Mexico, France, Greece lead destinations to enjoy this fall

For young, commitment-less travelers, childless couples and empty nesters, National Geographic Travel has rounded up a list of the best fall destinations for 2017, when summer cedes to winter in a stunningly dramatic transformation of colors.

While younger families may be tethered to school calendars in the fall, that doesn’t me

an that the travel world stops spinning. Here’s a selection of travel ideas this autumn, whether it be for a weeklong getaway or a weekend escapade for the whole family:

Celebrate the Day of the Dead in Oaxaca, Mexico

Despite its macabre moniker, Day of the Dead is a colorful and festive holiday that honors the memory of fallen friends, family members and ancestors, and sends well wishes to the dead on their spiritual journey.

The tradition is inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The city of Oaxaca offers one of the biggest and liveliest editions in Mexico, with processions, marching bands, fireworks and lots of Mezcal. The Day of the Dead takes place October 31 to November 2.

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Grape harvest in wine country, France

Wine lovers and Francophiles will want to consider delaying that long overdue holiday to France for mid-September, when the crowds have thinned, the temperatures have cooled slightly, and the grape harvest begins in Burgundy. If you’re more about drinking the grapes and not picking it, Paris throws its annual Fete des Vendanges harvest festival in October, when the Montmartre area transforms into a street festival lined with winemakers from across the country and food stalls that sell everything from fresh oysters to sizzling sausages and homemade nougat.

Olive harvest, Greece

It’s not just wine that can be described as liquid gold or divine nectar. If you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty for the chance to sample freshly pressed olive oil and snack on plump, rich olives, consider an olive harvesting trip in Crete or Kalamata (yes, that Kalamata). Visitors can help out with the harvest for a one-day or one-week part of their Hellenic holiday.

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National parks, United States and Canada

For the best display of nature’s mood-shifting ways, bookmark a weekend away to a local national park, where the trees are singing their last swan song in hues of burnt orange, red and yellow. All national parks in Canada are free until the remainder of the year, to mark the country’s 150th birthday, while the crowds have thinned at major national parks in the U.S. following the summer rush.

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Thailand - Three must-visit places in Chiang Rai

Situated in the northern part of Thailand, Chiang Rai slips under the radar of Indonesian tourists as the area is not as popular as its neighboring city Chiang Mai.

However, Chiang Rai actually offers one-of-a-kind attractions, varying from a majestic white temple to Akha tribe tradition, which cannot be found anywhere else.

Those wanting to know more about Chiang Rai may consult the list below:

Wat Rong Khun

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While other temples in Thailand are painted with gold, Wat Rong Khun, popularly known as the White Temple, displays white color and pieces of glass. The two architecture elements make the temple sparkling, making it among the must-visit places in Thailand.

The temple reportedly had been around for over 100 years. However, Thai visual artist Chalermchai Kositpipat rebuilt the temple in 1997, giving a touch of contemporary design.

Here, visitors can learn about Buddhist teachings, enjoy contemporary murals that feature modern characters, such as Superman and Doraemon, as well as write down their wishes on lucky leaves.

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 Pha Mee village

Located in Mae Sai district, Pha Mee village is home to the Akha hill tribe. In the past, the village was known as an opium producer and conflict area. However, with the help from the late King Rama IX, Pha Mee has transformed into a peaceful village.

During Asean Travel Journo Camp – a nine-day trip organized by Thai Journalists Association and Thai AirAsia to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Association of Southeast Asian Nations – The Jakarta Post discovered that the tribe recently developed a community-based tourism program, allowing tourists to catch a glimpse of their daily lives through various activities.

By contacting local guides such as Local Alike or go to the Pha Mee directly, tourists can expect to learn about Akha hill tribe tradition, the village history, sample the local Arabica coffee or hop on the village’s giant swing.

Singha Park

 

 A picturesque oolong tea plantation at Singha Park.

 

Singha is recognized as a Thai beer producer. However, in Singha Park, visitors would not see brewery or the likes, but instead a picturesque oolong tea plantation.

Meanwhile, tucked inside the park, the Phu Phi Lom restaurant is ready to satisfy your taste buds with Northern Thai delicacies.

Source - TheJakartaPost

Four #Indonesian diving destinations where you can spot manta rays

The manta ray is one of most-exotic marine creatures, capturing the heart of divers with its gentle, elegant ocean dance and gigantic flat shape.

Unlike the grey sting rays which always sit on the bottom of sea and have a poisonous tail, manta rays are harmless, playful and not afraid to approach divers.

As an archipelago with rich marine life, Indonesia is a sanctuary for manta rays. The country made an official statement in 2014 announcing it would protect the fish to attract tourists.

There are several areas where this giant fish can be seen in Indonesia, and here are those places.

Manta Point, Nusa Penida, Bali

Manta Point is the manta rays’ favorite cleaning station, a spot where the marine creatures can swim near the reef and let wrasses clean them from parasites. Often coming in groups, they swim very close to the surface and are even visible to snorkelers.

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Unfortunately, the visibility in Manta Point isn’t really that good. On brighter days, you can clearly see them from afar, but most of the time visibility is only around 10-15 meters.

The spot can be reach by taking a local fishing boat from Nusa Penida or Nusa Lembongan island, or by arranging a trip with one of the diving operators on the Bali mainland.

Aside from manta rays, divers also have a chance to see mola mola fish between July and August here.

Karang Makassar, Komodo Islands, East Nusa Tenggara

Take a liveaboard, or make a long trip in a fishing boat to Karang Makassar, the manta ray diving spot of choice near the Komodo Islands, famous as the home of the rare giant lizard, the Komodo dragon. It is also known to have islets with scenic hills, and amazing coral and marine life, including Karang Makassar.

Aside from manta rays, divers can also spot colorful tropical fish such as bumphead parrotfish and eagle rays. Just be careful, as the current here is quite strong, so don’t stray too far from the boat.

Alor, East Nusa Tenggara

Dive Report said that any manta rays encountered by divers in Alor were purely by chance, although they might appear from mid March until mid January.

No worries though, as you have higher chance of encountering other exotic sea animals including a school of hammerhead sharks and even the rare mola mola fish. No wonder Alor is often referred to have a world-class diving site.

Manta Ridge, Raja Ampat, Papua

One of Indonesia’s hottest diving spots, Raja Ampat, in the easternmost province of Papua, lures avid divers and ocean lovers with its stunning landscape and rich marine life including giant sea creatures like manta rays, whalesharks and pristine coral reef.

The site consists of four islets: Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo, hence why it is named Raja Ampat (Four Kings).

Manta rays are sometimes visible in the surrounding area, but one has a higher chance to spotting them in the central region.

In a spot called ‘Manta Ridge’, you’re likely to see up to 30 mantas during your dive. 

Source - TheJakartaPost 

#Indonesia - Jepara regency offers new diving spot at Panjang Island.

If you’re still unsure on what to do over the long weekend, here’s a suggestion: Snorkeling or diving at Panjang Island, Jepara regency, Central Java.

This relatively new diving spot has the depth of 2.5 to 5 meters and houses plenty of fish species such as clown fish and kete kete.

To go there, tourists can travel by boat from Kartini Island. Diving equipments and tour guides are available on site.

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“All of the tour guides have snorkeling certifications. We’ve also prepared special underwater cameras for tourists,” said Jogoloyou Jepara maritime and fisheries monitoring society (POKMASWAS) head, Mustain.

Visitors will also learn about the importance of preserving coral reefs at this place. The POKMASWAS community itself has been actively doing coral reefs transplantations and attachments since 2012.

Jepara regency has plenty of tourist attractions to explore such as Karimun Jawa and Ombak Mati beach in Bondo. The latter one is a rather unique place as the beach has no waves, hence the name ombak mati (dead waves).

As for accommodation, there are more than 1,200 places to stay in the Jepara province.

 Source - TheJakartaPost

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#Thailand - Japanese business woman marries Chiang Mai Karen mahout.

A Japanese businesswoman tied the knot with a Thai mahout in Chiang Mai province this weekend.

Staged based on the Karen traditions, the wedding ceremony took place on Saturday with more than 200 locals and elephants joining the procession of dowry from the bridegroom’s house to a Catholic church. Ray Omata, the 32-year-old bride, and Amnuay Sukkasem, the 42-year-old bridegroom, then walked down the aisle in Karen costume. 

 “I came here four years ago to conduct research on Thai elephants and mahouts,” Omata said, “That’s how I met my soul mate”.

As Amnuay taught Omata about elephants and elephant training, the couple fell in love. As their years-long relationships blossomed, they decided to get married.

Omata said she was willing to live with Amnuay in Chiang Mai. She said she would have to travel to Japan quite often to attend to her family businesses there.

Source - TheNation

#Thailand - Naked Facebook dancers apologise for setting bad example.

Two young women who appeared in a recent Facebook Live post dancing naked turned themselves in to police at Bangkok’s Bang Khen precinct on Thursday morning and apologised to the Thai public for their action that set a bad example for young people.

The surrender of Thanyakan Rojin, 23, and Kanthicha Buranon, 21, followed a police complaint filed on August 29 by Songkran Atchariyasap, a lawyer who chairs a Facebook-based network that professes to target threats to the nation, religion and monarchy. 

Songkran said he submitted to police five indecent clips that were published on Facebook from August 24 to last Saturday and went viral.

Arrest warrants were issued for the women on charges of performing a shameful act in public by indecently exposing themselves and violating the Computer Crime Act’s Section 14 (4). They were later released on Bt75,000 bail on the grounds that they did not pose a flight risk and had provided useful information implicating people who had hired them. 

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They claimed they did not want to perform the lewd acts but they needed to earn money for their families and send younger siblings to school. 

Thanyakan said she and her friend performed the nude dances because they wanted more “likes” and “shares” for the page that had hired them, which would mean higher pay. She said if the post reached 10,000 views, she would receive more than Bt10,000. 

“I apologise to society because my action is a bad example for Thai youths. I didn’t want to do it. I did it out of the need to take care of my family. I want to warn younger people not to copy me as this is a bad thing. Don’t just think this is an easy way to make money, because what you do will stick with you until you die,” she said.

 

Kanthicha said she normally performed sexy online dances with Thanyakorn to boost “likes” and “shares” on their employer’s instructions. 

This time, they wanted to glean more attention and decided to remove all their clothes. She said she felt bad after the video received the attention of the police so she would stop performing sexy dances online.

Source - TheNation

Indonesia - Riau Islands seeks to become sports tourism destination

The sports event Nongsa Challenge 2017 held on Aug. 27 in Batam, Riau Islands, showed a great partnership between the provincial administration and Tourism Ministry.

“Held for the third time, this year's event [was supported by] the Tourism Ministry,” said Sumantri Endang, the general manager of Turi Beach by Nongsa Resort, where the event took place. “For next year, we aim to make the participants stay longer and to bring their family to explore Batam."

Riau Islands Tourism Agency head Boeralimar said the agency seeks to achieve the ministry’s target of 15 million foreign tourists in 2017 and 20 million foreign tourists in 2019.

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 Among the sports events held in Riau Islands are Tour de Beleirang, Bintan Triathlon and Tour de Bintan.

The ministry's Archipelago Tourism Marketing Development deputy Esthy Reko Astuti said that Indonesia has a huge opportunity to develop its sports tourism.

The country is set to host 2018 Asian Games in August.

“There are so many studies discussing about the short- and long-term correlation between a sports event with the economic growth of a region or country, especially when it comes to infrastructure development and employment opportunities. Sports tourism has a huge impact,” said Esthy

 

Source - TheJakartaPost

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