Saigon, formerly the capital of the Republic of Vietnam, was renamed in honour of the revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, who was the chairman of the Worker’s Party of North Vietnam between 1951 and 1969. Decades prior to that he worked in London at the Drayton Court Hotel.
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In summer, when it’s really hot — during August and September — it’s great to get soaked in the spray of the water that falls in the rainforest. The temperature there is always cooler and there’s different flora growing compared to the surrounding area. It’s very beautiful and amazing science.
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My love is travel. Throughout my 20s most of my money was spent on travelling. I would say the fact I've been able to go to places I never thought I'd get to see is the highlight; the fact that it's let me travel. For example, I went to Easter Island because of my photography and that was always top of my bucket list ever since I'd seen a photo of Moui heads.
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Stuart Forster reviews the pantomime Aladdin at Newcastle’s Tyne Theatre and Opera House. Newcastle’s Tyne Theatre and Opera House’s 2019-20 Christmas pantomime is Aladdin. Local actor Charlie Richmond stars as Wishee Washee alongside Aladdin, played by Nic Westaway, singer Marcus Collins and soap star David Easter. Disclosure: Stuart Forster, the author of this post, was
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The heart of the district is Covent Garden Market. The covered, neo-Classical market building formerly sold fruit and vegetables. It’s now occupied by boutique stores that I visited to browse for gift ideas.
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"Lumiere Durham in 2009 really struck a chord with audiences. We were expecting around 40,000 people and over 75,000 turned up in that first year. It showed that there was a huge appetite for the festival...The people of Durham have taken the festival into their hearts and feel a strong sense of ownership now after six editions," commented Helen Marriage, the CEO of Artichoke Trust and Lumiere Artistic Director.
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Stuart Forster visits Scotland and looks at the newly redeveloped Aberdeen Art Gallery. Aberdeen Art Gallery reopened on 2 November 2019. It’s undergone a major redevelopment over the past four years. The new look gallery now has a third level and is connected to the renovated Remembrance Hall plus the adjacent Cowdray Hall. Disclosure: Stuart
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I really like kind of landscape photography, so I would say go down to Aberdeen Beach and go to the River Don’s mouth. You get a really fantastic stretching view over to Fittie (the Footdee district) on the Deeside and down to the dunes of Newburgh Beach, where a colony of seals lives.
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“You get the most spectacular view of the Thousand Islands. You get to see features that you can't see from the boat or from the shore, if you're walking, cycling or kayaking. There are things you can see; like the water clarity, the depth of the water and how rapidly it changes. The perspective of the castles is second-to-none from a helicopter,” said Bill Fox, the pilot on my helicopter flight over the islands in the Saint Lawrence River.
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Aiming to cycle around the lake inside of four hours while pausing along the way to view the landscape, birdlife and artworks proved a challenge. We underestimated. With the benefit of hindsight — now that I’ve climbed those hills on the northern shore — I’d pack a picnic and make a day of it. Kielder Castle, the various hides and artworks mean there’s plenty to spent time at along the way.
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