Publish your documents to the World

We all have documents and stories rotting on our hard drives that might not be of any interest to us but might be of valuable information or post for somebody. Scribd, is a web service that lets you publish and share your documents with others. Think of it like YouTube but with documents instead of videos.

When you upload a document using this service other members can view this document using their browser itself as this website uses a custom flash document viewer. You can view documents related to history, blogging, stories, jokes and all kind of reading material through this site. For the bloggers, you can also embed these documents into your blog which is certainly a nice feature.

Some examples of documents that you can publish and read are, school papers, poems, news, stories, online books and so on. Go ahead try this website, if you are somebody who likes to read and find information this site will be worth your visit.www.scribd.com

Wow, That's a Cool Google Map

We just added in the ability to search our map for landmarks. The cool thing about landmarks is that they're usually pretty big, and recognizable by satellite. Let's take this example:

If you go to www.iloho.com/landmarks and search for "eiffel tower", here's what you'll get...

You can also search by city or country.

GlobalMotion launches travel site

GlobalMotion Inc. on Tuesday launched GlobalMotion.com, a wiki-based platform for people to talk about interesting places.

Palo Alto-based GlobalMotion, which is privately held, said the site allows users to post and edit information, pictures, Web links and other content.

The company, which was founded in 2006, said it encourages users to post about historic landmarks, recreation areas to commercial buildings or even great parking spots.

On the site so far are such eclectic entries as the world's southernmost city, carpool parking in Palo Alto, and a statue of Yoda in San Francisco.

Airline Reviews Search Improvements Released Today

On the last post, we talked about how we released the airline reviews upgrade. Now we've fully enabled the search so that you can search any combination of the following and it will bring you results: Destination Airport, Arrival Airport, and/or Airline.

Ok, this may seem obvious, but we were in a bit of a rush. We've also increased the number of flights to search to over 55,000. Soon we hope to have the most comprehensive database of flight data available on the net.

Airline Reviews is Up for an Upgrade

Over the past couple of weeks, we've set our interns on a quest to retrieve data for about 38,000 international flights. We're working on a structure to get really in depth data on all flights and allow our users to compare this information.

We've got a lot of work to do on this section, but we decided to release it anyway and let people try it and help us improve it. You can see it on our site now. It's a work in progress, but here's an image of what it should look like

Bookmark to iloho Button Available

Promote your site by adding an iloho bookmarking button to your articles.
Step 1: Copy and Paste the following code to wherever you'd like the button to go. (Most people add the button to the bottom of their story).

<script type="text/javascript">
iloho_url = "YOUR.LINKURL.HERE"; /* REPLACE WITH YOUR LINK URL. Default is the url of the current page */
iloho_title = "TITLE"; /* REPLACE WITH THE TITLE OF YOUR ARTICLE. Default is the html-title of the current page */
iloho_icon = "big"; /* OPTIONS: BIG | SMALL | TEXT . default is the big one */
</script>
<script src="http://www.iloho.com/tools/iloho_it.js" type="text/javascript"></script>


Step 2: Define the page that you would like the link on iloho.com to point to.
For example, if you've written a story, and that story is located at http://www.mysite.com/my-story, the code will look like this:

<script type="text/javascript">
iloho_url = "http://www.mysite.com/my-story";
</script>

Step 3 (optional): Give a default title to display on iloho.com.
For example, if you're story's title is "My Story", add this to your code:

<script type="text/javascript">
iloho_url = "http://www.mysite.com/my-story";
iloho_title = "My Story";
</script>

Step 4 (optional): Choose the type of button you'd like to display on your site.
iloho offers three different styles of button links:

Style 1 (default): [image]
<script type="text/javascript">
iloho_url = "http://www.mysite.com/my-story";
iloho_title = "My Story";
iloho_icon = "big";
</script>

Style 2: [image]
<script type="text/javascript">
iloho_url = "http://www.mysite.com/my-story";
iloho_title = "My Story";
iloho_icon = "small";
</script>
Style 3: [image]

<script type="text/javascript">
iloho_url = "http://www.mysite.com/my-story";
iloho_title = "My Story";
iloho_icon = "text";
</script>

iloho Travel Contest - Only 2 Weeks Left

These next two weeks, we'll be winding down the iloho contest, it ends on the 31st of this month. We still have a ton of unclaimed prizes. Here's the lowdown on what can be grabbed right now with practically no effort whatsoever:

1. A round trip ticket between Tokyo or Osaka and Hong Kong. That means you can fly either way. If you live in one of those cities, all you have to do is post an itinerary with Japan as the theme.
   What's an itinerary and how do I post it?
   First off, you register for iloho with a valid email address. Once you've registered and logged in, you navigate to the itineraries section and click "Create Itinerary". Now you just enter in a description of a trip (real or imagined). Enter some cities in Japan and write about your experience there OR just make up some trip that you would like to take.
2. At least 5000 miles on your airline of choice. That's like a quarter of a ticket anywhere domestically, and to win that you can just post a popular travel advice article.
   Does this mean I have to spend 5 hours writing a good article? Absolutely not, all you need to do is find a good article on the net and post the link to the article on iloho. The extent of the writing skills that you'll need are creating a decent title and a short description for a grand total of several minutes. If the article is voted to popular, which at this point means 15 votes for it, you'll win! No questions asked.
3. Cash, yes Moolah, Dough, or my personal favorite, Lootcakes...Up to $1000. If you have more than 15 friends, you're in contention. The cash goes out to the group with the most members in their group.
   Where do I sign up and what exactly do I do? Just register with iloho with your email address, create a group, shoot an email to your friends, telling them to join your group (they can register free accounts too). Right now, 21 people gets you the grand prize, but even you can win $500 too. I bet you could have a hell of a party...
4. A 1gig USB Key and iPod Speakers, why not if we're just giving them away? We're giving away 100, but we only have 64 people that have actually won anything.
   At this point if you post a link to an article you will win. I think that's all I need to say.
5. Come on everyone can use a T-shirt and a travel pillow... We have a thousand, but again, only 64 articles have been posted, so plenty to give away.

I must stress the following points:

1. No, we won't sell, giveaway, or spam your email address. We do have a newsletter, but you can opt out.
2. You don't have to pay for shipping, we've got it covered.
3. How do you get your prizes when you win?
   If you win, we'll notify you by email directing you to a secure server at iloho.com. If you have any questions about the security of this event, please feel free to email me at info@iloho.com. We'll never give out your address information or use it for any other purpose.
   

We Released Landmarks ahead of Schedule

Ok, that never happens from what I hear. I don't know how the dev team pulled it off, but we actually released a new feature ahead of schedule.

Check it out at www.iloho.com/landmarks

One of Our Favorite Posts - This Island is For Sale

We'd love to buy this and make it the official iloho island.
http://www.iloho.com/posts/244-Blue-Lagoon-Island-FOR-SALE-on-EBay

New Homepage Look

Last week we updated the homepage. We wanted to add a little more excitement to it:

1. Introduction Update - we thought it was a little too static, so we added some more color to it and a countdown to our beta 0.3. One of the cool things about us is that we'll constantly be releasing improvements to iloho so we wanted to show that off.
   
2. Contest Flash - The contest didn't stand out enough so we changed some of the typography in the contest flash, no biggy, but we hope people can now see it.
3. Contest Standings - We'll update these every week. We wanted people to know if they're going to win or not, so hopefully, this will attract visitors who want to win. Check it out every week to see the standings!
4. Top Posts - we changed this whole concept, we used to have the top groups and top itineraries on the right so people could see what's going on with the rest of the site, but we felt that this might be unnecessary, because people usually navigate to where they want to go. Here we changed the top posts to top all-time posts and we gave the articles a score instead of a static one to five count.

Here's the old homepage:

What we've been up to at iloho

It seems that we've been neglecting the blog here. We've been quite busy with getting iloho launched and we'd love for anyone that stumbles upon this blog to visit our site (www.iloho.com). Of course, we always want to hear feedback from people, good or bad (info@iloho.com).

That being said, we've spent some time before the launch designing a cool travel contest that runs till the end of August. Check out what you can win at http://www.iloho.com/static/contest.

After we launched on the 18th, the team has been busy with bug fixes, plus minor usability and cosmetic changes.

Three things happened right near launch day that were huge issues.

1. No one had a clue how to use the site so we had to add in a whole header explaining the site. Something we had planned for, but got lost in the commotion of launch.
2. We had a big issue with hotmail users not getting our emails, the emails didn't even go into a spam folder. We had to turn off verification for hotmail users.
3. We redesigned the entire itinerary section. It was a several step process that could be saved as draft, and although the draft idea was and is a good one which we still hope to implement, the UI was far too clunky to use, so we dropped it for a single page submission.
   

Since then, we've just been correcting small bugs, plus adding little visual things, my favorite was our new "lickable" search box. This week we're starting to move beyond bug fixes and add new features, which we will be doing constantly so stay tuned!

iloho.com Launched

Last night we launched our website: www.iloho.com
Sorry we haven't posted anything recently, but we've been busy trying to get the site fully functional.

So what can travelers do at iloho.com?

Create, vote for, and discuss the best and latest travel news.


Plan, vote for, and discuss your favorite trips.


Create or join a group of travelers with similar interests. Discuss issues or plan trips.


What's it like to fly a particular airline? Find out here or share your own experiences.

A night to remember -- The Atlantis Bridge Suite

If you want a royal honeymoon suite and are ready to spend lavishly,then your search will come to an end with the at the 600 acre Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. The opulent suite presents you with the views of the entire resort and maina and provides you with matchless luxurious amenities including a bar lounge, piano, 2 entertainment centers, kitchen and balcony. The most expensive ten room suite is decorated in lots of gold with the master bedroom being spectacularly decorated. The guest list includes Bill Gates, Michael Jordan and Oprah Winfrey. The price of spending a single night in this heavenly suite is $25,000. So, honeymoon in Atlantis Bridge Suite will definitely be the best honeymoon one could ever ask for!

The Atlantis Bridge Suite -- A night to remember

SunBrite to Unveil 46-inch All-Weather Outdoor LCD

If you are more of an outdoor person then you don’t need to settle for an outdoor TV that is any less then what you have got indoors, at least if it’s less then 50-inch! The outdoor TV sets are getting bigger by the time. The best is coming! SunBriteTV is introducing a 46-INCH HD ALL-WEATHER OUTDOOR LCD at InfoComm, June 15-17, in Anaheim, California.

The all-weather enclosure is designed to withstand all outdoor hazards including dirt, rain, insects and scratches. The dual air flow system keeps unit cool and dry in temperatures up to 122 degrees F and the internal thermostatically-controlled heater activates automatically when the TV’s internal temperature dips to 32º F. In cold, the heater provides a 20º F. temperature rise, allowing the TV to safely remain outdoors in temperatures as low as -24º F. The TV will feature a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels with 1600:1 contrast ratio. SunBrite’s watertight cable entry system and cable pass-through design ensures quick and easy hook-up to the wide selection of video inputs, including HDMI, component, VGA, S-video, composite and RF.

In Pictures: Top Summer Adventure Travel Spots

Wanna go out somewhere for summer? Forbes has recently published world's top summer adventure travel spots. Swimming with a dolphin or sailing the Virgin Island.. What a nice summer!




Forbes Top Summer Adventure Travel Spots In Pictures

travel in Peru

Wanna have a visual tour in Peru? check out this site and customize your travel

Forbes Does a Bang Up Job with Luxury Travel

I've been surfing around a bit lately and have been quite impressed with the topics that Forbes chooses to cover. Each one of these headlines is noteworthy in it's own right. These are some highlights that I've picked out:

1. Most Expensive Cruises 2006
2. The World's Most Expensive Hotel Rooms
3. High-Tech Hotels For Business Travelers
4. Most Romantic Places To Pop The Question
5. Status-Symbol Trips

The Big H is Coming! -Honda FCX 2008

Honda announced recently that it will begin producing a limited number of FCX fuel cell vehicles to selected customers in 2008. We should be pleased to know that environmental-friendly automobile are not decades away as some of the experts predicted.

Take a trip with this new Honda! Save the environment while having fun!

Meet your clothes at the hotel

Don't overlook the time you spent in waiting for your luggages! Mr. Grenville, the chief executive of the Sterling Valuation Group, recently developed a luggage shifting service to shift travellers' bags directly to their hotels, which may saves you up to 60 to 90 minutes on each flight. Think about what that means to a traveller!
further info about the service

Caribbean Travel

Summer's already here, are u thinking of go to somewhere to soak up the sun and have some fun? Then Caribbean is one of the places that you should consider. 32 destinations in Caribbean is only a click away, see which one works better than you!

The local secrets in Cape town, South Africa

Want to go to south Africa but have no idea where to eat / drink/ relax? Here it is--- The local secrets in Cape town.

21 Rules of Stress-Free Travel

As time goes by, we forgot the real purpose of travelling --- to relax and learn something new. Conversely, most of the time we ended up being dog-tired after our trips. Peter Greenberg, who travels nearly 400,000 miles a year, wants to share some of his experience to make your trips stress-free.
21 rules for travelling

Ballpark foods!

When watching movie, you would get some pop-corn. But what would you have when during a baseball match? As baseball season approching, you should definitely try these top 10 ballpark foods!

My trip to Gold coast

Gold Coast
As its name indicates, the beach there look prefect in the sunshine, as if it was made up of gold. What's more, this city has the world's first Versace Hotel, in which every little decoration and uniforms of the staff are specailly designed by the members of the Versace family. The relaxed atmosphere ,the one-of-a-kind scenery as well as the elegance of the city makes it one of the best summer resort in the world.

Mexican food rocks!

Interested in spicy food and have a taste for adventure？Mexico should be your next destination.

"Mexican cuisine has some superb rich or spicy dishes, but we recommend that you take it easy for the first few days until your stomach has grown accustomed to its new environment."

Travel in Mexico

The Giant

Featuring over 800 stores, West Edmonton Mall in Canada is the world's largest shopping centre. It's the only mall of its kind - both a shopper's dream and a world of excitement and adventure, which made it a famous tourist attraction.
Remember to take a map of the mall with you , as it's really easy to get lost!
West Edmonton Mall

Travel essentials: High-end toiletries

no longer do u need to carry basic drugstores on board.
whatever u wanna bring with u , there's a solution.
Several cosmetics and skin care companies have recently rolled out high-quality toiletries in the right carry-on sizes, many created specifically to comply with TSA rules.

Travel Essentials

World's best museums

Visiting the museums of a city is the best way to approach to its history and culture. The following link offers a list of the best meseums in the world. It won't be hard for you tol find one that is to your taste.
http://www.berro.com/world_best_museums.htm

Cheery blossom festival in Vancouver

We always associate cherry trees with Japan, however, I would say that the cheery tree in Vancouver also worth your visit! The festival offers tens of thousands of free events throughout April, including Haiku-designing, sushi making, plein-making and a lot more!
To know more about it, go to the official website:http://www.vancouvercherryblossomfestival.com

Travel is dangerous

This clip reminds us that travelling can be dangerous sometimes...lol

Advanture in Africa

Africa is the best place to escape from our fast-pace modern life. And this site "got Africa covered", so you can go anywhere you want with just a click.
http://www.adventuretravelafrica.com/

World's richest country --Luxembourg

Believe it or now, covering only 2586.36 kilometers of land, Luxembourg owns the highest GDP per capita in the world. Interested in what makes it the wealthiest country in the world? Go there! The following link helps you to know find out where to stay and to visit.
http://www.lcto.lu/cgi-bin/lcto/map_a4.cgi?quadrant=e3&navbar=true

Go skiing this winter!

Whether you like skiing or not, it is a great way to kill time during winter time. Don't stay in your snug little house any more, go skiing in one of the top 10 places in the world that is famous for skiing. http://www.askmen.com/fashion/travel_top_ten/3_travel_top_ten.html

Travel in Japan

When mentioned about Japan, everybody will think of those neat cars and advanced electronic equipments. In fact, this island nation has more than that, such as the beautiful Okinawa, nicknamed "eastern Hawaii" and the freezing Hokkaido where you can get as many seafood as you want. See the real Japan yourself. http://www.japan-guide.com/

Best places to live in!

Here are a list of places that was rated as the world's best places to live in. Take time to visit one of these cities. http://www.travelersdigest.com/best_cities_live.htm

Head to Europe!

Europe is the place that links past and future. Wander about the Seine river in France and then admire contemporary architectures in Berlin, you will be appealed by the unique feeling Europe gives you.
Take a look at this website which offers you a great many of travel plans. http://adventure.iexplore.com/aw_index.jhtml?page=tours&sP=Europe

summer resort

Thinking of where to spend the gorgeous summer time? There you go!

"With resorts in Orlando, Las Vegas, Gatlinburg, and Missouri, we are quickly becoming a leader in the vacation ownership industry.
What makes us unique is that we truly offer a vacation for everyone! Our properties feature hotel facilities, villas, condominiums, and vacation homes nestled together to create vibrant communities."http://www.summerbayresort.com/aboutus.html

Volunteer abroad

Attention please! What's better than visiting another country at the same time volunteering to some local organizations for a college student? You could explore the exotic seceneries while doing something to contribute to your resume. Check out the link below for further info. http://www.volunteerinternational.org/

Things to take in a trip

Taking a trip should be a pleasant experience, so nobody wants it to be messed up because of forgetting to bring some of the important stuff. Nevertheless, you would complain that you don't have time to make a list of all these before you leave, right? Thanks to this website http://www.topology.org/cv/ttt.html，which took every little detail into consideration and provides you with a perfect to-bring list.

local Chinese snack

You can't say that you have been to China without having tried some of the local snacks, for food is considered rather important to most local people and therefore reveal many aspects of the culture and tradition of this historical country . See if you have tried these famous "xiao chi" http://tour-beijing.com/dining/

Make your own bubble tea!

As bubble tea become more and more popular world-wide, you may want to know how to make one on your own. Hence I would be more than happy to introduce you this website which offer everything that you want to know about this popular drink.
http://www.bubbletea.com/

15 best hotels for foodies

the top 15 best hotels for foodies. Hotel dining has gotten a boost in the past few years, There are some good places to go, some to taste, some to addicted into. Upscale hotel groups like the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton have implemented the formula of award-winning in-house restaurants for years. Here are some really hot spots:

Top 15 foodie hotels

The downunder

Tired of wearing thick wool coats and staying @ home all the time to keep away from the snow in the winter? However, as the saying goes, God never shut one door without opening another. There is one way to enjoy the summer sunshine in a severe winter. Go down-under to the beautiful Australia! The following website provides with all the detailed information you want to know. http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/promo/australia/explore.html

Shopping paradise

Are you a big fan for shopping? If so, you should definitely take a trip to the cosmopolitan --Hong kong. Being a mixture of the west and the east, Hk offers everything you want. What's more? You can get a good deal for those brand-name stuffs, in that they are tax-free there! Check out this website http://www.orientaltravel.com/province/city/area/HK_Shopping_Shot.htm
to get to know some of the most popular places there!

A Suggestion for Getting your Camera Equipment Checked Safely

One note on using TSA rules to your advantage.

Weapons that travel MUST be in a hard case, must be declared upon check-in, and MUST BE LOCKED by a TSA official.

A "weapons" is defined as a rifle, shotgun, pistol, airgun, and STARTER PISTOL. Yes, starter pistols - those little guns that fire blanks at track and swim meets - are considered weapons...and do NOT have to be registered in any state in the United States.

I have a starter pistol for all my cases. All I have to do upon check-in is tell the airline ticket agent that I have a weapon to declare...I'm given a little card to sign, the card is put in the case, the case is given to a TSA official who takes my key and locks the case, and gives my key back to me.

That's the procedure. The case is extra-tracked...TSA does not want to lose a weapons case. This reduces the chance of the case being lost to virtually zero.

It's a great way to travel with camera gear...I've been doing this since Dec 2001 and have had no problems whatsoever.

note: we're not sure who wrote this, but comment who it is and we'll be sure to give you proper credit, thanks for the great information!

Where the Hell is Matt?

This could win best travel video...

World's Most Expensive Vacations - The Luxury Cruise

One of the most expensive cruise ships in the world is the Cunard Queen Mary II. The 22-day Grand Norwegian Odyssey cruise will run you $77,797 if you stay in the Grand Duplex.

This ship cost over 800 million dollars to build. There are 10 restaurants including one by world renowned chef Todd English.

For more information on this fantastic ship go to the website

1/2 of Central America in a Month

Was it worth 10 hours of pain? I guess...
Anyhow, made the decision to get off at the stop at Isla Ometepe after only 5 hours. 11 more would've done em in.
It's pretty sweet. It is a volcanic island, made by two Volcanoes.

1/2 of Central America in a Month by Gringo

Pompey's Pillar

Thousands of years stand these sculptures.




Modern and old scenes exist in the same place, at the same time.






Magnificant is the feel.
No more words needed to describe.







It was here that she had her tragic affair with Marc Anthony.

"Wandering aimlessly" in Alexandria the Great

Taking in Some Culture - New Travel Blog

For those of you planning a European vacation, you might want to check out some of the experiences of this travel blogger who has done some interesting tours across Europe and Asia.

Where's Filar

Beers of the world.

Tiger. Newcastle Dark.
Suntory. Chimay. Budweisser.
Beerlao. Singha. Castle.
Asahi. Bass. Shaftbury.
Leffe Blonde. Snow.
James Squire.


Name and comment best beers ever exist in this world:
http://www.travelpod.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2836

East Africa Insider Tips from Local Expert

Born in Kenya, spent 20 years living in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, our real local expert Jawaid Rulal is available now to help those who have a dream in adventuring Africa.

Feel free to post questions to him at:
http://www.travelpod.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3200

So Africa Itinerary - Cape Town VS Mozambique

Two options always:

Fly or snorkel.
Adventure or destination.
Fantastic or spectacular.

Cape Town or Mozambique.

Come and discuss here:
http://www.travelpod.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2559

Best Hotels in China(Shanghai & Beijing)

Ritz-Carlton?
Grand Hyatt?
Four Seasons?




It's hard to decide especially when you are coming to China on a tour.
Shall you read what are other people's choices who had been there before, you will get a clearer view of them:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=644038

"Daddy, I Don't Wanna Eat This" or "Lady in Bath"? - Funny Food Names

They wouldn't take an order unless you used the exact name in both restaurants:
in Fitzwilly, a massive chocolate ice cream is called "Daddy, I don't want to eat this".
At a Thai place in Saudi a menu item is called Lady in Bath which was essentially a thin deep fried shrimp roll.

And more funny food names on menus :
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=649296

How to create a mobile travel video blog with a cellphone.

Now you can do a travel video blog without any help of a computer.
All you need is a smartphone.
Several models are already on sale.
Is it really exciting to share your journey with the world? Here is an experiment taken on the way to Thailand, together with the problems they met:
http://www.taodomichi.org/en/independent-traveller/22/how-to-create-a-mobile-video-blog-with-a-cellphone/

Collection of Internet Bookmarked Travel-Related Websites

There's a list of bookmarked sites & links from a pro. Together with brief descriptions for some of them. Divided into Auction-Style Booking-Related Sites and Comparison sites for travel products. Good for frequent travellers. Check out here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=518767

You Don't Get Something for Nothing

So, remember you always have to pay for what you get.
here is 8 tips from the U.S. Department of Consumer Affairs on how to travel smart and take care of your wallet.
Do a good trip, stay way from disappointments:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004591.html

Almost Heaven: Path to Everest - Up,Stop,Up,Stop..

The well-earned view after 36 hours of planes and bus and 15 days of mountain trails:
Top of Everest.

Flight like a flying version of crowd public bus ride to Jiri except no passengers on the roof, seatbelts were available but apparently optional.








What goes up must come down, faster.

Markenvoyage shows his amazing way with detailed description and plenty of photos here:
http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Namche/blog-151690.html

New Hawaiian Superferry to Launch in July 2007

Now you can drive across the Hawaiian islands. This new vessel carries 866 people and up to 282 cars. It visits Oahu, Maui, and Kuai starting in July and will add a route to the big island in 2009. Fares are around $50 dollars.

Refresh the Scene in your Dream Spot Every 3 minutes

A most beautiful scene of Santorini, Greece. Even more beautiful than a post card.
Now there's a live web cam with view of the Santorini caldera, updated every 3 minutes:

http://www.santorini.info/webcam/

http://www.santorini.net/caldera.html

And a cam of Sfakia refreshed every minute:
http://www.sfakia-crete.com/sfakia-crete/webcam-sfakia-crete.html

The World's Top 5 Restaurants

The world's top 5 restaurants according to restaurant magazine:
http://www.theworlds50best.com/2007_list.html

1. El Bulli, Spain
http://www.elbulli.com/
2. The Fat Duck, UK
http://www.fatduck.co.uk
3. Pierre Gagnaire, France
http://www.pierre-gagnaire.com/index-fr.htm
4. The French Laundry, USA
http://www.frenchlaundry.com/tfl/frenchlaundry.htm
5. Tetsuya's, Australia
http://www.tetsuyas.com/

Air India -The new definition of luxury

Air-India, though an international carrier, provides extensive services from 13 cities in India. By entering into alliances with other leading airlines of the world, Air-India today offers passengers a wider network of routes they can fly. Not only can we help you get great fares but we can also assist you in finding the perfect Indian tour. Air-India has commenced a program to provide sleeperettes, 180-degrees, flat bed seats in First Class, on all its Boeing 747-400 aircraft. So sit back, relax and enjoy our fast "n" friendly service & their superior in-flight service.

When you travel with the Maharajah you can expect a treatmentthat is reserved for royalty. Get pampered with panache! Every Air India flight has aservice that is out of the world and in a class of its own. Air India's many awards speak for themselves in this. Air-India flies you to some of the world’s finest destinations Asia, Africa, Europe, Gulf, Middle East, India & USA.

First Class - The new definition of luxury

Highly comfortable, 180-degree recline, sleeperette, we will ensure that you disembark at your destination just as fresh. The two-abreast seating ensures you are always in an aisle seat or a window seat.

Executive Class - A haven for Business & Leisure

Spacious cabins & plush seats
Aisle or window seats for every passenger on 747 aircraft
Delectable entrees accompanied by wine
Exclusive check-in facility
Lounge facility
Amenity kit in an elegant pouch

Economy Class - For our budget minded travelers we offer:

Choice of Continental or Indian cuisine -Non-veg/veg.
Complimentary liquor/ wine.
Well positioned movie screens for cinematic viewing pleasure.
Improved illumination & temperature control systems.
Facility to book seat at the time of reservation when traveling on India Europe/US sector flights.

Meals

Air-India takes pride in offering a large varietyof meals on board to meet religious or medical requirements or for providing the food you prefer.

Menu Samples
AVML ( Asiatic vegetarian / Indian vegetarian meal )
VGML (VEGETARIAN MEAL – NON-DAIRY)
HNML (HINDU MEAL)
JNML (JAIN MEAL)
ORML (ORIENTAL MEAL)
RVML (RAW VEGETARIAN MEAL)
CHML (CHILD MEAL)
BBML (BABY MEAL/INFANT FOOD)

From Russia with Love

http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?album=8372&thumbnails=noinfo&page_limit=120&photos_in_album=1959&album_name=From+Russia+with+Love&album_creator=Chukcha&disp_order=asc

Great photos from Russian photographers

Astronaut Aldrin plans space travel lottery

http://news.com.com/Astronaut+Aldrin+plans+space+travel+lottery/2100-11397_3-6177102.html

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, announced plans Tuesday for a lottery that would send its winner into space in a bid to spread the dream of extraterrestrial travel beyond the super-wealthy.

Aldrin, who followed U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong onto the moon in July 1969, said the lottery would be run through his ShareSpace Foundation, which he set up to promote interest in science and space travel in schools.

Details of the competition are still sketchy, Aldrin said at a space investment conference on Wall Street on Tuesday, with the legal status of selling lottery tickets still to be resolved.

He said the idea was to offer the top prize of a flight into earth's orbit, but it was not yet decided on what spacecraft.

Aldrin added that the winner would have to be over 18 years old and in good physical condition. The prize would not be transferable or salable on eBay.

Currently aboard the International Space Station is Charles Simonyi, the fifth so-called space tourist. Simonyi made his fortune by helping create the Word and Excel software applications for Microsoft.

Airbus Cabin Showroom - Excellent Flash Intro

You can check out the new A-380 in this demo. It shows off the features of the new plane.
Link to Airbus

Kayak Makes Summer Travel Planning a Snap With Enhanced Fare Buzz for Easier Searching and Tracking

http://www.sys-con.com/read/362264.htm

In anticipation of the upcoming summer travel season, Kayak, the world's largest travel search engine, makes it even easier for users to find the right trip at the best price by introducing a new Buzz homepage which integrates Kayak Buzz, Airfare History, email alerts and Trip Ideas.

Nice brunch choice in Shanghai - Ginger Cafe & Deli

Ginger Cafe & Deli
Address:	199 Fuxing Road West (near Huashan Road) Shanghai
Phone:	(021) 6433 94 37
Email:	info@gingercafe.cn
Information:	Lovely little cafe under foreign managment, tucked away in a splendid French Concession setting. Light and healthy fusion fare, home made cakes and spirits. Open daily 09:00 a.m. until late.

La Palma Mexicatessen - great Mexican food in SF

If you are looking for some Mexican food feels like someone's grandmother made it, here it is!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/bNvaWa9wSLHjlFlrD7i9Ow

Best eating place in China

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bluelist/index.cfm?fa=main.rateList

Not that much info, but interesting for me because it actually mentioned E Mei mountain and E Mei town in Si Chuan.

Best Beach Hotels

This list is from 2005, but it's still interesting:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/webmaster/article.php/3548746

The number one hotel is Amankora in Bhutan. They say you can always tell the quality of a place by the bathrooms, so here's a picture: