The 101 floor Taipei 101 is one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world and also one of the very few that is transformed into a countdown clock and fireworks display on new years eve. The skyscraper has 8 levels in an Asian pagoda style up to the top of the tower and its from these levels that the fireworks are attached that creat the spectaular display that you can see in the video above. Read the rest of this entry »
Posts from ‘December, 2008’
Sydney New Years Eve Fireworks
The biggest annual fireworks display in Australia has to be new years eve on Sydney Harbour. Sydney’s Harbour Bridge is the main stage for the fireworks and every year a new theme to accompany the fireworks is created where an icon of the theme is illuminated on the bridge as part of the display. Around 1.5 million people viewed last years event with hotels always being fully booked over the new year period. The benefit of the fireworks in Sydney is that there is so many places to view the fireworks from as the huge harbour has several great vantage spot from the Gladesville Bridge to the Heads of Sydney Harbour the most popular spots around the bridge area often fill up by the afternoon of the event with the area from Circular Quay round the Sydney Opera House to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair in the Botanic Gardens being the most popular. If you are heading to the event hit up the official website below to get the low down on where to get the best view. Read the rest of this entry »
Times Square Ball Drop
With new years eve only a few days away we thought we would take a look at some of the celebrations around the world the week on tripandom. One of the most famous new year events is the Times Square Ball Drop where a large ball is dropped down a pole in a similar way as a time ball was once used to alert sailors of the time. The Ball Drop dates back to 1907 and has since become one of the most watched new year events around the world with the event televised across the USA and making the evening news in many other counties. Up to a million people go to watch the ball drop each year creating a bit of a crowd control issue for police in the areas around Times Square.
Radio City Christmas Spectacular
The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is an annual stage show fetauring the leggy Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. The 90 minute show combines singing, dancing and humor in a christmas theme. The show is known for it’s spectacular stage settings, like in the video above that cleverly moves a bus around in front of a projection of New York’s city streets. The show is performed at Radio City Music Hall as well as at various locations around the US and Canada and is one of the most-watched live shows in the United States, with over 2 million viewers per year. The show was first performed in 1933 and generally runs from early November through to the end of December.
Germany’s Nurenberg Christkindlesmarkt
The Christkindlesmarkt or Christmas Markets are in full swing in Germany and the biggest of them all is in Nuremberg where more than 2 million people flock to the Hauptmarkt to buy their goods from the more than 150 stalls. The stalls run for about a month, and close Christmas eve and are one of Europe’s most magical experiences. Snow, bud lights and beautifully decorated stalls, and not forgetting some great gifts. Crafts,wooden toys, ornaments, seasonal foods like gingerbread, Christmas cake and of course the warm Christmas wines. The markets are held in quiet a few centres around Germany including Munich,Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Berlin other European centres like Toulouse France, Salzberg in Austria and even Leeds in London and Birmingham have their own. Chicago and many US cities have them too. Read the rest of this entry »
Building with Lego bricks in Malaysia
We did a story a few months ago in Lego Land in San Diego, well another one of the popular themeparks is being planned for 2013 in Johor State, Malaysia not far from the Singapore border. The park will cost about US$210 to construct and is the first step in making this part of Malaysia a huge family tourist destination. Along with the park and some other yet to be announced tourist complexes there will be residential areas and a huge waterfront city the new precinct will be more than 2 1/2 sizes the size of Singapore when complete. It will be the first Lego Land in Asia with very successful parks in Denmark, California, Germany and Windsor in England. There are plans also for a huge park to open in Dubai in 2001.
A ride in the Wild West
Movieworld on Queensland’s Gold Coast is home the Wild West Falls Adventure taking visitors around a old mine site in a log boat. The attraction covers over 28,000 square metres and the huge rendered concrete and steel Wild West Falls mountain stands 35 metres over the theme park. The boat ride takes visitors on a journey through the old mine, there is a ghost town, some gun shots, geysers and teetering rocks, there’s even an exploding bridge before heading into the mine shaft for a thrilling 20 metre plunge out the top of the mountain to the ponds below at a rocketing 80 km per hour. The ride is one of Movieworld’s most popular with more than 1000 people being able to ride the boats every hour, and with Queensland’s great weather getting wet is half the fun.
Caesars Palace – Las Vegas
Caesars Monuments
Caesars Palace is probably the best know of the huge theme hotel casino complexes in Las Vegas. Opening in 1966 as a 680 room resort the hotel now has over 3300 rooms and has nearly 15500 square metres of gaming area and has resident performers including Bette Midler, Elton John and Cher.The exterior and interior of the huge complex is themed in classical Roman style with huge statues, marble floors, triumphal arches, mosaics the whole works, its so easy for your mind to escape and think you are in Rome thousands of years ago- it is that authentic- except for the bling bling and ching of thousands of gaming machines.
Paris Las Vegas
Paris Casino
It’s Vegas week here at Tripandom and we thought we’d start with one of our favorites the Paris casino situated on the Las Vegas Strip. The casino features a 5/8ths scale replica of the Eiffel Tower (they wanted to build a full size one but the airport was too close), a neon sign in the shape of the Montgolfier balloon, a two-thirds size Arc de Triomphe and a replica of La Fontaine des Mers. The front facade of the building imitates the Paris Opera House and the Louvre. The tower contains a french restaurant between the top of the legs as well as an elevator that takes you to the top of the tower for a fantastic view of the strip. The legs of the tower go down into the casino floor where a bar sits between them. The complex is home to around a dozen restaurants and cafes all with a French or European theme so it’s a great place to go if you want to get away from the American burger or Vegas buffet. Read the rest of this entry »
The Southern Star wheel
The Southern Star is a new observation wheel that has recently opened in Melbourne’s Docklands. The 120-metre high revolving structure rotates at 11 metres per minute and is the only observation wheel in the southern hemisphere. The wheel houses 21 fully-enclosed, air-conditioned cabins with huge floor to ceiling glass windows and are reminiscent of London Eye’s cabins. The wheel is part of new development at docklands that brings a lot of outlet shops to the the area. Melbourne’s Docklands is part of an urban renewal project that has been underway since the late 90’s with compleation expected to come around 2015. The video above is of the wheel under construction, hit up the link below for more info and a webcam over at their official site. Read the rest of this entry »
