Pagans and druids still gather at Stonehenge, Wiltshire, UK, to herald the sunrise over the historic stones, the end of the dark winter months and the start of the positive light-filled spring and summer seasons. If you can’t make it down there you can see the festivities on this live webcam.

On a more sinister note, the Mayans also famously predicted that the world will end on the winter solstice, December 21 2012. Before adding the countdown calendar to your favourites I definitely recommend reading some more on the 2012 phenomenon.

Tasty Cambodian treats

Travel is about meeting new people, discovering new places and new parts of yourself and seeing the wonders of the world, while contributing positively to the people you meet and the places you are lucky enough to experience. Travel isn’t about …

numbers or competition. It isn’t about checking off countries or experiences on a list just so you can show off down the pub (although stories of eating deep-fried cockroaches in Cambodia or barbecued field rat in Lao always go down well at a party). That said, it is still fun to compare your travel repertoire to that of  your peers and think about what your favourites have been, or would be. So, have a look at this list of 100 greatest travel experiences and see what you’ve still got to look forward to.

Whopping tuna catch in Tokyo

A Japanese restaurant owner ignored the global recession and shelled out a staggering 56.49 million yen (£476,082/$736,500) on a  269-kilogramme (592-pound) tuna fish in the first auction of the year at Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market.

At those prices, a single slice of the highly regarded blue-fin tuna could cost 5000 yen (£42/$65) but the sushi restaurant owner said it will be priced at a more reasonable 418 yen (£3.50/$5.40), despite western countries calling for a ban on fishing of the endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna.

Watch a video of the record fish.

The points of view and perspectives are global, and themes encompass high adventure, spiritual growth, romance, hilarity and misadventure, service to humanity, and encounters with exotic cuisine.

In the Best Travel Writing 2011 you are with the writers as they:

• Sweat, suffer, and fall in love in Guyana
• Find friends, many friends, traveling solo in India
• Make your way across an Icelandic ice cap in winter
• Dig up your own past in Greece
• Break down on your motorcycle in rural China.

The Coliseum, Rome

Rome is a wonder of the world. Literally! Every corner you turn there is an architectural wonder, a gastronomic wonder, a religious wonder, a wonder of ancient Rome, or a view to wonder at (romantically or otherwise). However, if you are only visiting for a short break be sure to not try and cram in too much. If you do, things will pass by in the blurr, you’ll wear yourself out, and you will not appreciate one my favourite things to do in Rome – wandering the cobbled streets of the Centro Storico or Trastevere areas drinking coffee (or prosecco), snacking on arancini, and stumbling across yet another enchanting church.

Here are my tips for a successful short-break in Rome:

• Pick five things to visit - max – and save the rest for next time. And put on your comfy shoes as you’ll do a lot of walking.
• If you there is a restaurant you particularly want to try do not leave it to chance. Book ahead as Rome’s restaurants get booked up and very fully all evening. Many restaurants close for the afternoon between lunch and dinner.
• At snack bars it costs more to sit down at a ‘tavolo’ and less to stand at the ‘banco’. Do as the Romans do and drink your espresso, or morning aperitif, standing at the bar.
• The cafés in Campo di Fiori are much cheaper and have a less touristy feel than those in Piazza Navona.
• Eat: aracini, fresh pasta, saltimbocca, rabbit, pizza with brassola, gelato.
• Drink: coffee, frascati, prosecco
• Watch out for national holidays when many museums and shops are closed.
• The Trevi fountain and Spanish steps, although worth visiting, are so popular they are hard to see through the masses of people permanently gathered there. You could try going in the middle of the night or very early morning, or in winter!
• Don’t eat around Trevi either. The better restaurants are on the narrow cobbled streets of Centro Storico or Trastevere. A couple of my favourites are: Trattoria al Bractiere on Via della Chiesa Nuova, for fresh pasta, and Il Leoncino on  via del Leoncino for pizza.
• If you’re rushed, you can avoid the lines and get a really good feel for the Coliseum and Palatine Hill from outside the cordoned off area.
• Try to visit the Vittoriano during the changing of the guard, which happens every day around 5pm.

The Creation of Adam, Sistine Chapel

• To avoid the lines at the Vatican, don’t go on a Monday (when all the other museums are closed), Easter, or school holidays. Mid-week is best, and when I visited early November there was not no queue at all.
• The buses no. 62 and 64 go all the way to the Vatican (buy your ticket form the machine before you get on and then stamp on board. Valid for one hour after that).
• If you only go to one museum make sure it’s to see the Sistine Chapel – it is NOT over-hyped!
• The ‘110’ audio bus tour is only 18 euros for a 48-hour hop on hop off ticket. Catch it at the bus station next to Termini.
• Don’t get a taxi from the airport as they seriously over charge you (and many unlicenced taxis operate). The train from Fuiciano takes 30 minutes, runs every half and hour, and costs 14 euros.

The tests compared the popular ‘boarding from the rear’ practice or ‘block boarding’ used by the majority of airlines, with other approaches including the Wilma Method and Steffen Method.

To read more see: http://uk.travel.yahoo.com/p-promo-3361535