Virtual Tripping » World

Lets go to Vanuatu and her capital city Port Vila in the Pacific Ocean on Virtualtripping.com.

Mark — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:22:59 +0000

Vanuatu
Vanuatu : Beaches
Blue Water Island in Vanuatu

This is a picture taken from flickr of Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott (Taro).
Welcome to my post about the country of Vanuatu, it is also officially known as the Republic of Vanuatu. This is an island nation and it can be found in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some 1,750 kilometres or 1,090 miles east of northern Australia, 500 kilometres or 310 miles northeast of New Caledonia, and west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea. The first people of this country, were known as Melanesian people, but i am not sure when they first settled on the island, but what i have learn’t is that the first European people to arrive on the islands were the Spanish members who expedition was led by Fernandes de Queirós who arrived in Espiritu Santo in 1605.

Photo by KirrilyRobert

This is a picture taken from flickr of Port Vila marketplace.

Photo by April Fools Me

Then in the 1880s the countries of France and the United Kingdom claimed parts of the country, and then in 1906 there was an agreement between the two nations on a framework to join and manage the archipelago as the New Hebrides through a British-French Condominium. And then around 1970′s there was a movement arose to gain independance, which finally happened in the 1980 and the nation known as Republic of Vanuatu, was created. What i have found out about Vanatu, is that the name was derived from the word vanua , which mean land or home, which occurs in several Austronesian languages, and also the tu at the end of Vanuatu means, stand. And if you put the two words together they will indicate the independent status of the new nation.

Photo by katykat

Photo by Arthur Chapman

This is a picture taken from flickr of Cocos nucifera (Coconut).
There is plenty to do and see on these amazing islands and beaches are stunning, the weather is usually tropical and the food, drink and people are all excellent. You will be welcomed when you arrive on the islands of Vanuatu and you will find places to stay, eat and explore, so if you have the money, the time and the opportunity, then the islands of Vanuatu are a must for any holiday maker.

Christmas around the world on Virtualtripping.com.

Mark — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:44:29 +0000

Christmas around the world – Top 5
Christmas – Santa Lucia Sweden
Orthodox Christmas in Russia

Photo by Klearchos Kapoutsis

This is a picture taken from flickr of the feast of Epiphany.

Photo by camknows

This is a picture taken from flickr of Dickens Carolers Singing.
Well with Christmas now only days away, i thought we should have alook at what goes on around the world. So see it is not just christians that celebrate christmas, so lets have alook. Well the christmas is celebrated in many different ways around the world, depending on high christian or low christian or even none christian countries. So what do people do for christmas well they usually decorate Christmas trees, where people place lights or candles on. Also there will be hanging of christmas wreaths, Christmas stockings, candy canes, and/or the creation of Nativity scenes, which is to show the birth of Jesus Christ. You will find many people singing Christmas carols and may even be reading which will include the Baby Jesus, St Nicholas, Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Christkindl or Grandfather Frost. People love to send letters, Christmas cards, and even the exchange of Christmastime greetings. There will be people doing things like fasting or going to midnight Mass or Vespers on Christmas Eve, you can see the burning of a Yule log, and the giving and receiving of presents. Meeting up with family and friends, see long lost relatives and even some people will go and visit the elderly, who are on their own. You will see people making snowmen or women, making snowballs and partying. Christmas is a fantastic time of the year.

Photo by janielianne

This is a picture taken from flickr of Grandfather Frost and The Snowmaiden.

Photo by Puzzler4879

This is a picture taken from flickr of “And Three Kings Came to Worship Him”.
Now you will find in the christian calendar, that people celebrate Easter, and christmas as the most important periods of the year. And that in some countries celebrations of Easter and Christmas are connected to other holidays at this time of year, such as Advent, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, St. Nicholas Day, St. Stephen’s Day, New Year’s, and the Feast of the Epiphany. Today, there are so many countries that celebrate christmas so if you click on the link below from Wikipedia, you will see the countries that celebrate this tradition. Christmas lunch and dinner are two main events that happen on Christmas Day to. So whatever you are doing this christmas i hope you have a grrrreat time.

Photo by edenpictures

This is a picture taken from flickr of Irish Dancing at Christmas.

Photo by Axel Bührmann

This is a picture taken from flickr of Father Christmas giving out presents.

Christmas Markets on Virtualtripping.com.

Mark — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 09:38:37 +0000

Top 10 Christmas Markets of Europe
Christmas in Vienna

Photo by reinholdbehringer

This is a picture taken from flickr of Nuremberg Christkindlmarket stall.
Has Christmas is coming, i thought it would be a good time to investigate some of the world’s christmas markets. So where shall we begin, well, i think it is important to tell you, that a Christmas market, in some places it is not just known as that, you will find that it is also known as Christkindlmarkt, Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlmarket, and Weihnachtsmarkt, they are all street market’s which are connected toward the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. The markets themselves are amazing sites, with so many different types of foods, drinks, clothes and toys, all for christmas, the markets were originally created in these countries: Germany, Austria, South Tyrol and Alsace, but are now being held in many countries around the world.

Photo by UltimateLibrarian

This is a picture taken from flickr of Roasting nuts in the stall.

Photo by matthias.penke

This is a picture taken from flickr of a Lebkuchenhaus, Gingerbread House.
So what will you find at these markets, well they are very popular and some of the main attractions at the market include the Nativity Scene, the Zwetschgamännla, these are figures which are made of decorated dried plums, u also have the Nussknacker, which are carved Nutcrackers, there is the Gebrannte Mandeln which are candied, toasted almonds, the traditional Christmas cookies like the Lebkuchen and Magenbrot which have gingerbread, the Christstollen, which is known in english as Stollen, and is a very nice sort of egg bread with candied fruit, Bratwurst. Now also when you visit a christmas market, you must try the the highlightsof the market: Glühwein, which is hot mulled wine, that can be served with or without a shot of brandy, or there is the Eierpunsch which is an egg-based warm alcoholic drink and they will keep you nice and warm, during the coldwinter. But there is also a range of handmade items like toys, books, Christmas tree decorations and ornaments and other less useful gadgets at the Christkindlmarkt.

Photo by 8#X

This is a picture taken from flickr of Gebrannte, Toasted Almonds.

Photo by wrestlingentropy

This is a picture taken from flickr of a Christmas market next to a Christmas tree.

Christmas dishes around the world on V.T.com

Mark — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:58:02 +0000

Christmas food dishes around the world !!!
Favorite Christmas Recipes From Around the World
how to cook Christmas or Thanks Giving Turkey
Welcome to my post about some of the great dishes that are eaten around the world at Christmas time, above are two interesting youtube videos about christmas dishes around the world and below are some pictures taken from flickr of dishes eaten around the world. Christmas is a special time for many christian families and other families that are not christian, and you will find loads of different types of meals and foods, aswell as drinks from all over the world. You will find Mince pies, christmas puddings, roast meats, trifles, chocolates, sweets, candy and Christmas cakes and other cakes. But not all countries at christmas time are in cooler weather, some countries are in warmer weather and so you will find salads are a big meal on christmas day, and so are sandwiches, ice-cream, ice-lollies, fruit and cold meat platters. So wherever you are at christmas i do hope you enjoy your meal and have a lovely time. But please don’t forget the poorer people who maynot have the luxuries that the rest of us have and may not even get a present this christmas.

Photo by yuichi.sakuraba

This is a picture taken from flickr of a Christ Stollen eaten in Germany.

Photo by Dogfael

This is a picture taken from flickr of a Cougnou, eaten in Belgium.

This is a picture taken from flickr of a Dundee cake eaten in Scotland, U.K.

Photo by veni markovski

This is a picture taken from flickr of a Bulgarian Christmas dish.

Photo by Derek K. Miller

This is a picture taken from flickr of a brined christmas turkey eaten in Great Britain and other countries.

Photo by stijn

This is a picture taken of a Panettone cake eaten in Italy.

The christmas drink of Punch and it’s origins.

Mark — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 09:06:38 +0000

Thane Prince Christmas punch for the family
Hot rum punch

Photo by dreamo

I always look forward to christmas, but one of the things i look forward to is a nice hot cup of Punch. This can be an assortment of drinks, you can either have non-alcoholic or alcoholic punch. This is a very nice drink, it normally contains fruit or fruit juice. The name punch came British documents in 1632. Back then most of the drink was known as Wassail type and it was made with a wine or brandy base. But then around 1655, Jamaican rum became in use and the ‘modern’ punch was born. By 1671, documents make references to punch houses. But the drink was not a british idea, oh no, it firstly came from India and was passed on to England in the early seventeenth century, and then it continued to spread further a field to other countries. Today you will find that the drink is usually served at parties or at the festive season of christmas and people put it in to large, wide bowls, known as punch bowls.

Photo by joana hard

There are two very popular and well-known punch drinks, the first happens to be the Bajan (Barbadian) which is a Rum Punch is one of the oldest rum punches in the world. This punch a simple recipe enshrined in a national rhyme: “One of Sour, Two of Sweet, Three of Strong, Four of Weak.” That is: one part lime juice, two parts sweetener, three parts rum (preferably Barbados), and four parts water. It is served with a dash or two of Angostura bitters and nutmeg. The other punch is the Planter’s Punch varies, because it contains a much more wider variety of ingredients like rum, lemon juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, orange juice, grenadine, soda water, curaçao, Angostura bitters, and cayenne pepper. So it is a much more interesting and tasty drink. So whatever you are doing this christmas, then if you have the chance to try a punch drink, you really must, it may take a short time to adjust to the flavours, but the spices are usually not to strong. So whether you have a “hot or cold” or alcholic or non-alcoholic punch enjoy it.

Photo by ~!

Christmas Lights on Virtualtripping.com.

Mark — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:39:02 +0000

London Christmas Lights 2010

Blue Ocean Christmas Lights in Tokyo

Music Box Dancer 2008 – Holdman Christmas Lights

Photo by Ava Babili

I was driving through my town this evening and noticed that the christmas decorations and light are now up, not yet on, but are getting ready for the christmas opening coming soon. But wherever you live within a christian country, especially in the western world, many cities, towns and villages will be getting ready for the christmas and the lights and decorations. Normally not always when you have a christmas light turn on, a special guest comes along and puts on the lights, it is normally good fun, especially if you are young. So what do we know about the Christmas Lights and where did it all begin.

Photo by Tsar Kasim

Photo by Daquella manera

Well as i have said above the christmas lights and decorations come out of the christian festival known as Christmas. This has been a very long tradition to use decorative, festive lighting during the Christmas holiday season, especially by many Christian cultures, but more re cently it has been adopted by many other non-Christian, or predominantly non-Christian, cultures for example we known thatthe country of Japan, does. Right from what i have picked up the very early christmas lights were candles, that were found in the windows, this signified where worship would be occurring for Christians in a community. But it was around the 17th century when people started to use small candles to light up the Christmas tree. But this took quite along time to spread around the world and it took two centuries before the tradition to become widely established first in Germany and soon spreading to Eastern Europe. Well what they used to do was glue with melted wax small candles to a tree branch or attache them by pins, But it was not until around 1890 that candleholders were first used for Christmas candles. Then around the years of 1902 and 1914, small lanterns and glass balls to hold the candles started to be used.

Photo by Guus Krol

Photo by williamli

By this time the illuminated Christmas tree started to become a Christmas tradition in Germany during the Early Modern period. But even though it had started in Germany it was not until the illuminated Christmas tree became established in the United Kingdom during Queen Victoria’s reign, and then it moved on to North America and Australia. This was also the start of presents being placed around the christmas trees”. But people have always used candles and it was not until the development of inexpensive electrical power in the mid nineteenth century, when it started to reduce candles for safety reasons to, but still today people use miniature candles in some cultures. But today christmas light will appear anywhere, whether it is at home, your neighbours, down the pub or even the town centre, wherever you go there are christmas lights especially here in the United Kingdom, which of cause is COOL, enjoy them wherever you are in the world if you use christmas lights or just candles.

Photo by San Diego Shooter

Photo by Yai&JR

The 2011 Rugby World Cup from New Zealand, Oceania on V.T.com.

Mark — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:11:17 +0000

The World in Union Song for the Rugby World Cup 2011.

The 2011 World Cup Promo.

All Blacks Time to Shine.

Welcome to my post on the 2011, Rugby World Cup coming from New Zealand in the Oceania. This will be a good competition this time around as there are some good and strong sides in it.This will be the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition created back in 1987. Back in Dublin on 17 November 2005, the International Rugby Board, also known as the IRB selected New Zealand as the host country, deafeating Japan and South Africa. The IRB Council eliminated South Africa in the first of two rounds of voting. This event really means alot to the New Zealanders and it will be the largest sporting event ever held in country, eclipsing the 1987 Rugby World Cup, 1990 Commonwealth Games, 1992 Cricket World Cup, 2003 America’s Cup and 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. The organisers expect 95,000 visitors from overseas to travel to New Zealand for the event.

Photo by nznationalparty

Photo by US Embassy New Zealand

So the fixtures have been sorted out the teams are now prepared and the Opening ceremony has now finished we prepare for the first match between the host nation New Zealabd and a rival nation Tonga. The games will run over seven week period starting from the 9th September 2011, all the way through to the final on Sunday 23 October 2011, the date for the final was chosen because it falls on a long weekend caused by the New Zealand public holiday of Labour Day (Monday, 24 October 2011). The final is scheduled to be played in Auckland at Eden Park.

Photo by bananeman

Photo by al_green

There had been some speculation that the number of participating teams would be reduced to 16, but gladly this was not true and there will still be 20 teams. Twelve of the teams had to qualifiy for the tournament. Four of the teams qualified by ending in third place in each pool in the 2007 tournament. The other teams had to qualify in their regional qualifying tournaments.But what i find quite funny is out of the 20 countries that competed in the previous World Cup in 2007, there has been only one change – Russia has replaced Portugal, cool hey, ha ha ha.

Learn about World languages on Virtualtripping.com.

Mark — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:16:15 +0000

When you look at the world one of the amazing things is human language, it is amazing how we can all talk in so many different languages. So what are the main languages speaking in the world, they are English, Spanish (Castilian), French, Arabic, Russian and Portuguese. These are the most spoken fo languages within the world. But the two languages that are spoken by the most native people are Standard Chinese ,1345 million people speak this language and Hindustani, which is the national language of India, 650 million people speak this language. English and other international languages are used alot for business’s and for the use of the internet. So if you can learn a second language from what i am picking up it is very important to. My brother Nick, he is native to the English language, but can speak japanese as if it was his native language, to me he is amazing.
But there are many other international langauges that are spoken like: German, Malay and Indonesian, Persian, Italian, Dutch and Afrikaans and Swahili. There are also two of languages where there is a number of speakers in excess of 100 million, Japanese and Bengali, are not listed, to learn more about this, please refer to Wikipedia. So whether it is speaking, writing, reading or singing, this world has a vast arrange of different lanaguages. There is approximately, 6,700 recognized languages in the world.

Learn about the Atlantic Ocean on Virtualtripping.com.

Mark — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 10:01:33 +0000

Photo by BlatantWorld.com

As i am writing about the world, at ther moment i thought i would write bout the Oceans to, this post is about the Atlantic Ocean. This happens to be the second-largest when it comes to the world’s oceanic divisions. There is a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres or 41,100,000 sq mi. The ocean covers approximately twenty percent of the Earth‘s surface and about twenty-six percent of its water surface area, and the name of this ocean comes from the greek name Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the “Sea of Atlas”. The ocean was first mentioned around 450 BC, in The Histories of Herodotus, when it was said as Atlantis thalassa in Greek, it is spelt like this Ἀτλαντὶς θάλασσα and in English, Sea of Atlas; refer to theAtlas Mountains to learn more. The term Ethiopic Ocean, comes from Ethiopia, and this was what they called the southern Atlantic ocean as late as the mid-19th century. Before Europeans discovered other oceans, the term “ocean” itself was synonymous with the waters beyond the Strait of Gibraltar that we now know as the Atlantic. The early Greeks believed this ocean to be a gigantic river encircling the world.

So what do we know about the Atlantic Ocean, well we know that it occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin which extends longitudinally between the Americas to the west, and Eurasia and Africa to the east. It is a very large ocean with alot of interconnection to the global ocean. You will find that it connects to Arctic Ocean in the north, which is sometimes considered a sea of the Atlantic, it is also connected to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south. There is also some possibility that the ocean might actually extend further south towards Antarctica. It is divided into two segments, by the equator and this is how we get the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean.

Photo by j.segers

Photo by ~photosbytjb~

Learn about different types of micronations, states, countries and their border’s, on Virtualtripping.com.

Mark — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:24:11 +0000

When you think of countries of the world you will think of the main 192 countries around the world, but this planet is astonishing because, there Micronations, now these are referred to as model countries and new country projects, these are small, self-proclaimed entities that claim to be independent sovereign states, but recognised sovereign states do not acknowledged them as sovereign state, or by any supranational organization. Do not confuse these micronations with microstates, which are recognised independent states of a small size, nor should they be confused with unrecognised states, which may have legitimate claim to sovereign state status. Normally you will find that a micronation is a creation brought about by theoretical experimentation, political protest, artistic expression, personal entertainment and the conduct of criminal activity. But this is a fascinating topic because, you can have many types of micronations, for example they can come in forms like, the physical world, which means these antions are on land, at sea and in outer space, but you can also have online micronation, aswell as in the minds of their creators—or some combination of these. But there are some micronations that have issued coins, flags, postage stamps, passports, medals, and other items, to prove they exsist, Wow, that is amazing and weird at the same time.

Photo by nsikander28

One of the problems the world has, is that some countries believe they have territories, which belong to them, but it has been taken over by another country, that also believes that this area belongs to them. This is when you have a major territorial disputes. For example you have Chagos Archipelago, the United Kingdom, say this belongs to them, but the smaller nations of Mauritius and the Seychelles, believe the island’s belong to them. The United Kingdom administers say that these island’s are part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, O.K. There is also the South Kuril Islands in the Northern Territories, which the Russians say belongs to them, but the Japanese, say they belong to them. The island’s are recognised as Russian, but the Japanese still say they belong to them. You also have Navassa Island, the United States of America say that these island’s belong to them, but the central american country of Haiti, believe they belong to them. Of cause we cannot forget the Golan Heights, Where Israel say they belong to them, but Syria, says they belong to them. It is of cause been recognised as belonging to Israel. There is also the Shebaa Farms, that are recognised as Israel, but the countries of Syria and Lebanon, say they belong to them. Really there are so many border disputes, it is amazing how we do not have more wars.

Photo by thejourney1972 (South America “addicted”)

This is a picture taken from flickr of a territorial border dispute between Chile and Peru.