Yearlong tour goes ’round the world

LOS ANGELES >> For $75,000, bold travelers can spend an entire year visiting 34 countries on five continents.

Intrepid Travel is offering a yearlong trip starting in Bangkok on Feb. 3 and ending in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The itinerary hits Antarctica, Bolivia, Botswana, Cambodia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Peru, Vietnam, Zimbabwe and 14 other counties, including U.S. destinations.

Accommodations will range from camps in the bush to hotels, cruise ships, bungalows and overnight sleeper trains.

Excursions include the pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China and an African safari.

Details at intrepidtravel.com/365-day-adventure. Travelers with more limited time may book portions of the trip.

Winners to get peek at panda cub

WASHINGTON >> The National Zoo says winners of an Instagram contest will be invited to be among the first to meet panda cub Bei Bei.

The cub, who was born Aug. 22, is set to make his public debut Jan. 16. The zoo said in a statement Tuesday that it will choose 25 people to see the cub as part of a “behind-the-scenes experience.”

To enter the contest, the zoo asks participants to make a 15-second or shorter video using Instagram that explains why they want to be part of the event and to fill out a registration form by Monday.

Winners will be notified by Friday, and the behind-the-scenes viewing is scheduled for Dec. 19.

Egypt’s artifacts on view in London

LONDON >>The British Museum is planning its first major exhibition of underwater archaeology with a showing of artifacts from two of Egypt’s “sunken cities.”

Officials said Monday that the six-month exhibit set to open in May will contain 300 objects. The items have been unearthed off the coast of Alexandria in Egypt over the past 20 years.

The artifacts originate from the cities of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus, which have been submerged at the mouth of the Nile River for more than 1,000 years. Earlier attempts to find articles from the cities failed.

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