The world’s coldest places

As Europe freezes and snowstorms blanket the US East Coast, remember, it could always be worse…

Vostok Station, Antarctica Located near the South Geomagnetic Pole, and at the lofty height of around 3500m above sea level, the Russian research station at Vostok is perpetually cold, but never more so than on 21 July, 1983, when it registered the coldest recorded temperature on the planet: –89.2°C (–128.6°F). The key geographic feature around Vostok is Lake Vostok, one of the world’s largest lakes, buried beneath around 4km of glacial ice and itself colder than all other lakes on earth. With the enormous ice mass above, the lake remains unfrozen at around –3°C.

Eureka, Canada This Arctic weather station has been called the world’s coldest inhabited place. The Eureka research base on Canada’s far-northern Ellesmere Island, which straddles the 80th parallel, was created as a weather station in 1947 and boasts an average annual temperature of around –20°C. In winter it’s about 20°C cooler still. For visitors to Eureka, the low temperatures are matched only by the high price of getting here. To add this chilly nowhere land to your travelling resumé you need to fly in from Resolute – factor on about US$20,000 for the airfare.

Oymyakon, RussiaIt seems only fitting that a place with a reputation as ferocious as Russia’s Far East (commonly mistaken for ‘Siberia’) should also claim the dubious honour of recording the northern hemisphere’s coldest temperature. In the republic of Yakutia, around 350km south of the Arctic Circle, the village of Oymyakon slipped to the numbing frostiness of –71.2°C (–96.1°F) in 1926, an event that seems to be remembered with unusual fondness, given that a plaque in the village commemorates the occasion. Expect a long day of rugged driving from Yakutsk, around 800km to the west, if you plan to pay homage to this mercury marvel.

Denali, Alaska, USA. In the alpine world, frostbitingly cold conditions are a fact of life, yet one mountain stands above all others as the most arctic on the planet. Denali, or Mt McKinley, the highest peak in North America, has long been considered the coldest mountain on earth, with winter temperatures plunging to around –40°C (–40°F). To experience the full frostiness of this Alaskan peak you must be a mountaineer – the 6194m mountain is mostly climbed by the West Buttress – but you can ponder it from slightly warmer locales with a visit or backpacking trip through Denali National Park.

Ulaanbaatar, MongoliaPerched on the Mongolian steppe, around 1300m above sea level, Ulaanbaatar has been called the world’s coldest capital city, and it does indeed pack a winter punch: in January the average maximum temperature in the city is a frigid –16°C (3°F). But with the city’s rush towards modernisation in recent years, there are more and more ways to escape the Ulaanbaatar chill. You can warm your digits and your mind inside the city’s impressive collection of museums – be it a camel museum or a museum about political persecution – or seek out the body heat of 500 monks in Gandantegchinlen Khiid, Mongolia’s largest monastery.

Best things to do in 2010!!!

Rest up while you can, dear travellers, because 2010 is going to be an action-packed year!

Total eclipse from Easter Island
Sunday 11 July (thanks, valemax) will see a total eclipse of the sun, visible from a corridor that traverses the southern Pacific Ocean. About half-way through, it’ll cross over one of the world’s most extraordinary and isolated places, Easter Island. This will be the best possible place to observe the eclipse, with the darkened sun lingering above the northwestern horizon. It’s hard to beat the combination of a shadowed sun, a Polynesian island, and 887 ancient monumental statues (moai).

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Peking to Paris Motor Race
The 2010 Peking to Paris Motor Challenge is a Wacky Races–style adventure, featuring classic cars rattling across the Old Silk Route. It starts in Peking on September 11th, passes the Great Wall of China, then crosses Mongolia and the Gobi Desert, all the ,‘stans, Iran, Turkey, Greece and Italy before finishing up in Paris. Most participants drive vintage cars, many of which are pre-1922. The first race took place in 1907, the second in 1997: this will be just the fourth edition. Suspension and sockets permitting, they should cover the distance (14,119 km) in around five weeks.

FIFA World Cup, South Africa
No other event has such power to capture the international imagination, and in 2010 the FIFA World Cup is coming to Africa. South Africa’s premier soccer venue is the FNB Stadium (Soccer City), in Johannesburg, which has been enlarged to 94,700 seating capacity for 2010. FIFA was rumoured to have a ‘plan B’ for the World Cup, amid concerns about South Africa’s facilities and security. However, it seems to be going full steam ahead, so let’s hear it for plan A!

Burning Man Festival, Nevada, USA
Vast, flat and edged by bony hills, the desert setting of Nevada’s Burning Man festival is perfect for ‘did-I-really-see-that’ mirages. For seven magical summer days, strange shapes dot the desert – evidence of what happens if you let your imagination run wild in the hot sun. There are no spectators here: everyone’s a participant. Nor is it about commerce; the only things for sale are coffee and ice. Fancy turning your car into a giant spider? Painting yourself blue? Burning Man is calling you.

Camino de Santiago pilgramage, Spain
It’s a Holy Year in 2010, which means it’s high time for a Christian pilgrimage. Our pick is the journey to Santiago in Spain, where the apostle Saint James is buried. You can take any route but the most popular is the Camino Francés (French Way), from Roncesvalles, around 800km away. Get a Pilgrim’s Passport from a local church or tourist office, so you can have it stamped en route.

Commonwealth Games, Delhi, India
Delhi has been made over in anticipation of the Commonwealth Games, which include sports ranging from synchronised swimming to shooting. The games put this vibrant, chaotic capital in the global spotlight, and the last few years have seen Delhi streamlined (as far as the unruly city can be) with a flurry of new infrastructure, including a new metro system and a flashy games village. The airport has been expanded, there are new roads, overhauled stadia, and lots of new homestays and hotels. There’s rarely been a better time to visit.

Vancouver Winter Olympics, Canada
From 12th to 28th February, the Winter Olympics will be doing their chilly thing in Vancouver, while the slopes of Whistler, 120km north, will host the skiing and sledging events. This icy extravaganza encompasses an incredible 86 sports, including the obvious (skiing, ice hockey and figure skating), and the obscure (curling, anyone?). Be there, if only to see how they’ll try to top the Beijing Olympics opening celebrations.

Pushkar Camel Fair, India

As the morning light sharpens, the scene near Pushkar, a tiny pilgrimage town in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, comes into focus. Hundreds of camels and their owners’ camps fill the desert scrub. One of India’s most spectacular festivals (18th to 21st November, 2010), the camel fair began as a sideshow of the Katrik Purnima, before becoming an attraction in its own right. The noise is remarkable, an unearthly chorus of camel snorts, fairground rides, people and distorted sound systems. Colour and chaos prevail: camels, horses, tribal people, tourists and film crews all play their parts in creating the scene. Plus, if you’re in the market for a camel, this is where to head.

World Expo, 2010, Shanghai, China

Shanghai is hosting the next World Expo in 2010 (1st May to 31st October), a chance for the city to trump Beijing’s 2008 Olympics. Expos have been part of the international convention scene since the UK’s Grand Exhibition in 1851, and 70million visitors are expected to visit this one. The huge site straddles the Yamuna river – more than 18,000 households were rehoused to make way. Each of the 200 participating countries are pulling out all the stops: Copenhagen are even flying out their iconic Little Mermaid statue for the duration.

Maximum fun, minimum money: Hong Kong’s best freebies

Hong Kong is not a cheap place, but with a bit of planning you can spend a day in the city and spend very little money.

Start the day with a free t’ai chi lesson, taking in views of the Hong Kong Island skyline, courtesy of the Hong Kong Tourist Board.

If it’s a Wednesday, you’re entitled to free entry at six of Hong Kong’s best museums: Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, Hong Kong Museum of History, Hong Kong Science Museum and Hong Kong Space Museum, excluding the Space Theatre.
After all that museum madness, you’ll be needing a sit down. Make lunch your main meal of the day for the ideal combination of most calories, highest quality and lowest price. Dai pai dong’s (street stalls) and food courts are your best bet for a relatively inexpensive feed.

After lunch, head to one of Hong Kong’s shopping malls for a bit of free air-con and wi-fi. If you don’t have a laptop, you can catch up on your email by using a free library internet terminal.


If you need to cool off and can’t afford the entry to Ocean Park, take your own white-knuckle ride on the top deck of the bus to Shek O for some free and secluded beach action.

In the evening, hit the bars during happy ‘hour’ drinks and you might also score some free nibbles. Still hungry? Then grab some $20 Tak Fat beef balls at this famous Tsim Sha Tsui dai pai dong, before putting your haggling face on and heading to the Temple Street Night Market for some inexpensive memorabilia, kitsch and crafts.

Other freebies and bargains to look out for include:

• Bank of China: panoramic island views from the 43rd-floor public gallery
• Star Ferry: one of Hong Kong’s must-do experiences, all for a bit of shrapnel
• Chi Lin Nunnery: where peace and serenity doesn’t cost a cent
• Hong Kong Zoological & Botanical Gardens: free walks and gratis squawks
• Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden: where the butterflies (and cows and dragonflies) are free
• Tian Tan Buddha: a cost-free superlative
• Hong Kong Island tram: a bargain ride across Hong Kong Island for a couple of dollars
  
  

Weather
Both Hong Kong and Macau have a subtropical climate characterised by hot, humid summers and cool, relatively dry winters.

October, November and most of December are the best months to visit. Temperatures are moderate, the skies are clear and the sun shines. January and
February are cloudy and cold but dry. It’s warmer from March to May, but the humidity is high, and the fog and drizzle can make getting around difficult. The sweltering heat and humidity from June to August can make sightseeing a sweaty proposition, and it is also the rainy season. September is a grand month if you like drama; the threat of a typhoon seems to loom every other day.
The very informative Hong Kong Observatory (2926 8200; 134A Nathan Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui) issues weather reports on 1878 200 and on its website. The hotline for cyclone warnings is 2835 1473.


When to go
Hong Kong’s subtropical climate can make it a punishingly hot and humid destination during the summer months. June to mid-September is the hottest time when humidity soars. Summer is also typhoon season, when tropical storms sweep rain and high winds off the South China Sea.


Even in late spring and early autumn, wandering Hong Kong’s streets can be warm work. The best time to go climate-wise is in early spring (March and April) or late autumn (October and November), when the days are generally warm, fresh and (wind direction and mainland smoke stacks permitting) the air often clearer.
Things can cool down a good deal in winter, when it can often be overcast (as opposed to merely smoggy) and temperatures may even feel chilly enough to don warmer layers.

Bustling In Events Each Day - Brazil

Sprawling across half of South America, Brazil has captivated travelers for at least 500 years. Powdery white-sand beaches, lined with palm trees and fronting a deep blueAtlantic, stretch for more than 7000km. Dotting this coastline are tropical islands, music-filled metropolises and enchanting colonial towns. Inland, Brazil offers dazzling sights of a different flavor: majestic waterfalls, red-rock canyons, and crystal-clear rivers – all just a small part of the natural beauty.

Its larger and more famous attractions are the Amazon and the Pantanal, the pair hosting some of the greatest biodiversity on the planet. Wildlife-watching is simply astounding here, as is the opportunity for adventure – though you needn’t go to the jungle to find it. Kayaking, rafting, trekking, snorkeling and surfing are just a few ways to spend a sun-drenched afternoon in nearly any region in Brazil.

Some of the world’s most exciting cities lie inside of Brazil’s borders, and travelers need not come to Carnaval to experience the music, dance and revelry that pack so many calendar nights. Given the country’s innumerable charms, the only drawback to traveling in Brazil is a logistical (and financial) one: you simply won’t want to leave.



Money & costs
Costs
Although still cheaper than North America and parts of Europe, Brazil, with its booming economy and strong real, has become South America’s most expensive country.

How much to budget depends on where you stay and how much ground you plan to cover. Some cities, like Rio, have grown particularly pricey in the last few years. Rural and less-visited destinations are often significantly cheaper. Bus travel costs about R$8 (US$4) per hour of distance covered.

Flights, which sometimes run fare specials, might not cost much more for long hauls. Decent accommodations and particularly rental cars (which cost about R$100 per day) can quickly eat up a budget.

If you’re frugal, you can travel on about R$100 (US$50) a day – paying around R$40 foraccommodations, R$30 for food and drink, plus bus travel, admission to sights and the occasional entertainment activity. If you just stay in hostels and plan to lie on a beach, eating rice, beans and fish every day, you can probably scrape by on R$70 a day.

If you stay in reasonably comfortable hotels, eat in nicer restaurants, go out most nights and book the occasional flight or guided excursion, you’ll probably spend upwards of R$250 a day. Those planning to stay overnight at particularly comfortable guesthouses in resort areas, eat at the best restaurants and not stint on excursions or nightlife can easily spend R$500 a day or more.

Bear in mind that during the December-to-February holiday season, accommodations costs generally increase by around 30%. During Carnaval accommodations prices triple, but a week afterwards, the prices drop to low-season rates. Another thing to remember: resort areas near major cities are often packed on summer weekends. There will be fewer crowds – and sometimes lower prices – if you visit during the week.

Brazil is fair value for solo travelers, as long as you don’t mind staying in hostels. Otherwise, a single room generally costs about 75% of the price of a double room.

Tipping
Workers in most services get tipped 10%, and as they make the minimum wage – which is not enough to live on – you can be sure they need the money. In restaurants the service charge will usually be included in the bill and is mandatory. If a waitperson is friendly and helpful you can give more. When the service charge is not included, a 10% tip is customary.

There are many places where tipping is not customary but is a welcome gesture. The local juice stands, bars, coffee corners, street and beach vendors are all tipped on occasion. Parking assistants receive no wages and are dependent on tips, usually R$2. Gas-station attendants, shoe shiners and barbers are also frequently tipped. Most people round up taxi fares to the nearest real, but tipping is not expected.

Money
Brazil’s currency is the real (hay-ow; often written R$); the plural is reais (hay-ice). One real is made up of 100 centavos. The real was introduced on a one-for-one parity with the US dollar in 1994 but after 13 years of modest fluctuations reached a value of around US$0.50 by 2007.

Banknotes are easy to distinguish from each other as they come in different colors with a different animal featured on each. There’s a green one-real note (hummingbird), a blue two (hawksbill turtle), a violet five (egret), a scarlet 10 (macaw), a yellow twenty (lion-faced monkey), a golden-brown 50 (jaguar) and a blue 100 (grouper fish).

ATMs
ATMs are the easiest way of getting cash in big cities and are common. In many smallertowns, ATMs exist but rarely work for non-Brazilian cards. Make sure you have a four-digit PIN (longer PINs may not work). In general HSBC, Citibank, Banco do Brasil and Bradesco are the best ATMs to try.

Look for the stickers on the machines that say Cirrus, Visa, or whatever system your card uses – though this may not mean the machine will necessarily work. Do take care when using ATMs; there have been a number of scams, where criminals have managed to hack into bank accounts of ATM users and subsequently drain them. See also Dangers & Annoyances.

Cash & traveler’s checks
Even if you are relying mainly on credit or debit cards as your source of funds, it’s not a bad idea to take some cash and traveler’s checks in reserve. You can change these in banks or in casas de câmbio (exchange offices).

Banks have slower, more bureaucratic procedures but on the whole give better exchange rates (an exception being Banco do Brasil which charges R$40 commission for every traveler’s check transaction). You’ll usually get a 1% or 2% better exchange rate for cash than for traveler’s checks. Checks, of course, have the advantage of being replaceable if lost or stolen.

Both cash and traveler’s checks should be either in US dollars or euros, and Amex is easily the most recognized traveler’s check. Thomas Cook, Barclays and Citibank traveler’s checks are less widely accepted, but you should be able to cash them in largecities.

Credit cards
You can use credit cards for many purchases and to make cash withdrawals from ATMs and banks. Visa is the most widely accepted card, followed by MasterCard. Amex and Diners Club cards are also useful.

Visa cash advances are widely available, even in small towns with no other currency-exchange facilities; you’ll need your passport, and the process can be time consuming, especially at the ubiquitous but bureaucratic Banco do Brasil. In Brazilian banks generally, it’s preferable to deal with machines than to try to make contact with human beings. Credit-card fraud is extremely common in Brazil. Keep your card in sight at all times, especially in restaurants.

When to go
Brazil’s high season runs from December to March. This is when the country fills with both foreign visitors and vacationing Brazilian families (school holidays run from mid-December to Carnaval, usually in February). Prices rise during this time and you’ll face more crowds, though this is also the most festive time in Brazil. Brazil’s low season runs from May to September.

With the exception of July, which is also a school-holiday month, this is the cheapest and least-crowded time to visit the country – though it can be utterly vacant in some resort areas and cold in the south.

During the summer, which runs from December to February (school holidays coinciding), Rio and the Northeast have temperatures in the high 30s. The rest of the year temperatures are generally in the mid-20s to low 30s.

The south has wider temperature variations, ranging from 15°C in the winter (June through August) to 35°C in the summer.
The Amazon region rarely gets hotter than 27°C, but it is humid there, with considerable rainfall over tropical Amazonia. In some parts of the North, December to March is considered winter, since that’s the rainiest season.

Owing to generally temperate weather year-round, there’s no bad time to visit Brazil. But unless you have your heart set on attending Carnaval, you may want to avoid the summer crowds (and heat), and visit from April to November. Treks into the Amazon and the Pantanal are best then – especially from June to August, when it’s drier.

Festivals & Events
Carnaval is King of the Brazilian festival calendar - and rightly so. But there are plenty ofother festive events to enjoy during your trip to Brazil, as the list below attests...

• Festa de Iemanjá (Festival of Iemanjá) Celebrated in Rio on January 1, and in Salvador on February 2.
• Procissão do Senhor Bom Jesus dos Navegantes (Procession of the Lord Jesus of Boatmen) In Salvador, Bahia on New Year's Day.
• Lavagem do Bonfim (Washing of Bonfim church) Second Thursday in January.
• A Candomblé festival culminating in the ritual cleansing of Bonfim church in Salvador, Bahia.
• Carnaval Friday to Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday. Carnaval celebrations usually start well before the official holiday.
• Semana Santa (Holy Week) The week before Easter. Festival in Congonhas, Ouro Prêto, Goiás Velho.
• Dia do Índio (Indian Day) April 19.
• Festas Juninas (June Festivals) Throughout June. Celebrated throughout in Rio state and much of the rest of the country.
• Boi-Bumbá June 28–30. Celebrated in Parintins, Amazonas
• Bumba Meu Boi Late June to second week of August. Festival in São Luís.
• Fortal (out-of-season Carnaval) Last week of July. Celebrated in Fortaleza
• Jubileu do Senhor Bom Jesus do Matosinhos (Jubilee of the Savior of Matosinhos) September 7–14. Celebrated in Congonhas.
• Círio de Nazaré (Festival of the Virgin of Nazaré) Starts second Sunday in October. Festival in Belém.
• Carnatal (Carnaval in Natal) First week of December. Natal’s answer to Brazil’s big celebration comes in December (Natalese simply can’t wait for the other Carnaval).
  
  
  
  

Enchanting Hawaii

Hawaii, as tourist bureaus and Hollywood constantly remind us, is ‘paradise.’ Push past the hype and what do you find? Darned if they’re not right. Hawaii is hiking sculpted cliffs or diving coral-reef cities in the afternoon and drinking mai tais to slack-key guitar at sunset. It’s slurping chin-dripping papayas with hibiscus flowers in your hair; it’s Pacific Rim cuisine, fiery volcanoes and cavorting whales.
By serendipity and design (and popular consensus), Hawaii is an almost flawless destination. It’s an enchanting multicultural society whose roots lie in Polynesia, Asia, North America and Europe, and it’s an expression of nature at its most luscious and divine.

Over seven million visitors come to experience paradise annually, but the islands are not as crushed with sun-baked tourists and cooing honeymooners as you might think. If you want a cushy resort vacation, head for Oahu’s Maui.

For something cheaper or more adventurous, aim for the Big Island or Kaua'i. If time is short, stick to one island and make the most of it. Honolulu & Waikiki are teeming cultural and economic powerhouses, but in under an hour you can be alone in the rain forest or snoozing on white sand.

Locals know that Hawaii isn’t really paradise, but on any given day it can sure feel like it.
History
Little is known about Hawaii’s first settlers, who arrived around AD 500. Tahitians arrived around AD 1000 and for the next 200 years navigated thousands of miles back andforth across the ocean in double-hulled canoes. Ruled by chiefs, ancient Hawaiian society was actually matriarchal, and its religion followed strict laws known as kapu.

By accident, famed British explorer Captain James Cook ‘discovered’ the islands in 1778. The first white Westerner to arrive, Cook was mistaken for the god Lono and treated like a deity. He stayed several weeks and then resumed his journey. When he returned to Hawaii a year later, his less-than-godlike behavior led to fighting and he was killed.

Beginning in the 1790s, King Kamehameha, chief of the Big Island, conquered and united all the Hawaiian islands. He is credited with bringing peace and stability to a society that was often in flux due to wars and the power struggles of the ruling class. However, after his death in 1819 his son inherited the throne and, in a stunning repudiation of their religion, deliberately violated the kapu and destroyed the temples.

As fate would have it, Christian missionaries arrived not long after, and in the midst of Hawaii’s social and spiritual chaos they found it relatively easy to ‘save souls.’ New England whalers also arrived, seeking different quarry, and by the 1840s Lahaina and Honolulu were the busiest whaling towns in the Pacific.

Meanwhile, foreigners made a grab for Hawaii’s fertile land, turning vast tracts into sugarcane plantations. As there weren’t enough Hawaiians to work the fields, immigrants were brought in from China, Japan, Portugal and the Philippines, giving rise to Hawaii’s multiethnic culture but also displacing Native Hawaiians, most of whom became landless
In 1893 a group of American businessmen overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy. The US government was initially reluctant to support the coup, but it soon rationalized its colonialism by citing the islands’ strategic importance and annexed Hawaii in 1898. Hawaii played an infamous role in US history when a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor vaulted America into WWII.

Hawaii became the 50th US state in 1959.In February 2009, Hawaii Senator Daniel Akaka reintroduced into the US Congress the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act –aka the Akaka Bill. This seeks to establish the legal framework through which a Native Hawaiian government can be formed and thereby gain federal recognition of Native Hawaiians as the indigenous people of Hawaii. This would, in essence, finally put them on the same legal footing as the over 500 federally-recognized Native American tribes.

Federal recognition of Native Hawaiians is widely supported in Hawaii (including by Governor Lingle), but there is lots of controversy and disagreement over what shape ‘Hawaiian sovereignty’ should ultimately take. As a result, the bill’s sponsors emphasize what the legislation does not do: it doesn’t establish a government (it provides the means for doing so); it doesn’t settle any reparation claims; it doesn’t take private land or create a ‘reservation’; it doesn’t authorize gambling; and it doesn’t allow Hawaii to secede from the US.

Establishing a Native Hawaiian government, as Senator Akaka has said, ‘is important for all people of Hawaii, so we can finally resolve the longstanding issues relating from the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.’

The two main options are the semi-autonomous ‘nation-within-a-nation’ model, similar to Native Americans, and outright sovereignty, in which Native Hawaiians would have full autonomy over portions of land within the state of Hawaii. Either option raises thorny, complex questions about who would be included and what land would be used. However, there are starting points for addressing both.

First, the state of Hawaii holds in trust over a million acres of ‘ceded lands,’ which by law are to be used for the benefit of Native Hawaiians, in addition to the island of Kahoʻolawe. Second, extensive Native Hawaiian genealogical databases already exist, since the separate dispersal of Hawaiian Homelands requires that applicants prove they are at least 50% Native Hawaiian. Today, with Hawaii-born President Barack Obama indicating his support, hopes run high that the Akaka Bill might soon be passed


Weather
The Hawaiian Islands exist because of a hot spot beneath the earth’s slow-moving Pacific Plate, which has been spewing lava and creating islands for 70 million years. Today, the state of Hawaii contains eight main islands, only six of which are populated.
Measure for measure, the Hawaiian islands are as diverse as it gets. Their flora and fauna are a textbook case of Darwinian evolution.

Time and time again, single migratory species blossomed into dozens of variations, as isolated individuals adapted to arid coastal deserts, rain forests and snow-capped subarctic mountaintops. As a result, the majority of Hawaiian plants and animals are endemic, and nearly as often, endangered.

All the islands have similar climates: southwestern coasts are sunny, dry and lined with sandy beaches, while the northeastern sides have lush rain forests, cascading waterfalls and pounding surf. Hawaii enjoys warm weather year-round, with coastal temperatures averaging a high of 83°F (28°C) and a low of 68°F (20°C). Summer and fall are the driest seasons, winter the wettest.

Discovering Tahiti & French Polynesia

Better known by the name of its main island, Tahiti, French Polynesia is a mesmerising wonderland of reef-fringed islands and translucent aqua lagoons. Shamelessly chic and seductive, it's the kind of place where the rich and famous come to play and hedonistic honeymoon fantasies are realised. The epitome of the Pacific dream, this is one Garden of Eden so damn beautiful it's hard to believe it really exists.

French Polynesia is more than just some souped up, sexy honeymoon destination, however. Those seeking something stronger than a pina colada in the sand will find salvation never more than a boat ride away. Adventures are plentiful in these archipelagos scattered over an area as big as Europe.

Take an old school pirate romp through the mysterious and danger-tinged Tuamotu Islands, where the breathtaking turquoise sea is home not only to flawless black pearls, but also hundreds of toothy sharks. Travel to the ends of the earth, destination Austral Islands, a place so remote centuries slide by without anyone batting an eye.

Check out the Gambier Archipelago: an armchair destination for most, it's also a must for wannabe National Geographic explorers. Those searching for a little less swashbuckling and a lot more room service will delight in Bora Bora's luxurious pampering and lush good looks; in Maupiti's picture-perfect views and old-fashioned French hospitality.

The truth is, whether you've secretly fantasised about splitting coconuts with your bare hands in a Rambo meetsRobinson Crusoe scenario or daydreamed about playing heroine in a mushy Hollywood movie, French Polynesia tempts you to dream your wildest of fantasies right into punch-drunk reality.
French Polynesia comprises five main island groups - the Society Islands, the Tuamotus, the Marquesas, the Australs and the Gambier Archipelago. Tahiti is in the Society Islands.

Money & costs
Costs
French Polynesia is expensive by anyone's standards and travel costs are some of the highest in the world. Flights alone tend to be a substantial cost, but once you arrive you may be shocked to find even the cheapest meal, bought from a vendor off the street, will set you back around 1200 CFP.

Backpackers who cook all their own meals and stay in the cheapest rooms possible can skimp by on around 10,000 CFP per day. Midrange travellers, looking for more comfortable beds and wanting to take in a few restaurant meals and perhaps an organised excursion, can count on paying around 20,000 CFP per day. Top-end visitors will find the sky is the limit when it comes to posh lodging and dining options and watery excursions.

Over-water bungalows start at around US$500 per night, and a stay on a private island can cost as much as US$10,000! To score the best deals, try to book in advance. If you're travelling with the kids, many places offer half-price discounts for children under the age of 12.

Taxation is another bugbear here: a TVA (taxe sur la valeur ajoutée; value-added tax), which was introduced in 1998, currently adds 6% to your hotel bill (and that's not including the 5% government tax and the taxe de séjour, accommodation tax or daily tax, which top off the bill). We've included all taxes in our listed prices.

Money
The unit of currency in French Polynesia is the Cour de Franc Pacifique (CFP), referred to simply as 'the franc'. There are coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 CFP, and notes of 500, 1000, 5000 and 10, 000 CFP. The CFP was pegged to the French franc, and so is now pegged to the euro.

There are fairly hefty bank charges for changing money and travellers cheques in French Polynesia. You generally pay at least 500 CFP commission on travellers cheques and to exchange cash, although exchange rates do vary from bank to bank, so if you have time, shop around to find the best rate.

Given the cost of living in French Polynesia, and the low crime rate, you are better off exchanging larger sums of money (ie, fewer transactions) than smaller amounts. Rates offered on Tahiti tend to be better than those offered on the other islands.

The unit of currency in French Polynesia is the franc cours pacifique (CFP), referred to simply as 'the franc'. There are coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 CFP, and notes of 500, 1000, 5000 and 10, 000 CFP. The CFP was pegged to the French franc, and so is now pegged to the euro.

There are fairly hefty bank charges for changing money and travellers cheques in French Polynesia. You generally pay at least a 500 CFP commission on travellers cheques and to exchange cash, although exchange rates do vary from bank to bank; if you have time, shop around to find the best rate.

Given the cost of living in French Polynesia, and the low crime rate, you are better off exchanging larger sums of money (ie making fewer transactions) than smaller amounts. Rates offered on Tahiti tend to be better than those offered on the other islands.


Climate & when to go
The dry winter period from May to October is the best time to visit; the weather is cooler and there is much less rainfall. Temperatures rise during the November to April summer rainy season when it's humid, cloudy and very wet. Three-quarters of the annual rainfall occurs during this period, generally in the form of brief, violent storms, although torrential rains lasting several days are not uncommon.
French Polynesia is south of the equator, but school holidays fall in line with those of the northern hemisphere.

This means the peak season is July and August, and during this period it's no mean feat getting flights and accommodation. Christmas to early January, late February and early March, the Easter period, early May and early October are also quite busy times. The peak July-August season coincides with the Heiva festival, held throughout July, when the region comes to life.

Diving is popular year-round, and each season brings its share of discoveries. Surfing is also a year-round activity, but if you are sailing, it's best if you avoid the November to March tropical depressions. Walking is best in the dry season, as some of the trails are simply impassable when it's wet.

Canada

Oh, it’s big all right. Damn big. And we’re not referring to Canada’s size (a whopping 10 million sq km, making it the world’s second-largest country). What we’re talking about here is the handle on a Canadian beer case – big enough to fit your hands, even with mittens on. If you think that’s impressive, consider Canada’s other mondo attributes.

Its terrain is filled with them, from mammoth mountains to hulking glaciers to immense polychromatic skies. Then there are the creatures that roam the terrain and its waterways – grizzly bear, moose, polar bear, humpback whales – each one huger than the next.

Canada is impossible to dislike, but go ahead and give it a shot. You don’t like festival-packed cities like Toronto and Montreal that offer the world’s best quality of life? Then take a double dose of history in St John’s, Newfoundland, North America’s oldest city.

Not enamoured with the prospect of hiking, skiing or snowboarding over the cloud-poking mountains of Banff & Jasper National Parks? Try a slow ride through the wheat-waving prairies of Saskatchewan. You want a nosh lighter than Alberta beef or Nunavut whale blubber? Pick up ripe peaches and cheeses from the Kelowna’s local farmers’ markets.

And it’s a wonder everyone is so nice, given the weather. It’s cold, as in world’s-coldest-country cold (based on average temperatures nationwide), which explains the mitten-sized beer case handles. Snag, a town in the Yukon, recorded North America’s coldest temperature ever: minus 62.8°C.

Voltaire may have written off Canada as ‘a few acres of snow’ back in the mid-18th century, but those ‘few acres’ have yielded vast amounts of oil, timber and other natural resources, that in turn have propelled Canada to a very enviable standard of living.

Of course, the country has a few issues. The most pressing ones are shaping up to be immigration, provincial squabbling, and striking a balance between economic growth and protecting the environment.

Let’s look at immigration first. Canada takes in the world’s largest per capita annual immigration numbers – around 250,000 people a year, of whom 43% go to Toronto. While this is cool in multicultural terms – allowing you to shop for Buddha trinkets in Vancouver’s Chinatown, chow on curry in Toronto’s Little India, or sip a Vietnamese café au lait in Montréal – it also causes growing pains. Mainly, it’s becoming difficult for Canada to maintain its high-caliber social and physical infrastructures in the face of such relentless population growth.

Then there’s the issue of how to reconcile the divergent interests of Canada’s provinces and territories. The only shared sentiment seems to be that the federal government is insensitive to their particular needs. In the past, the tension was greatest in francophone Québec, which periodically has threatened to secede from confederation. But the grumbling is now getting loudest from the western provinces and territories, which desire more control over their crazy-huge amounts of natural resources.

For instance, Alberta's oil wealth is gushing, and the province would like to keep all its nice new money to itself rather than float the faltering economy of Ontario, where manufacturing is down in the face of cheap imports from China and beyond. The Northwest Territories would like to have more of a say-so regarding its diamond, gold and natural gas profits, rather than just serve as low-hanging fruit to fill Ottawa’s baskets. Even the mild-mannered Atlantic provinces are bickering about federal claims to fishing and mineral rights off their shores.

Could these provinces be next to mount secession movements? There’s talk in the air. And the Clarity Act actually makes it possible. This law from 2000 states that the federal government has to enter into negotiations if there is ‘a clear expression of the will of the population of a province…to cease to be a part of
Canada and become an independent state.’ Sovereignty hopefuls can thank Québec for that opportunity.

Natural resources are also at the crux of our third issue. Yes, they’re helping the Canadian economy to kick ass. By late 2007, the loonie was practically on par with the US dollar and still on its way up – the first time this has happened in three decades. And oil and natural gas are driving the bus. But an economy reliant on natural resources is tricky, because the resources are bound to run out (memo to Canada: see past history of fur and codfish industries). And then what?

Furthermore, the processes for extracting and developing the resources come at a high environmental price. The massive expansion of Alberta’s oil sands production has been tagged as the single biggest factor behind Canada’s wretched performance in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The repercussions can be felt in the country already – just ask the local polar bear who are getting mighty pissed off (and hungry) as their icy habitat shrinks and their seal dinners drift away.

Right now it’s the federal government that has to figure all this out, led by the new group filling Ottawa’s halls – a Conservative group, oddly enough. After 12 years of center-left Liberals running the show, the Conservatives won the majority in the 2006 elections. They racked up 124 seats compared to 103 seats for the Liberals, with the separatist Bloc Québecois getting 51 seats and the left-leaning New Democrats getting 29 seats. Corruption and a ‘culture of entitlement’ finally did in the Liberals. Stephen Harper became the new prime minister, but he leads Canada’s smallest minority government since Confederation (if you go by proportion of seats). However, Canadian minority governments don’t usually survive long, so don’t be surprised if somebody else is at the helm by the time you read this.

What Canadians discuss around their dinner tables come election time – and what they discuss even when it’s not election time – is the nation’s much-cherished but ailing universal health care system. To be sure, the quality of care is high and getting treatment for minor ailments is easy. But try seeing a specialist or getting a hip replacement and you could be on a waiting list for months.

Although no one will admit it, a two-tiered system is in place, and those with deep pockets can access additional – often quicker – care in private facilities.
Still, a free, portable health care system that’s available to everyone – rich and poor alike – is quite a feat. To many citizens, it’s at the very root of what makes Canada great. So are progressive views on same-sex marriage and marijuana use.

The former is entirely legal; the latter is legal only for medicinal use, though broader decriminalization bills flutter through Ottawa from time to time. And don’t forget this is a country that has a card-carrying Marijuana Party that puts up a candidate for national elections. True, it’s not taking over the prairies any time soon (it received.06% of the popular vote in 2006), but its very existence says something about the local mindset.

In general, Canadians are also liberal about abortion (it’s legal). Issues they cast a critical eye toward include gun control (most prefer restrictions), child care issues (increased funding is appreciated) and taxes (too high). As you’d expect, the Liberals and Conservatives have different views on all these topics, but they don’t diverge as drastically as similar parties in other countries. Even after the Conservatives took the helm in Ottawa, they left most ‘liberal’ concerns alone. Harper and his posse may not be the number-one fans of pot-smoking gays who want to get married, but heck, why bother changing now?

Canada likes to think of itself as peaceable, and it keeps its military involvement fairly low-key. The country has a total of 2900 troops overseas, with most of those in Afghanistan working for the NATO-led International Assistance Security Force. As of August 2007, 70 soldiers had died in the operation. When it comes to actual peacekeeping for the United Nations, the country contributes 126 military personnel to UN missions, ranking it 55th out of 108 troop-contributing countries.

Don’t take our word for this stuff, though. Ask the Vancouverite sitting next to you, or maybe it’s a Newfoundlander, or whomever you meet on the roads in between. Take a pull on your beer, dip into the poutine, draw your fleece up tighter and feel the warmth surround you. It’s nice here, eh?

Weather
Because of Canada’s wealth of arctic terrain, it gets to witness the effects of climate change firsthand. The average annual temperature has increased by 0.9°C over the past 50 years. And while that might go unnoticed by someone in Ottawa – other than prompting a few less days of toque-wearing in winter – residents of northern Canada are seeing some strange sights indeed.

Take the Yukon. As the permafrost thaws around Herschel Island, long-buried coffins are floating to the melting earth’s surface. In Churchill, Manitoba, on Hudson Bay’s frigid coast, polar bear now arrive sooner, stay later and sniff closer to town. Shorter winters have dissolved their ice-based seal-hunting habitat, and all of a sudden, nearby humans are starting to look like juicy T-bones.

Climate change also has bizarre economic ramifications. In the Northwest Territories, the ice roads that carry trucks to the diamond mines are melting, which means supplies have to be flown in – a much costlier (and more polluting) method of transport. And the Olympics are headed to Vancouver in 2010, but will there be enough snow for the slopes and bobsleigh runs?

Then there’s the issue of warmer waters changing fish migration patterns (sockeye salmon have been spotted in the Arctic), warmer weather allowing insects to hatch and infest BC’s forests, and the list goes on.

When to go
You can visit Canada at any time of year, but most people arrive in summer when temperatures are pleasant and much of the action moves outdoors. Just what constitutes ‘summer, ’ though, varies by region. In southern Canada, it generally refers to the period between Victoria Day (late May) and Labour Day (early September).

In the northern regions, however, summer starts as late as mid-June and ends, often abruptly, with the first snowfall in early to mid-September.
In most areas, March to May and September to October bring fewer tourists and often surprisingly pleasant weather. Fall, which finds forests cloaked in a spectacular mantle of color, is a great time to visit.

Canadian winters are long, cold and dark. With most outlying attractions closed, your explorations are pretty much limited to the ski resorts and cities. Québec City, Toronto and Winnipeg are among those cities hosting big winter carnivals.