It has often occured to me that surfers are a caring breed, and compared with the average sun-seeker, they seem to have a lot of respect for the places they go to have their fun. It's probably all that getting close to nature that does it.
Holidays are a time for fun and carelessness, not worrying about your carbon sandal-print. The best way to ensure you have a guilt-free break is to plan ahead, taking note of the steps you can take to ensure your behaviour on holiday is kind to the environment, such as remembering to turn off your hot water before you leave.
Everywhere I look lately I see something about Indiana Jones and travel. Maybe because the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie opening is soon he’s getting some press. Indiana Jones “adventure” tours and packages are cropping up. I’m not sure how any organized travel package can be an adventure exactly, since by definition an adventure has unknown risks (go ahead, look it up). Nonetheless, people are motivated by Indy’s worthy example to brush off their fedoras and book highly organized trips to far flung locations that seem like an adventure to them. I’m for anything that encourages travelers to get out and see the world, and the Indiana Jones movies provide plenty of motivation.
Viator staff are always taking the tours we offer on the site; it’s our business, so it makes sense. And every now and again a whole bunch of us take the afternoon off and do one of our tours as a group: that happened a few weeks ago in San Francisco, when we headed down to Fisherman’s Wharf to test out the San Francisco Segway Tour.
Editor?s Note: Terry Carter and his wife and writing partner, Lara Dunston, have written half a dozen travel guides to Dubai and the UAE and have made it their home base since 1998. We asked Terry to write about top local / off-the-beaten-path travel tips for Dubai. You can also check out their recent post about “Top Things to Do in Dubai“.
Dubai Tip #1: Dip your toes into the Arabian Sea
Dubai Tip #8 — Expat Volleyball
We?d like to say that it?s invigorating, but we?d be so wrong. The truth is that most of the year the water is as warm as a baby?s bath, but remember, it?s the Arabian Sea! You can surf, kite surf or just take advantage of the photo op with the Burj Al Arab as a backdrop. While it?s calm most of the time, there are strong currents ? and you don?t want to be drifting off towards Iran with the US warships and pesky pirates around. If you do float to Iran, remember to call it the Persian Gulf not the Arabian Gulf. Just so you know.
Last week, Canberra, Australia?s small capital city, played host to the controversial Olympic Torch as it makes its way around the world. Organisers described it as the most successful outing yet for the flame ? which isn?t really saying much after the chaotic debacles of Paris, London and San Francisco and the security-deadened, almost invisible parades in cities such as New Delhi, Dar es Salaam, Islamabad and Jakarta.
To the outside world, it all looked fine. A crisp, clear Canberra morning, smiling faces, clean streets and a run uninterrupted by scuffles, attacks on the flame, disappearances into bayside warehouses or the heavy-handed actions of benign-looking men in matching blue tracksuits.
But all was not as it appeared.
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Everywhere I look lately I see something about Indiana Jones and travel. Maybe because the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie opening is soon he’s getting some press. Indiana Jones “adventure” tours and packages are cropping up. I’m not sure how any organized travel package can be an adventure exactly, since by definition an adventure has unknown risks (go ahead, 
