Portland, Oregon, USA

Who would have thought the second biggest polluter worldwide could hide an eco-conscious gem like this? Portland is regarded as the most eco-friendly city in the US and one of the ‘greenest’ worldwide, because of it use of renewable energy, efficient transport systems and recycling.

Cape Town, South Africa

This one’s well on it way to becoming one of the world’s ‘green’ cities of the future. The city has adopted a plan to reduce it’s carbon footprint by ensuring 10% of it’s energy use is renewable and 10% of homes are solar powered by 2020.

Costa Rica

This Central American country was named the No.5 ‘greenest’ country in the world. And, surprise surprise, it was voted the happiest for 2009 by the Happy Planet Index. Costa Rica plans to be the world first completely ‘green’ country by 2030 through fossil fuel reduction, hybrid vehicle use and increased tree planting initiatives.

Vancouver, Canada

With about 90% of the city’s energy coming from renewable energy sources, Vancouver is as close to ‘green’ as you can get. Canada’s third largest city uses hydroelectric power, but plans to further reduce it’s carbon footprint by adopting solar, wind and tidal energy. It also continuously ranks as one of the best cities in the world to live in – could there be a connection?

For more info on eco-destinations check out www.treehugger.com

Death Valley, USA – With a name like that, you won’t expect to find many signs of life or greenery in the driest place in America. Summer temperatures have been known to top 56^oC, but that hasn’t stopped hikers from attempting to walk through the valley. If you’re not (fool)hardy enough to do the same, Death Valley also boasts many luxurious resorts scattered throughout its seemingly inhospitable terrain, so you can take in the stunning dessert scenery from the air-conditioned comfort of your room.

Bangkok, Thailand – It may come as a surprise to you to find out that Thailand’s capital has the honour of being named the world’s hottest city. Bangkok is surrounded by lush green farmland, but the constant smog and high humidity raises the average daily temperature to well over 28^oC. For some respite from the heat and notoriously bad traffic snarls, head north to the cooler provinces, such as Chiang Mai.

Dasht-e Lut, Libya – If a name like Death Valley doesn’t scare you, then perhaps the sight of parched, cracked mud will. This plateau in the Libyan desert is said to be the driest spot on earth, and is so hostile to life that not even bacteria is able to survive. The temperature here has exceeded 70^oc in some years, so you’ll need more than a fan to keep cool.

It’s worth bearing in mind that long-haul flights are set to offer the best bang for your buck this year, so let your imagination run wild and think far and wide. Meanwhile, the eurofree zone continues to surge in popularity as the pound wobbles, and travellers appear enticed by adventurous holidays of discovery rather than beach-bound lounging.

With these trends firmly on our radar, we’ve come up with the top five must visit destinations for 2010. Just see below for inspiration.

Lebanon
Lebanon hasn’t had an easy time of it over the last couple of decades, but somehow, despite the odds, it remains one of the Middle East’s most exciting destinations. Since Israel’s 2006 attack on Beirut and its suburbs, the country has bounced back, rebuilding infrastructure, creating new roads and opening spectacular hotels. Head to the capital (only four hours away from the UK) for a taster of the indomitable Lebanese spirit and to party hard with Beirut’s beautiful people. Elsewhere, there are ski slopes, historical sites, ancient mosques and gorgeous landscapes.

Cuba
Since Fidel Castro stepped down as leader in 2008 the country has seen its political stance against capitalism relaxed. Couple this with Obama’s more amiable approach to the Caribbean hot spot, and you have a Cuba that is ever more enticing to tourists. If Cuba’s vintage cars, humble tourism infrastructure and laid back, friendly reputation appeals, this year might be your last chance to enjoy it – expect the Hummers, luxury resorts and American tourists to roll in soon.

South Africa
With the FIFA World Cup taking place in South Africa this year, the country is braced for a mass influx of tourists. Sure, flight prices will be up, and hotels hard to book, but the atmosphere will be unbeatable! If football really doesn’t interest you, avoid the month of June and travel either in early spring, or late autumn. This way, you’ll get the best of the improved hotels, restaurants, events and lively atmosphere without the hullabaloo.

Egypt
Egypt enjoyed something of a boom in 2009 as cash strapped holiday makers looked for destinations beyond the eurozone. Expect this to continue for Egypt (as well as Morocco, Tunisia and much of Eastern Europe) well into 2010. Take advantage of stellar package holiday deals, bargain flight prices and perennial sunshine.

Dubai
The reports of Dubai’s fall from financial grace may be raging on, but the Arab Emirate continues its flashy assault with the world’s tallest building, the world’s biggest theme park and an ex-pat paradise of plush bars and fancy hotels. Its spirit may not have broken, but flight prices are certainly crashing. It’s also a good time to score good deals at hotels and good value package deals. If Dubai doesn’t appeal, try its neighbour Abu Dhabi – a country that is currently hawking its wares (stunning desert landscapes, impressive heritage and welcoming people) and is definitely not short on cash. essentialtravel

The use of low temperatures in medical therapy is known as cryotherapy. Initially developed in Japan in the late 1800s to provide pain relief for conditions such as rheumatism, sports physicians have since rediscovered the method and have started applying it in routine treatments and sports therapy. It wasn’t long before health specialists, particularly in Eastern Europe, started to recognise the positive effects on a range of health problems such as insomnia, stress and skin conditions.

In 2003, the Haikko Spa in Porvoo, Finland became the first Finnish spa to offer super cold treatments and the first cryo-treatment unit in the world to use a combination of electricity and liquid nitrogen to create the necessary cold temperatures.

Guests are recommended to wear a swimming costume and protective headgear, mittens, socks and slippers provided by the spa. The trained staff will supervise the treatment which involves walking through two insulated rooms with temperatures of -30 and -60°C before entering the super cool treatment room where temperatures will drop down to -110°C. Here guests will spend from between one to three minutes, depending on the specific recommended treatment. Whilst exposed to such cool conditions, the temperature receptors in the skin send messages to the brain communicating the low temperatures. This triggers reactions in the circulatory, endocrine, immune and central nervous systems which gives a distinctive physical rush.

CRUISE SHIP
Having sailed a few warm up trips, Oasis Of The Seas will take its maiden voyage on December 5 when punters will be able to explore 20 floors of entertainment and accommodation. The boat has seven neighbourhoods with a central park (yes, complete with trees and flowers), various pools, a theatre, more than a dozen cafes and restaurants, a mall, spa, full size basket ball court, chapel for weddings, rock climbing walls… well, you get the idea.

GOLF COURSE
Some may argue this 860 mile long golf course in the Australian outback isn’t actually a proper golf course. Its fairways are pretty non existent and seven of its 11 holes are actually borrowed from other courses on route. The idea is to journey from Ceduna in the south of Oz to Kalgoorie in the west (or the other way around), jumping in the car every time you complete a tee. Be warned, you may well come across dingoes, snakes, spiders and scorpions – think of it as golf safari!

HOTEL
You’d be right in thinking Las Vegas is the place to go for mammoth hotel resorts – it lays claim to 15 of the world’s 20 biggest hotels – but the first prize actually goes to a hotel in Malaysia. First World Hotel in Genting Highlands has more than 6000 rooms and comes complete with an indoor theme park, cinema, casino and shopping centre.

THEME PARK
Not yet complete, Dubailand is set to be the world’s biggest theme park made up of several adjoining areas. Dubai has made space (three billion square feet to be exact) for a water park, dinosaur theme park (in partnership with the Natural History Museum in the UK), a Sports City featuring various stadiums and the largest shopping centre in the world. Expect the grand opening some time in 2012.
essentialtravel

Luxury Spa

Spread over two floors in the Burmanska Palace wing of the hotel, the 1400m² spa features eight treatment rooms and uses organic and natural treatment products, many custom-made and sourced from the local forest such as birch, blueberry, buckthorn and lingonberry. There are three main treatments known as Our Own Experiences – Be Rested, Be Balanced and Be Renewed. These have been developed over a course of three years and Raison d’Etre Spa is the only place in the world where these can be experienced.

Now these islands are left for nature and they are over half a million seabirds that return each spring to breed, making St Kilda the most important Seabird colony in Europe which has rightly earned it World Heritage status.
My mission for Wild Wonders was Gannets and as the Island of Boreray and its out lying Stacks of Stac an Armin and Stac Lee support 60, 428 breeding pairs making this the largest Gannetry in the world then this was a must for me to try and visit. I had set the Goal of landing on Boreray and permission was granted but that was the easy part. First leg was to get to the Outer Hebrides which is in itself no mean feat, a 14 hour drive and a four hour ferry crossing just to get in position. I had arranged for a small boat but with plenty of power to take us out from Leverburgh on the island of Harris but it all depended on a window of opportunity for the weather to be kind and that window never opened for the first three days. The long term forecast was not looking to good either so a decision had to be made and instead of twiddling my thumbs on Harris I decided it would be better and more productive to wait on the Monarch Islands another archipelago 8 miles off the west coast of North Uist and get picked up from there if and when the weather changed.

I had never been to the Monarchs before and these beautiful low lying islands proved very productive with good numbers of waders and Fulmars proving to be very confiding. I had already been on the islands for four days which only felt like one when we got the call from the boatman advising us that the following day looked promising as the wind direction was changing and more importantly the swell of the sea was going to be much calmer. Its not easy transferring from a Zodiac to a boat at 4.00 in the morning and being burdened with heavy equipment, enough food and water to last a couple of weeks and my legs wishing I was still in bed made it even harder but with everything on board off we set for this next adventure.

I am not the best at dealing with boats and within half an hour I could feel the sign of sea sickness coming on and this was not a good sign as we still had another four hours ahead of us. So I found a little corner and laid down which usually works for me and thankfully it did this time because it wouldn’t have been the best four hours of my life. I kept going on the deck to check out the Islands and see if they were getting any closer they were but ever so slowly. The weather was also looking grim with a squall coming in from the Atlantic not the weather that was forecasted this could spell bad news. We eventually got to the Island of Boreray and with the low lying cloud surrounding the island it resembled something prehistoric and I was half expecting a pterodactyl to come flying from the mist to greet the boat.

Boreray was called the impenetrable fortress by the St Kildians and this description was spot on as I have never seen anything quite like it. Our boatman said there was only two places where we could possibly land and it was not looking possible for the first one and this was by far the easiest one, so our chances of landing was looking slimmer by the minute. There was a good six to eight foot swell and to get from the boat to the Zodiac was difficult, so to get from the Zodiac to wet rocks was going to be even harder if not impossible. We had a time limit for the boat and so a decision had to be made quickly regarding safety and was just too much of a risk to even attempt it. I have learnt from many attempts at trying to land on some of the remotest Islands in the UK that you have to be prepared for this disappointment and in this case it was just not worth the risk. Boreray certainly lived up to its name as the impenetrable fortress but what a beautiful place, certainly one of the great Natural wonders of Europe.

Danny Green / Wild Wonders of Europe

Be Flexible with Your Travel Plans
Airlines prices tickets differently depending on the day of the week, time of year, and nearest holiday.  If you are not flexible in the dates you want to fly, you will never be able to get in on the bottom and find a cheap flight. Airline ticket prices fluctuate wildly. Even the difference of a day can mean the difference of hundreds of dollars. It’s always cheaper to fly during the middle of the week than on a weekend since most people travel on the weekends and airlines hike their prices. If you fly after a major holiday, prices are also a bit cheaper. Early morning or late night flights are also cheaper because few people want to fly on them. Be flexible in your plans and you will find more cheap flights. A day can be a world of difference. Remember too that prices drop during the weekdays so it is better to book mid week.

Fly into Secondary Airports
Every major city in the world has a smaller, secondary airport. This airport is typically further from the city center and a bit smaller. Budget airlines usually use these airports because of cheaper operational costs. Cheaper costs mean cheaper tickets. It is why Southwest never flies into a major airport. Compared to the rest of the world, the United States does not have many of these carriers. You will find a plethora in Europe and Asia though. Don’t expect any perks on these airlines- you are simply buying space on the plane. No food, drink, pillow, or peanuts.  But for what they lack in service they make up for in cheap tickets. If your destination has a secondary airport, consider flying on one of these discount carriers for a cheaper ticke.t

Fly Alternative Routes
Besides being flexible with your travel dates, you should also be flexible in how you get to your destination. Sometimes it is cheaper to go to Madrid and  then take a cheap flight to Rome than flying directly into Rome. There are so many budget airlines that it is often better to use them as a connecting flight. Direct flights always cost more so try to add some stops into your ticket to help bring the cost down. Also consider working various airlines and special offers. Mix and match can help save you a lot of money. However, doing this is not easy and requires a bit more work and research.  If you have a really tight budget, the work will yield some cheaper flights though.

Search an Airline’s Foreign Website
You may not know it but you can book on an airlines foreign counterpart. If you have a strong currency, book on a weaker currency’s airline page. For example, we have found cheaper tickets searching the NZ version of Air New Zealand’s website than by searching our local version. The same goes for tickets to and from Europe cheaper. By searching the Canadian version of the British Airways website, we got cheaper tickets to London.This method may work best if your currency is doing well but you could still probably save some money even if the currencies are the same because of taxes and fees.

If You are a Student, Get Your Discount!
If you are a student, you’ll find that there are many discounts available to you. You can find flexible student airline tickets, discount cards, cheaper train tickets, and much more. All you need is a student ID. A great place to find cheap flights is to use STA Travel. They specialize in student travel and can usually find some great deals for students.

Sign Up for a Rewards Program
Airline rewards programs are a great way to get free flights, free upgrades, and free companion tickets. If you aren’t a frequent flier, it will take a long time to get points but if you are a frequent flier, you should sign up for a rewards program so you can get freebies. For the infrequent flier, consider a general rewards credit card that you can redeem for a free flight.

Sign up for Airline Newsletters
Stay informed of all the recent flight promotions and deals by signing up to a few airline or industry newsletters. You never know when a 24 hr fire sale might occur and you’ll want to be right there when it does. Often these newsletters are the only way to hear about these deals. It only takes a few clicks and you can delete the newsletters when you aren’t interested in flying.

The London Eye

The idea of the London Eye was pioneered by an architect couple, David Marks and Julia Barfield. The couple envisioned the idea of a ferris wheel where people could sit and enjoy a beautiful view of London. The London Eye project was financially funded by the British Airways and the Tussauds Group. Today it is fully owned by Merlin Entertainments Group which is the parent company to the Tussauds Group. The official name of this magnificent structure is Merlin Entertainments London Eye. Other valuable contributions for constructing the London Eye came from the construction management company, Mace; Steelwork contractor, Hollandia; Consulting engineers Tony Gee & Partners who designed the foundation works, and marine works designers, Beckett Rankine. Hundreds of people from 5 different countries worked on this marvelous structure for 7 years till it was finally erected. The London Eye had its formal opening ceremony on 31st December, 1999 at the hands of then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, but was made open to the public only in March, 2000.

Interesting Facts About the London Eye

• The London Eye (previously known as the Millennium Wheel) was one of the structures built in Britain to celebrate the new Millennium. The other structure was the Millennium Dome.
• On a clear sunny day, a person inside the London Eye can see up to a distance of 40 km, as far as the Windsor Castle.
• The London Eye is the most popularly visited paid attraction in all of Great Britain. It is said that the London Eye is visited by an average of around 3 – 3.5 million visitors each year. You can also read more on facts about Great Britain.
• The official capacity of each of the 32 capsules in the London Eye is 25 persons. This means that the London Eye can carry a whopping 800 people in every revolution.
• The London Eye revolves at a stately speed of 0.9 km per hour. And takes 30 minutes for one ride. The passengers can get off and climb on to the London Eye without stopping the wheel.
• The total weight of the wheel is estimated to be around 2100 tonnes, with each capsule weighing 10 tonnes.
• The circumference of the London Eye is 424 m and if straightened and held upright, it would be almost 1.75 times taller than the tallest building in the United Kingdom! Even without being unraveled, the current height of the London Eye is 135 m making it the fourth tallest structure in London.
• One of the London Eye facts for kids is that the movie Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, released in 2007 featured the London Eye in its opening sequence.
• The spindle that holds the wheel, and the hub rotating around the spindle weighs about 330 tonnes, which is 20 times the weight of the Big Ben.
• Another most interesting London Eye fact is that, since February 2004, it is kept open on Valentine’s Day even at night, so that couples can enjoy a romantic ride and a lovely view of London.

So this was all about the London Eye facts. The London Eye is a great experience and one that you wouldn’t want to miss on your next trip to the city!

Rolls Royce fans cover your eyes now, you’re in for a shock! The most-luxurious car maker in the world is considering an electric variant of its flagship saloon, the Phantom, Auto Express has learnt.

Speaking to a member of the press at the Goodwood Revival, a spokesman for the brand let slip that a battery-powered Phantom is something that’s under consideration – noting that the excess weight of the lithium-ion battery pack would be less of a problem in a car that weighs close to three tonnes with a V12 petrol engine under the bonnet.

Other electric car attributes of near-silent operation, and huge reserves of torque available from zero rpm would appear to suit the peerless Rolls Royce driving experience perfectly, too.

The problem, as always with electric vehicles, is giving the car a useful range between charges. However, a small-capacity range-entending engine, such as the 1.5-litre three-cylinder diesel engine fitted to parent company BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics Concept, could be used to top up the batteries on the go.