Screened over

Beijing now boasts the largest LED screen in Asia. The recently unveiled 'skyscreen' stretches 250m above the pedestrian walkway at a newly opened shopping mall in the central business district.

One can sip coffee and watch the various crafty videos on show. And surprisingly, there is no advertising, at least as yet. As of now, the only 'advertising' on the skyscreen are the propaganda videos promoting the heroism of the Chinese communist ideal. » Continue reading

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What a bummer!

Pull up your pants or be pulled up by cops. Youth who walk with their pants half-down in Atlanta had better watch out. On August 30, a ban was imposed on low-slung pants, or any clothing that exposes underwear in public. Very low-slung trousers are already banned in Delcambre in Louisiana, where cheeky offenders can be fined US$500 or up to six months in jail. » Continue reading

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Tub boats

What would you pack when going on a vacation to Dinant, an hour away from Brussels? Take a bathtub, by all means. This city on the River Meuse hosts La Regate des Baignoires or the International Regatta of Bathtubs!

The event is open to 'river-worthy' bathtubs of all classes and nationalities. More of a joke than a contest, it allows vessels of any design, but at least one bathtub must be part of the structure. Motors are strictly forbidden, so is the deliberate sinking of a fellow competitor. » Continue reading

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Cheers to the cup of tears

For those who believe in drowning their sorrows, a bar in the Chinese town of Nanjing is just the place. Broken-hearted patrons are provided tissues and menthol drops along with their drink. Friendly bartenders also provide onions and red peppers for those who have some difficulty in letting out the tears.

The mood is decidedly downbeat with sad music in the background and dolls available for customers to throw around or beat to vent their anger. Customers must pay the equivalent of US$6 an hour, in addition to their drinks' bill, to weep and wail. But it would seem that drinking to forget is a favoured option.

Interestingly, the drinking habit in China has marked a rise in the past couple of years. The country, boosted by increasing incomes and a rising number of women drinkers, has replaced the United States as the world's largest beer brewer since 2002. » Continue reading

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Tears of stone

Photos fade, but memories in granite do not vanish. For the sculptors of Barre, Vermont, immortality is a perk of their job.

The 85-acre Hope Cemetery, opened in 1895, is an example of their classic art. Every one of the 10,000 plus monuments here is made of Barre Gray granite.

One carving has a couple sitting up in bed wearing pajamas and holding hands. A stone race-car celebrate local driver Joey Laguerre. Ace sculptor Brusa's grave has his statue of 'The Dying Man,' slipping away, held by his wife.

» Continue reading

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Colonial Aroma

Habana 1791, a perfume shop in Cuba, is thriving even though it sells just 12 fragrances. Its speciality is colonial fragrances, both perfumes and room fresheners. Rose, jasmine and lilac petals, Rangoon creeper and orange blossoms, tobacco leaves, lime peel, sandalwood resin and lavender oil go into these perfumes.

The ingredients are crushed and soaked in an alcohol solution. This matures for two months before being strained and sold at $7 to $20 per bottle. What's more? Your choice will be mixed and bottled in front of you. » Continue reading

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Love or war?

A British-made radio-controlled vibrator has been banned in Cyprus as a threat to national security. The Cypriot military is concerned that the sex toy's electronic waves will disrupt the army's radio frequencies.

Makers Ann Summers said that it's Love Bug 2, a small, egg-shaped device operated by a remote control had a range of less than six meters! But the vibrator is sold in Cyprus with instructions asking buyers to use it only when they go abroad! » Continue reading

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Don't litter the 'living room', please

Venice will deploy six stewards in St Mark's Square to prevent tourists from stripping off their T-shirts, taking a nap or dropping fast-food wrappers in the piazza that is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Bordered by St Mark's Basilica, the Clock Tower, the Doge's Palace and the Grand Canal, the square is one of the world's biggest tourist attractions.

Wealthy tourists to the square sip their espresso in style at the Cafe Florian, which dates from 1720 and was frequented by Goethe, Casanova, Byron and Proust. But in the pricey city many more opt for take-aways.

However, the mayor does not want Coke cans and chocolates wrappers in the piazza that Napolean called 'the drawing room of Europe'. » Continue reading

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Ancestor Tourism

When other countries market desert tourism, eco-tourism and the like, Ireland is cashing in on 'ancestor tourism'! After centuries of emigration, an estimated 70 million people worldwide claim Irish connection. The first port of call for these tourists is the national library (in pic), from where they head to country offices and churches. Tourism Ireland estimates that one in four tourists has Irish lineage. » Continue reading

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Way to Antarctica

If you would like to go to Antarctica where would you catch a ship from? Ushuaia -- the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego -- one of the world's southernmost cities.

With scientists and environmentalists predicting that the white-continent would eventually dissolve, tourists are flocking to Ushuaia.

Every year, about 50 ships cross the Beagle Channel and beat southwards to the Weddell Sea and make landfall in Hope Bay.

Recently, oceanographers found a large number of species which were hitherto unknown to science. Where were they hiding so long? Under the ice shelf, of course. » Continue reading

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Standing guard

For centuries they have been on guard. The Terracotta Army is a collection of 8,099 life-size terracotta figures of warriors and horses located in Shaanxi province. The ancients baked parts of each soldier separately and put them together like a modern assembly chain. Last year, a German art student, Pablo Wendel, infiltrated the exhibit. His disguise made it difficult for security to find him among the statues. » Continue reading

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Visa Photos: The Rules

Here are tips to help you pose for a visa or passport photo:

• No cheesy grins, as mouths should be shut. Adopt a neutral expression and look straight at the camera, so face and both ears are seen properly.
  
• Hair must not obscure your face, so keep those fringes in check. Make sure facial hair does not hide the outline of your nose or mouth. No head coverings, unless religious.
  
• Embassies usually require plain-white backgrounds and each one has slightly different rules about photo sizes, so find out what's mandatory. Some embassies, or their visa agents, offer photo-booths, but they tend to charge you more than regular studios.

» Continue reading

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Going Loco

If you visit Britain and fancy a trip through the countryside, one of the best ways is by train. These historic routes make a perfect weekend break.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Dating back over 150 years, this track runs through 29 kms of gorgeous landscape from Pickering to Grosmont, via forests, steep valleys and open moorland.

The Royal Scotsman
Ideal if you like history and outdoor activities, this luxury 2-day journey across the Highlands take in ancient castles and beautiful scenery.

Severn Valley Railway
This steam locomotive follows the course of the River Severn for most of its 26-km trip, crossing at the Victoria Bridge.

Snowdon Mountain Railway
For more than 110 years this train has been taking passengers across the highest peaks of Snowdon.

Bluebell Railway
Named after the bluebells that border it, the track runs from Lewes to East Grinstead.
» Continue reading

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Midair Yoga

Passengers on JetBlue, a low-fare US domestic airline, are getting a free lesson in stress management. The airline has introduced instruction cards produced by Crunch Fitness that depict four different yoga postures to unkink muscles and increase circulation. The yoga exercises include Bidalasana, which entails hunching over in your seat (sort of like you need the barf bag), and Uttita Hastasana, where you interlace your fingers and stretch up towards the air duct while relaxing your face, jaw and eyes. "We want passengers to feel better, be relaxed and take a little stress off for a while," says JetBlue's marketing vice-president, Amy Curtis. "If you don't feel like watching TV, have a little stretch and chill out."

» Continue reading

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Click, click and pack your bags!

Making hotel reservations for a city on the other side of the planet could have been a daunting task during the pre-Internet era. Thanks to over a dozen travel portals that have made the task as simple as a few clicks of the mouse.

HotelReservations.com is one such portal which seems to be on top of the others. While a trial search for hotels in New York gave over a dozen results on a competitor website with tariffs starting from US$126, a search on HotelReservations.com resulted in over a whopping 1000 hotels, motels, hostels and resorts with tariffs starting from just US$69. Definitely giving you more and better options. Sometimes sifting through the large number of results could be more of a problem in selecting the right hotel for you. However, you can sort the results in alphabetical order or according to the price or quality. You can even select and compare those hotels.

Unlike any other travel portal I have seen, HotelReservations.com provides the location map and detailed information about each and every hotel like the features, amenities, attractions, driving directions, check in and check out times, hotel policies & disclaimers etc. You can even see pictures of the hotel exterior, lobby, reception, rooms, restaurants, amenities etc.

Reservations can be made online or even by phone on their 24hr Toll Free Customer Care number from within the US or their international Customer Care number at special internet rates using your MasterCard, Visa or Amex Card.

Booking your hotel room through HotelReservations.com could save you upto 70% on the Tariff. And if you are planning to travel anytime before February 29, 2008 you can make your hotel reservation before Dec 31, 2007 to obtain a limited period rebate of upto US$100.

Not just that HotelReservations.com also provides flight booking, car rental and vacation rental services all on a single portal or a phone call. » Continue reading

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Travel only like this

Betsy Wade was a travel columnist for the New York Times for 14 years. Here are her top tips for great trips.

• Carry two credit cards separately. If one is stolen and the account is frozen, you can still feed and house yourself.
  
• Don't pack more than you can lug up two flights of stairs.
  
• Airline pillowcases usually aren't changed every flight. If this bothers you, bring your own.
  
• Unless you're going to the tropics, pack gloves: Hands get cold on the most unexpected dates.
  
• The International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers has a directory of English-speaking doctors overseas who make office and hotel calls. For details: The US phone number is 716-754-4883. Website: iamat.org.
  
• ATMs and computer systems can fail, so keep some cash on you. A faxed confirmation gets you into a hotel if the reservation system fails.
  
• Bring film and spare camera batteries. Shopping for a special size where you don't speak the language is hard.

» Continue reading

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Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite

In hotels, dormitories and even private homes, bed bugs are literally crawling out of the woodwork. Experts think the resurgence is due both to a lack of routine spraying for the pests and an uptick in international travel in recent years. The varmints, who feed at night and look for hiding places during the day, sometimes end up in travellers' suitcases and clothing.

Follow your nose. The bugs emit a sickly sweet odour. If a hotel room has one, leave and tell management why. Itchy pink bumps like mosquito bites could mean trouble: Look for reddish brown bugs about 5mm long, and rust-coloured stains on sheets.

Keep them at bay. The bugs travel from the floor to the bed to feast. Smear petroleum jelly around the feet of the bed to stop them.

To learn more about bed bug treatment, visit BedBugsGuide.com » Continue reading

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America's Best Spooks & Spirits

Wandering through the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, is a journey through an obsessive mind. The maze of some 160 rooms was built by the widow and heir of the Winchester rifle fortune. Saraw Winchester felt haunted by spirits of those killed with her husband's weapons. Warned by a medium that she would die if she stopped building, she kept labourers working day and night for 38 years, constructing windows with 13 panes, chimneys (which she considered doors for ghosts) that didn't rise through the roof, stairs to nowhere and a secret séance room. Sarah died peacefully in her sleep at age 82. If you're in California, you can visit for the day for $28.95, kids & seniors, $25.95.

There are hundreds of other "haunted houses" all over the US where you can pull the covers up over your head:

Like 200-year-old Myrtles Plantation in St Francisville, Louisiana state. Built on a Red Indian graveyard, it's one of America's spookiest houses -- said to be inhabited by no less than seven apparitions. If a grim caretaker tries to turn you away at the gate, you might consider leaving. He was murdered in 1927. Brave souls can book rooms for between $115-$230.

Since the brutal murder of her father and stepmother on August 4, 1892, Lizzie Borden has been immortalized in song and story. At their house, now the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast in Fall River, Massachusetts, you can eat the same meal of bananas, cakes and coffee that the Bordens did on the morning they were murdered. The rate of $200 includes a private tour of the house. Then visit the Fall River Historical Society to view evidence of the crime, including photos of the murder scene and the skulls.

Legend has it that a runaway Spanish don and his lover, an Italian opera singer, once lived on the site of Belhurst Castle. Rumours of secret tunnels and hidden rooms are more fantasy than fact, says the Geneva Historical Society. But mystical music lovers can listen for songs at the Gothic-style mansion built in 1889 in Geneva, New York state. Some guests claim to have seen a woman in white on the hotel lawn, and others hear lullabies sung.

If you want to sing along there, or at a poltergeist's palace near you, start by reading Haunted Hotels by Robin Mead or Dinner & Spirits by Robert and Anne Wlodarski. Many hotels, inns and bed-and-breakfasts now have their own websites. Check out: hauntedhouses.com; hotels.about.com/cs/hauntedhotels or allstays.com/Special/haunted.htm. » Continue reading

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Reading & Riding

Make that six-hour drive a better ride with a best seller -- even if you're a queasy, not an easy, rider. So says G. Richard Holt, an ear surgeon who's helped pilots dealt with motion sickness. Sit in the front seat. Hold the book at eye level, Holt says, Look up every five minutes to get a fix on the horizon. Wear wraparound sunglasses to block out objects flashing by your side window that can throw your balance out of whack. Drink water, and pump your legs often to keep blood from pooling. » Continue reading

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Land of Dracula

Panoramic view with the Clock Tower

Sighisoara, 11 hours by train from Bucharest, the Romanian capital is the sleeping Beauty of Romania, a perfectly preserved medieval town in a pristine countryside, all but unknown, visited by only a venturesome handful. Now it seems about to be kissed awake by the unlikeliest Prince Charming -- Dracula. Who says you can't go home again?

For we are in the heart of Transylvania, whence the vampire legends sprang, mountaintop setting of ominous Castle Dracula where, in reels and reels of horror film and mountains of literary gore, fiction's best known ghoul sucked his victims' blood to keep himself alive. This Dracula was the invention of a hyper-imaginative novelist, but he was based on a real-life 15th century swash buckler name Vlad Tepes, also no bundle of charm. They called him Dracula, meaning Son of the Devil, because of his penchant for impaling captured foes and watching them writhe while he ate his dinner.

A street in Sighisoara with Clock Tower in the background

The Romanian government had announced a joint venture with German investors to build a theme park, Dracula Land, in Sighisoara but ultimately rejected, as it would have detracted from the medieval style of the city.

Sighisoara remains off the beaten track offering not plasterboard castles on a make-believe landscape, but an authentic journey into the past. Without elbow-to-elbow tourists.

A thousand years ago it was a Roman citadel high in the gentle Transylvanian hills, circled by a silver coil of river. Western Europeans made it into a commercial center that flourished for three centuries, then slipped into the shadows of history. Now, frozen in time, it looks much as it did then.

It is the only inhabited medieval fortress in Central Europe. Each of its 137 houses is a historical monument, but families live in all of them. Of the nine towers that rise above the spires and battlements, the most magnificent is the 64-meter clock tower with its dazzling tile roof. The clock works.

Wednesday and Saturday are especially good days to visit. Villagers in horse-drawn wagons clatter into market with home-grown fruit and vegetables, and jewelery, scarves and T-shirts of a distinctly Romanian or Gypsy style. Bargains abound.

The supposed birthplace of Vlad Ţepeş

If none of this matters to you more than the Dracula myth, you can visit the place where Vlad Tepes was born, a stout medieval homestead that now houses a beer hall and restaurant. And there, for a reasonable fee, you can have your portrait painted -- in your own blood. » Continue reading

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