Deira - The Other Half of Dubai

Deira
The two main areas of Dubai are Deira and Bur Dubai. The Deira part of Dubai offers guests a selection of exceptional attractions such as the Dhow Wharfage

Deira Side of Dubai
Deira is situated on the other side of the Dubai creek which separates it from Bur Dubai.

You can get across the Dubai creek at 3 different points. People can also make use of the Dubai creek water taxis which transport people from the Bur Dubai side to the Deira side of Dubai.

Deira is said to be to some extent less urbanized and commercialized then Bur Dubai across the creek.

Many tourists might take for this idea for granted as being the full truth. Granted many commercial and financial activities are found in the region including the Dubai World Trade Centre however Deira has a lot to offer as well to Dubai visitors.

Dubai Souk
Traders and businesses can be found all over Deira. The difference with Bur Dubai is the type of businesses that can be spotted along the roads of Deira. The legendary souks of Dubai are found in Deira. This includes the world famous gold souk as well as the famed spice souk of Dubai.

Bur Dubai
Visiting Deira and visiting Bur Dubai are two different types of experience. The premier motive for people to believe that Bur Dubai is much wealthier then neighboring Deira is due to the fact that Bur Dubai is more modern with many big and brand new structures and large malls.

Deira however offers visitors twisty and thin streets which are filled countless minute shops, Arabic restaurants and the whole atmosphere seems hectic and unorganized.

Deira Great for Shopping
If you love doing shopping at huge US style malls should be happy to know that these are also available in this area of Dubai. You can go shopping at US style malls in both Bur Dubai as well as Dubai.

A large number of shops and other businesses have over the last few years relocated from Bur Dubai to Deira as the rents are so much lower in the Deira side of Dubai.

Dubai at Night.
The evenings in Deira are much more alive with the streets filling up with many people. Local residents love having dinner at one of the many restaurants or to simply drink a coffee at one of the open air coffee. People watching seems to be the favorite activity for many people in Dubai.

The great atmosphere in this part of Dubai is surely a reason for many people to come and stay at a hotel in Deira rather than in one of the hotels in Bur Dubai.

Dhow Wharfage
Dhow Wharfage is an excellent attraction in Deira to go to. The Dhow Wharfage is one of the most visited attractions in Dubai by tourists.

Have a nice walk at the Dhow Wharfage and see how the local traders do business. These traders in this part can be compared to the old fashioned market sales guys in Europe.

Dubai traders located at the Dhow Wharfage offer clients all types of goods. These goods include fresh fruit and meat, mobile phones and sometimes even cars and boats.

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The Limestone Mountain Range of Indochina

Have you ever seen Goldfinger, the classic 007 thriller that, after one of the biggest car and boat chases in Hollywood history, ends up among the mysterious and beautiful islands of the Andaman Sea, where Dr. No has his evil headquarters?

Limestone is known for forming curious and beautiful formations around the world: usually caves, but occasionally cliffs and mountains as well. One of the properties of limestone is that (geologically speaking anyway) it erodes quickly in water. While water erosion may take tens of thousands or even millions of years to produce some other rock formations such as the Grand Canyon, limestone formations will change even within hundreds of years, depending on their size.

The largest swath of limestone mountains and cliffs extends from Southeast China (you can see them in prints and brush paintings as nearly vertical hills), and runs through Vietnam, Laos, Central Thailand, Southern Thailand, and finally through the Andaman Sea down into Sumatra.

Though all of these formations are impressive, it is the island formations that are the oddest: not only are their bases eroding in the sea, giving some an inverted island effect, they are also being bombarded by wet sea breezes and storms. Some of the islands, like Chicken Island for example, are very odd indeed, while other formations such as cliff caves that are part of bigger islands will contain secret lagoons and other such exotic features.

Islands in the Andaman sea, and all limestone mountains in fact, are doomed to one day crash back down to land. In the sea, the process is quicker and many cliff faces on the islands oddly lean toward the sea. Some of these have large faces painted on them, watching over the safety of the fishermen.

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Budget Travel Resorts

Many families are in a tight financial situation these days. You probably know how costly a vacation can become, but you should not let your budget control your life too much. There are perfectly fine choices for travel resorts, even if you are on a budget.

The key to traveling on a budget is information. By comparing different travel resorts and destinations you are able to pick those that have the best quality for your budget. Without being knowledgeable of your options, you can easily find yourself paying double or triple what you should be.

One source to gain that information from are travel agencies. However, as their income is generally based on how much you pay, they might not give you all the information you need. You need to find more reliable and more thorough sources. Thankfully, the information era is here and you can tap to millions of pages worth information with just a few clicks.

The world wide web is your friend. There are countless pages offering objective reviews of different travel resorts. By looking through the reviews of those resorts that are within your price range, you can quickly weed out those that are of poor quality.

There are also web sites that offer discounts for certain vacation packages. They are often more competitively priced than those offered by offline travel agencies, as online companies can cut costs where traditional ones cannot. This edge directly cuts the costs of your vacation.

Perhaps the most important information you can get from this kind of web sites is the information of what you need to have with you. Some travel resorts, for example those in the Pacific or Indian areas, are not equipped with everything you might be used to. Especially so, if you need to pick a budget resort.

Unless you have all the required items with you, you may need to buy something you have no need for afterward. This adds to the cost of the vacation and is an unnecessary burden to your travel budget. By thinking ahead and making sure you take with you everything you may need, you can avoid costs and use the money for what it should be: entertainment and leisure.

The best way to travel on budget is definitely to look for information on travel resorts online. By comparing different options you will find the one that best suits your budget and your wants. That will result in a much more enjoyable and interesting vacation than one sold by travel agencies.

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Christmas Events For Kids in Dublin

Christmas at Imaginosity

Imaginosity is Dublin's children's museum and it's located in Sandyford. This interactive museum is all about learning while having fun. The museum has a action packed calendar of events for the month of December. There will be workshops where kids can learn to make Christmas decorations, special Christmas storytimes, Christmas discos, and Christmas drama workshops. Imaginosity welcomes under 10's and their family.

Christmas at the Ark

The Ark is a cultural centre for children located in Temple Bar in Dublin. The custom built cultural centre for children works with both international and Irish artists to develop programmes and workshops that will introduce and develop kids cultural and artistic abilities while at the same time having fun. From Novermber 21st - December 20th the centre will have a range of Christmas music and visual arts workshops.

Christmas Time at Farmleigh

Farmleigh House was once home to the famous Guinness brewing family. It is located in Phoenix Park - the largest city park in Europe, which is located about 3km west of O'Connell Street. Farmleigh provides a wonderful festive experience for all the family. It is beautifully decorated with Edwardian style decorations, there's a children's Christmas room, a 'live' crib and a Christmas food market. Farmleigh has organised lots of Christmas events taking place on the weekends in the run up to Christmas.

Ice skating

Ice skating is a always a fun day out at Christmas. There are lots of ice skating rinks in Dublin this year. 7up Christmas on Ice returns to its main venue the RDS from 13th November - 17th January and offers 3 fully covered ice rinks - a main rink, a beginners's rink and a kiddies sleigh run. 7up Christmas on Ice will also have a rink at Liffey Valley from 20th November - 10th January. Dublin On Ice will be at Smithfield from 20th November - 10th January and at the Plaza in Sandyford from 13th November - 10th January.

Pantomimes

There's plenty of pantomimes for you and your family to choose from in Dublin this Christmas. The Civic Theatre in Tallaght presents Little Red Riding Hood from 14th-19th December while the Snow Queen runs from the 27th-8th January. Robin Hood runs at the Olympia Theatre from the 18th December - 15th January while Jack and the Beanstalk can be seen at the Gaiety Theatre from 29th November-31st January. And if that's not enough to choose from, Cinderella performs at The Helix from the 2nd December to the 17th January.

Funderland

For the ultimate thrill rides and rollercoaster, head for Funderland - it's the largest travelling fun fair in Europe and it comes to Dublin from the 26th December to 10th January. It will be located at the RDS and will be open from 12 noon to 10pm daily.

Mairead writes for GoIreland.com - Ireland's leading travel and accommodation website.

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Your Flight to China - Are You Dreading It?

I've gone to China twice. So, four times I have been in a jet for 14+ hours at a time. I thought it would be a nightmare, but it really wasn't too bad.

If you've never traveled on an international flight, you might be surprised to discover how comfortable the seating is. On international flights, there's more leg room, and every inch is appreciated. Also, the seats leaned back further than on regular flights.

One way to get comfortable on any flight is to buy one of those little pillows for your neck. I used one that you blow up because it was so easy to carry in my carry-on bag, folding up to the size of a little tissue pack. It was very comfortable and easy to manage.

I also always ask for a blanket and pillow (or two) from the steward or stewardess for extra padding and shifting and otherwise setting up my little "seat-bed".

As you know, international flights feature movies and television shows. I was able to see a couple of Korean programs, Chinese kung fu movies, as well as American films. Occasionally, the screens would offer exercises to remind us to stretch our legs and shoulders and arms. That felt good. People frequently got up and moved around to stretch and talk, too. I enjoyed the casual, friendly atmosphere of the flights to and from China.

I found the meals to be delicious. We were offered a few different choices, some traditional Chinese or Korean fare, as well as American food.

One of our stewards was very fun and entertaining. On these international flights, alcoholic drinks were complimentary, and he would walk down the aisles, calling, "Free booze! Free booze!"

He spoke fluent English and Chinese, and he liked to have passengers practice their Chinese on him. If they were way off the mark, he would laugh and say, "You'd better practice some more!" But if you did pretty well, he would say, "Ah, good! You've been working on it!"

The international flights are fun, too, because you can meet the most interesting people and have a chance to actually learn about them. I had some wonderful seat-mates.

One fellow who sat next to me was an author and psychologist. He was an expert in human potential and was traveling to China to help train the men who would be operating the great Three Gorges Dam, the largest dam in the world, which stretches more than a mile across the Yangtze River. If they were to make even one mistake in operating it, millions could drown, he said.

A high school girl I sat next to on another flight was coming back from spending a semester in China after staying with a Chinese family. She had some wonderful stories to tell about the school she attended and the family she stayed with.

Of course, with any flight, the noise will get to you after awhile. The constant noise of the engines wears on you, so having noise-cancelling headphones is a great help.

All in all, I enjoyed the international flights. The service was excellent, the food was good, the seating more comfortable than usual, the seatmates were friendly, and the anticipation of arriving in China was exciting!

Roshana Ariel is a longtime writer and editor. She enjoys writing about her traveling adventures at http://www.adventuresinchinatravel.com/china_air_travel.html, and her dogs at http://www.love-those-doggies.com She also has a site devoted to another passion: brainwave technology and brain science at http://www.brainwavejourneys.com

Accra Ghana - A Popular Tourist Spot

Accra is one of the contemporary and wealthiest cities on the continent of Africa. This populated city is the capital of Ghana and it is the home to Kotoka International Airport. Throughout the year this airport remains busy as plenty of aircrafts take off and land at this airport.

Though people from all across the world come to visit this place, Accra is mainly connected with North America and Europe. So, most of the time, the majestic beaches of this alluring tourist destination are seen to be crowded with Europeans and Americans.

If you can plan properly, you can surely expect to have an amazing Accra city tour. After reaching this place, you can hire a car that will surely make your transportation smooth and comfortable. Usually Accra Ghana hotels offer these rent-a-car services. So, you do not have to find any difficulty to avail such services. However, before hiring a car, make sure the driver of your car is a good guide. Otherwise, you may miss out to see some of the most wonderful tourist spots and thus your Ghana tours may remain incomplete.

Taxis are another mode of transportation in Accra Ghana. Some of these taxis are not metered. In that case you have to negotiate the rate with the driver before starting your journey, but most of the time it becomes a bit expensive. Another means of transportation is shared taxi. These taxis follow a fixed route and a fixed rate. Apart from all these, the third option is tro tro. These are basically vans, which serve as the public transit system of the city.

Some of the main spots, that really worth appreciation are as follows:

- The Makola Market

It is a shopping district, where one can find everything from clothes to shoes, from electronic parts to luxury items. The most interesting thing about this market is that here most of the traders are women.

- The National Museum

Its collections include a wide variety of textiles, pottery and fine art. Here the visitors will also come across a number of Zulu wooden statues, carvings from the Congo and the bronze heads from Nigeria.

- The Beaches

There are plenty of spectacular beaches in Ghana. To enter some of these beaches, tourists have to pay entrance charges.

- Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum

It is a memorial park, which is dedicated to the first president of Ghana.

If you are interested to see all such alluring spots, you need to select an accommodation options, from a wide range of Accra Ghana hotels. Some of the hotels, which offer superb boarding and lodging facilities, are as follows:

- La Badi Beach Hotel
- Golden Tulip Hotel
- La Palm Hotel
- Highgate Hotel
- African Regent Hotel

For getting more information on these hotels, you can contact the travel agencies, which are providing Ghana tourism services for quite a long time. Apart from hotels, there are also a number of restaurants in Accra. Among them Haveli serves Indian delicacies, whereas, Maquis Tante Marie serves African cuisine and Frankie serves Western food.

This article is written by Pieter Ghana for Ghana Welcome Tours. The Ghana travel tour operator offers Ghana tourism services and arranges West Africa tours.

Flights - Staying Dry In Thailand

For a taste of Asian culture, many western tourists and backpackers choose to visit Thailand during their trips, in order to enjoy the Buddhist temples, spicy foodstuffs and crystal clear coastal waters.

With a range of beautiful reefs and picturesque islands, wildlife holidays through dense jungles and national parks and health spas that offer the chance of some much needed relaxation, there's something for everyone.

Cheap flights to Bangkok are usually the best option for those looking to visit the country. However it is best to shop around for flights, as there are also options to travel to different parts of the country by air.

The coastal town of Phuket is served by an airport, and remains one of the most popular destinations for western tourists.

However it is always best to plan ahead for visits by doing a bit of research, particularly into the unpredictable weather system around the continent of Asia, particularly when it comes to the rainy season - when the country is prone to the annual monsoon.

However there are some parts of the country which are less affected by the weather than others. If you're visiting a coastal resort such as Phuket during the monsoon season it's best to stay safe and not embark on boat tours and snorkelling tours during bad weather periods.

It is advised to try and plan your Thai holiday around the rainy season. And whilst flights may prove a little more expensive, you can lessen your chances of running into difficulties during the rainy season - when rainfall can be pretty fierce and frequent.

Thinking of going to Thailand and on the lookout for flights? Compare cheap flights to Bangkok and a wide variety of other cheap flights to help plan your perfect trip.