AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

Century-old, architect designed custom clocks still ticking in Pennsylvania’s Capitol

December 23, 202420 Views

Capitol buildings are almost always an imposing presence. The seat of government, they tend to be elegant and stately — and frequently capped by a dome. Visitors to Pennsylvania ‘s Capitol are drawn to its priceless artwork, polished marble and intricate carvings, but hidden behind the doors of some of its most ornate offices and chambers are another treasure: hundreds of antique clocks that were part of its original design. The 273 working clocks include many that are integrated into fireplace mantels and other building features. They are not low maintenance, requiring regular oiling and occasional mechanical overhauls. And every week, in a throwback to a time before wristwatches and cellphones, clock winders roam the halls — ensuring the century-plus-old timeke...

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Thailand’s sea nomads work to preserve a vanishing way of life

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 22, 202475 Views

When Hook was a child, he started his days by jumping off the boat that his family lived on and into the ocean. By age 3, he could already swim and dive in shallow waters. His home was a kabang, a boat, that his family sailed in Thailand’s southern waters. The ocean was his backyard. Now Hook, whose full name is Suriyan Klathale, lives on land like the rest of his community, a people known as the Moken. The recollections of his childhood, which many Moken of his generation still have, are mostly just memories. The community, a group of indigenous people from Thailand and Myanmar, came to worldwide attention for its members’ understanding of waves when the Indian Ocean Tsunami struck in December 2004 and killed more than 200,000 people. The few tourists who happened to be on the isla...

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Carnival forecasts robust 2025 bookings as cruise demand booms

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 22, 202467 Views

Cruise operator Carnival Corp forecast strong bookings for 2025 ahead of the busy summer travel season, riding the wave of strong spending on experiences even as prices increase, sending its shares up about 5% on Friday. The resilient demand for cruise vacations also helped Carnival post better-than-expected profit and sales for the fourth quarter, but the company forecast annual profit below estimates due to rising input costs and advertising spending. "2025 is shaping up to be another banner year, with yield growth expected to far outpace historical growth rates and again exceed unit cost growth," CEO Josh Weinstein said in a statement. The 2,052-passenger Carnival Imagination is anchored off the coast of Half Moon Cay, a private Bahamian island available to Carnival Cruis...

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Pope’s big Holy Year only aggravates Rome’s overtourism crisis

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 22, 202466 Views

When Pope Francis left the Vatican earlier this month for his traditional Christmastime outing downtown, he acknowledged what many Romans have been complaining about for months: That his big plans for a Holy Year had turned their city into a giant construction pit, with traffic-clogging roadworks tearing up major thoroughfares, scaffolding covering prized monuments and short-term rentals gobbling up apartment blocks. Francis urged Romans to pray for their mayor — “He has a lot to do” — but to nevertheless welcome the upcoming Jubilee as a time of spiritual repair and renewal. “These worksites are fine, but beware: Don’t forget the worksites of the soul!” Francis said. When he formally opens the Holy Year next week, Francis will launch a dizzying 12-month calendar of events that ...

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A guide to reindeer stew and floating saunas in Oslo

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 22, 202489 Views

Oslo has been my adopted home for 20 years. I am from Paris originally and have been working at Reuters for 15 years, where I’ve covered news ranging from the Norwegian oil and gas industry to its $1.9 trillion sovereign wealth fund to the annual awarding of the Nobel Prize. The Norwegian capital, which historically played second fiddle to its bigger, more glamorous cousins Copenhagen and Stockholm, now has excellent restaurants and world-class museums, such as a recently opened one dedicated to Edvard Munch and the National Museum, which has moved to a new, larger home. Still, nature is never far. Here are few insider tips: Getting around: Oslo is a compact city, so I walk or cycle everywhere. If I need to go a little further afield, I will jump on a tram, bus...

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UNESCO to study development risks to Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 21, 202460 Views

UNESCO will deploy a team of experts to assess possible risks for the conservation of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam as it is worried about development projects that may threaten the heritage-listed tourist attraction, the U.N. agency told Reuters. The bay and the adjoining Cat Ba archipelago of limestone islets celebrates this year the 30th anniversary of inscription on the UNESCO world heritage list, being considered by the agency "the most extensive and best known example of marine-invaded tower karst." The UNESCO designation contributed to the site becoming a massive tourist destination, drawing millions of visitors every year and boosting Vietnam's revenue from tourism. However, the United Nations' education, scientific and cultural agency, in a statement attributed to its World...

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Northern hemisphere’s shortest day marked at Stonehenge on winter solstice

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 21, 202458 Views

Thousands of tourists, pagans, druids and people simply yearning for the promise of spring marked the dawn of the shortest day of the year Saturday at the ancient Stonehenge monument. Revelers cheered and beat drums as the sun rose at 8:09 a.m. (0809 GMT) over the giant standing stones on the winter solstice — the shortest day and the longest night in the Northern Hemisphere. No one could see the sun through the low winter cloud, but that did not deter a flurry of drumming, chanting and singing as dawn broke. There will be less than eight hours of daylight in England on Saturday — but after that, the days get longer until the summer solstice in June. Starting Sunday, days will get a little bit longer in the Northern Hemisphere every single day until late June. These annual ch...

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Giant sloths and mastodons lived with humans for millennia

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 21, 202478 Views

Sloths weren’t always slow-moving, furry tree-dwellers. Their prehistoric ancestors were huge — up to 4 tons (3.6 metric tons) — and when startled, they brandished immense claws. For a long time, scientists believed the first humans to arrive in the Americas soon killed off these giant ground sloths through hunting, along with many other massive animals like mastodons, saber-toothed cats and dire wolves that once roamed North and South America. But new research from several sites is starting to suggest that people came to the Americas earlier — perhaps far earlier — than once thought. These findings hint at a remarkably different life for these early Americans, one in which they may have spent millennia sharing prehistoric savannas and wetlands with enormous beasts. This combinat...

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The World, Residences at Sea announces 2025 journey

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 21, 202455 Views

The World, the largest privately owned residential yacht on earth, reveals its 2025 Journey featuring unrivalled worldwide adventure. Sailing across five oceans and visiting six continents, a once-in-a-lifetime voyage awaits our international community of travellers featuring almost 100 ports of call. The only ship of its kind in operation today, The World offers a one-of-a-kind ultra-luxury lifestyle of global exploration from the comfort of a home at sea. Renowned for its explorations to the planet's most remote and undiscovered regions as well as to diverse cosmopolitan cities, The World begins 2025 in Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and ends the year in historical and picturesque Hobart, Tasmania, Australia where it will ring in 2026. Carefu...

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Backroads announces top 10 active travel trends for 2025

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 21, 202459 Views

From women's adventures and challenging hiking to a year of being unplugged & under the stars Backroads, the leader in active travel, today announced its travel trends for 2025 based on early guest bookings. From women-only departures and acoustic (non-electric) bike tours to Portugal's most intriguing islands and the Alps, the company is seeing interest across a variety of travel styles, ages and locations around the world. Backroads top active travel trends for 2025 1) Women-only trips Exclusive adventures just for women—whether traveling solo or with friends, with sisters or multiple generations of female family members—will continue to gain traction. Backroads expects guests on its Women's Adventures Walking & Hiking Tours will more than double in 2025 co...