A Visit to Natural History Museum London

If any of London's museum put in a nutshell the Victorians' visitors for education and passion for going through and classifying valuable information, the natural History Museum is the one. Yet, in spite of its substantial size, the layout is easy to master. It segregates between the "life" galleries, starting from Cromwell Road, and the "earth" galleries, beginning from Exhibition Road.

One of the museum's supreme delights is the way it puts on superb high-tech exhibits alongside beautifully kept Victorian-style arcades filed with fastidiously labeled cabinets. Many of the latter are found in quiet by-ways of the museum, but one of the assortment recognize its value both by children and adults alike is the wood and plaster model of a blue whale, which has been the centerpiece of the Mammals section since it was built in 1938.

Other Key attractions:

- Investigate basement: Here kids can touch, measure, weight and analyze under a microscope a variety of specimens. A team of kind assistants is on hand to help. There is also an open-air section where children can inspect pond life close up.

- The Jerwood gallery: This house a superb compilation of oils, watercolors, drawings and prints. Some of which are the primary illustrations to scripts by famous 19th century explorers.

- Mammals: As well as displaying an amazing array of taxidermy, the galleries contain sobering statistics on the rapid rate at which species are becoming obsolete.

- Human Biology: This section is conducted with interactive exhibits: you can test your reminiscence and senses or be tricked by optimal illusions.

- The Darwin Centre: The world-class center for scientific analysis and a storage area for millions of specimens, with guided tours and "meet-the-scientist" sessions.

- Earth's Treasury: This brings to show the planet's beauty, displaying rocks, micro-organisms and minerals twinkling in the gallery's  semi-darkness.

- The Wildlife Garden: There is an introduction session with tour twice daily in spring and summer. This luxuriant spot is a refreshing way to put an end to a visit.

Websites To Surf Before You Go Out There!

If you are the type of changing your mind at the last minute or if you determine to go for holidays on a whim - the net is the ultimate tool.  Luckily for all of us, with the new technology information superhighway - really comes and putting the world of travel squarely in your hands. It's a wild, wide and wonderful world out there in www-ville!

Background, blogs, stories, culture, personal recommendations, places - so much more information about destination that we have ever had in the past - are all now available within seconds. For those who truly love to fly check out Google Earth and find out more about your destination before you arrive, such as accomodation you've booked and its nearest shopping paradise, beach, internet café, tourism extractions, etc…all in 3-D.

The information about websites below is correct at the time we when to print: however please note that this can and do change often. As a precaution, please check websites are still live and current or at least regularly updated before you go, especially if you are planning on using them while you are away.

Some of these sites are US-based so if you are doing bookings or costings online please bear in mind with the currency rate of exchange. You should double confirm and note all prices as you go so don't get any unpleasant surprises.

Booking from internet is the most common use of the net but general browsing can really fire the thoughts and get you thinking about places that may not even be your radar yet. Surf the net before you even choose a destination or prepare an itinerary and you may end up with a completely new set of travel plans.

One way to ensure you get the information you need is to forward a bunch of websites links directly to your hotmail or other email account so you can access them in a more convenience way while you are away. Photocopy or print out relevant pages online and guidebook sources. Bind them together in a small folder that you keep in your hand luggage, or altenatively store it in your hand phone.

Consulate information is the best checked on websites first to avoid unusual hours or close on public holidays that you may not be concern of. Special attention to be given for local weather, breaking news, and travel warnings information that may affect travelers before departure.

Food Stuff - What to eat and what not to eat during travelling

Being healthy and staying the way really comes down to a couple of things when you're during traveling:

a. Choosing Where To Eat Wisely
b. Knowing What Not To Eat
c. Washing Your Hands frequently (and before taking any meal)

When you are traveling, having a meal can be lay bets as you can't always check the sanitation of each establishment. As a rough rule of thumb I check the cleanliness of the interior and make a general judgment based on the 'feel' of the place I also check how busy is it is as it will have a bearing of food turnover, giving me some signal of freshness of the food.

I never choose salad unless I am in the restaurant of top hotel. I peel fruit, eating only things like pineapple, oranges, banana and papayas, which need peeling.  Hot and fried stuff or boiled things are best as any sickening bacteria that may be present are mostly killed in cooking process. I avoid poultry eggs, dairy and certainly all meat if I am in hot countries. So that leaves dumplings, noodles dishes, couscous legumes, vegetables and curries with hot soup, etc. Principally if it's fresh veg, boiled, fried or super hot, and it's not meat or dairy, you should be fine.

Drinking water that is not pure is one way to seriously disrupt your journey. All drinking water should be bottled, fresh and more importantly to be sealed. Don't drink 'old' bottled water that's been placed on the floor of the public transport for a day or two, even if it's yours. Bacteria multiply quickly and that can be dangerous to your health.

Take a bottle of mineral water with you when you leave on your day's sightseeing and drink frequently and regularly. Buy clean bottles as frequent as possible - only refill a small and portable bottle from a big one a few times before you replace the bottle entirely

Never drink from a tap and do not drink unfiltered water. If you are trekking, water should always be fully boiled, and have purification tablets or iodine. Your tour guide should be able to explain how to boiled and drink the water safely along the tour.

It is also recommend to clean your teeth using bottled water to avoid any suffers from upset stomach and ruined birthday plan.

Visit to Deoksugung Palace, Seoul

 

For a enlightened exploratory opener, embark on your tour of Seoul at the central and historical Deoksugung Palace, the Palace of Honorable Longevity, whose entrance faces City Hall Plaza. Deoksu is not the oldest of the surviving palaces - it was built as a country house toward the end of the 15th century, but it is significant for its role at the unpleasant end of Joseon dynasty. King Gojong, who was forced to step down in favor of his son Sunjong in 1907, lived in retirement and died here in 1919 after having seen his country annexed by the Japanese in 1910 and his family's empire snuffed out after 500 years.

Among the most conspicuous composition on the palace grounds, regularly open to the public, is a statue of Sejong, the great 15th century King who authorized scholars to develop a distinctive Korean writing system, different from the traditional Chinese characters, and officially promulgated it in 1446. There is also a majestic audience hall and two astonishingly European-style stone buildings, with Ionic and Corinthian columns designed in 1909. These buildings are used to house the Royal Museum, exhibiting items once used by the royal court. The palace grounds offer a welcome relief from the modern buzz, especially in the autumn when its passageway of gingko trees in ablaze in gold.

Visitors to Deoksu Palace are often amazed to find themselves in the middle of odd-looking, weapon-carrying soldiers marching to the beat of huge drums and elongated trumpets. This is the ceremony of the Changing of Palace Gate Guards (at 10-11.30am & 2-3.30pm), performed much as it was when kings and queens lived and ruled behind palace walls more than a hundred years ago.

What to wear when travelling

You might have already planned in your mind what you will wear on the plane and while you are traveling in general. If you dress up a bit to travel it seems to make your passage that much smoother. Check-in staff will smile a bit brighter, the all-important customs and security people seems to be more cordial, flight attendances don’t mind to go the extra mile for that blanket or refreshment that you request. When you appear well groomed and crisply turned out, even if you are only wearing jeans and a nice shirt – it speaks volumes. When you appear scruffy, it conveys the message that you don’t really care and you can’t really deal with it. A good basic outfit consists of:

• Well-cut, clean , comfortable and cozy jeans and pants (not super tight)
• Sweater or pashmina draped around neck or shoulders
• Good, simple earrings and watch
• Minimal make up and freshly washed hair, clipped back up in a ponytail
• Nice and restful flat walking boots.

….and what not to wear

• Tracksuits
• T-shirts with inappropriate message or obscenities
• G-strings (you bend over a lot when you travel and these always ride up)
• Messy, extreme-colored hair
• Too much cheap jewelery
• Tons of makeup

In short, to be a good traveler, you fly under the radar. Dressing quietly but well is a good habit, drawing nothing, except the attention you want.

Eat in Korea

Korea have great pride in and an continuing love concern with their own cuisine. It's not special to hear a middle-aged businessman pride on that he only likes Korea food. And the variation between most Korean dishes and those favored by Westerners is as different as the Korea language and English. But there is some hope for those who simply cannot get used to the pungent smell of Gimchi. There are many western chain restaurants in Seoul (and a few in Busan and Daegu, but good luck finding one elsewhere), and there are a few independently owned Western restaurants. These restaurants cater to a younger Korean clientele, upper-class Korean families, and foreigners.

The best hotels have fine western restaurants and good Japanese and Korea restaurant; though they are pricey by Korea standards. But visitors to Korea really should try to break the language barrier and experience Korean food. There is little doubt that Korean restaurants offer the best worth and the tastiest meals in Asia.

Below is a list of types of restaurants you are likely encountered in Korea.

a. Barbecue meat restaurant
Beef and pork ad short rib are marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, green onions, and toasted sesame seeds, then char-broiled.

b. Raw fish restaurant
Fresh raw fish is served sliced with a soy sauce or red pepper sauce. Other kinds of fish dishes such as maeun tang (hot pepper soup of fish, soybean curd, egg, and vegetables)are served.

c. Noodle restaurant
Noodle dishes are the specialty but so are easily prepared rice dishes. Some of the popular dishes are Momil guksu -buckwheat noodles served with a sweet radish sauce; odeng guksu - wheat noodles topped with oriental fishcake in a both; and Japchae -rice vermicelli stir-fried with vegetables and meat slices.

d. Steamed rice restaurant
A bowl of rice is served with a variety of gimchi, parboiled vegetables, fish and soup (usually made of soybean taste) - the basic Korea meal. Other simple dishes, such as naengmyeon and bibimbap are often on the menu.

e. Japanese restaurant
Complete with sushi, sashimi and tempura are all over Seoul, and are common in the southern port of Busan.