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THE NATIVE HAWAIIANS

The Hawaiians are a Polynesian people. Most scholars agree that they probably came to the Hawaiian Islands from Tahiti and the Society and Marquesas Islands. Hawaiian culture reached its high point after its first contacts with the Europeans (which came in 1778 with the landing of Captain Cook, British explorer of the Pacific). Using some of the technology gained from the Europeans, including the use of firearms, one of the most important Hawaiian chiefs was able to unite the islands into a single nation with himself as king. In this effort he was backed by Christian missionaries mainly from the New England states, who saw this as an opportunity to recreate the theocracy – or nation under religious law – which had originally been established in New England, but which had long since failed there.

In 1893 Hawaii became a nominal republic under the influence of U.S. commercial interests, and in 1898 it was annexed by the United States at the request of the pro-U.S. government installed after the coup d´etat (державний переворот).

The Native Hawaiians suffered great population losses owing to uncontrollable epidemics of European diseases and today the number of “pure” native Hawaiians is estimated at only 10 000. As was the case with the Aleuts in Alaska, there has been extensive intermarriage of the native Hawaiians with the rest of the population of their state, which is in part why the number of pure-blooded native Hawaiians reside on the island of Nihau. One of the smallest of the major islands, Nihau is privately owned by the Robinson family, who have set it aside as a refuge for native Hawaiians. The Hawaiian language is still spoken there, and many traditions and customs are preserved.

Some of the most commonly held ideas about the native Hawaiians are the most inaccurate. Take, for example, the picture of a grass-skirted native dancing the hula to the sounds of the Hawaiian guitar while others feast on foods flavoured with pineapple. Of these elements only the hula is traditional. Grass skirts, the guitar, and the pineapple all had their origins elsewhere, and didn’t become part of Hawaiians culture until the coming of the whites.

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PARADISE REVISITED
The famous American writer, humorist and lecturer Mark Twain, when he was at the peak of his career as a successful author, travelled a lot. His travels took him to Europe and to more exotic places on globe. But only one place is known to have impressed him so much that he wrote down in the guest book of the hotel he stayed at: “Lord God created paradise”, impressed by his visit to Mauritius.
The great writer didn't exaggerate it this time - the grand mountains looking into the cleanest ocean waters, forests of relict trees, among which roam deer that are not afraid of humans - all of these things bring to mind the idea of paradise the way we imagine it could have looked.
Mauritius (officially: Republic of Mauritius) is an island country, lying about 500 miles (800 km) east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The capital is Port Louis; area - 788 square miles (2,040 square km); population - about one million two hundred thousand people. Mauritius is volcanic in origin and almost surrounded by coral reefs. The climate is maritime subtropical with same temperature throughout the year.
Mauritius was probably known to Arab sailors from the 10th century, or earlier.
They called it “The Eastern Island." The island was definitely uninhabited. It was visited by the Portuguese in the early 16th century, but they did not settle the island which they called Cirne.
In the early 17th century a French fleet arrived at Mauritius but there was no one to fight in order to take possession of the island, and soon the French East India Company occupied Mauritius, which was renamed Ile de France.
At the beginning of the 19th century, when England and France were at war, Ile de France was a continual threat to British. In 1810 British ships entered the port, to be joined by several other ships a short while later. There was no fighting this time either. The customs, laws, and language remained French, but the name Mauritius was reinstated. Slavery was abolished in 1835, and the slaves were replaced by Indian and Chinese employees. The rich ethnic mix - Dutch, French, British, Chinese, and Indian - produced handsome people.
In 1968 Mauritius became independent, first a monarchy, and later a republic.
The island has 90 first-class hotels and it is one of the major tourist attractions of the world. You can hunt deer, climb up and into volcano, you can rent a catamaran, a sailing boat or a yacht, or even a helicopter. You can take a walk on the bottom of the ocean. The beaches are kept ideally clean.

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BELFAST

In the 17^th century Belfast was a village. Then the development of industries like linen, rope-making, engineering, tobacco and seaborne commerce doubled the town’s size every ten years. In 1888 Queen Victoria gave the town the status of city, and the citizens built the magnificent City Hall, which dominates the central shopping area.

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Northern Ireland’s long tradition of engineering is still centred on Belfast. The world’s biggest dry dock is here. There is a good view of the shipyard’s giant cranes from the foot of the Albert Clock Tower – Belfast’s Big Ben – at the end of High Street. Nearby aircraft and missile works are another important industry.

Half a century and half a mile separate the City Hall from Queen’s University. Designed by the celebrated architect Charles Lanyon, the main college building was modelled on Magdalene College, Oxford. Today, the original building is in the centre of a university quarter, which includes halls of residence in parklands, an 11-storeyed library and many other buildings catering for about 12000 students. The annual Belfast Festival at Queen’s is a 3-week celebration of cultural events and entertainment.

In the nearby Botanic Gardens you can find the Ulster Museum. Its collections include contemporary international art, Irish art, Irish furniture, glass, silver, ceramics and costume, and a display of life in Ireland over 9000 years. There is an interesting permanent exhibition called “Made in Belfast”. Perhaps the best known collection is the gold and silver jewellery recovered by divers in 1968 from the Armada treasure ship Gerona, wrecked in 1588.

St. Anne’s Cathedral was begun in 1899 and consecrated in 1904. Its mosaic depicts the landing of St. Patrick at Saul in 432 A.D.

Sinclair Seamen’s Church, opened in 1853, is like a maritime museum – the pulpit is a ship’s prow, the organ has port and starboard lights.

Nearly all the parks have bowls and tennis and the Waterworks has fishing. Victoria Park has boating in summer and Musgrave Park has a heather garden.

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THE PREMIER PALACE.

The Premier Palace hotel, a unique hotel in the very heart of the ancient capital of Ukraine, is within just a few steps of Kreshchatyk, Kyiv’s main shopping street. Educational and cultural life is all within a short walk of the hotel’s doorsteps. The Premier Palace hotel is located on the picturesque Taras Shevchenko Boulevard (until 1919 – Bibikovsky Boulevard). The hotel was originally built toward the end of the XIX century and by the beginning of the XX century it had made a name for itself as amongst the finest hotels in Kyiv.

A wonderful panorama opens out from the windows of the hotel, revealing the distinctive golden domes of Kyiv’s churches, and the apartment buildings, both old and modern alike.

The Premier Palace hotel is not merely a reflection of past glories, but is a bold step into the future. During recent years, the hotel has undergone painstaking and meticulous reconstruction, and today, the hotel is fully in line with world standards. The Premier Palace hotel is one of the wonderful five-star hotels in Kyiv. When they arrive here, the city’s guests, tourists and businesspeople, all become utterly absorbed by the atmosphere of comfort, which meets all the requirements of a refined and demanding traveler.

With spacious, comfortable suites, equipped to the last detail with state-of-the-art technology, kept in perfect order and with faultless service, an excellent menu and a large variety of supplementary services, the hotel has been re-designed to make you feel as close to home, work and leisure as possible. The hotel staff and administration have ensured that you will enjoy a superb stay, and, if the need arises, you may put in a full day’s work or hold a business meeting or give a presentation in a relaxed and efficiently organized environment. The Premier Palace hotel offers its guests 150 magnificent suites. If you travel the world frequently and stay in many hotels, then you will note with satisfaction that your room has all the attributes of a luxury-class suite: electronic lock, lighting and personal safe, modern plumbing and heated floors, hermitically sealed windows and doors.

Welcome to the Premier Palace hotel!

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FIRST CLASS

Mr. Plummer lived in Winchester, the old capital of England. One day, having to go to London on business, he bought a second-class return ticket and caught the morning express.

After spending the day in London, he reached the station to start his return journey at a time when all businessmen were going home to the country from their offices in London. The train was already crowded when Mr. Plummer arrived, and it was clear that, unless he changed his plans, he would have to stand up.

He noticed that there were several empty seats in the first-class carriages, and decided to travel in comfort. He could pay the difference when the ticket-collector came to the carriage on the way to Winchester. He got into a first-class carriage and sat down in one of the two remaining empty seats. The other four men in the carriage had the appearance of ordinary successful businessmen. They were well dressed in dark suits and were clearly men in good position. But before the train started, a different kind of person jumped in and sat down, a young man who had certainly never worked in an office.

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Mr. Plummer was rather surprised to see such a man in a first-class carriage, until he remembered how full the train was. His coat was tight, and short at the back; his collar and tie were green; his brown shoes were narrow and pointed, like a girl’s. An unpleasant smell of hair-oil filled the air. Two of other men looked up in silence from their newspapers, shook them and then started to read again. The third man filled his pipe and blew clouds of smoke all over the carriage. Perhaps the young man hoped that no one would come to examine the tickets. If so, he was mistaken; for when the train had been traveling for twenty minutes, the door opened and an official entered.

Mr. Plummer had the necessary money ready in his hand, and held it out with the ticket. The official then turned to the others. One by one each of the four businessmen held out a second-class ticket, and all had to pay the difference. But the young man sat still. Had he no ticket at all? He had. His was the only first-class ticket in the carriage.

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MONUMENTAL HISTORY OF KYIV.

The first monument in Kyiv appeared in the very early years of the 19^th century. Over the next two centuries, near 100 monuments have been erected throughout the city. Nevertheless, not all of them have survived. So, let’s take a tour of Kyiv’s monumental history!

Podil is considered to be the birthplace of Kyiv’s monuments. There, not far from Poshtova Square, stands the 18-meter high Column of Magdeburg Rights topped with a gilded cross. This was the first monument built using money donated by city residents in order to “reaffirm the rights of the ancient capital”. In other words, its purpose was to preserve the capital’s status of a “free city”. The monument did not accomplish these objectives, as a quarter of a century later Kyiv lost its traditional self-government.

The second monument in the city appeared in the fall of 1853 in a new park, which is now known as Volodymyrska Hirka. It was the famous monument to Prince Volodymyr, who, according to legend, christened Kyivites in the Dnieper River at the end of the 10^th century in 988. The great figure of the prince was cast by professor Petr Klodt. The 20-meter pedestal was designed by architect Alexander Ton and another master sculptor by the name of Volodymyr Demut-Malynovskiy decorated the pedestal of the monument with a bas-relief called Christening of Kyivites. The Prince Volodymyr Monument has been one of the sightseeing highlights in the capital for a century and a half.

Over the course of Ukraine’s independence, 16 new monuments have appeared in Kyiv, including memorials to legendary soccer player and national team coach Valeriy Lobanovskiy, famous writer Oles Honchar, historian and public figure Mykhailo Hrushevskiy and others. These monuments embellish this ancient city and are truly popular among Kyiv residents and tourists. So, the “monumental history” of Kyiv continues…

(from “Kyiv Weekly”)

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TOURIST ATTRACTIONS AND ENTERTAINMENT (1)

Almost any place can become a tourist destination as long as it is different from the place where the traveler usually lives. Paris may not be a tourist attraction to a Parisian, but for a New Yorker it may have many charms. People travel for any number of reasons, and there are numerous attractions that appeal to a wide variety of tastes.

In addition to being major business centers, the largest cities offer attractions and entertainment for all kinds of people. Cultural events occur frequently, including theatrical and operatic performances, concerts, ballet, and art exhibitions. At the opposite end of the scale, there is a great variety of nightlife in urban centers to choose from, and there is also a wide selection of restaurants. Shop­ping is an attraction for many visitors, whether in the great depart­ment stores of New York and Tokyo or in the boutiques of Paris and London. The big cities also offer a unique atmosphere and history. The flower vendors and cable cars of San Francisco are part of the unusual atmosphere of that city. And in Paris, the Louvre is not only a museum, but also the scene of important events in French history. One of the advantages of the big cities is their ability to absorb large numbers of tourists. These cities have an existing infrastructure that is capable of caring for the needs of millions of people; and many of the attractions that tourists visit have been developed primarily for the benefit of the inhabitants. Therefore, tourism is an economic plus for many big cities because it increases income from existing facilities, both public and private. The number of hotel rooms in New York— approximately 100000 in 1975—is a good indica­tion of just how important tourism can be in the life of a city. The large cities do not have a monopoly on archi­tectural or historical monuments. Smaller towns and rural areas throughout the world have attractions of this kind that tourists visit. One excellent example is the valley of the Loire River in France with its chateaux from the Renaissance period. Another area, remote and difficult to reach, is Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas in Peru.

In spite of the difficulty of access, it is visited by more and more tourists every year. Somewhat different, but within the same general category, is the restored colonial town of Williamsburg, Virginia, where not only Americans but many tourists from abroad get a care­fully reconstructed glimpse of 18th Century American life.

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TOURIST ATTRACTIONS AND ENTERTAINMENT (3)

A cruise ship is a floating hotel, one which the passengers cannot leave outside a port. Most cruises therefore try to keep up a party atmosphere throughout the voyage, with games, dancing, costume parties, gambling, and whatever other activities can be devised within a rather limited space. Entertainers are often hired for the entire trip, and they are often big-name performers. Most cruise ships employ a social director whose job includes involving all of the passengers in the activities that are offered. Throughout history, markets have given performers a chance to entertain. Indeed, many people have gone to trade fairs as much for amusement as for buying and selling. Market fairs still exist that seem to have changed very little from long ago. Those at Chichicastenango in Guatemala and the famed Jamaa El Fna in Marrakech, Morocco, are good examples. In modern times, fairs, like many other aspects of life, have become institutionalized. Dating from the Crystal Palace in London in 1851, many countries exhibit their products at big world's fairs in the midst of a sort of carnival atmosphere. Another modern development is the amusement park, a carnival with a variety of games, thrill rides, magic shows, and other kinds of entertainment. It occupies a fixed location rather than moving from place to place, as old-time carnivals did. A recent development is the theme park, an amusement park that is designed around a unifying concept. The two huge Disney enterprises, Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida, are the most successful examples of this kind of created tourist attraction. From a commercial point of view, they have the enormous advantage in that they are designed to appeal to entire fam­ily groups rather than to any particular age level.

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Tourists

Many tourists don't want to be identified as tourists. These inde­pendent travelers try to visit the attractions they want to see on their own rather than as members of a tour group. To visit the Greek Islands, for example, a tourist of this kind might go down to Piraeus, the port of Athens, to arrange his own transportation. Less adventur­ous independent travelers might sign up for sightseeing tours on an individual basis through the travel desk at a hotel or through a local travel agent.

The majority of tourists nowadays, however, travel in groups, with their entertainment and sightseeing included in the package. We have already noted that many tour groups are formed around some kind of special purpose, such as eating a series of meals at the leading gourmet restaurants in France. All the meals—and the local trans­portation to and from them—would be included in the tour package, in addition to the standard features of air fare, transfer, and accom­modations.

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