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VPG-DVD-116 - SINGAPORE Singapore is a city of gardens and the heart of South East Asia. Its history began in 1819 with Stamford Raffles, a young official who worked for the British East India Company. Raffles estimated that the natural harbour was perfect for trading ships and so he bought the land from the Sultan of Johor and founded a trading settlement. As a free port, Singapore attracted trading ships from all over the world and today four million people live here on an area that covers 640 square kilometres. In June each year there is an exciting boat race in Marina Bay known as the Dragon Boat Race that features magnificently painted dragon boats with hand-carved heads and tails accompanied by the sound of frenetic drumbeats. Dating back to colonial times, British influence is omnipresent, whether the Cricket Club or the Parliament, traditional English spirit rules despite Singapore's Independence. The World Famous Raffles Hotel is situated in the Colonial District near to the Singapore River. In the hotel's Ashanti Bar it was customary to throw expired peanut shells directly onto the floor and at the same time to reverently sip a Singapore Sling, the national drink. The Singapore Zoo is one of the finest in the world in which the animals can roam freely, their territory being surrounded by a landscaped ditch. Approximately 2800 animals live in the spacious enclosures and even those from the world's coldest regions can be observed both below and above water, thanks to cleverly designed viewing areas. A complete mix of ethnic cultures, there's Chinatown, Little India and the Arab Street Quarter in which there are mosques, women wear burqas and there is all the hustle and bustle of a bazaar. Singapore is an exotic city of skyscrapers, a cultural melting pot and the exciting gateway to South East Asia!
Vista Point SINGAPORE
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 201 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m42s
Views: 28  | Comments: 0
Rating: Not yet rated
VPG-DVD-112 - MONTREAL Canada's second largest city, Montreal is a fascinating blend of European charm and the American way of life. In Vieux-Montreal, narrow lanes and small houses recall the past and also the lifestyle of the original settlers. In the old fire station at Place D`Youville - one of the oldest markets in Montreal -- is the Centre D`Histoire in which the 350 year cultural history of the city is on display, from the development of the Irokese Settlement, its prolific fur trade, and right up to today's shining, energetic Metropolis. Although Montreal is located 1600 kilometres from the open sea, it owes its wealth to its waterways which stretch from the country's interior, to the ocean. A trip on the Saint Laurence River with the pleasure boat, BATEAU-MOUCHE, contrasts old, historic warehouses with the highly contemporary apartment block of the Cite Du Havre Habitat. Le Tour Olympique, Montreal's " Crooked Tower", offers panoramic views which extend more than 80 kilometres from its 175 metre tall viewing platform. Next to the Olympic Stadium, the Biodome, in which exotic animals from many corners of the world roam among waterfalls and tropical forests. Next to the gleaming skyscrapers of the inner city, there are museums, churches and art galleries and, in the old quarter, there are more historic buildings than in any other North American city, not forgetting the parks and the romantic harbour. Montreal is a gem!
Vista Point MONTREAL Canada
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 201 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m32s
Views: 30  | Comments: 0
Rating: Not yet rated
VPG-DVD-117 - MARRAKESH Marrakesh, the 'red pearl' of Morocco was founded by Youssef Ben Tachfin in 1602. It is one of the country's four Royal Cities. Up to the beginning of the 20th century the city was a trading centre for both the north of Morocco and the Sahara and the monarchs of various dynasties made Marrakesh their capital city. The large souks of Marrakesh's Medina are divided into numerous sections and stock just about everything known to Man! In spite of the city's apparent calm there is much activity and the traffic is surprisingly well disciplined. Marrakesh has the largest souks in Morocco. As well as shoes and clothing they stock all the necessities of life and of course bargaining and haggling are the norm! Daily life in the souks is dominated by trade. They are a vital meeting place and trading centre for the farmers of the High Atlas. Those who wish to experience Moroccan daily life can do so here and a stroll through the narrow alleys taking in the city's sounds and aromas explains far more than any travel guide. Place Jemaa El-Fna is the 'Square Of The Beheaded' and is Marrakesh's most famous attraction with snake charmers, musicians and storytellers. In 2001 the Square Of The Beheaded was designated by Unesco as a World Heritage Site. Built in 1158, the minaret of the Koutoubia Mosquee is the symbol of the city. The seventy seven metre tall sandstone minaret served as the model for the Giralda in Seville and the Hassan Tower in Rabat and most of it was built by Spanish prisoners of war. Marrakesh is an historic bridge that unites both urban and nomadic cultures - an exotic gateway to Africa and a captivating window to Europe!
Vista Point MARRAKESH Morocco
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 201 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m32s
Views: 35  | Comments: 0
Rating: Not yet rated
VPG-DVD-108  FÈZ In the early and late Middle Ages, the royal city of Fez was the capital of Morocco. Where two of the most important trading routes from the Sahara to the Mediterranean crossed, a follower of the prophet Mohammed established Fez in a delightful river valley. In the old walled town of Medina in which Muslim belief is omnipresent, everyone lives within easy listening distance of a minaret and also the relentless babble of traders and craftsmen. Through the old city gate of Bab Boujeloud is entered the exotic world of the Arab-Islam Middle Ages. The beautifully restored inner courtyards of the city palaces show the splendour of Spanish-Moorish architecture. Arabesque wall decorations and floor mosaics represent 1200 years of Muslim belief and reflect the cultural prosperity enjoyed by this royal city whose historic past today intermingles with aromatic aromas, a wealth of craftsmen, and the smell of dough-cake as baked in the time of Roman occupation.
Vista Point FES Morocco FEZ
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 201 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m30s
Views: 32  | Comments: 0
Rating: Not yet rated
VPG-DVD-233 - ZANZIBAR Zanzibar is a paradise-like island just off the Tanzanian coast. An island of spice and exotic aromas, sultans' palaces, harems, shining white beaches and fiery red sunsets. The ancient oriental city of Zanzibar derived its name from its many old stone buildings. Charming and mysterious they have witnessed much of the island's dramatic past and the tangled architecture of coral stone and shell lime serves as a fascinating backdrop to this colourful city that is strongly influenced by an Arabian way of life. In the north of the old town is one of the island's most beautiful buildings, the Ismali Dispensarium. It was built by a wealthy Indian businessman and was originally a hospital with an adjoining pharmacy. Today it contains a cultural centre. The house of the infamous Tippu Tip who was once Zanzibar's biggest slave trader, has not yet been restored. He was an extremely unpleasant man who sent his servants into the African bush to catch slaves who were later sold in Zanzibar Livingstone House was built in 1861. The famous missionary and explorer once resided there prior to going on his final expedition. He was frequently the guest of Tippu Tip who offered Dr. Livingstone various maps that were based upon his slave routes. A tropical paradise just off the African coast with the flair of the Orient, historic architecture and the colours of Africa. Zanzibar is most assuredly a legendary and fairy-tale island of global culture.
Vista Point ZANZIBAR...
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 201 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m24s
Views: 29  | Comments: 0
Rating: Not yet rated
VPG-DVD-152 - TRINIDAD Located to the south of the Caribbean island of Cuba, Trinidad was founded by the Spaniard, Velazquez and in the 18th century the city experienced great wealth and recognition through the cultivation of sugar cane. The exclusive palaces and villas of the sugar barons still leave their mark on the city with tall wooden gates, barred windows and original roof tiles that characterise the style of bygone days. The Palacio Padron is located on the Plaza Mayor, the centre of the city. A few years ago the palace was lovingly restored in painstaking detail and transformed into an archaeological museum. Around the main square the most beautiful palaces stand in rows and are an impressive indicator of the colonial lifestyle enjoyed by the former sugar aristocracy. The slave trade and the cultivation of sugar cane made the island's inhabitants incredibly wealthy and Trinidad became the most important cultural and trade centre in the whole of Cuba. The former palace of the Cantero sugar barons now houses the Museo De Historia, an impressive building in the Calle Bolivar in which visitors can marvel at old timepieces, porcelain, furniture and valuable crystal chandeliers. The seven storey Torre De Iznaga rises menacingly into the sky, the bells of which once summoned the plantation slaves to work while watchmen surveyed the valley from above because of the fears of the plantation owners who believed that one day the slaves would rebel against them. Splendid exotic beauty in a land situated between sun and socialism, sugar and cigars, rumba and revolution. In Trinidad it is as though everything is in a state of suspended animation waiting to be kissed awake.
Vista Point TRINIDAD
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 201 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m23s
Views: 22  | Comments: 0
Rating: Not yet rated
VPG-DVD-197 - SHAN STATE North of Burma's central plains is the exotic and fascinating Shan State, a beautiful landscape in South East Asia located on the eastern side of Myanmar. Once forty Shan monarchs ruled there but they lived in hostile times as Burmese kings and Chinese warlords fought against them to gain control of their fertile land. We begin our journey at Inlay Lake. The magical beauty of this body of water has attracted and fascinated people since time immemorial and this unique lake is home to the Intha people. The next leg of the journey leads to a far more tranquil section of the lake that features floating gardens that are around a hundred metres long and two metres wide and consist of a densely interwoven carpet of water hyancinths. Mandalay, 'The City Of Art', is located in the centre of Shan State. It was founded in 1857 and up until the British conquered it in 1885 it was the capital of the kingdom of Burma. The Mahamuni Pagoda is the centre of worship and is also where the Mahamuni Buddha is kept, the country's most highly worshipped Buddha statue. Around twelve kilometres beyond Hsipaw is the legendary Bagyo Pagoda. Surrounded by a magnificent wall it is thought that the sanctuary is more than seven hundred years old. An important festival takes place each year around Tabaung, the time of the full moon in February and March, and is the highlight of the town's cultural calendar. The Shan people in the north of Myanmar have most certainly retained their cultural heritage and Shan State is an exotic combination of both nature and culture and a land of beauty and joie de vivre!
Vista Point SHAN STATE...
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 201 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m24s
Views: 18  | Comments: 0
Rating: Not yet rated
VPG-DVD-210 - SAIGON: HO CHI MINH CITYSaigon, an exotic trading post of bygone times, derived its name from the banks of the river upon which it is located. In 1859 the French arrived and transformed it into the capital of French colonial Indochina. With nearly six million inhabitants Saigon is also known as Ho Chi Minh City and, although large, is no longer the capital of Vietnam.Following the eventual withdrawal of both the French and the Americans the city has prospered once again with a lively trading spirit and a special flair that has helped it to become known as, The Paris Of The East. The Post Office, a mighty colonial building of 1883, highlights the splendour of old Europe and with its colourful glass windows and cast iron gratings and balustrades it is more like a European train station. The History Museum was built in 1929 according to Neo-Vietnamese design and features a large range of fascinating exhibits from each epoch of the country's history. Statues, pottery and other artefacts of various epochs are on display in various atmospheric rooms and they range from the Bronze Age culture of the Dong Son to the Funan, Chenla, Khmer and Cham periods as well as various Vietnamese dynasties. Although past, present and future live side-by-side in this richly cosmopolitan city, today Saigon is experiencing a massive property boom and its city centre premiums now match those of both Singapore and Jakarta. Saigon's dramatic past began with it being a small fishing village followed by its development as the 'Paris Of The East' and then as an American garrison city until it eventually became South Vietnam's modern metropolis of today.
Vista Point SÀI GÒN Ho...
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 201 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m20s
Views: 16  | Comments: 0
Rating: Not yet rated
VPG-DVD-137 - RABAT Rabat is the capital of Morocco and also its royal seat of power. The main residence of King Mohammed the Sixth is a fascinating modern metropolis. Along with its monumental works of art the fourth oldest of the Makhzen cities is also one of Morocco's most important. Cafés and workshops reflect daily life and most of the city's souks are divided into specialised areas with items such as leather goods, blankets and carpets for sale: and with a little haggling it's possible to purchase quality handicrafts at a very modest price! The Kasbah Des Oudaias was built by Yacoub El Mansour in the 12th century. It is located at Rabat's most elevated point and is like a village within the city. The eight metre high wall once protected the Kasbah and its inhabitants and the fortress is inhabited to the present day. Barred windows create an Andalusian ambience. The Kasbah is one of the most popular though most expensive addresses in Rabat. Throughout the centuries the Moroccan coast was dominated by pirates but the might of European colonialists put an end to their dubious activities. The mausoleum of Mohammed the 5th was built in 1967 and the tomb complex contains a mosque, a mausoleum and a small memorial that contains images of the king. At the end of the 12th century Yacoub El Mansour constructed the largest mosque in the Maghreb. At a height of sixty metres its minaret was taller than any other in North Africa. Four hundred columns support the prayer room and it has fourteen gates. Rabat is a fascinating capital city and royal residence. An exotic world that lies between both occident and orient.
Vista Point RABAT Morocco
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 201 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m35s
Views: 23  | Comments: 0
Rating: Not yet rated
VPG-DVD-101  - NEW ORLEANS Fun-filled metropolis at the mouth of the Mississippi, New Orleans is a cultural melting pot and the birth place of jazz. In 1682, the Frenchman, Robert Cavalier, declared this Mississippi region to be French territory and named it, 'La Louisiana'. However, Napoleon later accepted $15,000,000 from President Jefferson and in 1840 it was the fourth largest city in the USA. The Garden District is a sought-after residential area in which there is an abundance of magnolia trees, palms, shrubs and flowers, and the city's largest graveyard, the Metairie Cemetery, has over 7,000 graves and an array of spectacular mausoleums which astound the eye. Gumbo Soup, Jambalaya, Hurricane Cocktails and Dixie Beer are just a few of the traditional refreshments on offer in this carefree, non-stop city, yet, just outside, there are the swampy bayous alive with many exotic species, and the Oak Valley Plantations whose great wealth derived from the sugar cane industry prior to the American Civil War and part of which is reminiscent of some of the scenery from Hollywood's, Gone With The Wind. In the 19th Century, New Orleans was North American capital of the Voodoo cult and today it is a city of unique atmospheres, flavours, contrasts and Mardi Gras: an extraordinary city!
Vista Point NEW ORLEANS
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 201 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m19s
Views: 24  | Comments: 0
Rating: Not yet rated
VPG-DVD-213 - ICELAND Iceland is an island born of fire and ice with white glaciers, black beaches and green meadows: a land of geysers, waterfalls and volcanoes. Reykjavik is set amid a fascinating landscape, a metropolis on the outermost edge of civilisation and the world's northernmost capital city. A little outside the city is an attraction that is a meeting place for one and all, The Blue Lagoon, the largest bath tub in the world! The mineral water it contains has a temperature of forty degrees centigrade and the milky-blue pool has been proven to possess beneficial healing qualities. Southeast of The Blue Lagoon is Hveragerdi that is set within an idyllic valley. Due to its protected location and numerous thermal springs, in 1929 a garden city originated there and within its many greenhouses grow vegetables, fruit and exotic flowers. The small coastal picturesque village of Vik with its few houses and around three hundred inhabitants is located in a valley close to a bay. The mystical looking rocks seem to protect this place that has the most rainfall in what is an already rainy region and above which the rain clouds are often alive with both thunder and lightning. Iceland is a fascinating world of water, fire and ice and full of breathtaking beauty and overwhelming contrast. It is one of the last natural paradises on Earth.
Vista Point ICELAND
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 201 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m33s
Views: 15  | Comments: 0
Rating: Not yet rated
VPG-DVD-208 - CHIANG MAI Chiang Mail is the most important city in northern Thailand and is located within a fertile river valley three hundred metres above sea level. The City Of Temples was founded in 1296 and was once the capital of Lanna Thai, the 'Kingdom Of A Million Rice Fields' and the centre of the first independent kingdom in Thailand, situated within the famous Golden Triangle. Two hundred and ninety steps lead up to the city's main landmark, the mountain temple of Wat Doi Suthep on the northern edge of the city. Chiang Mai Zoo was inaugurated in 1957 and today it is the largest and finest zoo in Thailand and contains hundreds of varieties of animals. The world famous village of Bo Sang is located nine kilometres from the city and is where a fascinating range of parasols are manufactured according to age old tradition, with silk, cotton and paper parasols made by hand and decorated with various animal and floral motifs. A visit to a training centre for elephants is a fascinating experience. The elephants perform what they have learned in the school and diligently carry out each of their trainer's commands. Chiang Mai's evening market is well worth a visit. Although it has changed with the times, haggling is still the norm. Mysterious and exotic, colourful and friendly, such is Thailand's 'Rose Of The North', Chiang Mai.
Vista Point CHIANG MAI...
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 201 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m23s
Views: 11  | Comments: 0
Rating: Not yet rated
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