Dutch forces reach Kandy

The Dutch finally get the better of the Portuguese in 1656, when they capture Colombo after a six-month siege. For the next century and more they are able to corner the trade in cinammon, controlling most of the coastal areas of the island under governors sent from the capital of the Dutch East Indies at Batavia.
 The Sinhalese royal house in Kandy retains a measure of independence, protected by the impenetrable combination of mountain landscape and tropical climate. Both Portuguese and Dutch forces reach Kandy on occasion but are unable to hold it

Arab traders

In the 12th century Tamil rulers finally establish a permanent Hindu presence in the north of the island. Buddhist Sri Lanka shrinks further south again. By the 15th century there are two related Buddhist kingdoms: one is based in Kandy in the hilly centre of the island; the other occupies a new palace at Kotte, a place surrounded by swampy lagoons a little inland from Colombo, by now a thriving harbour used by Arab traders

Christian era

In the first millennium of the Christian era the raiders are successfully resisted. But the pressures causes Anuradhapura to be progressively abandoned, from the 8th century, in favour of Polonnaruwa further to the south. At Polonnaruwa (itself deserted in the 13th century) a glorious past is revealed in the gigantic stone

Sinhalese of Sri Lanka

The Sinhalese of Sri Lanka have remained faithful to Asoka's religion - the only people of the subcontinent to do so. They are still adherents of Theravada, the first and simpler form of Buddhism. In the sacred temple at Kandy there is no crowd of sculpted demigods to distract the pilgrim. The only holy thing here is a tooth. But it is, so they say, the tooth of Buddha himself, smuggled to Sri Lanka from India in the 4th century AD, hidden in the folds of the long dark hair of a princess.
 

Khmer flavors Combodia

Set on the banks of a wide lazy river, it's surprising that Kampot isn't more popular than it is. The city was Cambodia's main sea port in pre-colonial times, and the French also used it, giving the city a mix of Chinese, French and Khmer flavors. But the sea and river were not deep enough for modern cargo ships, the town lost trade and started to fade into a forgotten backwater, especially when the Khmer Rouge came to power in the 1970s.

Fortunately for the modern traveler, it didn't completely tumble down, and now those old colonial go-downs and Chinese shop-houses are being restored and turned into quaint guest houses, hotels and restaurants

Jaded Asian travelers

The old city of Hoi An was the most pleasant surprise of our first trip. All the guidebooks will tell you that the city is a picturesque village "lost in time" as it were. Jaded Asian travelers that we are, we expected a Singapore-style block or so of old buildings gutted and rebuilt to look like what we think old buildings should look like, but with all the modern amenities, like air conditioning

American war places in Vietnam

Saigon was not a very significant city until it was captured by the French in 1859. The French made Saigon the capital of their colony of Cochinchina, and later, all of Indochina. Much of what there is to see in Ho Chi Minh City today dates from the French administration.

Naturally, many of the city's sights are also about the "American war" as it is generally referred to by the Vietnamese. There are no less than five museums dedicated to the struggle for a unified Vietnam

Singapore is a modern city

Around Asia you will often hear some good-natured jibes at Singapore. It's often referred to as the "nanny state" for the government's apparent interest in the minutiae of its citizen's lives. However, there's no doubt a little jealousy behind the sarcasm. Singapore is, by just about any measure, a highly "successful" country. Its citizens enjoy a standard of living that is at or near the top of Asia. They have one of the best educational systems anywhere, with English as the common language. The heart of Singapore is a modern city center very much in the western style, with an efficient and integrated transportation system. One business associate of mine even refers to Singapore as "Asia for beginners." Perhaps, given the recent trend in self help books, it should be "Asia for dummies."

US $ 2000 jewelry

Foreigners and non-residents can bring into Myanmar any foreign currency not in its equivalent without making a declaration to the Customs on arrival.
All foreign currencies above US $ 2000, jewelry, electrical goods and cameras must be declared to the customs at the airport. Exports of antique and archaeological valuable items are prohibited. Only gems, jewelry and silverware purchased at the authorized shops are allowed to be taken out.

Myanmar social life

Myanmar lies in a meeting place of two of the world’s great civilization – China and India – but its culture is neither that of India nor either China exclusively, but a bland of interspersed with Myanmar native traits and characteristics. Buddhism has great influence on daily life of the Myanmars.
Myanmar people have preserved the traditions of close family ties, respect for the elders, reverence for Myanmar social life and each month has its own festive occasion. Myanmars are known for their simplicity, honesty, generosity, hospitality and friendliness.

Meyanmar travel

As a whole, the location and topography of the country generated a diversity of climate conditions. Seasonal changes in the monsoon wind directions create summer, rainy and winter seasons. Extremes of temperature are rare. The directions of winds and depression bring rain, and although it is always heavy in the coastal areas during monsoon season, it seldom creates hardships.

Golden Land

Myanmar ( former Burma ) the legendary “ Golden Land “ – is still the Myanmar of today. Certainly, one of the most exotic countries in the world – a land of astounding beauty & charm that moved Kipling to open these apt words : “ quite unlike any land you will ever know “. Myanmar offers the mystical charms of the orient in all is diversity – rich archaeological sites, glittering pagodas, a wealth of culture, colorful festivals & arts. In Myanmar you will see & feel idyllic landscape, lush fertile plains, vast virgin jungles, majestic snowcapped mountains, white sandy beaches, washed by crystal clear waters, fragrant pine trees & tropical flowers bathed in a abundant sunshine. But most of all, perfectly complemented by the most gracious & hospitable people. Myanmar is located on the south-west corner of the main land South East Asia.

Customers & clients

We arrange VOA for our world wide customers & clients offering our semi package Myanmar tour with one day hotel & one transfer or any other tourism related services. We can also arrange hotel reservations at three different type of hotels ( standard / superior / deluxe ). We can offer any tourism related services — transfer, transport, flight - car - boat - hotel reservation, providing guide services etc. etc.. You name it we have it !

Tourism promotion campaign

The San Antonio group was among more than 800 tourism officials from across the state who gathered at the Capitol to tell legislators the cut would devastate the tourism promotion campaign dubbed “Texas: It's like a whole other country.” The proposed budget would allot only $5 million to tourism instead of the $31.9 million that had been projected for 2011.

Domestic partnerships

The question of how Hawaii markets to the LGBT communities will become more important as the state goes head-on with destinations like Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia that already allow same-sex weddings. Domestic partnerships are offered in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, while civil unions are allowed in Illinois and New Jersey.

University of California

Still, a study conducted in June by the University of California, Los Angeles, estimated that if civil unions were allowed in Hawaii, between 569 and 1,285 same-sex celebrations would take place in the first four years. UCLA researchers also estimated that same-sex couples would spend $4.2 million to $9.5 million on civil unions and that their out-of-state guests would spend between $17.8 million and $40.3 million on hotels, food, entertainment and retail. Spending would generate between 193 and 333 new jobs, especially in travel and events, the study said.

Senate Bill 232

The debate over whether Hawaii should allow civil unions has divided the community for years.

The expected signing today by Gov. Neil Abercrombie of Senate Bill 232, making it legal for same-sex and heterosexual couples to enter a civil union, is now creating factions within the state's visitor industry and business community regarding how best to gain economic benefits from the measure

Sheraton Hotel in Egypt

Hotels and resorts also started offering discounts. The Sheraton Hotel, located at 15 minutes by car from Tahrir Square, offered a 17.5% discount. Hotels located near Tahrir Square are seeing occupancy rates climb as journalists fill up vacant rooms, maintaining prices or even raising them as demand temporarily picks up

UK travellers

TUI Travel is promoting or shifting capacity to other destinations, such as Spain and Turkey. While it continues to market Egypt's Red Sea resorts to UK travellers, TUI Travel has cancelled trips to Egypt from countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands. By February 2011, TUI Germany had already rebooked 40,000 air tickets from Egypt to the Canary Islands and 10,000 air tickets to Antalya.

European countries

The number of hotel investments in Egypt, coupled with increased air capacity, served as a magnet to travellers worldwide, given the country’s relative stability over 2009-2010. Winter is the high season for travelling to Egypt. European countries such as Russia, the UK, Germany and Italy are key source markets for Egypt, because of their proximity and the intense promotional efforts by Egyptian government authorities to lure European travellers.

Theatre Festival

The results of the last two reports have been a catalyst for local tourism efforts. These include the proposed Musical Theatre Festival and the need for additional hotel rooms — currently there are 621 beds, two-thirds of them nearly 20 years old, as well as plans to upgrade the Pavilion at Emerson Park and putting pressure on Washington for National Park status for the Harriet Tubman Home

Attration of tourism

Young, who was involved in the work done previously, spoke to a group that included local tourism and attraction staffs, as well as government officials, including Auburn Mayor Michael Quill, county legislator Cynthia Aikman and Trish Dellonte of Congressman Richard Hanna’s staff. Young is optimistic about the travel industry #— he clearly feels that “tourism” is just one aspect of the travel industry and local officials should remember that.

Australia Wins Tourism

The website attracts more than 1 million unique visitors each month. Twenty-six of Tourism Australia’s 33 overseas markets are now running a campaign website in the local language. So far, international visitors have uploaded nearly 5,000 photos illustrating their experience of travel in Australia. Collectively, more than 3 million unique visitors look at the site each month.
The awards ceremony will be held in China in April at the PATA 60^th Anniversary and Conference

Let's Face it

“Let’s face it — privatizing the Spaceport means selling it off and trying to remove any risk to the state,” said Rick Homans, who was appointed by Mr. Richardson as the facility’s executive director until Ms. Martinez asked him to step down. “The message would be that the state is not committed long term, and the new industry will look at other states where they can find a fully engaged partner.”

Tourism Egypt

An estimated one million tourists fled from Egypt to escape from the
political unrest and many governments advised against non-essential travel to Cairo,

 Alexandria, Luxor and Suez. A sluggish Q1 2011 performance is expected
 for European travel and tourism businesses linked to Egypt