Travel photos of the week: Dec. 8
Great shots from around the world, including pandas, camel rides and colourful bears
Foreign tourists ride an elephant during a sightseeing tour in the ancient city of Sigiriya on December 2, 2011. The number of foreign tourists visiting Sri Lanka has swelled since the island ended a 37-year separatist conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels.ISHARA S.KODIKARA
Mongolian tribesmen take part in a camel race during a winter Naadam festival in Hulun Buir, north China's Inner Mongolia region on December 2, 2011, in the latest event to promote tourism in the cold winter months.STR
Mongolians wear tribal costumes to impress tourists during the winter Naadam festival in Hulun Buir, north China's Inner Mongolia region, on December 2, 2011.STR
People stroll during the annual Christmas lighting illumination along Krakowskie Przedmiescie street, part of the historical Trakt Krolewski (Royal Route), in Warsaw December 1, 2011.KACPER PEMPEL
The Monaco palace is decorated with Christmas lights on December 5, 2011.ERIC GAILLARD
A woman views the United Buddy Bears outside a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011. The United Buddy Bears are on a world tour to promote living together in peace and harmony.Lai Seng Sin
A tourist takes a photo of himself during a family camel ride at the Giza pyramids near Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011.Bela Szandelszky
A tourist take pictures of Venice's newly renovated Bridge of Sighs on December 1, 2011.ANDREA PATTARO
Tourists take pictures inside Venice's Bridge of Sighs. The restoration work lasted for three years.ANDREA PATTARO
A woman looks at the landscape in the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Cuzco, Peru, December 5, 2011. The citadel was elected as the first destination to visit in the online contest '1000 Places To See Before You Die.'PILAR OLIVARES
The pipe band from the British Army's Royal Scots Dragoon Guards regiment march past St. Giles Cathedral in the Royal Mile during a homecoming parade in Edinburgh, Scotland on December 1, 2011.DAVID MOIR
Panda Yang Guang settles into his new home at the Edinburgh Zoo on Sunday Dec. 4, 2011. It will be his home for the next 10 years.Rob McDougall
The Christ the Redeemer statue is lit up in red atop the Corcovado mountain during a World AIDS Day event in Rio de Janeiro, December 1, 2011.RICARDO MORAES
Tourist enjoy the installation Tempest by Brian Tolle as part of Art Basel's Public Art Series at Collins Park in Miami Beach, Fla., on December 1, 2011.PAULA BUSTAMANTE
Visitors walk on the deck of a boat during the Paris Boat show on December 2, 2011.CHARLES PLATIAU
A section of a public beach is seen in this aerial view of the Dead Sea December 5, 2011.BAZ RATNER
A worker walks Christmas decorations at a shopping mall in the Mong Kok region of Hong Kong on December 6, 2011. Shopping malls in the city are showcasing extravagent holiday decorations in an attempt to attract customer traffic.AARON TAM
A man transports tourists on a three-wheel cyclo past the Hanoi Opera House December 2, 2011. A total of 5.42 million foreigners visited Vietnam in the first 11 months of this year, a rise of nearly 18 per cent from a year earlier.KHAM
Tourists attempt to photograph an Indian blue peafowl at the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, Malaysia, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. The park houses more than 3,000 birds representing more than 200 species.Mark Baker
Tourists walk outside the al-Hussein mosque in the old city of Cairo on December 4, 2011. According to belief, the head of Imam Hussein, the grandson of prophet Mohammed, is buried in the mosque.MAHMUD HAMS