Tikal,
Guatemala • Lima, Cusco & Machu Picchu, Peru •
Easter Island, Chile • Apia, Samoa • Ayers Rock,
Australia • Papua New Guinea • Angkor, Cambodia
• Taj Mahal & Jaipur, India • Lalibela, Ethiopia
• Petra, Jordan
Heaven
& Earth Around the World 2006 Private Jet
Package
Heaven & Earth Around the World 2006 : Accomondations
UNITED
STATES
Marriott Harbor Beach Resort, Fort Lauderdale
This sophisticated resort has a large private beach, elaborate
free-form pool with waterfalls, three whirlpools, a sauna and
five tennis courts. The attractive, contemporary guest rooms
are outfitted with polished woods, coordinated fabrics and all
modern amenities. Marble and granite baths have theatrical lighting
and heat lamps.
GUATEMALA
Camino Real Tikal
This resort is located in the lush Petén jungle, adjoining
the famed Tikal archaeological site, and is part of the Cerro
Cahui protected wildlife area. Guests stay in thatched-roof
bungalows with modern comforts and balconies overlooking Lake
Petén Itzá. Extensive recreational facilities
include swimming pools, tennis courts and a private yacht.
PERU
Swissotel, Lima
Lima's most deluxe hotel is an ultramodern 18-story building
that boasts the city's largest guest rooms. Exotic wood furniture,
original art and enormous marble baths characterize the accommodations.
Fresh flowers and fruits are replenished daily. The hotel is
known for its kind staff and exceptional Swiss fondue restaurant.
and
Hotel Monasterio, Cusco
Gilded antiques and religious art adorn the cobblestoned foyer
of this restored 16th-century monastery. Astonishing Inca artifacts
surround the bar's ancient stone fireplace. The intricately
carved chapel features massive oak doors, frescoes and paintings
dating from the Inquisition. Each guest room features unique
Inca textiles on rustic stucco walls.
CHILE
Hanga Roa Hotel, Easter Island
The Hanga Roa enjoys an enviable seaside location, and its tiled
bungalow rooms are the best appointed on Easter Island. The
dining room serves mostly fish fresh from the ocean beyond its
window-walls. The grounds include a pool on the hotel lawn.
or
Taha Tai Hotel, Easter Island
This modern, comfortable hotel opened in 2000. The guest rooms
offer basic amenities and terraces. The Taha Tai, which features
a pool and seafood restaurant with sweeping ocean views, is
conveniently located within walking distance of the museum and
handicrafts market.
SAMOA
Aggie Grey's Lagoon Beach Resort & Spa, Apia
Founded by Aggie Grey in 1933, this hotel became a renowned
club for American servicemen during World War II. Here fresh
bananas hang from cool verandahs, drums call guests to dinner
and tropical flowers scent the air. The 300 staff members treat
travelers like extended family within a traditional South Seas
ambience.
AUSTRALIA
Sails in the Desert Hotel, Ayers Rock
This premier hotel derives its name from sail-inspired roofs
that keep interiors cool in summer and warm in winter. Public
areas are distinguished by polished red granite floors, picture
windows and a reflection pond. Guest rooms are spacious and
comfortable. The restaurant serves local specialties like crocodile,
barramundi and kangaroo.
PAPUA
NEW GUINEA
Karawari Lodge, Sepik River
Karawari Lodge stands amid dense tropical lowland rainforest
just above the river, the region's only "road." The
main building takes the form of an Arambak spirit house and
contains an incredible collection of Sepik artifacts. The guest
cottages, constructed from local bush materials, include modern
baths and verandahs.
or
Ambua Lodge, Tari Gap
This lodge, 7,000 feet above sea level in the Tari Gap of the
Southern Highlands, provides a comfortable place from which
to encounter the flamboyant Huli Wigmen — and the exotic
birds of paradise they imitate in their ceremonies. Individual
guest units are set amid local flowers and feature picture windows,
modern baths and cozy quilts.
CAMBODIA
Grand Hotel d'Angkor, Siem Reap
Just minutes from the Angkor complex, the historic Grand Hotel
d'Angkor was built in 1911 and sits on 15 lush acres. Guest
rooms feature Art Deco country-style furnishings and public
areas showcase Cambodian objects d'art. Refurbished by Raffles
International Hotels in 1997, it is one of the world's classic
hotels.
INDIA
The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur
This resort resembles a small Rajasthani fort, with stone sculptures,
walking paths and a lily pond around a Hindu temple. Near the
tile pool, terraces lead to stone elephant fountains and lounge
chairs sit beneath Rajasthani tents. Guest rooms combine colonial
and Rajasthani styling with high ceilings, wooden canopy beds
and breathtaking marble baths.
ETHIOPIA
Sheraton Addis Ababa
Situated on a hilltop overlooking the city, this luxury hotel
is close to the National Palace, the National Museum and Africa's
largest open-air market. Modern guest rooms are elegant, and
the terraced grounds luxuriant. Freshly cut roses perfume the
air in all areas of the hotel. There are several restaurants
and pools.
JORDAN
Mövenpick Hotel, Petra
Located a two-minute walk from the Petra entrance gate, the
Mövenpick blends Middle Eastern craftsmanship with Western
design in one of the country's most luxurious hotels. Notable
features include an excellent gym and hammam (Arabic steam bath),
opulent restaurant, well-stocked library and spacious, contemporary
guest rooms.
or
Mövenpick Resort & Spa, Dead Sea
This resort sits on a tranquil spot at the Dead Sea shore, the
lowest point on earth. Treatments at the spa, the largest and
most advanced in the Middle East, feature mineral-rich seawater.
The resort combines natural local stone, handcrafted wood, luxurious
fabrics and textures with an impressive collection of antiques
and artwork.
Heaven & Earth Around the World 2006 : Itinerary
Day 1 - Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A.
Meet fellow travelers, lecturers and staff at a reception and
dinner at our Fort Lauderdale hotel.
Day
2 - Tikal, Guatemala
Find yourself at the heart of the ancient Maya empire in Tikal
– “Place of Voices” – where giant pyramids,
temples, palaces and ball courts stand as inspiring reminders
of the civilization that flourished here 2,000 years ago.
Day
3 - Tikal, Guatemala
Maya kings ascended to the throne only when the heavens were
aligned auspiciously, and the occasion was celebrated at Tikal
by erecting stelae (“stone trees”) carved with images
of the rulers in symbolic celestial costumes.
Day
4 - Lima, Cusco & Machu Picchu, Peru
Lima’s historic center – a UNESCO World Heritage
site – includes a magnificent monastery as well as a colonial
palace and cathedral aligned around the grand Plaza de Armas.
Day
5 - Lima, Cusco & Machu Picchu, Peru
When Spaniards conquered Cusco, they built Baroque churches
and palaces that stand in stark contrast to the ancient Inca
structures ingeniously crafted without mortar by indigenous
stonemasons. It’s impossible to fit a knife blade between
the precisely-cut stone blocks.
Day
6 - Lima, Cusco & Machu Picchu, Peru
At the citadel of Machu Picchu, hidden for centuries above a
remote Andean valley, the Inca built an elaborate palace with
staircases, fountains and terraced gardens, as well as altars
and temples at which they worshipped the sun as their divine
ancestor.
Day
7 - Easter Island, Chile
How did the civilization on this remote island rise and fall?
Clues are everywhere — in ancient stone villages, open-air
sanctuaries and giant statues called moai — some weighing
up to 250 tons, many transported miles to the coast and raised
onto great stone altars called ahu.
Day
8 - Easter Island, Chile
Resident experts and archaeologists give us the inside story
on the statuary as you explore Orongo, ancient ceremonial center
of the island's birdman cult, and the quarry where the massive
moai were carved, site of nearly 400 unfinished figures mysteriously
abandoned in the mid-17th century.
Day
9 - Apia, Samoa
Lush, tropical beauty enticed author Robert Louis Stevenson
to spend the last years of his life in Samoa. Visit his home,
observe a traditional kava ceremony, wander through colorful
botanical gardens, and enjoy a fiafia, a performance of Samoan
dancing and singing.
Day
10 - Cross the International Date Line
From Samoa we fly west across the South Pacific. Crossing the
International Date Line, we lose a day en route to Australia,
arriving the next day.
Day
11 - Ayers Rock, Australia
Steeped in legend, Uluru (Ayers Rock) rises 1,143 feet from
the desert floor at a crossroad on the Aboriginal Dreamtime
trails. Every crevice and cave of this mammoth landmark holds
meaning, which is celebrated through ancient song, story and
ritual.
Day
12 - Ayers Rock, Australia
Ayers Rock – and the 28 dome-like monoliths known as the
Olgas, scattered across a nearby plain in the Australian Outback
– present an unforgettable display of changing colors
at sunset.
Day
13 - Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea’s rugged terrain kept its tribes isolated
from the rest of the world – and each other. That explains
the 700+ languages and cultures in a population of just over
three million. Venture into the Highlands area or to the art-rich
Sepik River basin.
Day
14 - Papua New Guinea
Visitors to the Highlands discover exotic birdlife and meet
colorfully adorned Huli tribespeople at a traditional sing-sing.
Those who choose the Sepik River option travel by boat to the
villages of skilled artisans to see elaborate spirit houses.
Day
15 - Angkor, Cambodia
The once-mighty Khmer empire built one of the world’s
greatest monuments at Angkor, a collection of hundreds of Hindu
and Buddhist temples. Their detailed bas-relief carvings are
a history in stone, illustrating epic battles, festival scenes,
and legends of Vishnu and Krishna.
Day
16 - Angkor, Cambodia
The massive stone towers of Angkor Wat rise up to 200 feet,
though they were buried by dense jungle growth for centuries
until French explorer Henri Mouhot rediscovered them in 1861.
Day
17 - Angkor, Cambodia
Hundreds of giant stone faces ring the Bayon temple in royal
Angkor Thom. Already visited Angkor? We can guide you through
the finely-carved temple of Banteay Srei, or show you Tonle
Sap (“Great Lake” ), created each year when monsoon
rains swell the Mekong River.
Day
18 - Agra & Jaipur, India
When Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan’s beloved wife died in childbirth
in 1629, his love and grief took form in the Taj Mahal, which
has been celebrated for centuries as ‘poetry in stone’
and ‘emotion embodied in architecture.’
Day
19 - Agra & Jaipur, India
Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, ruler and scholar of astronomy, built
the world’s largest stone observatory amid ornate palaces,
fortresses and temples in Jaipur – capital of Rajasthan
and a colorful point on India’s Golden Triangle.
Day
20 - Lalibela, Ethiopia
Legend has it that King Lalibela traveled to heaven during a
three-day slumber and saw a city of rock-hewn churches which
he later replicated on earth. The eleven churches, carved with
saints and mystical symbols, are living expressions of the magnetic
fascination of medieval Ethiopia.
Day
21 - Lalibela, Ethiopia
The towering edifices of Lalibela’s extraordinary churches,
carved from solid bedrock in the 12th and 13th centuries, are
almost completely hidden in deep trenches and caves. Explore
the complex and bewildering labyrinth of tunnels and narrow
passageways connected by crypts, grottoes and galleries.
Day
22 - Petra, Jordan
A special Arabian dinner welcomes you to this 2,000-year-old
city; then, in the morning light, pass through its narrow passageway
to experience the ancient power and glory of its hidden rock-carved
tombs, temples and treasury.
Day
23 - Petra, Jordan
A Petra veteran? Travel to the Dead Sea to see the Greco-Roman
city of Jerash, buried in sand until 1925, with its perfectly
preserved temples and theaters. Main street still shows the
ruts worn by chariot wheels over the centuries.
Day 24 - Return to London, England
Reboard our private jet for one last flight to London, where
you connect with regularly scheduled commercial flights home.
