Thailand has extended a tourist visa fee waiver through 4 March 2010. Middle East and UAE tourists may travel to Thailand without paying the visa fee during this time. Thai Consul General said the Thai government is temporarily waiving the tourist visa fee because of an increase in the number of applications for tourist visas.
Pasan Teparak said applications for a tourist visa from the Middle East increased 11.5% this year. The number of visa applications averaged 1,200 per month between 5 March and 4 June this year compared to 1,000 for the same period last year. Teparak said anyone applying for a singly entry tourist visa (from countries allowed visa on arrival) at designated immigration checkpoints in Thailand will be exempt from the tourist visa fee until 4 March 2010.
When the Hailingwang Emperor of the Jin Dynasty moved the capital back to Beijing, he needed a new palace to escape the sweltering summers. The site he chose was on Gold Mountain (now Longevity Hill), about 12km northwest of Beijing. The Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty renovated the palace and the gardens in the 18th century. Kunming Lake was expanded to resemble the famous West Lake in Ha...
is also worthy of a visit. The beautiful mosque dates back to the 8th century AD. ...
Located in Makkah, this is where the famous black silk cover of the Ka'aba is hand stitched with real gold thread. If your taxi fellow is a true local, he will know how to take you there. You can see how the cover is prepared. If you are lucky, they might even cut you out a piece of the cover to take home (find a worker from your part of the world there and convince him). ...
Sometime around 1045, Edward the Confessor began building Westminster Abbey as part of a new palace. A church had occupied the site for many years prior, but little is known about it. Westminster Abbey was consecrated in 1065, and the next year held the coronation ceremony for both Harold, the last Anglo-Saxon king, and William the Conqueror. The modern abbey began to take...