Royal Lily

... 'The Pleasure Pavilion'. Great name! Lucky mothers!   Around the city of Hue and along the Perfume River are a number of Royal Tombs which are also on the tourist track. We took a day trip to visit three of these. The first was Tu Duc's ...

... large lily pads.  There we saw monkeys and a very large Cayman snoozing beneath us.  The dark line on the trees behind the lily pads shows the high water mark at the end of rainy season in 2009.  Rainy season begins in Dec. or Jan. and ...

... ; My favorite part of the whole place was the garden.  It was so serene with the fountains and trees and pathways.  Very royal.  We boarded the coaches in the afternoon and began the three-hour drive back to the manor.  And here I ...

... write up my itinerary and try to comment on the events that I remember. January 20, 2008: Check in at the Hotel Royal Garden- my roomate is Ryan Sullivan (randomly assigned). January 21, 2008: 8:30am:  Lecture by our Professor Caroline ...

... the top were amazing stretching out to the Shan hills. Perhaps the biggest thing you can see from the top of Mandalay Hill is the Royal Palace, the next biggest is probably the prison, its huge! By the time we descended we were knackered so we got a lift ...

... , is also the home of the royal crown and royal jewels.  Legend has it that St. Stephen was crowned with the Hungarian royal crown in the year 1000, but modern dating on the crown has suggested it is from the 13th century, so there goes that theory. ...

... Conservation centre at Sattahip, about 30 km from Pattaya, and 20 mins from Lucy’s. The centre is situated within a Royal Naval area. The navy and other voluntary organisations protect its breeding beaches, rear hatchlings to a safe release age and ...

... and jewellery were excavated in 1999.   It was fascinating to learn about the children, which were member of the Inca Royal family.  Apparently a distinguishing feature of the Royal family is the shape of their heads.  When a royal baby was born ...

... before I describe that let me tell you about... BANGKOK You have to be on your toes in Bangkok. A sign inside the Royal Palace grounds warns "Beware of Wily Strangers" and it's not wrong!! What a pity it isn't displayed more prominently outside ...

... , the Indian peasant who makes a fortune through teak and his wife Dolly, the breathtakingly beautiful maid of the Burmese royal family, contrast to Uma the Indian widow who becomes a champion for Indian independence after her liberating time in the USA ...

... Help for Heroes, which raised £80m.   Help for Heroes is a hugely important charity to my friend Alice, her boyfriend Max is a Royal Marine and is currently out in Afghan at the moment on his first tour. As my friend, I have seen first hand how ...

... point and perhaps we will get the chance to see the enormous Saturday markets next time.  We did the usual touristy bit, the Royal Palace and temples and the children had enormous fun in the aquarium.  We tried to explore China Town but it was ...

... a large statue of Ganesha (widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles) and several smaller statues of other Hindu deities.   The Lily Pond became a bookend to our days at the palace. As soon as we opened our door, we were greeted by the view and ...

... a hoot.  He even sang a little song for us.  It was King George IV that is responsible for naming Ramsgate as the Royal Harbor.  Wilkie Collins was the last person on our tour.  He was a author, and ladies man, with two women he ...

... we concluded our visit at the cultural center, we headed to our second activity - a visit to the Cairns base of the Royal Flying Doctor's Service. The RFDS operates planes staffed by a pilot, a doctor, and a nurse and provides emergency and clinical ...

... touristy type stuff. Having got up late headed into the city to take in Federation Square, The Shrine of Rememberance, and the Royal Botanic Gardens. Foolishly I decided to do this in my thongs (flip-flops) and after 2.5 hours of solid walking my feet ...

... and had much more flexibility by booking each segment myself.  We flew on Iceland Air, EasyJet (UK), Turkish Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, Egyptair, JetAirFly (Belgium), Air India, Kingfisher (India), Laos Airlines, Jetstar (Quantas), Southern China ...

... had two TVs with news on it and it was interesting to see that there were as many men watching the beginnings of the royal wedding as women.  Our flight to Auckland was late and it was full A320. We hastened on foot to the international terminal, ...

... the shade of a tree.  We actually didn't go to the top of the mountain.  We stopped at the Chalet du Mount Royal.  There was a large lookout area where we saw a spectacular view of the Montreal skyline.  The view was the appetizer, now ...

... there is no such thing as purple bamboo. The park is called such because it was a favourite of some of the emperors. Purple is a royal color therefore Purple Bamboo Park. Also in the old days of the Ming Dynasty it was home to the rare Black Bamboo (which ...