Shopping at Sawgrass Mills Mall
By: Bill Morgan
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Beijing's Luxury Hotels For Olympic Tourists
By: Gregory Smyth
The Beijing Olympics have now begun - all the excitement and anticipation of the past four years or more has come to a head, especially for the Chinese. Before the Games, China was warned of a likely shortfall of accommodation space during the Olympics, and hundreds of Chinese businesses looking to capitalize on the excellent opportunity built new hotels. However, there are plenty of rooms still available, and you could grab a luxury hotel room in Beijing at a very reasonable price if you act quickly. Beijing had some seven years notice of the impending Olympic Games. They won the right to host the games in 2001, giving them several years to make up for an expected accommodation shortfall in the city. Administration officials estimated that around 450,000 to 500,000 visitors would inundate Beijing for the Games, with a further 1.2 million to 1.6 million native Chinese visitors coming to the city from other regions and centers. With around 660,000 beds available in Beijing currently, you would expect that the city would be packed to the rafters. However, it is still possible to find hotel rooms in the city, and they are being sold at excellent prices to those travelling to China for the latter part of the Olympics. Part of the reason for this is an erroneous perception in the international community, of a city filled to bursting point with tourists on top of an already large native population. In fact, the government has put its considerable resources to work in coordinating and organizing the city to be tenable and manageable for Olympic visitors. Thousands of tourists, though, will take advantage of the incorrect perceptions of many in the next two weeks, as they are able to stay in luxury hotels in Beijing at budget-friendly prices for the Olympics. Shangri-La is one such chain where you'll find luxury hotel rooms in Beijing at unexpected price tags. The chain actually has two locations, in the west and north west of the city. These hotels are close to full, yet still have some space available. The staff and the impeccable service are one of the chain's major selling points, in a country where the government sponsored star-rating system does not have minimum service standards, and the ratings only cover facilities. The health club at Shangri-La Beijing has a sauna and solarium, as well as all the usual facilities. Once you have been inspired by watching the athletes, you can imitate them - to the best of your abilities! Shangri-La also has lovely lush gardens, in the middle of a very industrial city, and offers easy access to Olympic facilities via the third and fourth ring roads. The Kerry Center hotel is another that offers easy access to Olympic venues, and luxury surroundings as well as great service. The hotel has free in-room broadband access, and executive rooms offer full home-style bathroom facilities as well as little luxuries like CD players. In a twist of individuality, there is a rooftop track for running and inline skating, as well as indoor basketball, tennis and badminton courts. If you are looking to book a hotel room in Beijing for business reasons connected to the Olympic Games, then China World hotel will be the hotel of choice. The impeccable service aligns well with business expectations, and the facilities are a match for the personality of the hotel. A new oxygen chamber in the health club, as well as a golf simulator, three indoor tennis clubs and an aromatherapy spa make the China World hotel a great choice for keeping your mind and body in shape while visiting for the Games. Now that the Olympics have begun, it is a great opportunity to travel to Beijing and stay in luxury hotels that don't have Olympian price tags.
Thursday, July 17, 2008

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Monday, July 14, 2008
By: MITCHELL HAMPSON

Mitch Hampson is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Cheap Travel Agents so if you would like more information on this subject please checkout his website at www.worldtravelnow.info
By: Richard Greaves

Festivals in Thailand are either Buddhist, Chinese, animist, or associated with the monarchy. Buddhist and Chinese festivals are lunar and generally fall on a full moon, animist festivals such as Songkran or Loi Krathong can be solar or lunar, while royal holidays fall on special historical days such as the founding of the current Chakri dynasty or the birthdays of the reigning monarchs.The most deeply spiritual of the Thai holidays is Visakha Bucha held on a full moon night in May. It commemorates the date on which the Buddha was born, attained enlightenment, and died. Visakha Bucha day is marked with sermons and alms-giving culminating in an evening candlelit procession known as wien thien in which celebrants circle the temple three times in honour of the triple gem of Buddhism - the Buddha, the Dharma (teachings), and the Sangha (community of monks). Songkran, the most vigorous of Thailand's festivals, was the official Thai New Year until 1941. Formerly tied to the movement of the sun, modern Songkran takes place from 13-15th April. Songkran began as a ceremonial bathing of Buddha images as part of a new year's spring cleaning ritual. However, it has degenerated over the years into a free-for-all water fight in which the streets are filled with revellers armed with water guns, jars and buckets.Though Songkran is celebrated nationwide, it's probably done with most gusto in Bangkok’s tourist centre of Khaosan Road and in the northern capital of Chiangmai.The southern island of Phuket with its large Chinese population is the scene of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival held during the ninth lunar month each year. The event lasts ten days and other than participants observing a vegetarian diet, involves ceremonies at Chinese shrines and temples along with firewalking and other acts of self-mutilations carried out by devotees known as Ma Song. These Ma Song are in ecstatic trances and oblivious to pain as they clamber up ladders with bladed rungs, walk barefoot over hot coals, and plunge skewers through their cheeks.The event Phuket Vegetarian Festival dates back to 1825. At that time, many immigrant Chinese worked in Phuket's tin mines. A visiting Chinese opera troupe cured their sickness with a vegetarian diet. This much impressed the local population who started the vegetarian festival.The afternoon before the festival, celebrants raise a high pole (the Go Teng pole) at each temple. This is to invite the gods to descend. Then at midnight, they adorn the pole with nine lanterns to mark the opening of the festival. Over the next ten days, ceremonies such as invocation of the gods Lam Tao and Pak Tao, processions of images of the deities, and the feats of the Ma Song. The festival ends with merit making ceremonies at the temples and the send-off of the gods.Thailand is a land rich in culture and tradition and the best and most moving way to experience the delights of this eastern kingdom is to attend one of the many festivals and ceremonies that adorn the calendar.
Article Directory Source: http://www.1articleworld.com
Richard has over 20 years experience in the travel industry and writes for Cheaper than Hotels. Cheaper Than Hotels offers cheap Thailand hotels.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
By: Mathilde Ljubica
