I usually don’t mention photographers collective on this blog, but I found that ArcaPress (started in May of 2010) which highlights Brazilian culture and covering such areas as religion, indigenous people, economic issues, urban reality, environment and wildlife.

I was particularly drawn to Between Faith And Fever by Guy Veloso, and Maracatu by Celso Oliviera.

Maracatu is the name of performance genres found in northeastern Brazil and in its northeastern state of Ceará. Maracatu describes the music style that accompanies these performances.

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Exploring a land where few tourists visit has become an enthralling habit.

I’ve had some really rotten holidays. They mostly involved driving from Glasgow to some psychosis-inducing seaside town in Lancashire at the height of the British summer. It would rain every other day and, in between, the heavy grey-worsted clouds would hang around like an axe murderer having a fag on a dank street corner.

Every year my parents would stuff their three sons into a 1963 Ford Anglia and head down to Blackpool, Morecambe or Whitley Bay.

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There are so many great vacation spots in the United States that I have decided to feature five today and an additional five tomorrow. The great thing about these places is that they are all associated with our great National Parks. Who knows, one of these great places may be news to you or possibly jog your memory and become your next vacation destination. If so you will not be disappointed but be warned the lodging in our most popular park destinations is both reasonable and very popular so availability will become nonexistent for the procrastinators.
Rafting the Grand Canyon is the best way to truly appreciate its size and beauty. Read more…

When Aussies think of Bali, many will conjure up images of drug smugglers awaiting the death penalty, inhumane prison cells or perhaps the tragic bombings of 2002.

More Bali travel: ARTIST DRAWS ON BALIA TO Z OF BALI10 WAYS TO RELAX IN UBUDSPOIL YOURSELF AT INSPIRING RESORTSEAT, PRAY, WHATEVER

Recent stories hitting our national press of a Central Coast teenager charged over marijuana possession, a Central Coast schoolie electrocuted after touching a nightclub sign in Kuta, and a Perth rugby player killed from methanol poisoning after drinking a concoction called Jungle Juice, have done nothing to improve the Indonesian island’s allure Down Under.

Australian holidaymakers make up a mammoth segment of Bali’s tourism industry, and the beachy hotspot is well aware of its tough task to convert and entice Aussies gone cold.

Even if you don’t think incarceration and danger, you’d be forgiven for being turned off by the images of Kuta as an over-developed tourist trap overrun with teenagers and – we may as well just say it – bogans.

But there is another side of Bali’s tourism that the industry is desperate for you to hear about – and we’re not talking the island’s mountainous interior or the desolate volcanic black-sand beaches in the north (although both sound quite wonderful).

Down in Bali’s southern tip known as the tourist mecca, there is a luxury emerging for those who want to experience Bali with indulgence.

Just moments from the loud, motorbike-ridden and steamy chaos of Bali’s streets, there are some truly remarkable and lavish venues hidden away that offer some of the paradise of this Indonesian island – without the dangers.

Since the 2002 Bali bombings near Kuta nightclubs, which killed 202 people including 88 Australians, security on the island has stepped up a few gears.

You can’t enter a western hotel, restaurant, beach club or bar in Bali today without having your car thoroughly checked for explosives and weapons – and while this can feel a little oppressive at times, the extra safety measures are undoubtedly a good thing.

So if you find yourself needing to escape the mayhem into a world of guaranteed safety and exotic decadence, here are some tips on how to spend your trip in style.

ACCOMMODATIONThe Oasis Boutique Beach Resort, Benoa

Set in Nusa Dua on the eastern side of the Bukit Peninsula – far away from the hustle and bustle of Kuta, which is a good 45 minutes away – The Oasis is just that.

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After reading a slew of stories about best smartphone and iPad apps for this and that, I reflected on what apps I tend to use the most while traveling. I keep coming back to the basics that save me time and money. Here is my simple list of my basic travel apps. Google maps This is the king of apps on my iPhone. If a button could get worn out on the iPhone, this would be the one. I use this app to figure out where I am when traveling across farmlands and in obscure villages. It finds tiny roads that connect here with there along paths not traveled.

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