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Last weekend we had a great weekend of somethings different. Of course we still had to go to our hash run, but something new about it was a run through the city and also a pool BBQ at the end. We ran in places that Allie and I have never been. Most of it was through the old section of the city where there was less traffic and cool side streets. It was really hot that day so it was nice to be able to jump into a cold pool even with a swim cap. After swimming around and cooling off for a while we had a pot luck cook out. Everyone brought something different from guacamole to fried noodles. The meat was brought by a hasher that works at a restaurant so we had baby back ribs, Germansausage, and real marinated steaks. Needless to say I ate way to much and Allie was hurting a little too. We already had plans to meet some of our co-teachers (Chinese teachers) at a local bar where we had a really good time. It was really nice to hang out with them since we are going home soon. It is going to be sad when we leave because we have made a lot of really good friend and are really enjoying the life that we have made here.
The next week was short, we had Friday and Saturday off for Double Tenth Day which is the equivalent to Taiwan's independence day even though a lot of the world don't recognize it as a seperate country from China. We left at 12 midnight on Thursday night with 4 other friends, one South African (Lauren), one Australian (Brian). and two from Boston area (Jon and Nick). We were off to Orchid Island also known as Lanyu. It is south east of Taiwan. We left late at night and had an intense journey down to Kenting to take the ferry
, which left at 8 the next morning. The journey consisted of waiting at Mos Burger for 3 hours in the middle of the night for our ride, then taking a very cramped van to the port, and then taking a 2 hour boat ride (which was one of the roughest rides ever, with people throwing up all around us). Finally we were there and the beauty alone was worth the hassel. It was amazing, very green an
d volcanic, it reminded me a lot of what the Hawaiian islands look like. The island also had a lot of goats, they were everywhere and very cute. Since we had the entire day on Friday we all rented scooters and then went to our campsite. Which was in the middle of a schools track. And it was perfect. Close to the water and nice comfortable grass to set our tent in. We went swimming to the beach for a while and then took a scooter trip around the island which is about 50km long so we did about half. We drove a very steep road to the weather center on top of the highest mountain and enjoyed a beautiful view. That night we met some oth
er people camping and decieded to raid the only local supermarket for all the pork and some fish that they had so that we could have a campfire on the beach. It was awesome..people from all over the
island ended up coming for a good feast and relaxing. Unf
ortunately we were all very exhausted from 
basically not sleeping well for the past 36 hours and we headed to bed at about 9 pm. Jay and I woke up early the next morning for a run. Then we all rented snorkeling equipment and enjoyed the coral. THe current is really strong around the island and we couldn't venture out too far otherwise we would have a difficult time swimming back to shore. Brian decieded to go out a little far and we couldn't see him... eventually we spotted him far out and looking as though he was having a difficult time getting bac
k. Jay went out to help since he is a good swimmer and on the way he spotted a manoray....which is somewhat like a stingray. I was so jealous... ButI guess that was his rewar
d for going to help out Brian. We enjoyed another scooter trip to the other side of the island and watched the sunset. We ate dinner at a very cute restuarant called the Epicurean and it was amazing with very good food. We had another early night and the next morning we had one more quick snorkle and went back on the ferry home. When we arrived in Kenting after the ferry, we had arranged a driver to pick us up..it turned out to be the taxi ride from hell. He seemed to pop a beatle nut in every 20 minutes and he never spit. He was driving like a mad man mainly whizing by cars in the scooter lane most of the time. People were rolling down their windows screaming at him.
I felt as if I was in a Formula One race... and I didn't feel like we were winning. Anyways it was an amazing time and really recommend it. Taiwan is really beautiful in some places. This gave us the boost we need to make our final stretch to the end.
KUTA, Indonesia (AFP) – Fun-loving local beach boys are as much a fixture and, for some women, an attraction of Bali as the sun and surf, but all that could be about to change thanks to a controversial new film. The documentary, “Cowboys in Paradise” by Singapore-based writer and director Amit Virmani, sparked panic among Bali’s tourism officials when it was released at a film festival in South Korea earlier this month.
Its candid interviews with the local men who flirt with and seduce foreign tourists has severely tarnished the resort island’s image, officials say.
“Certainly it’s worrying. We’ll take action so the image of Bali as a spiritual island isn’t tainted,” Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika told reporters.
Police have rounded up almost 30 of the so-called beach “cowboys” in a bid to “clean up the beach of prostitution”, Bali police spokesman Gede Sugianyar said.
Some of the men at the centre of the brouhaha said they were distressed and angry at being hounded as gigolos, and flatly denied offering sexual favours for money.
“I’m stressed by the raids. I wonder if the authorities are coming after me next,” 29-year-old surf instructor Rosnan Efendi told AFP.
“I’m also angry the filmmaker twisted the story. We were told it was a documentary about love and relationships between locals and foreigners,” he added.
Well-built, tanned and sporting shoulder-length wavy hair, Efendi said he met his German girlfriend on the beach four years ago and fell in love.
“We’re together because of love, not money. When we go out, we split the bills. She doesn’t pay for me,” he said.
“The documentary is a lie. There’s no such thing as Kuta cowboys or Bali gigolos.”
Another surf instructor, 53-year-old Bobbi, who claims to be a sort of mentor for Kuta’s beach boys, said: “We’re friendly people so we chat with everybody including female tourists. What’s wrong with joking, laughing, giving massages to one another after a tiring day of surfing? It’s nothing more than that”.
Laughing heartily, he added: “If the beach boys charged money for befriending tourists they’d all be rich by now. It’s unlikely since they can’t even buy themselves a meal without getting into debt”.
Filmmaker Virmani said he was “extremely disheartened” over the police raids and insisted his documentary was an attempt to deconstruct the image of the beach gigolo.
“All they did was speak honestly about their lives. No one should be harmed for that,” he said.
“I wanted to understand the men behind the cowboy myth. People never got past looking at them as gigolos. That’s so one dimensional. I wanted to know why they are so appealing to women? What are their relationships like?… I wanted to humanise them.
“I personally believe the beach would be a very dull place without their friendliness.”
An American woman tourist interviewed in the documentary — segments of which have been posted across the Internet after appearing on YouTube — said the beach boys just “love to have fun”.
“The women that come… what they’re feeling is that these people feel safe to them and they love to have fun. They’ll get out and sing and dance and joke and they’ll include you in everything,” she said.
Another woman, an Australian, told the documentary-makers: “There’s a lot of frustrated Western women out there. Just look at the sales of ‘Eat, Pray, Love’,” referring to Elizabeth Gilbert’s romantic memoir of self-discovery.
“Women don’t want to be women anymore and instead they want to be feminine, so I can understand why they come here and they’re searching for something and suddenly this environment provides that.”
Asked whether the beach boys were gigolos, another Western woman interviewed for the documentary added: “No I don’t think they’re really gigolos. I just think they love women and there’s nothing wrong about that, and when you’re here and when you have a boyfriend it’s for real”.
Police spokesman Sugianyar admitted it would be difficult proving any prostitution charges against the detained “cowboys”.
“Like many places in the world, there are indications of male prostitution in Bali. This has been happening for some time but it’s hard to prove as the men are discreet,” he told AFP.
“They don’t have sex on the beach, they do it elsewhere. The beach is only a meeting place for them and their potential clients.
“We can’t get rid of them 100 percent. There’s a supply because there’s a demand. It takes two hands to clap.
Bali is an inseparable part of Indonesia’s tourism.
Puing-puing Taman Petra di Yordania
Kolaseum Roma di Italia
Machu Pichu di Peru
el-castillo-chichen
PATUNG KRISTUS PENEBUS, BRASIL: Tinggi 38 meter berada di puncak Pegunungan Corcovado. Dibuat dalam beberapa bagian di Prancis pada 1926 dan dikapalkan ke Brasil. Sebuah rel dibangun khusus untuk membawanya ke puncak pegunungan setinggi 714 meter itu.
prambanan
Has the meaning "water drip" which is a Buddhist relic temple IX century. The temple is also called "The stick of Kara Banyu Nibo" because of its remote location amid rice fields and banana groves separated from the other temples. This temple can be reached by public transportation from the intersection of three highways leading Yogya-Solo to Piyungan along 2 kilometers or 1 kilometer from the mouth of the trail leading to the palace of Queen Boko Petilasan to arrive at the complex SKSD Palapa DIY. Selanjuynya travel by foot along the paddy fields towards the east (left), approximately 1 kilometer.
Affairs, dubbed "Domestic Gods" that store a million beauty complete with a legend. If Earth Parahyangan have Tangkuban Perahu Crater, the Dieng has Sikidang Crater. The beauty is guaranteed no less by the crater's Sangkuriang tersebut.Keunikan attractions Dieng, not only the natural coolness, but there are small temples and centuries-old teen who has a crater lake and the magical and the scientific value of its own. That would be of interest to tourists, scientists and writers, to travel to get there.
Historical riches: Iraq boasts fine archaeological sites, including the Ishtar Gate in Babylon
Previously off-limits: Current tours of Iraq include Saddam Hussein's former palaces in Tikrit
Head for heights: Toledo's Alacazar palace now houses a museum of military history
Religious observance: Toledo's cathedral is one of its most prominent sights
A river runs past it: Toledo rears high on the banks of the River Tagus
Huskie rides can be an exhilarating experience, but might not be suitable for you children
Magic moment: Nothing beats the wonder of meeting the real Father Christmas at his home in snowy Finnish Lapland
Troubled: Demi Lovato has dropped out of her current touring schedule with the Jonas Brothers and entered a treatment centre in Illinois 
Family support: Demi's stepfather and manager Eddie De La Garza, mother Dianna and her half sister Madison de la Garza
Goofy star: Demi used to date fellow Disney star Joe Jonas
Oh hey! [L-R] Lily Aldridge, Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima attend the 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show preview at the N.Y. State Armory today
Simply stunning: Karolina Kurkova [L] and Lily Aldridge smoulder at the event
Sexy supermodels: Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima pose up a storm
Perfect pout: Chanel Iman [L] and Izabel Goulart are stunning in head-to-toe black
Money no object: Lady Gaga, who is seen here performing tonight in Hungary, placed fourth on the Forbes list
Still at the top: Oprah Winfrey earned £203m to keep the chat show queen at the top of the pile
Making music... and money: Taylor Swift and Beyonce both occupy the top ten
Moneybags: 17-year-old Miley Cirus has already earned £30m
