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Friday, October 1, 2010

World's Scariest Bridges

From sky-high suspension bridges to dilapidated rope bridges, these crossings aren’t for the meek.

By Lyndsey Matthews
All bridges serve a purpose, whether utilitarian or inspirational. And some of them add a distinct element of fear. But you don’t have to be in a remote part of the world: scary bridges exist everywhere, in all shapes, sizes, and heights. And crossing over them can be the ultimate in adventure travel.

Many courageous (or foolhardy) travelers seek out hair-raising bridges just for the thrill. The bridges along the route to Colombia’s National Archaeological Park of Tierradentro are a good example. Though there are safer routes via bus from La Plata, some thrill-seekers choose to ride motorcycles over slippery bamboo crossings deep in the mountains, where one wrong move could mean plunging into a turbulent river.

So get ready to face your fears—or maybe find your next adventure—with our list of the world’s most petrifying bridges.

Aiguille du Midi Bridge
France

Don’t look down. At this height, you’ll want to keep your eyes locked on the panorama of the craggy French Alps. Fortunately, the bridge itself is short, making for an easy escape if acrophobia sets in. But those truly afraid of heights probably won’t even see the bridge; getting here requires taking a cable car that climbs 9,200 vertical feet in just 20 minutes.

Where: The summit of Aiguille du Midi in the Mont Blanc massif near Chamonix.

Stats: 12,605 feet above sea level.

Royal Gorge Bridge
Colorado

America’s highest suspension bridge may be breathtaking for some, but those scared of heights may be left gasping for air as they stare straight down nearly 90 stories at the Arkansas River below. Completed in 1929, the bridge didn’t have stabilizing wind cables until 1982.

Where: Royal Gorge, Colorado, over the Arkansas River.

Stats: 969 feet above the gorge; 1,260 feet long.

Trift Suspension Bridge
Switzerland

One of the Alps’ longest and highest pedestrian suspension bridges, Trift was built in 2004 to reconnect hikers to a hut made inaccessible by a retreating glacier. A replacement in 2009 gave this bridge higher handrails and stabilizing cables to prevent it from swinging violently in the wind. But it still provides an adrenaline rush.

Where: Trift Glacier, near the town of Gadmen in the Swiss Alps.

Stats: 328 feet high; 558 feet long.

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
Northern Ireland

First things first: nobody has fallen off this bridge. However, many visitors who walk across simply can’t handle the return and have to go by boat. It used to be even scarier. Erected by fishermen who went to the island to catch salmon, the original bridge had only a single handrail. The rope bridge eventually became popular with tourists seeking a thrill, and the National Trust replaced it with a sturdier structure with two handrails.

Where: Near Ballintoy in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Stats: 65 feet long; nearly 100 feet above the rocks below.

Capilano Suspension Bridge
Canada

Originally built in 1889, this simple suspension footbridge surrounded by an evergreen forest is very high, fairly narrow, and extremely shaky—the cedar planks bounce on their steel cables as you walk across them. If the bridge doesn’t scare you, wait until the spring of 2011; the Cliffhanger attraction will allow visitors to climb across a series of suspended walkways attached to a cliff.

Where: North Vancouver, British Columbia, across the Capilano River.

Stats: 450 feet long; 230 feet high.

Mackinac Bridge
Michigan

Some drivers get so nervous about crossing this five-mile-long bridge that they don’t even go. And this happens so often that the Mackinac Bridge Authority will drive your car or motorcycle for you (and for free). The biggest fear is the wind, which often exceeds 30 miles per hour on the bridge.

Where: Between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas.

Stats: 5 miles long; 199 feet above the water.

Puente de Ojuela
Mexico

This bridge leads to a ghost town, but it’s the squeaky wood floor that makes it scary. Fortunately, steel cables suspended from two towers bring a greater feeling of safety. Still, steel is a relatively recent addition: when German engineer Santiago Minhguin built this bridge in the 19th century, those towers were made of wood.

Where: The ghost town of Ojuela, an old mining settlement in the northern state of Durango, Mexico.

Stats: 1,043 feet long; 2 feet wide; 360 feet above a gorge.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge
Maryland

Drivers are notoriously afraid of this bridge, as it’s subjected to frequent—and often violent—storms. And when the bad weather hits, forget about visibility: get to the middle of this five-mile-long bridge and you can barely see land.

Where: Spanning the Chesapeake Bay to connect Maryland’s eastern and western shores.

Stats: Nearly 5 miles long; 186 feet high at its highest point.

Monkey Bridges
Vietnam

It may seem that only monkeys could make it across traditional monkey bridges—after all, they’re typically made of a single bamboo log and one handrail. However, the name comes from the stooped monkey-like posture you have to maintain when crossing, so as not to plunge into the river below.

Where: Various points across the Mekong Delta at the southern tip of Vietnam.

Stats: These bridges are built by hand by local residents and vary from town to town. Newer ones are made of concrete.

Hussaini Hanging Bridge
Pakistan

Massive gaps between the planks, a wild side-to-side swing: there are reasons this is considered one of the world’s most harrowing suspension bridges. While rickety cable and wood bridges are common in this area, crossing this bridge over the rapidly flowing Hunza River is particularly frightening, as the tattered remains of the previous bridge hang by threads next to the one currently in use.

Where: In the village of Hussaini in Northern Pakistan, crossing the Hunza River.

Stats: Floodwaters reportedly submerged the bridge in May 2010. However, due to its draw as a popular adventure-travel activity, the bridge is likely to be rebuilt.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Breathtaking Viewing Platforms Around The World

Balcony of the Alps


Nicknamed the ‘balcony of the alps‘, the Dachstein Sky Walk is formally enthroned at 2,700 m above sea-level, high up on the 250 m vertical rock face of the Hunerkogel.
A 360 degree panorama allows the visitor a view of Slovenia in the south to the Czech Republic in the north. This “balcony of the Alps” is distinctly higher than the platforms of the Niagara Falls or the Iguazu waterfalls in Brasil.

The Landscape Promontory


The landscape promontory is a suspended viewing platform designed by paolo bürgi as part of the cardada project, a revitalisation of the cardada mountain that is expected to finish in 2010. as with ‘il binocolo’, the steel and titanium platform enables you to walk amongst the tree tops and experience a view of lake maggiore that was previously unattainable.
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Grand Canyon Skywalk


The Skywalk extends 65ft beyond the edge of the Grand Canyon and offers an unprecedented view from 4,000 ft above the ground!

The Horseshoe shaped skywalk is constructed of glass walls 4 inches thick and visitors must don special scratch-proof socks as they partake in the view.

The work is a true engineering feat that can hold up to 70 tons (roughly 14 African Elephants) and withstands winds of 100mph.
 

Top of tyrol


Innsbruck-based architects Astearchitecture have completed a mountain-top viewing platform located on 3200m at the Stubai Glacier in Tyrol, Austria.The same view could’ve been gained without the steel platform but it definitely provides a decievingly safe area for tourists wanting a perfect view of stubai glacier. plus there’s always the attraction of the thrill factor as you stand 9 metres away from the mountain.
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Aurland Lookout

Architects Todd Saunders and Tommie Wilhelmsen were commissioned to design a scenic rest-stop 2’000ft above aurland fjord in norway and came up with this beauty. the outermost end of the horizontal platform – which curves to form the structure’s support – is closed off by a sheet of glass, offering an incredible view towards the ground for all those with the balls to make the trip to the end.

5 Coolest Theme Parks Around The World

Harry Potter Theme Park

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Universal Orlando Resort will soon be expanding their Islands of Adventure park with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, set to open in the spring of 2010.
Said Diane Nelson, President of DC Entertainment, who is also responsible for overseeing the Harry Potter brand team worldwide:
“The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is yet another way that fans will be able to experience and enjoy Harry Potter for many years to come,” said . “The power of this brand speaks for itself, as the enthusiasm of our dedicated fans around the world continues to grow even stronger as we move into the future.” Source

Ferrari Theme Park in Abu Dhabi.

theme park

Supercar aficionados will undoubtedly be salivating at the thought of a visit to Ferrari’s Theme Park. Now set to open in 2010 it will be home to a range of multi-sensory experiences ranging from rollercoasters to displays and driving experiences.
A few more details have emerged since our original report, including confirmation of the “world’s fastest rollercoaster”, which reaches speeds of 125mph (200kmh) while rising over 200ft (62m) through the Ferrari GT inspired roof and back down again.
A range of state-of-the-art racing simulators use a similar system to the Ferrari racing team, a flume ride takes you on a water-filled journey through a 599 engine and punters can opt for an aerial voyage over Italy following a Ferrari.SourceDickens World
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Charles Dickens drab portrayals of the United Kingdom during the industrial revolution come to life at Dickensworld, resembling a Tim Burton movie set. Now the whole family can pay to be bothered by grifters, hussies, walkabouts and other choreographed nuisances.
The attraction has been heavily promoted as containing Europe’s longest indoors dark ride, the “Great Expectations” log flume. Other attractions include the Haunted House of Ebenezer Scrooge (which incorporates a Pepper’s ghost effect), a Victorian school room, a 4D high definition cinema show, “The Six Jolly Fellowship Porters”, a themed bar and restaurant, and Fagin’s Den, a play area. There are also mockup Dickensian-style London buildings around a central square, populated with sundry costumed characters from Dickens’ works. Source

The Restless Planet Dinosaur Theme Park

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Imagine going back 100 million years or more to feel the power of the cosmic forces that helped shape our planet, and come face to face with giant dinosaurs.
Restless Planet is a unique electronic media and natural history experience, where visitors enter a prehistoric world.
Located in the heart of Dubailand, this place has the feeling of being back 100 million years ago in the era the prehistoric dinosaurs.
Partnering with Natural History Museum of London , dinosaur authority Jack Horner, Tokyo-situated animatronics team Kokoro and international theme park specialists Jack Rouse Associates, the Restless Planet will become real very soon.Source

F1 Theme Park

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Racing is inherent to Formula One, but this kind of race is something different altogether. While Ferrari prepares its theme park in Abu Dhabi, in neighboring emirate Dubai they’re gearing up for the grand opening of the first F1-X theme park.
Dubai-based development company Union Properties secured the rights from Bernie Ecclestone to construct a series of F1 theme parks around the world, and the first, in its home base, is preparing to open its doors around the same time as Ferrari World.Source

7 Breathtaking Aquariums Around The World

1 – Dubai aquarium in the Dubai Mall


Stingrays swim in the Dubai aquarium in the Dubai Mall, which covers the area of 50 soccer pitches.
The Dubai Aquarium – vast, entertaining, an engineering marvel, three stores tall and featuring glass ‘walk-through’ tunnels that contain exotic marine life.

2 – Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta





World’s Largest Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium,Atlanta, a wonderful home for more than 100,000 animals of 500 different species (notable specimens: whale sharks, beluga whales, manta ray) and with a capacity of 8.1 million US gallons (31,000 m) of marine fresh water

3 – Churaumi Aquarium




World’s Second Largest Aquarium , Churaumi Aquarium,part of the Ocean Expo Commemorative National Government Park located in Motobu, Okinawa, Japan; capacity: 7,500-cubic meters (1,981,290 gallons) of water; one of the few places where visitors can see a great variety of sea creatures including sharks and manta rays.

4 – The Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA)





AQWA, an unbelievable journey to the underwater world of Western Australia, “from the icy waters of the southern ocean to the tropical wonderland of coral reefs in the Far North”
The Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA) is a privately owned aquarium in Hillarys, Western Australia. It opened as Underwater World, Perth on April 13, 1988 and was acquired by the current owners, Coral World International and Morris Kahn, in 1991. It changed to its current name on January 1, 2001.
The facility holds approximately 400 species of marine life.

5 – UShaka Marine World





Largest Aquarium in AfricaUShaka Marine World, located on the strip of land between the beachfront and the harbor in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; a beautiful amusement park and at the same time the worlds fifth largest aquarium with 32 water tanks. The sea creatures found in the aquarium range from small sea horses all the way through to sharks and dolphins. The Aquarium is built to look like an old wreck.

6 – AquaDom, Radisson Hotel Aquarium





World’s Largest Cylindrical Aquarium , AquaDom, Radisson Hotel Aquarium, Berlin; 25 meters high aquarium, with a capacity of 260,000 gallons of water and over 2,500 fish (56 species); visitors can travel through the aquarium using an encased elevator and get to the top where there is a restaurant and an open view of the city; hotel rooms can also experience the underwater view.

7 – The 32 million dollar Virtual Aquarium





World’s Largest Virtual Fish Tank, 30 by 250 meters LED screen or 32 million dollar Virtual Aquarium mounted at about 80 feet in the air between two shopping malls in Beijing.

Sleeping Under the Stars

There's something magical about sleeping under the stars—the velvety sky overhead, the caress of cool breezes, a dazzling sunrise greeted with birdsong. But if that whole business of lying on the ground in a sleeping bag makes you want to sprint to the nearest hotel and hide under the duvet, we have a solution: nine extravagant beds that just happen to be outdoors. They're in the most extraordinary locations, too, such as on a photographer's platform in a South African game reserve, atop a 12th-century fortress in Rajasthan, or amid the mesas of southern Utah. So even if camping's not your thing, you can enjoy all the glories of nature with a hearty dose of nurture.

Amangiri Resort

Lake Powell, Canyon Point, Utah

A full moon showcases the mesas against the sky. At night the occasional coyote yips, and at dawn bighorn sheep may troop by. Welcome to Amangiri, the extravagant 600-acre resort near the Navajo Nation in Utah as it cuts in near Page, Arizona. This is one of the best places in the United States for star-gazing: The air is clear and dry, and there’s very little ambient light. If you’d like less exposure but a more focused relationship with the starry pitch above, six Amangiri suites have “Sky Terraces”—three protecting walls with the open sky above and a pool below you. With summer nights in the 60s and January nights in the mid-30s or lower, there’s appropriate bedding—from silk and wool throws to plumped down quilts. Cocoa with a shot of brandy? Coffee at 5:30 a.m.? This is Amangiri ($1,500–$3,500).


Lion Sands Private Game Reserve

Sabi and Sand Game Reserve, South Africa

Guy Aubrey Chalkley, who founded Lion Sands in 1933, used to tell his daughter when she slept out on the Chalkley Treehouse, “Never fear the roar of the lion for it is rather when you don’t that you need to be aware.” Over the past 60 years, this tree house—built as a photographer’s platform—has been reinforced and adorned with a cozy double bed, a hot-water bottle, dressing gowns, and a basin. Guests can have dinner in the tree or dine at the lodge and head out afterward. Once dropped off—with mosquito repellent, torches, lanterns, and a two-way radio—they’re on their own till morning. Chances are that during the night you will hear a lion roaring to stake his claim. This part of South Africa, bordering Kruger National Park, has a high concentration of noisy predators: Hyenas and jackals engage in chitter chatter. At sunset and sunrise birds chime in. The tree house sits on the edge of an open plain: You may be able to hear the Sabie River, about a mile away. The sun sets and evening emerges; when the moon is full, you might see its light shimmering off the elephants less than 200 feet away across the plain. They are remarkably silent under the spectacular night sky—the Southern Cross, shooting stars, satellites—which is all yours, from horizon to horizon (tree house, $254).

Blue Mountains Private Safaris

Blue Mountains National Park, Australia

“You know the song? ‘Once a jolly swagman?’” asks Mark Tickner, who takes guests into the bush for Blue Mountains Private Safaris. A swagman, he says, is a nomad who sleeps in a swag. But here, the swags are padded, lined with fine cotton, and laid out on decks by the Wollondilly River, 75 miles southwest of Sydney, where the eucalyptus forests yield their oily vapor to the sun, leaving a scent and a blue haze that gives the mountains their name. After days spent hiking the sandstone escarpment and deep gullies, viewing platypuses, kangaroos, wombats, and echidnas, slip into your swag. Dingoes howl, parrots and eagles screech, rapids roar. At dawn, the kookaburra laughs (yes, sitting in the old gum tree) and grazing kangaroos thump around in the bush (doubles, $1,317).

L’Albereta, Erbusco

Lombardy, Italy

Industrialist Vittorio Moretti has a theory about houses, that each should have a pensatoio at the top—a place surrounded by windows where a person can pause, contemplate nature, and refresh. So L’Albereta, his family’s Relais & Châteaux hotel in the hills of Franciacorta, between Brescia and Bergamo, has the Cabriolet Suite. Atop a tower facing Lake Iseo, you are in the clutches of Northern Italian luxury—sitting on satin, grosgrain, damask; surrounded by vineyards; fed by the great Milanese chef Gualtiero Marchesi. Feeling romantic? Press a button and the roof above the bed opens to the heavens. During the annual Perseid meteor shower (known here as the tears of San Lorenzo), the suite is particularly sought after: Legend has it that for every falling star, a wish will be granted. But the sky is beautiful anytime, and the nights can be full of the perfume of wild roses, jasmine, and gardenias (Cabriolet Suite, $617).

Loisaba Wilderness Lodge

Nanyuki, Kenya

Loisaba, on Kenya’s Laikipia Plateau, has spurred 10 marriage proposals. “It’s all about the beds,” says owner Tom Silvester. “They are ridiculously comfortable.” You’re just off the equator, amid acacia woodland and savanna, not far from the Rift Valley, the birthplace of modern man. There are two Star Bed camps: Kiboko, by a huge water hole that attracts wildlife, and Koija, on the Ewaso Nyiro River (you can hike from one to the other). Inspired by a Mukokoteni handcart and built on an old Land Rover axle, each bed is on a large platform set about 10 feet off the ground and 100 feet apart, ensuring privacy. In the evening, the Masai and Samburu who run the camps wheel them out from under a palm-thatch roof. The air is clear 300 days a year, granting full access to the wonder of African skies (doubles, $1,190).

Adrère Amellal Desert Ecolodge

Siwa Oasis, Egypt

Adrère Amellal, built of mud and salt crystals, sits at the foot of a flat-topped white mountain considered holy by the local people. The lodge uses no power except for the generator that runs the kitchen. Outdoor beds are set up on the roof or out in the desert, south of the Siwa Oasis. In an immense “ballroom” (a bowl between tall dunes), dinner is served at magnificent tables set with crystal and argenterie. Later, Siwan staff in turbans and tunics escort you into the desert. They don’t use flashlights; you walk up a dune in the pitch black. On the other side are real beds made of palm reeds, with proper quilts and pillows and Egyptian cotton sheets. But if you fall asleep, you’ll miss the magic of absolute silence ($800; open Sept.–July).

Killa Bhawan

Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

In Jaisalmer, a living fortress high above the surrounding small city of the same name, a Killa Bhawan guest might follow local custom and sleep out on the roof, in a well-made colonial bed. Jaisalmer’s magic is magnified by its isolation in the middle of the Indian desert. Known as the Golden City, it was built in the twelfth century of yellow limestone marble and is famous for its palace, which you can see from the terrace, as well as its exquisite havelis (mansions) and seven Jain temples. Night brings a little wind, a clear desert sky, and the sounds of the city bedding down. Three thousand people live in the fort; in the temples, the worshippers sing and drum, then motorbikes head home, and by ten all becomes quiet. Life begins again around six with the bells of the temples and first prayers (doubles, $120–$200).