Posts from ‘May, 2009’

If you have ever been to New York you probably would have been to the section of Broadway known as Times Square. Times Square is one of the busiest intersection of New York if not for the several streets that cross over each over but also for the huge amount of tourist’s and New Yorkers that can be found wandering around the area each day. From now until the end of the year getting around the area on foot has become a fair bit easier as traffic has been diverted away from Broadway from between 42nd and 47th streets. The road closure is a trail with the aim of seeing if traffic improves across the whole midtown area. The video above was done by the New York Times, getting the opinion of people in the middle of the street. Read the rest of this entry »

We have been seeing this story around a fair bit for a new US airline dedicated to pets only and we thought we would share it here. The basic story goes instead of shoving your pet in the cargo hold of the plane you can send your pet on Petairways plane where it lives it up in the normal passenger section of a plane and is cared for by a pet attendant.  The airline travels across the states from LA to New York stopping at Denver, Chicago and Washington along the way. It sounds like a good idea if your worried about the stress on fluffy in the cargo hold of a plane but we recon the stress of trying to find a pet flight to match up with a human flight and then collecting the pet will stop us ponying up the 149 bucks for fluffy’s flight. We will collect our pets from baggage carousel no 5 thanks. Read the rest of this entry »

What a Croc

Yellow Water in Australia’s remote Kakadu National Park is a huge land-locked billabong and attracts thousands of visitors every year for its unique and beautiful native flora and fauna, with many coming especially to see the salt water crocodile in its natural habitat. The park is also home to millions of migratory birds including jacana, egrets, jabiru, sea eagles, magpie geese to name a few. The best way to see the natural environment is to join one of the many boat cruises up the billabong for a close encounter with nature. Daybreak and sunset are the most spectacular times and best for seeing the wildlife. Yellow Water is close to Jabiru and is about a 3-4 hour drive east of Darwin along the Kakadu Highway. Regular tourist services operate from Darwin to the park. Read the rest of this entry »

There have been more calls for a common border between New Zealand and Australia, this time from discount airline Jetstar. By removing customs and immigration between the two countries the flights will be classed as a domestic and not an international flight, Jetstar see this is an opportunity to fly to cheaper airports like it does at Avalon outside Melbourne. The savings can run up to $60 per flight of costs that can be written off and it’s this that tourism body’s and even Australian Prime Minister Keven Rudd have been counting on to boost tourism between the two countries. There’s probably a few details to sort out before anything happens (both countries have learnt their lessons on quarantine with rabbits and possums)  but things are looking promising enough that one day a weekend in Sydney is as easy as a weekend in Auckland. Read the rest of this entry »

Dotonbori

Dotonbori is one of Osaka’s most exciting leisure precincts being home to a huge number of restaurants, bars, clubs, theatres and entertainment complexes.  The precinct hugs the Dotonbori-gawa Canal which is home to some of the city’s most spectacular neon signage and banks play host to many of the city’s celebrations. The area takes on an amazing atmosphere in the evenings when the neon and video screens come to life. The area is a food lovers paradise with some of the city’s best dining like Kani Doraku with its giant mechanical crab outside, Hariju a beef restaurant dating back to 924 and a Fugu restaurant serving the infamous poisonous fish Zubora-Ya. The streets are also filled with vendors selling delicious okonomiyaki and takoyaki octopus dumplings. Dotonbori is only a five minute walk from the Nambi Station and only moments away from the 600 metre long Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade which is a must for any serious shopper. Read the rest of this entry »