Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Weird Life: Restaurant – Hospital in Riga – Latvia

Hospitalis is another one of those theme restaurants with great original idea, usually they try to get the lights of interest. Waitresses – nurses, forks and spoons syringes, chairs and carts make the rather paranoid image to be seen if someone visited the restaurant in Riga, Latvia.

What I can not understand is whether such restaurants have regular clients. You will visit them once or twice. Then what?

Read the rest of this entry »

Travel Video: Underwater Sculpture Park

Located in Grenada, is the first submarine park of sculptures. The work of Jason de Caires Taylor combines art with the ecological sensitivity and the result is quite impressive. The sea in the region is crystal clear so you can see the park, even from the surface.

Visit park’s home page >>>

Travel: Europe’s Tallest Residential Building

It seems that the Turks are joining the race for tall and extravagant buildings. After UAE (Dubai), and Russia, Istanbul in Turkey gets a place in the race with the the Istanbul Sapphire. This is a 261-meter, 64 floor high, skyscraper which upon completion will be the tallest residential building in Europe. The completion date is somewhere in 2009 and it will offer 174 luxurious residences. Within the residence will find a gym, spa and a shopping centre.

Visit Istanbul Sapphire >>>

Travel: Theme park’s ‘cage of death’ drops tourists into a crocodile’s lair

Without the cage you wouldn’t stand a chance swimming with a massive saltwater crocodile.

But for brave punters who still want to get cosy with a feisty croc, a new Australian tourist attraction is offering the chance for a close encounter in the safety of a clear acrylic box dubbed the ‘cage of death’.

Just 4cm of acrylic, a pair of goggles and a swimsuit, will separate thrill-seekers from the jaws of Choppa, a saltwater crocodile.

The cage has no bars, unlike cages used in shark dives, which prevents the reptiles from gripping on but deep teeth scratches are visible on the sides, deterring some hesitant participants.

Top End tourists climb into the clear box before being lowered into Choppa’s lair.

They then spend 15 minutes inside the 9ft high cage and watch Choppa, who lost both front feet while fighting other crocodiles, trying to take a bite out of them.

Read the full article >>>

Animal Life: Wild elephants stroll through hotel reception

It’s not everyday that you see a wild elephant standing next to you at the reception of a hotel.

Hotel-Elephant-460_1001795c.jpg

But in the Mfuwe Lodge in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, the sight of one or even ten elephants strolling around the lobby is a regular occurrence.

Unwittingly built on the elephant’s traditional path in 1998, the Mfuwe Lodge stands directly en-route to this elephant herd’s favourite food – wild mangoes.

Andy Hogg, 44, Director at the Bushcamp Company that runs the Mfuwe Lodge, has lived in the South Luangwa national park since 1982.

But in his 26 years of dealing with wild animals in the Zambian national park, Andy has never seen such intimate interaction between man and beast.

“This is the only place in the world where elephants freely get so close to humans,” says the 44-year-old.

“The elephants start coming through base camp in late November of each year to eat the mangoes from our trees.

“When they are ripe they come through and they stand about for four to six weeks coming back each day or second day to eat the mangoes.”

Living in the 9, 500 square kilometre national park, the ten strong elephant herd are led to the lodge each day by the matriarchal of the herd, Wonky Tusk.

Read the full article >>>