Today’s Youtube pick is of the Cunard cruise liner the Queen Victoria. It’s the newest in the Cunard fleet and pretty darn flash judging by the video above. She is the running mate to the RMS Queen Mary 2 and RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (until the QE2 is retired later this year). A sister ship is also planned to be built named the Queen Elizabeth, this is amazing that Cunard will have 3 fairly new luxury liners at sea as it wasn’t long ago many predicted the death of cruise travel. Today cruising has become big business with heaps of new ships launched each year all trying to out do each other.
Posts from ‘February, 2008’
Bloomin Cherries in Japan
The Japanese Cherry festivals are only a month away from reaching Tokyo and if the blossoms in the southern city of Naha are any indication this year is going to be one of the most spectacular for many years. The festivals move from south to north to coincide with the blossoming and attract thousands of tourists from all over the world to see these beautiful pink blooms. Blooms are a little later this year so some of the festivals might be a week or so later than they were last year, the weather plays a big role in the flowering. Ueno Park is one of Tokyo’s best parks for viewing the blossoms and a fantastic place to join in the festival with food, drink and plenty of attractions for all. The park features over 1000 trees and they are an amazing sight when in full bloom with the castle and city backdrops. You need to pick your spot in the park pretty early as thousands flock to the grasslands to sit back have a drink or two and enjoy the cherry blossom celebrations.
Living on your own private island
Above is a promo video for “The World” project in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is a collection of man made islands constructed 4 klm of Dubai’s coast mostly from sand dredged from the sea bed. Shaped rougthly like a map of the world the island’s went on sale for around 15 to 50 million US $ and there are some grand plans for a few resorts to spring up over the next few years. Currently there aint much here but Dubai is pooring heaps of coin into attracting tourist’s planing ahead for when they run out of oil, so keep an eye on The World for your next big resort holiday. Read the rest of this entry »
Spam Museum- sure beats an art museum
In the good old days Spam wast a bad email it was some kind of canned meat product which contains ham and pork and today it is as popular as ever. Since 1937 over 6 billion cans of the stuff has been sold and over 90 million cans of it were sold last year alone. A version of it became very popular during the war when food was scarce and being supplied in an air tight tin became a great food to send to the troops. So why not have a museum to celebrate this amazing food. The 16500 sq foot museum was actually a K Mart before being transformed into this wonderful gastronomical centre of fun. The museum is in the home town of Spam, Austin in Minnesota. And guess what there’s a great gift shop at the end of the tour where you can buy some great spam stuff, t-shirts, novelties and of course a few cans of delicious Spam. The best thing about the Spam museum is it’s free!
The Giant Beaver at Beaverlodge Alberta
Imagine a beaver 15 ft tall, 18 feet long and 10 feet wide weighing in at 3000 points well next to highway 43 in Beaverlodge Alberta you might just see one. But don’t be too alarmed he is not going to eat you alive he is made of foam, steel and polyurethane. The beaver was built in 2004 as part of the towns 75th anniversary celebrations and had become the town’s favorite attraction. The areas around Beaverlodge as you would expect by the name are homes to the beaver which is the world’s largest rodent. These busy little fellows build dams in the waters out of mud, stones and branches. Read the rest of this entry »
Valentines Day, with your partner and a llama
What could be a more romantic way to spend Valentines Day, with your partner and a llama, well if you are near Guilford in England which is about 40 minutes from the centre of London, you can have just this. The day starts with a romantic llama trek, thought he scenic hills of Surry which are looking quiet lovely although bloody cold. The trek lasts about 2 1/2 hours before ending up at a Percy’s Arms Pub at St. Martha’s Hill for a three course carvery and a glass of champagne, the dinner is for you and your partner, the llama has to stay out side. You can spend the afternoon knocking back a few pints of lager before heading home with your loved one or the llama.
The worlds longest laundry chute
The Grand Hyatt Shanghai is in the business centre of Pundong and not only is the world highest hotel it also has the worlds highest pool and the world’s longest laundry chute running the full length of the tower. The chute has baffles along the cavity to slow the laundry down during it’s decent to the basement. The hotel is located on the 53rd to 88th floors of the Jin Mao Building which is the worlds 3rd tallest building. The rooms offer spectacular views of the Bund, Huang Pu River and the city when the weather is clear. The hotel is one of the most luxurious and beautiful hotels in China with an art deco Asian inspired rooms and lobbies. The 555 room hotel opened in 1999. For those wanting the best cocktail lounge in Shanghai- check out the view from Cloud 9 on the 87th floor, on a clear night you have never seen anything so spectacular.
Stonefridge or should it be Fridgehenge?
I’m sure if you did the stats on Tripandom you would find the good old USA has the highest number of weird and unusual stories, and we are going to ad another. Today our story is from Sante Fe in New Mexico. You have all heard of the ancient ruins in England called Stonehenge well Sante Fe has its own well sort of, instead of huge monoliths of stone they have old fridges. But what’s even stranger we did a bit of a search and found a few other places in the US have built their own as well. The Fridgehenge was created by Adam Jonas Horowits, who thought maybe 200 old fridges might brighten up a bit of old land fill land. Like Stonehenge there were no machinery used, and there is no mention whether there was any alien help Horowitz didn’t align the fridges to the stars but instead to Los Alamos National Laboratories Nuclear power plant. Over the years the ‘artwork’ has been covered with plenty of graffiti and is a great home for lizards and rattlesnakes. Read the rest of this entry »
Warning- Computer Geeks Inside
Mission College Boulevard, Santa Clara California is home to the Intel Visitors Center. The home of computer processors. This interesting centre traces the power of computer chips showing their evolution and development over the years. As you would expect there are plenty of computer based interactive gadgets to play with and there’s a great gift shop where you can pick up some real geeky gadgets and clothing. Intel was founded in 1968 and today is the world’s largest computer chip manufacturer, just about every PC has an Intel inside. The self paced tour takes a bout an hour and the best thing is its free. Intel has quiet a few other visitor center’s around the world including China, Israel, Ireland, Penang, Valencia in Spain and a few others in the USA.
A good sleep after a hard day night
Liverpool the home of the Beatles has just opened a brand new 4 star hotel paying homage to the fab 4. Called Hard Days Night the hotel has transformed one of Liverpools’ classic buildings not far from the Cavern Club into another Beatles landmark. The hotel features some magnificent artwork including what is called the Shannon Collection which is a series of commissioned works telling the story of the Beatles. The hotel even features artworks and photographs from Paul, Ringo and photographers Paul Ygartua and Klaus Voormann. The hotel has all the trappings of a luxury hotel including a great bar called Bar Four which is fast becoming one of the hottest places in Liverpool and a restaurant which has a Sergeant Pepper’s inspired theme and brasserie which has a very cosmopolitan menu. The hotel features 110 rooms and are well decked out and even include interactive services like online shopping. The top of the line suites are called the Lennon and McCartney suites and feature things like white pianos and even a Knight’s suit in the McCartney room. Total indulgence.
