Sydney  - Visitors to Sydney have often been puzzled by its No Standing signs. Melbourne does not have them and neither do other Australian state capitals, and they are unknown abroad.

Yet, there are over 100,000 of them and time is running out. From December 1, all will have been replaced by No Stopping or No Parking signs that leave motorists in doubt as to what is required of them.

Even local officials are glad to see the back of No Standing.

Cork, Ireland  - The departure of the Queen Elizabeth 2 from Southampton on November 11 marks the end of an era which will see the last of the great ocean liners sail through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal en route to her final resting place in Dubai.

From November 27, Cunard's longest-serving liner and flagship will become a floating "hotel, retail and entertainment destination" at the Palm Jumeirah, the enormous palm-shaped artificial island currently being developed as a complex of tourist hotels and apartments, also by Dubai World from 2009.

Kathmandu - The number of tourists visiting Nepal increased to their highest level in eight years in October, coinciding with the start of the trekking season, officials said Tuesday.

Figures released by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) said 50,567 tourists arrived in Nepal via air in October, an increase of 16.6 per cent from the same period last year.

The growth was the highest the country has seen in eight years for a single month and represented a healthy outlook for the winter and spring seasons that are considered the best time for trekking in the Himalayas.

Dortmund, Germany - The town of Nordhorn in north-western Germany is set amidst a landscape of charming farmhouses and old oak trees. But occasionally, modern technology is visible in the form of crude oil pumps scattered across the land.

Motorists holidaying in the region will experience the old and the new travelling around Nordhorn and anyone with a little more time on their hands can drive across the border to the Netherlands to experience van Gogh country.

Oil pumps are one of the region's main features. Visitors can find out more about them with the help of the new electronic Dynamic Audio Geo Information System for Tourists (DAGIT) which consists of a small computer attached to a car's radio.

Santa Cruz de La Palma, Spain - Volcanic landscapes, jungle-like laurel forests, lava deserts and thick pinewood: La Palma is not only the greenest island of the Canaries, it's also the most diverse.

A network of trails totalling 1,000 kilometres on La Palma, nicknamed Isla Bonita makes it a hiker's paradise.

ItzCash, the country’s first ever ‘Multi Purpose Prepaid Cash Card’ has informed that it has entered into a partnership with Thomas Cook, to facilitate online travel bookings.

The partnership is eyeing at an increase in online transactions at Thomas Cook and both partners has setup estimated target of 1.5 lakh transaction in rail booking, 0.5-lakh transactions for air booking for the next six months.