Travel Stories and News for 3/21/2009 : Kathika Travel Website

Below is a list of travel stories and news for 3/20/2009

Undersea eruptions near Tonga – via Baoston.com
Scientists sailed out to have a closer look at the eruptions of an undersea volcano off the coast of Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean today. Tonga’s head geologist, Kelepi Mafi, said there was no apparent danger to residents of Nuku’alofa and others living on the main island of Tongatapu. Officials also said it may be related to a quake with a magnitude of 4.4 which struck last March 13 around 35 kilometers from the capital at a depth of nearly 150 kilometres.

Spring Broke: 6 Secrets for Traveling Free – via frommers.com
The promise of a free vacation used to be such a predictable come-on from a shady timeshare salesman or a questionable travel club, that all but the most gullible travelers ignored it.

36 Hours in Doha, Qatar via NYT
JUST a few years ago, you could almost hear tumbleweeds blowing through this city, the capital of Qatar. These days, any remaining tumbleweeds are colliding with the giant skyscrapers and sprawling megaprojects that are exploding from the sands. Still plump with petrodollars despite the continuing economic rollercoaster, the home of the Al Jazeera network has been bingeing on luxury hotels, world-class spa villages, Vegas-sized supermalls, cultural venues designed by top-shelf architects and artificial islands that aim to blow those of its neighbor-rival Dubai out of the water.
photo credit: unincorporated