Oasis from the ruins: Afghanistan opens first national park
June 25, 2009
BAND-E-AMIR NATIONAL PARK, Afghanistan (CNN) — Most days it is easy to think God may have forgotten about Afghanistan, but there can be a day when you feel like you are in heaven.
We were invited by the United States Agency for International Development to witness the dedication of Afghanistan’s first national park: The Band-e-Amir National Park, a series of six crystal-blue lakes surrounded by heart-stopping cliffs and natural dams that capture the imagination.
Mexico’s battered image yields travel deals
June 2, 2009
The beaches of Cancun, Mexico, have seen a drop in visitors after news of the H1N1 flu virus scared the public.
Mexico’s tourism industry has endured some brutal punches this year.
First, the global financial crisis hampered vacation spending. Then, escalating cartel drug violence scared some travelers.
Business went from bad to worse in late April, with the outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, also known as swine flu. The virus has infected more than 12,500 people worldwide, with the highest death toll in Mexico, causing some U.S. travelers to reroute, delay or cancel trips to Mexico completely.
Where the ancient Olympics meet the Wild West
May 16, 2009
In a far-off corner of the Peloponnese, clan wars left the hill town of Vathia in ruins.
If you want to get away from it all when traveling in Greece, head for the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Studded with antiquities, this land of ancient Olympia, Corinth and Sparta offers plenty of fun in the eternal Greek sun, with pleasant fishing villages, sandy beaches, bathtub-warm water, and none of the tourist crowds that plague the much-scrambled-after Greek Isles.
Gold and glitz in the ‘New Moscow’
May 11, 2009
(CNN) — The domes of Moscow’s fairytale churches aren’t the only things in the city that glitter gold. In recent years the global commodities boom swelled the ranks of the nouveau-riche “New Russians,” whose wealth, and eagerness to dispose of it, has helped build a “New Moscow.”
How to Save in the Recession? Take a Cruise
February 25, 2009
An artist rendering of the Royal Caribbean cruise ship the Oasis of the Seas.
The Royal Caribbean cruise line is rolling out the world’s largest cruise ship next fall, the Oasis of the Seas. Rock walls are passe; this 5,400-passenger colossus has its own zip line across the back of the boat. But if you fear that a voyage on the state-of-the-art Oasis will sink your wallet, think again: you can book a seven-night Caribbean trip in that brass ring of cruise deals, a cabin with a balcony, for less than $1,000 per person. Considering it includes three meals a day, it’s like getting an Orlando resort at Travelodge rates.
Museum visitors will be able to share their cultural passions in a social networking website.
February 24, 2009
Museum visitors will also be able to meet online
Museum visitors will be able to share their cultural passions in a social networking website.
A group of the UK’s most famous museums, including the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum, is creating a collective website.
‘Dancing lights’ draw thousands to frozen north
December 14, 2008
Winter travelers trek thousands of miles to the frozen north each year seeking the sky’s “dancing lights,” which provoke awe, excitement and, some say, sex.
‘Flightseeing’: Experience the world from on high
December 13, 2008
Visitors to Australia can experience the brilliant colors of the Great Barrier Reef from a floatplane and land on the water among the Whitsunday Islands.
The hum of the single-engine Cessna fills your ears as you ascend above the Peruvian high desert. Below you, flat expanses of dry, brown earth extend in every direction, punctuated only by twisting dry riverbeds … a lifeless landscape. Then the plane banks, and over the intercom the pilot directs you to look at what appear to be just another set of curving, squiggly lines.
Palm Desert: California’s capital of cool
December 4, 2008
Palm Desert: California
The first thing Laura Slipak says when I drag my stressed self into the chill lobby of the Mod Resort, her Austin Powers-chic hotel in Palm Desert: “Oh, dear.”
New center offers warmer welcome to Capitol tourists
December 3, 2008
The underground visitor center, seen here under construction, has skylights allowing views of the Capitol.
The days of having nothing but an idle outdoor wait ahead of a U.S. Capitol tour appear to be over.