The seventeenth century masterpiece “Portrait of a Knight” painting by Caravaggio will be arriving in Malta on Tuesday on loan from Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti in Florence. This painting is one of the few pictures that Caravaggio painted during his stay in Malta in 1607-1608. It will be on display for public viewing at St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta, between the 11th October and 16th December 2007.

On a 3-days tour on a bike in Laos in February 2007 Chris from US encountered many challenges, especially trouble with his motorcycle. Anyway driving around on a motorcycle in Laos is a wonderful way to experience the landlocked country. As Lonely Planet describes the country on its website: Snaking rivers, lush jungle, hectic markets and the UNESCO-listed Plain of Jars. Lonely Planet considers Laos as the highlight of Southeast Asia.

I went up a big rise and began to coast it on the other side, spying a village below. I pulled into the gas/mechanic hut and had them get a wrench to check the oil. The cap was so encrusted with petrified dirt that it could not be unscrewed by hand. The mechanic, an ancient crease-faced man, undid the cap and peered into the smoking oil chamber, which was empty. He shook his head and pointed.

Eventually the road stopped winding and climbing and I rolled into a proper town, or what passes for one in remote areas of Laos. Was this Nakai? Had I reached my day’s goal? The roads were dirt and the whole place covered in reddish dust. It had the feel a frontier boomtown – a result of the work the dam project had brought, to be sure. As I entered the town I noticed a large billboard. In English it boldy welcomed me, but the name of the place wasn’t “Nakai”. I supposed that this was a town not accounted for on the map and decided to press on until I came to the real Nakai.

The Mechanic was a man, though one unsuited for farm work. He was deformed, with shriveled and useless legs. He had matted long hair with bits of wood and grass in it and wore an old army jacket so filthy that I had an impulse to yank it off and burn it. He got around on his hands, which seem longer and broader than usual, but perhaps this was only a result of him ambling about on them for a lifetime.

The first thing I did was stop into the nearest garage and have my mirco-mirrors tightened. Little did I know of how many more Lao mechanics’ garages I would see over the next few days. I would experience a real life Zen of motorcycle maintenance, emptying my mind while watching Buddhist after Buddhist labor over my sad machine.

It was a 100cc Chinese make – a glorified scooter, actually – the type of four speed bike that is ubiquitous throughout Southeast Asia. The horn was burned out, along with the electric starter and both turning signals. The tires were bald. Neither the speedometer nor the gas gauge functioned. The silver-dollar sized mirrors looked as if they had been ripped from makeup compacts and attached to the bike with safety pins, spinning freely on their mounts like reflective whirly-gigs.

The New 7 Wonders of the World have been announced during the Official Declaration ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, on Saturday, 7 July 2007 by The New7Wonders Foundation. Finally the Great Pyramids of Egypt got some amazing company. The new wonders are much younger, but also very interesting. The Great Wall of China won the vote.

Into the deep pine forest in almost nowhere, I and my guide finally reached the circled shaped Stone Age ruin of Kastelli at Pattijoki in Finland! It`s located around 80 kilometres north for the city Oulu. On a small long rigde we could observe a huge circle shape constructed of small stones. Around in the area there were fireplaces, big holes for storage of food and remains of a small village.

Kierikki in northern Finland is one of the most important archaeological exploratory areas in the country. Excavations started in 1960 and they are still going on the area. The reconstructed Stone Age village in Kierikki Stone Age Centre, Yli-Ii, in Finland.

Finland has many great wonders for unique adventures. Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration, according to The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO.

Urban centres in South America are very interesting destinations to spend at least a part of your vacation.

The World Heritage Committee finalized 29 June 2007 this year’s additions to UNESCO’s World Heritage List with the inscription of three new sites: Gamzigrad-Romuliana, Palace of Galerius (Serbia), Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape (Azerbaijan), and Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico.

The World Heritage Committee inscribed 22 new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during its ongoing session in Christchurch. The new inscriptions include 16 cultural properties, five natural and one mixed, cultural and natural.

Sporting an entire paradigm shift in travel, inviting you to the future, not the past, the City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia should really have been selected as one of the New Wonders of the World.