Karen Halabi escapes the city for the peace and contemplation of a Korean tea house.

The ancient art of preparing tea is a deeply meditative process that forces one to calm down, relax and lose the worries of the day in the process of making and consuming tea.

In Korea, the art of tea preparation and the meditative ritual of the tea ceremony has been revived in the rash of tea houses that are springing up across the country.

I head to the forest outside Icheon to a Confucian retreat to don a hanbok and find out how it’s done………..

Further north in the hills of Thailand’s Golden Triangle, Briton John Clarke runs an Elephant Camp project at the Anantara and Four Season Tented Camp resorts. Under his charge a number of elephants have been rescued from logging and from use in street begging and brought here to the forests of Chiang Rai.

The program and the Asian Elephant Foundation are supported by resort guests who pay around US$285 a night for a deluxe suite at this luxury resort overlooking the Golden Triangle. These days many are paying an additional fee, on top of their hotel accommodation, to undergo “mahout” training, a one day to one week intensive program where they learn how to bond with, look after and wash the elephants, a project that enables the resort to keep them off the streets.

There are no chains or saddles at either elephant sanctuary – the elephants roam free at night in the nearby jungle and the only time they’re ridden is down to the river for their daily bath….. continues  

©Karen Halabi  August 2009

For a story and images on The Elephant Nature Park or The Elephant Camp project or both in one story contact the author. OR you may prefer a story on all attempts/projects to save the Asian elephant. Story can run from 1,000 to 2,000 wds.

In fact, every year, thousands of religious pilgrims visit Mecca, pouring in from Muslim countries around the world to attend the Haj during the religious month of Ramadan. During this time, Muslims do not eat or drink from dawn till dusk and it is forbidden even for non-Muslim foreigners to eat or drink in public.

Foreigners are required to exercise discretion in dress while in Saudi, never more so than during this time. Women and girls over 10 must wear completely body covering clothing so as not to reveal any skin. Many resident foreigners even adopt the local black abbaya rather than suffer the penetrating glares of Saudi men and, if venturing out of the main cities, a head covering as well.  Saudi women dress from top to toe in black. Apart from the abbaya, they also wear a full head veil with only their eyes showing through narrow slits.

Arriving in Frankfurt en route to other European destinations take the time to explore Germany’s second largest city, often overlooked in favour of Berlin. Rather than just taking the transit option through Europe’s second largest airport, join the increasing number of travellers dropping into Frankfurt for a city-break or a longer stay. Stay overnight and discover treasures such as the Goethe Museum and the Old Town district.

Goethe’s House, the birthplace of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (in 1749) was destroyed in World War II and then rebuilt true to the original in 1947. It’s a fascinating insight into how a merchant’s family lived in those days, when Frankfurt was a Free Imperial City and part of the Roman Empire. The GoetheMuseum is right next door.

Try applewein and German frankfurts or sausage at one of the cafes or restaurants in the medieval Old Town Square (Romerberg), see the Romer (which has been the City Hall since 1405) and explore the nearby old Opera House, now a concert hall. Shoppers should head for Goethestrasse or Kaiserstrasse.

Frankfurt is ideal for exploring on foot and everything is within easy walking distance……continues

For a complete story and images contact the author.

Copyright story and images Karen Halabi 2008

by Karen Halabi

There  I was hanging by the neck in water.

I was at a spa in Slovakia, and traction is just one of the treatments recommended here, along with mud baths and hot thermal waters

I stood naked shivering looking down at the medieval style torture apparatus, then the assistant arrived. "Yah, come in!" she beckoned as she pointed towards the water. I stepped gingerly in then made my way to the edge of the platform. She strapped me in and then pushed me forward till I was dangling by the neck - a bit like Ned Kelly at the end of his tether.

Karen Halabi visited Slovakia in July 2008. For a story or images of Slovakia, Bojnice, a Slovakian wedding or Bratislava, contact the author.

 This famous Spa Town, only 80 km from the Slovakian Capital Bratislava, has thermal mineral springs which are renowned for their health and restorative benefits.

 Unlike modern day so-called spas, European spas are traditionally linked to the presence of thermal springs and in the case of Piestany the whole town is dedicated to this health activity. People come from all over the world to take the healing waters here and a visit to the Spa is considered a health treatment, whether you have a health issue, such as shoulder aches and pains, or just want to feel reinvigorated.

Piešťany is situated in the western part of Slovakia, only 140 km from Vienna, capital of Austria.  This beautiful town attracts visitors from all over world, most of whom return again and again after discovering the secrets of it’s curative and natural therapies. Many use it as a base for their discovery of Slovakia as the area is surrounded with historical sites and ancient castles.

The Spa Island of Piestany provides the perfect environment for wellbeing and relaxation through the use of high-quality curative treatments, application of state-of the art medical and rehabilitation methods and use of sulphurous mud. Balneo-therapy (a combination of spa treatments, thermal mineral water and mud)  at Piestany Spa is designed to refresh and revitalize. Whilst this Spa resort has a world wide reputation for delivering high quality medicinal treatments for arthritis, rheumatism and mobility problems, its famous therapies combined with the beauty of the Island and wide choice of relaxation treatments, also make it an excellent de-stress escape for the health-conscious.

 A visit to Piestany is part of a 26 day luxury three-country tour of Eastern Europe which is personally escorted by Slovakian born Eva Santo, director of European Spa Tours, who conducts specialised spa tours to Eastern Europe. She speaks the languages of each country fluently and knows each of the destinations intimately.

 Santo’s Explore and Re-Energise Tours are like ‘holidays with health benefits’. Unlike other tours where you might get one treatment thrown in – this is four treatments per day. You won’t recognise yourself when you get back.

 As well as a stay at the specialised 200 year-old European Health Spa at Piestany, the tour includes visits to Budapest and Prague, staying at the luxury Hotel Thermal on Margaret Island in the middle of the Danube, with a cruise on the Danube, concerts, gypsy music, dancing, and excursions to see the romantic countryside, historic castles and the Slovakian capital Bratislava.

For further information see www. europeanspatours.com.au

To request a story on Eastern European spas contact the author.

 Most of its marsupials – such as kangaroos, koalas, wombats, bilbies, quolls, bandicoots, sugar gliders and ring-tailed possums - aren’t found anywhere else in the world, and this vast open continent also has more mammals than anywhere else on earth as well as amazing marine life. 

 You can see some of these animals in wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, but you’ll also stumble across them while bushwalking in the country or even on coastal paths and nature reserves running beside our beaches. You might even be lucky enough to see kangaroos on the beach at Pebbly Beach on the NSW South Coast, or at Batemans Bay or or while you’re playing golf, pretty much anywhere in the country.

A great place to see native animals in the wild is on Kangaroo Island, barely 16 km off the South Australian coast. Australia’s third largest island, it feels like a different country, and teems with the sights and sounds of wild Australia - seals, sea eagles, koalas, wombats, wallabies and, of course, its namesake kangaroos, all in their native habitat.

Australia is a Noah’s Ark, a time capsule, set adrift 60 million eons ago when it separated from the original super-continent Gwondana and split off to become the world’s only island continent……………….

For a complete article on Australia’s wildlife or marine animals, or any other aspect of Australia, contact the author, Karen Halabi. Articles can be tailored to any length or style.

Also available: a complete rundown, state by state, on where to go to see these animals in Australia: from the tamar wallabies and koalas of Kangaroo Island, to the fairy penguins of Philip Island, the friendly dolphins of Monkey Mia, the giant maori wrasse of the Great Barrier Reef and the Tasmanian devils of our southermost island state.

©Karen Halabi 2008

Images on this page courtesy of Tourism Australia.

The MV Ammari is probably the biggest cruise ship regularly cruising the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef. Others, such as the much larger Royal Caribbean’s Princess of the Seas may drop in occasionally, but the MV Ammari has been running a regular weekly schedule for the last year and this cruising vessel can go places where the larger cruise ships can’t.

At 64 berths (32 cabins) and 60 metres long, The MV Ammari is the flagship of the Fantasea fleet, bringing pleasure cruising to Australia’s outer Barrier Reef islands for those who don’t want to rough it or go bare-back chartering.

This is pleasure cruising with good food, good company, lots of sunset cocktails, spa treatments and onboard entertainment thrown in for good measure.

Then there’s snorkelling trips to popular spots such as Black Island (Bali Hai) off Hayman and Blue Pearl Bay with its beach made up of bone-shaped shells on the other side of Hayman Island. kayaking and a visit to the world famous white silica sands of Whitehaven Beach.

On the first day of our three day trip, the Ammari left the sheltered waters surrounding Whitsunday, Henning, Dent, Hayman and Hook Islands, to make its way out across open waters to the Great Barrier Reef at Reefworld and Hardy’s Reef, passing hoop pine and palm-covered islands, secluded bays and idyllic beaches enroute.

For a story tailored to your needs contact the author, Karen Halabi. Superb digital images available on request.

©Copyright Karen Halabi Dec 2007

“Watch this space”, says Karen, “I predict qualia will soon be winning awards as well.”  Set on the northernmost tip of Hamilton Island in an exclusive enclave, the resort has panoramic floor to ceiling views from its open air pavilions. Perched on a hillside covered in Australian eucalypts and bushrock, it overlooks the yachts and islands of the Whitsundays and is designed to encapsulate a total sensory experience....

Attention international editors: For an article or review of this new resort, contact the author. Story can be tailored to a spa or food and wine angle as well or as part of a feature on Australia's Whitsunday or Great Barrier Reef islands or resorts, or on cruising the Whitsundays. Exclusive images also available on request.