Archive for January, 2008

Torii at the Inari Shrine

Kyoto and Tokyo are composed of the same letters, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end for these two cities. I like to think of them as twins separated at birth that have totally grown up into different people, kind of like the twins in the movie The Parent Trap. I recently returned to San Francisco from ten days in Kyoto and Tokyo, and was very pleased that I’d split my time between two such different parts of Japan. If you travel all the way to Japan and only see one, I think you’re missing out on half the country, make time for two! Only a couple of hours on the Shinkansen (bullet train) separate them, so why not?

Kyoto Tours & Things to Do

Sadly Tokyo was leveled by bombing in World War II, so the city is pretty new architecture wise, but you can experience the traditional architecture of Japan in and around Kyoto, where much of it remains intact. Stroll through the Gion district, bastion of shopping, nightlife and restaurants, as well as some wonderful examples of traditional wooden residences. The greater Kyoto area is rife with beautiful temples and

Daigo-ji’s 5 Story Pagoda

shrines. If you’re familiar with church fatigue in Europe, you could fall prey to its cousin, temple fatigue, in Kyoto. To see just the major temples and shrines would take you a couple of days, I recommend reading their descriptions and picking out the ones that will interest you the most based on your interest in art, gardens or historical architecture - some are better than others for each of these areas. Daigo-ji is great for historical building buffs (a rare original five story pagoda is on site) and has a beautiful garden, but there’s not much in the way of sculpture or art, and the sights are mostly outside, a factor in chilly or wet weather. Todaiji in Nara has an awesome Buddha sculpture and lovely buildings, but isn’t overly landscaped, the manicured gardens are nothing special.

If you can only see one temple/shrine and don’t have a particular interest, I recommend the Fushimi Inari Taisha (Inari stop on the JR line), the 4 kilometers of torii (big gates) snaking up through the misty, forested hills behind the shrine make for a gorgeous walk, with plenty of rest stops to examine the groups of memorials peppered along the way. And, even at the top, there are vending machines to dispense you a drink. The shrine is devoted to good harvests (now more focused on sake and soy sauce), and the official mascot is the fox, who peskily appears in much of the design of the shrine. I bought a magnet with foxes to stick on my car, it claims to protect me from accidents (so far, so good).

Kyoto’s got plenty of great restaurants, but after a long day of temple sightseeing, I recommend a beer and a nice, hot bowl of ramen from Santoka (near Sanjo station). Remember to slurp your noodles!

Kyoto is also great for day trips to the historical towns of Nara or Himeji, both of which I visited, but each of those is worthy of its own blog post, so stay tuned.

Tokyo Tours & Things to Do

Though Kyoto is a major city in its own right, it looks downright provincial when compared to the urban giant Tokyo. If Kyoto is all about history, Tokyo is all about the future. And so, embrace the future while you’re in Tokyo. Take in the view of the Blade Runner inspiring landscape from the Tokyo Tower, a skyscraper bar (the Park Hyatt bar is popular, but I prefer the less expensive option of the Park Hotel bar near Ginza), or the Tokyo Cityview at Roppongi Hills. And while the day time views are nice, the night views are stunning. Get mesmerized by the blinking red lights on nearly every tall building.

Explore the future of electronics, fashion and the generally silly items Japan is famous for by spending some time shopping. I spent more than I’d like to admit at the Tokyu Hands chain, but everyone loves their funky notebooks, hi tech pens and bizarre gadgets, so I think it was all worth it. If you’re into cameras, computers, video games, or Star Wars a stroll through Akihabara, the neighborhood for all things geeky in a good way, is a must.

A portable shrine at the Edo Museum

Two concessions to history are worth making in Tokyo: take in a kabuki show at Kabuki-Za in Ginza and visit the Edo Museum. The kabuki performances are amazing at Kabuki-Za, soak in the live music and marvel at the traditional, controlled movements of the art form. Kabuki is a serious tradition, even today the main kabuki players are all from the same family. For an education in Tokyo history, head to the Edo Museum. Tokyo was once named Edo (lesson #1), and the Edo Museum is the main way to relive the past of Tokyo, see artifacts and architecture from the founding of Edo to just post World War II (including the signed peace treaty that ended WWII). This is the first museum I’ve been to where you can actually play with some of the artifacts. Get a sense of what Tokyo life was like before the skyscrapers.

There’s plenty of advice out there about where to eat in Tokyo, and more options than I could ever hope to count, so I’ll just suggest (maybe demand) one thing. If you’re going to eat sushi, eat it at the Tsukiji fish market. There’s several restaurants within the market, and any that look good are going to be great. You’re never going to find sushi this fresh anywhere else, the fish is literally bought outside the restaurant’s door. Eat it!

While Kyoto and Tokyo are in many ways a study in contrasts, there’s some big similarities too, they both have great food, killer subway/train systems, cool shopping and fantastic taxi drivers. Visit both and you’ll see that Japan is a nation of contrasts, a country of beautiful wooden shrines and endless skyscrapers as far as the eye can see.

– Kelly G

Thinking about a visit to Japan? Check out 40+ things to do in Japan on Viator.
See more of Kelly’s photos of Inari, Kyoto and Tokyo and Jo’s Japan trip on Flickr.

 

What is the travel world buzzing about this week?

The New York Times travel section surveys family-ski options that won’t break the bank in Colorado; uncovers the top eating spots in Amman, Jordan (including my personal favorite falafel seller anywhere, Hashem, located in downtown Amman); and casts an approving eye on Hollywood despite all the LA-bashing naysayers out there (as a native of Los Angeles I appreciate the NY Times’ approving eye while reserving my right to remain an occasional naysayer).

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Top Trends in Travel in 2008 are likely to be eco-tourism, volunteer travel and ’singles mingling’. Silly me, this sounds like the same-same trends that travelers and the travel media were talking about last year. Is there really nothing more trendy on the horizon this year? The SMH is back on safer ground with a spotlight on surfing in Indonesia. (Which reminds me to report that, yes, Bali is officially back on the travel agenda this year — I’ve had no less than three different friends tell me they’re planning a trip to Indonesia and Bali this coming year.)

I haven’t read the SMH Travel Blog for a while. Today on my first visit in 2008, it seems as if every second post is a regurgitation of a Lonely Planet guidebook. Hmmm. Is the SMH Travel Blog heading for second-class travel status? Maybe, just maybe. I’ll keep you posted.

Over at the LA Times travel section the topic du jour is Santa Barbara, with a handy list of free and cheap things to do in Santa Barbara. The LA Times Travel Blog’s top story today is about cheap airfares to New Zealand.

The San Francisco Chronicle travel section has a lovely pairing of articles today: Best Cruises for Tots alongside an article posing the challenge, How to Get Drunk at the Airport. As the parent of a toddler, I see the logic of this pairing even if you cannot.

The Guardian tells of 10 Winter Short-Breaks more enticing than a weekend in Paris (though, let’s be honest, a weekend in Paris is nothing to sneeze at). The Guardian argues that Romania, Norway and Sweden have plenty of mini-adventures awaiting the weekend getaway traveler. And who are we to disagree?

Finally, the Turkish Daily News has a sobering article about the (over)development of the Turkish Aegean coast; nearly 30,000 summer homes have been built in the past two years alone. That’s a lot of concrete.

–Scott McNeely

Once you’ve stayed in to bat for while in the Northern Territories (NT), the score can become a little familiar. (Warning: skip this cricket metaphor if you’re not Australian — like even if it’s a long innings, you should have declared a while ago because the other team, in this case the Territory, is never going to admit defeat.)

There are two real ways to fix an overly long stay in the Northern Territory. Number 1 is to leave, and the second follows on where the first leaves off, but with a twist. Number 2 is, you leave and come back.

It’s like this. Recently I was talking about a fella called Dave (his real name) with a fella called Matt (not his real name) in Alice Springs, after I heard Dave was leaving. Matt of course ventured that Dave would probably come back.

Matt added that Dave might return to the NT’s greener pastures “because he’ll realise it’s too hard down South.” Smarter blokes than I have set off for a grand repatriation with the wider world beyond the Territory’s tiny shores. More than you’d expect have been back at the pub again warming the same stool months, or even weeks, later. They lope back into town like a dingo with his tail between his legs.

Queensland: The road to success

To give you an insight into this migratory behaviour, let’s step across the border — say to Queensland (because if you head west, there’s certainly more reason to stay put and never go anywhere — but that’s a story to warm a campfire audience another time).

You might remember in a blog long ago, we headed up from Alice Springs to Tennant Creek and reached Three Ways (where you can go by road in three directions, as long as you count the one you came by as One). From there it’s a hop, skip and a jump over to the Barkly Homestead and north was the way to go if you fancied a date with Heartbreak.

Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter

But should you plough on east, you’ll hit the Queensland border and gain yourself half an hour as the time zones make their invisible shuffle backwards on terrestrial planes. You’ll have to put your social mores and attitudes back 10 years to match the more conservative political landscape of Queensland — which, when you add in the 20 years of progress you lost in NT, puts you at least 30 years behind the rest of the civilised world.

On from the border waits the tiny town of Camooweal — just giving you a hint at some of the fine names to come. There’s not a great deal to do in ‘Cammers’, although you can do it a bit more often now they’ve put the bridge over the Georgina River (which means you can make the crossing all through the wet season). Should you be a keen speleologist there are caves nearby, but they’re a little dangerous if you’re not used to the underground. If you plan your journey in advance, book yourself some downtime at Lawn Hill National Park – they only take a set number of visitors a year, and it is one of the true tropical wonders of the country.

Mount Isa is the first big jewel that will pass by your interstate wheels — after the 600km from Tennant Creek, it’s the biggest town you’ll see for a while. Mount Isa itself is home to the aptly names “Sulphide Street”, a clear sign that Isa is a booming mining town. The sunsets can be beautiful, though not for entirely the right reasons. The caravan park is out near the airport.

The drive from Mount Isa to Cloncurry is definitely in my Top 10 Top Stretches of Australian Highway. Sweeping turns amidst majestic hills and razor peaks; after driving through that flat country for what seems like forever it’s a welcome and breathtaking relief. Cloncurry is another smallish town, slowly growing and now offering some café-style action and the op shop there has always been good.

Deep into the Golden Tale of Myth

Now, for argument’s sake, we’ll head south-east: away from all that Great Barrier Reef, Whitsundays, Daintree palaver that you could read about from some reputable travel writer. Because if it’s Outback you want, then it’s the golden tale to end them all that you’ll get down this road.

Winton: Dino wheely trash bin

Like most Australians you probably don’t know the second verse of our national anthem (“Advance Australia Fair” – really, what does that mean??). But you’d probably be able to hum more than just a few bars of the unofficial flag-raiser “Waltzing Matilda”. The birthplace of this venerable bastion of outback poetry, penned by A.B. “Banjo” Patterson, lies somewhere along the Matilda Highway, down the track from Kynuna or near Winton, depending on which story you believe.

The exact waterhole is still a bone of contention, but the story is clear. Banjo was a lawyer on the great shearers strike some 100 years or so back, and be penned the verse following a “swagman” putting a “jumbuck” in his “tuckerbag” (travelling old fella stole a sheep, plain English y’see). The rest is literary history and a handy thing to hum at the opening of an Olympic Games.

Winton, Jewel of Queensland

If you truly don’t believe a word of this, then check out Winton for yourself. One side of the street the roadside garbage bins are shaped like old barrels, a nod to the Waltzing Matilda heritage, and on the other, the bins are shaped like dinosaur feet, replete with dew claw. See, makes perfect sense.

The second sustaining truth that gets some logic from this observation was the discovery of the only dinosaur stampede ever found, just 100km south of Winton (although a bloody long time ago). Legend has it that Truckosaurus belted out onto a big, open plain and scared the willys out of all the local pint-sized monsters and local history was once again created from their fleeing footprints.

The Proposition: Quality Queensland family entertainment

If that’s not enough for you, then the Tattersalls Hotel should take your fancy, with its laidback old-school bar action and gorgeous wooden veranda on the second floor (which can be yours for only $15 a night). And if that hasn’t got you going like a dingo on heat then you can spend your days out at the Musical Fence, where two fences make shimmering tones from the amplified thrumming of the wind. Apart from being custom built for the 2002 Queensland Biennial Festival of Music, it’s like, well, some amazing shimmering thing that sounds like the sound of thrumming, but better!

And Winton’s bag of tricks doesn’t stop there! They also shot a classic Australian film (in addition to BMX Bandits) out here in the blazing sun: Nick Cave’s The Proposition, an ode to Outback desolation. The ladies at the op shop (one of the world’s best, too) remember what they bought for the props. Heck, they even remember what I bought here two years ago and who I came in with! It’s sort of like stalking in reverse, where you go to them.

So, maybe so many things to do, decisions to make and such natural surrealism is causing you some stress. The level of wackiness is not as high but perhaps more unpredictable on the eastern side of the border. Maybe even now, before you get past Central Queensland and you really hit the bustling hordes, you’re thinking of heading west back to the relative safety of the Territory. And with all the slick, new threads you’ve picked up at the op shops you can at least dress differently when you order your first beer back at the same pub when you get back there, and they might not even recognise that it was you who left last week.

–Jack Brown

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours & things to do in Queensland and the Northern Territories of Australia. Also check out Kerrie’s post comparing the Whitsundays versus Tropical North Queensland.

New Year’s is a holiday made for fun. No presents to buy, no families to visit, and a vacation day - do you need more excuses to take a trip? Last year we headed to Joshua Tree, this year we opted to visit some friends who had relocated to Japan. New Year’s is a huge holiday in Japan, more like Christmas is for the United States, everyone visits family, and there’s lots of traditions. So goodbye to drinking champagne and watching fireworks, konichiwa to an Asahi beer and some extra long soba.

Hamamatsu Cave Dragon

New Year’s Eve starts off with a Shinkansen train ride from Kyoto, where we’d been staying for the last few days, to Hamamatsu where our friends Dave and Noriko live. You’re not going to find Hamamatsu listed in your Lonely Planet Japan. Industrial headquarters of Yamaha, as well as several car companies, it’s no tourist mecca. Dave drives us around a bit, and then takes us to the one local attraction, a cave. As caves go, it’s not bad, but you can see why it didn’t really merit a mention in the guidebook. I did dig the smoke snorting cave dragon near the ticket booth.

Now that all the sightseeing is done, we head up into the mountainside a bit to the town of Tenryu, where Noriko’s parents live. Everyone has been cleaning like crazy for the last few days, in Japan, a clean house is a must for New Year’s. As is a huge dinner with your family. The full Anzai clan appears, generally, I think, bemused at their American dinner guests. Noriko’s father is into hunting and fishing, and most of what we eat at dinner is a product of his efforts; wild boar shabu shabu, four kinds of sashimi and deer. He asks if we like the deer, and it is delicious, so we say yes. He says that really, the raw deer is better, we should try that, and he hops up to bring us some from his frozen stash. From one side, Dave whispers that we don’t have to eat the raw deer, and from the other side, Noriko and her sister, Yuko, whisper that it is really good, we should eat it. The raw deer (or shikshimi) appears, with some garlic dipping sauce, and yes, we eat it. And yeah, it’s not bad.

Kelly, Noriko, Jacob and Dave at dinner

Dinner is the main event, after that we are just waiting for midnight, or rather, 20 minutes to midnight. At 11:40, the Shinto shrine across the river starts the annual bell ringing. Noriko’s mom popped by first thing to pick up the wooden tickets for bell ringing spots five through fifteen (the first four are rung by the monks). So everyone is going to literally ring in the new year. Until then, children are played with, naps are taken, tea is drunk.

New Year’s Shinto Shrine

We bundle up and head across the river to the shrine. The first set of ringers line up in front of a massive bell, the old kind that to ring, you pull back and release a long wooden post that rams into the bell. I am nervous. Noriko and Dave give us the rundown. You step up, the guy by the bell yells for you to get ready, you pull the wood back, he’ll tell you to ring, you let go. Then clap your hands in prayer and bow. While the bell resonates, think of bad things leaving your head. The bell will ring 108 times, and by the end you should have a head cleared of 108 bad things to start the year off happy. I think by “bad things” Noriko meant negative thoughts, problems, stuff like that. The weather is freezing, and while we drink a little hot sake (I like these monks!) we watch the four monks and the Anzais ring the bell, and then its my turn to give it a go. I didn’t have the loudest ring, but everything went ok, and I think some bad things left my head (or maybe it was the sake). After we’ve rung the bell, we’re given a gift of special tea and a small year of the rat charm for luck. Shortly after my bell ringing, the clan hustles us home, apparently we have a date with soba at midnight.

Extra long soba, for long life, is traditionally eaten as the new year rolls over. We slurp our noodles and wish each other a “Happy New Year!” in multiple languages. Then we all go home to sleep.

New Year’s Day is all about two things: mochi and shopping. Mochi is pounded rice, and everyone eats it on New Year’s. Mochi is very thick and chewy, and several old people a year die from choking on it. Apparently this year is fortuitous, only a few choking victims and no deaths! We have some in soup. Then a trip to the mall to visit the huge New Year’s Day sales. Visiting a shrine is also a must for the first few days of the new year. As we head to bed I think about all the new things this new year, and hope for luck in 2008, or at least 108 less bad things in my head.

Happy New Year!

–Kelly G

PS - In Japan its 2008, but the year is also Heisei 20, standing for the 20th year of Emperor Akihito’s reign.

Yes you read that right. River surfing in Munich.

I was browsing the latest travel videos on the Viator YouTube site, and I noticed a new video titled Munich River Surfing. So of course I hit ‘play’, and glad that I did.

I’ve been to Munich a dozen times and yet I’ve never, ever heard of surfing in Munich. But you know those Germans, they’re a funny people (both ha ha, and strange). So I guess it doesn’t surprise me too much that some clever people have found a way to surf in a city that is about 600 miles removed from the nearest ocean.

Chalk up another victory for German ingenuity.

The Eisbach and Floßlände, two natural standing-river waves, are where most of the action takes place. And this is no longer a mere hobby for land-locked German surfers looking for a quick river ride. Check out these photos of the 2005 Munich Surf Open. Trophies, sponsors, crowds of people cheering the surfers on, this looks like a sport that’s ready for prime time on ESPN.

–Scott McNeely

Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours & things to do in Munich, Berlin and Germany. You can also browse photos of Munich over on the Viator Flickr site.

Fancy an outdoor cinema in Melbourne? Read on…

Summer and the movies used to be great together. Escaping a dry, hot and windy day in the air-conditioned relief of a cinema was one of life’s simple pleasures. Me and my mate Simon would buy a ticket to an 11am session, then spend the whole day sneaking from cinema to cinema (via the snack bar) watching movies all day. Out in time for dinner, a sugar-crash, and home. Good times.

And while it’s still possible to sneak into sessions through the day at Melbourne’s big chain cinemas (not that I’m recommending it, of course), daytime is so much busier these days, what with work and babies and stuff, making such decadent spontaneity difficult to arrange in advance.

So that leaves balmy summer evenings as the only warm-weather time to see movies. And until the advent of outdoor cinema in Melbourne, that meant staying inside at the best time of the day. No longer.
Moonlight Cinema was the trailblazer, setting up a screen in Melbourne’s lush Botanical Gardens and playing first-run, classic and cult movies under the stars. It took off and is now a real Melbourne experience, featuring catering, bean beds for hire and sell-out sessions most nights.

Competing for this chicken-and-white-wine market is the newer OpenAir cinema at Birrarung Mar, a fabulous park by the river in the city. An enormous screen, grandstand seating and movieplex titles draw huge book-ahead crowds and even bigger sponsorship deals.

But that leaves the hipsters with nowhere to go. Or it did until last year, when the gritty Rooftop Cinema cranked up in the heart of the city and started showing a diverse range of indy and cult movies. The pick of the bunch now, Rooftop is perfect for those wanting a cold beer and a dose of The Breakfast Club, Easy Rider, My Own Private Idaho or Dogs in Space.

There’s also an open-air cinema down on the foreshore in St Kilda. I’m a bit scared of St Kilda (sea air does strange things to people, dontcha think?), so I can’t report first-hand on it. It runs through February, features live music and DJs and is probably loads of fun. Check out their website — stkildaopenair.com.au — if you can endure the annoying 38-second song that plays.

–John Ryan

Planning a trip? Check out John’s Melbourne summertime travel tips and his Melbourne pub guide. Or have a look at all of Viator’s tours and things to do in Melbourne, from Colonial Tram Car dinners to Yarra Valley Wine Tasting.

Thailand (Bangkok) - voted #40 in 2007

Friends, blogsters and fellow travelers, the time has come for Viator to pay our final respects to 2007 and to the travel year that was. My desk calendar proclaims ‘2008′ now, and points stubbornly ahead anticipating travels yet to come.

Yet before we say farewell to 2007, let us take a moment to honor the Top 50 destinations of the year as determined by viator.com travelers. This is our second annual “Viator Top 50″ list, and like last year, 2007 had been a great ride, full of surprises (good on ya, Rome) and some surprising absences (Mexico, we missed you).

If you’re not yet caught up on our end-of-year lists of top things to do around the world, these links will help: Europe, Asia, USA & Canada, Australia, Caribbean, Central & South America, Middle East & Africa.

Thanks again to the millions of travelers who visited us in 2007, we hope to see you again in 2008.

The Viator 50: Top Travel Destinations in 2007

50. Montreal

Mt Fuji, on a day trip from Tokyo (#10 in 2007)

49. Prague

48. Alice Springs

47. Seville

46. Port Douglas

45. Krakow

44. Perth

43. Christchurch

42. Auckland

41. Chicago

40. Bangkok

39. Boston

Sunset in Venice (#8 in 2007)

38. Miami

37. Athens

36. Salzburg

35. Granada

34. Edinburgh

33. Naples

32. Dubai

31. Vancouver

30. Costa del Sol

29. Oahu

28. Hong Kong

The Sydney Skywalk, Sydney (#7 in 2007)

27. Los Angeles

26. Zurich

25. Vienna

24. Singapore

23. Washington DC

22. The Grand Canyon

21. Munich

20. Orlando

19. Barcelona

18. Cairns & the Tropical North

17. Dublin

16. Versailles

15. Ayers Rock

14. Milan

13. Madrid

12. Amsterdam

11. Melbourne

Ahh, the wonders of Rome (#1 in 2007!)

10. Tokyo

9. San Francisco

8. Venice

7. Sydney

6. Florence

5. London

4. New York City

3. Las Vegas

2. Paris

1. Rome

So how’s your wanderlust doing after reading this entire list? For us, the Viator 50 list of top travel destinations is all about getting inspired to take that next trip. We hope this year’s list of top travel destinations on viator.com has got you thinking about your next holiday, whether it’s across town or across the globe.

We’d also like to extend our congratulations to a few destinations, notably to Rome, which jumped from #3 last year to #1 this year. And to Las Vegas, which made it into the top 3 this year.

If you’re feeling nostalgic about last year’s winners, keep on reading below. We’ve kept last year’s Viator 50 for your entertainment and traveling pleasure.

Happy travels in 2008.

–The Viator Team

(more…)

Just last month we started publishing photos over on the viator.com website. And not just any old travel photos. These are photos taken by actual Viator travelers, photos of themselves on elephant treks, helicopter tours, hot air balloon rides, private tours of the Vatican — and on hundreds of the other 5,000+ tours and things to do available on Viator.com. Our Photo Galleries have only been live for a few weeks, and already we’ve received a few thousand photos from Viator travelers doing some very cool and interesting things.

So without further ado, here are the top 10 photos submitted by travelers on Viator.com. We selected the photos below based on a simple criterion: of all the photos we’ve received so far, these are the ones that most inspired us to take that next trip!

#10. Dubai Desert 4×4 Adventure

Here’s a shot taken by Merridy in Dubai, on a 4×4 Desert Wonder Safari. Merridy’s comment: “The kids loved it. We are glowing with praise for your fantastic desert safari and your even more fantastic staff who drove, cooked and looked after my daughter, her 9 year old son, 5 year old daughter and me… the grandmother!” We chose this for our top 10 list because the kids do, very much indeed, look happy riding that camel at sunset. Who’s up for a trip to Dubai?

#9. Dive & Snorkel Cruise from Cairns, Australia

Hello Samantha! What a funny shot of you underwater on the Dive and Snorkel Cruise to Agincourt Ribbon Reef from Cairns. Samantha’s caption: “Me, trying to take a picture of my self at Agincourt Reef!” And for attempting that underwater self-portrait, we salute you Samantha.

#8. Champagne Sunset Cruise, St Lucia, the Caribbean

Here’s a postcard-perfect shot of sunset on the Caribbean island of St Lucia, taken by Angela after her St Lucia Champagne Sunset Cruise. Check out a few more of Angela’s photos of St Lucia, all of which make us want to book the next flight to St Lucia.

#7. Elephant Trek & River Rafting in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Laurie took this shot of “elephants heading back home up the river after our jungle trek,” and for us it captures the thrill of taking an elephant jungle trek in Thailand. There’s something very cool and hypnotic about that long line of elephants slowly snaking up the river. See more of Laurie’s photos of her elephant trek in Thailand.

#6. Niagara Falls, Day Trip from New York City

Say hello to Sophie, Katherine and Sean. Don’t they look happy? Don’t they look wet? Don’t they look like they’re having a blast exploring the Niagara Falls on a day trip from New York City? Yes we thought so, too. Check out more of Sean’s photos of the Niagara Falls day trip from NYC.

#5. Ayers Rock (Uluru) Camel Sunset Tour

Hmm, not sure we intended to have a camel theme to our top photos of the year. But good photos are good photos, and this snap by Gillian of her Ayers Rock Sunset Camel Tour caught our fancy. Kangaroos in Australia? Sure. Koalas and wombats, too. But camels? Mate, you better believe it. Check out more photos of the Ayers Rock camel tour.

#4. Vatican & Sistine Chapel Tour, Rome

The Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, Rome… these are some of the most stunning sites in Europe. And we liked James’ photo above because it captures the awe-inspiring beauty of the Vatican’s architecture. Check out more photos of the Vatican & Sistine Chapel walking tour.

#3. Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour, from Las Vegas

For some people, Las Vegas is all about gambling. For others it’s all about the glitz and the glamor. For others it’s about easy access to sites such as Death Valley and the one-of-a-kind Grand Canyon. We selected Katie’s photo above, on her Grand Canyon Helicopter tour, because it captures the Grand Canyon’s majestic natural beauty with the shadows of a few fleeting clouds on an otherwise crystal-clear day. Great photo, Katie.

#2. Paris City Tour in a Citroen 2CV

Fancy a private tour of Paris in an old school Citroen 2cv? Nick and Nancy (above) did, and here’s what Nick had to say: “This was a trip down memory lane - my wife and I both drove 2CVs in the 1980s. I organised the tour for my wife’s 40th birthday, and it was great to hear the familiar rumble of a 2CV as it approached the hotel. This was a brilliant way to see Paris, and we were the centre of attention wherever we went. Great fun.”

#1. Statue of Liberty at Sunset, New York City

The Big Apple, it’s our kind of town. New York City is one of the world’s most iconic destinations, and it’s a safe bet that Manhattan’s skyline is the most recognizable in the world (More recognizable than Paris? Yes. More than London? Yes.). We chose Costa’s image of the Statue of Liberty at sunset as our top photo of the year because it is, simply, a beautiful photo of one of New York’s most famous sites. Congratulations Costas. And we hope your future travels include more of Viator’s tours and things to do, if only because we hope you send us more of your great trip photos!

–The Viator Travel Team

Editor’s Note: We’ve posted these Top 10 Travel Photos of the Year over on the Viator Flickr site. So far the main question we’ve been asked about the photos on Viator.com is, “are these photos for real?” We’re happy to report that yes, yes they are. Each and every photo was taken by an actual Viator.com traveler.

To my Christian friends in Egypt - Happy Christmas to you!

The majority of Christians in Egypt belong to the Coptic Orthodox church, one of the oldest denominations of the Christian faith, and they celebrate Christmas on January 7. Celebrations begin on the evening of January 6 when families attend large church services which run until midnight, much the same as a Catholic Midnight Mass on December 24.

Many people are unaware of the Christians in Egypt, simply assuming that as its an Islamic country, all Egyptians must be Muslims. However just like in the Western world, Egyptians have a variety of religions co-existing alongside one another, and quiet peacefully compared to many other places in the world (Israel, North Ireland spring to mind). While 90% of the population are Muslim, the remaining 10% are a mix of Christians and Hindus. As a visitor to the country you will meet many Christians as the Tourism and Hospitality industry is dominated by workers from these faith, and its hard to understand how they are such a low number minority in the country.

Moses received the 10 commandments from God on top of Mount Sinai on the Sinai Peninsula near Sharm el Sheikh, and the Holy family fled to Egypt during their persecution, so ties to the Christian church are quite strong. Most people tend to think of Jerusalem and the Vatican when thinking of the great religious sites around the world, however Egypt is also a destination worth considering if you are looking for a modern day pilgrimage style adventure.

-Kerrie O’Mahony

Chaos. Complete chaos. And yet with some kind of unspoken rule and unexpected courtesy. It’s the only way I can begin to describe driving around Cairo.

There are no lane markings on the roads – why bother when nobody is likely to take any notice? It’s more like a mass of angled, battered dodgem cars, ducking and weaving; no indicators, only waving hands and tooting horns which have a language of their own: one toot, three toots, a long blast. I couldn’t work out the translations apart from: ‘Coming through,’ which seemed to apply to most of them.

Cairo: Coming Through

Motorbikes carrying three people – often one a baby in arms – wove through the heaving mess of cars; buses and vans full of people stopped and started as people jumped on and off through the wide open doors, Combi vans chugged along, suspension shot and their rear bonnets open to keep the engine cool. And in the middle of it all, donkeys pulled carts loaded with carrots, melons, furniture. Flocks of sheep huddled amongst the parked cars, tempting buyers looking to break the family’s Ramadan fast in style.

Not that I was actually behind the wheel. Are you kidding? I left that up to our Egyptian driver. Apart from the high probability of an accident if I were driving in that melee, I saw very few women in the driver’s seat: Egypt is a male-dominated culture.

Cairo is one of the most alive places I have ever been. The sheer mass of people, the noise, the heat, the traffic, the yelling in the market, the foul tempered camels, the squeezing through impossibly narrow streets by wheezing tour buses, insulating their nervous occupants from the reality of it all, the dust, the sweat, the swirling voices calling out: ‘How can I take your money?’

Yes, in the Khan el Khalili market stallholders really do say that. In fact it’s their opening line: “How can I take your money?” So honest; I loved it. Sometimes it was followed by: “I do not want anything from you, I am married. I just want your money.”

Cairo: How can I take your money?

Once it was replaced with an offer of six camels to Steve in exchange for me and Violet – his two wives. Travelling with two women gave him a lot of kudos and us some protection. Selling me some fabulous red pointy, curly toed leather shoes (”smell them: leather”, as they were thrust again and again into my face), I was asked whether Steve was really my husband. I felt it safest to say yes, to discover that my shoe man was heartbroken as “already I love you.”

I got the shoes for a bargain price.

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