120 triệu con cua sinh sống

Đảo Christmas, thuộc lãnh thổ Australia, chỉ có khoảng 1500 người dân, trong khi lại có tới hơn 120 triệu con cua sinh sống.

Mỗi năm có hàng triệu con cua di cư tràn qua hòn đảo để ra biển, chuyến đi của chúng có thể kéo dài đến 9km trong vòng một tháng. Những nhân viên thuộc khu bảo tồn thiên nhiên trên đảo hàng ngày đều phải rất vất vả để giúp lũ cua… sang đường, tránh để chúng gây ảnh hưởng tới giao thông trên đảo.

Những tấm biển được dựng khắp nơi trên đảo để nhắc nhở người dân lái xe chậm và quan sát kỹ nhằm hạn chế việc vô tình giết hại lũ cua.

Loài Cua đỏ (Gecarcoide natalis) này sinh sống tại các khu rừng trong khu vực nội địa, nhưng hàng năm lại di chuyển ra bờ biển một lần để ghép đôi và sinh sản. Người dân trên đảo đã rất quen thuộc với những lần “đổ bộ” của lũ cua. Họ rất yêu quý và có ý thức cao về việc bảo vệ chúng.

Chuyến đi của lũ cua thường diễn ra vào mùa mưa từ tháng Mười cho đến tháng Giêng. Vào lúc cao điểm cua có mặt ở khắp nơi. Người ta thậm chí còn thiết kế những lối đi riêng cho cua xuyên qua các con đường trên đảo, tránh cho chúng nguy cơ bị xe cộ đè nát.

Những con cua phải đối diện với rất nhiều nguy hiểm trên con đường “hành hương” nhằm duy trì nòi giống của mình. Chính quyền hòn đảo đã cho dựng lên những hàng rào tạm thời để giúp lũ cua định hướng và tập trung trên đường ra bãi biển. Thậm chí vào thời gian cao điểm, nhiều tuyến đường trên đảo đã bị đóng cửa để tránh làm ảnh hưởng đến công cuộc di cư của lũ cua.

Hầu như không người nào trên hòn đảo có ý định làm hại những con cua. Sau chặng đường gian nan, lũ cua tập trung lại trên bãi biển để ghép đôi và giao phối. Sau đó cua đực sẽ quay trở lại rừng trước, trong khi cua cái phải chờ vài tuần cho trứng chín để đẻ trứng trong nước.

Lũ cua cái thường chọn thời điểm sáng sớm khi thủy triều lên để đẻ trứng. Trứng cua ngay khi được đẻ xuống nước sẽ nở thành ấu trùng. Một vài ngày sau (nếu sống sót), ấu trùng sẽ phát triển thành cua con chỉ chừng 5mm. Chúng phải tìm đường đi sâu vào nội địa theo cha mẹ, và những cuộc hành trình mới lại bắt đầu.

It isn’t fair, really – there are over 200 countries around the globe and Thailand has managed to snag a disproportionate amount of the world’s top beaches.
These aren’t your average stretches of sand; you’re about to uncover perfect powder-soft dunes and dramatic limestone crags that pop straight out of the impossibly clear waters. Robinson Crusoe, eat your heart out!

Hat Phra Nang, Railay

This beauty will shock and awe. Perfect sand, limestone cliffs and caves, emerald water and colourful long-tail boats make this photographic bliss. It’s little more than a cosy nook, and tends to get crowded in high season.

Hue festival honours “ao dai” in fashion show

The elegant beauty of “ao dai”, Vietnam ’s traditional long dress, will be honoured with a special performance taking place as part of the 2012 Hue Festival.

With the theme “Lotus in the fine arts”, the show will be a combination of the lotus, which is on way to becoming the national flower, and the “ao dai”, underlining their aesthetic value in the souls of Vietnamese people.

With nearly 20 designers from the length and breadth of the country and 150 models, the 90-minute show is expected to attract a large audience.

Explaining why lotus was chosen as the major theme for the show, Minh Hanh, a leading designer, said that the lotus is very familiar to Vietnamese people, especially those who live in Hue .

It is not easy to represent the beauty of the lotus in a long dress as the flower embraces all the spiritual hallmarks and purity of the Vietnamese people. However, using their own creativeness the designers have created numerous romantic images of the lotus on “ao dai”, said the designer.

According to Hanh, the traditional and mysterious beauty of the “ao dai” is very easily understood. The national traditional long dress had previously been showcased at seven Hue festivals.

Vietnamese designers are also making an effort to promote the image of the “ao dai” overseas as many foreigners have shown an interest in the dress.

Vietnam ’s traditional long dress is beautiful in the eyes of foreigners because of its gracefulness and contours, said the French based General Director of the Big C Group.

The “ao dai” show will take place on the bank of the Huong (Perfume) river, where a huge conical hat made of leaves is also on display. Both are expected to become high points of the Hue Festival.

Cham civilisations in the spotlight

An international seminar on Cham civilisations - the links between Vietnam and India , opened in central coastal city of Da Nang on June 26.

Addressing the two-day event, the first of its kind in Vietnam , Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh affirmed the Cham ethnic people are among Vietnam ’s 54 ethnic groups.

The group has a rich cultural treasure, the most typical examples of which are the world cultural heritage site of My Son in central Quang Nam province, traditional festivals and numerous archaeological sites. Influence by the Indian culture could be seen most clearly in the Cham architecture, arts, beliefs and religions, said the minister.

For his part, Indian Ambassador to Vietnam , Rajit Rae, said the seminar will study various aspects of century’s old cultural exchange and open up opportunities for sharing experiences in the restoration and preservation of the My Son sanctuary.

This is also a chance for experts from the Archaeology Survey of India to acquire expertise from Vietnamese scholars and for Vietnamese, Indian and foreign scholars to discuss effective methods for future cooperation, said the Indian diplomat.

During the event, participants will hear scholars’ speeches on the Cham sculpture, explore the links between Vietnam and India , the Cham temples and intangible cultural heritage, as well as share expertise in restoring and preserving the world’s heritage sites.

The Indian government is to provide Vietnam with three million USD to restore and preserve the My Son sanctuary. The project will be carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India, which has previously restored with critical acclaim, the temples at Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm in Cambodia and Wat Phou in Laos.

Rome travel guidea

Rome is like a moveable feast of endless courses. No matter how much you gorge yourself on its splendours, you rarely feel you’ve made it past the antipasti.

Few cities offer such variety and few visitors leave without a fervent desire to return. As the seat of the Italian government and home to the Vatican, Rome is a city with genuine capital credentials. From the remains of its imperial glory days to the Renaissance and Baroque riches of its historic centre, Rome is a glorious architectural patchwork, a living masterpiece.
But while there’s no escaping Rome’s illustrious past, modern Romans embrace the present. So do as they do and throw yourself in to the life of the city. Walk the cobbled streets between centuries-old ruins, drink too much wine and coffee, browse heritage markets and grand museums, and eat too much gelato. After all,  that’s what the dolce vita (sweet life) is all about.

Japan is swathed in natural beauty, from the snow festivals and lavender farms of the northern isle of Hokkaido to the sun-drenched beaches and turquoise waters of the subtropical islands of Okinawa. Whether climbing volcanic Mount Fuji, wandering the pine forests of Mount Koya, taking in the springtime beauty of the sakura cherry blossoms or the spectacular maple leaves in the autumn, a journey to Japan is a wealth of unforgettable natural landscapes. In recent years, the powdery snow of Japan’s ski fields has also been attracting international visitors.

Culturally, Japan offers a unique and exciting fusion of the traditional and the modern. The speed at which new technological developments are realised in Japan is as impressive as the longevity of traditional art forms and customs. Whilst it is no longer the economic powerhouse it was for the greater part of the 20th century, Japan is still a world leader in innovative design and fashion, and continues to offer superb customer service, clean and punctual trains and meticulously prepared and presented cuisine.

The search for common ground between food lovers and weight-watchers, bargain-seekers and luxury-lovers ends in the most unlikely place: Italy. The country has reached the end of the reign of culinary extremists like chef Elena Fabrizi, whose restaurant sign on Rome‘s Isola Tiberina commanded non solo primi (no first courses only) as mercilessly as any emperor’s edict at an ancient Roman bacchanal. Tourist menus may still try to convince novices that pasta, mains and dessert are essential to the Italian restaurant experience, but Italians are no longer buying the three-course mandate.

The search for common ground between food lovers and weight-watchers, bargain-seekers and luxury-lovers ends in the most unlikely place: Italy. The country has reached the end of the reign of culinary extremists like chef Elena Fabrizi, whose restaurant sign on Rome‘s Isola Tiberina commanded non solo primi (no first courses only) as mercilessly as any emperor’s edict at an ancient Roman bacchanal. Tourist menus may still try to convince novices that pasta, mains and dessert are essential to the Italian restaurant experience, but Italians are no longer buying the three-course mandate.

Italy’s modern meal plan

Never fear, Italy has not gone on a diet – che orrore! the horror! – only become a bit more practical over the past decade. In Italy’s urban centres, tighter budgets have made ordering ample first courses such as pasta or risotto a decadent yet sensible choice. Many modern Italian workplaces are following Milan‘s trend-setting example of reducing the traditional three-hour pausa (break) between noon and three to a more literal lunch hour (well… hour and a half). This abbreviated lunchtime is good for shopping, and bad for sobriety. Beware Milan’s stylish Quadrilatero d’Oro, where Franciacorta and espresso imbibed in rapid succession with a light pasta can induce a woozy, giddy state that make psychedelic Pucci-print halters seem like must-haves with Missoni zig-zag tuxedo pants.