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Scotland has been a favourite holiday destination for many years
and now it has a growing reputation as a favourite destination
for couples from around the world to tie the knot. Here are the
eleven main reasons:-

1 There are no residency requirements. Couples from anywhere in
the world can get married in Scotland. You don't have to live
here. You don't need UK citizenship. All you have to do is
complete the necessary legal formalities and you can marry within
24 hours of arriving here.

2 You can get married anywhere - absolutely anywhere - in the
country. On a beach, in a castle, up a mountain, in a hotel, by a
loch… your choices are limitless.

3 You can opt for a civil or a religious ceremony. The civil
ceremony is more restrictive as regards your choice of venue
because they have to be licensed by the local authority. But
there are now so many venues licensed for civil ceremonies that,
in practice, you will always find somewhere to match your dream.

4 A religious ceremony, conducted by a minister can be held
anywhere. I have known them to be held on boats, in lighthouses
and even on cliff-tops! Obliging and occasionally daring
ministers can always be found.

5 Ceremonies can even be conducted by non-religious celebrants,
including certain officers of the Humanist Society.

6 The choice of venues is staggering. From sophisticated Glasgow
to traditional Edinburgh; from the rugged, breathtaking beauty of
the Highlands to the Ayrshire coast; from imposing castle to
pretty little village church, Scotland has it all.

7 You can fly into Glasgow, Prestwick, Edinburgh, Aberdeen or
Inverness airports and be close to your wedding venue from the
start.

8 So many people around the world have Scottish ancestry and love
to search out their roots.

9 What better clothes to wear at your ceremony than the kilt,
made especially for you in your own tartan.

10 And what better accompaniment as the bride enters the wedding
venue than a Highland wedding tune played on bagpipes!

11 And after the ceremony, what better way to toast the health of
the bride and groom than with a single malt whisky from a
Scottish quaich in the country where it is made!

The truth is, there are lots of reasons for you to hold your
wedding ceremony in Scotland. If you are in love, Scotland is the
place for you. If you believe in romance, Scotland is the place
for you. If you long for the mystery of the lochs, the glens, the
castles and the mountains, Scotland is the place for you.

Charlie Taylor is one of the founders of Highland Country
Weddings Ltd, a Scottish weddings agency with an international
dimension. For more information, please visit href="http://www.highlandcountryweddings.co.uk/"
target="_blank">http://www.highlandcountryweddings.co.uk/

Trip
duration: 56 days

Trip miles to date: 5,632

Miles since last update: 472

Having completed over 5,600 miles in the previous 5 weeks, these
past two weeks have been frustratingly static as I've waited
for the Beemer to complete its rest and recuperation courtesy of
the BMW dealership in Santiago. Having sampled a lot of wine,
I've visited probably every museum in Santiago and spent a
long lazy weekend in Valparaìso I'm definitely ready to get
moving again.

I'm also sad to
report that shortly after I left the Torres del Paine national
park an intense forest fire broke out which has now been burning
for 3 weeks. Over 14,000 acres have been destroyed and wildlife
has fled from the area and the entire park closed in what was
peak season.

The fire was started by a Czech tourist who knocked over his
stove whilst illegally camping outside the official boundaries,
trails and designated camping areas - after a fine of US$200 he
was allowed to leave the country. Significant attempts to teach
visitors the perils of fire were plastered all around the park
when I was there and the stupidity of the Czech made national
news.

Ruta 5 up from Temuco was a 2 lane, blissfully smooth, tarmac
road all the way to Santiago. In fact Ruta 5 is the major artery
that runs the length of Chile from the tip of Chiloe in the south
to Arica, on the border with Peru in the north - a distance of
some 1,600 miles and is probably better known as the Panamerica
highway.

Although this is not highway in the English sense of the word.
Even for the stretch leading to Santiago, you should think less
M25 and more like a medium size A-road. The speed limit is 120
kph (75mph) although most vehicles seem to interpret this as
“as-fast-as-this-vehicle-will-allow” and speed
differentials vary greatly.

Another notable feature is the volume and bravery of pedestrians.
The entire length seems to harbour life like a coral reef as
towns and villages straddle the road. Locals seem to appear from
all directions and fearlessly cross the road in the face of
onrushing traffic. Strangely I saw a woman, carrying 2 small
children, struggle over the raised central reservation (rather
than use the raised pedestrian walkway installed not more than 50
metres away).

My initial view of Santiago was breathtaking and surprising.
Having spent many weeks in the wilderness of Tierra del Fuego and
Pategonia the mere sight of a huge, sprawling city containing
millions of citizens was surprising. My initial impressions of
Santiago were of a warm, friendly and generally happy capital. In
fact I felt more comfortable than Buenos Aires - I'm not sure
if this is a reflection of the comparable characteristics of the
2 cities, or the fact that I'm more conditioned to South
America after nearly 2 months.

One first task was to collect a package sent from Touratech -
being a replacement lid to the pannier box and various other
parts. Rather than deliver them to the hotel, DHL left me a note
requesting I pick up the package from the airport (thanks!) as
the goods exceeded the US$500 limit on imported packages. After I
pointed out that the only reason it exceeded US$500 was because
they had forgotten to omit the US$400 freight costs they conceded
I could collect the package after I paid a further US$200 import
taxes.

I struggled to keep my temper after I pointed out that US$200
taxes on goods worth no more than US$150 could not be right. It
frustratingly took me 4 hours to persuade DHL and custom officers
(including opening up the package) that taxes were not due and I
could leave the airport with the parts. As a piece of luggage,
the price is comparable to anything Louis Vitton ever put out but
it has bought me piece of mind and will make life easier.

The ride up took me through the prime wine-growing real estate of
Chile. After depositing the Beemer with the (only) BMW garage in
Chile I rented a pick-up and headed back down the road to tour
the area and sample some of the produce. The quality of the wine
belies its price and the Carmenère grape (unique to Chile) has
become a favourite.

After 3 of the 4 days had passed I quickly appreciated that they
would need at least another week (waiting for parts) so I hired a
car and drove to Valparaìso, the historic port town about 60
miles to the west.

Rather ungainfully tacked onto
the side of Valparaìso is Vinà del Mar. Whilst Valparaìso is a
busy commercial port full of historical buildings, busy market
places and rickety old carriages that ascend the surrounding
hills to the residential areas Vinà del Mar is full of bars,
restaurants, modern shopping malls and beach side holiday
apartments for wealthy Chileans.

After 4 days of wandering around the raised walkways and
picturesque alleyways of Valparaìso and 1 day sitting on the
beach in Vinà del Mar I returned to Santiago to check on progress
of the Beemer. Good news and bad news awaited me.

The bike was still 3 days away from being finished but they had
discovered a holed radiator (explaining an overheating issue on
the road into Santiago) and a burnt-out wiring loom where the
heated grips had shorted following the crash in Argentina. The
fork seals had arrived and were being fitted as I visited and as
I write this I expect to pick up the bike this afternoon - after
depositing an unfeasibly huge amount of money with the garage.

These past 2 weeks have moved incredibly slowly, the bike (and I)
are back in good shape to tackle the demands of the Atacama
desert and onwards to Bolivia and the Salar de Uluni.

If you want to know more about Greg's travels, visit his
website at: href="http://www.unbeatentrack.com/">http://www.unbeatentrack.com/

src="http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/newsletter/images/mac-small.jpg" class="pic"
align="left" height="100" hspace="12" width="64" />We are sorry
to say that Mac is not very well, but he is still e-mailing
strong and recently sent the Beetle a collection of travel
reminiscences.

Scotland. Inch is Gallic for island. Firth is a mouth of a river.
Brae is a hill. Haggis is in a shape of a ball but you don't
kick it you eat it. It is sheep's intestines and oatmeal
wrapped in a sheep's bladder. After you eat it you wish you
had kicked it. It was so clear when I was in Edinburgh that I
could see to Fife from the Firth of Forth or maybe it was Forth I
saw from the Fife of Firth. A Firth is like a fjord only not as
far. Anyway it was a clear day.

Many years ago I gave a Scottish lady some tea bags I was
carrying in my backpack. The lady had been used to brewing tea in
bulk and said Oh how clever they have measured out a spoonful in
a container. She then ripped open tea bag and dropped the
contents into the pot. (I am sure they probably have tea bags
now!)

And let's move on to Irish toasts. An Irish guide toasted us
with, “Here's to the best years of my life, spent in the
arms of another man's wife, my Mother”. The guide in
Dublin Castle told us of a hanging judge. The judge would fall
asleep while hearing a case and then all of a sudden wake up,
bang his gravel and shout, “Hang the Dog.” A priest at
mass in Dublin one morning told this story. He said he was giving
a sermon on death and remarked that everyone in the Parish would
die some day. One guy had a big smile on his face and when asked
why he was smiling replied, “I am not from this
parish!”

One of the residents here in the Soldier's home is going to
Scotland and England for a month this Fall and another friend of
mine here at the home (Saigon) is interested in things Scottish
so I am copying stuff down from an interesting article I found in
the Travel Section Washington Times. The title of the article is
The Enchanting Highlands by Corina Lothar. “Mr Owens arrives
in 18th century attire and explains the history of the Scottish
Kilt which dates back about 1,000 years and is related to the
Roman toga and Indian Sari. He demonstrates how to pleat the
eight yards of fabric and tells us that the white cockade in the
cap is the symbol of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites in
the 18th century Battle of Calddean. The sporran, the curious
pouch hanging in the front of the kilt originally was used to
carry oatmeal (I never knew that) still a staple of Scottish
kitchens.

Women too wore long kilts. The warring clansmen carried a targe
(shield) with spikes and a dagger in the left hand and a
basket-hilted broadsword in the right. Expressions such as
“going off half-cocked” and “a flash in the
pan” and “sideburns” all come from clan warfare,
reflecting the dangers of incorrectly cocked musket and the
facial hair worn to protect the cheek from powder burns (so that
is where term sideburns comes from. I never knew that. There is
so much I don't know!

Kilt pins are a Victorian addition. Queen Victoria who was never
easily amused, reviewed one of her Highland regiments on a windy
day. Pins were soon ordered to keep the slits in the kilts
closed. All of which brings us to this very old joke. A soldier
wearing a kilt is asked by a young lass what is worn under the
kilt. The soldier replies. “Nothing is worn. Everything is
in fine shape.”

There is a Victorian mansion in Scotland built by Jardine
Matheson of Hong Kong. Owner of “go-downs” as the
Chinese workers first called the warehouses in that formerly
British Colony (as in “Go down to collect a bale of hemp.)
This is me talking now. When I was in Hong Kong I was told that
the expression cumshaw (meaning asking for a tip) came from the
Chinese who used to go out and meet the U.S. military ships with
small boats to take the sailors ashore in their small boats away
from the huge ships that could not get in any closer. They
learned to say Come Shore and they would get tips for hauling
them ashore. It finally got to sounding like Comshaw or whatever
the expression is asking for money.

Ten percent of the whisky lost (in processing) through
evaporation is called “the angels share”. Distilleries
are open to the public from April through October. “The
Royal Scotsman (tourist train) speeds through the wild Scottish
countryside on iron, not brine through deep green forests of pine
moors that turn purple in August and September when the heather
is in bloom.

If you would like to contact Mac, he can be e-mailed on: href="mailto:macsan400@yahoo.com" target="_blank"
onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">macsan400@yahoo.com

Ryanair has defended its policy on disabled passengers after it
was criticised for ejecting nine blind and partially sighted
passengers from one of its flights. The passengers, all from the
UK were escorted from the aircraft minutes before take-off from
London's Stansted Airport as the airline's safety rules
limit the number of “disabled/mobility-impaired”
passengers to four per flight. It was reported that some of the
passengers, who were on their way to Italy had to wait for six
hours for another flight, while others spent the night sleeping
on the airport floor. One passenger said, “It was dreadful.
You felt like a criminal. We were all devastated.”

Ryanair defended their decision as they say it is their policy to
ensure that crew could attend to disabled passengers individually
in the case of emergency evacuations. Ryanair also said that the
nine passengers were asked to take a later flight because they
did not, as required, notify Ryanair of their disability at the
time of booking and there were already three disabled passengers
on board. An official statement issued by Ryanair said, “It
would have been unsafe to allow a total of 12
disabled/reduced-mobility passengers to travel on board the
flight… Ryanair's number one priority at all times is the
safety of its passengers and crew.” The passengers rejected
Ryanair's argument saying that they could walk, had partially
sighted or fully sighted guides and would be able to leave an
aircraft in an emergency as quickly as anyone else.

As a result of the above case, Ryanair says it will change its
policy on carrying blind and partially-sighted passengers. Any
vision-impaired passenger accompanied by a sighted companion
would now no longer be required to inform the airline in advance,
the Irish carrier announced in what it called a “common
sense change.” However, passengers travelling alone would
remain part of its limit on four reduced-mobility passengers per
flight.

And still on the theme of visually impaired passengers, the Royal
National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) says that Ryanair appears
to be offering disabled passengers a lower standard of service
when they book over its website. The RNIB is investigating a
complaint that blind passengers are not entitled to the same low
fares as others when they book online. The RNIB cited an example
of a blind man who tried to book online. The website's
booking process states:

“Passengers with special needs requirements must pre-book
their requirement through Ryanair Direct on the same day as your
original booking”. It lists the telephone numbers of
reservation centres and warns: “Failure to advise Ryanair of
your requirements on the day of booking will result in the
service being unavailable on your arrival to the airport and you
being refused carriage.” The man called the number to make a
booking, only to learn that he would not qualify for the
discounts or special offers available online. This is likely to
amount to discrimination, says the RNIB, because Ryanair's
online booking system may be subject to the Disability
Discrimination Act.

If you have enjoyed reading this e-newsletter, why not visit the
Globetrotter website, href="http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/">http://www.globetrotters.co.uk/
and have a look at a copy of Globe, the bi-monthly printed
newsletter sent to members only.

We also send members only a listing of all members, their contact
details and countries visited and any help they can offer.
Globetrotter members network by using this listing to contact
each other in over 27 countries around the world to ask for
travel advice, and possibly even meeting. As a member, you will
receive a reduction on any Globetrotter meetings in your area,
and will entitle you to have free Globetrotter calling cards to
give your details to other travellers you meet while travelling.

Just US $29 or €24 buys you membership for one year.
Contact href="mailto:membership@globetrotters.co.uk">membership@globetrotters.co.uk
for more information.

The Hampton Court Estate dates back to before the 15th Century.
The estate was originally formed by merging of the manors of
Hampton Richard and Hampton Mappenor. It was granted by Henry IV
to Sir Rowland Lenthall at the time of his marriage to Margaret
Fitzalan, daughter of the Earl of Arundel and a cousin of the
King. Lenthall built the original quadrangular manor house in
1427, twelve years after his knighthood at the battle of
Agincourt. In 1434 he was granted a licence to crenellate the
house by Henry IV. Sir Rowland was succeeded by his daughter who
married the Baron of Burford and it was their grandson who sold
Hampton to Sir Humphrey Coningsby in 1510. Cardinal Wolsey bought
and transformed Hampton Court into a sumptuous Palace in the
1520s, but it was annexed by Henry VIII as the Cardinal fell out
of favour (the official story is it was given as a gift).

Henry VIII rebuilt Hampton Court after his own tastes and
entertained all six wives here, some making a brief visit, en
route for the scaffold. A succession of later Kings and Queens
transformed the Palace according to their tastes too, which
accounts for the diverse styles. James I used Hampton Court for
its excellent hunting in the park. Charles II used it for lodging
his mistress(es).

After the 'Glorious Revolution' in 1689 which saw the
rights of Catholics much curtailed, William III and Mary II
commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to rebuild Hampton Court.
Fortunately the work was not completed as they planned to
demolish all of Henry VIII's additions. They did, however,
build the sumptuous Kings and Queen's Apartments which are
added on the back of Henry's buildings. King William
Apartments are said to be amongst the finest and most important
set of Baroque state apartments in the world and are still
furnished with the original furniture and tapestries from 1700
when they were completed for the King. Henry's Great Hall and
the Chapel Royal exist in their original form, as well as the
Tudor Kitchens, which are beautifully laid out as if a feast was
being prepared using all the food and utensils that would have
been used in the 16th century. The Palace was eventually handed
over to the Public by Queen Victoria.

Also worth seeing: the collection of renaissance paintings,
including Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar, Henry VIII's
Astronomical Clock the 60 acres of gardens, including the famous
Maze.

Open Summer 10:00-18:00, winter 10:00 -16:30. Full tickets,
£10.50. Tel: 01568 797 777 for details or visit the website: href="http://www.hrp.org.uk">www.hrp.org.uk )

The World’s Largest Islands

Soure: href="http://www.xist.org/charts/nat_island.php">http://www.xist.org/charts/nat_island.php

China's mainland will become the world's biggest supplier
of tourists by 2020, according to a recently released report by
CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.

As many as 115 million Chinese mainland citizens are expected to
travel overseas in 2010, higher than the World Tourism
Organization's estimate of 100 million, the report said.
Outbound travellers from the mainland surged 43 percent in 2004
to 29 million.

Rising personal incomes and the government's easing travel
restrictions on individuals will contribute to the increase,
according to the report.

In 2004, only 4 percent of China's urban population travelled
overseas, leaving huge growth potential, the report said.

As 70 percent of mainland outbound travellers visit Macau or Hong
Kong, their holiday spending will bolster stocks of Hong Kong
retailers, European luxury goods firms and Macau gaming
companies, the report said.

As many as 500 million people are expected to be allowed to
travel individually to Hong Kong and Macau next year, up from 200
million this year, the report said.

Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists
and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of
Mexico.

Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training
exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic
dart' guns. Divers and surfers could be at risk from attack.
The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military
purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.

Leo Sheridan, 72, a respected accident investigator who has
worked for government and industry, said he had received
intelligence from sources close to the US government's marine
fisheries service confirming dolphins had escaped.

'My concern is that they have learnt to shoot at divers in
wetsuits who have simulated terrorists in exercises. If divers or
windsurfers are mistaken for a spy or suicide bomber and if
equipped with special harnesses carrying toxic darts, they could
fire,' he said. 'The darts are designed to put the target
to sleep so they can be interrogated later, but what happens if
the victim is not found for hours?'

Usually dolphins were controlled via signals transmitted through
a neck harness. 'The question is, were these dolphins made
secure before Katrina struck?' said Sheridan.

The mystery surfaced when a separate group of dolphins was washed
from a commercial oceanarium on the Mississippi coast during
Katrina. Eight were found with the navy's help, but the
dolphins were not returned until US navy scientists had examined
them.

Sheridan is convinced the scientists were keen to ensure the
dolphins were not the navy's, understood to be kept in
training ponds in a sound in Louisiana, close to Lake
Pontchartrain, whose waters devastated New Orleans.

The navy launched the classified Cetacean Intelligence Mission in
San Diego in 1989, where dolphins, fitted with harnesses and
small electrodes planted under their skin, were taught to patrol
and protect Trident submarines in harbour and stationary warships
at sea.

Criticism from animal rights groups ensured the use of dolphins
became more secretive. But the project gained impetus after the
Yemen terror attack on the USS Cole in 2000. Dolphins have also
been used to detect mines near an Iraqi port.

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