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The mountainous reaches of northern Thailand – until recent years isolated from the rest of the country – shelter many scenic and cultural treasures. |
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Not that long ago there was no such thing as a ‘holiday’ in India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A visit to this remote, 700 km long archipelago in the Bay of Bengal was nearly always a one-way affair. |
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Tee off in an extinct volcano, alongside Moghul monuments or just beyond the stone wall of a centuries old Spanish-built fort. |
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Words can not properly describe and photographs can not adequately capture the breathtaking beauty of Aitutaki. |
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Better known for its jade green rice paddies, powder sand beaches and hauntingly beautiful scenery, Bali has stand-out golf courses that incorporate all of these highly scenic appeals. |
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Bandung’s biggest drawcard is ugly, smells bad and often can’t even be seen at all. |
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Bangkok’s Chatujak Weekend Market - perhaps the largest open air bazaar in all of Asia - is a maze of amazing bargains. |
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From just one course in 1984, the total number of golf courses in China has grown to over 200 in 2008. After the Olympic Games take to the gold class golf courses of Beijing. |
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For nearly 300 years, France had a presence in southern India. Four Former French enclaves still have an aura of colonial charm. |
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Whack! The sharp snap of club connecting with ball cracks through the stillness of the forest. The noise startles a deer that lopes across the jade green playfield. Welcome to golf, British Colombia style! |
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The staging of the first-ever international golf tournament in Cambodia in late November 2007 put the sporting spotlight on a nation that’s never been associated with the great game. |
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Topped by a white sail, a traditional felucca slowly and silently makes its way down the Nile. Just beyond, the cacophony and chaos of Cairo couldn’t be more contrasting. |
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Visitors to Chennai, the former Madras, can unwind on a choice of two veteran golf courses and both of them have interesting tales to tell! |
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There are two sides to Churchill’s burgeoning tourism coin. In winter this tiny Canadian outpost on Hudson Bay is visited by those wanting a (not too) close encounter with polar bears; in summer tourists come to see Beluga Whales frolicking in tranquil waters. |
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Mauritius was uninhabited when the Dutch landed on the Indian Ocean island in 1598. Only awkward looking flightless birds greeted their arrival. |
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Originating in the Tibetan highlands the mighty Mekong River nears the end of its 4500 km journey as it flows through the extensive delta lands of southern Vietnam. |
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While it was the British who introduced golf to India in the 1820s it’s only been in the past few years that resort courses of international standard and style have started to green the vast Indian countryside. Many of these are to be found in and around New Delhi. |
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Thomas E King journeys from the Thai island of Koh Samui, in the south of the country, to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the far north-west |
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Laos is rapidly emerging as a prime cultural and eco tourism destination with golf also gaining a devout following. |
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Little more than a decade ago there were just three golf courses in Egypt. Today there are nearly 20 fields of green as this sophisticated and sports-friendly African nation becomes a hot bed for golf tourism. |
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Looming out of azure blue waters at the gateway to the Mediterranean Sea is one of the world's most unmistakable landmarks, the Rock of Gibraltar. |
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Monkeys cavorting on well crafted fairways that skirt a royal forest and views of the mighty Annapurna Range means that golf in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal is an exciting experience. |
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Kolkata, the better known Calcutta, is the not only the home of golf in India, the mega city has the oldest golf club in all of Asia. |
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The blossoming capital city of Yunnan, a province in southwest China, boasts a 2,400-year history. The development of golf is far more recent, with Kunming hosting some of the finest courses in Asia.
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Three outstanding fields of green have made Bali the world's best golf island. And one of them is located inside a volcano! |
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Offering more than 20 places to play the great game, Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula has become the 'golf coast' of Australia. |
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The twin courses of Port Douglas, a lush resort north of Cairns, provide stimulation to those who want more than just listening to the waves wash across creamy sands. |
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Tucked away in the mountainous hinterlands of south western China, unpolluted and relatively sparsely populated Guizhou Province is untrammelled by international tourism. |
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Founded in 1589, the state capital of Hyderabad is better known for its distinct cuisine and the rich heritage left by the Nizams. Sample these aspects of the largest city in Andhra Pradesh and then take to the tees of two interesting golf courses. |
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I’m soaring over the Lion City! Tucked away in air conditioned comfort some 165 metres above a dynamic city my 360° view from the Singapore Flyer, Asia’s largest observation wheel, encompasses the ever changing cityscape and well beyond to parts of neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia. |
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Crowning a soaring column in the green heart of Jakarta is a ‘flame’ that never flickers. It can’t because it’s made of gold! |
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One of the world's newer tourist destinations has actually been receiving visitors since the 4th century BC. |
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The British introduced the great game of golf to Lahore’s sporting scene in the 1890s. Have a great game at a veteran course and then tee off on a modern challenge. |
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The opening of new championship courses in Lithuania during 2009 has been a key factor in establishing this Baltic nation as a desirable golf destination. |
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India dances to a different beat throughout the Malabar, a culturally rich and scenically diverse region of northern Kerala. |
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Where’s the oldest golf course in the southern hemisphere? Mauritius proudly claims this veteran with gusto and also offers a golf bag full of other championship challenges. |
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Tee off amid koalas and kangaroos on a classy course outside Noosa, the chic capital of Queensland's Sunshine Coast. |
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Queensland’s striking Sunshine Coast lazily arcs north from the tongue twisting towns of Caloundra and Mooloolaba, past Maroochydore and Mudjimba to end at Noosa.
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With an eye to colour and a nose for design a brush applies paint to a canvas. The only thing unusual is that this artist has four legs and a long trunk. |
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Pink elephants are not uncommon after a long night of partying. They eventually go away but imagine a three-headed pachyderm that’s still there in the morning! |
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During its pre 1970 glory days Phnom Penh was known as the Paris of Asia. The moniker is still deserved. |
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Manila offers a golf course built around a Spanish fort and another golf resort with a course inside a volcano. |
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The mighty Himalayan Mountains span some 2560 km from northern Pakistan to China. Eight of its colossal peaks are often visible from Pokhara, Nepal’s largest second largest city. |
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Beaches, shopping, nightlife, golf ..... Phuket excels in all departments. Putt around Phuket and enjoy its fine fairways. |
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Well worn cobblestone lanes lead from one architectural treasure to the next in the Old Town of Riga. |
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Set smack on the imaginary Tropic of Capricorn everything else is real in Rockhampton. |
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Gentle sea breezes brush over towering palm trees. An islander strums a guitar; another sings a tune. The romance of Rarotonga has begun. |
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Handcrafted outrigger canoes, whitewashed churches, the occasional cricket pitch, beehive-shaped fales, the 45 minute drive from Samoa’s international airport to its South Seas capital is an excellent introduction to the very heart of traditional Polynesia. |
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While the great game has been played in idyllic Samoa for over 90 years, it’s only since the opening of two designer courses in the past few years that the tranquil South Pacific nation has become a golf destination of distinction. |
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On December 3, 1894, a “cloud of gloom” drifted over Samoa as Robert Louis Stevenson was laid to rest on a peaceful hillside outside of the quaint capital of Apia. |
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The mountainous hinterlands of Samui seclude and nurture one of the most scenic golf courses in Thailand. |
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Grinders cut and polish and welders spark and flash … another ‘monster’ is born at a unique workshop on the Thai island of Samui. |
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It’s not necessary to pack an alarm clock when preparing for a golf holiday at the Borneo Highlands Resort, a foliage swathed sports sanctuary located an hour outside Kuching in East Malaysia. |
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Head south of Sydney for great games on two lovely golf courses outside Shellharbour. |
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In 1860, French naturalist Henri Mouhot was trudging through the steamy jungles of Indochina in search of rare orchids. He found something far more exceptional. |
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Singapore’s resort-dotted, attraction-studded and activity-oriented holiday island of Sentosa is a stylish and sophisticated golf getaway that offers sweeping vistas over a spectacular city skyline and the mighty expanse of the South China Sea. |
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Honey skinned therapists apply aromatic oils, soothing hands and years of experience to ease body and soul at an increasing number of sophisticated spas in Mauritius. |
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Visitors to Stockholm can’t say they know Sweden’s stylish capital until they’ve experienced a quartet of one-off lures. |
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The British introduced golf to Colombo’s sophisticated sporting scene in 1879 with the construction of the Royal Colombo. Though there are a handful of courses spread throughout the tiny, teardrop shaped island, interest in the great game continues to flourish today . |
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The tranquil wine region of the Hunter Valley, 160 km north of Sydney, has a trio of gourmet golf courses including a signature playground blueprinted by Greg Norman. |
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Sunny Samui and cultural Chiang Rai are tempting destinations providing superb places to relax and recharge after exploring dazzling heritage attractions. |
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Alexandria the Great sailed the Mediterranean stopping at many sun-specked islands in the fabled sea. Just one was named after the intrepid adventurer. |
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Sri Lanka's capital Colombo is an intoxicating mix of cultures |
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Tallinn’s terrific Old Town tantalises travellers with a mix of medieval charm and modern comforts. |
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The Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, one of the most important nature reserves in Mongolia, is true wilderness country where yaks meander and stocky Mongolian horses graze. |
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A day's drive northwest of Hyderabad is a wilderness that few foreigner visitors to India have ever seen. |
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While Vilnius is a modern city in every sense of the word it’s the baroque beauty of the medieval Old Town that beguiles every visitor. |
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A Jeepney takes me along a bumpy road that winds through the hills a few km out of Banaue to a vantage point that has a sweeping vista over what’s been called the ‘eighth wonder of the world’. |
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Hunting regally striped felines has long been banned in India but that doesn’t stop enthusiastic camera clutching tourists from actively ‘shooting’ tigers on wildlife safaris. |
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From Malaysia and Turkey to India and Afghanistan, people from diverse countries and backgrounds unite in a common faith at prayer time. Found throughout much of the world, mosques may differ in architectural style but not their spiritual importance. |
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Gold! Gold! Gold! On August 16, 1896 George Washington Carmack’s announcement echoed through the vast expanses of Canada’s Yukon. The Klondike Gold Rush had begun.
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