River Boat

As we know there are still so many canals and rivers across the town. This public transportation still can be found in several locations to people across the rivers. This transportation often becomes the only way to reach their certain destination.

Becak

This kind of transportation was banned within Jakarta city due to causes traffic jams. My self didn't agree with this statement since there are so many factors why Jakarta has serious traffic jams problem.

Anyway, this traditional transportation is widely missed by people who live in housing complexes with small roads which are not serviced by another modern transportation.

If you come to Jakarta, make sure you tray to enjoy riding becak. It still can be found at several places, especially at complexes house area.

Delman (Horse-Drawn Carriages)

Jogjakarta, the special district in Central Java - Indonesia is the most popular city that still uses this traditional transportation. Usually, foreign tourist never missed to try this special transportation.

In Jakarta, this transportation is often rented by a Betawi family to transport kids around the neighborhood to celebrate a circumcision ceremony. When rented for parties such as this, they are often decorated with traditional Betawi ornamentation which lends a very festive air.

Ojek Sepeda (Bicycle Taxi)

It rarely found but still exist. The operation is much like motorcycle taxi but for short distance only. You can imagine if they carry the passenger for the long distance, aren't you?

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During the evening hours the sunset is overwhelmingly beautiful. If you are able to go on a sunset cruise be prepared for a evening you will never forget. On one side of the river you can see the American border and on the other side you can see the Canadian.

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In conclusion the thousands islands will be a memory I shall never forget. The thousand Islands were one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to and it will be a trip I shall never forget.

Taal Volcano is known as the smallest active Volcano In the world. However, many people don't know that Taal volcano is one of the largest volcanoes all over the world, but now, it became smaller many years had passed. This smallest volcano is surrounded by lake known as the Taal Lake.

Hotel accommodations in the area are vast especially during special occasions. Some are celebrating their birthdays and some are their weddings. Some are conducting seminars and conferences.

Picnic Grove where you can rent cottages and benches to enjoy your meal or snack. Also, there are stores and some souvenir items inside the grove. Horse back riding is a thrilling adventure for beginners. However, for people who are professional enough on this activity, it is like a hobby.

There are a lot of famous restaurants where fine dining is expected. However, the foods are expensive and only people with good budget can avail of the big price. Also, there are restaurants wherein you can avail of low cost foods.

Spectacular Casinos where most rich people play. For them, playing in the casino is a form of relaxing.

Most photographers visit the place because they can take a full shot in different angles of the beautiful views of the City.

The best leisure activity for children is to play in the Class-A playgrounds designed especially for children. Zoo is also expected for children to see different kinds of animals.

Moreover, sports like golf and skating are also available. Fabulous golf courses at Tagaytay Highlands International Golf Club, Inc. and skating rails to add up for young and old.

The Palace in the Sky is actually on top of the mountain that is fully developed and now it is called as People's Park In The Sky. There are flat and cemented ways to lead you to the Park. Inside the Park, you can see a lot of activities also and a nice panoramic views. There are souvenir shops where you can buy different shirts with prints of People's Park In The Sky.

In the hill, a flower farm where there are various kinds of beautiful flowers. Fruit stands near the highways are too many to choose from where you can buy fresh fruits. You can see a lot of different fruits especially pineapples because there are pineapple plantations in the city.

A boat trip to taal volcano is highly recommended. They can tour you around the rim of the volcano. You can almost boil an egg there. It's really a meaningful adventure to all.

There are convents and retreat houses near the People's Park In the Sky. They say, if you are in high places, you are closer to heaven. Maybe, that is the reason why there are many devotees and pilgrims visit the place.

Visiting the place is worth it especially when you want a nice and peaceful place to stay for a while and give yourself a relaxing ambiance to eliminate stress. It's a pleasant place, secure and safe.

If one wished to travel between Canada's two most Western provinces, in the winter, one had to drop South into the U. S. of A. and then pop back up North.

Today there are four highways, between the two provinces, that pass through the Rocky Mountains and are usable year round. In the North we have the Hart Highway that uses the Pine Pass. In the South we have Highway 3 that uses the Crowsnest Pass. In the center of the provinces we have highway 16, commonly, and mistakenly, called the Yellowhead Highway, running through Mt. Robson Provincial Park and Jasper National Park. And, of course, we have the Trans Canada Highway which uses the Roger's Pass.

I can recall, as a youngster, traveling between the cities of Golden and Revelstoke, over what was know as the Big Bend Highway. Basically the Big Bend was a logging road that followed the Columbia River which made a big bend as it flowed North and then curved South. This was an arduous trip of some eight hours, only an hour and half today with modern vehicles on the Roger's Pass which follows the Illecillewaet River.

The road wasn't paved, in most places it wasn't even graveled. In many places it was corduroy road. Corduroy road is road over a wet area that is filled in with logs laid, side by side, across the roadway.

Midway, along the Big Bend was a work camp knows as Boat Encampment. One of the workers, Peter Fuoco, who stayed at the camp, with a two bladed axe, and chisels, in his spare time, made a head out of a section of tree and then with some hand carved board, made a hat for the head.

He called his artwork `Wooden Head'. He placed his masterpiece beside the road and made a sign telling people, `Don't be a woodenhead - slow down'.

When the highway was replaced by the Roger's Pass in 1962, most of the Big Bend highway is now underwater as the valley has been dammed up for a hydro project, the government moved the Woodenhead to the intersection of the Big Bend Highway and the Trans Canada Highway, just East of the city of Revelstoke.

Sometime later Woodenhead was moved into the city of Revelstoke.

In 2005 Woodenhead was restored and placed in a gazebo like cage by the city of Revelstoke. It is hard to tell whether it is the original Woodenhead, covered in plastic, to preserve it, or if it has been totally rebuilt out of fiberglass.

It is easy to tell, at a glance that it isn't wood but it still reminds us old timers of its former glory, when it sat among the trees it was made of, near Boat Encampment.

Slightly less that a hundred years ago, Zihuatanejo, was a sheltered harbour for ocean vessels and an export port for lumber. Also at this time it was being discovered by tourists who were making the arduous fifteen hour trek North from the then Mexican Resort city of Acapulco.

In the mid sixties plans were afoot to turn Zihuatanejo, as it is known by locals, and tourist who love it, into another Acapulco. The local residents protested and the developers, in the early seventies, moved North, over the hill, to a long stretch of beach, and built a town called Ixtapa.

Though Zihuatanejo prevented the invasion of tall, all-inclusive, resorts it was unable to halt progress.

With the cruise ships on the Love Boat TV series, `77 - `86, making it a port of call and the hero from the movie Shawshank Redemption making it his idyllic target of forever land, `94, Zihuatanejo has come to the attention of world travelers.

Today Zihuatanejo is no longer beside the beaten path. The path, Camino 200, a paved highway, that is gradually becoming a freeway, cuts through the outskirts of the bustling community. Only a twenty minute drive North of a busy, international, airport it welcomes thousands of visitors a week, year round.

Though slightly South of the trek of the RVers it is not uncommon to see out-of-state, and out-of-country, license plates on the traffic jammed, once quite, streets.

There really is no need for all the cars. Everything in the downtown core is within walking distance. The whole area is about four or five blocks square. I could tell you exactly if I had my trusty little map. The map that drives me crazy, each and every time I go to Zihuatanejo I picked up the map from a local travel agent during my first visit and promptly proceeded to get lost.

I pride myself on not getting lost. As a professional driver I will take you, or your cargo, anywhere you want to go, using the shortest possible route and arriving at destination on-time. Yet I have lost count of how many times I have gotten lost, walking around, the tourist core of Zihuatanejo.

There are two busy streets downtown. One, Jose M. Morelos, borders the core to the North and the other, Marina Nacional, to the East. On the West is the mountain. There is a street that goes up into the mountain and another that takes you over the mountain, for a fantastic view of the Pacific Ocean.

If you cross the busy street, to the North of the core, and continue North, into the residential district there are some streets and some stairs. The stairs go up, and up, and up, and do not come to a cross street. You have to go back down. But before you do, stop and enjoy the view. The entire town and bahia (bay) are laid out before your eyes.

What amazed me, as well as the view, is the idea, that all of the furniture, in all of the houses, along the sides of the stairs, was carried up by hand. No truck, or donkey, could make that hill.

To the South side of the core is the beach. Only a few minutes walk from any of the downtown hotels, or furnished apartments, available by the month.

From Playa Principal one can walk across a little bridge and then along a short mericon to Playa Madera, the wood beach, so named because this is where they used to load ships with wood.

Walking South along the beach will take you to Playa Ropa. Ropa, clothes, because a shipment of clothing was washed ashore, here, after a storm sank a ship. This is the main beach in

Zihuatanejo At the far end of the beach, actually, behind the beach, is a laguna, the home of a Cayman. This large crocodile likes to climb out of the lagoon, onto the beach, and sun himself. Do not get too close. He may be sleeping but he can wake, and move, faster than you can. And he is a wild reptile. Many years older than you will ever live to be.

You could continue further along the beach, and I could continue to expose you to the wonders of this once quaint village, but it is overpopulated now and each time I tell someone about this Pacific pearl I kick myself.

Please disregard all I have said, find another town on another beach and leave Zihu for me.

While their are probably scores of locations to float a river for 3 to 5 miles in the state, I will only outline a few here to give you some examples of good place to go. The first one is the Meramec River near Steelville and Cuba, Missouri. There are about a half dozen or so excellent resorts that specialize in helping people float this river. You can rent tubes, canoes, and 3 to 5 man inflatable boats for the ride. Most of these resorts offer two different lengths of floats. On weekends these resorts like most in the state in the summer become major hives of activity. You will find it much better to float during the week if you do not like the overcrowding, loud music and noise, and drinking.

The upper Black River near Lesterville, Missouri, is another excellent and well-used section of water. While not as many resorts and campground to help you with your float, there are still several to choose from. This venue draws a lot of younger late-teen floaters. The float prior to the dog-days of summer is better because the water level tends to be higher. This makes for fewer times that you have to portage your boat or tube. Lesterville is a small town, but still has a decent store and gas stations. It sits at the foot of Taum Sauk, the highest point in the state. There are a number of other areas like Elephant Rocks State Park in the vicinity to explore if you want to make it a multiple day outing.

In the south-central part of Missouri, you will find the town of Eminence. Near Eminence are the Current and Jack's Fork rivers. These are fast flowing cold streams. You can experience more intense rapids in these rivers. This area of the state is even less developed than the previous two mentioned. For the person looking for rustic and back woods areas, there are plenty to be found here. Like the other areas, the campgrounds here make it easy to float. They utilize the more well-know and safer areas of the rivers to insure the well-being of their guests.

No matter where you go to float, the resorts will guide you to enter the river and be waiting for you when you exit. Buses and vans transport floaters back to their campgrounds or to the floater's cars making the return trip very easy. Workers will attend to the boats and tubes once you pull ashore.

Always bring along food and drink for a float trip. Most will take from 2 1/2 to 5 hours to complete. They tend to be somewhat leisurely and relaxing in most areas. There are generous areas to pull ashore and explore or have a picnic meal. Some of the floating areas encourage a moderate amount of fishing if you like to do that.

Shade can be difficult to come by during parts of any float trip. Sunscreen with a 45+ Spf rating is recommended. Apply it often during the day. It will more than likely be hot also. Bring plenty of liquid to stay hydrated. Something besides copious amounts of alcohol are needed to keep your water loss covered.

If you have an older swimming suit, it is recommended. The water can become a little murky after it rains or if the crowd is dense. This can leave muddy stains on swim wear. Bringing your old suit keeps you from putting a new one at risk. Even cutoffs might be the best way to go. Plan on swimming along side your canoe or boat if you rent one. This helps cool you off and is a nice diversion from paddling through large pools. Swim shoes are better than being bare-footed. Some of these rivers have sharp rocks or debris left behind by inconsiderate floaters in the past. Protecting your feet is important. Wearing a good had may be necessary too. This will protect your head, nose, and ears from overexposure to sunlight.

Wrap your towels in plastic to keep them dry in case your boat tips. Leave anything you do not want to loose at home. It will be better there than lost at the bottom of the river. Bring a water proof camera. There are invariably some great photo opportunities on every float trip.

The condo I chose was near the beach but out of the evacuation zone, in the Tampa Bay area. If there is a hurricane, people in evacuation zones must evacuate, because they live on low ground and risk flooding. My new place is situated on a peaceful lake, off the main streets in a quiet neighborhood, which is close to stores of all kinds. Every day, large water birds come to visit, looking for food. Most common are egrets, wood storks, blue or green herons, moorhens, and ducks.

Turtles can be seen basking themselves on logs in the water. It is a serene setting that is most definitely worth the pricey rent. With large windows, and a lovely balcony, my houseplants are growing without my needing to do anything except prune or water them once in awhile.

The bright sunshine, blue skies and puffy, white clouds naturally improve a sad mood here in Florida. Up in Ohio, the skies tend to be gray most of the year, and that can make many people depressed. It never occurred to me how much my mood had been affected by the weather until moving down here.

Driving in Florida can be intimidating, due to the many people who all decided to move down here to get away from the northern weather. Roads are crowded and traffic moves fast. Parking in cities can be hard, but it comes with the territory of living where everyone wants to be. Taxis are plentiful and cheap I prefer to hire taxis instead of using my own car, to save money and avoid parking hassles.

The stores and malls here are plentiful and fun to browse. Since tourists come here all the time, there is a huge variety of merchandise to see. It is a shopper's paradise. It is so convenient to live in the suburbs, where everything you need is only a street or two away. My former home in Ohio was in the suburbs but nothing was close by, without a car life would be hard. There is everything from large international style malls to family owned small stores, and everything in between. And, if you feel like being a tourist, drive over to the beach nearby and check out the gift shops and boutiques nearby.

If you love nature, sunshine and being outdoors in general, Florida is a wonderful place to live. As long as you have a good air conditioner for those hot months, living here is comfortable and there are many activities to entertain just about anyone. Sure, there are big bugs, snakes and spiders, but well-maintained properties are vigilant about keeping the critters where they belong, outside and away from your living areas, by spraying regularly with pesticides. Wherever you go, there are lush, tropical landscapes and beautiful flowers. Come to Florida for a visit, and like me, you may want to move here. If you do, you'll be very glad that you did.

Rushing through France on a coach tour is one way to see a range of motorways, and eventually a small taste of Paris, but it leaves the traveller with a bland impression of a grand and enchanting country.

One of the better ways to experience France is to hire a canal boat and cruise slowly through the countryside. Rural scenes of rolling pasture are made more exciting when on a turn of the canal; a spectacular ancient chateau looms into view.

It is preferable to have someone who can speak a little French, because most people in the French countryside have only one language. just as the majority of English speaking people in their home countries. The challenge of conversing with the lock keepers or the local shop keepers adds to the fun of the trip. It is a chance to test those almost forgotten school phrases.

CANAL REGIONS

There are three main areas where companies hire boats to cruise the canal: The South, where the canals meander from the Bordeaux area across to the coast of the Mediterranean . Inland from Brittany to the South of the Chateau region, there is a network of excellent canals. The biggest region of them all is the Burgundy area and north, reaching up into Germany.

Deciding on which canal to see is difficult as each area has its own distinct character. Two weeks is preferable to one and certainly a one way hire from one point in a canal to another is better than a return journey.

Brittany can have very changeable weather and might not be the best choice for early or late in the summer season. The south has less of the small villages. Burgundy has a good range of options and ample to see.

NEGOTIATING THE LOCKS

It takes a little while to get used to the procedure of the locks. Going up is harder than going down and it wouldn't hurt to aim for a cruise that takes the descent rather than the ascent.

Two people can negotiate the locks if one disembarks just before the entrance to the lock and works alongside the lock keeper, while the other one drives and stabilises the boat.

On an ascent, the water will be let into the lock raising the level of the canal. Some operators will gently fill the lock while others will flood the confined space, with an alarming rush of water, and a quiet smirk lurking on their lips. The ropes are thrown to the person at the top and secured around a post.

The driver must be able to keep the boat from bumping into the sides of the lock by using the boat's engine or by the person on the ground keeping a tight hold on the ropes. Gradually the level increases and the driver rises in the boat up to the next level. A new world awaits from this vantage.

On the descent, the boat sits placidly in the lock and there is little need for ropes as the water drains away lowering the boat to the new depth. Sometimes there may be three or four locks joined together, or more.

The more people on the boat trip, the easier managing the boat becomes. A larger boat is no more difficult than a small one if there are sufficient crew.

ON BOARD

For the duration of the cruise, the boat is home. It is equipped with sleeping quarters, a kitchen, a shower and toilet and a dining/living area.

No one can travel any faster than six knots. It is illegal to make any wake. This keeps the canal walls from eroding. It means the journey is leisurely and serene.

COUNTRYSIDE

How anyone can trust fishing in these murky, well used waterways is a mystery. But there are fishermen and fishing huts to be seen. The muddy waters have life, we are told. At least reflections of life are certainly there to see from the farms and livestock along with river bank.

Early in the morning the drifts of river mist float thinly on the water and lift and fade. On clear days, the canal mirrors perfect images. Stone bridges become looming stone circles and the trees that line the water's edge stand admiring their shapely images as they lean with dropping arms toward the water.

FRENCH VILLAGES

A quick stop to toss the bicycles from the roof of the boat onto the bank. Off to a local village for long crisp loaves of French bread for breakfast. Bread from a tiny settlement of six houses; better than ever tasted before.

Make a stop a little earlier than the working lunch break time at noon, to buy exquisite cheeses, pastries and fruit tarts. A rural village no bigger than a few houses, will have a patisserie with first class baking. A woman will attend your needs, with her hair coiffed and her make-up and dress, ready for the Champs Elysee. Your tart will be handed to you in an elaborate box complete with ribbons, exquisitely presented.

There is no point in rushing. Once the lunch time is in process in France, no one is open for business. There is a sudden stop to all work and no locks will open, no shop will show any signs of life for two hours. There is nothing for it but to settle on the boat and enjoy the day's eating delights.

In some towns there is a chateau to visit or a cafe to eat at. Simply wandering the cobbled streets and photographing historic houses and churches, is a satisfying way to idle the lunch time away. Riding through the paddocks and meadows and spotting stone dwellings and a surprise small chateau is another way to use this time.

Food is much cheaper in general in the countryside, than in Paris and it is here that true French food and of course local wines, can be sampled.