Sightseeing with Children in Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia, it is the largest city of both Indonesia and of Southeast Asia, and is the twelfth largest city in the world. Needless to say, this provides a wealth of opportunities for travelers, and for those who are traveling with children. Of the many places one may wish to visit with their children, three spots tend to be the most popular, offering fun mixed with a bit of education and discovery. The Ragunan Zoo and Sea Word are two destinations which attract and entertain not only the children but the adults as well.
The Ragunan Zoo is located in South Jakarta. For a listing of fine hotels located in this region, click here. Should you be traveling during the holidays, be sure to book your rooms a head of time, and be certain to get to the parks early as during the holiday seasons both the hotels and the parks will become extremely crowded. The Zoo is set in a suburb, and is in the middle of a lush and tropical forest region. Here you will find not only many brightly colored and exotic birds flying in the trees, but the Java tiger, wild ox, and the ever mysterious Komodo dragon lizard. This area was first protected by the Dutch explorers, many of whom were lovers of the outdoors, and of the fauna and the flora. From the time of the founding of the zoo in 1864, the expansions have caused the zoo to move locations a couple of times in search of more space. The location of the zoo today was first opened in 1966 and they now house more than five hundred different species of plants and animals indigenous to Indonesia.
The wildlife of the region which resides in the water, can be discovered at Sea World, which is located inside the Ancol Dreamland complex. As with Sea World parks all over the world, the Sea World in Jakarta is a modern and high tech facility with aquariums exhibiting some of the most exotic and tropical of marine life. Corral reefs, tanks of brightly colored fish and a special “Touch” pool, will provide visitors with hours of enjoyment filled with wonder. There are more than four thousand fish and sharks housed at the Jakarta Sea World, representatives of more than three hundred species. So whether it is by land or by sea, discovering the natural world of Jakarta with your children will be a beautiful experience, leaving you with a plethora of memories of the wild life of this Indonesian city.
01.26.10Florida’s Winter Wonderland
One of my most favorite places in Tampa, Florida is Lowry Park Zoo;I hadn’t had a chance to see it for almost a decade. But, for some reason, I had to once again see the seasonal arrival of the reindeer, so I booked a flight an one of the hotels in West Florida in order to just see the zoo!
When I arrived, I met up with an old friend and her 5-year old daughter, which this is my first time to see her child. We went to the zoo by 6pm, just in time when they open the gates for the Wild Wonderland Night time event. The zoo was crowded with some people pushing carriages and toddlers in tow. I could see the sheer excitement in all the children’s faces, even in the adults too. My friend told me that Parent Magazine rates Lowry Park Zoo number one for their list of the best zoos for children in the US. That didn’t surprise me, after all, here I am, and I’m not a child, plus it’s no surprise when we read about all the special events to participate in, like seeing Santa with his reindeer, Frosty’s Factory that lets the children play in was Floridians call ’snow’, it’s more like a foamy, bubble kind of snow, but the children don’t care. Then there’s the Sugarplum exhibit, which is an illuminated pathway of trees loaded with LED-lit snowflakes, wonderful magical winter themes, and glowing fairies. But watch out for the horse-drawn carriage ride, because that costs extra.
When we walked through the entry gate, we were greeted by a light falling snow, fake of course. Then a giant nutcracker greeted us as he guarded a frozen fountain of lights. The gift shop is decorated with candy canes and peppermint drops on the rooftop. The Lowry Park Zoo really does its best to make everyone who enters, feel like you’re in a winter Wonderland. But, it was the animals that I came to see, especially the reindeer, but I was surprised to see penguins enjoying themselves on a frozen water source. Wild Wonderland was better than I expected, and I couldn’t think of any one better to share the experience with than my dear friend and her young daughter.
Love at First Sight at Restaurant Nineteen in Philadelphia
Ralph had been trying to establish a pet and house sitting business for the last year. He was able to amass a small collection of semi regular clients and many of these were established through word of mouth based on previous jobs. He was extremely dedicated to the development of his business though for the time being he still had to retain his previous job as a delivery driver for a catering business. However, three months ago he was able to reduce his delivery hours to part time and focus more of his attention on his own business. Naturally, when an over protective pet owner was referred to him and wanted to meet him in person and discuss the job over lunch he was more than willing to comply. The potential client’s name was Alice and she was more than willing to pay for the encounter.
While all of this seemed to be perfectly normal to Ralph has a bit surprised to learn that she wanted to meet at the upscale restaurant Nineteen, which was located at a luxury hotel Philadelphia. However, never one to judge and always eager to meet a potential client, Ralph went ahead and kept the appointment. When he arrived at Nineteen, he was guided to Alice’s table, which was on the outdoor patio area, and he was immediately stunned with her appearance. She was dressed sophisticatedly yet also modestly and had beautiful brown eyes that complimented her slightly curly black hair.
Alice and Ralph seemed to hit it off immediately and she began the conversation talking about the movie she had seen the night before. They hadn’t even looked at the menu when their food server came to take their order. They took a moment to decide and found out each of them was only in the mood for coffee and a dessert. They talked and laughed throughout the meeting and when the bill finally came Ralph forgot himself and naturally reached for it. At that moment they both remembered why they were there and Alice laughed as she said they should talk about her two poodles. Ralph agreed and when she insisted she pay for the desserts he took a leap of professionalism and said that he would only let her if she allowed him to repeat the favor at another time. Alice said yes.
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Atomic Clock in Boulder Colorado
One of the most understudied features of the city of Boulder is that it is the housing location of the nation’s most accurate clock. Nestled in among the residents, universities and other cultural elements just below the Rocky Mountains is one of the centers for National Institute of Standards and Technology. In total there are approximately 350 of these centers across the nation that are intended to promote and maintain science and technology standards as well as quality of life. The center in Boulder also happens to be the location of the atomic clock. And while this is certainly something that may intrigue and interest the guests in hotels Boulder the atomic clock is not likely to be on the list of anyone’s most sought after attractions.
The National Institute’s placement in Boulder grew out of its history as a prominent coal, silver and gold mining center in the early 1900s. This was a major component of the city’s economy and as it waned in the 1940’s and the city began to actively recruit clean industry. This developed into the National Bureau of Standard, which is now the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The clock is the most accurate time keeping machine in the world and uses an atomic resonance frequency standard for its basic element of time keeping. It is also used for international time distribution services and is a major part of controlling global navigation satellite systems, such as the increasingly popular GPS devices. It also controls the frequency of television broadcasts. Instead of using radioactivity, the atomic clock employs the microwave signal that is emitted by electrons as they change energy levels. There are atomic clocks located across the world and together they maintain the International Atomic Time. Maintaining civil time a slightly different scale is used which is the Coordinated Universal Time. It is based on the UTC, though it is synchronized by the use of leap seconds.
01.11.10Haunted New York
I always wanted to be a ghostbuster. Even before the movie came out, I was fascinated with the idea that my city might be inhabited by more than the millions of residents that make up the boroughs of NY. I had lots of dreams about apparitions floating above my bed, all through my childhood, and when I woke up, every single time, I had a hard time distinguishing between worlds. It still takes awhile to adjust, but that’s what coffee is for. Some of my quirks aren’t unusual at all, I just like to think they are. So I’ve grown to accept that my apparitions in the night might just be my own sleepiness, but there are still some things out there that I sure can’t explain.
It’s nice to think that one day I’ll be visiting those five star New York hotels to meet famous people and give interviews on my life’s work. So far, I just get to visit the hotels when a friend’s come in from out of town. The rest of the time I look into things that are pretty run of the mill, and on some days, I have to admit that there are many things about my job that are boring. There are paranormal investigators in a lot of the bigger cities, and I’m not the only one in New York. Singapore is one of my favorite places to visit for this kind of thing, and has become my favorite place outside of my hometown.
But New York has its share of places that are haunted, that’s for certain. Whether or not these are actual ghosts, or just the memories and the history of the places that carry intense psychic energy is still up for debate. I haven’t been able to verify anything. At least, nothing that would be considered irrefutable evidence, but then again, I don’t know of any positively irrefutable evidence. I do know, however, that after a little while doing this work, you tend to have experiences that you can report on, and ones you cannot, and I’m much more quiet than I used to be.
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Trumpeter Performs With Uncle in Salt Lake
Philip could hardly wait for his upcoming trip to visit relatives in Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition to the fact that he grew up in an incredibly close and loving family, Philip was sixteen years old and had been playing the trumpet for six years by the time that summer arrived. His uncle Charlie was one of the people who would be in Utah, and he was also one of the primary reasons behind Philip’s incredible excitement. It happens to be that Charlie was a successful jazz pianist and had been playing with the same trio for the last ten years. That summer he had promised Philip that he could join his trio for a performance that was going to occur as a special engagement in a used bookstore just north of the University of Utah.
In addition to Philip and his parents’ trip to Utah, the rest of his extended family had been planning to schedule a reunion and they decided that last summer was the perfect opportunity to do so. This meant that most of them would be staying in a resort and Philip thought the size of his family would fill the hotels Salt Lake. Of course this also meant that he would have a much larger audience for his premier professional performance.
As it turned out, there were more people wanting to see the performance than would the bookstore could hold. Charlie’s trio had just released a new cd and the bookstore was promoting sales of it through the concert. Philip was nervous when his uncle introduced him and he stepped onstage with his trumpet. He tried to look cool and casual as he put the mute in place but noticed his fingers were wanting to shake. At that moment waves of nausea began to disrupt his stomach and for a moment Philip thought he was going to faint. Almost instinctively he took a deep breath and began a slow exhale into his trumpet as uncle Charlie looked on with support and approval. Philip quickly lost himself in the music ended up having a great time playing. And the audience never suspected he might pass out in front of them.
01.7.10Getting the Best out of New York
I haven’t figured out if I love New York City yet, the Jury’s still out. But, I do have a good piece of advice, when you come visit Manhattan, don’t take the tour buses! It’s so much better to walk everywhere; New York is an amazing city and if you see it by bus, you’ll miss out on the best parts. Sure my feet ache, but when I got tired, I took the subway system, it’s inexpensive and very convenient, especially during the two rush hours.
But, back to my time in New York City was fantastic! I think though, that this city needs to be renamed as the Neck Ache City. I don’t know if my neck will ever be the same after looking up all day long at all the skyscrapers. I thought I’d check out the Empire State Building, but ended up at the Chrysler Building instead. Then off to Central Park. The views are incredible from north end of the park. Central Park felt like an oasis in the middle of a desert, I almost felt like I wasn’t in New York!
The Grandest place was Grand Central Station; it has got to be experienced to be believed. I think it’s probably the grandest tube station in the world. Later that evening I made it to Greenwich Village for an Italian dinner. The food was better than my Mama use to make! Sorry, Mum!
The only time I didn’t walk anywhere or take the subway was when I did decided to contact a New York City car hire company for my drive out of Manhattan. I wanted to take a day excursion out of the city. Driving through the midtown tunnel then, through Brooklyn was hectic, and as I was making my way to Long Island, the view I got of the New York skyline was spectacular. I felt like I was betraying the City by leaving. All I could say, quietly, is ‘I’ll be back!’
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