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Lumbini Garden, Nepal





Here’s a good review of Lumbini Garden, Nepal.
clipped from www.gardens-to-visit.com

The Lumbini Garden was the Buddha’s birthplace. In Sanskrit, Lumbini means ‘the lovely’. It was the family home of his mother, Mayadevi, and she returned here from Kapilavastu (25 km east of Lumbini) to give birth to Siddhartha Gautama, later the Buddha (‘Enlightened One’). The site was described by the Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian and re-discovered in 1896. In 1997 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and there is a master plan for a monastic zone by the famous Japanese modernist architect Kenzo Tange. Like the same designer’s plan for the Peace Park in Hiroshima, it seems to have been inspired by the Neo-Baroque. There is a long avenue and a circular canal. But the sacred pool remains a place of exceptional calm.

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Recommended Travel Deals Sites

Here’s a site that can tell you some of the cheaper ways to travel.
clipped from www.darngooddigs.com

Jake's Resort, Treasure Beach, Jamaica

Darngooddigs.com is the spot for budget-minded travelers to share their all-time favorite hotels, inns, and bed and breakfasts. All Darn Good Digs are independently owned, have rooms from US$1 to $150, and stand out for their originality, spectacular locations, scrumptious food, and great vibes.

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Travel and Taxes

Here’s some good information on how resellers are not paying taxes while we consumers are overpaying.
clipped from www.flyawaycafe.com
Re-sellers buy blocks of hotel rooms (airlines seats, tickets, etc.) at a low price and package them for re-sale to us consumers at a higher price.  The difference in cost represents their profit.  The consumer is charged appropriate taxes based on our purchase price.
The underlying issue (behind all the procedural wrangling) has to do with a common re-selling practice.  In this case, a number of online travel firms, including some of the giants in the online travel industry, have adopted a practice on remitting hotel occupancy taxes that is at odds with how the city of Atlanta believes taxes should be charged and remitted.
The travel companies have been remitting taxes based on the price the company paid, not the price charged and paid by the consumer, claiming that the difference is a service fee/charge and NOT taxes.
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It’s a wonder that GPS systems are still not fully utilized in passenger airplanes these days, it could save so much fuel!
clipped from www.sfgate.com
The planned satellite-driven network, dubbed NextGen, would save fuel by ditching radar technology that is more than 50 years old and enabling GPS-equipped planes to fly the shortest route between two points: a straight line.
NextGen could save airlines at least 3.3 billion gallons of fuel a year — or more than $10 billion annually by 2025, based on today’s fuel prices, according to FAA projections obtained by The Associated Press.

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Tips for Independent Woman Travelers

Here’s some great tips for women who are traveling by themselves.
clipped from almostfearless.com
I arrived in Dublin yesterday, and it’s back to big city life for me.  As I was exploring the city, I came to a beautiful little park with a little archway and a clock tower.  I wanted to take some pictures, so I headed towards the entrance.  There I found 6 Dubliners, each around 40 years old, clearly high or drunk (mid morning) and huddled around something they were doing with their hands.  Oh crap, will they notice my camera and steal it?  I had two choices, turn and run or smile and walk in.  I chose to walk in, pulling my camera close to me, and noting if there were any other exits.  There weren’t.  I dawdled in the park for a bit, then made my way back out again.  The drunken leader asked me if I would take his picture.  I did.  Harmless.
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Eco-friendly Travel Destinations

The most eco-friendly travel destination is probably staying at your home but if you must be eco-friendly while traveling, here’s some destinations you can check out.
clipped from www.eyeflare.com

A rural green trip to Ireland
Eco-tourism became a buzzword about 20 years ago, and since then it’s success can be measured by how the concept has spread globally. There are companies and organizations everywhere from Costa Rica and Panama, to Tibet and Gabon, that help travelers enjoy exploring the world in an ecological and sustainable way. The idea that travel should be sustainable isn’t just happening in the developing world, but industralized countries are keen to develop green energy and environmentally sound practices to rural parks, fancy resort towns, and upmarket business hotels in major cities. Here are six of the regions that take charge in the development of green travel for everyone.

Wisconsin prairie

Eco travel in Laos

Dancing in Rwanda

Eco-travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina
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