We hear a lot of stories about confused travelers but this one takes the cake, apparently recently at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport a 78 year old woman mistook a baggage chute for the boarding gate. She wasn’t discovered laying down on the chute until it was too late but was eventually helped to her gate by baggage handlers once she got to the baggage handling centre. You got to wonder what she was thinking, is she just a silly old cow, been watching too much Futurama or was she trying to pull a stunt like the guys in the video above. (note: fruity language may offend) Read the rest of this entry »
Posts from ‘August, 2008’
World’s highest observation deck
The world’s highest observation deck is set to open this Saturday at the Shanghai World Financial Centre in China. Like Beijing, Shanghai has seen huge investment in recent years to turn the city into an almost futurist metropolis with their new 474m tall World Financial Centre building being one of a few huge skyscrapers to be built in the Asian region over the coming years. The video above is a quick promo building that shows how the building operates from its huge foundations to the air conditioning systems. If anyone out there gets a chance to get up to the deck drop us a line in the comment form below, we are interested to know if there is a good view of the city or a good view of smog from the deck. Read the rest of this entry »
AQUATICA- Raising the bar for Waterparks everwhere
This is ANYTHING but your typical waterpark! Who could create a waterpark better than SeaWorld? SeaWorld has created its first waterpark with Aquatica in Orlando, Florida. It really is something to see! At Aquatica, SeaWorld has taken their sea-life theme to a whole new level. Aquatica is located right across the street from SeaWorld on International Drive, only 15 minutes from the Orlando International Airport. Read the rest of this entry »
Cascading Falls in New York City
As if New York City didn’t need another spectacular tourist attraction, well they have done it again and this time bigger than ever. A special public art fund has commissioned a breathtaking exhibition of huge waterfalls around the New York waterways. Danish/Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson has come up with the design which features four 90 – 120 ft high waterfalls. One is at Pier 35 in Manhattan, two at Piers 4 and 5 and the most spectacuar flowing out of the magnificent Brooklyn Bridge. The waterfalls are lit in the evenings after sunset and add a magical touch to the New York Skyline. Thousands’s have flocked to the ferries and other watecraft to get a close up look. The falls are on display until the 13th of October.
Gizmo’s and gadgets in Singapore
If you are visiting Singapore and want something electrical- then Sim Lim Square is the place to head. Here floors and floors of every thing electrcial are available, with just about every conceivable and many non conceivable gadgets on sale. From computers, PDA’s, cameras, and MP3 players there are so many choises. There’s no need to walk the streets of Singapore to find the best deal they are all here in on convienent location. There are 6 levels the first three levels are cameras, music players, televisions and the like while the upper floors are dedicated to computers, but buisness and office needs as well as the gamers, which is huge buisness in this Island country. Sim Lim Square even have a code of ethics for the store holders and sales staff that include such things not selling products above the RRP, being honest, refraining from abusive language and conduct and issue clear and consise receipts. You just cant go wrong.
Soviet statues and a zoo you can eat
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the fall of the Soviet control of much of Eastern Europe many of the huge monuments to the rule were removed and in many cases destroyed. But many in Lithuania were later retrieved and restored and are now on display at Grtas park, near Druskininkai in Southern Lithuania which opened in 2001. The park has become a family amusement park, and has a very odd list of attractions, there are over 80 of huge statues of just about every leader to rule the East, including Lenin and Stalin. There’s a few wooden huts with over a million pieces of memorabilia from this period and even a zoo, well a pretty crappy one in more ways than one. Don’t expect any exotic animals unless you are counting the chickens, pigs and the odd ostrich or pheasant- if you like the look of them, head down to the restaurant, they have a few of their zoo exhibits on the menu.. tasty. There’s plenty of market stalls where you can buy your very own Soviet era treasure or even some dodgy beer brewed on the premises. It may not be Disneyland but you will certainly be amazed, although in different ways. if you know what we mean.
Berlin’s Stadtschloss / Palast der Republic
The Stadtschloss was once a German palace for William 2 prior to WW1 it was largely destroyed during WW2 and eventually demolished during the 1950’s by the East German Government to remove traces of the former Empire. In its place the Palast der Republic was built as East Germans Parliament. Opened in 1976 it was a modern building that contained galleries, restaurants, a disco and a bowling ally. The Palast was built as a symbol of East Germany’s strength and pride and many former East Germans have fond memories of their time there. Today the Palast is slowly being demolished with work expected to finish in 2008. Much of the Palast’s interior was removed in the late 1990’s after asbestos was found in the building. The empty shell was then used as an art space for a time until it was decided to demolish the building all together. Since work began on demolition there are groups who have been pushing the idea to rebuild the former Royal Palace Stadtschloss while other groups are lamenting the loss of the Palast der Republic claiming the current government is trying to wipe out Berlins socialist past in the same way the East Germans tried to wipe out Germany’s imperial past. Some people are just glad to see the back of an ugly 1970s building and would be happy if the area is replaced with grass. The German Parliament has recently decided to rebuild most of the castle with a modern interior, work will start in 2010 and it will be known as the Humboldtforum.
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The Singapore Flyer now is Feng Shui
Ferris wheels have been making a come back of late and it seems many major cities around the world are trying to build the biggest and best. The Singapore Flyer is currently the largest in the world after overtaking the title from the London eye but when they built the wheel they never took into account that the direction of the wheel was taking away all the good energy from the city. Apparently the operators of the wheel have now reversed the direction of the wheel after being contacted by several Feng Shui masters who where concerned about the effects of the wheel on the city. Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice that is popular whit Singapore’s largely ethnic Chinese population. The Singapore Flyer will hold the title as the world’s largest ferris wheel until a new ferris wheel in Bejing is opened in 2009. Read the rest of this entry »
Rapid Beijing-Tianjin for the Olympics
All ready for the this weeks Olympic celebrations, the Beijing – Tianjin high speed railway has just opened in China. The train will take passengers from Beijing to the soccer facilities at Tianjin. The train will travel at speeds up to 350 km per hour and cost about $10 for first class and a little less for second class, and the trip will take about 30 minutes. The train is believed to be the fastest intercity train in the world and in it’s first few days of operation has been a huge hit. The system has taken three years to build and over 2o billion yuan (3 billion US dollars) has been spent on construction with nearly 90 percent of its 100km line elevated because of bad soil. Over 26 million people travel the route each year and it is expected with this new service 32 million will now be able to travel making it one of the busiest lines in the world.
