Sunday, December 26, 2010

Ha Long Bay adventure

The wave rose, its tip splintering into crystal drops. All seven colors of the rainbow were reflected in the droplets, which hung in midair before returning to the sea’s green depths, the sun was setting over Ha long Bay as my partner and I paddled our kayak against a strong current.


In some place, Ha Long’s waters lie still. In others especially those exposed to the open, the water is choppy. In place the waves rush against rocks, the water hissing as it hits, discharging plumes of white foam. There times and places where the swell was so great that even an experienced sailor would have been cowed, let alone amateur kayakers like ourselves, come from the city to try a new water sport.


The swift current inside Ba Ham Cave evoked strong feelings as we struggled to push our fragile craft through three chambers where darkness has ruled for thousands of years.

The water raced around rocks covered with razor – sharp barnacles, the current threatening to shatter our kayak against the rocks.

Ha Long Bay draws travelers who enjoy a challenge. Declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO, Ha Long’s wild scenery encourages visitors to test their strength and endurance. Alone in the wilderness, the only sounds were those of the waves and the sea birds, I left lost as we searched out spots of interest – fishing village like Cua Van Hang Luon and Hang Manh, Ba Men Temple and Ba Ham Lake…


After hours spent fighting the waves our arms were weary. We carried only a water bottle and a camera in a waterproof bag.

We were both wet from head to foot, salty spray having washed over us. In open water, we could maneuver the kayak with ease, but found steering much harder in tight channel or dark caves. Challenges included strong currents, jagged rocks, and sharp stalactites.

Steering a two person kayak requires teamwork. Both passengers must row in unison. After hours of hard labor, it felt wonderful to let our craft drift and listen to the sounds and of distant waves and seabirds.


With thousands of uninvited islands, Ha Long Bay contains countless surprises. Even today, locals still discover new caves high in the cliffs, or come upon newly – formed sandbars. Exploring Ha Long Bay, I forgot all about urban life, my mind as clear as the drops of sea spray, sparkling with all the colors of the rainbow.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Review: Kinect Adventures

All new format and consoles ends up with a game that defines the technology. For the Wii was the Wii Sports that all Wii owners to enjoy, and Microsoft tries on the same with Kinect Adventures. This is a game that sends you through some very different challenges, and it quickly becomes clear exactly why this game ended up being included with the camera.

Through the various challenges the five mini play Kinect Adventures offers, you will experience most of what Kinect is capable of. You get everything from fast and hectic sessions in which the reaction ability will be put against the wall, the shorter and more tactical challenges. Most important of all, you will eventually use the whole body, and demonstrates how well the game Kinect can read everything from arms to legs. It is easy to be intrigued.

Much of the small

Kinect Adventures is not a great game. It deals with the more to show what we can, but to show how long we can get the player to hold the previous. The game offers five different activities that are all so different that it will be like five different games in one package, although the play is fairly brief. The best of them is without doubt Rush River, a home version of elvenasjonars national sport, rafting.

Xbox avatar is placed in a rubber boat, and all that is needed to set off is a small jump. Zip line down, you still striare currents and must use your body to navigate the tub. It is artigare than it sounds out. Kinect read your movements very accurately, and it feels natural to just sit in one or the other direction to take a turn. Rivers you glide down is also full of jumps where you logically have to jump for himself to come up in the air. The aim of this course. Coins is everywhere, swtor credits and you get all you need to be far more active than most people tend to be (unless you are like a ten years old version of me, and do you get Mario to run faster by lean to the right) when they play games.

It is more than the Seamless control that makes Rush River so engaging. The different river journey is full of antics and detours, which not only makes it a solid demonstration of Kinect their properties, but also a fun game where you always find something new. River Rush could almost have been a game in itself if it had been more content around it.

What keeps Rush River all the way back from the great heights that it has very little to do in the game, even if you add in search of all the detours. The only player that you can do is to jump or swing from side to side. That is all. You can not speed up, you can not do smsprell, and there is therefore little einsformig as soon as the immediate involvement has subsided.

Balance Sport

From a trip down the river, jumped to Reflex Ridge pretty big. In this game, you stand on a platform that moves through various obstacle courses. You have to duck under and jump over different obstacles, as you must take care to move between the right and left to avoid a slap in the face. It also deals with it to collect coins and you get a solid dose each time you come you past an obstacle, or you can strive out his arms in different angles to collect the coins that appear in front of you. Reflex Ridge is without doubt the most physically demanding game since you have to change position in a high pace, and you should eventually have a fairly rapid responses to gather all the credits.

Rally Ball is again something quite different. In this game, you stand inside a channel where you throw a ball back and forth against the crates that are stacked on top of each other. The aim is to smash all the crates, and the challenge marked quickly since the ball comes roaring back. Among the boxes you will also find some blinking that will send even more balls back. It is eventually a fairly chaotic game that gets both your test and Kinect camera's response capabilities. The game read up fairly well, but in the most hectic situations, the technology can slip. I will still not say anything for sure cannot. I've lost a ball someone has thrown at me more than once, although when I was convinced that I would take it.

A far more impressive example of what Kinect are able to come in the form of the wacky game 20,000 Leaks. In a little cage under the sea, you must ensure to close all small holes made by angry fishermen. Yes, that's right. You will be attacked by the fisherman who has seen quite sure tired of over-fishing in the world's oceans, and now have decided that enough is enough. However, there is a job you can handle pretty smoothly since Kinect Adventures has invented an exceptional new glass where all the holes can be permanently fixed with a friendly hand.

It starts easily, and extends up to the right or left to seal all the small holes that appear. In an ever-increasing pace you need to close holes here and there, and the difficulty is even greater when you suddenly see leaks on the floor. You ends up using the whole body to keep the water out and extends the arms and legs in a perpetual struggle against the water. It is never pronounced hard, at least not for a long legs person like me, but it keeps you active, and you will not stand still for long.

So it goes down

The last game in Kinect Space Adventures is Pop, a little worm works by a meaningless pastime. Here you have some flapping his arms to float in the air, while you go forward and backward in order to exploit the three dimensional space you are in. The point is to pop bubbles, and there is no fun. The bubbles come from both top and bottom and from each side, and the whole thing is just frustrating. At first it seems simple enough, but it develops quickly into a game that requires more than you are able to provide. Kinect doing its job, but the game is built in a way that requires faster reactions than what an average person will be able to achieve with the whole body. An analog stick would fit better.

Apart from the Space pop offering them different activities in Kinect Adventures of pleasant fun. The game is structured in a very family friendly way that lets you proceed as you wish. All courses and activities are immediately available in Free Play, but if you want you can take part in an adventure mode where you can win trophies and various prizes for the Xbox your avatar.

This is still not enough to maintain interest over time. Kinect Adventures is a very nice and polished game with colorful graphics and great, but it lacks content. Each of which is solid and fun activities (excluding Space Pop), but you made so small that the whole game almost appears to be a demo of a larger product. You get a good first impression, have fun a few hours, and after it goes a little tired and lost quite big drive to go further. Exactly this is actually quite suck. I like Kinect Adventures, and I want to play any more of it, but I did not bother to go through the same stuff over again.

You can play along with a friend, but this game does not add much. To be two pieces in a rubber boat down a river may be fun once or twice, but it offers more challenges than it's worth. Reflex Ridge is a little better with since one can compete to inroads, but for the rest of the package you earn very little to be two.

Conclusion

As an introduction to Kinect Kinect Adventures works well. It is a completed and steady game that gets the job done. The different activities you can take part in demonstrating all the different aspects of Microsoft's new technology, and it is easy to be enthusiastic.

The game lacks content, however. Each activity has several tracks, but everything is still very similar. You never get the feeling to really want to get a new challenge, and the game supports all the time on the same mechanics you learn in the initial phase. There will soon be difficult to build up the motivation to continue. Since the game comes pre-packaged with Kinect camera one can perhaps accept that Kinect Adventures is not the most detailed game, but it had nevertheless been nice if Microsoft gave us more reasons to spend time in the company of the brand new camera.

The best we can say about Kinect Adventures is enough that it is guaranteed to make people more eager Kinect-experiences.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

GAP Adventures Travel

GAP Adventures travel is fun to join because it gives you the opportunity to tour the seven continents, from the glacier-filled Antarctica to the street markets of Katmandu, and indulge yourself with adventurous activities. GAP Adventures is Canada's largest adventure travel company that offers socially and environmentally sensitive travel. Traveling and discovering the world is easy with the right tools!


GAP Adventures uses different means of transportation on their tour. They carefully choose the transports that will suit the nature of every community. You may take a ride on a vintage train or bus, a rickshaw, in a native canoe, or even on the back of an elephant. You can be guided on escorted tours to Asia, Australia, Antarctica, Africa, Britain and Europe, Canada, New Zealand, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the United States. GAP tours are classified according to the quality of accommodations and amenities.

GAP Adventures travel rates are reasonably priced so that they can be afforded by every traveler.

* Budget Travel- tours usually range from to 0 for each person, per day plus the airfare.
* First Class Travel- tours usually range from to 5 for each person, per day plus the airfare.
* Deluxe Travel- tours usually range from 0 to 0 for each person, per day plus the airfare.
* Luxury Travel- tours usually range from 0 to 0 for each person, per day plus the airfare.


The prices above are in a rate of U.S dollars per person that will be based on double occupancy and subject to availability. Prices given for land arrangements are subject to increase without notification. Once your deposit has been received, the land prices will be guaranteed.

GAP Adventures travel airfares included as part of air-inclusive tour rates will be subjected to increase and will be guaranteed only once the full payment is received. Air-inclusive rates comprise air from a major gateway in U.S.; air from other airports in the U.S is available with an additional charge.

With the travel rates, everyone can certainly afford to have an adventure travel. Your tour will certainly provide an independent and interesting experience with the assurance of safety and great adventure. GAP Adventures travel rates are certainly the best deal for great adventure vacation.