What can Israel Offer Australian Tourists?
Fun in the Sun
Israel’s summer months, which occur during the winter for Australians, are completely dry. If you are coming for the sun, beaches and water sports, you can rest assured that not even one day of your visit will be interrupted by rain.
Israel boasts hundreds of miles of beautiful beaches dotted with world-class beach resorts. Para-gliding, wind-sailing, snorkeling and scuba diving opportunities are abundant. Scuba enthusiasts will especially enjoy the unique opportunity to dive among ancient Roman-era ruins in the shallows of the Mediterranean Sea, or enjoy the grand coral displays nestled in the clear blue waters of the Red Sea.
Israel also caters to hikers with vast networks of marked, but largely untouched hiking trails crisscrossing geographical locations as diverse as deserts, pine forests and snow-covered mountains. Come during Israel’s winter months and you can even ski!
A Culinary Experience
Israel has something special to offer the culinary tourist as well. Home to Jewish immigrants from around the world and Arab clans from all reaches of the Middle East, Israel’s national menu is as diverse as they come. Chefs who compete at the highest levels in European competitions stand ready to serve up this wide array of specialties at an every growing number of gourmet establishments.
Complementing Israel’s rich assortment of foods is a local wine industry that is starting to grab the attention of top international critics. Wines from many of Israel’s boutique and larger wineries – all of which offer tours and tastings – continue to win international awards and accolades.
Historical Crossroads
Having played host to some of the world’s most ancient civilizations, Israel is a paradise for history buffs. Just about every patch of dirt in Israel has some bit of history underneath it, often making construction of new structures a nightmare.
Fully developed archeological sites providing a glimpses of life in pre-historic times, the biblical period, the Roman era and the Middle Ages – to name just a few – abound in Israel. Each and every historical site carries a unique story that could fill books, and many have.
A special bit of history for Australians is the famous charge of the Australian Light Horse Brigade during the Battle of Beersheba in 1917, widely reputed as the last successful cavalry charge in history. The charge effectively broke the Ottoman Empire’s southern defenses, allowing British General Lord Edmund Allenby to advance on and capture Jerusalem and marking a major turning point in World War I.
A memorial to the Australian Light Horse has been erected in the southern Israel city of Beersheba, and more than 1,000 Australians, New Zealanders and Britons came to Israel in 2007 to reenact the charge on its 90th anniversary.
The Holy Land
Israel is best known to travelers as the Holy Land, an area central to all three of the world’s monotheistic religions.
Jerusalem is the heart of the Holy Land, hosting the Temple Mount, Western Wall and the Garden Tomb where Jesus is said to have been buried. But the rest of the country is not left wanting for religious significance.
Jesus’ boyhood home of Nazareth and his base of ministry on the shores of the Sea of Galilee are sites not to be missed. Nor would any tour be complete without visits to locations in Israel’s southern desert and central mountain regions that the biblical patriarchs called home.
All in all, Israel is a well-rounded travel destination for every kind of tourist, and is second to none for those interested in history and religious pilgrimage.
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Using eBay Auctions for Fundraising
Everyone is getting on the bandwagon. Large companies successfully use eBay auctions to offload leftover stock, the Postal Service rids itself of unclaimed merchandise, police departments sell confiscated goods. Thousands of nonprofits are doing business with eBay.
Are eBay auctions the fundraisers sugar daddy or are the dangling cash-carrots never quite reachable?
There you have both ends of the online auction spectrum. Likely, your organisations ability to generate donations in this fashion lies somewhere in between, hopefully toward the high end. Merely registering an account with eBay doesnt guarantee that sellers will be prompted to donate part of an items selling price to your group. Or that buyers will gobble up your items. Philanthropically minded people are only beginning to see online auctions as a serious avenue of charitable giving.
Successfully trading on eBay is far more than a mechanical process. Youll need staff and/or volunteer commitment, and sales and marketing know-how. It takes little skill to get on the bandwagon; it takes a lot not to fall off.
There are several main reasons to use eBay as part of your overall fundraising plan. Not because its the cool thing to do. Not because it takes the place of person-to-person campaigning.
But because:
* EBay enables your group to reach a huge, new market of non-constituents, uncultivated strangers who will immediately participate in funding your projects by buying your items.
*You can fit a few hundred people in an in-house auction room, but you can reach millions online.
*Youll capture new prospects. A percentage of buyers will turn out to be donors to future campaigns if your follow-through is sound. Otherwise, why not simply run an online membership auction from your organisations web site?
* Its cost effective. No space to rent, tickets to sell, caterers to hire, and so on.
* Its novelty will captivate volunteers who are used to performing the same campaign tasks year after year.
How you can capture a profitable share of this new market depends on the sales direction you take, the items you offer, how theyre presented, and your game plan.
Direct and Community Selling
Youll obviously receive the most income and acquire the most new prospects if your group uses donated items to auction. For nonprofits, eBay terms this Direct Selling. Its the same technique used by organisations that produce in-house, live auctions by soliciting in-kind gifts.
Community Selling is a term eBay uses to describe the process whereby sellers designate all or part of the selling price to an organisation. This offers your present donors new opportunities to support your drive.
For example, the Browns annual gift is $200. Your latest newsletter describes and promotes the benefits to the campaign from members selling unwanted items on eBay. The Browns decide that two 17 hand painted platters are items they havent used for years. They list them on eBay at $19.95 each and designate your group to receive 80% of the selling price.
The remaining 20%, they figure, will take care of shipping. The platters each sell for $25. You have an additional donation from the Browns of $40. If 99 other present donors did the same youd have an additional $4,000 on top of their cash gifts. And what about the members who couldnt afford to give you cash donations? Surely, many of them would find an item or two to sell on eBay on your behalf. So, you see, the potential for raising funds through eBay is real, but eBay is only the vehicle, not the driving force. Selling the concept is the organisations job.
What Items to Offer?
While its been shown that many non-constituent eBay buyers react favorably to knowing that proceeds of a sale are helping fund a nonprofit organisation, their interest is driven by an items appeal, not necessarily an organisations mission.
People will buy anything, especially when they think theyre getting a deal. Last time I looked, a set of 10 real shark teeth was about to be auctioned for $7.99. But since youre in the serious business of raising money, not running online garage sales, offering genuine collectable teeth will do little to help fund your annual budget. Stay away from trinkets when soliciting direct selling items if possible. However, memorabilia is a natural for online auctions.
The more your items play to a universal audience the more theyll be seen, and the higher the selling price. For example, a vintage Cowboy type belt buckle from a city in Arizona could sell to a local organisation member or be even more valuable to an Australian outback buyer.
Most everything sells on eBay, but collectibles have always been big sellers, also electronics in all categories, music, books and games. Everyone has a few old books and CDs lying around that you can convert to cash by selling them on ebay. And certainly one-time, high profile items with special appeal, like seats in a corporate box at a big game. Or a trip to the Barrier Reef.
If your group, school or club is looking for school fundraising ideas and easy fundraiser ideas, have a look at Goldstar Gifts and Stationary’s easy to manage ideas for fundraising.
The City of Peace – Jerusalem
Jerusalem is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on the planet. The Canaanite Phoenician city of peace, Urushalim, developed into Jerusalem after it was over run by King David around the year 1000 BCE.
Living in Jerusalem has always been a bit of a gamble. The ancient Babylonians, Egyptians and Persians all cast lusty eyes on Jerusalems wealth. In the seventh century, Moslems invaded the Holy Land along with its city sacred to three faiths.
During the Crusades, Jerusalem changed masters often. After the knights of the First Crusade succeeded in breaking through Jerusalems walls, they massacred nearly everyone within them, regardless of religion, killing as many as 40,000.
Today, the Israeli and Palestinian states lay claim to parts of the city and Jerusalems bloody, violent history continues.
Since 1980, Jerusalem has been the base of the Israeli government, although all foreign diplomatic missions are based in Tel Aviv in accordance with a UN resolution.
Three major religions coexist in Jerusalem, which naturally leads to a multiplicity of opinions. Each religious group is split and subdivided into factions and sects. There are as many as a dozen different Christian splinter groups, the largest of which is the Greek Orthodox community. This diversity of belief should contribute to Jerusalems attraction, but, in reality, it too often leads to conflict and violence. The incredible concentration of sacred sites draw visitors, religious or not, from everywhere.
For Jews and Christians alike, Jerusalem is the Holy City and the centre of their faiths. For Moslems, Jerusalem is the third holiest city after Mecca and Medina. It was the destination of Mohammeds miraculous vouyage to and from Mecca in a single night. Its Temple Mount is the place from which Mohammed ascended to, and returned from, heaven.
Three architectural styles
The Old City of Jerusalem was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. It is separated into four districts. The Armenian Quarter occupies the south-west, the Christian Quarter, the north-west, the Jewish Quarter, the south-east and the Moslem Quarter, the north-east.
The wall around the Old City was built on the order of the Ottoman sultan Suleyman the Magnificent in the 16th century.
Jerusalems treasures are so many that only a handful can be mentioned here. The most visited site is probably the Wailing Wall, a 400-metre-long section of the retaining wall of the terrace on top of the Temple Mount where Herod the Great built his great Jewish temple.
This temple was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 CE. Important pilgrimage sites for Christians include the Via Dolorosa, the name of the path Christ walked on his way to the crucifixion, and the fourth-century Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
One of the most beautiful Islamic monuments is the Dome of the Rock. Erected on the Temple Mount over the place from which the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven, the Dome of the Rock is not a mosque. The remarkable Al-Aqsa Congregational Mosque, one of the largest and oldest in the world, is located nearby, also on top of the terrace of the destroyed Jewish temple.
More than a lookout
The Mount of Olives (Hebrew: Har Ha-Zetim) is a famous hill on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem. The ridge of hills is within sight of the Old City. The Temple Mount is actually higher than the Mount of Olives, which is just 809 metres above sea level. The Mount of Olives has great significance for all three major religions.
According to the Jewish faith, the Messiah will cross the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem before the Last Judgment takes place in the Kidron Valley. Moslems also believe the Final Judgment will take place there. For Christians, the Mount of Olives is inextricably linked to the life and death of Jesus. Today it plays a more mundane role for many tourists, because its lookout deck affords a stunning view of Old Jerusalem.
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How to Cook Vegetables
Vegetables are necessary to our diet. The latest recommendation from dieticians is a minimum of five cups of vegetables per day. The truth is we can get a great deal of our daily vitamin requirements from vegetables.
We need to make sure that how we cook them does not drain vitamin contents and benefits of consumption.
Cooking vegetables can be tricky. Over cooking can make vegetables tasteless and sodden. My belief is that vegetables should not be boiled. Boling not only robs us of vitamin content, it is the main culprit in turning vegetables to a lifeless, tasteless form.
If we cannot boil, how do we proceed?
Steaming vegetables is always a good choice. This will leave vegetables full of colour and texture. They will be crisp and colorful. It will also not deplete the vegetables of their vitamin content.
It is a speedy method of cooking also. By rule of thumb, vegetables will only need a few minutes in the steam. In some cases you may be able to cook your vegetables on the table and immediately serve them up.
For those who do not have official vegetable steamers, an easy steamer can be fashioned out a of pot, a metal colander, and a pot lid.
Place a small amount of water in the bottom of a given pot. Fit the metal colander into the pot. Start to boil the water. You will begin the see the steam rise. Place your vegetables into the metal colander and place the pot lid over the metal colander and pot. This collection of kitchen items will allow you to steam vegetables as good as any fancy store bought steamer.
Another good option is to cook your vegetables in a wok. The secret to the wok is that it cooks quickly at a very high temperature. Vegetables retain their flavors, textures, and colors with small amount of nutrient loss.
My favorite wok recipe for vegetables is to cook broccoli, carrots, bok choy, and snow peas in a very light garlic sauce. The vegetables remain crisp and the herb adds just the right amount of flavoring. This combination can be served with any cut of meat including chicken, beef, pork, lamb or fish.
I hope you will see that secret to cooking vegetables is not to over cook. Vegetables need to remain crisp and retain their texture. As you learn different tricks to bringing your vegetables to life, these will become the most requested dishes on your dinner table.
Looking for a food safety supervisor course? A food safety course is available through Southbank Institute of Technology. Search for food safety online on the SBIT web site.
Food Safety is Common Sense
Here is a quick reference guide to refreshing your awareness of safe food preparation. Pointers and information to always keep in mind when preparing food or storing it away for future use.
Most conscientious chefs use common sense when preparing or storing food. But common sense in food preparation doesnt just happen, it is learned. This learning happens and when we forget where we learned it, we call it common sense.
Here are just a few tips to refresh and reinforce your common sense as you are preparing your current meal or storing it for future use.
Food safety actually starts with your trip to the supermarket. Pick up the packaged or canned foods. Do the tins have dents? Dont buy them. Is the jar cracked? Leave it. Does the lid seem loose or bulging? Pick up another. Look for any expiration dates on the labels, they are there for a reason. Never buy outdated food, even if it is on special. Check the use by or sell by date on dairy products and pick the ones that will keep the longest. Sometimes they may be at the back of the shelves.
After food shopping shopping, put food into the refrigerator or freezer right away. Better yet, put your refrigerator foods straight into one of those insulated freezer bags in the shopping cart and in your car.
Make sure to set the refrigerator temperature is set to 40 deg F and the freezer is set to 0 F. Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared foods, and leftovers within 2 hours. Raw meat, poultry, and seafood should be placed in containers to prevent their juices from dripping on other foods. Meat fluids could possibly grow harmful germs. Eggs always go in the refrigerator.
Always cook food thoroughly until it is done. Red meat should turn brown inside. Chicken, when poked with a fork, should have clear juices. Fish, on the other hand, when poked with a fork, should flake. Cooked egg whites and yolks should be firm and not runny. Be sure to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperatures of your poultry, meat, and other foods. Leave it in long enough to ensure an accurate reading.
Wash your hands and cooking surfaces frequently. Bacteria can be spread quickly so this will ensure that it will not take hold and grow onto your food. A solution of one teaspoon of bleach in one quart of water is all that is needed to sanitise washed surfaces and utensils.
Cooked foods should definitely not be left standing in the kitchen counter or table for more than two hours. And if you must leave them out of the fridge, cover the food so flys cant rest on it. Bacteria tends to grow in temperatures between 40 and 140 deg F.
Foods that have been cooked ahead and cooled should be reheated to at least 165 deg F. (This just so happens to be one of the most overlooked areas in food prep).
Chill Leftover Food Promptly. Place food in the refrigerator and leave room for ventilation. The cold air needs to circulate freely to keep food safe. Divide the food and place in shallow containers. Think about date labeling some of these containers so you dont lose track of how long theyve been refrigerating.
These are just a few pointers that you already know, but need to keep remembering. If you follow these basics you will avoid most food spoilage problems.
Food safety training is available through Southbank Institute of Technology. Search for food safety online on the SBIT web site.
Mail Charity Fundraising
A direct mail campaign is often the most practical way to reach many donors. Sending letters also is a simple way to raise money. There is no need to recruit, train, manage and motivate a large group of volunteers. A few talented individuals can run the entire operation. And you will find you will get a lot more volunteers to fold and stuff envelopes than to cold-call potential contributors. Thats not to say all one must do is write a letter, post or e-mail it, and wait for the returns.
What makes mail solicitations difficult is that they are one-sided. No allowance exists for a campaign worker to personally motivate prospects. The most enthusiastic letter simply cannot match the conversation between a skilled solicitor and an open-minded potential donor. Lacking aggressive salesmanship, only minimum gifts can be expected, no matter how well written the solicitation letter and enclosures may be.
Heres another angle to ponder. Assume that Im a small-gift prospect with some interest in your cause. Theres a good chance that Ill donate generously to your appeal if you knock on my door or phone because your enthusiasm and presentation will be hard to resist. And how many other organisations will solicit me in these ways? Very few. But send me a solicitation letter and you place your request in the midst of enormous competition for my same gift dollar. And because its a letter, I have little problem withstanding its impersonal nature. If your organisation is not among my very favorites, you wont receive a contribution of any consequence.
You see, although I think highly of your cause, I have a desk covered with fundraising letters, from the best known national charities to all sorts of noteworthy school and local groups. I am saturated with mail appeals. After sorting through them and making my top-ranked selections, I find my charitable budget is about depleted. But I still care about your cause, so heres ten dollars to show you my hearts in the right place.
With these factors as a downside, letter solicitations produce highly profitable income derived from small-gifts for organizations that plan and carry out meticulous programs. However, first-class mailing programs get extremely involved, both creatively and from a marketing standpoint. There are six elements to understand before considering a direct mail campaign:
1. Fundraising by mail is an ongoing component of annual fundraising programs. In capital campaigning, letter writing is a tool for wrapping up an appeal and giving thanks.
2. Ongoing mail appeals focus equally on retaining and upgrading present contributors while discovering and cultivating new prospects to make up for donors lost to attrition and to enlarge the group of donors. Present givers wont always be an available source of funding.
3. Donors via mail dont come free. Depending on the package, to obtain a new contributor, you can spend from $1.30 to $1.60 (or more) for each initial dollar raised from that person.
4. Mail programs are long-term propositions and instant financial rewards are a rarity.
5. Be clear who you designate as a donor and who you label a prospect. Donors are people currently contributing to your charity. Someone who gave you a gift two years ago or a person who once contributed a painting to your auction are prospects, not donors. Get used to thinking of three distinct groups: current donors, past donor prospects, and new prospects.
6. Some prospects have more interest in and knowledge about an organisation than others. Cultivated potential donors are first approached because they represent the highest rate of return. For instance, a past donor prospect is a better bet to send you a new donation than someone who once came to a special event that you held. The person who came to the special event is more likely to fund you than someone who never heard of your group.
In planning a full scale mail campaign, dont lose sight of the fundamental fundraising requirements. Make sure your project has compelling goals, high visibility, specific, attractive, and timely needs.
Additionally, make sure your group has start-up funds on hand for what can become a relatively large investment to get the program rolling. For example, depending on the scale of your operation, you might want to engage a letter shop or mail house to provide the many functions necessary to get your direct mail package to recipients. This is an expensive proposition.
Or you might opt to subscribe to an online software provider to help drive your mail program. Since the highest percentage of return comes from current contributors, they are the first group to target. If a goal is reachable by only contacting these people, expenses will be minimal and your problems will be solved. If thats not realistic, additional prospects who might fund your project would need to be reached. Thats fine so long as you realize that their percentage of return will be far less than supporters.
For instance, you send a letter to current donors and perhaps {30|40|50} percent of them respond with {donations|gifts}. A letter sent to brand-new {potential donors|prospects} typically yields responses of around 0.5 percent to 2 percent. Until youve won over a new potential {donor|giver}, dont expect relatively large {donations|contributions}. A return of 5 percent to 12 percent can be expected from present donors.
If your group, school or {sports club|club} is looking for fundraising ideas and easy fundraisers, have a look at Goldstar Gifts and Stationerys easy to manage ideas for fundraising.
Manila Profile
Manila is the political and economic centre of the Philippines, and it serves as a magnet for residents from all over the Philippines. For most visitors from North America or Australia, this metropolis does not seem to merit more than a few days visit, after which the serenity of the provinces may seem all that much more attractive. Although a visit to Manila is taxing, it nevertheless gives the tourist important insights into the culture, history and current state of this island republic, insights that stem from its very wealth of contradictions.
In the sights of foreign conquerors
Natives who settled at the mouth of the Pasig River in Manila have seen a great many rulers come and go. The first to come were the Malaysians, who arrived in the Philippines during the pre-Christian era. Hindu and Buddhist rulers from Indonesia followed. Islam reached Manila at the end of the 15th century. The Muslim sultanate established in the mid-sixteenth century had been in existence for barely a decade when Spanish Catholic seafarers appeared on the horizon.
Colonial Manila
Miguel de Legaspi conquered Manila in 1571, declaring it to be the capital of the Spanish colony of the Philippines. Despite the ravages of World War Two, when Manila was heavily bombed, traces of the citys colonial past are still in evidence, particularly in the Intramuros district. Intramuros, literally within the walls, meaning within the wall enclosure of the city/fortress. The city centre, with its partially restored wall , is the site of a number of sixteenth-century buildings including Fort Santiago, Manila Cathedral and the church of San Augustin, the oldest in the city.
At the centre of power
The heart of Manila is now elsewhere, in Makati, the modern commercial and banking quarter. Elegant high rises, gorgeous residential groves, super-modern shopping centres and numerous 5 star hotels can be seen. The modern development of this quarter began in the mid-twentieth century. Like much of the growth in Manila, Makati is closely connected to the politically powerful Zobel de Ayala family. The family name is found throughout the city, on streets, buildings and public monuments.
They come here not only to pray
Pasay City is located in the south-west of Manila across the superhighway from high-class Makati. On Wednesdays, Pasay is overrun with people. In Baclaran, the faithful crowd into Redemption Church, where weekly services are held in honour of the Virgin Mary. But one suspects that even more Manilans make their way to Pasay in order to patronize the neighbourhoods famous lech6n stands, known to be the best source of that quintessential Philippine specialty, roast suckling pig.
A bit of folk culture
Throughout Manila, a light rail station is never far away. If your stomach is complaining after a feast of suckling pig, a gentle ride on this elevated railway is highly recommended. The trip back to town can also be made by Jeepney, of course, though it will be slower and more crowded.
Jeepneys were originally former US Army surplus jeeps that had been converted into passenger vehicles with as many as fourteen canopied seats. These days, however, most Jeepneys come new from the production line. Skillful painting and ornamentation are a must have for genuine Jeepney status. Most have Catholic religious icons as their central theme, but they may include bizarre comic strip images.
Many Jeepneys are so thoroughly covered in advertising that they resemble moving billboards, while others looks like temples on wheels. Whats important for visitors to remember, however, is that Jeepneys follow specific routes, just like buses. It is always best to inquire about the route before getting on board.
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Advantages and Disadvantages of Working from Home
Working from home is becoming more and more acceptable. I work from home and I adore it. I dont think I could ever toil at a shop again, but I must face the possibility that I may have to transfer my business into commercial premises if it keeps growing like it has in the last few years. Even if parts of my enterprise move out of home, Ill try to stay there myself as much as I can.
Times are changing and working from home, particularly for the self-employed or contract employees is becoming more common. It is pointless paying rent for commercial premises if they are not required. Working from home has many advantages.
You can work back late without getting into strife with your family. You can drop into the office anytime you like. You can get up really early if the mood takes you and put in a few hours work then go back to bed. But as a massage therapist, there is one feature I really like, all the tax deductions!
You can claim some of your home-running expenses on your tax return. Based on the floor area used for business purposes, you can claim a portion of your mortgage interest, insurance, rates, water, electricity, maintenance and the bulk of your telephone bill as well as depreciation on the carpets, curtains, business furniture and so on. At the end of the financial year you will be surprised by the list of deductions.
You will also save on travel costs, wear and tear on your car and more importantly wear and tear on you, having not to deal with peak hour or public transport. Not to mention picking up approximately an extra one to two hours per day of work when you dont have to travel.
There is a downside to working from home. The first problem is family distractions. Kids home from school at three oclock, a friend at the front door, phone calls for other members of the family.
You also may not have the perfect workspace, or space may be limited. Work space is vitally important, you must have an area set aside purely for business, nothing else, just business. I have found that its best also if you can close the door on the weekends and at the end of the day so you can leave work.
I think many of the perceptions of people that working from home is unprofessional have lapsed into history. The number of major companies that allow their workers to work from home via computers has increased enormously in recent years. Outsourcing has become a commonly used term and this has brought about a spate of self-employed former employees, most of them working from home.
The other problem that many people working from home suffer is motivation and discipline. You must start work everyday just as you would if you were employed by someone else.
Want to work from home in your own home based business for women? You can learn more about starting your own profitable and flexible business at home.
Welcome to Hong Kong
Hong Kong greets visitors from all over the world with a wide smile. The urban embodiment of the compromise between Chinese and European cultures, Hong Kong has long been one of the most exciting cities on earth.
Few travel to Hong Kong for the sights; they come for business and excitement. Hong Kong is so lively it sizzles like the oil in the woks of its ubiquitous street food vendors. Little has changed since the 1997 return of the British colony of Hong Kong to China. The city that flourished through co-operation between the Chinese and British societies is, if anything, more fascinating and vibrant than ever before.
Opium highs and wars.
In the early eighteenth century, the original British traders to arrive at what would be Hong Kong, found only a few fishing huts. The region had no significance at all within the Chinese Empire and had been ignored for centuries.
The British built a trade port here in 1711, and it thrived during the early nineteenth century when goods from China were in vogue in Europe.
As the fashion for Chinese goods waned the British began to trade in opium instead, growing it in India and importing it illegally into China, where the Qing dynasty emperor had banned its sale. When the Chinese tried to halt the imports, the British responded with violence.
The resulting Opium Wars (1838-1856) were disastrous for China. In 1842, the British took control of the city of Hong Kong and it became a British colony. A 1898 pact with China made Hong Kong and 234 nearby islands a British protectorate for ninety-nine years. The treaty ended in 1997.
Negotiations took place in 1982 to modify the original agreement in order to protect Hong Kongs special status. China had originally demanded control not only of the so-called New Territories around the city, but also of Hong Kong itself. Through a series of agreements and concessions, the UK was able to prevent Hong Kong from being directly incorporated into mainland China. Instead, on 1 July 1997, Hong Kong was declared a Chinese Special Administrative Region.
Skyscrapers and feng shui.
Hong Kongs special status has allowed it to remain a modern economic city. Despite its visible modernity, traditional ways of life are never far beneath the surface. The ancient Chinese art of feng shui is still used with new constructions, where measurements are configured according to lucky numbers and windows positioned so as to let prosperity in and bad luck out.
Skyscrapers loom where splendid colonial buildings once stood, only a few of which have remained. In the central district, the Cathedral of St. John, the former French Residence and the Legislative Council Building are among the few pre-modern buildings that remain.
Omnipresent Buddha.
Traditional life has a strong influence in the New Territories than in the city itself. Superb temple complexes are everywhere, built in traditional style in tranquil settings. 10,000 Buddhas Monastery is one of the most frequented. This number represents very many or countless in Chinese, rather than a specific number of Buddhas.
In fact, there are more than 10,000, perhaps as many as 13,000. The enormous bronze Buddha towering above Lo Pin Monastery on the island of Lantau is the largest Buddha in the world, measuring 26 metres tall. Visitors can climb a steep path of 260 steps to reach it. The panoramic view from the top definitely rewards the effort, as does the spiritual enlightenment achieved along the way.
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Can You Grow Your Wealth with a Home Based Business?
The answer to this question is a definite YES! I have lots of business associates in the USA, Europe, Australia and New Zealand who are working in home based businesses and making good money each week. In fact the lady who introduced me to my new business is only 25 years of age and she made over $500,000 in her first 12 months of home business.
I am now duplicating her results, but please read on and you will learn about what I have actually done and experienced in three very different situations and how in the end I succeeded in taking control of my future.
My Traditional Business Experience
I used to own and manage a very profitable and high profile restaurant and bar in Brisbane, Queensland for a period of over 12 years. I started it from scratch and like most traditional businesses it was really expensive to set up and the running costs were enormous.
Although I made a lot of money with this venture, I finally decided to sell it when I came to realise that the long hours and constant stress of managing over 30 employees, dealing with various government authorities, endless paper work and hundreds of customers per week was absolutely destroying my life.
You can become rick with a traditional business but you will need to be extremely committed as you wont be able to walk out and close the door anytime you want. There will be lots of work to do and deadlines to meet, customers to please and more than likely, staff to hire and manage unless you want to do all the work yourself. The hours are generally very long and in most cases the business can end up taking over your life. Another point to consider is that youll be on your own to work things out and solve any problems as they arise.
My Job Experience
After selling the business, I decided that a job would be a better alternative to being in business so I set about finding one and little did I know what I was in for! I spent 8 hours a day scouring the employment classifieds, networking, perfecting my resume and attending interviews for jobs I didnt even want. I felt undervalued and demoralised and almost gave up hope before I finally won a job with a company as an Events Manager.
All good you might well think, but unfortunately this was not the case as now I was into something that would cost me 12 hours of my time, 5 days a week as I got dressed up for work, traveled to and from work and actually did the work. I was working under considerable stress and was totally stressed out by having to answer to a boss and co-ordinate every single element of each event from travel and accommodation arrangements, key note speakers, entertainment and right down to sorting out what type of lettuce should go on the dinner plates of the attendees. What a nightmare! But the thing that annoyed me the most was that I was doing all of this to make my boss richer while I had to settle for a small pay packet at the end of each week. JOB = Just over broke.
My Home Business Experience
As you might have guessed, I didnt stay in my job as an Event Manager for long. I had spent seven months of my life trying to find the right job and after only 1 month I resigned.
I had no idea what to try next but I was determined to find something that would tick ALL the boxes for me and knew that I first needed to get very clear about what I really wanted.
I did not want to:
Own and manage a stressful, traditional type of business
Outlay a lot of money to get started in a new business
Answer to a boss and have to beg for time off work
I did want to
Earn a lot of money
Work from home
Take control of my future
With the above in mind, I spent the next couple of months researching my options until I was eventually attracted to an advertisement (placed by a 25 year old lady) about a home based business opportunity. I must admit that I was pretty hesitant to begin with but I decided I had nothing to lose by finding out more so I answered the ad and within 1 week I was up and running with my very own home based business.
On my best day so far, I earned five thousand dollars but what I really love about my home business most is that I actually took back control of my own life. I now work the hours I choose, from the comfort of home or anywhere I like really with my laptop and phone. I dont have to juggle and manage staff anymore and gone is all the stress. I fit my work around my life, generally about 25 hours per week and I absolutely love what I do.
Its not for everyone however and if you are considering getting started in a home business you should ask yourself the following important questions:
1. Is the business aligned with your income and lifestyle goals?
2. Do you have some money and time to invest into the business?
3. Can you work diligently as your own boss and without supervision?
4. Will there be anyone to help or guide you if you get stuck along the way?
Yes! You can make money with home based businesses. Lots of money!
Christine Hamilton is currently making money in with home based businesses. For more information about what she is actually doing, click work at home BSCH110509