Showing posts with label Tourism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tourism. Show all posts
Monday, August 17, 2015
5 Sites and Attractions to Visit in Port Angeles
Monday, January 21, 2013
Field Trip to Tianshui
This past weekend marked my first time joining a
sight-seeing trip organized by my school for the foreign teachers. I did
not make the first trip due to some alcohol-related activities that were
clearly not well thought out. This trip would be a three day adventure,
so I made sure I was present and accounted for.
Tianshui is located in the neighboring province of Gansu and
was settled back in neolithic times. The major draw of this sprawling
industrial city, and all of Eastern Gansu, is Maiji Shan and its Buddhist
caves. Also located there is Fuxi Temple, dedicated to none other than
Fuxi himself. Fuxi is a mythological character regarded as the “first
ancestor” who introduced the Chinese to fishing, hunting and animal husbandry.
On Friday we saw both of these sites, as well as the house of some poet from a
long time ago. At least I think that’s what he was. To be quite
honest I wasn't paying much attention to the signs. The house was so
beautiful and peaceful that I was completely engrossed in exploring the complex
and imagining how great it would be to live in a place like that.
So what are my impressions of the trip as a whole? In
a phrase: waste of time. That’s right, a gigantic waste of time.
Don’t get me wrong, the sites were really great and I’m glad I had the
opportunity to view them. Nonetheless we wasted an incredible amount of
time getting there and back. How much time, you ask? Well I am more
than happy to elaborate. Thursday was the first day of the long weekend,
we spent 10 hours on a bus from Xi’an to Tianshui. One day down.
Friday we did all of our sightseeing. Three sites in one day is not bad
at all; I was satisfied with that. Two days down. Saturday was the
day of our return trip. It took a whopping 12 hours to get back. 12
hours! By the time we finally got back to Xi’an I was ready to
murder. I was totally and utterly fried and I think everyone else was
too. And that makes three days.
I take this weekend as a learning experience. An
important lesson life lesson, if you will: for a weekend trip take the train,
take the train, take the bloody train. In my eyes the pain and suffering
of a 10+ hour bus ride simply cannot be justified if you are only going for a
day or two.
Maiji Shan is an incredible sight. There are Buddhist
figures carved all over the sheer face of the mountain. The feat of
actually getting up there in the first place, and then carving
something into the mountainside is impressive in and of itself. The
quantity and quality of the pieces just adds that much more to the beauty and
grandeur. Climbing up and down the steep stairs and narrow catwalks to
view the different carvings from all different eras is definitely a highlight
among my recent trips. I highly recommend a visit to Meiji Shan for
anyone traveling in the area.
Fuxi Temple was interesting but paled in comparison to Maiji
Shan. There is a 1000 year old tree that is nearly collapsed on the main
building, that’s kind of cool. Other than that I don’t recall anything
particularly impressive about the place. Like almost every other temple I've been to it is beautiful and tranquil. The traditional Chinese
architecture never ceases to capture my interest. And despite the hustle
and bustle of the market just outside the walls, Fuxi Temple was just as quiet
as you would expect an ancient place of worship to be. In retrospect I
suppose it is a great way to relax and rest up after a morning climbing all
over a mountain.
The final bullet on our itinerary was, as I said, the ancient
residence. For the life of me I can’t remember any of the history of the
place other than some important guy used to live there. Regardless, it was
a nice little side trip and I enjoyed myself getting lost in the maze of alleys
and paths. It also has an awesome secret basement that was used as a
treasure cave and later as a bomb shelter. It would make a fantastic wine
cellar. The house is very large and consists of several buildings
connected by inner courtyards and porches. The style and layout made a
big impression on me for some reason. I would like to imagine that if I
ever own a house in the future I would like it to be similar in design with
plenty of open space and inner courtyards. I feel like it makes
for a really unique feeling that encourages a close relationship with nature,
which I like. It’s probably a pain in the ass to keep clean though.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Vacation Rentals
(Photo credit: lyman erskine)
Buying a vacation home is more popular than it has ever been. Today, more and more home owners are buying second homes and renting them as vacation properties. Consider buying one of the many vacation rental homes in the United States and make an investment in your future financial stability. Homes in the the United States are perfect for vacation rentals and can make you money on your investment if you maintain the property and rent it out wisely.
First, determine if a second home is right for you. When searching for a vacation home, you should take an inventory of what you enjoy doing on your vacations. Do you like taking cruises, train vacations, hiking or something else? Will you be able to partake in these activities in your location? Also, think about how often you will be able to visit and how convenient the location is. If you will be visiting often, you probably should choose a location relatively near you. If your lifestyle requires you to live near the city, don’t choose a vacation home in the rural, outer reaches of town.
Vacation homes are generally appreciating in value according to market values. Get the most out of the current state of the real estate market by making the right decisions about maintaining your new property. You certainly should have a professional inspection done before you buy the property by a trained professional, so you save on major repairs in future years. You certainly wouldn't want to put costly repairs on future generations either!
Next, determine how you are going to manage the property’s general up-keep. You can choose to do it yourself if you are close enough, or you can hire a property manager. If you would like to save on the large fees property managers often require, consider hiring a cleaning service and a lawn care service instead.
Another tip is to provide renters will general maintenance tools to fix problems themselves, and if major appliance problems occurs, hire a repair person to visit the property. Finally, for large problems, get second home insurance. Remember that because of the nature of vacation homes, second home insurance is usually more expensive than primary home insurance.
Some final advice to get the most out of your vacation rental property: rent your home for no more than 25 week and no fewer than 17 weeks per year. If you fall outside of these numbers, your house will either get too much wear or not pay for itself financially. As you rent, make friends with your renters because people are more likely to take care of a home that belongs to someone they like. Also, if you do make contact with other rental property owners, you may get a chance to trade properties and experience other areas of the country.
Vacation rental homes in the United States are great for someone looking to make extra money off of a valuable investment. There are many advantages to buying a vacation property you may not realize at first. Join this trend, and learn why so many people love owning vacation rental homes.
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