DJ Trava

Archive for November, 2009

India is a magnificent country, and everyone who visits there leaves at least a little bit enchanted.  For some, visiting is a kind of homecoming, and for others, it’s a business opportunity, and for even others, it can be an adventure in a new place.   Whatever your reasons for traveling here might be, there are many splendid things awaiting you here.  Mumbai is one of the largest cities in the country, and also in the world.  There is a stunning array of heritages and traditions here, with opportunities to see some exciting festivals.  It is also one of the best places in the world to do some people watching.  There are hotels in Mumbai that can suit any taste, and any budget, offering spectacular amenities and generous hospitality.

The hotels can offer a wonderful relief from the energy of the city.  Mumbai is amazing, lovely, and interesting, but it is also overwhelming at times, and having a place to find solace at the end of the day can give the perfect sense of rejuvenation for enjoying more adventures.  There are plenty of opportunities for adventure here, and some fantastic attractions and performances.  One particularly hot ticket is for Nrityam.

This is a performing arts festival that focuses on dance, and is an excellent way to see two days of some of the most spectacular innovations locally and in the world.  It is rather difficult to get into, however, and is invite only, so it’s worth looking into months in advance.  The idea behind the festival came from Bharat Natyam dancer Deepak Majumdar,  Prakriti Bhaskar, an excellent dancer and teacher, and also a proponent of Bharat Natyam.  Her ensemble, Nritya Mandala, performs work in Mumbai quite often, so if you can’t get into the festival, it’s worth looking for her group while you’re in town.  This is an excellent way to learn about traditional Indian dance forms in their latest incarnations.

In today’s hot tub market, the amount of accessories and theme oriented featured that are available for hot tubs and a home’s backyard design are a growing and creative industry. The amount of entertainment a hot tub can offer is only limited to the imagination and desires of the owners, everything else is virtually at their fingertips. Companies like choosehottubsdirect.com.

The available lighting features and the complexity of some of the lighting designs can create an absolute peaceful and serene meditative environment or an underwater disco party, depending on what the consumer is interested in. Some lighting fixtures will create a bright color that fills the tub and radiates out into the night. Others will provide a moving and hue changing theme that keep the action going through the night. Sometimes a softer and slower hue and change rate will create a romantic or therapeutic atmosphere and are perfect for those special evenings with an intimate partner. In addition, aromatherapy scents are available and affective adjusting the surrounding aroma. This is excellent for romance and also for a much needed stress reduction.

The lighting accessories can be as simple as one bulb with a single color to a spectacular fountain of color that sprays above the surface and also underwater. These amazing devices create an amazing spectacle in the water and behind that will captive the hot tubers or outdoor bbq guests for hours. This is an excellent feature to include with any backyard party even if, for some reason, the hot tub will not be in use that night, the amazing color show will create a great atmosphere and contribute to the excitement of the party. Regardless of the extent of the hot tub lightening system, and many of the models include an elaborate underwater lighting system, adding light to the hot tub experience drastically enhances the atmosphere and mood of the evening.

My sister’s 50th birthday is coming up; it is on New Years Eve. She has been planning a masquerade party to mark the occasion. She has been working with a friend on getting the hall and all the plans together for the party for a few months now.

My sister and I are very close and I do not want to miss her 50th birthday. She had been calling me and telling me about the space she will be having the party in. Sounds very beautiful, the party will be in a hall in a nearby park. Her plans for decoration include stringing lights down the banister of the staircase in the hall. My contribution to the decorations will be folding small origami boxes that she will use as covers on the miniature lights that will be strung down the staircase and make origami ornaments that she will use in the hall.

What I have not told her is that I will be flying in as a surprise for her party. It was something I have been debating for a little while. I have to say I am not particularly fond of heading north in the winter, but my sister will be turning 50 only once. I have a room reserved for the weekend at luxury hotels DC. I would usually stay with her and the family there but it appears she already has a full house with other family and friends coming in for her birthday and it will be easier to keep it as a surprise if I get a hotel room.

I will be flying in on the 31st head to my hotel and rest up a bit before showing up at her party completely unexpected. I know it will be a huge surprise for her and everyone else because I am not going to be telling anyone that I am coming.

With the travel plans booked I should get to folding up those origami boxes for her lights.

The city of Melbourne is known for their appreciation for art, food, music and celebration.  Each year an incredibly large show takes place during one week in September.  This past extravaganza took place on the 17-27, and included all aspects of life in Melbourne.  5 star hotels were booked full, not only with people traveling to the city to attend the show, but with the hundreds of vendors from around the world who were involved in this huge event.  That event was the Royal Melbourne Show held at the Grand Pavilion.  This is one of the most popular commercial venues in the city, and for that week it was filled with all sorts of products to buy, and food and wine to taste and enjoy.

This is located in downtown Melbourne close to the main boulevard and everyone in attendance was able to experience the best of the best.  The groceries and the produce available was of the highest quality of everything from dairy products to the beef industry, wine, herbs, and fruits and vegetables.  Cooking demonstrations were given by some of the top chefs in the world, and of course samples were given out, making everyone in the theater very happy to say the least.  And that’s not all, there was an exhibit on Home and Living that offered suggestions to people on subjects such as home improvement ideas, gardening tools and advice, crafts, and any other gadget one would use around the house.  This was a great exhibit for anyone who loves do it yourself home repairs and remodeling.

The Royal Champion dog show took place and there were vendors selling anything in the world one may wish to buy their pets.  The market show really had it all, from centers just for children, to book vendors and those selling herbs for Chinese healing techniques.  The arts and crafts exhibits at the Art, Craft and Cookery pavilion is one of the longest running participants in the Royal Melbourne show, participating for more the one hundred years.  Here one could find not only art to buy, but classes to take and supplies to purchase.  This is one of the largest, all encompassing trade shows in the world, and is well worth making a trip to Melbourne each September.

If proper behavior and polite “hellos” are your style, then Macau is the place to be.  The people are pleasant, honest, and soft spoken.  The culture holds a deep regard for the respect of human life, as well as all forms of life, and for a set of moral values that stands above most other cities in the world.  This is simply the etiquette of a culture. It is for this reason that tourists and visitors are given the highest regard.  It is not the money, however–treat someone with respect in business ventures and money is sure to follow, it is just the behavioral traits that are passed on from one generation to the next.

Needless to say, the tourism industry is booming, from the local pubs to the 5 star hotels, Macau ways and traditions bring the visitors in with a welcome and a smile.  The polite traditions of the culture in Macau is a sign of a society that is a truly progressive outlook on life fused with traditional morals that are so intrinsic to Asian cultures in general.  While traveling in Macau, take note that many behaviors are considered to be done only in private.  Contentious or controversial conversations are not had with those whom one does not know well, and most forms of public displays of affection are frowned upon.  Public confrontations are never acceptable, so if a situation arises to your best to diffuse the situation.

When taking in a meal or a few drinks in the nightclubs, it is also unacceptable to become inebriated, this goes for any time you are in the public, be at the park or on the beaches as well.  It is all about being just a bit more discrete, a bit more reserved.  The younger generations are less conservative, as is so with the younger people in most societies.  They are more aware of the liberal Western ways, but they do however still hold fast to their roots and their heritage.  Traveling in Macau promises exotic adventures, when relating to the people just keep in mind their extremely polite ways, and you will find a comfortable and relaxing journey awaits you.