Global Travel Writers: Articles http://www.globaltravelwriters.com/ Global Travel Writers en Global Travel Writers: Articles http://www.globaltravelwriters.com/EXT:tt_news/ext_icon.gif http://www.globaltravelwriters.com/ Global Travel Writers TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:51:00 -0400 Vietnam War veterans work together to create a national museum http://www.globaltravelwriters.com/articles/article/aussie-vietnam-vets-work-together-to-create-a-national-museum/ On the outskirts of Newhaven, Phillip Island, stands an unlikely visitor attraction, housed within... On the outskirts of Newhaven, Phillip Island, stands an unlikely visitor attraction, housed within a starkly industrial aircraft hangar. The National Vietnam Veterans Museum stands as a tribute to what can be achieved by a dedicated group of volunteers.

Not only those who served – and their families – will gain from visiting this sprawling collection; so will anyone who lived through those tumultuous years from 1962 through to 1972. 

The Museum soon outgrew its first premises and ranges from documents – letters home, diaries, photos, maps and personal effects – to a Huey Cobra helicopter gunship, a Centurion tank and a Canberra bomber.  Especially poignant are the tributes received from the Vietnamese-Australian community.  And there’s even a café and a souvenir shop, so you can take home a teddy bear soldier or a model F4 Phantom fighter jet.  

]]> Philip Game Australia Victoria Destination Travel History By: Philip Game Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:51:00 -0400 Walhalla's Golden Glories http://www.globaltravelwriters.com/articles/article/walhallas-golden-glories/ What is it about this remote Victorian community with its handful of residents? The story of Walhalla today is largely the story of Michael Leaney, a deceptively boyish dynamo who has revitalised the tiny Victorian-era gold rush township, almost lost in the Great Dividing Range.

Twenty years ago Leaney bought a miner’s cottage as a weekend retreat in a ghost town bereft of visitor facilities. Since then he has completely rebuilt and reopened the historic Star Hotel, destroyed by fire in 1951. Leaney’s enthusiasm also helps drive the continuing restoration of the railway which once ran from Moe to Walhalla, and this year celebrates its centenary.

Two and a half hours from Melbourne, Walhalla became the last town in Victoria to hook up to mains power, in 1998. Mobile phone and TV reception are still severely limited in this deep, forested valley, and just ask Leaney about the high farce which can result when overseas tourists try to find their way in or out of here by relying on satellite navigation.

What is it about this remote community, whose population is still measured only in double digits? Perhaps Walhalla satisfies that deep-seated childhood ideal of a pretty toy-town of neat, square houses set alongside a stream which runs through a deep valley.

]]> Philip Game Victoria Australia Personalities Destination Travel By: Philip Game Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:41:00 -0400 Trieste: the end of an empire, or two http://www.globaltravelwriters.com/articles/article/trieste-the-end-of-an-empire-or-two/ Trieste: the end of an empire, or two The slow train eastbound from Venice hugs the craggy, forested Adriatic coast as it nears the city of Trieste, affording tantalising glimpses of the Castello di Miramare, a fabulous folly built out on a promontory in the 1860s by the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Maximilian and his wife Charlotte.  With his fairytale castle barely complete, the young aristocrat took the opportunity to become Emperor of Mexico, an adventure which would soon end in tragedy.

At the station in downtown Trieste, we find ourselves a stone's throw from the Serbian Orthodox church, the old synagogue and much else to remind us that this was once a most cosmopolitan port, the only sea port for the sprawling Austro-Hungarian empire, dismembered after the First World War.  Veteran travel writer Jan Morris enthuses over this somewhat cryptic city, not quite Italian, no longer Austro-Hungarian, and now tucked into a pocket of Italian territory almost encircled by Slovenia.

Trieste lacks the must-sees of other cities in northern Italy, in spite of a history extending back to Roman times, but in some ways that is part of its charm.  Launches bob at anchor in the Grand Canal whilst café patrons nibble cicheti appetisers and sip Campari spritzes on the nearby Piazza dell’Unita d’Italia, an imposing town square laid out by Austrian town planners.

Image gallery online at www.pbase.com/travelgame/trieste

]]> Philip Game Italy Destination Travel History By: Philip Game Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:21:00 -0400 Sailing the Tahiti Pearl Regatta http://www.globaltravelwriters.com/articles/article/sailing-the-tahiti-pearl-regatta/ The annual Tahiti Pearl Regatta is a race of sorts that takes participants through the reefs and... Possible angles include: Yachting Tahiti profile – Demystifying bareboat charter for those who want to venture outside Aust. Where to go, what to see, charter options. Covering the best charter operators, logistics of chartering, highlights of the region, best time to go etc.

Alternative angles: Regatta roundup/News covering regatta highlights, participants, crews, yachts, who die what and when,  in this exotic location, sprinkled with some colourful quotes from sailors and non-sailors alike.

Naturally stunning pics of regatta participants against dramatic seascapes will be available.

The Tahiti Pearl Regatta is an annual event held in May 2011: Fiona Harper will be attending.

With a full program of sailing by day and entertainment Tahitian style by night, it's a fun filled five days in a glorious South Pacific setting. Fiona Harper  will be out on the water, as well as digging out stories on shore at the regatta events http://www.tahitipearlregatta.org.pf/index.php

Contact Fiona Harper to register your 'in principal interest' in exclusive editorial www.fionaharper.com.au 

]]> Fiona Harper French Polynesia By: Fiona Harper Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:58:00 -0400 Taiwan, a Chinese puzzle http://www.globaltravelwriters.com/articles/article/taiwan-a-chinese-puzzle/ Often overlooked, Taiwan - the other China - can certainly overturn the preconceptions of a... The tea leaves must fill one-fifth of the pot and before tasting, the tea aroma is sampled by inverting a taster cup into a small bowl.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat. A fusillade shatters the serenity of the arcane tea house ritual. Is this the end game, the invasion threatened ever since 1949? No, simply fat strings of firecrackers exploding to herald the last day of Lunar New Year festivities. Traffic slows for the trailer-mounted, larger-than-life, deities hauled through city streets by temple volunteers, then ploughs on through dense clouds of smoke and eardrum-shattering explosions. Yes, the Red hordes are landing in force: package tourists disembark daily by the thousand from the direct flights which now hop across the Straits. This peaceful invasion threatens at times to overwhelm Taiwan's natural and cultural heritage.

The drinks are served in urinal-shaped vessels, and my Szechuan Hot Pot simmers within a miniature bidet. Welcome to the Modern Toilet, a chain restaurant in Taipei which plumbs new depths of tastelessness. Meanwhile at the sumptuous Silks Palace restaurant, adjoining the National Palace Museum, exquisitely presented dishes draw inspiration from the priceless antiquities housed in one of the world's finest collections of Asian art.

Often overlooked, Taiwan - the other China - can certainly overturn the preconceptions of a first-time visitor. More images

]]> Philip Game Taiwan Destination Travel By: Philip Game Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:28:00 -0400 Belem - city on the equator http://www.globaltravelwriters.com/articles/article/belem-city-on-the-equator/ The surprising city of Belém, gateway to the lower Amazon At daybreak, thousands of parrots take to the skies over the murky waters of the Amazon near Belém, the capital of Pará state, in northern Brazil. Just as the ink washes out of the night sky and an eerie dawn tinges it yellow, the parrots leave their favourite roosting trees en masse, blotting out the sky as they go and squawking to find their mates. 

Belém is not on everyone’s wish list when visiting the Amazon region.  Most head straight for the jugular city of Manaus, 1400kms northwest on the junction of the Amazon and Rio Negro, but for those who do make the detour, the rewards can be surprising. The city’s beautiful buildings include the famous Opera House modeled on La Scala in Milan, the Basilica of Nazaré built after the style of St Peter’s in Rome, and the fresh fruit and produce market, Ver-O-Peso, with its decorative wrought-iron turret that was transported in sections from Britain and is now an icon of the city.

]]> Maria Visconti Brazil Cities Cruising Cultural Travel Destination Travel Nature and Wildlife By: Tricia Welsh Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:25:00 -0500 Wales http://www.globaltravelwriters.com/articles/article/wales/ Welsh stories For a selection of recent stories on Wales, please contact our associate member Roger St Pierre

]]> Roger St Pierre Wales By: Roger St Pierre Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:13:00 -0500 Vatican http://www.globaltravelwriters.com/articles/article/vatican/ Stories on the Vatican For stories on the Vatican, please contact our associate member Roger St Pierre

]]> Roger St Pierre Vatican By: Roger St Pierre Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:12:00 -0500 Uruguay http://www.globaltravelwriters.com/articles/article/uruguay/ Uruguayan stories For a selection of recent stories on Uruguay, please contact our associate member Roger St Pierre

]]> Roger St Pierre Uruguay By: Roger St Pierre Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:11:00 -0500 US Virgin Islands http://www.globaltravelwriters.com/articles/article/us-virgin-islands/ Stories on the US Virgin Islands For stories on the US Virgin Islands, please contact our associate member Roger St Pierre

]]> Roger St Pierre US Virgin Islands By: Roger St Pierre Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:09:00 -0500