Opatija, Croatia  - One thing never lacking in a trip to Croatia is surprises.

Drivers along the coastal highway might find themselves wondering what's on offer at all the roadside stalls.

A quick stop in a village tavern in Brsec reveals all: a roomful of locals sits down to steaming bowls of wild asparagus.

It looks like a bowl of thin branches, but it tastes great.

The special spring recipe is just one of the specialties found in the forests near the Kvarner Gulf in northern Croatia.

Another surprise: the tavern also offers rooms.

After pressing a key into a guest's hand, the owner explains how to get to the room through a labyrinth of alleys, typical of the seaside resort of Opatija.

Mana (Uttarakhand), May 17: Mana, a tribal village situated near Badrinath, is emerging as a tourist destination in Uttarakhand.

Phnom Penh - Vietnamese company S

Grassington, England  - If it were not for the odd cow on the horizon, visitors to this remote part of northern England might feel marooned among the thousands of sheep. It is silent here too, apart from the almost indignant "baaing" of these fluffy wool donors.

A latticework of drystone walls like silvery grey veins divides up the "dales," as the lush, green valleys of this upland landscape are known, and it is not hard to see why English author JRR Tolkien found inspiration hereabouts for his Lord of the Rings trilogy. A few elves and dwarfs or even a hobbit would not seem out of place.

Frankfurt  - US cruise line Royal Caribbean International (RCI) has planned eight cruises to Europe in 2009, one more cruise than in 2008.