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| 5 other firework displays worth seeing Posted: 04 Jul 2013 08:55 PM PDT Missed the July 4 celebrations? There are plenty of other bangs, whizzes and whooshes to look out for  July 4 is synonymous with loud, bright firework displays. But a few bangs and it's over -- what if you missed them? Fear not -- there are other great ways to suffer tinnitus for 20 minutes. Here's a selection of the most popular fireworks displays taking place in the next few months. 1. Montreal International Fireworks Festival, Canada
When: June 22–August 3, 2013 Where: Quebec's La Ronde amusement park, Montreal, Canada Each year, eight top-tier firework companies from around the world are invited to present a 30-minute show at Quebec's La Ronde amusement park. The festival's website gets all hifalutin about the displays. "Pyromusical synchronization is an art form that can only be mastered through experience," it says. To put it another way, it's a visual feast accompanied by musical storytelling. This year's event will last for six weeks, starting with an Australian demonstration on June 22 and followed by teams from Hong Kong, the U.S. and Croatia, among others. 2. Pohang International Fireworks Festival, South Korea
When: July 26-August 4, 2013 Where: 95, Haean-ro, Buk-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do Pohang is the first place on the Korean Peninsula to see the sunrise. Known as the "City of Light and Fire," it has a long tradition of shooting bright colors into the sky. Each summer, people flock to Bukbu Beach and Hyeongsan River Sports Park for the Pohang International Fireworks Festival, which includes a fireworks competition, fringe fireworks festival and more. This annual event is also a beach festival with events including the Pohang Bada International Theater Festival, Sand Sculpture Exhibition and National Badminton Contest. Traditional Korean dance and music are performed throughout. 3. Katakai Fireworks Festival, Niigata, Japan
When: September 9-10, 2013 Where: Asahara Shrine, Katakai-machi, Ojiya City, Niigata Summer is firework season in Japan. "Hanabi" ("flowers of fire") displays are held across the country in July, August and September, when people wear national dress and enjoy plenty of traditional food and games. Japan is home to the world's largest firework, the Yonshakudama. The 450-kilo shell shoots almost a kilometer up, before exploding into a bloom 800 meters across. To celebrate the arrival of autumn, two Yonshakudamas are launched at the Katakai-Matsuri Festival in the town of Katakai every September. During the festival, "the night sky is painted with giant wheels," according to the Niigata Prefecture Tourism Guide website. 4. Sydney on New Year's Eve
When: January 1 Where: Sydney Harbour Sydney calls itself the New Year's Eve Capital of the World for a reason. Each year, more than 1.6 million spectators assemble around Sydney Harbour to watch the fireworks. More than one billion people worldwide watch the event live on TV, the organizers say. As midnight struck on January 1 this year, seven tons of fireworks shot up from Sydney Harbour Bridge, barges in the harbor and seven city skyscrapers, the display lasting 12 minutes. A different "creative ambassador" helps to organize the event each year. Kylie Minogue took part last year; her successor will be the artist and musician Reg Mombassa. 5. Dubai New Year's Eve firework display, UAE
When: January 1 Where: Burj Khalifa, Dubai This year's New Year's Eve firework display in Dubai involved pyrotechnics bursting off the sides of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. Synchronized with a live performance by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, hundreds of fireworks ignited around the 830-meter-high structure.      |
| Wild Wakatobi: Indonesia's spectacular and little-known dive destination Posted: 04 Jul 2013 03:00 PM PDT Thought all the best beach and diving locations were already too crowded? Wakatobi is a quiet, pristine alternative  We ride into the heart of Wakatobi –- one of Indonesia's premier dive sites –- on a faded wooden boat loaded with instant noodles, juice boxes and an aerodry washing machine. At the dock in Kaledupa, men with bowler helmets sweep our bags into a canoe and throw us back out to sea. The heat has bleached the color from the land and trees, but as we putter across a channel to Hoga Island the water remains a cool swirl of vibrant aqua, teal and indigo. This is southeast Sulawesi, a birthmark-shaped island in Indonesia's northeast and home to some of the world's most spectacular coral reefs. I'm traveling with seasoned Indonesianists and we're ready to dive, swim and toss back cold, sunset beers in soft, cloth hammocks. It's not until we come to a halt in the shallow waters lapping Hoga's beach that the silence sets in, followed by fears that we might be making a terrible mistake. These are remote islands, tiny freckles on the Indonesian map, made even more distant by a lack of connective infrastructure –- like toes severed from feet. As we sink our own feet into the hot, white sand, my mind turns to the granola bar in my knapsack –- that could last me for a day, I calculate, thinking this island was far more deserted than we'd anticipated. Yet hidden behind the expanse of palm trees sits a cluster of delightful wooden bungalows and a shaded veranda with dining tables. Rooms are available. Creating a culture of conservation
The name Wakatobi is an amalgam of its four main islands –- Wangi-Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia and Binongko. The seas surrounding the southeast Sulawesi district received national marine park status in 1996 and Wakatobi has since garnered attention from conservationists and avid scuba divers drawn by its incredible underwater diversity and expansive reefs. Each summer hundreds of students descend on Hoga, one of Wakatobi's many minor islets, to conduct research through Operation Wallacea, a non-profit sustainable development group based in England. Environmental outfits like the World Wildlife Fund have also been helping to improve park management and publicize its vast biodiversity. In 2012 the WWF released a film about the Bajo, a once-nomadic sea tribe that now lives on stilted homes over the water and depends on fishing for survival. Resourceful and ingenious, the Bajo dive using hand-made wooden goggles.
In view of Hoga is Sampela, the only Bajo village in the region completely disconnected from the mainland. The village has a mosque, schools and convenience stores. There is a soccer pitch and a small health clinic, all built on dead coral and connected by a snaking series of wooden bridges and walkways. The belief in the sea and its bounty influences Bajo society, but many traditions are slowly evaporating as fish stocks dwindle. The Bajo have also had to adjust their lives to increasing conservation efforts. Growth in scuba diving, for example, has led to a crackdown on bomb fishing, which in the past destroyed large chunks of otherwise pristine reefs. "We want to promote this place for divers, people who really love to come for the nature," says Geertje Berveling, a Dutch conservationist who assists with the dive center at the Hoga Dive Resort. Beyond Bali
The ministry of tourism aims to draw 10 million visitors by 2014. But the country's main resort island, Bali, is suffering from a tourist glut. Hotels are straining water resources and beaches are littered with refuse. Tourists complain that traffic jams and parking lots have overtaken paradise. Cases of sexual assault and alcohol-related deaths are on the rise. To meet growth targets that rely on tourism development, the government says it needs to promote destinations beyond Bali.
Tourism Minister Mari Pangestu admits that the island chain is still difficult to get to, but says the country is shifting resources here to ease the burden on Bali's environment. "What we want is sustainable tourism," Pangestu says in an interview. "You want to ensure that these destinations maintain their local culture, tradition and local wisdom but develop it in a way that can be understood and enjoyed by visitors." The Bajo are part of that culture, but in this region it's the life below the water that excites. Home to more than 25 coral reefs and 900 marine species, Wakatobi provides divers access to moray eels, dolphins, manta rays and sea turtles. Lacy fan coral is so immense and intact it's awe-inspiring. "There are not that many islands, but the islands are big and all around the islands are coral," says Berveling. "There are many places where people haven't dived yet." All around these islands the sea extends out in a shelf. Then, suddenly, it gives way to a long, unbroken wall replete with some of the world's best hard and soft corals.
Snorkeling and swimming is equally serene. Quickly my companions and I forget the time and sink into a routine: swim, eat, read in a hammock. Repeat. In the evenings we walk the shore or watch the resort staff play volleyball on a beach lapped by water as still and placid as a lake. Each night the sunset is more brilliant. Sprawling and vast, Indonesia is a land of wonder and opportunity, a country ripe for adventure –- and also uncertainty. In remote regions getting from one island to another can involve long waits and crossed fingers. But a hop around Wakatobi quickly proves why the trouble is worth it. Exhausted by a day of island cruising and sea-creature sighting, we sink into mosquito-netted beds and listen. With bungalow windows thrown akimbo we hear a distant boat engine, a bird warble or the void left by total, utter silence. Getting thereRegular flights go from Jakarta to Wakatobi airport on the island of Wangi-Wangi via Kendari or Bau Bau. Lion Air also recently launched direct flights from Jakarta to Wangi-Wangi, though they only go on certain days. Boats leave every morning between 9-11 a.m. from Wangi-Wangi to Kaledupa. They cost about $5 and take two hours. From Kaledupa, small fishing boats take passengers across a strait to Hoga Island. Accommodation: For a no-hassle splurge, travelers can board a charter flight from Bali direct to the Wakatobi Dive Resort, a luxury eco stay on Tolandano island with plush villas, spa services and a yacht that can personalize dive cruises. There is only one place to stay on Hoga Island, the Tukangbesi Dive Resort. It's pleasant, affordable and includes food and daily scuba diving packages. During the summer months guests can also rent cottages through Operation Wallacea. The fully-equpped dive center on Tomia also offers basic bungalows.    |
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