Cuba has become increasingly  popular with Irish tourists, however it may soon become very popular with American travellers too and that may mean the death knell for the island’s unique atmosphere…

Tropical Sky already offers packages to Cuba, based in and around Havana and Varadero.   Old Havana retains an air of unique yet dilapidated charm and it seems holidaymakers are keen on experiencing the island’s singular atmosphere before the US travel ban is lifted. Many maintain that lifting the ban on US tourism to Cuba will be good for their economy, but perhaps not necessarily for the people?  American tourists do have a reputation for being very demanding and relatively inflexible in what they expect and the fact is that a four-star Cuban hotel will not compare exactly with a four-star American hotel.

Lifting the US travel ban would be a real financial boon to Cuba, and tourism could take on the role a real economic engine.  The Obama administration has already enacted legistalation to make it easier for Cuban-Americans to visit and send money to family in Cuba.  Many in the Congress are looking favourably at easing travel restrictions on a much broader front and some believe that as many as a million tourists would come from the United States in the first year alone if the ban were lifted.

It’s that possibility that some fear will change Cuba’s distinctive character for good.  As things stand, you can find great beaches anywhere in the Caribbean – but Cuba and Havana are both special and distinctive.   A visit to  Cuba , especially Havana, at least once in your lifetime is  now even more of  a must before it’s opened up to US commercialism and that certain “something “ the Island has is gone forever!

Tropical Sky’s Steve Garley sampled some real luxury recently at the Burj al Arab in Dubai…

When it comes to luxury hotels, none can compete with the self-styled “Seven Star” Burj al-Arab!  Of course, no hotel can be any more than “Five Star deluxe” really, but you’ve got to experience the Burj to appreciate what genuine luxury is!  And at a staggering $650 million to build and Dubai’s most famous landmark, you’d expect it to be luxurious!

I thought that it might not be for me.  To my mind, luxury doesn’t have to be too flashy and ostentatious.  By the time we arrived at the main reception amidst a collection of Cadillacs and Rollers my sense of being slightly out of place without being a millionaire was heightened, but then my senses were assailed by the sheer scale of the place!  Nothing prepares you for the interior of the Burj. Every colour and every material, metal, fabric seems to have been used in the décor.  They are all bold and all clashing, but somehow sheer scale seems to make them fit together!  Waterfalls, passageways and the highest atrium in the Middle East.

A very nice young lady showed us to the 12th floor, where we discovered that the suite was also outrageous!  The same clashing colours with opulence in every corner while the view of Jumeirah Beach from the floor to ceiling windows was breathtaking.   James, One of the suite’s three butlers, showed us how to operate all the hi-tech controls. When he left, we couldn’t turn off the TV, close the curtains or turn on the computer. He came back and patiently explained all over again!

You do run out of superlatives very quickly to describe this place!   The gym has a panoramic view and there are geometric fountains with single jets travelling in parabola movements or in a sudden surge that easily reached the 5th floor. During the day, the hotel is pristine white, but after dark computer controlled lights means the whole building changes colour.

Breakfast in the restaurant was just paradise. The only buffet I have ever seen with rhubarb, muesli, rice pudding, pickled herring and camel’s milk – we chose not to combine certain items! Do check the price of wine before you buy it though!   In our suite the first bottle was free, but the second was £50.00. The only disappointment in the entire edifice was the underwater restaurant, the Al Manhara (Arabic for The Oyster).  Don’t’ get me wrong: standards of food and service were excellent, but the “submarine ride” they advertise to get there is just a bit of average Disney magic.

The staff were a pleasure to talk to and really couldn’t do enough for you.   I definitely want to go back again!  Even If you have been on Concorde, stayed at the Plaza in New York and sailed on the QE2, you will still marvel at the Burj al Arab!

It’s not all beaches!  Bali is home to an exotic and fascinating variety of wildlife.

Bali lies on what’s called the Wallace Line, named after the naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, who theorised that Bali was once connected to Java, Sumatra and Asia and shared many animal and plant species. When the deep water of the Lombok Strait rose, Bali was isolated and left to follow its own unique evolutionary path.

At least 282 bird species have been recorded in the island, including the beautiful national bird of Bali, the Bali Starling (also called Rothschild’s Mynah).   The Bali Starling is one of the world’s most endangered bird species. Though it breeds readily in captivity, and is sold in cages, when it comes to its natural habitat it borders on extinction with perhaps only 14 remaining in the wild.

The Bali Barat National Park (sometimes also known as West Bali National Park) is home to many birds and mammals, including muntjak, pangolin, cuscus, slow loris and macaques.  The park covers most of the western tip of the island as well as areas of coral reef and coastal waters that support five species of marine turtle as well as dolphin and dugong.