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Philadelphia, United States


We had a rehearsal this morning on Tchaikovsky 5th and encores (Smetana Dance of the Comedians from the Bartered Bride, Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 5, Dvořák Slavonic Dance No. 8 in g), then the Mozart Sinfonia concertante (which I don't play). I got a haircut and will practice & wash clothes the rest of the afternoon. Tonight I'm the alternate, and everyone will probably be healthy, so I expect to just pack my trunks during the concert. I won't see my cello again until Tuesday evening, although I think I will keep one bow with me to play on my Orange cello at home.

permalink written by  John Koen on May 12, 2007 from Philadelphia, United States
from the travel blog: Philadelphia Orchestra U.S. Tour (2007)
tagged Tour, Orchestra, Philly, Philadelphia, Concert, Classical and Koen

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Xian Travel Guide

Xi'an, China


Xian, the eternal city, records the great changes of the Chinese nation just like a living history book. Called Chang'an in ancient times, Xian is one of the birthplaces of the ancient civilization in the Yellow River Basin area of the country. During Xian's 3,100 year development, 13 dynasties such as Western Zhou (11th century BC - 771 BC), Qin (221 BC - 206 BC), Western Han (206 BC - 24 AD) and Tang (618 - 907) placed their capitals here. So far, Xian enjoys equal fame with Athens, Cairo, and Rome as one of the four major ancient civilization capitals.

Xian is the capital of Shaanxi province, located in the southern part of the Guanzhong Plain. With the Qinling Mountains to the south and the Weihe River to the north, it is in a favorable geographical location surrounded by water and hills. It has a semi-moist monsoon climate and there is a clear distinction between the four seasons. Except the colder winter, any season is relatively suitable for traveling.

The cultural and historical significance of Xian, as well as the abundant relics and sites, help Shaanxi enjoy the laudatory title of 'Natural History Museum'. The Museum of Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses is praised as 'the eighth major miracle of the world', Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang is listed on the World Heritage List, and the City Wall of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) is the largest and most intact Ming Dynasty castle in the world. In the city, there is the 3,000 years old Banpo Village Remains from the Neolithic Age (approximately from 8000 BC to 5000 BC), and the Forest of Stone Steles that holds 3,000 stone steles of different periods from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Around Xian, the Famen Temple enjoys the reputation of being the 'forefather of pagodas and temples in Central Shaanxi,' because it holds the finger bones of Sakyamuni -- the founder of Buddhism. The natural landscape around Xian is also marvelous Mt.Huashan one of the five best-known mountains in China, is famous for its breath-taking cliffs and its unique characteristics.

Traditional downtown Xian refers to the area encircled by the city wall, this has now been expanded to encompass the area within the second ring road (Er' huan Lu). The Bell Tower is the geographical center of Xian and the four main streets are respectively Dong Dajie, Xi Dajie, Nan Dajie and Bei Dajie which are also the main commercial streets. Xiao Zhai, the busiest commercial area is in the southern part of the city and is popular with both youths and students since many universities are located here. Shuyuan Men and the still under construction Luoma Shi are must-visit pedestrian streets in the city. Xian is also famous for its quantity of colleges throughout China. The old campuses of many colleges and universities are massed in the southern suburb of Xian, but most have established new campuses in far southern suburb - Chang'an District due to the lack of space within the city.

As tourist development grows in Xian, the hotel industry flourishes more and more. It is very easy to find a hotel in Xian, ranging from 5 star hotels to youth hostels. Of course, it will be any traveler's first choice to stay in the city center due to the superior geographical location and the convenient transportation.

Praised as 'the capital of table delicacies', Xian has been rich in the delicious Shaanxi snack, delicate Guangdong Cuisine, various kinds of fashionable foreign delicacies, and popular Sichuan Cuisine such as the hot pot. Among all the delicacies, the most famous and popular one is the Muslim Snack Street.

Xian is the most important city in northwest China, and so there are a lot of shopping outlets for locals and tourists alike. There are many big shopping centers, department stores and supermarkets in and around Xian city - the biggest and most comprehensive being Kai Yuan Shopping Mall and Century Ginwa Shopping Mall.

The night life in Xian has a unique glamour. Traditional ways include enjoying the night scenery around the Bell Tower, taking part in a Tang Dynasty Dinner Show, strolling on the ancient Big Wild Goose Pagoda Square and watching the music fountain performance. More modern and fashionable ways include singing in the KTV, hanging out in a bar, or dancing in a Disco. All in all, any experience in this ancient city will bring you fun and possibly a little surprise!



permalink written by  beijing2008 on August 20, 2008 from Xi'an, China
from the travel blog: Australia
tagged China, Xian and Tour

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The second half of North America

Mexico, Mexico


Starting just South of the Border...

permalink written by  mgaudiel on September 29, 2008 from Mexico, Mexico
from the travel blog: 2002-2003
tagged Tour and 2002

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2ième jour - Kunming / Jianshui

Jianshuigou, China


En route pour 229 Km de Kunming à Jianshui par bus. Il faut environ 4 heures. À Jianshui, on visite la ville ancienne et la "Tour face au Soleil" (Chaoyanglou) qui a été fondée en 1389. Le Temple de Confucius a été édifié pendant l’ époque mongole (1285). C’est le deuxième temple de confucius le plus grand en chine. Enfin, on visite Le Jardin de la famille Zhu.

permalink written by  Yunnan on October 12, 2008 from Jianshuigou, China
from the travel blog: Le Voyage Fantastique du Yunnan
tagged Temple, Tour, Yunnan, Chine, Jianshui, Jardin and VieilleVille

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Hiking Safari to Uganda

Kampala, Uganda


Rwenzori Mountains National Park.

The 120km Rwenzori alternation is admired to be the allegorical snow-capped Mountains of the Moon, declared by Ptolemy in AD150. Reaching an acclivity of 5,109m, it is as well Africa's tallest abundance range, exceeded in distance alone by the free-standing Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro.

The characteristic arctic peaks are arresting for afar around, but the slopes aloft 1,600m are the bottle of hikers, who amount the Rwenzori to be the a lot of arduous of all African mountains.

A array of ample mammals inhabits the lower slopes, but the Rwenzoris are notable added for their majestic backdrop and assorted vegetation. The trails advance through rainforest awkward with monkeys and birds, again Alpine bamboo forest, afore arising on the high-altitude acreage zone, a mural of affected behemothic lobelias, towered over by atramentous bedrock and white snow, searching for the absolute apple like the set of a science fiction film.

Activities:

The seven days/ six nights bend is a boxy but advantageous backpack demography in all frondescence zones bar the arctic peaks.

Shorter hikes can aswell be arranged.

The top peaks should be attempted alone by accomplished mountaineers.
[a href="/Kenya">Kenya[/a>
Where to stay?

Hotel Margherita action up bazaar adaptation and account at Rwenzori abject affected admitting while on the abundance are basal hiking huts forth the bend trail.

When to Visit?

Best time during dry division June-July, January- February.




permalink written by  safaris on October 24, 2008 from Kampala, Uganda
from the travel blog: Safari to Uganda
tagged Safari, Adventure, Travel, Vacation, Holiday, Tour, UgandaSafari, African and AfricaSafari

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Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang, Laos


Hiya Everyone!

Dury and I are currently in Luang Prabang, in Laos!

Since writing last time, we caught the bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai and stayed a couple of nights there. Chiang Rai didn't really seem to be anything special. Just a smaller and less nice Chiang Mai really. We were staying at the Mae Hong Son Guesthouse which was nice itself, but backed onto what looked like the Chiang Rai council estate! Bit shady! But we were ok.

I was glad to leave though and make the journey to Laos. We got a 4 and a half hour bus to Chang Kong, but literally just jumped in a tuk-tuk and told him to take us to the immigration office immediately. The 'friendly and helpful' guy at immigration stamped our visa and sent us down the road where there were loads of tiny long-tail boats waiting. We thought we must have missed something because surely we wouldn't cross the river in one of those?! But then we saw a little hut with a desk, the woman sold us a ticket each and pointed to a boat! So we hopped in a crossed the river! That was pretty cool. At the other side, at Haoxyai, we got our visa and found a guesthouse for the night.

Even that night in Houxyai was really different from Thailand! Everyone is really laid back and everything seems to move much slower.

From Houxyai the next morning, we went down to the boat dock and got our tickets for the slow-boat to Luang Prabang. The trip takes two days, with a stopover in Pakbeng. There is a speed boat but apparently people have died on that so we chose to take the slow boat. Still can't decide whether that was even a good choice! The seats were tiny wooden benches with straight backs and a tiny little cushion. You would have thought the boat was full but then about 50 more people came down the hill and all got on. There weren't enough seats so people just had to sit where there was a space! In the end, most of us moved our benches to the side and sat down on the floor too cos it was much more comfy that way. The first day was actually pretty cool. The scenery was amazing, a group got a guitar out, people were chilling on the sides of the boat and everyone was in a pretty good mood. By the end of the second day though, I was pretty glad to get off. It was an EVEN SMALLER boat on the second day and the benches were attached so we couldn't move them aside.


Finally arriving at Luang Prabang was a relief and I really like it here. It's like no other city in the world. It's just like a big village, or loads of villages all together. There's one main street, they nickname 'Ferang Road' (foreigner road or something) with lots of restaurants and shops on. The end of the street turns into a night market in the evening which was really cool! We went last night and it was really different from Chiang Mai. All the people are really friendly and smiling and not pushing you to buy their stuff which is such a relief after Thailand which is all about hassling you to buy stuff! On the first day we went out with a couple of girls staying at our guesthouse to the waterfalls nearby which was pretty cool. We did some swimming and some jumping in! That night, we also enjoyed a burger at the Lao Lao Garden which is a cool restaurant on another road. Getting sick of veg and rice, tofu and rice or veg and tofu, a veggie burger and fries was definitely a good shout! Today we went up Phu Si Mountain and looked over the Mekong River which was pretty awesome. Couldn't take any photots though cos both our cameras have broken within a week of each other! Boo.

Tomorrow we are leaving for Vientiene to organise our visas for Vietnam and then will maybe go back up to Vang Vieng or go down to the Four Thousand Islands. So far, we're undecided.


Anyway, hope everyone is having a good summer back at home.
Missing you
Love Naomi
XXXXX

Source : Travelblog

For more information , please visit these websites:

Email: laosadventureguide@gmail.com, Active Travel Laos

Adventure tours in Laos: Bike in Luang Prabang / Kayak in Vang Vieng / Trek in Luang Nam Tha

permalink written by  activetravellaos on December 17, 2008 from Luang Prabang, Laos
from the travel blog: Active Travel Laos
tagged Adventure, Travel, Tour, Laos and LuangPrabang

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Panida, Sandpoint, ID - 5/2/10

Sandpoint, United States


So, this was the first show We As Human has played in quite a few months. Our trip starts in Sandpoint, Idaho. Hometown to Justin Cordle (Vocals) and Adam Osbourne (Drums). The Panida (rhymes with "Canada") Theater is an old theater downtown. The show was opened up by a group from Oregon called Crown Point, then followed by 18 Shades (formerly Illusion 33) and then closed by We As Human. Truly an AWESOME experience as a first show for myself and the other new guitarist (and true shred master!) Justin Forshaw. We had a BLAST and totally brought justification to the tremendous amount of practice and work we had put in the week before!

It is the start of something new and good for everyone in the band, and the band as an entity. I truly hope the fans enjoy this lineup as much as I do and the rest of the guys.

Next stop, Port Angeles, WA!


All photos in this post are courtesy of Tina Marks. Thank you Tina!

permalink written by  Jake Jones on May 2, 2010 from Sandpoint, United States
from the travel blog: We As Human Tour/Show Blog, Spring 2010
tagged Tour, Concert, Sandpoint, Band, Panida, Idaho, WeAsHuman and Jake

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Die Weihnachts- und Silvester-Tour

Chennai, India


So dann lass ich auch mal wieder was von mir hören. Über Weihnachten und Silvester war ja Hannes zu besuch in Indien und wir haben eine Rundtour durchs Land gemacht. Die Stationen seht ihr ja ganz gut in der Karte. Ich möchte auch nicht wirklich auf die 14 Tage jetzt eingehen, weil dann werde ich sicher nie fertig mit schreiben :)

Aber anbei gibt es ein paar Fotos von ein paar Stationen.

Es ging von Chennai über Bangalore nach Hampi. Eine alte Tempelstadt, die wohl mal zu den reichsten Städten der Welt gehörte und mitlerweile Weltkulturerbe ist. Die Station war definitiv einer der Highlights der Tour.


Weiter ging es an die Westküste Indiens nach Goa. Als erstes war Kultur in Old Goa angesagt, bevor es dann an den Strand ging. In Palolem (sehr touristisch) haben wir dann Silvester verbracht und es uns gutgehen lassen. Immer Essen gewesen, weil is ja billig. Eine Hüte auf ner Halbinsel mit Traumblick auf Strand und Meer und Silvesterparty unter freiem Himmel.

Weiter gings weiter nach Süden nach Gokarna. Viele kleine Buchten mit schönen Stränden und tollen Wanderwegen entlang der Küste.
Über Udipi und Malpé Beach ging es nach Mangalore. In Mangalore haben wir einen Spar-Markt gefunden. Der größte Supermarkt den ich in Indien je gesehen habe. Mit integrierten Liquer-Shop, der aber geschlossen war, weil Wahlen waren.
Von Mangalore ging es mit dem Zug weiter nach Mysore mit einem sehr spannenden Fleischmarkt (das Fotos ist eines der harmloseren und den Geruch kann man eh nicht vermitteln)
Die letzte Station war Ooty in den Westghats und die höchste Erhebung Südindiens (ca. 2600m). Außerdem sehr bekannt für den Teeanbau. Von Ooty ging es mit Dampflokomotive wieder ins Tal - eine sehr beeindruckende Fahrt.

Morgen oder übermorgen gibt es noch ein paar Neuigkeiten hier zum Campus und überhaupt

permalink written by  Martin on January 8, 2011 from Chennai, India
from the travel blog: India 2010/2011
tagged Tour

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Diving in Phu Quoc

Hanoi, Vietnam


For divers coming from Phu Quoc, the true treasures around Phu Quoc Island are hidden below the surface where the panorama bursts into a virtual array of colours and corals – Diving. The warm, nutrient rich water draws vast schools of tropical fish. The diverse underwater scenery, and abundant marine life combined with good visibility will delight underwater photographers, marine naturalists and holiday makers alike. The calm and warm waters around Phu Quoc also make for a relaxing adventure for the experienced or first time diver and even people wishing to take advantage of the perfect snorkelling conditions.

The Interesting of diving in Phu Quoc

This Island paradise lies only 10o North of the equator, enjoying a tropical climate with average water temperature of 24oC (75o F) with an extensive variety of aquatic life. The best time for a dive is between October and May in the dry season, however scuba diving is still available all year.

Scuba diving is relatively new to Phu Quoc Island, only having been recently introduced in 2002, so divers have the unique opportunity of discovering the marine life around the Island for the first time, with many areas around the Island still largely unexplored. This underwater frontier continues to yield exciting new dive sites that are only now being made available.

Even today, in some areas to the North around Turtle Island and in the coral gardens off Bai Dai, North East off Bai Thom and Rach Vem and virtually a large majority of the An Thoi Archipelago, you may enjoy the pleasure of being one of the first ever to dive the many sites.
Read more : http://phuquoctrekkingtours.com/

permalink written by  dong7gmt on May 27, 2016 from Hanoi, Vietnam
from the travel blog: Phu Quoc treKKING tours
tagged Travel, Tour and PhuQuoc

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