Travel Lakshadweep
Hundred Thousand Islands
Giant Leap For Women!
Mar 9th
Kathyrn Bigelow made history this International Women’s day by becoming the first woman to win an Oscar for ‘Best Director’ for her movie The Hurt Locker. And the fact that she beat her ex-husband James Cameron and his movie Avatar is even better news as Cameron is a well-known director and seems invincible! Her movie won six Oscars, including the ‘Best Picture’.
Since the Oscars started 82 years ago, women directors were nominated four times but never won an award. This year is special!
Priyanka 28th Miss Indian American
Dec 6th
California-based, Indian-origin Priyanka Singha won the 28th edition of the Miss Indian American pageant. Singha, who beat contestants from 25 US states, was crowned by Hollywood sensation Neha Dhupia.
Singha will represent the US in the Miss India World Pageant, scheduled for 27 March 2010 at Durban, South Africa.
Hit The World’s Happiest Spots
Nov 5th
In Lonely Planet‘s latest publication, 1000 Ultimate Experiences, you can find the world’s 10 happiest places! Pack your bags for a “happy” vacation – head to one of these sites.
We’re always looking for happy places to visit. You’ll be spoilt for choice here. The list goes like this:
1. Denmark
2. Wuyi Shan, China
3. Andorra
4. Malawi
5. Hidakagawa, Wakayama, Japan
6. Colombia
7. Bhutan
8. Happy, Texas
9. Montreal, Canada
10. Vanuatu
The Largest and Costliest Cruiseliner
Oct 29th
At $1.3 billion and being able to carry over 6,000 passengers, Oasis of the Seas is the world’s biggest and most expensive cruise ship. The Royal Caribbean Cruiseline owns this beauty, which took about six years to be built. It can accommodate up to 6,360 passengers and 2,160 members of the crew. It is 16 decks high – standing 213 feet above the waterline. This 1,180-foot-long and 154-foot-wide cruise will be sailing mostly in the Caribbean, with its four-night maiden voyage scheduled on December 1, from Fort Lauderdale in the US to Labadee in Haiti.
Royal Caribbean International, a global cruise brand, has 21 ships in service and one under construction. The line offers unique cruise packages in Alaska, Canada, Dubai, Europe, and Australia and New Zealand. They are looking at young travellers. A casino, 21 swimming pools, an aquapark, a carousel and a science lab are some of the attractions on board the Oasis of the Sea. The transatlantic crossing will be recorded on OasisoftheSeas.com as new webisodes. A new feature to OasisoftheSeas.com will allow visitors to view a Google Maps application and follow the route of the Oasis of the Seas. There are also blogs for information and updates.
The ship will be officially named on November 30 in an inaugural celebration. It will also feature a fundraiser to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
World’s First Underwater Cabinet Meeting at Maldives
Oct 17th
Imagine an official presidential meeting held 20ft under the sea? Well, that’s exactly what Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed did. He held the world’s first underwater meeting at Girifushi Island, about 20 minutes from Male. The meeting which just finished was chaired by the president and was attended by the vice president and the cabinet members. Only a couple of ministers with health issues were absent from it.
They signed a declaration calling for united global action on climate change, ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in December in Copenhagen. Talk about signing, the documents were covered with waterproof plates. This underwater meeting was just one of the climate-related international activities of the environmental NGO 350.org.
After the meeting, the president will hold a press conference and a bicycle ride will be flagged from the official jetty at Male, at 1:30 p.m. local time.
Ministers spent half an hour on the sea bed and they communicated with white boards and hand gestures. They had been practicing diving for two months and for the meeting, each minister was accompanied by a diving instructor and a military minder. A few journalists sporting snorkels also attended it.
Maldives, which is the world’s lowest lying country, is the most affected by global warming. It is said that if the current situation continues, Maldives become uninhabitable by the year 2100. Also, Maldives, a country that depends on tourism and related activities such as Scuba diving and snorkelling will suffer much due to the global warming’s affect on its reefs and coral atolls.
To The Space And Back
Oct 11th
Ever dreamt of a holiday in spcae? Well… founder of Cirque du Soliel and billionaire Guy Laliberte has just returned from his holiday in space. Yes, you read it right, space. He certainly enjoyed his $35-million vacation, and is the seventh private individual to visit theInternational Space Station, an orbiting lab.
Along with other astronauts and cosmonauts, he made the 10-day visit to ISS. Laliberte says he is the “first clown in space”. And a happy one at that. His journey marked an awareness campaign for water shortages. The event had many international artistes performing for the cause.