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Top 10 Luxury Trains In The World

Trains were the backbone of any country’s economy back in the days of the industrial revolution and they still are the lifeline of communication for all. Massive coaches sitting on tracks travelling long distances for hours, equipped with necessary amenities evoke a sense of romance and experience unlike any other sort of travel!

Here are the world’s best 10 luxury trains, equipped with decadence in every corner that is bringing train travelling back in vogue.

10. Golden Eagle Train

Top 10 Luxury Trains In The World
October 24, 2019 Money Morning Paper

Trains were the backbone of any country’s economy back in the days of the industrial revolution and they still are the lifeline of communication for all. Massive coaches sitting on tracks travelling long distances for hours, equipped with necessary amenities evoke a sense of romance and experience unlike any other sort of travel!

Here are the world’s best 10 luxury trains, equipped with decadence in every corner that is bringing train travelling back in vogue.

10. Golden Eagle


Hardcore travel enthusiasts have an expression that many find to ring true — they say that one has not experienced the attractiveness of train of travelling until they have boarded the Trans-Siberian Express. The Golden Eagle has the very intimidating itinerary exceeding eight different time zones using a very long tour of 2 weeks embroidered with lavishness and comfort in every way.

The train features extravagance in its centres and decoration with keen attention to detail like climate-controlled interiors in accordance with the season, TVs in every room, an English speaking doctor on board, laundry services and even a resident pianist on boar

Top Luxury Trains #9: Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

Top 10 Luxury Trains In The World
October 24, 2019 Money Morning Paper

 

Top Luxury Trains #9: Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
 



This train is probably the father of the concept of the luxury train for the masses!

Aside from being the setting for Agatha Christie’s famous historic novel “Murder on the Orient Express”, the train also has a rich black and political background behind it. It’s said that Hitler was also one of the fans of this train. The train was French pride and in 1940, the Germans hauled the train into the place of the preceding surrender and took it over. Afterwards, the train narrowly escaped its own doom of being burned by the Nazis when Hitler’s downfall was imminent since he didn’t want this decoration of luxury travel to shine on his enemies’ land
The legendary train, which is the hottest luxury carriage round the planet has more scoop supporting it, spies during world wars utilized it as a secret weapon, a president once tumbled down out of it and a whole lot more. But perhaps the most understated story of them all is the way the train stays the perfect sign of romance with train rides and classy travel.

It certainly is a icon of the rails, a hidden jewel, glittering and timeless. The journey starts with a steward in blue and gold livery waves with a white-gloved hand, who welcomes you on board with a knowing smile and helps you settle in to your cabin. The carefully restored 1920s cabins adorned with art-deco details and French-polished cherry wood will bring you back in time into a world of timeless glamour. With regard to the destination you have many possibilities but the most famous one is the journey that brings you from Venice to London. And while you travel across Europe you will be pleased with a unique dining experience, with local and seasonal ingredients the Executive Chef Christian Bodiguel takes on board along the route

8. Golden Chariot

A fresh addition to India’s package of luxury trains carries its passengers on a ride around the popular tourist spots of southern Indian states of Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. Several itinerary options are available.

 The Golden Chariot train started its journey from the recent 2008 and has been a success with those who have a unique place in their hearts to the romance of train journeys. Fit with all modern conveniences, a royal inside decoration, round the clock attendants, climate-controlled insides, guided excursions and sightseeing excursions, spas and luxury restaurants the train is equipped to fulfil all your senses.

The only luxury train in South India, offers an insight into treasure trove of archaelogical wealth, abundant bounty for wildlife seekers and a wide range of culture for its guests. The journey is a mix of culture, heritage, eco-tourism and beach life. You can relax while the magnificient scenery unfolds outside your window with luxury on the inside. In fact, the interiors of the cabins, the restaurants area and the lounge bar are inspired by the architecture of temples and palaces.

Top 10 Luxury Trains In The World
October 24, 2019 Money Morning Pape


Top Luxury Trains #7: The Blue Train




he Blue train takes luxury to a new dimension and you will feel it immediately when you step into the pre-departure lounges in Pretoria or Cape Town. The different itineraries take guests through some of the most breathtaking countryside to be found anywhere in the world. During the day, the elegant furnished Blue Train suites offer generous lounge chairs afford unequalled views of Africa. Additionally, all the meals during your journey are freshly prepared on board by executive chefs, with carefully selected South African wines that complement the gourmet cuisine.
6. The Ghan

The Ghan is the Australian luxury passenger train running between Adelaide and Darwin. The history runs back to 1929 when it began as a narrow-gauge train. In 1980, the train was immensely modified to accommodate travelers. In 2001, the Ghan was re-introduced as a contemporary tourism section serving a few of the greatest train journeys of all times.

Top Luxury Trains #5: Palace on Wheels


A regal luxury train that travels around the imperial Indian state of Rajasthan, the Palace on Wheels was one of the foremost in India’s package of luxury trains. The train is fit for kings with state-of-the-art facilities, butler and attendant services around the clock, guided trips and sight-seeing tours at every stop, beautiful cuisine and climate-controlled rooms with lavish en-suites.The inside of the cabins is set up to emulate the imperial palaces of Rajasthan to give you the feels of being a Rajput on the imperial property.Top 10 Luxury Trains In The World
October 24, 2019 Money Morning Paper


Top Luxury Trains #5: Palace on Wheels
 
A regal luxury train that travels around the imperial Indian state of Rajasthan, the Palace on Wheels was one of the foremost in India’s package of luxury trains. The train is fit for kings with state-of-the-art facilities, butler and attendant services around the clock, guided trips and sight-seeing tours at every stop, beautiful cuisine and climate-controlled rooms with lavish en-suites.The inside of the cabins is set up to emulate the imperial palaces of Rajasthan to give you the feels of being a Rajput on the imperial property.


TThe train was designed with inspiration borrowed from the bygone days of Rajasthan’s past with kings and princes. The royals would often set out in lavish hunting expeditions with big hunting parties. Each car of the train was created bearing in mind the local arts and craft of each bygone state or royal province of Rajasthan beneath principle of legendary rulers.


The Palace on Wheels offers a heritage tour of the rich culture of Rajasthan, the world famous Taj Mahal is one of the main attractions of the journey. The aim of the staff of the train is to treat you and make you feel like kings and queens! No wonder why the Palace on Wheels is the pride of Indian Railways; from the luxurious accommodation units to high quality food, souvenirs shop, spa therapy, and well furnished bars, there is so much to indulge in. A journey on this train will be an experience you will cherish your entire life!

4. Belmond Royal Scotsman

Would you like to learn more about the Scottish countryside in a complete Downton Abbey style? Then you have to board the Royal Scotsman that delivers complete justice to its title. Passengers choose from several distinct itineraries beginning from Edinburgh that range from 2 to 7 days, but the classic voyage aboard the state is the 4 day travelling that moves into the Scottish highlands

Ranking among the world’s most luxurious trains, the train’s mahogany-clad cars marry Edwardian elegance with the comforts of a country house. Ten intricately designed carriages, including the sublime Bamford Spa, form a real palace on wheels. Each suite cabin features sophisticated mahogany marquetry and inviting tweed furnishings and soft Highland wool. You can relax in the elegant lounges while the rugged Scottish landscape glides by and enjoy the view
 The train also comes with guided tours to distilleries and excursions to castles around Scotland. This being UK’s only luxury class sleeper express includes a famous bar stocked with over 50 varieties of its own whisky.

Note that the best time to travel aboard of this wonderful train is possibly fall that offers a distinctive purple-tinted perspective of the Scottish meadows coloured by the blossom of wild heather.

Top Luxury Trains #3: Eastern & Oriental Express

Love an awe-inspiring tour of the landscape of Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia aboard this exceptional luxury train of the east. The train travels through the enchanting green woods of the property, with guided excursions to gold temples, pagodas and hills

On the train you will experience an exotic cuisine that arrives at white-linen coated tables in the ornamental dining cars. You can take your seat among sparkling crystal and silverware. The Bar Car boasts a jazz-club ambience, music lingering in the air, while stewards serve you champagne, wine and cocktails. As the train rolls into the night, your cosy cabin awaits. Plush furnishings and ornate marquetry bathe in the glow of your bedside lamp, a gown and slippers laid out for your comfort. Every day and every stop on this train is an adventure, you will discover the real luxury and also the region’s secrets.
The train provides 6 itineraries with the special New Year itinerary being one of the most sought after one. With luxurious carriages, two onboard restaurants and a special observation car to see the wildlife in their habitat, the train offers an exceptional experience for its passengers

2. Belmond British Pullman



This traditional British Pullman was polished to accommodate many 21st century comforts

The train generates the perfect English journey that echoes the elegant eras of the property. It runs through the calm countryside of Britain attempting to incorporate calmness and experience to the luxury holiday. As famous today as in the peak of British travel, the train’s carriages have sheltered royalty and starred in films—each has a story to tell. The umber and cream livery conceals a wealth of original features. Wander the length of the train to enjoy unique panelling and intricate upholstery, and experience the magic of vintage travel for yourself.

You can discover the historic gems of York, Bath or Canterbury and feel like royalty as you explore Blenheim Palace; wherever you’ll go it will be a unique stylish experience.

The special thing about this train is that there are numerous itineraries to cover within a day. These exclusive itineraries come with a meal or/and tea fit for the Queen and they start from 297 Pounds per passenger. So you can also treat yourself on a faboulus dinner aboard of this timeless glamorous train.

Top Luxury Trains #1: The Transcantabrico Gran Lujo

This five-star cruise train covering northern Spain is one of the most demanding journeys for enthusiastic luxury travellers from all over the world. This grand rail provides nearly all 21st-century comforts since it runs along with the glamour landscapes of Spain.

Taking the Transcantabrico Gran Lujo is a wonderful way of travelling through the beautiful landscapes of northern Spain. The route from Galicia to the Bay of Biscay covers Cantabria, Asturias, the Basque Country, Castile and León. In the meantime, regional gastronomy, monuments, art and landscapes are presented to travellers from the comfort of a five-star ‘train hotel’.

The cabins have a nostalgic décor of 1920s to create a mythical appearance and texture. The train still runs on the coaches introduced in 1923, including more juice to the legacy value. This classic train provides one signature itinerary beginning in Santiago de Compostela and finishes at San Sebastian or even vice-versa. The itinerary runs for eight days and seven nights at 2,100 Euro onwards.

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Alexander The Great: Facts, Biography & Accomplishments

Alexander the Great was a king of Macedonia who conquered an empire that stretched from the Balkans to modern-day Pakistan.

Alexander was the son of Philip II and Olympias (one of Philip's seven or eight wives). He was brought up with the belief that he was of divine birth. "From his earliest days, Olympias had encouraged him to believe that he was a descendent of heroes and gods. Nothing he had accomplished would have discouraged this belief," writes Wellesley College classics professor Guy MacLean Rogers in his book "Alexander" (Random House, 2004). 


"The personality of Alexander the Great was a paradox," Susan Abernethy of The Freelance History Writer told LiveScience. "He had great charisma and force of personality but his character was full of contradictions, especially in his later years (his early thirties). However, he had the ability to motivate his army to do what seemed to be impossible." 

Alexander was a visionary, said Abernethy. His ability to dream, plan and strategize on a large scale allowed him to win many battles, even when he was outnumbered. It also helped motivate his men, who knew they were part of one of the greatest conquests in history. 

Alexander could be inspiring and courageous, continued Abernethy. He was devoted to training his men, rewarding them with honors and spoils, and going into battle beside them, which furthered their devotion and confidence. "The fact that Alexander was young, beautiful and empathetic only helped to increase his influence on his soldiers and subjects," she said.

Yet, despite his military accomplishments, ancient records say that he failed to win the respect of some his subjects and, furthermore, he had some of the people closest to him murdered.

Alexander the prince
Alexander was born around July 20, 356 B.C., in Pella, which was the administrative capital of Macedonia. His father was often away, conquering neighboring territories and putting down revolts. Nevertheless, King Philip II of Macedon was one of Alexander's most influential role models, said Abernethy. "Philip ensured Alexander was given a noteworthy and significant education. He arranged for Alexander to be tutored by Aristotle himself … His education infused him with a love of knowledge, logic, philosophy, music and culture. The teachings of Aristotle [would later aid] him in the treatment of his new subjects in the empires he invaded and conquered, allowing him to admire and maintain these disparate cultures."

Alexander watched his father campaign nearly every year and win victory after victory. Philip remodeled the Macedonian army from citizen-warriors into a professional organization. Philip suffered serious wounds in battle such as the loss of an eye, a broken shoulder and a crippled leg. But he just kept on fighting, something Alexander would do as commander."

Cambridge University professor Paul Cartledge writes in his book "Alexander the Great" (MacMillan, 2004) that Philip decided to leave his 16-year-old son in charge of Macedonia while he was away on campaign. Alexander took advantage of the opportunity by defeating a Thracian people called the Maedi and founding "Alexandroupolis," a city he named after himself. "Alexander felt the need to challenge his father's authority and superiority and wished to out-do his father," said Abernethy.

Indeed, ancient records indicate that the two became estranged later in Alexander's teenage years and at one point his mother was exiled to Epirus. "Alexander may have resented his father's many marriages and the children born from them, seeing them as a threat to his own position," said Abernethy. 

Philip II was assassinated in 336 B.C. while celebrating the wedding of his daughter Cleopatra (not the famous Egyptian pharaoh). The person who stabbed him was said to have been one of Philip's former male lovers, named Pausanias. While ancient writers spin an elaborate tale about his motives, some modern historians suspect that he may have been part of a larger plot to kill the king, one that may have included Alexander and his mother. 

At the time of his death, Philip was contemplating invading Persia. The dream was passed onto Alexander, partly via his mother Olympias, according to Abernethy. "She fostered in him a burning dynastic ambition and told him it was his destiny to invade Persia."

Upon his father's death, Alexander moved quickly to consolidate power. He gained the support of the Macedonian army and intimidated the Greek city states that Philip had conquered into accepting his rule. After campaigns in the Balkans and Thrace, Alexander moved against Thebes, a city in Greece that had risen up in rebellion, conquering it in 335 B.C., and had it destroyed.

With Greece and the Balkans pacified, he was ready to launch a campaign against the Persian Empire, a campaign his father had planned but, as fate would have it, he would be the one to lead.

War with Persia
Ancient accounts say that when Alexander was at war against the Persians and their king Darius III, he often used the Persian invasions of Greece in the 5th century B.C. as an excuse for his actions. Yet, ironically, Alexander often fought Greek mercenaries while campaigning against Darius III. Even more ironically, Sparta, a city that had famously lost its king and 300 warriors in the Battle of Thermopylae during a Persian invasion attempt, also opposed Alexander, going so far as to seek Persian help in their efforts to overthrow him.

In a recently published conference paper, Elpida Hadjidaki, the past director of Maritime Antiquities in the Greek Ministry of Culture, points out that Agis III, the king of Sparta, worked with the Persians to fortify a harbor at Phalasarna, in west Crete. Persia gave him money and ships and in return "Agis sent the money and triremes [a type of ship] to his brother Agesilaos, directing him to pay the salaries of the crews, and to sail directly to Crete to settle the affairs of the island for the benefit of Sparta," writes Hadjidaki. In his excavations he has found that, with Persian support, the Spartans built fortifications and a larger harbor at Phalasarna.

Yet, despite the opposition from the Spartans, Alexander was successful against Persia. The first major battle he won was the "Battle of Granicus," fought in 334 B.C. in modern-day western Turkey, not far from the ancient city of Troy. During the battle, Arrian wrote that Alexander defeated a force of 20,000 Persian horsemen and an equal number of foot soldiers. He then advanced down the coast of west Turkey, taking cities and trying to deprive the Persian navy of bases.

The second key battle he won, and perhaps the most important, was the Battle of Issus, fought in 333 B.C. near the ancient town of Issus in southern Turkey, close to modern-day Syria. In that battle, the Persians were led by Darius III himself. Arrian estimates that Darius had a force of 600,000 troops (probably wildly exaggerated) and positioned himself initially on a great plain where he could mass them all effectively against Alexander, who hesitated to give battle.

Darius III is said to have thought this a sign of timidity. "One courtier after another incited Darius, declaring that he would trample down the Macedonian army with his cavalry." So, Darius gave up his position and chased Alexander. At first this went well, and he actually got in the rear of Alexander's force. However, when Alexander gave the Persian king battle, it turned out Darius had been led to a narrow spot where the Persians could not use their superior numbers effectively.

Arrian wrote that, against the experienced Macedonian troops, Darius's left wing was "routed" almost immediately. The toughest opposition actually came from a Greek mercenary force fighting for Darius. Positioned in the center the "action there was desperate, as the Greeks tried to drive the Macedonians back to the river and to recover victory for their own men who were already fleeing," Arrian wrote. Eventually Darius III fled, along with his army.

In his haste, Darius III left much of his family behind including his mother, wife, infant son and two daughters. Alexander ordered that they be "honored, and addressed as royalty," Arrian wrote. After the battle, Darius III offered Alexander a ransom for his family and alliance, through marriage, with him.

Arrian said that Alexander rebuked Darius in writing and used the attempts of his predecessors to invade Greece as justification for his campaign against him. He also added that "in the future whenever you send word to me, address yourself to me as King of Asia and not as an equal, and let me know, as the master of all that belonged to you, if you have need of anything." 

Into Egypt
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Alexander moved south along the eastern Mediterranean, a strategy designed, again, to deprive the Persians of their naval bases. Many cities surrendered while some, such as Tyre, which was on an island, put up a fight and forced Alexander to lay siege.

 
In 332 B.C., after Gaza was taken by siege, Alexander entered Egypt, a country that had experienced on-and-off periods of Persian rule for two centuries. On its northern coast, he founded Alexandria, the most successful city he ever built. Arrian wrote that "a sudden passion for the project seized him, and he himself marked out where the agora was to be built and decided how many temples were to be erected and to which gods they were to be dedicated…" Recent research indicates that Alexandria may have been built to face the rising sun on the day Alexander was born.

He also travelled to Libya to see the oracle of Ammon. Traveling through unmarked desert, his party made his way to the temple and Alexander is said to have consulted the oracle in private.

Final battle with Darius III
 
With the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt secured, the Persians were deprived of naval bases, and Alexander was free to move inland to conquer the eastern half of the Persian Empire.

 
At the Battle of Gaugamela, fought in 331 B.C. in northern Iraq near present-day Erbil, Alexander is said by ancient sources to have faced as many as 1 million troops (again probably grossly exaggerated). Darius III brought soldiers from all over, and even beyond, his empire. Scythian horsemen from his northern borders faced Alexander, as did "Indian" troops (as the ancient writers called them) who were probably from modern-day Pakistan.

 
Again, in a bid to stymie Darius III's superior numbers, Alexander moved his troops toward unlevel ground. Darius sent his cavalry after them and Alexander countered with his. His horsemen, while taking heavy losses, held their own. Darius responded by sending his chariots against Alexander's phalanx infantry, a bad move, as they were cut to pieces by javelins.

 
The battle soon became a war of nerves. "For a brief period the fighting was hand to hand, but when Alexander and his horseman pressed the enemy hard, shoving the Persians and striking their faces with spears, and the Macedonian phalanx, tightly arrayed and bristling with pikes, was already upon them, Darius, who had long been in a state of dread, now saw terrors all around him; he wheeled about — the first to do so — and fled," wrote Arrian. From that point on the Persian army started to collapse and the Persian king fled with Alexander in hot pursuit.

 
Darius III would flee into the eastern part of his empire, hoping to rally enough soldiers for another battle. Betrayed by one his satraps named Bessus (who claimed kingship over what was left of Persia), Darius was captured by his own troops and killed.

 
Alexander was saddened when he found his dead body. He respected Darius as the head of the mighty Persian Empire, though Alexander regarded himself as a higher authority because he believed his power came from the gods, according to Abernethy. He sent Darius's body back to Persepolis and ordered that he be given a royal burial. 

 

 
Alexander wanted the transition in Persia from Darius's power to his own to be peaceful. It needed to have the appearance of legitimacy to appease the people, and providing a noble burial for Darius was part of that, explained Abernethy.

 
"[Providing noble burials] was a common practice by Alexander and his generals when they took over the rule of different areas of empire," she said. Alexander was influenced by the teachings of his tutor, Aristotle, whose philosophy of Greek ethos did not require forcing Greek culture on the colonized. "Alexander would take away the political autonomy of those he conquered but not their culture or way of life. In this way, he would gain their loyalty by honoring their culture, even after the conquest was complete, creating security and stability. Alexander himself even adopted Persian dress and certain Persian customs," said Abernethy.

Alexander pursued Bessus eastward until he was caught and killed. Then, wishing to incorporate the most easterly portions of the Persian Empire into his own, he campaigned in central Asia. It was a rocky, frost-bitten campaign, which raised tensions within his own army and, ultimately, would lead to Alexander killing two of his closest friends.

The killing of Parmerio
 
The killing of Parmerio, his former second in command, and Cleitus, a close friend of the king who is said to have saved his life at the Battle of Granicus, may be seen as a sign of how his men were becoming tired of campaigning, and how Alexander was becoming more paranoid.

 
At some point during Alexander's campaign in central Asia, Parmerio's son, Philotas, allegedly failed to report a plot against Alexander's life. The king, incensed, decided to kill not only Philotas and the other men deemed conspirators, but also Parmerio, even though he apparently had nothing to do with the alleged plot.

 
According to the writer Quintus Curtius (who lived during the first century A.D.), Alexander tasked a man named Polydamus, a friend of Parmerio, to perform the deed, holding his brothers hostage until he murdered him. Arriving in Parmerio's tent in the city where he was stationed, he handed him a letter from Alexander and one marked as being from his son.

When he was reading the letter from his son, a general named Cleander, who aided Polydamus with his mission, "opened him (Parmerio) up with a sword thrust to his side, then struck him a second blow in the throat…" killing him. (Translation by Pamela Mensch and James Romm)

Murder of Cleitus
 
A second casualty of Alexander's was his old friend Cleitus, who was angry that Alexander was adopting Persian dress and customs. After an episode where the two were drinking, Cleitus told his king off, telling him, in essence, that he should follow Macedonian ways, not those of the Persians who had opposed him.

After the two got drunk, Cleitus lifted up his right hand and said "this is the hand, Alexander, that saved you then (at the Battle of Granicus)." Alexander, infuriated, killed him with a spear or pike.

Alexander took his act of murder terribly. "Again and again, he called himself his friend's murderer and went without food and drink for three days and completely neglected his person," wrote Arrian.
This 1875 map shows Alexander the Great's empire. (Image credit: Steven Wright/Shutterstock)

The final campaigns
Alexander's days in central Asia were not all unhappy. After his troops had captured a fortress at a place called Sogdian Rock in 327 B.C. he met Roxana, the daughter of a local ruler. The two married and, at the time of Alexander's death, they had an unborn son.

Despite the fatigue of his men, and the fact that he was far from home, he pressed on into a land that the Greeks called "India" (although it was actually present-day Pakistan). He made an alliance with a local ruler named Taxiles who agreed to allow Alexander to use his city, Taxila, as a base of operations. He also agreed to give Alexander all the supplies he needed, something important given Alexander's long supply lines.

 
In exchange, Alexander agreed to fight Porus, a local ruler who set out against Alexander with an army that reportedly included 200 elephants. The two armies met at the Hydaspes River in 326 B.C., with Porus assuming a defensive position on its opposite bank. Alexander bided his time, he scouted the area, built up a fleet of ships and lulled Porus into a false sense of security, having his men make it appear that they were going to cross the river so many times that eventually Porus got tired of responding and just ignored the noise they made.

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Alexander selected a spot on the river with a wooded island and, at night, managed to bring his troops across to the opposite bank. When Porus mobilized his forces he found himself in a predicament, his cavalry was not nearly as experienced as Alexander's and, as such, he put his 200 elephants, something the Macedonians had never faced in large numbers, up front.

 
Alexander responded by using his cavalry to attack the wings of Porus's forces, quickly putting Porus's cavalry to flight. The result was that Porus's horses, foot soldiers and elephants eventually became jumbled together. Making matters worse for Porus, Alexander's phalanx attacked the elephants with javelins, the wounded elephants going on a rampage stomping on both Alexander's and Porus's troops.

With his army falling apart Porus stayed until the end and was captured. Arrian wrote that Porus was brought to the Macedonian king and said "treat me like a king, Alexander." Alexander, impressed with his bravery and words, made him an ally.

The journey home
 
In 324, Alexander's close friend, general and bodyguard Haphaestion died suddenly from fever. Haphaestion's death caused a drastic change in Alexander's personality, said Abernethy. "Alexander had always been a heavy drinker and the substance abuse began to take its toll. He lost his self-control and his compassion for his men. He became reckless, self-indulgent and inconsistent, causing a loss of loyalty by his men and officers. He had always had a violent temper and been rash, impulsive and stubborn. The drinking made these traits worse.

 
He began to press his men too hard. The vision was gone, causing the appearance of fighting just for fighting's sake. The soldiers became exhausted, frustrated and lost their purpose. They refused to go further and Alexander was forced to turn back."

 
Sailing south down the Indus River he fought a group called the Malli, becoming severely wounded after he himself led an attack against their city wall. After reaching the Indian Ocean he split his force in three. One element, with the heavy equipment, would take a relatively safe route to Persia, the second, under his command, would traverse Gedrosia, a largely uninhabited deserted area that no large force had ever crossed before. A third force, embarked on ships, would support Alexander's force and sail alongside them.

 
The Gedrosia crossing was a miserable failure with up to three-quarters of Alexander's troops dying along the way, his fleet being unable to keep up with them due to bad winds. "The burning heat and the lack of water destroyed a great part of the army and particularly the pack animals," Arrian wrote.

Why Alexander chose to lead part of his force through Gedrosia is a mystery. It could simply be because no one had ever attempted to bring such a large force through it before and Alexander wanted to be the first.

Return to Persia
 
Alexander returned to Persia, this time as the ruler of a kingdom that stretched from the Balkans to Egypt to modern day Pakistan. In 324 B.C., he arrived in Susa, where a number of his innermost advisers got married.

 
Alexander took two additional wives in addition to Roxana, whom he had married in central Asia. One was Barsine, daughter of Darius III, and another a Persian woman who Arrian identified as Parysatis. Roxana likely did not take kindly to her two new co-wives and, after Alexander's death, she may have had them both killed.

 
In 323 B.C., Alexander was in Babylon, his next major military target apparently being Arabia on the southern end of his empire. In June 323 B.C., while he was readying troops, he caught a fever that would not go away. He soon had trouble speaking and eventually he died. (Recent research suggests Alexander may have been poisoned.)

 
Shortly before his death, Alexander was supposedly asked who his empire should go to. His answer was said to be "to the strongest man." Although he had an unborn son, and according to recent research an illegitimate son named Argaeus, there was nobody strong enough to hold his empire together. His generals fought over his land and in the end it was divided up into multiple states.

 
In 30 B.C., after the last of these states (Ptolemaic Egypt) was conquered by Rome, the Roman Emperor Octavian went to see the body of Alexander. The great king had been dead for nearly three centuries but was revered by the Romans.

"He (Octavian) had a desire to see the sarcophagus and body of Alexander the Great, which, for that purpose, were taken out of the cell in which they rested and after viewing them for some time, he paid honors to the memory of that prince, by offering a golden crown, and scattering flowers upon the body," wrote Suetonius Tranquillus in the late first century A.D. (Translation by Alexander Thomson, through Perseus Digital Library)

Alexander's legacy
 
"Perhaps the most significant legacy of Alexander was the range and extent of the proliferation of Greek culture," said Abernethy. "The reign of Alexander the Great signaled the beginning of a new era in history known as the Hellenistic Age. Greek culture had a powerful influence on the areas Alexander conquered."

 
Many of the cities that Alexander founded were named Alexandria, including the Egyptian city that is now home to more than 4.5 million people. The many Alexandrias were located on trade routes, which increased the flow of commodities between the East and the West. 

"Goods and customs, soldiers and traders all mingled together," said Abernethy. "There was a common currency and a common language (Greek) uniting the many peoples of the empire. All religions were tolerated. It was to be a golden age that lasted from the death of Alexander in 323 B.C. until 31 B.C., the date of the conquest of the last Hellenistic kingdom by Rome, the Lagid kingdom of Egypt."

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Gambianqueen

Countries With The Best Beaches In The World

The best beaches in the world have long since attracted travellers from all across the world. There’s just something about beaches that appeal to pretty much everyone. Even if you’re not one to spend all day on a beach, a few minutes or even hours on a picturesque sandy beach is something that’s probably an easy yes for most of us.

In fact, I’d go as far as saying many of us plan our holidays around beautiful beaches (beautiful beaches do tend to come hand-in-hand with beautiful weather so there’s a rationale behind those decisions).

If you’re looking to plan a longer holiday and hoping to happen upon beautiful beaches on your travels or perhaps even if you’re looking to centre your holiday around beautiful beaches, here are 11 countries with some of the best beaches in the world


1.) Australia

Australia is a gigantic country (the 6th largest in the world by area) with a huge amount of coastline, so it comes as no surprise that it’s home to some of the best beaches in the world.

The great thing is, whatever type of beach you’re looking for, you’re sure to find it in Australia. From bustling city beaches like Bondi beach, to the tropical white sand and coral reefs of Fraser Island, it has everything.



2.) Spain





Travelers flock to Spain not only for its popular cities (hey Barcelona!)but also for its particularly fantastic beaches.

For some, the words ‘beach’ and ‘Spain’ might bring to mind images of the big holiday resorts with packed beaches in front of rows of grey hotels, but the reality is so much more. From the desert-island-feel of Playa de Ses Illetes on the Balearic Islands to the impressive rock formations of Playa de las Catedrales in Ribadeo, Spain’s coastline is one that just keeps on giving. 😁

3.) Fiji
It’s a popular honeymoon and wedding destination, mainly because with its calm turquoise waters, stunningly white sand and immaculate coral reefs… and probably because Fiji is pretty much anyone’s idea of tropical paradise.
With its 333 tropical islands and over 500 islets, there’s plenty to explore – which is particularly great if you find that spending all your time on a beach isn’t your idea of a perfect holiday. When you’re here (and of course, depending on where you’re staying some beaches worth checking out here are Cove Beach, Liku Beach, and Vatulele Island).


4.) Greece
Whilst the colour of the waters surrounding Greece range from turquoise and emerald right through to dark blue, Greek beaches have long since attracted visitors from Europe, and the world over to come splash around


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The beaches here range from fine white sands to jet black (if you’re on a volcanic island), with golden and red in between (also found on volcanic islands rich in iron). It’s safe to say that whatever your picture of the perfect beach entails, you’re sure to find it somewhere in Greece.

5.) Bali
First of all, Bali is technically not a country (Indonesia is the country) but Bali has its own unique identity (and even its own language) that it feels deserving of its own place on here outside of that of Indonesia as a whole.

For what, once upon a time, used to be a quiet verdant island, Bali has more recently become a rather fashionable (and very fun) destination for many-a-traveller of all ages (like on our flight over – every single age group was represented) and it’s easy to see why.


In addition to its rich culture and fascinating geological features, Bali boasts a huge amount of seriously idyllic beaches. Despite the country’s growing popularity, there are a number of quieter beaches tucked away just waiting to be explored. Seek out hidden gems like Gunung Payung or Pandawa Beach to enjoy the Bali coast away from the crowds.

6.) Hawaii
*Again, not a country are more of a state within a country but definitely another one special enough to get its own independent mention. ðŸ˜

Hawaii is another one of those places we just automatically associate with being the perfect idyllic holiday – even the sunsets here are unlike anywhere else in the world



With its stunning flower blooms, beautiful islands and amazing rather dramatic coastline, Hawaii is already a much-coveted destination. Its gorgeous beaches are really just the icing on the cake. There are lots of different kinds of beaches on here so you’ll definitely find something to make you very happy when you visit
Oh, and if you visit certain islands during whale season, you can head the whales when you’re swimming away in the water

7.) Malaysia
Malaysia’s beaches have a huge amount to offer, whatever it is you’re looking for. Adventure junkies and budding mermaids can explore the country’s gorgeous coast by scuba diving (or, if you’re not certified yet – by snorkelling).
Foodies can take advantage of some of the world’s best (and freshest) seafood. Many of the beaches are shrouded in thick rainforest, giving them that real tropical island feels.

8.) The Philippines
The Philippines is made up of 7,107 islands so as you can imagine, there’s not really much of a shortage of beaches here. Its tropical sandy beaches are notoriously beautiful (the notoriety has increased dramatically in recent times.

Like seriously, just google “Philippines Beach” and you’ll see what I mean, and seeing as there are so many of them, it’s not a huge challenge to find yourself that beach that’s just perfect for you.

The highlight here is easily El Nido in Palawan, where you can try caving, kayaking and climbing if you don’t fancy (or are done with) lying on the sand all day. Check out some more reasons why you need to visit Palawan in the Philippines (home to some of the best beaches in the world), below.

9.) The Maldives
Oh, the Maldives! We’ve gone on and on here about how amazing the Maldives are and honestly, even after visiting twice, I’m still very crazy about these islands in the Indian Ocean.
Oh, the Maldives! We’ve gone on and on here about how amazing the Maldives are and honestly, even after visiting twice, I’m still very crazy about these islands in the Indian Ocean.
Suffice to say, the Maldives is easily one of those island countries you have to visit, if for nothing else but for the chance to relax on some of the best beaches in the world! Check out the link below for more info and tips to

10.) The Seychelles
The Seychelles is home to some of the best beaches in the world and is another place that’s reminiscent of the Maldives. Although it’s a lot bigger than most of the islands you’d visit in the Maldives, you shouldn’t let that put you off though – the Seychelles are amazing!




Possibly the most laidback piece of paradise in the Seychelles is Praslin Island. Its truly laid-back vibe and the impressive backdrop of the islands’ rock formations make the Seychelles a firm favourite amongst sunseekers

11.) Cuba
Cuba’s sprawling stretch of beaches is touched by two major oceans: the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean (each of which brings its own different advantage).

It’s a sub-tropical country, so in Cuba, it’s beach time all year round. 😎🍹🏖 Cuba’s Spanish culture also throws in a fantastic vibe to the proceedings
When you do visit Cuba, as nice as the beaches are, I’d definitely recommend doing yourself a favour and heading outside of your resort (preferably with the guidance of an expert) to explore the more rustic (read: real) side of Cuba to get a real sense of what life is like here.

You can get beautiful beaches in a lot of places across the world but it’s the people that can truly set a place apart and that’s no truer than in Cuba. And you know what, if beaches aren’t your thing, just pop over to Havana to explore its amazing sites.

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Gambianqueen

An Exploratory Study On The Impact Of Daily Activities On The Pleasure And Physical Activity Of Older Adults

Abstract
Background
Pleasure is one determinant of intrinsic motivation and yet a dimension often forgotten when promoting physical activity among the older population. In this study we investigate the relation between daily activities and physical activity, experience of pleasure, and the interaction between pleasure and physical activity in the daily lives of community-dwelling older adults.

Methods
Participants carried a hip-worn accelerometer during 30 consecutive days resulting in a total of 320 days of data collection. Current activity, location, companion and experience of pleasure during each activity were assessed through experience sampling on a smartphone every 1–2 h. Between- and within-individual differences were analysed with multi-level models and 10xN = 1 regression analysis.

Results
Outdoor activities were associated with higher physical activity than indoor activities (p < 0.001). Performing leisure activities, outdoors and not alone significantly predicted pleasure in daily life (all p’s < 0.05). Being more active while performing leisure activities resulted in higher experiences of pleasure (p < 0.001). However, when performing basic activities of daily living (e.g. commuting or households) this relation was inverted. Results provide meaningful indication for individual variance. The 30 days of data collected from each participant allow for identification of individual differences.

Conclusions
Daily activities and their contexts do influence the experience of pleasure and physical activity of older adults in daily life of older adults, although similar research with larger population is recommended. Results are in accordance with the literature, indicating that the method adopted (accelerometry combined with experience sampling) provides reliable representation of daily life. Identification of individual differences can eventually be automatically performed through data mining techniques. Further research could look at innovative approaches to promote Active Ageing using mobile technology in the daily life, by promoting physical activity through recommendation of pleasurable activities, and thus likely to increase the intrinsic motivation to become physically active.
Background
An active lifestyle provides powerful benefits in the general health and wellbeing of the older adults aged 65 years and above. An adequate level of physical activity, combining aerobic activity, muscle-strength and balance training, improves the overall physical function, delaying functional decline and supporting independent living. To be physically active includes, but it is not limited to, participate in structured physical exercise. It also means to be active throughout the day, for example, by avoiding long periods of inactivity. Low-intensity walking activity is also suggested to be associated with better health [1]. The ‘Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health’ from the World Health Organization, highlight the importance of daily activities, such as household chores, games and transportation [2]. At the same time, older adults should maintain an active lifestyle also in terms of being engaged with their community and environment [3]. Some older adults can achieve an active lifestyle by themselves; however, others might benefit from an external nudge to become active [4]. Technology can play an important role here, by incorporating several strategies to support people in being physically active and actively engaged in their social environments.

The research presented in this manuscript is the first step towards the development of a tailored approach to promote physical activity and mental wellbeing in the daily lives of the older adults, through the recommendation of pleasurable, or enjoyable, activities. However, before designing an intervention, it is important to deepen the current knowledge on the interactions between physical activity, positive emotions and daily activities, being this the focus of the presented study. There are several reasons for this. First, participation in pleasurable activities in older age is associated with better physiological function and better sleep [5], improving general health and wellbeing. Second, there is growing evidence supporting the link between positive emotions and general health [6–10]. Third, according to the Broaden-and-Build Theory, those who experience higher levels of positive emotions are more likely to build a variety of resources, such as environmental mastery and social support [11]. These resources improve resilience to change, a very important characteristic for this population, as biological and social changes are likely to occur. Furthermore, the ‘upward spiral of lifestyle changes’ [12], a derivation from the previous theory, defends that positive emotions act as openers for acceptance and adoption of new behaviours, key characteristics when promoting behaviour change. Finally, according to the Self-Determination Theory, the enjoyment or pleasure experienced is an intrinsic motivator to repeat a certain activity [13], also already evaluated in the physical activity context [14]. One can thus hypothesize that people are more inclined to do what they like to do. This means that, when suggested an activity that they are familiar with, and have previous positive experiences with, they are more likely to follow the recommendation.

When aiming at increasing physical activity through promotion of pleasurable activity, it is important to take a deep look at the individual daily life contexts, and their impact on physical activity and emotional experience while performing the regular daily activities. Gaining this insight is only possible by looking at the routine over several weeks. Mobile technology provides the means to gather real-time information in daily life for long periods of time [15]. Accelerometers and experience sampling have been successfully used in the past to evaluate the contexts of sedentary behaviour among older adults [16], in which most of the sedentary time was performed within the home environment and alone. Also, the influence of contexts on positive affect during physical activity has been evaluated using a similar method with the adult population in which it was reported that social activities might enhance positive emotions while performing physical activity [17]. However, none of the studies above mentioned looked at several weeks period within individual. Our study intends to extend the previous studies by investigating: (1) how do daily activities relate to physical activity, (2) how do daily activities relate to the experience of pleasure, and (3) how do daily activities influence the relation between physical activity and pleasure in the daily lives of the older adults. Combining the information gathered on the influence of daily activities on physical activity and experience of pleasure in daily life, we can further work on developing technology-ased interventions that will support older adults becoming more active through the promotion of pleasurable activities. Moreover, this research contributes to the understanding of emotions in the daily lives of the older population.

Research Hypothesis
We establish that daily activities are defined by five categories: location (where the person is), activity (what the person is doing), social companion (with whom is the person doing the activity), emotional experience (how is the person feeling) and physical activity (amount of movement performed). Similar categorization is adopted in other studies relating daily context information to physical activity in daily life (e.g. [16, 17]). We have four hypotheses that are investigated in the current study.

H1. Social activities are more pleasurable than activities performed alone. The social environment plays a clear role on the wellbeing of the population. Participation in social activities has constantly been associated with higher experience of general wellbeing [18] and positive emotions [19–22].
H2. Outdoors activities are more pleasurable than activities performed at home. Previous research suggests that outdoor activities are associated with higher levels of positive emotions in the older population [19, 23, 24]. However, Gagliardi et al., when comparing German and Italian population, found a significant relation in the German population but not in the Italian, suggesting that there are cultural differences [19].
H3. Leisure activities are more pleasurable than basic activities of daily living. Time spent in recreational/hobby activities is a predictor of daily mood independently on level of cognitive impairment [23]. Participation in leisure activities increases overall levels of positive emotions [20] and delays functional decline [25].
H4. There is no relation between physical activity and pleasure. There is solid evidence for the benefits of exercise programs on mental health [26, 27]. However, the relation between physical activity and positive emotions is much less explored. There is some small evidence for relation between positive emotions and physical activity [28] but further work needs to be done to understand the mechanisms influencing this relation. We hypothesize that there is no relation because we choose an emotion, pleasure, that is not, per se, associated with high or low arousal emotions. Pleasure can be experienced with very relaxing activities but also with very exciting ones.
Methods
Participants and Setting
Ten community-dwelling volunteers were recruited from the area of Enschede, the Netherlands. Volunteers were invited for an interview in office, or at a location of their choice, in which the background, objectives and setting of the study were explained. Duration of the interviews was adjusted according to the technology affinity of each subject. Older adults included in the study reported being actively engaged in the community (e.g. performing volunteer work or integrated in associations) and did not have any limitations on activities of daily living, assessed with the Katz Index [29]. These inclusion criteria aimed to identify role models in the older population. When these criteria were met, the system composed of an accelerometer and a mobile phone was given to the subjects, together with a detailed manual explaining all the functionalities. The participants were encouraged to contact the research team in case of any doubt or problem with the technology. After 2 weeks, the researchers contacted the participants to guarantee that they were still engaged with the research. Approximately 1 month after the first interview, the participants were contacted to set up a new meeting to return the technology and finalize the study. The first five subjects participated in the study between October and November of 2014 and the other five in the same months of 2015. Written informed consent was obtained from all volunteers, and a small compensation was provided for participating in the study.

Table 1 summarizes the demographic and health related information of the subjects. Ten older adults (aged 65–83; M = 68.7, SD = 5.5, four males) participated in the study during approximately 30 days (range 24 to 38 days). Three participants were living alone at the time of the study and all participants had a computer and internet at home. Nine participants were considered robust and one was pre-frail. None of the participants had physical or cognitive functioning limitations. All participants had normal nutrition status according to the MNA; however, four participants were pre-obese and one was obese, on basis of the BMI.

Table 1 Basic characteristics of study participants
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Measurements
Health status
Health condition was assessed on basis of frailty and in three specific domains: physical, cognitive and nutritional. This assessment follows the frailty screening used within the PERSSILAA project (http://www.perssilaa.eu). General frailty was assessed with the Groningen Frailty Indicator [30], in which a score higher than four indicates ‘frailty’. Physical limitations were assessed using the Katz Index [29] (score higher than four considered robust) and the physical functioning scale of the Short Form-36 Health Survey [31] (score higher than 60 considered robust).

Physical activity
Physical activity was measured throughout the day with the Activity Coach, a system composed of a hip-worn three-axial accelerometer and a smartphone application (for more information on the platform refer to [32]). This application has been used in several research projects in the rehabilitation and health promotion field in the past (e.g. [33–35]). The acceleration was quantified as Integral Module of Acceleration (IMA) per minute, with ax, ay and az representing the accelerometer output in the three dimensions and T the time interval of integration, as presented in Equation (1):

IMA(t)=1t(∫tt−T|ax|dt+∫tt−T|ay|dt+∫tt−T|az|dt).IMA(t)=1t(∫t−Tt|ax|dt+∫t−Tt|ay|dt+∫t−Tt|az|dt).
For more information refer to [36]. The participants did not receive any physical activity goal or feedback during the measurement period.

Daily environments
The daily environments and pleasure experienced during the activities were assessed by experience sampling method [37] on the Activity Coach smartphone application. The participants were prompted approximately every hour from 8 AM to 8 PM with a question asking what they were doing at that moment. A set of common activities (e.g. preparing food, eating, resting, and playing with children) was shown on the screen as well as the option to manually input an additional activity. After reporting the activity, the subjects were asked about the location where the activity took place (home, workplace, somewhere outside or somewhere inside) and the social companion while performing that activity (e.g. alone, spouse, and friends). The name of the activity was continuously displayed so that the participants had a reference on the activity they were reporting on.

Pleasure
Pleasure is the outcome variable of this study and it was assessed on the smartphone. Pleasure is an important concept within health promotion research as, according to the Self-Determination Theory [13], previous experience of pleasure while performing an activity is an intrinsic motivator to repeat that activity. Therefore, a focus on pleasurable activities is expected to enhance healthy behaviours. Pleasure, being a composite variable, knows different extents of arousal or activation, from calmness to alert. However, as a first explorative study and do not wanting to increase the demand from the participants, we have chosen pleasure as an operationalization of the positive semi-axis of the valence dimension of emotions. In other words, participants were asked about their general experience of pleasure, not looking at whether that experience was accompanied by an experience of low activation (e.g. calmness) or high activation (e.g. excitement). For more information about the circumplex model of affect refer to the work of Russell over the past 30 years. After reporting on the activity currently being performed, location and social companion, the respondents rated on a visual analogue scale, ranging from 0 (not at all) to 10 (totally), how pleasurable that activity was to perform.

Participants were measured for a total of 320 days. In total, 2301 experience sampling points (ES-points) were collected with the number of points per subject ranging from 186 to 318. When looking at the whole sample, approximately three thirds of the activities were performed at home (59–88%), more than half of the activities were performed alone (30–96%) and the proportion of activities reported as bADL and leisure was approximately 50% (33–58%). Table 2 summarizes the characteristics of the study and frequency of answers. Outcome variable pleasure did not show severe deviations from normality for the whole sample neither within subject.

Table 2 Study time characteristics of all participants and range per subject
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Data analysis
Pre-processing
The outcome variable pleasure was transformed to provide an indication of variability. Considering that some subjects only use part of the scale (e.g. 7–9 points) and others used the full scale, using the raw values, an increase of 0.5 points in pleasure would represent a significant change for some subjects, but not for others. Therefore, we normalized the values of pleasure within subject so that 0 and 100 correspond to the minimal and maximal value of pleasure, respectively. In this case, 50 (per cent) corresponds to the median value of pleasure reported by each subject. The tests for the distribution of the transformed pleasure suggest normality in terms of skewness (−0.9) and kurtosis (2.49).

To calculate the amount of physical activity performed during an activity, we established, for each experience sampling event (ES-event), a 10-min time window centred in the moment of answering the questionnaire on the smartphone. The total IMA performed during this period was considered. It is known from previous technical trials that sensors can provide abnormal high values of IMA, for example, due to bumps. Therefore, outliers of IMA values were filtered, resulting in a pre-analysis filtering of 2% of the data points. Due to the high positive skewness of the raw values of IMA, we applied the cubic root and the data distributions suggested normality (skewness 0.08, kurtosis −1.1). Finally, outliers were removed resulting in a final sample of 2219 ES-events.

Types of activities, locations and social companions were categorized in dichotomous variables. Activities related to self-care, eating, performing households and commuting were considered as basic activities of daily living (bADL) as these are activities that each individual is, somehow, obliged to do. All other activities were classified as ‘leisure’ activities. This distinction was not performed on basis of the intensity of physical activity associated with each daily activity, but, instead, on basis of the assumption of the motivation why the individual performed each activity. While the activities defined as bADL correspond the activities that the person has to do (for surviving or for being able to perform other activities, as in commuting), the activities considered as leisure incorporate all the non-mandatory activities, such as going out or relaxation. Location was dichotomized as ‘at home’ and ‘not at home’. In terms of social companion, each event was classified as being performed ‘alone’ or ‘not alone’.

General mechanisms predictors of physical activity in daily life
Multilevel regression analysis were performed using SPSS version 22 with repeated measurements nested within subjects. Fixed- and random effects were calculated with type of activity, location and social companion as predictors.

General mechanisms predictors of pleasure in daily life
Multilevel regression analysis was also performed in this case with repeated measurements nested within subjects. Model 0 was the null model (without predictors) revealing how much variance in pleasure was associated with subject differences. In model 1 we added the main effects of the daily environments (i.e. type of activity, location and social companion). Model 2 included physical activity as a predictor of pleasure. Based on graphical visualization of variability of pleasure, we denoted that the day of the week, particularly Monday’s, seemed to have an influence on pleasure. Therefore, in model 2 we added ‘Monday’ as predictor of pleasure. Model 3 included interaction between physical activity and each property of daily environments. Finally, Model 4 included the subject-level predictors (age, gender, frailty indicator, physical functioning and body mass index (BMI)).

Individual mechanisms analysis
We have tested the possibility of including random slopes but the models could not be reliably estimated by SPSS, leading to problems of convergence, most likely due to the small sample size (N = 10). Therefore, we decided to run models only with a random intercept. Post hoc random variability was investigated by performing linear regression models (10 times N = 1).
Results
General mechanisms predictors of physical activity in daily life
Type of activity, location and social companion while performing an activity significantly predicted physical activity in our sample (p < 0.001). Leisure activities required less physical activity than bADL (b = −3.23, t = −11.92). Regarding the location, activities performed outdoors were associated with higher levels of physical activity (b = −3.28, t = 10.14). Social activities required, in general, less physical activity than activities performed alone (b = −1.96, t = −6.43). There was significant variance of intercept across models suggesting variability between subjects. Table 3 provides the results of this analysis. Random slopes analysis were almost significant for social companion and type of activity, suggesting significant different effect between subjects.

Table 3 Predictors of physical activity in the daily life of older adults living independently
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General mechanisms predictors of pleasure in daily life
In the following analysis we used the normalized values of pleasure within subject with zero corresponding to the minimum value of pleasure indicated by the subject, 100 to the maximum and 50 to the median value. An intra-class correlation of 0.41 provided strong evidence to nest repeated measurements within subjects, meaning that 41% of the variation of pleasure between measurements could be explained by subject differences. Table 4 provides the results of multilevel models 0 to 4.

Table 4 Predictors of pleasure in the daily lives of older adults living independently
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Table 5 Results of the regression analysis for each participant in the study
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H1. Social activities are more pleasurable than activities performed alone
Social companion (alone vs. with someone else) is a strong predictor of the experience of pleasure while performing an activity, despite the other predictors. Activities performed with someone else provided 6% more pleasure than activities performed alone (p < 0.001, Models 1, 2 and 4), confirming our initial hypothesis.

H2. Outdoors activities are more pleasurable than activities performed at home
Outdoors activities resulted in an increase of pleasure of 2% above the median value when compared to activities performed at home (p < 0.05, Models 1 and 4, p < 0.01 Model 2), also when adding all other predictors, confirming our hypothesis.

H3. Leisure activities are more pleasurable than basic activities of daily living
Type of activity (leisure vs. bADL) was found to be the strongest predictor of pleasure. Performing a leisure activity, results in an increase of 10% of pleasure above the median when compared to bADL (Models 1 and 2, p < 0.001), confirming the hypothesis.

H4. There is no relation between physical activity and pleasure
Contrarily to what hypothesized, amount of physical activity while performing an activity was a weak, but statistically significant, predictor of pleasure, with more physical activity resulting in 2% less experience of pleasure (Model 2, p < 0.05). When looking at the interaction effects between physical activity and properties of daily living, only the interaction between type of activity and physical activity was a significant predictor of pleasure (p < 0.001, Model 3). While engaged in leisure activities more physical activity results in higher levels of pleasure while in bADL, more physical activity results in less experience of pleasure (see Fig. 1).

Fig. 1




Relation between physical activity (IMA) and deviation from the median value of pleasure when performing leisure activities (solid line) and bADL (dashed line). When looking at the full sample of activities, more physical activity relates to less experience of pleasure. However, when looking only at the subsample of leisure activities, more physical activity is associated with more pleasure while performing the activity
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Post-hoc analysis
None of the subject level characteristics was a significant predictor of pleasure at p < 0.05. Based on post-hoc analysis, we included Monday as a predictor of pleasure. Activities performed on Monday’s resulted on less pleasure than activities performed on the remaining weekdays (p < 0.01, Models 2–4). This effect remains significant even when adding other predictors and interactions.

Individual mechanisms
As the reduced sample size did not allow us to look at random effects, we performed individual analyses with linear regression models. The predictors are the same as in the Model 3 of the multilevel analysis. Table 5 provides the results of this analysis, with the strength of the predictors differing strongly among participants. Whereas the pleasure of some subjects is significantly predicted by one or two properties of daily environments (e.g. participant 2 and 4), the experience of pleasure of other participants does not appear to be influenced by daily environments (e.g. participant 5 and 6). For three out of the ten participants, activities performed accompanied represented approximately 15% more pleasure than their personal median value of pleasure, social companion being the most relevant determinant of daily environments in pleasure. We can see that for both the full sample and individual participants, performing an activity with someone else predicts higher pleasure than performing the same activity alone.

Figure 2 shows the relation between physical activity and pleasure for each subject and the average for the overall sample population considering the location, social companion and type of activity performed. Also visually individual differences are clear with for example, opposite slope signs when looking at the outdoors context. In this case, the original values of pleasure are shown (i.e. not the normalized values) in order to provide a loyal representation of the individual answers. Furthermore, this representation provides a clearer visualization considering that the participants use different parts of the pleasure scale, as already mentioned, and we want to show the variability within individual.

Fig. 2

Impact of daily activities and their contexts on the relation between physical activity and pleasure. Individual (dashed lines) and group trends (blue and green lines) on the relation between physical activity and pleasure categorized according to location (top), companion (middle) and type of activity (bottom)
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Discussion
The objectives of this study were to perform an exploratory investigation on (1) how daily activities relate to physical activity, (2) how daily activities relate to the experience of pleasure, and (3) to which extent these daily activities explain the interaction between pleasure and physical activity, in the daily lives of community-dwelling older adults. Data was collected with an accelerometer and experience sampling on a smartphone. No feedback was provided to the participants during the study. The results of our study confirm the first three hypothesis which stated that social activities, outdoor activities and leisure activities are more pleasurable than activities performed alone, indoor activities and basic activities of daily living, respectively. However, the last hypothesis, stating that there is no relation between physical activity and pleasure, is partially rejected. This result suggest that the type of daily activity as a moderator effect in the relation between physical activity and pleasure.

This research was designed to gather information for the design of strategies to promote physical activity through recommendation of pleasurable activities. Preliminary recommendations for technology development can be drawn from the presented study.

First, our results support the idea of tailoring interventions when promoting pleasurable activities. Although general effects can be taken from the full sample, looking at the results of the within-individual analysis, we see that, as expected, the predictors of pleasure are highly personal. By gathering data over approximately 30 consecutive days (ranging from 24 to 38, according to the availability of each individual), we can conclude that there are individual differences. Taking into account the market growth of mobile devices to monitor physical activity, also outside the scientific domain, in the future, individual differences might be detected automatically using data mining techniques. Interventions can thus be tailored to the preferences and needs of the individuals, even in the cases that the preferences change over time.

Second, older adults spend most of their time at home and alone. This fact is certainly not surprising, but the proportions are, by the fact that our sample was relatively healthy, and active in the community, representing, what we named as, the role models. The study took place during Winter time, and therefore, people are more likely to spend time at home. However, it is still remarkable that, for example, in one of the subjects, 88% of the activities reported during 1 month took place at home and 96% alone. The World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of being engaged in the community and environments for a healthy lifestyle [3]. Interventions that stimulate social inclusion of older adults are highly recommended as well as interventions that coach the individual to go outdoors, as the home setting is where the older adults spend most of their sedentary time [16].

Third, motivation of physical activity by proxy is recommended based on our results, expanding the results from [28]. By motivation by proxy, a coaching strategy that motivates people to engage in outdoor- or social activities, increasing physical activity indirectly. For example, instead of recommend an individual to go for a walk, one can inform about a new exhibition in the local museum. By going to this exhibition, the individual needs to move. Combining the results from objective 1 and 2, we see that promotion of outdoors activities are the most valuable considering that these activities result both in higher experience of pleasure and more physical activity. Promotion of leisure activities is also highly recommended, as the experience of pleasure increases with physical activity when individuals are engaged in leisure activities, but not in bADL. Post-hoc analysis suggests that this effect in bADL is due to household activities. It is known that household activities are a source of physical activity in the daily living [38], however, our study suggests that it is not the most pleasurable one, and therefore, not likely to be a good motivator to perform physical activity.

Fourth, we can see that 30 days of measurement, with approximately six events per day, generates enough data to analyse the influence of daily environments on the experience of pleasure. However, this is a very demanding procedure which should be reduced in the future. Future research could investigate whether it is possible to obtain the same degree of information with a shorter study. Participants of the study reported that answering questions every hour for 1 month is an annoying task. However, identifying what is pleasurable for each individual without becoming cumbersome remains challenging. New technological developments such as emotion recognition tools (either using facial expression recognition or bio sensing) might provide the means for less obtrusive research in this area. Automatic assessments of emotions assume even higher importance when seeing that the interpretation of the feeling pleasure and quantification in a scale is highly personal. While some subjects made use of the full scale (0 to 10) others limited themselves to a short range. This might have to do with personality or with other factors. This means that looking at the exact place of the VAS chosen is not a good measure. Instead, in our data analysis we normalized the values to correspond to a deviance from the median. Rocke et al. reported that older adults report low variability rates of positive affect when compared to younger adults [39]. The use of the hip-worn accelerometer can also become obtrusive. This is likely to be overcome rapidly with the consumer oriented lifestyle devices to promote physical activity becoming smaller, and being used by more people every year. Objective monitoring of physical activity of the older population might be a promising addition to conventional questionnaires, as there is evidence that the objective measurement provides more reliable information [40].

To the best of our knowledge, our exploratory study is innovative for the variety of data gathered, and the combination of methods used to gather information during the course of 1 month among the older population. From each participant, we obtained health related information, lifestyle behaviours, emotional- and context-information for a period of approximately 30 days. Furthermore, we made use of three distinct data acquisition methods: conventional standardized questionnaires, on-body sensing and experience sampling. These factors combined provide very valuable knowledge, because, contrarily to most of the studies developed in the past, our data was acquired in real-time, in the daily life of the participants, instead of using a questionnaire that asks previous experiences. We believe that only in this way one can get a reliable view of the daily behaviours. Further research should be performed by analysing more distinct categories of the properties of daily environments, instead of dichotomous variables. For example, in terms of social companion, one could look at how the experience of pleasure and physical activity are influenced by the fact that an activity is performed with the partner, relatives or even specific friends. Future research could also look separately at routine and non-routine activities. Bouisson & Swendsen suggest that breaks in the routine improve the wellbeing of the older adults, even the ones who claim that they prefer routine [41]. Finally, we encourage researchers to verify if tailored interventions for promotion of physical activity based on the preferences and enjoyment of the individuals do increase adherence, as suggested by the Self-Determination Theory [13].

Our study has limitations. First, although the subjects were told to adapt the measurement period to their own routine, the battery of the phone and the accelerometer limited the measurement period to a maximum of 12 h. Considering that mostly the subjects would start measuring in the morning, the evening period was not considered in our studies. Assuming that in the evening period, people are more likely to do relaxation activities within the home environment, this means that people spend more time at home than reported. Secondly, the visual analogue scale was experienced as being difficult to use, as the interpretation of the scale differed per participant, as well as where to locate the finger in the scale. For future studies we suggest the use of Likert scales instead of visual analogue scales. Still regarding the outcome variable, in this study we were only interested in investigating the experience of positive emotions. To avoid over complicate the study, we have only looked at the valence dimension (positive axis “Pleasant”) and did look at different experiences of the arousal, or activation, dimension. We recommend researchers to look at the several discrete emotions corresponding to different arousals, from deactivation to activation, following the circumplex models of emotion [42, 43]. Regarding the data analysis there are two points for discussion. First, we reduced the granularity of the data grouping variables in dichotomous variables. Although this grouping provides already very interesting results, further analysis should be performed with the original categories. Second, in the calculation of the physical activity related to a daily activity, we considered a time window of 10 min centred in the moment of answering the question. This is likely to be arguable, however, our sensitivity analysis with several lengths and time shifts did not show any significant difference. Finally, there is clear the issue of the small sample size. However, as stated in our objectives, we were aiming at getting deep insight in within person analysis, and that objective was met. Further studies should be performed with a larger sample and look at possible predictors of pleasure and physical activity, such as depression or years after retirement.
Conclusions
Our exploratory study suggests that daily activities and their environments do have an impact on the experience of pleasure, physical activity, and relation between physical activity and pleasure, with significant differences between subjects. We also see that older adults are willing to use wearables for periods of 1 month. . Based on this exploratory study, the use of sensors and experience sampling seems a promising addition to the conventional questionnaires to investigate the relation between physical activity and positive emotions and the mediator effect of the daily activities.