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The Rolling Stones in the Channel Islands: August 18th – 22nd 1964 – Video

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The Rolling Stones in the Channel Islands: August 18th - 22nd 1964
The Rolling Stones played the Channel Islands during August 1964. In Guernsey they played for three nights in St George #39;s Hall (August 18th -20th) and two nights in Springfield stadium, Jersey...

By: ITV Channel Television

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The Rolling Stones in the Channel Islands: August 18th - 22nd 1964 - Video

20 destinations for 2015: Ryukyu islands, Japan

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Made up of some 6,850 islands, it was only a matter of time before Japan threw its hat into the cruising ring. With that comes the opportunity to visit an island archipelago flung 1,000km across the South Pacific, known as the Ryukyu islands.

Located in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, Japans sunshine isles are in more ways than one its subtropical alter ego. The capital Naha, located midway down the island chain is closer to the tip of the Philippines than it is to Tokyo and from the chains southernmost island (weather permitting), its possible to see Taiwan.

Less conservative than their mainland counterparts the Okinawans swap salaryman attire for kariyushi a local take of the Hawaiian shirt and rice for the purple potato. Pack an appetite its worth a visit for the food experience alone. Longevity rates in Okinawa are among the highest in the world diet, martial arts (this is the home of karate), climate and spirituality are all said to play a part.

Invest a little time and effort and youll find a Japan just as timeless as the more traditional iconic favourites. A visit to one of the prefectures outer islands is to glimpse a rural idyll. Buffalo carts cross the shallow channel separating Iriomote and Yufujima; Ishigaki and its islands are home to a rare breed of beef cattle, while Kuroshima is home to more cows than people. Miyakojimas mineral-laden salt 18 at last count has landed it a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

Whales migrate to the stunning Kerama Islands, just west of Naha and croissant-shaped Minna, looped by white sand, is a two-mile paddle away by kayak or a 15-minute ferry ride from the Naras Motobu port. Others including Miyako, popular with divers, are best reached via a short flight.

Although ships itineraries barely scratch the surface of the destination, cruising might just put Okinawa on the map.

How to go: Royal Caribbean (royalcaribbean.co.uk) calls at Okinawa on its eight-night Okinawa, Fukuoka and Jeju Cruise. From 714 per person (based on two people sharing) departing in July. Excludes flights.

Read about the rest of our 20 destinations for 2015

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20 destinations for 2015: Ryukyu islands, Japan

Douglas Todd: No holiday cheer for Metro ferry travellers to Gulf Islands

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BC Ferries cut the fuel surtax on fares in December and announced its jumping into the holiday spirit by offering great deals on hotel-travel packages between Victoria and Metro Vancouver.

But BC Ferries is still acting like Scrooge in regards to the unusually exorbitant fares it charges Metro Vancouver and Southern Gulf Island residents who travel back and forth.

Residents of Metro Vancouver pay about three times more than Victoria residents for a return trip to the Gulf Islands.

The startling inequality in the cost of travel to the Gulf Islands is yet another puzzling piece of what some are calling the community-harming behaviour of BC Ferries, which the Vancouver Suns Stephen Hume has been recounting in a series of 2014 columns.

The increasingly imbalanced ferry costs, which greatly reduce the likelihood that many of Metros 2.4 million residents will make their way to the Gulf Islands, help explain why restaurants, stores and bed and breakfasts on Galiano, Mayne, Pender and Saturna islands are suffering.

This is how the payment disparity hits the people who would travel back and forth between Metro Vancouver and these four Gulf Islands:

The cost of a typical peak return trip, with car and driver, from Tsawwassen terminal to any of these four Gulf Islands is about $135.

The cost of a typical peak weekend return trip from the Swartz Bay terminal on Vancouver Island to these same Gulf Islands is just $52.

Whats more, with Experience Card discounts, Victoria residents who take the Swartz Bay route to any of these Gulf Islands can do the return trip for as low as $32. Students can often travel for free.

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Douglas Todd: No holiday cheer for Metro ferry travellers to Gulf Islands


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