Tag: travel featured

Posted on

A Floral Paradise in Japan

Hitachi Kaihin Koen or Hitachi Seaside Park is spread over 153 hectares of land close to Hitachi city’s Pacific coast (Japan). The park is best known for its seasonal flowers – Daffodils and Tulips in spring,  Nemophilia and Rose in early summer and Kochia and cosmos in autumn.

Photo: Nemophilia Harmony by Les Taylor See more at http://www.flickr.com/people/25802474@N04

The park has become known for its baby blue-eyes flowers, with the blooming of 4.5 million of the translucent-petaled blue flowers in the spring drawing tourists. In addition to the annual “Nemophila Harmony”, the park features a million daffodils, 170 varieties of tulips, and many other flowers. The park includes cycling trails and a small amusement park with a Ferris wheel.

Posted on

Worlds Most Unique Hotels – Treehotel (VIDEO)

Treehotels - four types of roomsWhy not create a hotel that gives people a chance to experience nature amongst the tree-tops, while also providing a uniquely designed housing experience? These questions led to the creation of Treehotel in Harads – a place where nature, ecological values, comfort and modern design are combined for an exciting adventure.

Treehotel was inspired by the film ”The Tree Lover” by Jonas Selberg Augustsen. It’s a tale of three men from the city who want to go back to their roots by building a tree house together. “The Tree Lover” is a philosophic story about the significance of trees for us human beings. READ MORE

Posted on

Iconic Edinburgh Castle (VIDEO)

Verbalisti continue the European travel with Rick Steves; this week, we explore the most famous castle in Scotland.

Edinburgh Castle is the fortified birthplace of the city. Used as both a fort and a royal residence since the 11th century, most of the castle buildings today are from its more recent function as a military garrison. This fascinating and multifaceted sight deserves several hours of your time, and admission comes with a fine guided tour. After the tour other sights of the castle beckon — including the National War Museum that illuminates Scotland’s proud military history.

 

Posted on

St. Petersburg’s Amazing Subway System (VIDEO)

St Petersburg metro, escalator

The striking thing about St. Petersburg’s amazing subway system (like Moscow’s) is that it is extremely deep. It was dug by nearly free peasant labor in the 1930s and – after a break for World War II – finished in the 1950s. While London’s impressive system feels rickety, St. Petersburg’s feels industrial-strength and bomb-hardened. Getting around by metro is second nature for locals. Today millions of citizens who use the system spend a good part of their lives – about an hour a week – riding escalators like this. READ MORE

Posted on

Sleep under the Deep Blue Sea for $30,000 or Get Married for $3 Million

Poseidon Undersea Resort
Poseidon Undersea Resort – Rooms
You can sleep on the ocean floor, and you even get a button to feed the fish right outside your window

The Poseidon Resort is for anyone who has always wanted to experience the life of the Little Mermaid and sleep under the deep blue sea, surrounded by beautiful rainbow fish and marine life. But you had better have a royal bank account if you wish to experience the life of the princess of the sea. A one-week stay at Poseidon will cost $30,000 per couple. Or you can go whole hog if King Poseidon really is your father and rent the whole resort for $3,000,000! Can you believe that’s actually an option?

The resort, which is currently under construction on Katafinga Island in Fiji, will feature twenty-two 550-square-foot (51 m2) guest rooms, an underwater restaurant and bar, a library, conference room, wedding chapel, spa and a 1,200-square-foot (110 m2) luxury suite.

_

The resort claims that it will take two years to build once they have raised enough funds, and has released a cool preview video showing renderings of the resort. Here’s what the Poseidon Undersea Resort will look like.

_

Posted on

Check Out Chessboxing in London (VIDEO)

London is a centre for interesting events and few shows are more unusual or entertaining than a chess boxing match. ‘What IS chessboxing?’ you ask. Chessboxing is exactly what it sounds like, a mix of the strategy game ‘chess’ and the physically demanding sport of ‘boxing’. Players challenge each other’s physical strength, endurance and technique during boxing rounds, while stopping in between rounds to take each other on at chess. This sport requires both strength AND strategy to win and challenges the typical stereotypes of the ‘dumb but powerful’ athlete. Don’t be fooled by the muscles and tattoos, these fighters are also good strategic thinkers. READ MORE

Posted on

Outdoor Jacuzzi in the Snow Covered Landscape

Outdoor Jacuzzi on the Matterhorn
Image courtesy of Plus Life Health

This outdoor jacuzzi is part of the Igloo Village, ‘Iglu-Dorf‘, in Zermatt. Guests sleep at an altitude of 2,727 meters (8.946 ft) at the Gornergrat, right next to Switzerland’s most famous mountain, the mighty Matterhorn. The Igloo village typically opens up in December with accommodations for up to 40 overnight guests (although it can handle more for dining and partying during the evening). The coolest feature is surely the two outdoor jacuzzies set directly in the snow covered landscape. Imagine the views you could soak in!

  • Disclaimer: The image is used with acknowledgment to the original source. Plus Life Health retains all rights to the visual content. For more information, visit https://pluslifehealth.com.au.

Posted on

You Should Get Lost in Venice (VIDEO)

Verbalisti language students at Istituto Venezia

Most tourists never get beyond Venice’s touristy main drag. Students of the Verbalists Language Network and savvy travelers escape the center and its crowds to explore this city’s unique labyrinth of picturesque alleys and canals. Don’t worry about getting lost — you’re on an island! If you reach the edge of town, stop to enjoy a drink while studying your map. Or practice your Italian 🙂

Our most traveled verbalist Rick Steves explains why you should get lost in this magical city. READ MORE

Posted on

The Magical Bamboo Forest

The Bamboo Forest of Sagano
The Bamboo Forest of Sagano (Photo by Мike Hollman)

Forest is located in Arashiyama, a district on the west outskirts of Kyoto,  Japan. Sagano Bamboo Forest is one of the most amazing natural sites in Japan.

One of the most interesting facts about Sagano Bamboo Forest is the sound which the wind makes while it blows amongst the bamboo. Amazingly enough, this sound has been voted on as one of the ”one hundred must-be-preserved sounds of Japan” by the Japanese government.

The walking paths that cut through the bamboo groves make for a nice walk or bicycle ride. The groves are particularly attractive when there is a light wind and the tall bamboo stalks sway gently back and forth. The bamboo has been used to manufacture various products, such as baskets, cups, boxes and mats at local workshops for centuries.

Posted on

The Most Beautiful Fountains in Europe

Swarovski Fountain, Austria

Swarovski Fountain, Austria

A gentle green giant with crystals for eyes and a fountain for a mouth faces out from a hillside in the market town of Wattens, Austria. Beneath the curtain of water is Crystal Worlds, a slightly surreal and sparkling series of art installations created by artist André Heller in 1995 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Swarovski crystal. (Courtesy of Riccardo Spila/Grand Tour/Corbis)

Charybdis, England

Charybdis, England

Greek mythology supplies the name for this mesmerizing, if dainty, fountain on the grounds of Seaham Hall in Sunderland. Charybdis was a water nymph that was punished by Zeus and turned into a whirlpool that swallowed up ships. The fountain was completed in 2000 by William Pye, who invented the fountain’s swirling vortex design by using high-pressure water pumped within an acrylic cylinder. (William Pye)

Stravinsky Fountain, France

Stravinsky Fountain, Paris

Paris’s modern fountain, built in 1983 as part of a citywide project, features sixteen whimsical, moving sculptures meant to represent the compositions of Igor Stravinsky. Two artists contributed sculptures, some in black (by Jean Tinguely) and others flamboyantly colored (by Niki de Saint-Phalle). (Thomas Gasienica)

Tivoli Villa d’Este, Italy

Tivoli Villa d’Este, Italy

The gardens of this 16th-century Renaissance villa in Tivoli overflow with hundreds of fountains. The Fountain of Neptune has jets shooting more than 45ft, and the Fountain of the Dragon has elaborately carved sculptures. (Courtesy of Atlantide Phototravel/Corbis)

The Grand Cascade, Russia

The Grand Cascade, Russia

Created for Peter the Great in the 1720s, the grounds of the Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg feature a series of 64 opulent fountains and more than 200 sculptures, known in fitting hyperbole as the Grand Cascade. The centrepiece is a gilded Samson wrestling a lion that shoots a jet of water more than 65ft high from its open mouth. Amazingly, all the fountains operate without pumps. (Jeff Huffman)

Posted on

Beachy Head – One of the Most Notorious Suicide Spots in the World

Beachy Head

Beachy Head is a chalk headland on the south coast of England, close to the town of Eastbourne in the county of East Sussex, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. The cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m (530 ft) above sea level. The peak allows views of the south east coast from Dungeness to the east, to Selsey Bill in the west. Its height has also made it one of the most notorious suicide spots in the world.

The chalk was formed in the Late Cretaceous period, between 65 and 100 million years ago, when the area was under the sea. During the Cenozoic Era the chalk was uplifted (see Cenozoic Era). When the last Ice Age ended, sea levels rose and the English Channel formed, cutting into the chalk to form the dramatic cliffs along the Sussex coast.

There are an estimated 20 deaths a year at Beachy Head. The Beachy Head Chaplaincy Team conducts regular day and evening patrols of the area in attempts to locate and stop potential jumpers. Workers at the pub and taxi drivers are also on the look-out for potential victims, and there are posted signs with the telephone number of Samaritans urging potential jumpers to call them. Deaths at the site are well-covered by the media; Ross Hardy, the founder of the chaplaincy team, said this encouraged people to come and jump off. Worldwide, the landmark’s suicide rate is surpassed only by the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Aokigahara Woods in Japan, according to Thomas Meaney of The Wall Street Journal.