Bangkok is 'world's best city'

Bangkok in Thailand has been voted the world's best city in the latest Travel + Leisure magazine online poll.

It has moved up two places since last year's survey knocking last year's chart topper Florence, Italy, from its from the first place spot.

Nancy Novogrod, editor-in-chief at the magazine, claimed that adventurous destinations had topped the travel agenda among those readers that took part.

She said: "We're delighted to welcome so many new winners this year…"Nature, and adventure, were clearly a draw in the selections."

Meanwhile, the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador won best Island, while Singapore Airlines was voted travel airline top dog.

Deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Surapol Sawetseranee, claimed that the prestigious recognition couldn't have come at a better time, right before the high season.

This could see an influx of tourists trying to book into the city's already busy hostels.

But although it was all change at the top in terms of best international city, New York maintained its status as the US's most popular city destination for the eighth year in a row.

Japan's most popular tourist attractions

When foreigners go to Japan, Tokyo tops their list of places to see. Seven of the 10 most-visited destinations in the country are in the capital, according to the Japan National Tourist Organization.

This makes it easy for visitors to check the top spots off their must-see lists without leaving Tokyo, a sprawling city encompassing nearly every important aspect of Japanese life (except nature; "man-made" is the buzzword here). To get to the other spots on the top-10 list, a quick shinkansen (bullet train) ride is all that's required, and that's an experience itself, as the trains run at speeds of about 200 miles per hour.

Whether you choose to stay inside Tokyo's city limits or leave them, however, the complete tourism experience in Japan involves an equal mix of modern and traditional — easy to accomplish in the city and beyond.

Wherever you go, you can expect the locals to be friendly due to a government tourism-promotion campaign, Yokoso Japan (Welcome to Japan), through which the Japanese government is aiming to increase the number of international visitors to 10 million by 2010 (the country had 6 million foreign tourists in 2007). The tourism agency has spent the last five years trying to convince foreigners that the famously closed society is welcoming.

Tokyo sights
The No. 1 place tourists visit is Shinjuku, a massive, crowded skyscraper district within Tokyo. Built beginning in the '70s, Shinjuku keeps adding new and bigger towers, and its commuter rail station is the transit system's busiest, with nearly 2 million passengers a day.

Shinjuku has three main components: offices, shopping and nightlife. The shopping consists of a flotilla of chic department stores, mainly branches of the stores you'll find in Ginza or elsewhere. At night, many tourists head for Shinjuku's Park Hyatt, the hotel made famous in the film "Lost in Translation", to have a drink at the penthouse New York Bar and take in the city-wide views. The Kabukicho district is also a popular hangout, thanks to its many bars and lounges.

Tokyo's next most-visited area is the famous Ginza neighborhood, a shopping mecca that's home to the fanciest stores, Japanese and foreign alike. Weighing in at No. 4 on the most-visited list, Ginza is where you'll find all the luxury brands from around the world, many in custom-designed boutiques.

Shoppers throng the streets as they meander from Chanel to Mikimoto (for world-renowned pearls); you'll also find them stopping for lunch in the department store cafés. When you're done at Fendi and Gucci, follow their example and stop at the basement food halls in one of the department stores (every department store, all over town, has one). It's fun to pick up a picnic lunch from the myriad prepared-food vendors, but remember, it's considered rude to eat standing up in Japan.

Also on the top-destination list, within Tokyo are Shibuya and Harajuku, the twin centers of teen culture and the places to see what the hip kids are wearing these days. But there are also more traditional attractions that shouldn't be skipped, such as the museums, zoo and Asakusa, an old-style temple district.

Islands Of India – A Bevy Of Beauties

An island is a piece of land completely surrounded by water. Above high tide and isolated from other significant landmasses, islands of India have emergent land features. There are two main types of islands i.e., continental islands and oceanic islands. Continental islands are bodies of land that lie on the continental shelf of a continent. On the other hand, an oceanic island is one that does not sit on continental shelves. This type of island is volcanic in origin. However, a group of geographically related islands is called an archipelago. India has two major offshore island possessions i.e., the Lashadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

The Andaman Islands are a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal. Port Blair is the chief community on the islands. The climate is typical of tropical islands of similar latitude. It is always warm, but with sea-breeze it cools down the day temperature. Rainfall is irregular here, but south-west monsoon causes heavy rainfall here. The Andaman Island comprises a number of islands i.e., Barren Island, Great Andaman, Little Andaman, Ritchie's Archipelago, and Sentinel Islands. Also, the Nicobar Islands are an island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean, are part of Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This piece of island is a great island arch created by the collision of the Indo-Australian Plate with Eurasia.

The Lakshadweepa is located 200 to 300 km off of the coast of Kerala in the Arabian Sea. Eleven of the islands are inhabited. Lashadweep officially consists of 12 atolls, 3 reefs and 5 submerged banks, with a total of about 36 islands and islets. The name of the archipelago literally translates as hundred thousand island i.e., laksha one hundred thousand, and dweep means island.

Apart from this, Islands Of India contain islands of the Cauvery River that encompasses islands of Srigangapatna and Shivanasamudram. Also, you can visit islands of Mumbai harbour. The range of islands includes Butcher Island, Cross Island, Elephanta Island, Middle Ground, Oyster Rock, Salsette Island, etc.

The Islands of India are famous for tourist spots. They are perfect holiday destination for nature-lovers. Every piece of island has its own richness in a bevy of beauties.

Travel to Malaysia

Malaysia has a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society and is one of the most pleasant, hassle-free countries to visit in Southeast Asia. Contemporary Malaysian society is mainly dominated by the Malay (local) people, but there is a substantial Chinese, Indian and European minority. The official religion is Islam.

Its year round sunshine ensures Malaysia’s growing tourism and it is fast becoming one of the most popular travel destinations in the world. While it does get torrential seasonal rain, this should not turn you off this paradise. Its rainfall is very seasonal and typical of any equatorial climate.

Travelling by air to Malaysia can be very inexpensive with one of the world’s leading low cost carrier, Air Asia, based there. Once you arrive in Malaysia your luxury holiday immediately begins. The high-speed express will get you into Kuala Lumpur in less than thirty minutes.

Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, or also known as KL, is an expansive beautiful city with soaring skyscrapers. One hundred years ago Kuala Lumpur was a small furniture cleaning services town attracting workers from China and India. Now it’s fast becoming one of the most sought after holiday destinations in the world.

Kuala Lumpur is now well known as a great shopping destination as well as a great night time spot and entertainment hub. Food in Malaysia varies from the different ethnic regions, rice is the most common food source in Malaysia and is often eaten for breakfast.

The landscape of Malaysia ranges from lush rainforests to towering rocky hills. Its rainforests are full of all types of flora and fauna with over 450 species of birds carpet and upholstery cleaning are native to the islands of Malaysia. There are also over 160 different species of snake. Other wildlife of Malaysia includes bears, crocodiles, elephants, leopards, monkeys, panthers and rhinoceroses. The Orang-utan, which is one of the world's most endangered animals is also unique to this part of the world.

Malaysia has over 200 tropical islands making it a refuge for all sorts of water sports. Its tropical resorts are full of white sandy beaches and provide a vast paradise, while beneath the warm tropical waters, a unique world awaits to be explored.

Well worth a visit, and located just outside of the capital city are the Batu Caves. These are huge cathedral-like caves accessible by steps. The caves have a one hundred meter tall chamber and have been used as a Hindu temple for more than a hundred years.

There are many reasons for travelling to Malaysia but a few things that you can always count on are: the excellent climate that you get all year round, the peaceful surroundings that you get all year round, and the great value that Malaysia has to offer.

One of the greatest aspects of life in Malaysia, and especially Kuala Lumpur, is that so many people with different ethnic backgrounds live together in perfect harmony with no racial problems.