miracle Hotel has made its first test flight, and will soon begin booking rooms. The air-hotel consists of 16 standard rooms and 2 suites. All of them are equipped with the latest technology: LCD screens in rooms, internet. Guests have an opportunity for  not just sitting in a restaurant, but  to go to the fitness center, to take the SPA-procedures and relax in a small Japanese garden among the greenery and fountains. Wanna go there? The news of this unique hotel appeared only six months ago . Unfortunately, it was only an April fool’s joke. However, it is possible that soon someone from hoteliers will take advantage of making this idea into reality.

The European Commission is concerned with the U.S. government plans to introduce a tax on tourists. The fact is that the U.S. Congress is now discussing the possibility of imposing a tax of $ 10 dollars for travelers entering the country, followed by the Program Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Introduced on January 12, it provides for the mandatory on-line approval to enter the United States. In most cases, approval is obtained in just a few minutes.

ESTA system is intended for residents of most major European countries, as well as Australia, Japan, Brunei, New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore. Tourists from these countries do not need to get additional visas for short visits to the United States.

U.S. authorities are planning to target tourist money to develop the tourist industry in country and attract new travelers. U.S. citizens and foreign tourists, who have already paid for a visa, will not have to pay a “tourist tax”.

The European Commission rightly believes that attracting tourists to the country with the additional levies is unlikely to succeed.

We recall that the Maldives are actively discussing the introduction of environmental tax, which will be paid for a vacation on the islands by foreign tourists. New tax of $ 3 dollars a day will allow the country to receive an additional approximately 6 million dollars a year. The money received the power of the Maldives Republic plan to launch at improving the environment, combat rising sea levels, and also, perhaps, for the purchase of new lands for local residents, whose islands slowly but surely go under water.

Introduction of tax from tourists is also discussed in Venice for several decades, which is not only flooded with the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, but crowds of tourists, many times exceeding the number of local residents. At the moment, City Council discusses the possibility of limiting access of travelers to Venice, intending to settle for a walk around the city only to those who paid for hotel and tickets to museums and excursions.

1. Showing “thumb up” in Iran

In all the countries of Europe and the United States compressed fist or raised up thumb are completely innocent gesture, telling you that everything is correct, everything is going well, you are completely satisfied. But we should not express our feelings this way in Iran. It is considered a gross and obscene insult there.

Another familiar Euro-American symbol is “OK” when the thumb and index finger form a circle, it should not be used in Turkey and Brazil, because the locals will think you are comparing them with some intimate parts of the human body.

2.Touching your head in Thailand

In Buddhist countries, heads of human beings are sacred, as the soul lives there, and therefore, touching the head of even a tiny baby means to offend him. One should never refer to something with a finger. For example, in Malaysia it is considered to be very improper, and in the Philippines, local residents can allow themselves to point to objects and people only with eyes.

3. Calling Ireland, the British Isles

Each state has its own “taboos”. It is not necessary to discuss the Aborigines in Australia, dowry in India and human rights in China. Irish categorically do not like it when their land is called “one of the British Isles”. By the way, if you are not sure whether you can talk about something in a particular country, it is best to stay on neutral issues – the gastronomy and the beauty of the landscape.

4. Dressing as gauchos in Argentina

Some tourists can not resist the temptation to try on a national costume. However, before you dress like the locals, learn the laws of the country. Thus, for the wearing of batik in Indonesia you will have to pay a fine, and it is really quite improper to try on gaucho in Argentina, and go to the barbecue.

5. Entering the Japanese house in shoes

In Japan and other Eastern countries be prepared to take off your shoes before entering the temple or to any house. In the Land of the Rising Sun you will certainly be offered to replace street shoes with slippers, in which you can walk from front door to the living room. However, before you embark on the mat you will have to part with interchangeable footwear. Therefore, always wear clean socks!

6. Presenting bouquet of 12 carnations in Germany

Bouquet seems a perfect gift; however, one should be careful with them as well, because the flowers, their color and the number may have a hidden meaning. In Germany, Poland and Sweden a carnation is brought for the funeral. In Belgium, Italy, France, Spain and Turkey chrysanthemums are used for this purpose. In France and Austria, red roses mean romantic interest, and in Mexico, Chile yellow roses are a sign of grief and separation. An odd number of colors can bring misfortune in China and Indonesia, and in Germany, Turkey and India, as in Russia, by contrast, there should not be an even number of stems in the bouquet.

7. Confusing the name and the surname of the Chinese

The Chinese write their names and surnames not in the usual order, as it is customary in Europe and America: the name usually follows the surname, and therefore appealing to Lee Wong Chi “Mr. Chi” will sound just as absurd as if you call James Smith “Mr. James”.

8. Presenting alcohol to Muslim

Islam does not allow people to drink alcohol. And even if the Muslims drink, they do not do it publicly. Therefore, to give Muslims a bottle of cognac – means to show him his sin. And if the bottle is enclosed even in a luxury case made of pig skin, it will be an obvious insult, because dogs and pigs in the Islamic countries are considered unclean animals.

9. Drinking between toasts in Georgia and Azerbaijan

In Northern Europe, Russia and the former Soviet Union countries toasts are treated very seriously. In Scandinavia and Germany, when saying “Ska!” Or “Prost!” one needs to look into the eyes of those who lift their glasses. In Russia, foreigners are recommended to drink vodka in one gulp. And in Georgia and Azerbaijan, toasts can be pronounced for hours. However, little sip from the glass between the toasts is considered very impolite.

10. Inserting sticks into rice in Japan
If you have decided to take up hashi – chopsticks intended for food, you are to examine the many rituals associated with it. They should always be kept a little up; they cannot intersect or be used as a pointer. And the worst thing that can be done with hashi is to stick them upright in a bowl with rice. So, in Japan they do so only during the funeral rituals.

]]> http://www.travelvivi.com/10-fatal-mistakes-of-travelers/feed/ 0 http://www.travelvivi.com/underground-life/ http://www.travelvivi.com/underground-life/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:38:02 +0000 travelgirl http://www.travelvivi.com/?p=455 Most cities in the world, with their skyscrapers and small houses, wide straight avenues and narrow winding streets, are located on the surface of the earth. But sometimes there, at the bottom, at the depth of tens of meters, other cities are hidden from the eyes with their unique history, outgoing into the centuries.

Hawr, Montana, United States
Perhaps the youngest underground city was built for about 100 years ago by Chinese immigrants in the north-west of the United States. Initially, the secret system of the catacombs served for all kinds of illegal business. Opium was carried through underground tunnels, and there were made salons in branch-like caves, where the victims of the harmful habit could satisfy their desire. Gradually, at the bottom, under the city lying on the surface appeared another one with its own bars, restaurants, laundry facilities, dental clinics, and even a public house. When, in 1904, fires destroyed most of the city, its inhabitants moved to the catacombs and lived there until their homes were rebuilt. During the period of the “dry law” the catacombs again became popular, as they were the only place in the town where it was possible to try alcohol. Currently, tourists visit the underground city, and are shown the opium salon, the Chinese restaurant, the laundry and the public house.

Paris, France
Paris quarries are located in a depth of about 100 meters under the city streets and, according to a variety of data, their length ranges from 180 to 300 kilometres. They appeared due to the extraction of limestone and gypsum, which were once the basic building materials of the city. As while digging the next cluster of the tunnel and removing limestone blocks, no one was interested in what was around, at the end of the 18th century the walls of the tunnels as well as other buildings constructed above them began to collapse frequently. As a result, King Louis XVI issued a decree on the inspection of quarries in 1777, which exists up to this day, trying to maintain the Parisian underground in a safe condition. 8 years later, in 1785, the quarries began serving another purpose: the remains of six million people, buried for centuries at the city Cemetery of Innocents, were moved here. At present, tourists can take the 2.5-kilometer path through the improved tunnels and, if they desire, to look at the wall of human skulls and bones, arranged artistically near the exit of the underground. Fans of extreme should look for the community of cataphylls of Paris, who may lead you to places inaccessible to ordinary tourists. However, there are rumours that, as a way of “illumination” the guide often leaves his ward for a couple of hours in total darkness, so that he could feel respect towards the secrets of catacombs.

Cappadocia, Turkey
Cave colonies in Cappadocia, dating back to the first millennium BC, have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The scientists believe that the main reason for choosing such an unusual method of construction was the lack of wood for building houses, and at the same time the rock amenable to handling, of which the local mountains consist. As a result, a multilevel system of caves originated, in which once lived up to 20 thousand people. Then the city was abandoned and re-discovered only in the XIX century by a French priest, who, after descending into a hole in the middle of the mountain plain, suddenly found himself in a huge underground city with several storeys. The ventilation was carried out with the help of mines emerging to the surface, and the premises were not only suitable for human habitation, but also for storing grain, livestock and for wine production. In addition, many churches with rare beautiful frescos were found in the underground cities.

City of Gods, Giza, Egypt
Unlike the previous three, this city is not open to tourists and its very existence is even challenged by many. The “City of Gods, under the Giza plateau was allegedly discovered in 1978, after deciphering the data of a secret radar, which was involved initially in the study of the Egyptian pyramids. Scientists believe that it was this very underground labyrinth that was mentioned by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. The walls of the tunnels are covered with numerous drawings, and each room is trimmed with white marble. Assumptions about the purpose of the City of Gods are many. Some argue that the caves were used by the Egyptians for the transmission of secret knowledge to elected students, others – that this was some kind of an ancient subway.

California, United States

The “Gold Rush” is associated primarily with America. Where else can one go to learn to wash the gold, but to California! To plunge into the atmosphere of the camp of gold miners is possible near the town of Jamestown. For newcomers to the state the “Gold Club” organized several special workshops. First, all the interested will be told how to get free gold, and buy your own plot (but only those who have at least a residence permit in the U.S. will be able to do so). Secondly, in 3 days, those who have caught the virus of “the gold fever” will be taught to wash gold and find the gold vein. A separate course is dedicated to finding gold with a metal detector.

Saariselka, Finland
In northern Finland, in Lapland, beyond the Arctic Circle, at the Saariselka resort you can do skiing in winter and in summer – ride a bicycle, fish and extract gold. At the end of the XIX century, this place was seized by a real “gold fever”. Incidentally, the largest nugget found in these locations in 1935, weighed 393 grams. It is necessary to contact one of the local travel agencies or go to the 7 kilometre route through the abandoned mines.
Washin golden sand in the nearby Tankavaara village is possible all year round. In the local museum of gold anyone can turn into prospectors for some time under the direction of the guide. Since 1977, the museum regularly hosts championships of gold mining.

Goldfields, New Zealand
A lot of scary stories about the treacherousness and love of gold are connected with New Zealand. The deposit “Gold Fields” was opened half a century ago and had been actively developing a century before it was given to the mercy of tourists. In our civilized times, we need only to buy a ticket, get the equipment, instructors, and you can deal with gold mining to your pleasure. For a complete immersion in the subject you are encouraged to visit the area of abandoned workings and to inspect the shafts.

Australia
In Australia, you will have to acquire a license before extracting gold. Spending only a few tens of dollars on it, you can go all over the green a continent to where your heart wishes. The volunteers will for a separate fee be provided with maps, metal detectors, GPS-navigators – sum up all the expenses, and it turns out that this is not an entertainment for the poor. Besides, do not forget that any land, most likely, has an owner and he may not like it if he sees strange people with prospecting techniques gallivant on his possession. So you will first have to negotiate with him. Instead you can easily take the extracted gold out of the country – all that is found with overwork, is not subject to customs duties and taxes.

Switzerland
In this small European country there is gold, but, in contrast to other states, rich in noble metals, it produces none on industrial scale. All gold belongs to enthusiasts and tourists: having paid the money for the permit, they are free to travel in the country, looking for particles of gold, take part in competitions – thus much less damage is caused to nature and the country gets a lot more profit, since many different services can be sold to travelers attracted by the glitter of gold nuggets.

Berezovsky, Russia
Unfortunately, unlike other states, the Russian legislation still prohibits washing gold to private individuals, although the Government has had thoughts about allowing tourists to extract gold. Indeed, in many countries around the world it is a way able to improve the profitability of small plots. Some regions of the country have tried to attract prospectors-gold miners, but if the metal is indeed found, the enthusiasts will not escape meeting the competent authorities. And because of this, the mineralogical tourism, that is the search for minerals by tourists, is not developed in Russia, despite the natural wealth of the country. Thus, out of the 4 thousand minerals discovered by scientists, about thousand are found in the Ural Mountains. For several centuries in this land there has been an extraction of iron and copper ore, malachite, emerald, and the rarest mineral crocoit: the world knows only 2 of its deposits, the second – on the island of Tasmania, is conducted. It is here, not far from the river Berezovka that the first Russian gold ore was found, there was laid the first gold-washing mill was established and the town Berezovski was founded.
No wonder that in this village, in “Russian Klondike”, located 12 kilometers from Yekaterinburg, excursions under the land are organized. Tourists descend into one of the two shafts: the training shaft, which exists for the training of rescue workers, and the acting one, with a depth of 512 meters, where you can see how real gold-mining takes place (it is available only for adults). During the two-hour tour guests can feel themselves miners: at the entrance they will have to change into special suits, then they will be told in detail about the dangerous profession of miners, about extraction, they will see an underground world, and even be able to pick up a piece of rock as a memento.
By the summer in Berezovski it is planned to open a tourist attraction for the extraction of the precious metal in a lottery method. However, unless the legislation is changed, it is obvious, that acting in the role of gold-miners without violating the law will be something like the following: the gold, which has already been officially extracted, will be registered and legalized, the travel agency will buy it, introduce it in the rock, and then the tourists will “extract” it again.

Monkey-puzzle (Monkey Puzzle Tree), Chile and Argentina
An evergreen tree of a very strange kind. Its long branches are covered with leaves like thorns, so tough and prickly, that, they say, even birds do not sit on them. Some specimen reach a height of 60 meters (with the diameter of the trunk up to 2 meters) and live for thousands of years. Scientists assume that the area of the propagation of araucaria in Chile coincided with the settlements of Indian tribes who once lived there. In other words, there is a hypothesis that the natives of South America deliberately cultivated the tree from its fruits. Huge bumps, weighing 2-3 kg, 200-300 contain large seeds 4-5 cm long, that taste like pine nuts. However, it is not necessary to go to the other ends of the world to look at this plant.

General Sherman, Sequoia National Park, California, United States
Giant sequoia with the height of 84 meters, growing in the National Park in northern California, won even its own title- in honour of the most talented general of the Civil War in the United States, Sherman. The diameter of the bottom of the trunk of this giant reaches 11 meters and is considered to be the largest tree in the world by volume of wood, which is almost one and a half thousand cubic meters. Scientists believe that the tree was born into the world before Christ, estimating its age to be some 2300-2700 years.

Methuselah, White Mountains, California, United States
Here, in California, you can find also the oldest tree in the world. This spinals pine, which received its name in honor of the Biblical character, famous for his longevity, according to the estimates of the scientists break its six thousand years old record in 2168. However, the tree is not to be found easily. Its exact location is known only to the foresters. All others can only guess which one of the giant pines of the park is the oldest among the living.

The giant fir, McMillan Park, Vancouver Island, Canada
Another great conifer, fir, can be found on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia. The gaunt trunks of giant fir reach an altitude of 100 meters in diameter and some of 9 meters. However, all the trees on the island seem to be overgrown. All growing coniferous and deciduous species here appear to be several times more than their congeners growing on the mainland. They say the soft and moist local climate contributes to it.

Insectivorous plants, botanical gardens world
There is a great number of carnivorous plants in the world. What unites them is the way of hunting: lured by the sweet smell the insect creeps into the flower filled with fluid, and remains there forever, gradually dissolving and giving nutrients to its murderer. It is possible to meet these plants in almost any greenhouse or botanical garden of the world, in nature their main habitats are the wet steppes and swamps of the tropics and subtropics.

Rafflesia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines
Giant flowers reaching meters in diameter and sometimes weighing more than 10 kg, were first discovered on the island of Sumatra. In fact, all the plant is a single flower, as it does not have any roots or stems or leaves. Throughout its life, it parasitizes on the host, usually tropical lianas. Attempts to reach flowering in botanic gardens rarely ended successfully, and is rather a purely scientific interest. The point is that from the time of sowing the seeds until budding 3-4 years run and then another year and a half is required for the flower smelling of rotten meat to blossom finally, and the life of which is only two to three days.

Water lily Victoria Gardens Kew (London), New York Botanical Garden
Originally from the shallow waters of the Amazon, this type of water lily, named in honour of Queen Victoria, lived in the great botanical gardens of Great Britain and the United States. Some leaves of the giant plants can grow to three meters in diameter and retain a weight of up to 40 kg. Interestingly, its quite large, up to half of the diameter flowers on the first day of blooming remain all white, but almost overnight, acquire a pink tint.

Ficus Bengal, India, Sri Lanka, the Caribbean
The tree, which can only appear in a nightmarish dream about the invasion of the Earth by monstrous tree-like newcomers with lots of tentacles, is easy to see at first hand. The plant with a crown, with branches that hang like aerial roots, rarely reaching the earth, can hold an area of several hectares. For the sake of justice it is worth noting that at a closer view the twisted and stiff roots resemble more a rather quaint and attractive design than the tentacles of a giant octopus.

Bodhi Tree, Bodh-Gaya, India
Probably the most respected and most visited tree in the world grows in India, in Bihar State, in the Buddhist Mahabodhi temple. According to the legend, it is at this point that Prince Siddhartha once attained enlightenment and became Buddha. Of course, the first plant is not preserved. The tree now growing in the temple is a descendant of the original tree once taken to Sri Lanka. According to the Buddhist tradition, a similar tree should grow on the territory of any sanctuary.

Hotels located in the beautiful places are at home in the United States, as well as in classical Europe. Regardless of the location all of them are distinguished by a perfect combination of beautiful terrain, impeccable service and an atmosphere of romance and love.

United States, Sonoma Valley, California,
Beltane Ranch

To the north of the town of Sonoma, in Glen Ellen is a ranch Beltane, whose 105 acres are replete with fruit trees, vegetable gardens and flower gardens. Under the hot Californian sun on fertile ground ranch pour best grape varieties, which are bought by local winemakers. Beltane is famous for its amazing quality olive oil.

It is not surprising, that the ranch was provided for photo sessions for models from LL Bean and Victoria’s Secret: This area is truly idyllic. Yellow houses, reminiscent of gingerbread, is made up of five hotels and two verandas. The best rooms are on the second floor and offer visitors from the hammocks on the porch to admire the stunning views of the golden ridges of vineyards and the majestic mountain of Sonoma. Number 1 is equipped with wood stove and living room.
For breakfast guests of the Beltane ranch are offered pancakes with homemade raspberry syrup from local orchards. Lovers of active rest will be glad with rancho tennis court, and curious tourists can perform a fascinating tour of the winery, located in this area.
The cost of accommodation at the hotel begins from $ 150 per night (with breakfast).

Florida ,Miami
The Loft Hotel

A married couple from France – Lisa and Pascal Nicolle – opened their first hotel Villa Paradiso in 1992, when they acquired the apartment complex at Collins Avenue and 14 th Street. And after nine years in the five blocks from the hotel the wife got another complex, called The Loft Hotel. Located amidst Collins Avenue 20 rooms are displayed in the two-line, perpendicular to the street.
Despite the proximity to a busy and noisy part of town, the numbers of “loft”, go to the inner courtyard, store serenity, and its interior is distinguished from the light wood floors and beds with wrought iron backs. All rooms are equipped with a kitchen and a nice quiet corner for breakfast with a round table. The owners of the hotel are all anxious about their second brainchild, and Liza daily decorates the interior of the hotel with bouquets of milky-white flowers shipped from France.
The cost of living in a hotel Loft starts from 90 dollars a day.

Mexico ,Tulum
Amansala’s Casa Magna

In mid-1970’s Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar has built in the southern suburbs of the city of Tulum two buildings with total area of nearly 22.5 thousand square meters. After the death of Escobar in 1993, his tenure had been unattended, which allowed nature to make branded “adjustments” in the appearance through hurricanes and vegetation.
Ultimately, luxury homes have attracted the attention of the owner of the resort on the coast Amansala Tuluma Melissa Perlman. Due to her in 1996 the former estate of the drug lord turned in Casa Magna. However, before this Perlman had to invest considerable funds for the conversion of concrete buildings in the hotel complex of 22 huge rooms, minimally furnished with furniture.
The hotel is famous for its athletics program Bikini Boot Camp, despite everything to gain popularity at the resort Amansala. It includes a set of different physical exercises, yoga and massage. Local restaurant focuses on healthy food and offers an abundance of fish and fresh vegetables.
The cost of accommodation at the Hotel Casa Magna starts from 180 dollars a day.

Costa Rica , Santa Teresa
Hotel Milarepa

It is easy to understand why Leonardo Di Caprio chose to rest with its liabilities in this hotel – it consists of four rooms, and guarantees you a total anonymity of private life. Furniture in each bungalow hotel Milarepa is made of dark-golden teak wood, including a large wardrobe closet with intricate carvings, and antique beds under the canopy. Guests are allowed to open all the windows, while they may feel the sea breeze blowing in a private veranda, which opens right from you hotel room.
Another feature of the hotel is the semi-bath and shower cabin, under the azure sky. However, classic interior for that kind of sanitary procedures is also available for conservative visitors.
The hotel also has a small cozy restaurant with seven tables, which goes directly to the swimming pool with a grassy, gently pollard. And on the golden beaches near the hotel is located hut where tourists can enjoy a bamboo massage ($ 65 per hour).
The cost of living in a hotel Milarepa starts from 185 dollars per night with breakfast included.

Caribbean, the island of Santa Lucia
Villa Beach Cottages

Snow-white hotel Villa Beach Cottages is located in the 1.5-hour drive from the international airport of the island of Santa Lucia. You can get there by taxi for 70 dollars, but you will save about 10 dollars, if the Villa Beach drivers will allow you to have the honor: she or he will be pleased to chat with you and even buy a bottle of cold local beer. Anxious attitude to the guests here is one of the causes for the tourists to return to the hotel by Colin Hunt, consisting of 20 apartments again and again.
And it all began with the fact that in 1958 Hunt’s grandfather bought the two former Marine barracks from the U.S. Army, and then move them to the tiny beach of the island width of 64 meters. New buildings have appeared after the Hunt took over the board 18 years ago, but he still tries to maintain the original appearance of their houses with high ceilings, louver shutters and wooden gilt decoration.
Most guests of Villa Beach like a private party in the cottage, a beautiful view of the ocean. In clear weather from the coast, you can even see a piece of distant islands Martinique.
The cost of living in a hotel is about 190 dollars per day.