Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

Gay Vacation Packages To Iceland

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

The majority of travelers that journey to Iceland each year do so to experience its unique, diverse natural beauty that is unlike anything you will find on gay vacations in other countries. From volcanoes and Europe’s largest glacier, to the Northern Lights and the sparsely populated island of Grimsey on the Arctic Circle, Iceland offers unmatched opportunities to experience the outdoors in a whole new way. Kayaking, hiking, rafting, ice climbing, bird watching, whale watching and ocean fishing are all popular activities throughout the country and are ideal for inclusion in adventurous gay tours.

Visitors who prefer an urban vacation will also find just what they are searching for in Iceland, especially in the capital city, Reykjavik, which is where individual travelers and folks traveling with gay tours will find a variety of historical and cultural attractions, dining and shopping, a beautiful waterfront, museums and an exciting nightlife.

Travelers on gay vacations to Iceland will not want to miss the bird watching opportunities and natural beauty of Grimsey, a small island just 25 miles offshore. Sandvik, Grimsey’s only town, has a population of just 150 and is Iceland’s northernmost settlement. The island is home to numerous bird colonies and is well known for the steep cliffs found along its shores, which have long been a draw for sightseers partaking in gay travel to Iceland. Visitors with a keen eye may also spot polar bears onshore or just offshore on ice drifts coming from Greenland.

While on Grimsey, participants on gay tours, as well as solo voyagers, will not want to miss the opportunity to get their certificate showing they crossed the Arctic Circle. Iceland’s other outdoor attractions include the glaciers that cover more than 10% of the land, particularly Vatnajokull, Europe’s largest glacier and a popular location for ice climbing.

There are also numerous waterfalls and awe-inspiring cliffs throughout the country, offering a wide variety of hiking, outdoor adventure and picture-taking opportunities. Visitors will not want to miss Videy Island, a small island just moments from the shore where travelers will find various sculptural art pieces and Iceland’s oldest stone building.

The time of year chosen for gay vacations to Iceland is an important factor in determining which of the country’s natural phenomena you will experience during your trip: the Polar Nights, Midnight Sun or Northern Lights.

But, regardless of when you choose to plan your gay travel to Iceland, gay travel are not complete without a dip in the world-famous Blue Lagoon, just 45 minutes outside of Reykjavik, where visitors will find a pool of fluorescent blue, geothermal seawater enclosed by black lava rocks.

Howie Holben wrote this commentary about gay tours to Iceland help. He is the the force behind Spirit Journeys, a gay men holidays firm. Spirit Journeys presents spiritual gay travels all over the world.

Gay Vacation Packages To South Africa

Monday, March 15th, 2010

South Africa was a gay tours place long before it became the first country in the world with a constitution outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation and the fifth country to legalize same-sex marriage. With the fall of apartheid and these two historic gay rights events, the allure of South Africa has increased substantially among both straight and gay travelers. From the glorious beaches of the Western Cape to the fast-paced excitement of Gauteng, South Africa is the gay-friendliest country on the continent and is an ideal location for a gay vacation.

Gay vacations to South Africa often include stops or entire stays in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pretoria where gay and lesbian travelers will find an array of gay-centered and gay-friendly events, activities and establishments. There are a wide variety of establishments that cater specifically to gay men, including guest houses exclusively for gay men, Camp David in Pretoria, which is a private all-male nude bar, and the bathhouses ” called steam baths or steam saunas ” in Cape Town. As in many areas, gay culture in South Africa centers primarily around activities and establishments for gay men; however, lesbians and families also have many opportunities for fun-filled gay vacations in this culturally- and historically-rich country, including gay-friendly tours organized by companies dedicated to working with the gay and lesbian community.

Gay travelers interested in designing a gay tour around pride celebrations and gay events may want to plan their trip for September, which is South Africa’s gay pride month and offers a full calendar with multiple gay pride events, as well as the Out in Africa South African Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, which draws over 16,000 attendees from around the world. Those visiting in December will have the opportunity to experience Cape Towns Mother City Queer Project annual costume party, which draws more than 10,000 visitors. Gay men who enjoy a beach lifestyle will also want to check out Clifton’s Third Beach and Sandy Bay nudist beach, which are very popular spots among gay men in Cape Town. There is also a gay area in Cape Towns Green Point where travelers will find a selection of gay-owned and gay-friendly eateries and establishments, as well as local gay publications like Outright and Exit, which list events and goings on in the area.

Dining options during gay vacations are plentiful with many choices that include options like the gay-owned Lola’s vegetarian caf in Cape Town, dining in an old farmhouse on a 21-acre farm at the Bellgables Country Restaurant in Johannesburg, or fine dining at gay-friendly Emily’s, an award winning Cape Town eatery offering South African cuisine, as well as a beer bar and wine bar.

To ensure a great gay travel experience in South Africa, enlist the assistance of a professional travel agency when planning your trip. Travel agents that regularly organize gay trips to South Africa will have up-to-date information about the best places to stay, eat and play, as well as safety tips for exploring in areas that may not be as accepting.

Exposition written by Howie Holben regarding South Africa and gay travel tours. Spirit Journeys can help with your next gay trip.

What Is Meant By Spiritual Travel

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Traveling for many is a way of unwinding and recharging their batteries but often at the end of one’s travel there is still a feeling of not feeling satisfied which is when it pays to consider spiritual travel as a means of finding fulfillment. Sometimes, all the Gothic cathedrals in the world and all the lovely Madonna portraits are not enough to lift up your spirits and so it pays to consider traveling to a place where you can find spiritual awakening.

Gay spirituality travel is more than a catch phrase meant to make you seek some far off destination. As a matter of fact, traveling for spiritual reasons is not new because from the very earliest times in our history people have made pilgrimages. Traveling for religious purposes is not a new concept and as far back as in the early 16th century Spanish nationals (Jesuits) used to travel to places such as Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina to build missions where natives would be educated in the Christian religion.

In these modern times, traveling for spiritual reasons has become more popular and there are numerous options to choose from that include going to places other than Yucatan, the Vatican and also Egypt. The best way to lift up your spirits is to travel to places where the surroundings are idyllic and a good example is a Buddhist monastery which is mainly found in Asia though some are also located in Europe and in the United States.

For the real Buddhist spiritual travel experience you ought to consider making Bodhgaya (located in Bihar in India). This is the very place where the revered Lord Buddha sat and obtained enlightenment beneath a huge Bodhi tree. Today, this place has seen a huge Mahabodi Temple complex being constructed here and which is inhabited by Buddhist monks from every part of the world.

This place is exceptional as it provides utmost serenity and it is truly very peaceful. You will come across monks from every corner of the world who too sits beneath a gigantic carved statue of Lord Buddha and who read from the Holy Scriptures and indulge in serious contemplation.

Bodhgaya is really the true home of different Buddhist monasteries that in turn are maintained by some Buddhist monks that have come here from their respective countries. For those people that wish to fly to Bodhgaya there is the close-by airport of Gaya that is just seven miles from here. However, flights arrive here infrequently and whatever flights that do land here are those that are coming from Kolkata.

To get the best out of your visit to Bodhgaya you need to plan your travel during the months November until February. You should also avoid coming here during June up till September which is when the rains lash Bodhgaya and make it hard to do any contemplation.

For those of you who wish to enjoy special gay retreats then a trip to Bodhgaya is certainly a good option and the best time to visit here is after September and before the summer months begin. The best time to come here is however between November and the month of February while months between June and September are the worst times which is when the monsoons hit this part of the world.

Proposals for gay travel penned by Howie Holben. Spirit Journeys provides a gay retreats to remember and a gay adventure travel experience of a lifetime.

Christianity At A Crossroad; The Christian And The Fate Of Christianity

Friday, December 25th, 2009

Christianity is at a crossroad and the Christian community is at risk of losing its power to fight back. But we’ve been at crossroads several times through the two millennia we’ve been around.

Why are we at risk of losing this power to fight back? Well, people are more prone to question the authenticity of the bible and the relevance of the Christian faith than they had in the past.

The last few years have seen a plethora of information mainly in books and movies that have attacked the Christian faith. These attacks are designed to debase the Christian God that we serve as divine and the ruler of everything and replace it with the accepted view of today.

They tend to attack the bible, the main source of the Christian faith, by writing scholarly works that point out the incorrectness of the gospels. They argue that the gospels were written long after the crucifixion and therefore legends would have already developed by the time they were written.

Popular books and movies also attack everything the bible and the Christian faith stand for. They find new ways to point out why long held scholarly beliefs in passages in the bible are not to be interpreted in the traditional fashion but must be reinterpreted in a new light.

Contemporary attackers of the Christian faith are determining the way in which the public view the Christian faith. Their success is due in large part to the public being pre-exposed to Darwinism and other ideas that explain away the need for the Christian faith.

Modern scholars are discouraging Christians particularly those who are educated. The goal is to debase the Christian God to irrelevance and finally claim victory over this long religious odyssey.

The school environment has always been our home court where we could influence what our kids learn. Now they are being forced to accept Darwinism over creationism through curriculums that have been specifically designed to demote Christianity.

Until Christians worldwide begin to fight collectively we will reach a point where we lose the battle. It is time to wake up and fight the good fight for it is a battle we cannot afford to lose.

Samuel Brown writes about christianity on the Internet. His website the christian, christianity and christians is chock full of information on christianity. Visit to learn more.