T For Travel

Photo by Ruben Laguna

One hundred twenty-five miles above the Arctic Circle lies a hotel built entirely out of ice and snow – the Ice Hotel.  The original Ice Hotel — located in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden — was the first of its kind and is without a doubt one of the coolest places to stay in the world. That’s right; prepare for some very bad ice related puns.

In the winter of 1989, Yngve Bergvist, founder of the Ice Hotel, traveled to Sapporo, Japan to visit the town’s annual ice and snow festival. At the festival, Bergvist was inspired by the ice sculptures and art that he saw on exhibit thre. When he returned home to Sweden, Bergvist invited two prominent Japanese artists to Sweden to teach a seminar about working with ice.  Now a master of ice work, Bergvist built his first snow house in February, 1990. At first Bergvist’s snow house was used merely to showcase a local art exhibit. But when some unexpected guests needed a place to sleep, Bergvist’s snow house became an impromptu hotel. Motivated, by his guest’s ecstatic reaction to their thrilling night in Bergvist’s snow house, he built the first and original Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi , Sweden in1992. Today, the Ice Hotel enjoyed a steady stream of guests and artists for over twenty years.

Photo by bjaglin

In a sense the ICEHOTEL is more like art gallery with beds than a traditional hotel. Sleeping at the Ice hotel is breathtaking experience all on its own. The entire hotel is kept at a brisk minus five degrees Celsius and features three different room types for guests: the art suite, the ice room, and the snow room. Every suite in the Ice hotel is individually designed and crafted by artists from around the world. Check out some the one-of-a-kind suites and halls designed this year and previous years for the Ice Hotel here.  In each room, guests sleep atop thermal sleeping bags to stay warm among the freezing temperatures. Each room is fully furnished with icy furniture, but lacks some other common amenities like a television or hair dryers. But just because there isn’t an overabundance of electronics in the Ice Hotel doesn’t mean that there isn’t something to do. Ice Hotel guests are free to go snowmobiling and skiing around the snowy tundra. Or grab some snow tires and hop in a car a drive around the beautiful icy Swedish countryside. Hey, you might even see some local wildlife, but if you’re hoping to see a penguin or shark then you will probably be disappointed. And each year, the Ice hotel hosts a Magnetite (Iron Ore) Art exhibit.

Because the Ice hotel is made out of snow and ice it has to be rebuilt every year. So no one stay at the Ice hotel will be like the others. Construction begins on the ICEHOTEL every year beginning in March when the hotel’s massive snow cannons churn out ice blocks harvested from the frozen Torne River and continues into December when the hotel receives its first guests. Each week in December a new section of the hotel opens up as artists and Ice hotel employee’s work diligently to build new areas like the hotel’s bar and restaurant.  And each year new artists and designers come to the Ice Hotel to build all new rooms and halls.

Unfortunately we can’t give you a description of what the menu  at the Ice Hotel restaurant will be like because it changes with every season just like the hotel. But you’re welcome to drift into the hotel’s Absolut (Vodka) ICEBAR and grab a drink or just chill out in the lounge; it’s a great place to break the ice with fellow guests.

Photo by Charlie 1965

The ICEHOTEL closes when the temperatures start to rise in April and the full summer season reduces the hotel back to water. If you’re having cold feet about staying at a frozen hotel  you could always stay in the Ice Hotel’s warm ice-free accommodations, but why wouldn’t go all the to Sweden in the winter to stay in an average warm room.

Find out more about the ICEHOTEL

Raja Ravi Varma was born in 1848 in Kerala, India. His father was a respected scholar and his mother was a well-known poet and writer. Varma demonstrated his talent early in life and at a young age he received the patronage of a relative, which allowed him to begin his formal training. He would go on to be recognized internationally and play an integral part in the progress of Indian art. His work in miniatures is included as part of the permanent collection at the National Gallery of Modern Art. He is one of the most prominent artists to emerge from Kerala, and his work can sometimes be found at the best hotels Kerala.

Varma’s work is considered to be among some of the best examples of European academic theory fused with traditional Indian traditions. He achieved great recognition for his interpretations of scenes from the epics, such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana. His primary medium was painting and he had an extremely successful career. He is well known for his portrayal of women wearing saris. He presents them beautifully in graceful and shapely forms. He traveled throughout India to find subjects for his paintings and often modeled them after Hindu Goddesses. He gained world recognition in 1873 when he won an award for an exhibition he had in Vienna.

He had an interesting personal life that included marrying Rani Bhageerathi Bayi of the Mavelikara Royal Family and together they had three sons and two daughters. Tragedy struck the home in 1912 when their oldest soon disappeared and was never found. This had a permanent effect on Varma’s outlook. Their second son, Prince Rama Varma, followed in is father’s footsteps and became an artist. He studied at the JJ School of Arts. Their oldest daughter, Princess Mahaprabha, is preserved through history through her appearance in two of Varma’s most prominent paintings.

In the popular imagination, Malaysia is a rather mythic place, with tropical mysteries and exotic splendor.  There is some truth to this, of course, but Malaysia is also a fascinating country with a rich and complicated history that keeps visitors coming back, year after year, to enjoy the place behind the image.  There are exciting and vibrant urban centers here, with people from many cultures, languages, and traditions making up its unique fabric.  For pure tropical paradise, however, the place to visit is Langkawi.  Hotels here cater to the tourist’s imagination, providing a luxurious backdrop to an enchanting place.  Our hotels are selected for their excellent service and gracious design, offering a lovely place to rest your head after a lovely night on the town.

Our hotels also offer splendid choices to suit your tastes and your budget.  They are in the heart of Langkawi, providing a hospitable place to call home, while situating you close to the beaches.  Langkawi is one of those rare places in the world that lives up to its mythic image, with amazing biodiversity that has enchanted human beings here for many, many generations.  The display of human creativity here is present in the batik work, and an excellent place for the shopping tourist is Atma Alam, a batik village, where this traditional form of dying cloth is a centerpiece.

Batik is something that’s been in the local culture before written history.  The artform, which uses wax with the dying of cloth to make spectacular and intricate patters, probably came here from India.  The traditional way of making batik only uses three colors, indigo, dark brown, and white, to represent three Hindu gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.  At Atma Alam one can see a vast array of colors used to make splendid examples of contemporary art, ready for purchase.  One can also participate in batik workshops here, and make their own designs, and also see unique oil paintings by co-founder Azahari Khalid Osman.  Roshada Yusof is the other co-founder here, and her work is the main attraction, introducing tourists from around the world to this contemporary version of an ancient art form.

It is estimated that almost three million tourists will descend on the cities and the towns surrounding Johannesburg next June, for the sixty four soccer matches that make up the whole of the 2010 World Cup.  The television audience for the final games alone is expected to reach upwards of twenty eight billion people from around the world.  All with their eyes not only glued to the games, but on the country of South Africa as well.  This is going to provide opportunities for the large businesses, the entrepreneurs, and the small businesses and boutique hotels.  South Africa has been developing and growing since the end of apartheid, but this will speed up that process tremendously and provide new opportunities for new ideas and local companies.

Some of the commercialism has been regulated, that having anything to do with the Cup itself, with restrictions being placed on the advertising, and the sales and marketing, however there are still many openings for the local companies and businesses to boost the sales of their goods and/or services.  The government is not getting too involved in the sector of the larger financial systems and companies,  as they will perhaps understand better how to take advantage of the opportunities for economic growth, aside from ensuring that the larger companies will support the small ones.

They do plan to intervene in the smaller companies run by people with less experience or those who have been marginalized.  One way in which they will help the smaller informal businesses is by providing them with the means to electronically process transactions, ensuring that the tourists will be able to use their credit cards.  The ripples that will be caused throughout the country when the tourists start arriving will serve to boost all, from the entertainment industry, to the arts and crafts markets, and even the health service industry.  And the hope is that this sort of growth will continue even after the games have ended, as the international audience will see that South Africa truly is a great place to visit.

Truro, England is a prominent city located in the region of Cornwall. It is central to the area’s structure and serves as its primary administrative basis. The region of Cornwall is dynamic and plays a crucial role in English history and importance. Tourists who visit England and stay in a Truro hotel are often amazed with the beauty of the scenery and amazing historic landmarks that are found there.

The Royal Cornwall Museum is one of the major landmarks and attractions found in Truro. Not only is it the oldest museum found in the region, but it is also the preeminent leader of Cornish history and culture. It has an amazing and diverse collection of artifacts, art and various other elements of the region’s history and society. Some of the collections include Fine Art, Applied and Decorative Arts, Cornish Archeology and Geology. One of the major and universally enthralling features it houses is an unwrapped mummy. The museum is part of the Royal Institution of Cornwall.

The building in which the museum is located was built in 1845 and originally served as the Truro Savings Bank. After this original manifestation it became the Henderson’s Mining School. One of the greatly appreciated by tourists aspects of the museum is that admission to it is free. While this is the case, it is possible and sometimes common that some of the individual exhibits have specific fees. One of the current exhibits is called New Expressions and is a series of photographs that relate to the museum and its history and collections. Another current exhibit is the works of Lynn Pascoe. The collection features original prints that depict the life and work of Ukrainian cauliflower cutters that have immigrated to Cornwall and work the land around Truro. These and others offer unique perspectives and styles that relate to Truro and its culture.

I have spent many a great day and night in New York City! There is more to do than you can fit in in one lifetime. Museums, shopping, site seeing, Broadway, Off Broadway, Opera, concerts and more. From sunrise to sunrise there is never a lack for something to do. I particularly enjoy the museums. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is enormous. It has a gallery with reconstructed Assyrian temples inside, they are in a beautiful rood with one side of glass overlooking the green trees of Central Park. The collection there is vast and spans the entirety of human history. Pre recorded historic art, Egyptian, Roman, Byzantine, Greek artifacts. Paintings from Leonardo de Vinchi to Andy Warhol and everyone you have ever heard of and not heard of in between! The museum area is studded with 4 star hotels new york for your accommodation needs. A short walk from the Met is the Guggenheim, an unusual building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The round structure with its simple lines and form stand in stark contrast to the straight lines and ornamentation of the 1800′s buildings that surround it. The Guggenheim houses modern art shows. Its gallery is an open room several stories height that is round and is accessed by a spiral ramp way lined with art. From there heading to MOMA, the Museum of Modern Art or the Modern as it is called by New Yorkers. This splendid museum houses works of the Dadists, Surrealists, Expressionism and more modern art movements. I remember going to MOMA years ago when the additional floors were added. The entire museum displayed Picasso’s work… Only Picasso. It was wonderful. There is also the International Center for Photography, The Frick Collection The Cloisters, The Museum of Natural History and enndless smaller museums and galleries. Oh and I don’t want to forget another favorite of mine across from the Museum of Modern Art is the American Folk Art Museum. The collection of folk art there is amazing and worth a look. These is wood working, needle work, quilts, hand made garments, from fun and funky to fairly ordinary and mundane but the workmanship is always top notch. Make sure to check museum listings for changing exhibits, you never know what might be showing, you may be surprised.

Have you ever wondered what there is to do on the Balearic Island of Ibiza? Well, if that’s the case, then it’s obvious you’ve never been there. There are a great many natural and human created activities, attractions and events throughout the island that make it an ideal vacation destination, and for some the perfect residential location. There is a diverse and thriving club scene, many historical ruins and cultural landmarks to keep all visitors to the island happy and occupied. The beaches are world known and beautiful, and offer plenty of water sport options as well as a simple and relaxing afternoon or beautiful sunset dinner. Many people have a favorite Ibiza town hotel that they return to every year.

One of the favorite water sports on Ibiza, as well as with most of the rest of the world is surfing. Surfers come from all genders, backgrounds and cultures and many of them share a love for the environment, and particularly the earth’s waters. It is ironic that most surf boards are constructed from toxic substances, though it is also why many surfers are turning to more ecologically friendly boards. Greenlight is a company that is devoted to these surfboards and surfing supplies. Most of their boards are created from bamboo, recyclable foam and resin epoxy.

Bamboo is one of the most renewable and sustainable wood products. The company is a pioneer in creating these high quality boards with innovative technology. The bamboo glassing fabric also requires 25% less product and creates less waste. The surface of these boards can be glassed to an extent that prevents or greatly reduces the need for wax. Part of their mission is to include a service that allows surfers to shape their own, which contributes to a greater satisfaction in the waters. Many instructional videos are available for this purpose. This cutting edge company is just one of many that are working toward creating a more sustainable world with less pollution and toxic waste. It’s great to know that a popular recreational, as well as professional, activity is contributing to the greater good of the world.

For the savvy world traveler, each hotel in Bali, Indonesia offers a heady combination of hospitality and luxury, all in the comfort of one of the most lovely places on the planet.  Bali has beaches that absolutely live up to their reputation, and the nightlife here is very lively.  There are plenty of options for family fun, too, with excellent tours, sights, and restaurants that serve heavenly food.  Bali is a fascinating mix of cultures and traditions, with elements of Buddhism and Hinduism having worked their way in from China and India.  There are many local performances, too, with excellent works of dance and theatre.  Often, the theatrical and dance forms are mixed, to make fascinating and extremely complex works that are spectacular.  For most tourists, it is very easy to get accustomed to life on the island, and it’s difficult to leave!

Beach culture is a world of its own, where the concerns for tomorrow or yesterday tend to wash away to give way to the immediate present.  In Bali, this can certainly be the case, and the love of the sea is very high.  This love finds itself expressed in visual art, music, and film.  So much film, in fact, that there is a festival entirely dedicated to surf films.  The Ombak Bali International Surf Film Festival is in its second year, and is a four-day festival to present the best surf films from around the world.

The focus is on local film, but there are certainly movies from around the world that represent the best of this interesting genre.  The intention of the Ombak Bali Festival is to provide a forum where the films can be seen and discussed in one place.  It promotes dialogue between filmmaker and audience, and is especially designed to give new filmmakers a place where their work can be seen.  There is also a focus on disseminating interest in the environmental concerns that so many of the films express, and deepening love for the sea.  The films are incredibly beautiful, often very funny, and always fascinating, revealing complex social issues that draw the characters to the ocean, for one reason or another.

In the development of world accommodations, 5-star hotels are a very recent phenomenon.  The notion of hospitality is ancient, of course, and people have been traveling since people started walking.  There are mentions of different kinds of lodging throughout history, in plays as well as fiction, which suggest that wanderlust is really nothing new.  The notion of international standards that could designate a hotel as 5-star, however, does speak to our time.  Our hotels are extremely contemporary, then, but there are certain touches of the ancient qualities of earlier lodgings, especially when it comes to hospitality.  The sense of luxury here is really rather royal as well, where guests are treated to very personal service, with access to meals and guest services 24-hours a day.  No matter what the location, the same excellence applies, where only the highest standards are demonstrated.

It’s fascinating to look at the history of lodging, and to find examples of luxury from other centuries.  The idea of luxury itself can cover a very wide spectrum.  In most places, and in most times, it was reserved for the aristocracy, and the royal treatment was always reserved for royalty.  There are moments in time, though, when luxury is seen as something that should be accessible to all people, or under a benevolent king, something everyone deserved.  This idea isn’t very deep in our past, either.  In fact, just last century, the motel was the latest rage.  The world’s first motel was The Milestone in San Luis Obispo, in California in the U.S.

The word motel is, of course, a contraction of motor and hotel.  The idea behind the motel was that it could be a place where people could stop while traveling, and stay close to their cars.  This is what Arthur Hieneman was considering when he built the Milestone, and he imagined that the love affair with the automobile in North America would make his new idea very popular.  Setting it between Los Angeles and San Francisco, he was also counting on the potentially high volume of travelers between these two cities.  It was priced for the upper middle class, at $1.25 a night for two rooms and a private garage, and intended to keep travelers sleeping safe with their cars also locked up for the night.  The idea obviously had spectacular merits, but the timing was off as the Great Depression would make it impossible for the next decade.

There are two museums in the Rajasthan state of India, Udaipur, that attract art lovers from around the world.  Those traveling to the city in search of the experiencing the many aspects of Indian culture, heritage and history that is found illustrated through the artwork in these museums stay in one of the many Udaipur five star hotels.  One of the museums is quite famous throughout the country of India, and is becoming internationally recognized is the Bhartiya Lok Kala.  This museum contains some of the most brilliant works of the folk artists of Rajasthan.  The items are a rare and interesting collection of everything from puppets and dolls, masks and clothing, instruments, paintings, and sculpture.

The location is perfect, set in the city near the Chetak Circle.  This region of the city is known for the rich culture and the incredible works of art produced here.  Many from around the world cherish this area.  Due to this, the Museum began an institute to further ensure the production and the support of the local artists.  Along with the displays, there are regular musical and theatrical performances, as well as puppet shows.  The collection housed here is more than forty five years in the making.  This is one museum that should be on the schedule of all those visiting the city, and the history of the culture of the region is so vastly recognized and displayed.

The City Palace Museum is another favorite.  There is housed within the walls, one of the most remarkable collections of ancient works, sculptures, antique furniture, and books of a time long since past.  This is more so an historical museum filled with artifacts.  The gate of the museum is titled in honor of the Lord Ganesha.  Through the courtyard one will find a section of the museum that houses the ancient pieces of armor, gear meant for protection of the soldiers as well as swords, trumpets used by the armies as well as drums and other instruments.  There is quite a collections of portraits and murals, as well as coins, and Khurram’s Turban, the turban of an emperor well known and popular throughout India.  The museum is divided into various pavilions, each one with its own theme.  This too, is the perfect location for those wishing to trace a bit of the history of the cities of India.