7 of the U.K.'s Best Christmas Markets

This article was written by Andreas Ambarchian, a freelance journalist from England who writes about a variety of subjects including travel, wildlife and sports. This article was written on behalf of the Tambo Blanquillo, a family-owned lodge offering a home-away-from-home in the Peruvian Amazon. The dense jungles of the Peruvian rainforest make boat travel the most common form of transport in the region. The final frontier before the Amazon in Peru is the city of Iquitos, unreachable by road and often the starting point for river trips in the area. Long Distance TravelWhile there are regular flights between international Amazonian cities, the cheapest way to traverse long distances is by river. Boat services are available on a regular basis from the Bellavista Nanay Port. Although departure times should be treated as little more than approximations, most services leave within an hour of the advertised schedule. Booking is not necessary—and not possible—while payment is usually made upon reaching a passenger's chosen destination. CollectivosIn the main, collectivos are used by locals transporting rainforest goods around the area. Raw materials such as coal and wood can often be seen stowed up on the roof of such a vessel. The boats also take general passengers and, although they travel slowly, are very reasonably priced. From Nanay Port, as well as several other smaller departure points in Iquitos, the boats travel throughout the northern rainforest region, making a number of stops at various, obscure ports along the way. When attempting to confirm a route, it is a good idea to enquire on consecutive days, just to cross check the information. The best part: $2 is enough for almost all trips, even for the longer journeys, which can last several days. RapidosThese high powered boats travel the more popular river routes in the region, such as the one-hour trip upstream to the town of Tamshiyacu, located roughly 19 miles from Iquitos. The ride is quite loud and bumpy but, owing to the extra rate of knots, travel need only be endured for around a quarter of the time as would be necessary on a collectivo: in a rapido, the Brazilian border is only a matter of hours away, rather than days. On the flipside, the cost per ride in a rapido is around three times that of a collectivo, yet even that is still less than $10 for speedy transportation to your next destination. LanchasLanchas travel to the neighbouring areas of rainforests in Brazil, Ecuador, and Colombia. The larger ferries make slower progress, particularly when they travel against the current, meaning that the journey from Iquitos to the Brazilian border takes about three days at a cost of around $20. For this price, passengers are given hammocks and small meals, and can find cleaning facilities onboard. Private cabins are also available at an extra cost. Plug sockets can be found to connect electrical equipment but, while security is not a major issue, it is wise to keep an eye on your valuables. Day ExcursionsHiring a boat out for the day is a great way to get to know the Amazon and its tributaries. Boat hire for a day costs around $100 per vessel (including the services of a driver) from the Bellavista Nanay Port. If no overhead shelter is present on the boat, then sunscreen is a very good idea as the Iquitos sun can be relentless. Picnics also make a very pleasant accompaniment.Other than a leisurely jaunt along the various rivers in the region, there are a few areas of interest that can be visited to give a trip a bit of direction. Monkey Island is a wildlife sanctuary located on the island of Timicurillo, about a 45-minute boat ride from Nanay Port, while day-time beach parties can be also found on many islands, improbably as it may seem in such an thinly populated region of the world—unless on a private beach, it is perfectly possible to moor and step on land for a drink. The area's famous pink dolphins can be found where the Nanay and Amazon rivers meet. CruisesCruises offer a mixture of short distance and long distance trips with standard and custom itineraries. Tour companies can be found in Iquitos, but bookings should be made in advance online as organization can take some time. From the Nanay Port, day trips can be taken down the river while longer voyages can last over a week and will take passengers deep into the jungle to visit some of the region's most treasured natural reserves. Costs can be quite high, upwards of $1,000, but, in general, passengers are travelling in relative luxury, with expert guides for company.

What does it feel like to live in America's Coolest Small Town? Over the years, a bunch of folks have been lucky enough—and cool enough—to find out by winning Budget Travel's annual Coolest Small Town in America contest. Ask the residents of recent winning towns like Lititz, PA, Hammondsport, NY, and Beaufort, NC (pictured above), how good that feels! If you think your hometown—or your favorite small-town getaway!—has that awesome combination of edge and heart that we consider cool, we invite you to join in the thousands of nominations that are happening over at our Coolest Small Towns 2014 Nominations page! We're thrilled to see so many enthusiastic readers from every corner of America stepping up to crow about their cool towns. At the moment, we've noticed that some regions of the U.S. are especially well represented—congrats, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, and Utah for getting out the word! For those of you who live in other (equally cool!) parts of the country, we invite you to start throwing elbows as our nominations enter their final weeks. Type in the name of your town and tell us a little bit about what makes it cool! And please remember, we're looking for American towns with fewer than 10,000 people (sorry, if your nomination exceeds that population we'll have to bump you from the list) and a certain something that no place else has—a world-class food scene, jaw-dropping locale, great music, innovative art, and the kind of community spirit that motivates supporters to take to Facebook, Twitter (use the hashtag #AmericasCoolestTowns to help spread the word from Budget Travel's Twitter feed!), Pinterest, and Instagram to propel their cool town to the top of the list. Visit early, visit often, and, as always, keep it cool!

This article is a guest post by Ja Racharaks. When you start investigating Myanmar as a travel destination, you'll discover how many monuments have been constructed throughout the country's history that exhibit truly grand scales of devotion and determination. Myanmar is the home to at least six of the world's greatest attractions—and although three of these items have technically lost their titles in recent years, all have retained their genuine sense of significance and beauty. The World's Biggest Book: Kuthodaw Pagoda, MandalayThe Kuthodaw Pagoda is located at the base of Mandalay Hill and within the complex lies 730 Kyauksa Gu, stone-inscription caves, which contain the "pages" of the book. Not a traditional paper item, the book's text, a complete copy of the Tipitaka, the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism, is written on both sides of marble slabs 3.51 feet wide, 5.02 feet tall, and 5.1 inches thick. In this instance, the marble slabs are the "pages" and the Kyauksa Gu are the "leaves" of the book. The World's Longest Teak Structure: U Bein Bridge, AmarapuraClose by Mingun, about 12 km down the Irrawaddy River from Mandalay on the eastern side of the river is Amarapura. Founded by King Bodawpaya as his capital city in 1783, the township is now a part of Mandalay. The bridge spans 3,937 feet across Taungthaman Lake, created from teak wood reclaimed from an old royal palace. Named after the mayor who had the bridge built, it's still used as an important passageway for locals. With fears that some of the 1,086 pillars are becoming dangerously decayed, efforts have been made to repair the bridge, with some of the pillars being replaced with concrete. The World's Largest Iron Buddha: Sandamuni Pagoda, MandalayAt the base of Mandalay Hill is the Sandamuni Pagoda, home to the world's largest Iron Buddha statue. Commissioned by King Bodawpay in 1802, it has made many trips around the country according to the placement of capital cities and wars, makingn its final move to Mandalay in 1874. Cast out of 18563.94 kg of iron, it's said that the image is endowed with the attributes of the Full Moon, which gives the image its name, Sandamuni. The World's Largest Reclining Buddha (Surpassed): Maha Bodhi Ta Htwaung, Monywa TownshipOtherwise known as the region of "a thousand great Bo trees," the area is famous for its standing and reclining Buddha as well as for thousands of images of the Buddha and Bo trees. On the hill, seen from miles around, are the Giant Reclining Buddha and the Giant Standing Buddha. The Reclining Buddha has a length of 333 feet and a width of 60 feet. What's more, you're able to explore inside the Reclining Buddha where there are more than 9,000 images of the Buddha and his disciples. The Giant Standing Buddha, otherwise known as Laykyun Setkyar, is actually the second largest Buddha statue in the world at a height of 424 feet with 31 floors inside. The Reclining Buddha has been surpassed by a stone reclining Buddha carved in China's Jiangxi Province to be completed at a length of 1,365 feet. The World's Largest Pearl (Surpassed): Nay Pyi Taw Gem Museum, Nay Pyi TawAmong the jade boulders and Myanmar's largest ruby, the Nay Pyi Taw Gem Museum also has what was previously considered to be world's largest natural pearl. The pearl is 6.2cm x 5cm x 3.1cm and weighs 845 carats. It was found in 2001 in a mother of pearl oyster during an oyster fishing expedition at Macleod Island in the Mergui (Myeik) Archipelago, in southern Myanmar. The current largest pearl is called the Pearl of Lao Tzu or Pearl of Allah, found in the Philippines inside a giant clam, is 24 cm in diameter, and weighs 32,000 carats. The World's Heaviest Functioning Bell (Surpassed): Mingun Pahtodawgyi, MingunAbout 11km up the Irrawaddy River from Mandalay lies the Mingun Pahtodawgyi, which is a spectacle in itself. Intentionally unfinished, the stupa was started by King Bodawpaya in 1790. He had stopped its construction at 50 meters after hearing a prophecy that foretold his death if he were to ever complete it, a 150 meter immense structure. In fact, some could call this (unofficially) the world's largest pile of bricks. To go along with the grandeur of the stupa, the king also commissioned a gigantic bell to be housed within it. At a five meter diameter and weighing 90 tons (199,999 lbs) the bell's bronze construction made it the world's heaviest functioning bell. The bell held its title on and off for almost 100 years but is now surpassed by the Bell of Good Luck in China.

Well, that didn't take very long, did it? Budget Travel launched its Coolest Small Towns 2014 Nominations last week and we've already got more than 70 towns elbowing each other for the top spot. At the moment, Weston, West Virginia, is in the lead with nearly 400 votes! We're super-psyched to see the list of nominations grow as folks across the U.S. show their hometown pride—or put in a good word for a cool vacation spot they love returning to year after year. Got a town you think is the coolest? Nominate it right here. And please remember, we're looking for American towns with fewer than 10,000 people (sorry, if your nomination exceeds that population we'll have to bump you from the list) and a certain something that no place else has—a world-class food scene, jaw-dropping locale, great music, innovative art, and the kind of community spirit that motivates supporters to take to Facebook, Twitter (use the hashtag #AmericasCoolestTowns to help spread the word from Budget Travel's Twitter feed!), Pinterest, and Instagram to propel their cool town to the top of the list. Visit early, visit often, and, as always, keep it cool!