Top 10 Countries to Visit in 2011

Japan has an ill-deserved reputation as an expensive destination.
Photo: Brent Winebrenner/Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet has drawn on the knowledge, passion and kilometres travelled by its staff, authors and online community to present the Top 10 Countries to visit in 2011.
From the new book, Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2011: the best trends, destinations, journeys and experiences for the upcoming year.

1. ALBANIA
Not so long ago, when the Balkans were considered an 'only for the brave' travel destination, only the bravest of the brave trickled into Albania. Since backpackers started coming to elusive Albania in the 1990s, tales have been told in 'keep it to yourself' whispers of azure beaches, confrontingly good cuisine, heritage sites, nightlife, affordable adventures and the possibility of old-style unplanned journeys complete with open-armed locals for whom travellers are still a novelty. Sick to death of being dismissed with blinged-up crime-boss clichés, Albania has announced 'A New Mediterranean Love' via its tourist board. The jig is almost up – Albania won't be off the beaten track for much longer.

The Top 10 Countries for 2010

Fans of El Salvador prepare for their World Cup 2010
qualifying match...guardian.co.uk

Want a sneak peek into the future?
We’ve just released our newest edition of Best in Travel. We’re delighted at the attention it’s getting, so we’ll share some of the hot lists inside - and get your thoughts.
To start with a bang, here’s our list of the ten hottest countries for  2010 - and why.

El Salvador
El Salvador sneaks up on you: in lefty lounge bars in San Salvador, at sobering war memorials and museums, and along lush cloud-forest trails; it’s a place of remarkable warmth and intelligence, made all the more appealing for being so unexpected. Travellers tend to skip El Salvador, wooed by marquee destinations such as Guatemala and Costa Rica, and unnerved by stories of civil war and gang violence. But the war ended almost 20 years ago, and crime, while serious, is almost exclusively played out between rival gangs; tourists are virtually never involved. And though El Salvador has fewer protected areas than its neighbours, you get them practically to yourself – including pristine forests, active volcanoes and alpine lakes.

Top 10 Honeymoon Destinations In-demand These Days

Bora Bora island Tahiti. Bora Bora is an ideal place for honeymoon couples
travellingboard.net

The honeymoon is a very important part of a newlywed married couple’s life. Both of them want to make the event memorable so it requires careful planning and considerable time to plan it.
There are many honeymoon themes available for couples like romantic honeymoon, dream, exotic, island, luxury, beach, mountain, tropical, adventure, winter, safari, and exclusive honeymoons. If you want to decide on the theme of your honeymoon, and to help you with that task, you can find the top ten list of honeymoon destinations here.
Before checking out the list, there are certain things to consider before choosing your honeymoon destination like -
- in planning for your honeymoon, make a listing of different places that both of you would want to visit, and the activities that you want to be involved in
- the honeymoon budget
- how long do you plan to spend on your honeymoon
- get as much information of your chosen destination
- shock each other with surprise plans

Top 10 Exotic Destinations in Indonesia

KELIMUTU LAKE or THREE COLOUR LAKE (at NUSA TENGGARA ISLAND)
majim16.blogspot.com

Adventure looms large in this vast and steamy archipelago, where the best of Southeast Asia’s spicy melange simmers tantalisingly. Heady scents, vivid colours, dramatic vistas and diverse cultures spin and multiply to the point of exhaustion, their potent brew leaving your senses reeling.
Rippling across the equator for nearly 5000km, Indonesia encompasses more than 17,000 islands, two-thirds of which are inhabited and richly layered with character. On Sulawesi, the elaborate funeral ceremonies and timeless traditions of Tana Toraja are light years from the surfing culture of Lombok. But so too are the mighty saddle-backed Batak mansions of Danua Toba and the volcanic lakes of Sumatra from the mummies and deeply etched gorges of Papua’s Baliem Valley. The resorts and restaurants of Bali pamper precocious style cats, while at the same moment threadbare backpackers are adopted by homestays in Kalimantan.

How to Get to Lake Toba

Since it is located in North Sumatra, the only way there is through the city of Medan – North Sumatra Indonesia. Lake Toba is about 4 hours drive by car from Medan City. You can travel by public bus which may take longer to about 6 hours. The usual stop is the town of ” Pematang Siantar ” halfway to Lake Toba for a toilet break.

Local town is known as Prapat / Parapat.
Local transportation around the lake takes the form of boats. You can also hire a motorcycle for a day or two and get out and about ( Rp.50,0000 per day inclusive of 4 litres of petrol ). There are no police checking licenses and there is not much traffic – just watch out for the big trucks, buses and diabolical bridge.

Source: Lake Toba Largest Volcanic Lake in the World | Medan Indonesia Pride http://www.medanku.com/lake-toba-north-sumatra/#ixzz190FcCWnO
Copyright: www.MedanKu.com

Lake Toba North Sumatra Indonesia

The Pride of Medan Indonesia

Lake Toba also known as Danau Toba in Indonesia is the largest volcanic lake ( crater lake ) in the world.
At 100 km long and 30 km wide, measuring 505 m at its deepest point, it is situated in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Surrounded by tall mountains, it cradles the large island of Samosir in its middle.

Uniqueness of Lake Toba:
Unlike any other lake, if you think about the location — close to the equator — and look at the picture, you will realize that there is something strange about the lake. Most large lakes were formed by glaciers; large lakes close to the equator are sometimes formed by the damming of a large river. But there is no large river flowing into Lake Toba. The lake has a different and more dramatic origin.