We are live bloging from Tokyo this week and one of the first stops on our trip is NHK Studio Park. If you don’t know NHK it is one of Japan’s largest TV broadcasters and studio park is a small theme park attached to their Shibuya studios. Situated on the edge of Shibya’s shopping district Studio Park is more set up for the Japanese tourist as their is not too much English displays around the tour, despite this the place is very amusing on a whole different level if you don’t know a word of Japanese as the place is filled with crazy cartoon characters you may have never seen before. We did studio park in under an hour but our main We are live bloging from Tokyo this week and one of the first stops on our trip is NHK Studio Park. If you don’t know NHK it is one of japan’s largest TV broadcasters and studio park is a small theme park attached to their Shibuya studios. Situated on the edge of Shibya’s shopping district Studio Park is more set up for the Japanese tourist as their is not too much English displays around the tour, despite this the place is very amusing on a whole different level if you don’t know a word of Japanese as the place is filled with crazy cartoon characters you may have never seen before. We did studio park in under an hour but it was late in the day with very few people there and our main motive of the visit was to buy a domo kun stuffed toy at their gift shop. Entry costs 200 yen for adults (around 2 dollars) and there is also a shuttle bus back to Shibuya station. Read the rest of this entry »
You might remember Sid James from the risque Carry on Series of Films or the ‘Bless This House’ TV series in the 70’s. Well poor old Sid had a hearty and died during opening night of the Mating Season in 1976. Now it is believed the ghost of Sid haunts the Sunderland Empire Theatre in Sunderland north East England. Originally called the Empire Palace and opening in 1907, the theatre seats about 1800 people and is home to some pretty impressive stage shows. The theatre has an impressive huge dome which has some amazing state of the art LED lighting which really makes the theatre very spectacular. It was recently redeveloped to house West End shows and has been home to such performances as Starlight Express, Miss Saigon and My Fair Lady. This year some of the great productions include Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dream coat and an old favourite Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Let’s hope Sid doesn’t scare the crowds off for this.
The Old Geelong Gaol is a former gaol that was built in stages from 1849 to 1864 and used until 1991 when the prisoners made way for tourist at this rather creepy old building. Originally known as HM Prison Geelong the gaol is located in Geelong about an hour’s drive from Melbourne in Victoria, the building is a large bluestone structure that was built by the prisoners themselves and shaped in a cruciform, a design taken from North London’s Pentonville Prison. A cold and spooky place the building has seen its fair share deaths over the years either from disease or natural causes or from prisoners who committed suicide after they were sent insane by its solitary confinement or were hanged for their crimes. Today many of the visitors to gaol report a spooky presence in the building and several research groups have studied the site for paranormal activity. Read the rest of this entry »
The Roosevelt Hotel is a luxury hotel that first opened for business in 1927. built in a Spanish style the hotel is named after the 26th President of the USA, Theodore Roosavelt and has been the place to stay for Hollywood’s A list since it opened and even hosted the 1st Academy Awards Ceremony back in 1929. Some of its more longer term residents include Clark Gable and Carole Lombard who’s old penthouse is now named in their honor. Marilyn Monroe also spent some a lot of time at the hotel as well as Montgomery Clift, both stars are said to haunt the hotel to this day with sightings of Montgomery wandering the 8th floor hall and Marilyn dancing in the ballroom. Read the rest of this entry »
A popular tourist spot 1 hour north of Melbourne Hanging Rock is located off the Calder Highway and is well know for the 1975 Peter Weir film “Picnic at Hanging Rock†that was one of the first Australian films to receive international acclaim. The film itself was based upon the 1967 Joan Lindsay novel of the same name that tells the story of three girls and a teacher who mysteriously disappear during a St Valentines day picnic at the rock in 1900. The way Lindsay wrote the book many people still believe the events of the picnic are true but in fact the whole story was fictional. The story created a unique tourist draw card to the area with plenty of people wanting to experience the mystery of the rock. Several annual events are held at the rock each year with the races being on New Years Day, Australia Day and Labour Day. February being the month St Valentine’s day falls in also brings a lot of special events to the rock like the “Picnic at Hanging Rock†film night, The Harvest Picnic and a classic car show. During the summer months guided night walks are also conducted around the rock. The video above is the trailer for the film “Picnic at Hanging Rock”. Read the rest of this entry »
The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado is a large 1909 built Georgian Hotel. Built by Freelan Oscar Stanley, the man behind the Stanley Steamer, (a popular car before those new fangled internal combustion engine cars come along) the hotel has had plenty of famous guests over the years including Steven King who got the inspiration to write “The Shining†there. The hotel was even used in the 1997 TV mini series adaptation of the novel, as well as TV shows “Most Hauntedâ€, “Ghost Hunters†and the film “Dumb and Dumberâ€. Many of the hotels staff and previous guests claim to have heard plenty of noises from empty rooms, as well as see things move by themselves or of other apparitions that come and go. The piano in the lobby is also often heard playing a tune despite no one being at it, staff think this may be F.O. Stanley’s late wife who did play the piano. Today the Stanley Hotel is still open as a luxury resort and also operates history and ghost tours of the building. The Stanley is situated about an hour from Denver, in front of the Rocky Mountains. Read the rest of this entry »
Mexico is planning the world’s largest underwater museum with the first four concrete sculptures of 400 to be submerged in November in the Mexican Caribbean near Cancun. The sculptures will help protect the areas reef as well as attract sea life, eventually turning the sculptures into living sculptures as algae etc starts growing on them. The main idea behind the project is to attract tourists to the artificial reef instead of the coral reefs where they have previously damaged them. The sculptures are to be placed just below clear shallow waters to give easy access to divers, snorkelers and those in glass-bottomed boats. The sculptures are the work of Jason deCaires Taylor who previously did a similar project in Grenada West Indies (see video above). check out his website below for some more fantastic images from the projects. Read the rest of this entry »
An art installation that has caused outrage recently has seen Hitler return to Germany but this time in gnome form. The gnomes are a typical garden gnome but have one arm raised in a “Heil Hitler†salute and are taking over an area of Ludwigsplatz in the Bavarian City of Straubing. The artist behind the project is Ottmar Horl who has done other gnome type projects before including everything from puss in boots to rabbits and dogs. Some people complained that his new installation entitled “Dancing With the Devil†breaks German laws forbidding the use of Nazi symbolism but Horl argued that the piece was clearly mocking the Nazis, who likely would not appreciate being depicted as an army of garden gnomes. The installation is on until the 19th of October 2009 and you can even buy your own nazi gnome at his website below. Read the rest of this entry »
The Golden Nugget is the largest of the Las Vegas Downtown casinos consisting of just over 1900 guest rooms and 3500 square metres of gaming space. The casino is currently undergoing a major expansion to increase the hotel space by 500 rooms. The Golden Nugget opened in August of 1946 and is famous for its huge gold nuggets on display including the worlds largest, called the Hand of Faith it weighs in at a whopping 27.21 kilograms and was found in Australia. The Golden Nugget has some great dining options including a branch of the world famous Houston steak house Vic & Anthonys. There is also one of the best buffets downtown with live cooking stations and a huge array of tasty foods.
The Wynn is one of the most beautiful and luxurious of the Las Vegas casino resort complexes. Located on the Las Vegas Boulevard between Riviera and Spanish styled Palazzo and opposite the Fashion Show Mall the hotel has over 2700 rooms, 10300 square metres of gaming space, and huge conference, theatre and convention facilities. It is sister to the adjacent Encore which has just been completed and doubles the facility. The complex features some amazing shopping and even is home to a Ferrari dealership- very handy after a huge win. The gardens are spectacular and grounds make up the Wynn Golf Club. For partygoers there are several great nightclubs including Tryst which includes a 90ft waterfall and lake in the centre of the club- it is quiet spectacular. For diners there is no better in Vegas, with choices like Ristorante di Mare, Bartolotta and the world famous French Alex which holds two Michelin Stars and is the restaurant of Iron Chef USA Alessandra Stratta.
The Old Geelong Gaol is a former gaol that was built in stages from 1849 to 1864 and used until 1991 when the prisoners made way for tourist at this rather creepy old building. Originally known as HM Prison Geelong the gaol is located in Geelong about an hour’s drive from Melbourne in Victoria, the building is a large bluestone structure that was built by the prisoners themselves and shaped in a cruciform, a design taken from North London’s Pentonville Prison. A cold and spooky place the building has seen its fair share deaths over the years either from disease or natural causes or from prisoners who committed suicide after they were sent insane by its solitary confinement or were hanged for their crimes. Today many of the visitors to gaol report a spooky presence in the building and several research groups have studied the site for paranormal activity. 
