Posts from ‘November, 2008’

Tasty Samosas

We think it must be a slow news day at Reuters after reading this story about a Dutch couple who paid around $200 US for a plate of 4 samosas in India. Apparently the food seller tried to pull a fast one on them by telling the couple they were “special samosas”, now we are pretty sure these guys were not the first to be overcharged in India but it is a pretty funny story considering samosas normally cost around a buck each. Alls well that ends well, as the tourists got their money back after complaining to the police. Have you got your own horror of being ripped off while travelling? Or do you know of any good scams to avoid? Hit up our comment form below as we will be featuring a “popular tourist scams to avoid” series soon. Also if you now got the taste for some Indian Samosas check out our recipe on our sister site wokme.com, we promise they are cheap to make and wont give you Delhi belly.

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Smetana Museum

The Smetana Museum or Muzeum Bedricha Smetany is a Prague Museum dedicated to the great Czech composer Bedrich Smetana who died in 1884. It has prime position on the beautiful Vltava river in Old Town right next to the Charles Bridge. Before 1936 the lovely Renaissance building was home to the Prague Water Company and now houses many of Smetan’s possessions including music stands, letters and even his ear bone. He is best known for his symphonic poem Vltava (also known as The Moldau from the German), his tomb can also be visited at the VyÅ¡ehrad cemetery in the grounds of VyÅ¡ehrad Castle.

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Air Force One

Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States who had 8 years in office between 1981 and 1989. Regan was in office during some huge changes in the world including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. His legacy is remembered in a magnificent library and museum in the ruggered Simi Valley about an hour of of Los Angeles in California. Here visitors can recal the life of a Hollywood movie star who became the most powerful man on Earth. As well as learning about this man you can see many of the gifts and artifacts which were part of his life, you can visit a recration of the White House’s Oval Office which has actual furniture and artifacts from his time as president. Probably the most amazing item in the museum is Airforce One, the actual 707 which was used by Regan and many other President’s as their “Flying White House”. For those after a refreshment there is also the Ronald Regan Pub which is a pub that Regan drank at on a visit to Ireland which has been shifted to California. Regan died a few years back and he is also burried at the library overlooking the valley. Read the rest of this entry »

Port Discovery DisneySea Tokyo

Like Tommorowland at Disneyland Port Discovery is Tokyo’s Disneysea’s look into the future. With a very flash Jules Verne inspired retro futuristic theme this place is a lot of fun with it’s two major attractions. The Stormrider is a simulator style ride which puts the rider in the eye of a huge storm experiencing wind and turbulence while the Aquatopia ride is a randomly steered hovercraft like vehicle which zooms around a shallow lake with lots of squirts and fun, you can choose to get soaked or stay fairly dry. Read the rest of this entry »

Navy Pier Chicago

Stretching 1010 metres onto Lake Michigan in Chicago is Navy Pier one of the city’s entertainment precincts. Packed with cafes, restaurants, theatres amusments and the Children’s museum Navy Pier is a popular destination especially on sunny weekends. The pier dates back to 1914 when it was built for freighters but today it is a tourist precinct being home to many of the city’s tourist craft and a huge meeting place. The pier was transformed in the early 1990’s and has undergone some major changes including the addition of a 46 m Ferris wheel and Imax, there are even plans afoot to give the pier a multi million dollar makeover with roller coaster, floating hotel, monorail and an even bigger Ferris wheel built around a huge water park. Read the rest of this entry »

Bewitched Statue

Salem Massachusetts USA is the home of the witch, being home to the witchcraft trials in 1692. Many women were thought to be witches and were hanged at public hangings. Today Salem is cashing in big time on the whole which thing especially around Halloween. There are witch everything, haunted houses, wax museums, witchcraft stores and plenty of places to have spells created and fortunes told. Salem was one of the most important seaports in early America and has a magnificent historic waterfront. The town itself has many historic buildings and is a great day trip for anyone visiting nearby Boston which is less than an hours drive away. Read the rest of this entry »

Gondola ride in Vegas

You no longer need to travel to Italy to see the wonders of Venice they are all available in Las Vegas- there’s the Grand Canal complete with gondola ride, the Rialto Bridge, St Marks Square- the statues the artwork and even St Mark’s Campanile and Doge’s palace. The detail is just amazing and inside are just spectacular. As for the casino and hotel it is one of the biggest on the Las Vegas Strip. There are over 4000 suites and a new tower is under construction. The gaming halls have over 100 different games and there are 17 dining experiences, and we mean experiences with some of the world’s best chefs cooking up a storm. If it’s entertainment you want, well the Blue Man Group and Wayne Brady have shows and Andrew Lloyd Weber’s classic musical Phantom of the Opera also shows at the Venetian performed in a theatre to resemble the famous Palis Garnier in Paris. There’s nightclubs, bars, 5 acres of pools and decks and huge spa club and if that’s not enough there is nearly 2 million square feet of convention and exhibition space. An amazing building for an amazing city. Read the rest of this entry »

Replica of Henry Ford Building

Greenfield Village is in Dearborn, Detroit USA and was the brain child of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford. Recognised as a National Historic Landmark and is the largest outdoor museum in the United States. The area covers some 240 acres and is home to nearly 100 historic buildings, many of them once owned by famous Americans and moved brick by brick to the museum. Amongst the highlights are Thomas Edison’s Laboratory, The Wright Brothers bicycle shop, Henry Ford’s birthplace and the Logan County Courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law. The land has been turned into magnificent farmlands and park to reflect the USA of yesterday and many volunteers wear period costume and perform tasks of the day. Horse drawn carriages, vintage cars, trains and other machinery ride the streets beautiful tree lined streets. The most amazing part of this museum is there is no commercialism or advertising-even the gift shop is outside the gates. The park is part of the amazing Henry Ford Museum- we will do a feature on the Museum in coming weeks.

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The CN Tower - Toronto Canada

The CN Tower in Toronto is the tallest structure in North America standing at a huge 553 metres, and was the tallest structure in the world for 31 years until the monstrous Burj Dubai building went higher last year. The tower is basically a communications tower used for broadcasting TV and the like and opened to the public as a the world’s highest lookout in 1976. The tower has two visitor levels one at 346 metres and another one 100 metres higher at 446 metres offering amazing views of the surrounding city and lake, and on a good day you can even see into the USA and Niagara Falls. One highlight of the tower is a glass bottom floor where brave people can see nothing below their feet- it really is a weird feeling. The tower is a member of the Federation of Great Towers and was declared one of the Seven Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

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Staten Island Ferry New York

You don’t get much for nothing in this world without a catch- well here’s one and the the catch is one of the best views in the world. The ferry carries some 20 million people a year between Staten Island and lower Manhattan, which is about 60,000 a day. The ride takes about 25 minutes and you get a very good look at the majestic Statue of Liberty and the amazing skyscrapers of New York City and New Jersey. Weekdays there are over 100 trips a day with a few less on weekends, avoid the peak hours for the journey. Bus and Train are easily available from both ferry terminals to explore more of either Manhattan or Staten Island. Read the rest of this entry »