Helsinki  - The Museum Centre Vapriikki in Tampere, Finland, is to host a comprehensive exhibition on North American Indians from June 12 to November 8.

The exhibition includes around 180 items on loan from descendants to Chief Sitting Bull, the legendary Lakota Sioux leader who died in 1890.

The exhibition is currently on show at the Ueberseemuseum in Bremen, Germany. Some items are on loan from the Voelkerkundemuseum in Vienna.

Cork, Ireland  - Anyone keen on a mystical getaway should book now for what could turn out to be a genuinely spooky break in Wicklow Head lighthouse on Ireland's east coast, about an hour's drive south of Dublin.

The octagonal, stone tower is one of 15 properties across Ireland, restored by the Irish Landmark Trust, which are available to the public as self-catering holiday accommodation.

Guests should however expect a wait of about one year owing to the popularity of the offbeat vacation venue.

Hong Kong  - Hong Kong's tourism industry is gearing up for a disappointing Year of the Ox with visitor numbers dropping by about 500,000, officials said Thursday.

Around 29 million people are expected to visit Hong Kong in 2009, the Chinese Year of the Ox, according to estimates by the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

This would be a drop of 1.6 per cent from the 2008 figure of 29.5 million. Longhaul travellers will account for a large proportion of the fall, offsetting a predicted 4-per-cent rise in the number of visitors from mainland China.

Cologne, Germany - The world's largest flower garden, the Keukenhof in The Netherlands, is marking the 60th anniversary of its birth with a US theme.

The festivities include a mosaic of more than 25,000 flowers in the shape of the Statue of Liberty, according to the Dutch tourist office in Cologne.

Keukenhof chose the theme as 2009 is the 400th anniversary of explorer Henry Hudson's arrival under the Dutch flag in present-day Manhattan.

The colony of New Amsterdam that was founded there later became modern-day New York.

Papeete, French Polynesia - If only they were not so far away, the dream islands of French Polynesia! Tahiti, Bora Bora, Rangiroa - their very names suggest white, South Sea sands under palm trees.

And that is precisely what awaits travellers to this paradise. First, though, they have to endure the long journey, which takes about 26 hours by air from Central Europe. No holiday destination is more distant for Europeans, actually. But the long haul is worth it. You can dive and snorkel, hike and trek, or simply soak up the sun once you get there.

Mercedes, Argentina - Part of the adventure was getting there. Our off-road vehicle jolted along the dirt road from the small city of Mercedes to the Ibera wetlands in north-eastern Argentina's Corrientes province. After 120 kilometres, plenty of potholes and even more patience, we reached the hamlet of Colonia Carlos Pellegrini, gateway to Esteros del Ibera, a vast amphibious nature reserve teeming with flora and fauna.

"In the language of the Indians, 'Ibera' basically means 'gleaming, glowing, shining water,'" said Jose Martin, our Argentine tour guide. From a gaucho family, Martin still speaks Guarani, the language of the region's aboriginal inhabitants. It is spoken deep in the throat and sounds somewhat gurgled.