I may never forget my very first breath when I walked out of the Jiuhuang airport into the open air. The air at the third highest airport in the country ?a 3,400-meter elevation ?smelled like purest ice, if ice has a smell. My heavy head after flying was immediately refreshed as if it was washed by icy water. Thus, I started my winter journey to Jiuzhaigou of Sichuan province, a place called a fairyland by many travel journals.Usually, the way from airport to a scenic spot is a good opportunity to sleep or chitchat. But the road to Jiuzhaigou was full of pleasant surprises.
Koalas, kangaroos and the Sydney Opera House are all the standard icons for the armchair traveler looking at Australia. That was before I touched down at Brisbane in the Sunshine State of Queensland, the first stop of my Australian tour ?and realized Australia had a lot more to offer.
My trip to the Philippines was not sponsored by Hershey's, but it might as well have been, especially when I climbed 214 steps up the deck and was greeted by giant mounds of chocolate kisses ?except that these are giant hills scattered over an area of 50 square km.
Our little motorcade made its way noisily through the main street, police escort blaring its sirens to clear the way. We squirmed a little in our official black limousine, unused to such privileges and uneasy about the inconvenience we were causing the local folks, some of whom had stopped marketing to stare, curious about the commotion.
A sense of history dominates the Raffles Beijing Hotel, whose commanding French-Chinoiserie facade has long stood on Chang'an Avenue as an icon of the city's historical heritage.
CHICAGO - A much-hyped protest against body scanners and invasive pat-downs fizzled Wednesday as many US airline passengers said preventing another terrorist attack was worth a few moments of discomfort.
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