The charm of Lesbos (Lesvos) Isle has survived the times and the mass tourism. Mytilene is the ideal place to experience a peaceful day and taste a bit of te genuine Greek life.

Very close to Turkey, the capital of the Isle of Lesvos, Myteline, was blessed with breathtaking scenery, being surrounded by seven hills. It is a culturally rich city, with hospitable people, mostly due to the tight relations with the Turks, with whom they had close ecnomic relations. The 32,000 inhabitants from Myteline can boast with museums full of various relics and artworks over 3,000 years old. Moreover, that is the place where Pittakos was born, one of the seven major Greek philosophers , as well as the famous lyrical poetess Sappho, the one who also led a school where women could confer about or discuss poetry.

What else to see in Mytilene, Greece

Travelers can experience a tumultuous nightlife, great cafes, modern bars and “top class” restaurants. This island-city is like a miniature metropolis, and the visitors can find here anything their heart desires. The Ancient Theatre, the castle on top of the pine hill, the mines of the old defense wall of the city and the old defense wall of the city and the old settlements must be avoided. The Agios Therapondas church is a model for many other cult houses. The endless olive plantations, the pine woods, the crystal waters and the hot thermal water springs will enchant anyone to the point of making departure difficult.

Today, Shanghai no longer has the mystic atmosphere of the 1920s, when it used to be the Asian country of the millionaires and gangsters, casinos and brothels. However it is twice as fascinating through its almost unreal appearance: on one side old Art Deco buildings and on the other breathtaking skyscrapers.

Its airport resembles the filming studio of a sci-fi movie and the magnetic levitation train (MAGLEV) taking the tourists to the modern side of the city, levitates with the astounding speed of 429km/h. In Pudong, on the eastern bank of Huangpu river, where 11-12 years ago used to be a marsh, emerges the prooud vertical Shanghai, made of steel and glass. Dominated by the Oriental Pearl Tower, the 468 meters high television tower, Pudong comprises about 2000 skyscrapers.

Some claim that all Shanghai numbers about 5000 such buildings. But who’s counting! What matters is that it won easily the competition with New York, which has only about 1000 skyscrapers.

It’s the perfect place for the tourists keen on archeology and ancient vestiges and for those who love aquatic amusements. Samos Island from the Aegean Sea is the place of birth of the famous mathematician and idealist philosopher, Pythagoras. The mythology credited it as the house of goddess Hera, and indeed the city is full of outstandingly beautiful temples and ruins - the Lykourgos LOgothetis castle, the temple of goddess Hera, the Panalia Spiliani monastery of the Virgin Mary cave.

The island provides for the visitors, besides the archaeological heritage, different resorts with numerous fun places, the happiest ones being the jet-ski, hydrocycle or motorboat lovers. However, of all these sports windsurfing is the most favored, and there are even specialized trainers paid by the hour, for those who are not initiated in this sport. The sun should be avoided during the day but evenings are ideal for tennis or football.

peddalling

If you had walked on the Chinese capital streets at the beginning of 90s, probably many Chinese would have looked curiously at you, loudly twittering “there is a law-wai!”. Now the presence of a lao-wai (foreigners) is quite endemic, be it tourists, expats or employees of the Western corporations that unfold very profitable business in Beijing.

As the classic attractions points such as the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven will surely be on your visiting list, let us tell you where you can best see the new face of the city. Parallel with the Forbidden City, Wangfujing Street shall dazzle you with its enormous shopping malls and prices. A little bit further towards east, the business district of Guo Mao is abundant in hotels and shining skyscrapers.

Factory 798 (from the Dashanzi quarter) tends to become an internationally famous art center. In the 50s this was an industrial area full of factories. Starting with 2001 the spaces were turned into art galleries and the neighboring barracks became cafes and bookshops.

Finally, Sanlitun, the heart of the Chinese capital night life is often compared with the famous Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. This is an area where you can make the most of the local myth according to which “lao-wai” are captivating persons. If you get lost in here, expect to be approached by street agents paid by the clubs to attract clients, with phrases like “we have English speaking waitresses” or “we offer great massages”.

The city of Sanya in Hainan was the host of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Miss World competitions and 2006 World’s Strongest Man. What better proof for the irresistible beauty of this island? It is another side of China, a place where you can bask in the sun and taste exotic fruits you first heard of.

In the past, the emperors where exiling on the island criminals, officials and artists fallen in disgrace. Nowadays it is very difficult to imagine a Hainan of those convicted to a harsh life. Tropical rain forests, beaches with no foot traces, mountains, caves, 80 animal species over 300 bird species, coconut, banana, coffee, tea and rubber tree plantations, thermal springs and of course luxury hotels that couldn’t miss from the scenery of this Oriental Hawaii.

Its capital is Haikou, but the city of Sanya (endowed also with an international airport) is certainly more visited. Here you can practice diving or nautical ski, and after you had enough sun you may visit one of the small villages of the Li and Mao local minorities, that would enchant you with their traditional dances and food. Then you should explore the island better, starting from one of its natural reservations with birds, deer or monkeys.

When to go in St. Petersburg

In June, the sun won’t set for more than two hours in St. Petersburg - it is the month of the White Nights, when at 2am you can see people reading in parks, in the dusky light and couples dancing frantically on the banks of Neva. During this period there are several events: the Olympus International Music Festival (with concerts of the St Petersburg Philharmonic), the St. Petersburg International Film Festival and “The Stars of White Nights” Festival with opera and ballet performances of the Bolshoi Theatre. The high season begins on 27 May, the day of the city.

What else to visit in St. Petersburg

It depends what you are interested in: Nabokov or Dostoevsky’s house, the submarines or artillery museums (with staffed kamikaze dogs) or perhaps, Kunstkamera where Peter the Great has displayed his collection of children with a single eye and Siamese preserved in formalin. Save for the last the museum of the national drink, where you will get caviar and seven kinds of vodka. Around St. Petersburg there are: Pavlovsk, the residence of Emperor Pavel I, son of Catherine the Great, and the place of the same Catherine, with its famous Amber Hall, from Tsarskoye Selo.

Where and what to eat in St. Petersburg

At the Dvorianskoie Gnezdo restaurant (21, Dekabristov) you can get “pelmeni”, which are Russian ravioli with bear and deer meat, the Russian’s obssesion, caviar, and seafood. The Russian politicians and the stars of the Mariinsky Theatre come here often. For a 2-person meal expect to leave over $200. For cheaper meals go to Salkino (near the St. Peter and Paul Fortress) or in Blini Domik (8, Kolokolnaya).

Where to shop in St. Petersburg

Nevski Prospekt is the center for shopping, followed by Sadovaia and Bolshoi Prospekt. All prices are in rubles, and if you don’t have the necessary amount on you the best exchange rates can be found on Nevski ($0.5 commision). In Arsen Studio (37/3, Varsavskaia)you can find bronze sculptures, and Belage (57, Nevski Prospect) offers Russian antiquities such as jewels, paintings, crystal, porcelain items and furniture pieces.

The famous historian Herodotus depicted the area like this: “God created Bozcaada that people could live longer”.

The Isle of Bozcaada (Tenedos in Greek) at the Aegean Sea is the perfect spot for a well deserved relaxation, particulary because the region is known as one full of cheerful and hospitable inhabitants. With a population of only 2,500 people, mostly Greek, it is well known for fishing, tourism, vineyards and … poppies. Not only fishing is a necessity but the other three occupations as well. In spite of poor investments in the fields, tourism is the one making this region well known in the world.

However, there is more than this. The grapevine was brought from Egypt, via Mesopotamia and plays a significant role in the identification of this island from more than 10.000 years, a good quality wine being obtained from it, exported largely. For the youngest ones though, Bozcaada is famous for the poppy jam and syrup, two delicious products that can be best tasted at the Ada Cafe restaurant, while listening to relaxing tunes.

Where to stay in Bozcaada, Turkey

There are no hotels in Bozcaada, the closest one being situated at 45 km, in Canakkale (Anzac Hotel - 2 stars). There are only boarding houses. The best one is Gurkone with a nice motto engraved at the entrance: “We want you to feel at home”. It has nice comfort and the price is arround $35 in the summer.

More info in Bozcaada, Turkey

Try the traditional products of the region.
Wine: $10-$45 a bottle
Poppy jam: $3.50/jar (240g)
Poppy syrup: $10/bottle
Black olives: $2.75/jar

About getting on the island Bozcaada you should know that it’s available only by ferry boat and the price in Turkish lira is about $15.

It used to be the city of tsars, nowadays is known as the city where President Vladimir Putin was born. It was officially called, St. Petersburg, Petrograd, Leningrad and again St. Petersburg (Saint, Sankt). The locals are calling it “Peter”, and they believe it could surpass Paris, given a few investments. But they are not wrong. Many believe that the Hermitage with its antique sculptures, Egyptian mummies the Raphael and Rembrandt paintings is eclipsing the Louver, not only by exhibited masterpieces but by the mere fact that the visitor may get much closed by what it sees. Russia is a great country, isn’t it?

Nevski Prospekt, the place of promenade of the local high society, where you can easily empty your card buying from Versace dresses to Francesco Maglia silk umbrellas, is not that much different from the Champs Elysees. The Parisian cult for cafes can also be found here to large extent from Starbucks to the place of the aristocrats, Pushkin Cafe, the city is full of such places.

As for the Peterhof, the complex of palaces and parks built under the Tsar Peter the Great, everybody is calling it the “Russian Versailles”. The Winter Palace and the Hermitage would be good enough to make St. Petersburg an attraction of the European map. But no! We are talking about a precocious city, challenging the reckless tourists to seek the buildings, which are not museums!

Established in 1703, under Peter the Great, at the same time with the St. Peter and Paul Fortress, where the enemies of the tsars have been exterminated, including Lenin’s brother, and where, ironically, the Romanov monarchs have their tombs, St. Petersburg has been the capital of the Russian empire for over 200 years. Aurora ship, where the first fire on the Winter Palace was shot, signaling the end of its destiny as capital and the beginning of the Bolshevik revolution, is still on water and can be visited.

The overwhelming patrimony of the city also includes the Yusupov Palace (where Rasputin was killed) and the Pushkin Museum, the poet worshiped here. Today, the story continues happily, the former tsar capital being intensely renovated.

From the famous Fabergé eggs and the impressionist paintings from the Hermitage Museum to the Givenchy or Nina Ricci stores from Moscow’s Petrovschi passage, everything is fascinating. From the impressive palaces and churches to the luxury restaurants on Tverskaia street in Moscow, where you will have a hard time finding a parking place among multicolored Bentleys and Hummers everything is overwhelming.

From the huge Red Square to the park of the thrown down statues of the former Soviet leaders, everything is intriguing. Finally, from the Museum of St. Petersburg, to which Peter the Great gave his bizarre collection oh human deformities to the Russian style of starting parties in places where in the pas reigned the communist terror, everything astonishes. Art, culture or entertainment, the Russians excel in everything.

Their economy is still unstable but capitalism has unsuspected shapes over here. Where else could you see pictures of the cosmetics company Max Factor above the illustrious bald head of Lenin? And where else could you see Stalin watching victoriously towards the future next to the camel of the famous cigarette brand? The gramophone of the west propaganda became a Western CD-player.

Today’s youth go to pop-rock concerts in the Moscow building Dom Soyuzov, where in the past the communists were staging processes the presumed Trotskyites. In today’s Russian the youth get to choose between the “soviet food” and the “anti-soviet food” served by zany waitress, dressed in naughty pioneer uniforms. This is happening in the Moscow restaurant “Zov Ilicha”, with red and golden, lascivious decorations and LCD displays, where erotic video clips are shown among speeches of the former Soviet leaders and scenes where the Kozak shepherds were receiving glorious decorations.

Kitsch for some and unusual entertainment for other, Zov Ilicha is an extreme example of the strange merger between past and present. With the help of a few glasses of “dusha-dushe” (from soul to soul), as the Russians call the traditional vodka, you get the perfect holiday. Welcome to the new Russia!

Visited the city once or a few times, but not sure if you should come back? Let us remind you some things about Tokyo.Antiquities

Ceramics, glass, textiles, and many others. If you wish to decorate your house in an original manner hunt trough the antique fairs in Tokyo. It is worthwhile, especially if you know how to bargain.

Maximum Adrenaline

At the Ikebukuro Bosaikan Center for disaster prevention there is an earthquake simulator that can submit you to shakings of over 7 degrees in magnitude. Too morbid? Then try a free fall from 35 stores high in the Hakkeijima amusement park. The fall is exerting a gravitational force of 4G on the body, double in comparison with the standard roller coaster.

Dazzling Show

This is where you see the hottest fireworks shows - more precisely in August when there are approximate 7 festivals especially organized to admire tens of thousand of fireworks. Would you like to experience something even stronger? Enjoy the show from a helicopter (the Urayasu heliport, “Diamond” flight, 20 minutes, 14800Â¥, Pearl flight, 15 minutes, 9800Â¥)

Men Only

Late at night, after shopping, a massage is awaiting you under the Tokyo metro station (1500Â¥), a body scrub (2600Â¥) and a dry cleaner, in case you got dusted. Too bad the offer applies only to men. Only in Tokyo you can get a massage in the metro station.

Buy a kimono

If you are fascinated with the Japanese culture you cannot resist an original kimono. The new ones cost approximate 60,000Â¥ and the second-hand ones, 20,000Â¥. Look them up in the Hayashi Kimono store (International Arcade, Yurakucho metro station) or in the Oriental Bazaar (Harajuku metro station).

From Ball to the Hospital

In Tokyo you may dine in the most surprising ways. At the Cerulean Tower (26-1 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya-ku) you may savor the Japanese cuisine while watching a traditional Japanese theatre show (30,000Â¥). The Alcatraz ER club (2-13-5 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, 1000Â¥ to enter) you are handcuffed as soon as you get in … Dare you?

The Imperial Palace

Visiting the Imperial Palace is a unique experience. However, it is hard to get it. First you have to file a request on the internet than to be there either on January 2nd or December 23rd (Emperor’s Birthday). These are the only days when the palace is open to the public.

Amazing Technology

For the gadgets fans Tokyo is a paradise. In the Sony Building (5-3-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku) the latest electronic products are displayed; moreover, there are also prototypes that are not yet available on the market.

These are traditional festivals, colorful, with processions, ancient music and dances, gathering thousands of Japanese on Tokyo’s streets.

The Aquarium City

The Hakkeijima Amusement Park has a 3 storey huge aquarium, interconnected by escalators. As you slowly ascend you see only water around and over 100,000 marine species.