Bali (Indonesia)
Bali is not a country. It is an island province of Indonesia.
Bali is part of the Coral Triangle, the ‘Amazon of the Seas’ – known for its incredible marine biodiversity.
It is the home of the Subak irrigation system, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bali is the only Hindu-majority province in Indonesia, with 82.5% of the population adhering to Balinese Hinduism.
Mount Agung and Mount Batur are the two active volcanoes in Bali.
Bali is known for its intensive wetland paddy cultivation in fertile volcanic soil.
The Bahamas (capital -Nassau)
The Bahamas is a country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Bahamas were a British colony. In 1973, they gained independence from Britain.
The word Bahamas is derived from a Spanish word ‘baja mar' which means ‘low tide' or ‘shallow water or sea'.
The Bahamas are extremely vulnerable to hurricanes because of their location, especially in the spring and fall months.
The sand beaches in the Bahamas are pink because of the broken seashells that have become mixed into the sand.
Madagascar (capital - Antananarivo)
Madagascar is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately 400 Km off the coast of East Africa.
At 592,800 Sq Km Madagascar is the world's second-largest island country.
The nearest mainland African country Mozambique, is located to the west of Madagascar.
It is one of the 17 "megadiverse" countries of the world.
Peculiar flora - The Baobab Trees
Peculiar fauna - Lemurs are native only to Madagascar
Baobab Tree - this iconic "tree of life" is a peculiar tree species native to mainland Africa, Madagascar, Arabian Peninsula and northwestern Australia.
Baobabs have unusual barrel-like trunks and are known for their extraordinary longevity and ethnobotanical importance.
Baobabs are pollinated by bats and lemurs and hawk moths.
Trinidad and Tobago (capital - Port of Spain)
Trinidad and Tobago is a dual-island Caribbean nation near Venezuela.
Trinidad and Tobago is known for its bird diversity, which is 470 bird species in just 2,000 square miles.
The smaller island Tobago is known for Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve, which shelters hummingbirds.
Trinidad and Tobago is an oil and natural gas producing nation.
Trinidad and Tobago has the world's largest natural deposits of asphalt.
Trinidad is sometimes referred to as the “Land of the Hummingbird”, because 18 species of hummingbird have been recorded on the island.
Hummingbird is the world's tiniest bird.