Culture in Indonesia
The culture of Indonesia has been shaped by a long process of interaction and acculturation between original indigenous customs and a myriad of foreign influences. As Indonesia is located in the middle of ancient sea trading routes between Far East and Middle East, much of daily practices and art forms have been influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Islam, especially in many trading cities. Sometimes the cultural mixture is very complex and has to be distinguished from the original. Examples include the denomination of Hinduism, which is now practiced by 93% of Balinese, known as Agama Hindu Dharma, the fusion of Islam with Hindu in Javanese Abangan belief, the fusion of Hinduism...
Indonesia economy
Indonesia has a market-based economy in which the government plays a significant role. It owns more than 164 state-owned enterprises and administers prices on several basic goods, including fuel, rice, and electricity. In the aftermath of the financial and economic crisis that began in mid-1997, the government took custody of a significant portion of private sector assets through acquisition of nonperforming bank loans and corporate assets through the debt restructuring process. Current GDP per capita grew an astonishing 545% in the Seventies fuelled by oil demand. But this proved unsustainable and growth fell sharply to a manageable 20% in the Eighties and 13% in the Nineties. During the 30 years...
Indonesia is a huge archipelagic country extending 5,120 kilometers from east to west and 1,760 kilometers from north to south. It encompasses 13,667 (some sources say as many as 18,000, only 6,000 of which are inhabited. There are five main islands (Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Irian Jaya), two major archipelagos (Nusa Tenggara and the Maluku Islands), and sixty smaller archipelagos. Three of the islands are shared with other nations; Kalimantan (known in the colonial period as Borneo, the world's third largest island) is shared with Malaysia and Brunei, Timor is shared with East Timor, and Irian Jaya shares the island of New Guinea with Papua New Guinea. Indonesia's total land area is...
Internationalizing Your Websites
However one looks at it, the internet is an amazing piece of technology. It allows exposure to your products and services from people all over the world. However, if you're getting international visitors and you're not serving them with the correct content then you're potentially losing-out on a large number of sales.We've all seen the seamless way that large sites such as Google seem to 'know' which territory a surfer is coming from and then delivers content appropriately. The truth, however, is that even though there is some cleverness behind the approach there's no magical all-knowing code lying in the background. With some fairly simple perl code and some FTP data downloads you too...
What are the Essentials of High Quality Loose...
Demand for high quality loose leaf tea is experiencing strong growth and for those interested in high quality loose tea, more information will aid in decision making. Critical elements in the process include:Source of the TeaManufacturing ProcessesPurchasing, Quality Control and Customer ServiceSource of the TeaAll tea comes from the plant Camellia Sinensis but there is where the similarity between high quality loose leaf tea and other, lesser quality ends. From the time the tea leaves are plucked until the time the consumer tastes the brew, a number of critical events affect the tea experience.High quality loose leaf teas are carefully selected as only the finest of these rare orthodox teas, which...
Before the Mazda 6
For the market outside of its domain in Japan, Mazda produced the Mazda 626 family car. It was based on the Mazda Capella which was mainly sold in Japan. This new vehicle replaced the 616/618 and the RX-2 in 1979 and this was sold up until 2002. What took up the place of the Mazda 626 was the Mazda 6. In Asia, Australasia, and in Southern Africa, the Mazda 626 was sold under the name Ford Telstar.This vehicle made its first public appearance in 1979 as a rear wheel drive compact. It had a 75 hp 2.0 liter SOHC straight-4 G/MA engine that had automobile magazines comparing it to a BMW engine. The vehicle sported a split-folding rear seat that increased cargo capacity and flexibility to the maximum...
In certain situations, a few simple words do not cover the extent of gratitude one feels. If someone has gone above and beyond the call of duty, presenting them with a gift basket is a classy and thoughtful way to say thanks. With so many options in today's world, it is easy to find the perfect gift.Homemade gift baskets or gift boxes are simple to arrange. Many dollar stores or discount stores sell fancy baskets or boxes that you can then line with tissue paper and stuff with a wide array of goodies from flowers, to candy, to room sprays. It is important to have a grasp for the other person's likes and dislikes.If the recipient is a chocoholic, consider creating a basket that has one large...
Globalisation, internationalization, trans-border trade and cross cultural business are all terms that have been coined over the past decade(s) to reflect the reality of the world economy. Although international trade has long been in operation, the scale, frequency and speed at which it is conducted today is incomparable.Growth and success in today's global economy depend on being able to trade internationally. However, although the larger multinationals of the world have no trouble doing so, smaller companies, such as exporters, have struggled to make an impact and benefit from the new world order. This is because cross cultural solutions are not being used to address cross cultural obstacles to...
Australia - Facts and History
Although Australia encompasses a vast amount of land (7,686,850 sq. km., or 2,967,909 sq. mi.), it only has six States - five of which are on the mainland, and one which is an island. The five mainland States are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia. The island State is Tasmania. Australia also has two Territories, which have their own executive branches of government. Those are the Australian Capital Territory, or ACT, and Northern Territory. There are also several islands off the coast of Australia which are dependent upon it. Those are Ashmore, Cartier, Christmas, Cocos (Keeling), Coral Sea, Heard, McDonald, Norfolk, and Macquarie Islands.Australia...
The year 2005 could be portrayed as a year of unparalleled natural disasters. The Boxer Day tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004, in Southeast Asia, which killed more than 231,000, set the scene for the year 2005. The massive Indian Ocean quake, measuring 9.15 on the Richter scale, sent waves as high as 30 meters and as far away as 1000 miles in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and east Africa. The scene looked like something out of a Hollywood disaster film. Entire coastlines were altered as the seemingly never-ending surging tide pulverized everything in its path. An avalanche of donations immediately poured forth from the international community to the affected area, so much so, that at one point one charity...
The World of Diplomatic Backstage
De-classification of official documents have been a routine practice in the United States, while just the opposite is true of Pakistan. Successive governments over the years have believed in hiding away from public eye even the most innocuous of official documents without realizing that the practice only adds to the sense of national confusion. "I will expose everybody when the time is right," is a sentence that finds place in every politician's armory. A case in point is that of Mohammad Khan Junejo who kept repeating the line in the context of the Ojhri disaster, but the "right time" never came in his own lifetime.The book, The American Papers, is a selected bunch of documents de-classified by the...
10 Must-Know Travelers Tips to Hong Kong
Hong Kong is an international city and it has vast number of tourists come from all over the world in all year round. According to the Hong Kong Government statistics, the number of international tourists visited Hong Kong in 2005 reaches 10.8 million which represents a 13.1% increase when compared to 2004. Countries such as Australia, Canada, French, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Korean, Thailand, British and United States all contributes significant tourist growth for Hong Kong. This article presents some critical traveler tips for tourists so that you could enjoy more and have a wonderful trip to Hong Kong.1. Personal Identity and Safety Tourists must carry valid personal...
A child custody proceeding is any case involving child protection, adoption, guardianship, termination of parental rights or voluntary placement of your child.The support order will be based on the child's needs, obligor's ability to pay, custody arrangements and the child support guidelines. The Criminal Code makes it an offence to abduct a child to spite a custody order. A custody order establishes both the custody and parenting time arrangement for the children. Your child custody order is also confidential.When an unmarried mother has a child, the mother has legal custody of that child until a court says otherwise.During divorce, marriage, or annulment proceedings, the issue of child custody...
PAL LCD TVs
New is goldIf you are on the lookout for a new TV and if your budget permits, you have several choices today. One aspect may be saying goodbye to your now outdated and bulky CRT television. Another aspect may be that you desire to enjoy the sharpness, colour combination, flat posture of the television that are prominent in new TVs. It may also be a case that you are a technical person and want to enjoy the new visual wonders of cutting edge TV of modern age. Even you may be a sports lover wanting to enjoy the real fun of the World Cup Finals or US Open Tennis Championship at Flushing Meadows. As the technologies advance from time to time, your visions get better and better.The aspects to be...
An increasing number of European travel agents say they're beginning to see the start of a pick-up in sales for summer holidays. Tui, Europe's largest tour operator, has announced that its revenues from tourism are expected to increase this year from 14.1bn Euros to 15bn Euros. It said it expected the market to grow by between 3 and 5%. Tui believed sales in its three major markets - the UK, France and Germany - would increase this summer, particularly after the FIFA World Cup, to be held in Germany in June.Some travel companies are suggesting prices for destinations other than Germany in June might actually be lower than last year - precisely because of the World Cup. Tour operators generally...
World Of Warcraft Gold - Cheap Wow Gold - Where...
Seems everyone is asking "where is the place for gold?" or "I'm broke and need gold fast, please tell me where?" This article should help you out. Here I will list just some of the methods because there are too many to write but farming or getting world of warcraft gold is EASY! Think outside of the box...You can farm normal rock elementals in the south, middle edge of The Badlands zone (nestled in a small valley). They drop a lot of grey loot that vendors for 50silver to 1.5 World Of Warcraft Gold and drop it every other kill. They also drop ELEMENTAL EARTH which sells on the ah for 1-3 World Of Warcraft Gold A PIECE. Average drop of the earths is 1 out of 17.You can farm elemental slaves on the...
Amanda Vessel, "The Making of a Landmark: St. Anthony's Cathedral, Beaumont, Texas," Touchstone, vol. XIX (2000), 48-58.This article explores the history and symbolic and cultural significance of St. Anthony's Cathedral in Beaumont, Texas. Amanda Vessel asserts that this Catholic Church has special meanings for their parishioners. St. Anthony's physical appearance is very symbolic. The floor plan is shaped like a cross and the statues and other works of art represent many tenets of the Catholic faith.Before 1897, and the coming of Father William Lee, the Catholic Church in Beaumont, St. Louis, was very small and Spartan. In 1901, the discovery of oil led to an influx of people and oil-related...
Even Harvard School of Business can't teach you more what you can learn from the life of this great cricketer. Game of cricket is as challenging as any top career or business. And who else can teach you better, to swim through the tide of obstacles successfully and win, than one of the greatest cricketers in the history Sachin Tendulkar.1. DEVELOP A FIRE OF PURPOSE:Orison Swett Marden said "There's no grander sight in the world than that of a person fired with a great purpose, dominated by one unwavering aim." Such a man is detmined to achieve his goals and sooner or later he succeeds. Sachin had a purpose to make it big in cricket before he joined the team. The fire was so strong that no...
How do you protect human civilization from volcanoes? Is it possible to have ways to divert the flow? As we watch Mt. Saint Helens fill its lava dome in 2006, we watch the spill over of lava ignite small fires and eventually this will cause wildfires and those are dangerous as they can become out of control.With an active Volcano starting fires, this also removes the watershed and can lead to future mudslides, avalanche and floods below. As we look at the most active volcanoes in Mexico, Guatemala and Central America we see these scenarios play out year after year during decades of volcanic activity. We must have a plan for such things and be thinking ahead.When there is a lava dome filling such as...
The Other Side of the Search God's Abracadabra!
Thousands of servers ...billions of web pages.... the possibility of individually sifting through the WWW is null. The search engine gods cull the information you need from the Internet...from tracking down an elusive expert for communication to presenting the most unconventional views on the planet. Name it and click it. Beyond all the hype created about the web heavens they rule, let's attempt to keep the argument balanced. From Google to Voice of the Shuttle (for humanities research) these ubiquitous gods that enrich the net, can be unfair ...and do wear pitfalls. And considering the rate at which the Internet continues to grow, the problems of these gods are only exacerbated further...
Did you know that since the big Christmas Eve Sumatra Earthquake which triggered the large Tsunami in Indonesia that killed over 200,000 people that the ground just will not stop shaking there? Now there are Tsunami Early Warning Systems in Place, but what about all those Earthquakes. Many scientists believe that the Indian Ocean Tectonic Plate is splitting in two and that is not very funny if you consider the ramifications for humans living on the surface of the Planet as it could trigger massive Volcanic eruptions and atmospheric debris to cloud half of Earth.Some are wondering now if the Earthquake, Volcanoes and Tsunamis in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific will ever stop and in Early May 2006...
However one looks at it, the internet is an amazing piece of technology. It allows exposure to your products and services from people all over the world. However, if you're getting international visitors and you're not serving them with the correct content then you're potentially losing-out on a large number of sales.We've all seen the seamless way that large sites such as Google seem to 'know' which territory a surfer is coming from and then delivers content appropriately. The truth, however, is that even though there is some cleverness behind the approach there's no magical all-knowing code lying in the background. With some fairly simple perl code and some FTP data downloads you too...
The Metaphysical View of Death and Life After...
One of our personal experiences with our deceased friend with whom we related previously would substantiate this principle as described by Swedenborg:We once decided to visit our friend in the heavenly regions. We had some joyful news that we wanted to convey to her--news that she was waiting to hear while she was alive in the physical. Not knowing where she was or able to directly manifest before her, we were escorted by a guide to a lovely garden with a Greek temple in the midst of it. The garden was empty, or so it seemed. But while adjusting our sight, people appeared everywhere. They did not notice us, however. It was as though we did not exist in their eyes. Our escort went into the building...
Recently, American president George Bush called for increasing the number of H1B Visa so that more skilled professionals can come from across the world for scientific and high tech jobs in USA. This call is in a way a surprising matter as American economy is right now not at its best condition. Rising oil price and Iraq war have put the American economy in the back foot for the last few years and rate of unemployment is gradually becoming a major cause of concern for the American people. American workers are losing manufacturing jobs to China and technology jobs to Indian workers. Therefore, the call for increasing the number of H1B Visa may seem to be a shock to many.Why Bush wants to increase...
The World of Diplomatic Backstage
De-classification of official documents have been a routine practice in the United States, while just the opposite is true of Pakistan. Successive governments over the years have believed in hiding away from public eye even the most innocuous of official documents without realizing that the practice only adds to the sense of national confusion. "I will expose everybody when the time is right," is a sentence that finds place in every politician's armory. A case in point is that of Mohammad Khan Junejo who kept repeating the line in the context of the Ojhri disaster, but the "right time" never came in his own lifetime.The book, The American Papers, is a selected bunch of documents de-classified by the...
Forex Trading Secrets
Many think that analyzing forex is hard and filled with mathematical concepts and many is willing to pay millions for market courses so they understand the technical analysis with graphics and so on. But we are confused by ourselves which frame will we choose, single minute, five minutes or daily.If we think logically, clear, and ease we will see signals that actually exist but we can't see because there's indicators blur it. KISS = keep it simple stupid, is basic to be implemented everywhere.To be successful in trading there's some principals to follow. When you're trading then you'll have to think as a trader, buy at low price and sell at high price is the number one rule. Whether you're playing...
Indonesian Holidays offer specially negotiated hotel deals, ground tours, and flights not just to Indonesia but also other Asian countries as add-on from Indonesia or as single or Multicentre holidays.9 Days Java (Bali to Jakarta)Day 1. Denpasar to Bromo...
Tea is drunk in more countries than any other beverage. It is one of the most popular drinks today. Little wonder it is known as "the cup that cheers."The yearly worldwide production of dried tea leaves is over 2.6 billion kilograms. India is one of the leading tea producers offering 720 million kilograms each year. Other countries that produce tea are Kenya, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. China is a major producer of green tea. The main types of tea available today are black, white, green, and oolong. The only difference between them is the way they are made.The tea tree is an evergreen plant with small, white, sweet-smelling flowers. Grown on hill slopes on tea estates, its botanical name is...
Taboo for one culture may be considered not taboo in other culture. Something acceptable in your culture may be considered taboo for Indonesians. To understand what is taboo or not taboo for Indonesians, you shall read "Do's and Don'ts" below.Do Introduce yourself with handshaking and smile Indonesians are a polite people and very tolerant towards foreigners and their manners. Handshaking (salaman) is customary for men and women alike on introduction and greeting, accompanied with the usual smile. Indonesians like to establish relationships. The greeting process is very important. Well begun is half done. Always shake hands with your business partner. Be humble in your negotiations and give your...
Trip to Maldives !
It was in the year 1977, I got my first passport after an NOC (No objection certificate) issued by the Government of India for issuing me a passport, since I was a Government employee . I was very enthusiastic about my possible 'overseas travel' and started to make plans for a trip to Maldives. I had another friend of mine, who also got his first passport , and was desperately banking upon me to make the tour plan to accommodate him as well.Both of us bought airline ticket from Trivandrum to Maldives,(A group of islands in the Indian ocean, southwest of India, approximately 45minutes of flying time by a Boeing aircraft from Trivandrum.). Having successfully arranged that, we collected the...
Fasting and asceticism are essential practices in Javanese Kejawen and shamanism--especially Indonesian shamanism. Most of the unusual and unique powers acquired in Indonesian occultism are dependent upon the mastery of these disciplines with their many forms and variations. Another important factor that must not be overlooked in the acquisition of these occult powers is the knowledge of the correct timing such as the proper month and day which magickal rites and disciplines are to be commenced, and this is intrinsically linked with the Javanese calender; this however, will not be dealt with in this article for it is beyond its scope. We will mainly focus on the many variations of fasting and the...
Indonesia, a Country of thousands of beautiful and exotic Islands, that spark off your imagination with thoughts of fine sandy beaches, huge temple complexes, great diving and the giant dragons of Komodo. The islands of Indonesia are spread over a vast expanse of ocean and technically speaking is divided by two Continents.Some parts of the Country can be as different from each other as black is from white. The hustle and bustle of the modern capital Jakarta is like another planet when compared to the traditional Papuan tribes of the Baliem Valley.Jakarta - Not only is it the largest City in the Country, Jakarta is also the heartbeat. Indonesian's from all over the archipelago come to the City to...
Street Food in Thailand... A Smorgasbord For...
Like other Southeast Asian countries, food stalls are everywhere in the streets, markets and festivals of Thailand, providing an endless smorgasbord of aromas, color, sounds and flavors - food in Thailand is a feast for all of the senses.Picture a barbecue hotdog stand outside a North American sports stadium. Now, instead of hotdogs and buns sizzling on a grill, the food cart is laden with fresh bananas, which are slathered in batter and deep-fried to golden in a giant wok, then scooped into a paper bag like a super-size order of extra thick homecut french fries. That was my first breakfast in Thailand while I watched hundreds of beautifully costumed elephants play soccer and tug-of-war in an...
Roasting 101- an Idiots Guide to Reality!
The beans. Warm and seemingly glowing in the palm of your hand. Ahhh...freshly roasted you say outloud. The product of an artist. You settle down into your tall stool and ask the barista to grind the freshly roasted coffee...cupping time...the romance of it all sweeps over you.OK. So most of the above is the image that a newby or wanna-be roaster has of the industry. The lure for the guy sitting in his office and dreaming of another life- one he can do something he loves- coffee, or more specifically crafting green beans into roasted specialty coffee.The reality checks for someone looking at entering the coffee roasting business are many. From the outside it does indeed look glamourous. In truth...
Costa Rica Property Investment
Costa Rica property investment has provided investors with great capital gains over the last few years with low downside volatility.Many investors now see Costa Rica property investment as expensive and are looking at other Central American countries such as Belize and Nicaragua, but Costa Rica still looks a better investment in terms of risk to reward due to the following:1. An established marketCosta Rica property investment still looks to have excellent capital growth potential because it is an established market.The fact is once foreign capital buys in more follows, as it instils confidence and there is a track record to look at and this encourages further investmentThe Expat community continues...
Well it sure seems interesting that there have been so many recent Earthquakes in the Nation State of Iran. It appears Iran and its President have been in the news for all the wrong reasons, such as promising to; Blow Israel off the Map and sponsoring international terrorist organizations such as but not limited too; Hamas and Hezbollah.Iran has also been in the news for buying Chinese ICBM missiles which are 35-feet long and capable of carrying nuclear warheads over 1200 miles meaning most countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. But that is not all, as the most serious reason they have been in the news lately is because they are developing nuclear weapons, as they wish to build an...
An Astonishing Number of Major Worldwide...
Earth Changes...Well, I personally think that earth changes are both real and understated, but these changes are getting far less worldwide attention than they deserve.The following facts and statistics were all gleaned from the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program ( so you can check them out and verify them yourself.This past month, from April 1st to April 28th (of 2005), there were 135 earthquakes measuring 5.0 and above on the Richter scale worldwide.Of those 135, 18 measured above 6.0.More alarming still is the fact that of these 135 earthquakes, over 70 of them hit the country (and/or waters) of Indonesion - IN ONE MONTH!Why haven't we heard more about this?Indonesia is hardly a huge country- it's...
Taboo for one culture may be considered not taboo in other culture. Something acceptable in your culture may be considered taboo for Indonesians. To understand what is taboo or not taboo for Indonesians, you shall read "Do's and Don'ts" below.Do Introduce yourself with handshaking and smile Indonesians are a polite people and very tolerant towards foreigners and their manners. Handshaking (salaman) is customary for men and women alike on introduction and greeting, accompanied with the usual smile. Indonesians like to establish relationships. The greeting process is very important. Well begun is half done. Always shake hands with your business partner. Be humble in your negotiations and give your...
Indonesia Volcano
Well, it looks like Indonesia is about ready to have another huge Earth Event. In the last few years they have had massive Earthquakes and a giant Tsunami, which killed nearly 200,000 people. Now the people of Indonesia face a huge Volcano. However, the islands people do not see volcanoes as bad, but rather as messages from the gods.As one person puts it in the Indonesian Center for Volcano research and technology development; volcanoes are often seen by the natives as having mythical powers. This of course makes it difficult to evacuate because legend has it that it is a positive thing. In the 1930s a Volcano eruption killed 1300 people because no one was willing to leave the area. Today, things...
Is God Causing the Earthquakes in Iran
Well it sure seems interesting that there have been so many recent Earthquakes in the Nation State of Iran. It appears Iran and its President have been in the news for all the wrong reasons, such as promising to; Blow Israel off the Map and sponsoring international terrorist organizations such as but not limited too; Hamas and Hezbollah.Iran has also been in the news for buying Chinese ICBM missiles which are 35-feet long and capable of carrying nuclear warheads over 1200 miles meaning most countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. But that is not all, as the most serious reason they have been in the news lately is because they are developing nuclear weapons, as they wish to build an...
Public Speaking: International Perspective on...
United States public speaking audiences are becoming more and more diverse. It is your responsibility as a public speaker to be aware of and acknowledge significant portions of the audience that come from differing backgrounds. If you are speaking in a different country, again, it is up to you to find out about local customs and types of humor that are appreciated in that locale. The response to humor is quite different for different cultures. Paying close attention to this fact will give you a greater chance of connecting with international audiences in and out of the U.S. You will also be more aware of etiquette and customs that will make you a welcome speaker anywhere you go.If you are not...
Magickal Oils of Indonesian Shamanism Part 1
IntroductionAlmost every shamanic and pagan culture has its own collection of oils used for occult and magickal purposes. In this article we will describe a few of these "minyak" (as oils are called in the Indonesian/Malayan tongue) to be found in the Indonesian archipelago. This is an on-going project and we may update this article whenever we possess additional information regarding the subject.There are many oils used for occult purposes; we may divide them into two categories: the ordinary ones, and the extraordinary ones. For instance, Zafarron, Misik, and Gaharu oils as used for anointing and writing sigils, seals, kameas, wefeqs, etc., are the "ordinary" ones. Below we will describe the more...
Is God Causing the Earthquakes in Iran
Well it sure seems interesting that there have been so many recent Earthquakes in the Nation State of Iran. It appears Iran and its President have been in the news for all the wrong reasons, such as promising to; Blow Israel off the Map and sponsoring international terrorist organizations such as but not limited too; Hamas and Hezbollah.Iran has also been in the news for buying Chinese ICBM missiles which are 35-feet long and capable of carrying nuclear warheads over 1200 miles meaning most countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. But that is not all, as the most serious reason they have been in the news lately is because they are developing nuclear weapons, as they wish to build an...
Business and Market Overview on Indonesia
ECONOMY. Indonesia is a market-based economy but the government plays a significant role in the country's economy with 160 government-owned enterprises. Indonesia's GDP per capita ranks fifth after Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand. The Asian economic crisis of 1997 adversely affected the country economy and businesses and caused spiralling prices of necessities resulting in social unrest. Future prospects of Indonesia's economy are bright with economic structural reforms in placed since the Asian economic crisis.Indonesia's GDP was US$258.3 billion with a GDP per capita of US$1,193 in 2004. Indonesia's real GDP grew at an average of 4.6% annually from 2000 to 2004 driven by domestic...
Romantic Hideaways - Zanzibar to Sorrento
You've probably already "done" Venice, Paris and Niagara Falls. So where to this year? Here are some secret romantic hideaways and some not so secret. Some are at their best in the winter while others shine in the summer, still others year around. Got your passport ready? Here you go...Zanzibar - spicy exotic. The name alone is invitation enough to elope to the wilderness. This group of two spicy islands and its handful of islets off the coast of Tanzania, East Africa, are just perfect for a winter getaway. The vibe is casual and relaxed (think barefoot-exotic) with dazzling sun on the palm-fringed beaches and inviting turquoise sea. The abundance of fresh seafood and exotic fruit should...
The Coming Pandemic Of Identity Theft???
The mess with the Veterans Administration is scary but there is an even larger problem looming on the horizon. It's just a matter of time.-FACTThere're 575 mln PCs in use today, 1.3 bln by 2010By 2010, mature markets in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific will have added 150 mln new PCs, while emerging markets will have added 566 mln new computers. Overall, there will be 1.3 billion PCs, up from 575 mln today. The number of PCs in emerging markets will grow at a 31% compounded annual growth rate .Now add to this number that each of these are replaced on an average 3-5 yrs which is where the sleeping giant waits to strike. Now we're already looking at over 1 billion pc's waiting to strike...
Visit Hong Kong
HONG KONG is very much 'abroad'. Now that the near continent is easily accessible, countries such as France, Spain, Italy seem to merge styles and culture to become one generic Euro-Country. In contrast Hong Kong feels like a foreign country. It also has reminders of a colonial past, so your trip there as well as being a trip to a foreign country is also a trip into the past.Hong Kong is also a brash mixture of Western and Eastern cultures, a meld of designer clothing, electronic consumables and Chinese superstitions. Modern apartment tower blocks, very Western in style and decor, do not have floor numbers ending in '4' as the number 4 in Cantonese is very close to the Cantonese word for 'death'.You...
Are you planning a trip abroad? If you so, you might want to know the current currency exchange rates so you can plan ahead for your financing needs. Your money is usually not worth the same in different countries as it is in the country where you live...
Taboo for one culture may be considered not taboo in other culture. Something acceptable in your culture may be considered taboo for Indonesians. To understand what is taboo or not taboo for Indonesians, you shall read "Do's and Don'ts" below.Do Introduce yourself with handshaking and smile Indonesians are a polite people and very tolerant towards foreigners and their manners. Handshaking (salaman) is customary for men and women alike on introduction and greeting, accompanied with the usual smile. Indonesians like to establish relationships. The greeting process is very important. Well begun is half done. Always shake hands with your business partner. Be humble in your negotiations and give your...
Where is New Zealand, exactly? New Zealand is two islands in the Pacific, but it is not a Pacific Island.All those islands we normally think of as "Pacific": New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga, the Cook Islands, and Tahiti, lie between 15 and 23 degrees South.They are north of the Tropic of Capricorn...... New Zealand is south of it. By a long way.New Zealand stretches from 35 to 47 degrees south, and covers 270 000 square kilometres. It is: the size of Burkina Faso, Colorado, Equador, the UK, or the Western Sahara twice the size of Bangladesh, Fujian Province (China) or Greece four times the size of Sri Lanka half the size of Madagascar, France or Kenya and would fit comfortably into the Caspian or...
South African History [The British Colonial...
In 1795 the British occupied the Cape as a strategic base against the French, controlling the sea route to the East.After a brief reversion to the Dutch in the course of the Napoleonic wars, it was retaken in 1806 and kept by Britain in the post-war settlement of territorial claims. The closed and regulated economic system of the Dutch period was swept away as the Cape Colony was integrated into the dynamic international trading empire of industrializing Britain.A crucial new element was evangelicalism, brought to the Cape by Protestant missionaries. The evangelicals believed in the liberating effect of 'free' labor and in the 'civilizing mission' of British imperialism. They were convinced that...