· Bangkok
For three months, Bangkok's shops celebrate a prolonged shopping holiday, where discounts of up to 70% off reign. The "Amazing Thailand Grand Sale" ends on August 31, so you've only two more perfect weekends to scoop up the bargains and drown your family in exotic souvenirs of your Thai travels. ]]>
If that other festival dedicated to the wild west isn’t doing it for you, then we have another one that may help you move along your little doggies. It’s the 2009 National Championship Chuckwagon Race in Clinton, Arkansas, and it’s off to the races throughout Labor Day weekend. Just remember to bring your best horse and your dinner bell, and you’ll fit right in.
The festival is just what it sounds like—covered wagons hauling as fast as they can against other Conestogas. We’re still wondering why Dr. Quinn wasn’t all over this sport when her show was on the air, because maybe then we would have watched. More than 20,000 people will be on hand to check everything out, and some of them will likely being cozying up to the weekend’s winners who hope to share in over $20,000 in prizes. ]]>
It's a whole new type of laid-off travel; gold mining is back with a vengeance and oftentimes, the richest veins are closer than you think. All this week we'll be digging deep into the USA's dirt to uncover the best spots for sifting your way into a small fortune, or at least one month's rent. Any suggestions or questions? Let us know.
Gold prices may be hovering around the very tempting $900 an ounce, but diamonds are still very much in demand, and we figured that you'd need something to set into your newly-wrought gold jewelry. Take some business away from DeBeers and go hunting for your own gems outside of Murfreesboro, Arkansas at the Crater of Diamonds State Park.
Armed with a campsite, the Park attracts people from all over the south for days at a time as they try their hand at digging for the rough stuff—keep in mind that they won't be perfectly-cut, clear stones just lying there in wait for you. Nonetheless, the park's website lists daily finds which include a 1-carat find on May 30. ]]>