Why You Should Visit Sri Lanka Once In Your Life

Sri Lanka is one of the most diversified and much sought after tourist attractions. Usually, people fall in love with this place after their first visit. Sri Lanka has experienced a considerable surge in the number of tourists from the year 2009 to 2015.

Why people get attracted to this place in large numbers? To get an authentic answer, just take a look at these 7 ultimate reasons to visit Sri Lanka.

The Diversity of Sri Lanka

Although Sri Lanka is a small island, it appears to be a highly diverse place. Here, you can visit cool lush highlands and palm-fringed beaches within just one day. Moreover, you can find almost every flora and fauna in its seven different types of forests. The hot and dusty plains give you a reason to take advantage of the desert like atmosphere.

Captivating Beaches

If you like the idea of just chilling out on a peaceful and sunny beach, there is no better option other than Sri Lankan beaches. The coastline sprawls at a vast area of 1,340 km, which makes it possible to find your own private beach. Especially, the beaches on the east and south of the Island are truly amazing.

Rich Culture and History

Sri Lanka is a place rich in history and culture. The early settlement dates back to almost 35,000 years ago. Due to its vast natural resources, Sri Lanka was at the target of numerous superpowers of history.

Sigiriya Rock Fortress is the best example to show how rich Sri Lankan history is in reality. The period of colonialism and Buddhism has seen various wars. This island has experienced long turbulences, which became an unpleasant part of history. Kissimmee Lakefront Park is also an historic place you should go…

Cuisines and Delicacies

During the past decade, Sri Lankan cuisine got the international recognition it deserved. There are more than 5 Sri Lankan restaurants In London alone. The coconut-based curries are the most delightful delicacies that you can afford to miss. In fact, Sri Lankan cuisine is full of depth and unique flavors.

Friendly People 

This is one of the main reasons why tourists prefer Sri Lanka over other Asian destinations. While traveling through the island, you will come across numerous indigenous people who welcome you with their unsurpassable hospitality. No matter whether you are wandering in the Muslim, Hindu or Sinhalese areas, people will always embrace you with open arms.

Diverse Wildlife

The wildlife in Sri Lanka is astonishingly diverse and incredible. Here, you can witness blue whales, wild elephants, leopards, monkeys, and numerous other species. The island appears to be a mini Africa, where wildlife encounters are more than common. 

Adventure Travel

Sri Lanka is a must visit place for adventure lovers. Here, you can enjoy surfing, hiking, mountain climbing or scuba diving. Sri Lankan tourism department has made special arrangements for a wide range of adventure sports.  

Especially, surfing in the Sri Lankan open waters is a lifetime experience where you enjoy the perfect conditions and surfing facilities. The diving spots are also great, taking your adventure travel to a new level. Besides, Kelani Ganga is the best place for white water rafting. 

Hidden Gems in Southern California

Southern California has been a well-known destination for tourists with places like San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Disneyland. These are some of the renowned places that everybody has their on their travel lists while visiting Southern California. If you would love to visit somewhere off the radar, then you need to check out these incredible destinations.

The Channell Islands

We visited California a lot of times but every time these spectacular islands were missed. These are even classified as U.S. National Parks. We saw some really beautiful pictures on the internet and that’s when we took a boat ride to Anacapa Island from Oxnard on our anniversary. The trip is for adventurous people who are in good shape as you will have to climb up to 157 stairs till the top of the island where you won’t find a toilet, food, etc.

This is pretty important! In case you have any previous injury or you get a back issue or some other injury due to traveling then you should get yourself checked at a doctor or a good chiropractor. Before I leave on any trip, I’ll go to see mine… the best chiropractor Cave Creek has in all of Phoenix

But once you make it there, views of the rocky shoreline, jagged peaks, and cliffs are spectacular. One can consider them as North America’s Galápagos.

The Huntington Botanical Gardens

This is another magnificent place where we visited by chance. It’s located in Pasadena. It’s like a bouquet of over dozens of beautiful gardens spread over an area of around 120 acres. You won’t be able to decide which garden is the most beautiful. My personal favorites are Japanese garden, California garden, and Rose garden.

Ventura County Wine Trail

Napa may have earned all the attention as wine country in California but we got the chance to enjoy exploring the coastal hills near Ventura, town located on the seaside.  We found over 20 wineries and tasting rooms. One can also book a wine tour or explore freestyle using a map. It’s a lonely but charming road where you will find old surprises. Our favorite was an Old Creek Winery where friendly dogs and folks waited for us. We even stayed at Ojai and Ventura Harbour villages and got to enjoy live music and festivals on the weekend.

Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach is halfway between San Diego and Los Angeles. With around 20 scenic coves, beach area offers everything from paddle-boarding, kayaking, whale watching excursions, snorkeling. You can enjoy so many water sports! Just beware of the rough places. As a teenager, I recklessly decided to body surf in churning waters and got caught in a massive wave. I would completely blame the Beach Boys for this mishap as they romanticized the surfer thing with songs. So, actually, it’s their fault. We even enjoyed a picnic on the grass areas. There is not much to do on this beach so one can enjoy the serene beauty along with a picnic lunch and wine in a hidden nook.

Big Bear Lake

Nearby Big Bear is a huge mountain along with pristine forests and a beautiful lake. Hiking, fishing, and boating are some to-do activities in this small village. Last year we cycled around the lake, had a picnic, drove go-karts and enjoyed terrific views in the sky chair. If you would prefer adventure, zip lining and parasailing are also great options.

So, you can see that Southern California has a lot of great places to visit; it’s not possible for me to list them all. Hopefully, you got an idea about where to start!

Time Travel: It’s Been Done Before!

Can we really travel through time? The short answer is yes! That’s right. We all have the ability to move forward in time, even if we don’t realize it. If you want to jump into the future, can you just go to sleep and wake up a few hours later? Of course, that question is deceptive. We want to be able to go back and repeat the stupid mistakes we made many years ago. Who doesn’t want them to go back and talk to their 15-year-old relatives? Tell them not to make the mistakes you made (or they will). Or maybe you want to travel 500 years into the future and see the flying cars that we promised in the 2000s. Fortunately, time travel is theoretically possible.

Is Time Travel Possible? - Owlcation

In fact, there is no law in physics that prevents time travel. That’s right, according to all the laws of physics we know, it is perfectly reasonable to travel at any time. But as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. Time travel is an extremely dangerous endeavor with devastating consequences, and it is also confusing in paradox.

For example, what if I travel on time and prevent World War II? Sounds like a brilliant idea doesn’t it? Countless lives could have been saved, I would have been admired as a hero! Not necessarily. Although I want to save lives, I want to destroy others as well. Do we rely on all the technologies that were developed during the war, such as jet engines and nuclear power? In fact, the map of the world can be completely different. The situation could be worse than we actually kept history.

Another famous time travel paradox is the Grandpa Paradox, which basically says that if we say, for example, I go back to the time before my parents were born and prevent my grandfather from meeting my grandmother. My parents could not meet and thus, I was never born. So how could I go back in time to stop seeing my grandparents in the first place?

So we see that time travel can be a bad idea, but suppose we really want to go back in time, how do we do it? Well first we need to understand how time works.

Time is something we are all very familiar with, we all know what it is, but still we can’t see it, we can’t touch it, we can’t communicate with it in any way, we can only observe it. Isaac Newton thought that time is constant and never deviates, which would certainly make time travel impossible. Even Einstein believed that it was impossible, yet his equations made it possible. Einstein theorized that space and time are inextricably linked, which he referred to as “space-time.” So theoretically, if I were to combine space with something extremely powerful like a black hole, I would spend time too. While this seems to be true and scientists are exploring its possibilities, the real possibility of time travel seems to lie in its other theories; Relativity. In fact time travel using relativity is not just a theory, it has actually been done, several times! Now you probably think I’m crazy but the mystery seems to be going very fast.

According to Einstein’s theory of general relativity, no object with mass can travel faster than the speed of light, which is amazing at 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum (it is no air). This is an incredible 1,080 million kilometers per hour! So in terms of general relativity, we can only travel at 99.99% of the speed of light. But let’s say for example that I am sitting in the back of a plane traveling at the speed of light and I am walking from the back to the front of the plane at the rate of 10 kilometers per hour. I’ll skip the equations from this, but that means my speed and the speed of the plane means I’m traveling at a speed of 1,080 million and ten kilometers per hour, which is 10km / h faster than light, isn’t it? Wrong. According to the theory of relativity, time will actually slow down for me to prevent it from traveling faster than light. Sounds weird, doesn’t it.

Of course this scene will never happen in real life, as I said before we cannot travel faster than the speed of light. In fact, traveling faster than your light will require more than an infinite supply of fuel, which is obviously impossible.

Best Caribbean Islands that are also Safe to Visit

Caribbean islands are popular for their beautiful weather, serene beaches, and plenty of fun-loaded activities. Nevertheless, when it comes to safety, not all Caribbean islands are alike. Hence, when traveling to a specific Caribbean island, make sure to verify whether it’s safe or not.

To assist you in this regard, we have created a list of the safest Caribbean islands. So now, it is quite easy for you to choose a Caribbean destination that is safe too.

Bonaire

Bonaire is a famous travel spot for tourists. It is a beautiful island offering all the elements, which make this place worth visiting. In addition, Bonaire is also a safe island. You can spend all day long here and that too without any security concern. Among other fun activities, Bonaire is much popular as one of the best diving spot in the Caribbean.

Aruba

Situated close to the coast of Venezuela, Aruba is an ideal destination for beach lovers. Furthermore, being a safe destination, this island offers you the opportunity to take part in adventurous activities.

However, make sure to keep your belongings safe and don’t leave them unattended. Chances of break-in or theft are low, but you should avoid flashing around your belongings in the public.

St. Maarten

St. Maarten is a perfect destination, which is luxurious as well as safe. Here you will get a chance to spend some best moments of your life by exploring marvelous mountains, lagoons, and beaches. The crime rate in St. Maarten is quite low, which makes it an ideal destination for the tourists.

Turks & Caicos

When it comes to one of the safest Caribbean islands, Turks & Caicos is among the top options. There are almost 40 small islands, which offer a wide array of adventurous activities like kite-boarding, whale watching, sailing, and snorkeling.

The reported crime rate in North and Middle Caicos, South Caicos, and Salt Cay is very low. So you can travel to this place without any hesitation.

Barbados

Barbados is the cultural hub of Caribbean culture. It has amazing food, music, surfing facilities, and natural habitats. People are friendly and cooperative. This is the reason; instances of violent crimes against visitors are rare. Even though, you should keep all your belongings close to you while visiting crowded areas.

Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands include Cayman Brac, Little Cayman, and Grand Cayman. Here you will find secluded beaches and luxury apartments all at one place. If you love scuba diving, this is the right spot for you. Talking about the crime rate and overall safety situation, happening of unpleasant incidents is quite rare.

 St. Lucia

No Doubt, St. Lucia does have a wow factor attached to it. The coastline is picturesque, filled with natural beauty. The place is relatively safe for tourists, but you have to keep in mind some other factors. For instance, while going off-road during the rainy season, don’t settle for anything than a 4×4 vehicle. Moreover, wearing camouflage is not allowed in St. Lucia; hence, don’t try to wear anything like that.

Have Your Best Christmas Ever in New York

Christmas in New York is the most beautiful time of the year as the tree-lined streets of downtown and around town become adorned in lights and other festive displays, from popular musical shows to parades holiday-themed markets. Here are some things to do on Christmas Day in New York:

Holiday Light Tour

It is a free tour by foot and covers everything from Lincoln Center to Lord and Taylor to the Rockefeller Tree. Don’t miss this chance to see all of the holiday decorations and traditional window displays.

Rockefeller Center Christmas tree

The tree lighting is a significant celebration in the city.  Although the tree is raised in mid-November, lighting does not take place until the end of November. The live concerts take place in front of the Prometheus Statue and feature various artists who come to perform. The building also surrounds the ice skating rink.

Eat Out

Eating out is always a great thing to do on Christmas Day in New York. Many restaurants are open on December 25th. These include many Indian, Thai, and Chinese restaurants, and not forgetting some American ones too. The top restaurants are, Industry Kitchen, Chinese Tuxedo, RedFarm, Tikka Indian Grill, Kitchen 79 restaurant and many others. If you have a favorite Indian or Chinese restaurant, call and confirm if they’re open and make your booking.

Christmas Musical and Shows

New York City entertains various Christmas and winter holiday-themed musicals and plays, plus other performances from late November until the beginning of January. There are almost 20 wonderful Holiday, and Christmas themed musicals, ballets, shows, and other performances taking place in New York City.

The two famous shows are the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and the Nutcracker. The number of shows per day differs, but it is usually 4 or 5. The times also differ depending on the show schedule for that day.

Ice Skating in New York City

New York provides plenty of ice skating options during the holidays. After considering the price and the location, you can then make your selection. Rockefeller Center and Central Park can get a bit crowded especially during the holidays, so it is advisable to book in advance or be ready to pay up for quick access.

Christmas Markets

There are many Christmas markets in New York where you can purchase festive treats, decorations, and gifts. Examples of these popular markets that offer fun and unique way to shop during the holidays are the Union Square Holiday Market, Bryant Park’s Winter Village, Grand Central Holiday Fair and many more.

To sum it up, Christmas is always a magical time of the year and is filled with fun festival events. There are many activities to engage in for an afternoon or all day on Christmas day for the solo participant or a group.