Asia

Tigers Attack Tourist Bus in China

Bengal Tiger ©Paul Mannix A group of tourists visiting Jinan Wildlife World in eastern China narrowly escaped after Bengal tigers attacked their bus. The incident occurred when the worker in charge of the enclosure was on his lunch break. While visitors hid under their bus seats and attempted to call emergency services, eight tigers circled [...]

Human-Like Sculptures Cause Controversy Around the World

Mark Jenkins Installation / Pictoplasma 2011 ©MatiasR Artist Mark Jenkins has spent the last few years travelling the world and installing his controversial life-like sculptures. Civilians have been so shocked by his sculptures that they’ve called the ambulance and police to help what they thought were real struggling or dead people. Perhaps the most controversal [...]

Make Way for Cocktails and Skydiving in Singapore

iFly, you fly, we all fly © CNN.go.com If you have a few hours to kill in Singapore, take a trip to iFly–the city’s skydiving destination with a new bar, SkyLoft. That’s right–a wind tunnel for indoor simulated skydiving and an adjacent bar. While divers are not allowed in pre-drink, they are more than welcome [...]

Japanese Honor Old Sewing Needles in Festival

Sewing machine © alecs apple Many ceremonies are held around the world to commemorate loved ones, aging flags–but only one is dedicated to old sewing needles. Every year on February 8th, Japanese tailors lay their used needles to rest in “hari-kuyo”, a festival held in Buddhist temples. The old needles are stuck into pieces of [...]

Beer Helps Ultra-Marathoner Run Around the World

Heineken beer bottle ©Creative Tools Irish ultra-marathon runner Richard Donovan has become the first man on the planet to run seven marathons on seven continents in less than five days–thanks to a bottle of beer. In just four days, 22 hours and three minutes, Donovan completed marathons at the Russian Novo science base in Antarctica, [...]

Cute Pandas Send Edinburgh Zoo’s Numbers Soaring

Panda ©Chi King Since the arrival of two very cute giant pandas, visitor numbers at the Edinburgh Zoo are up 200 percent. Around 70,000 people have visited the new zoo residents since December–more than three times the number who visited the zoo during the same period in 2010. The two pandas, named Tian Tian and [...]

Finnish Flight Attendants Take Off to Bollywood

Finn Air ©Joi To celebration of India’s Republic Day, flight crew on the January 17th Finnair flight AY201 from Helsinki to Dehli donned Indian attire and danced down the airplane aisles to “Deewangi Deewangi” from the Bollywood blockbuster “Om Shanti Om.” The idea for the tribute came from Helena Kaartinen, who has worked for Finnair [...]

World’s Oldest Cheese For Sale In China

After 15 years, it really is time to cut the cheese ©funkyuk Claimed to be the world’s oldest edible cheese, an importer in Hong Kong is hoping to sell a 15-year old, extra mature Bitto, an Italian alpine cheese. Ivona Grgan, the importer in possession of the Bitto, believes the Chinese love good food, particularly “relics”. [...]

Hong Kong Tourists Trapped in Gondolas Over New Years Holiday

Ngong Ping 360 ©Robert S. Donovan In what has to be a sign of bad luck for the upcoming year, about 800 passengers on Hong Kong’s Ngong Ping 360 gondola were left hanging in the air for over 30 minutes during the very busy Chinese New Year Holiday. The passengers had to endure temperatures below [...]

Malaysia’s Taman Negara: The Oldest Rainforest on Earth

Tembeling River, Malaysia © Rob_Wood In the middle of the Malaysian peninsula lies a rainforest so old it makes the entire Amazon jungle seem like new growth. Taman Negara, literally ‘national park’ in Malay, has lain virtually undisturbed for 130 million years. Located as it is in the centre of the equator, even ice ages [...]

Photo of the Moment: Sunrise Over Pandan Reservoir, Singapore

Photo of the Moment: A Perch on Lattakia Beach, Syria

Cupid’s Arrow Strikes Panda Pair at French Zoo

Pandas Huan Huan and Yuan Zi © Reuters A few days into their new home at the ZooParc de Beauval in the Loire Valley, pandas Huan Huan and Yuan Zi, are creating quite a stir. The pair is already showing interest in each other and giving hope to zookeepers that cubs could be in their future. [...]

7 Creepiest Abandoned Japanese Love Hotels [Gallery]

With a whopping 500 million visits a year, love hotels – establishments that offer couples a private, short-stay location in which they can indulge in the pleasures of the flesh – are a booming business in Japan. Indeed, it’s been estimated that 1.4 million Japanese people, or 2% of the country’s population, visit a love [...]

5 Bizarre Things To Do In Bali

Indonesia is one of the largest groups of islands in the world with 18,306 in total. Bali is one of the most popular islands in the group and is beautiful all year round. You’ll enjoy tropical climate that averages between 70 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit from January to December. Not only is it a great [...]

Couple Photographs the World “Feet First”

Machu Picchu ©Tom and Verity Robinson Tom and Verity Robinson, both 30, took their first “feet photo” in 2005 on Brighton beach in the UK. Since that photo, the globe-trotting couple has continued to photograph their feet as they traveled the world. They have since travelled through 31 countries taking the shots in places like [...]

Stay on a Soviet Battleship Hotel in China

Carrier © brighton Ready to move up from a youth hostel but not in the mood for a cookie-cutter upmarket hotel? China’s got the lodging for you. A former Soviet aircraft carrier under renovation in Tianjin is set to become China’s first ex-naval hotel in 2012…The future luxury hotel is part of Binhai Aircraft, an [...]

An Asian Sanctuary for Elephants and Polo Players

Elephants at the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation ©wsj.com In the Golden Triangle, where Laos, Thailand and Burma meet, polo players all over the world come together to play with a very different vehicle—elephants. The Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation houses a sanctuary for 30 elephants and a 250-acre camp, run by the Four Seasons and [...]

A Pool for Daring Swimmers in Singapore

The Infinity Pool at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel © dailymail.co.uk High atop the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore, you’ll found a swimming pool not for the faint at heart, or those suffering from vertigo. Welcome to the world’s longest, elevated pool. Jump in and don’t be afraid–it is only an illusion that you [...]

$736K Tuna Sold at Tokyo Fish Market

Bluefin tuna© New York Times A new record was set last week at the first auction of the year at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. The prized piece of fish was a 593 pound bluefin tuna, sold for $736,000. The winning bid went to the president of a noted chain of Tokyo-based sushi restaurants. [...]

We Were Wanderers On A Prehistoric Earth: An Ode to Malaysia [Video]

Full screen highly recommended on this one.

Sea Lion Wows Crowds With Keen Penmanship

Jay the sea lion, writing “dragon” in calligraphy © Getty In preparation for the Chinese New Year later this month, an aquarium in suburban Tokyo has once again used the talents of their own, to usher in 2012. Jay the sea lion was spotted at Hakkejima Sea Paradise this week with his trainer, writing in [...]

Photo of the Moment: Pondering Maldives

Maldives Shuts Down All Spas

Maldives © chopr If you’re thinking of taking a vacation in one of the Maldives’ five-star resorts, don’t expect too much pampering anymore: Last week the tourism ministry instructed resort hotels across the nation’s coral islands to close all spas and health centres offering beauty treatments and massages. The act was in response to a [...]

Chinese Travelers Stray Away From Group Travel

Chinese Tourists ©feserc Enormous Chinese tour groups traipsing around Europe and the USA could soon be a thing of the past, according to a new tourism report. ITB World Travel Trends Report suggested that the change in Chinese travel habits is due to the rising number of educated young professionals in China. These young Chinese [...]

New, Classier Wendy’s Coming to Japan

Wendy’s Japan ©liddybits Would you like fries with that foie gras burger? After leaving the Japanese market two years ago, American fast food chain Wendy’s is looking to make a strong comeback in Japan. To stand out from competitor McDonalds, and local chains Lotteria and Mos Burger, Wendy’s is counting on a new premium menu [...]

Newest High Speed Train Launched in China

High speed train in action ©Lachlan With rail production halted since July, China’s rail industry reemerged last weekend with the launch of a new high speed train. The train has a maximum speed of 500 kmh. A subsidiary of CSR, China’s largest train maker, designed the train which resembles an ancient Chinese sword. After a fatal [...]

A Salad With a Side of Sex Appeal in Korea

The all-male staff at Mies Container© cnngo.com It may be thousands of miles away, but for women wanting to turn the tables on the “delightfully tacky yet unrefined” Hooters chain, there is an answer to their prayers in Seoul. The general “theme” of Mies Container is a construction site, with the all-male wait staff dressing [...]

US Teen Becomes the Youngest to Climb the World’s Tallest Mountains

Mount Elbrus ©Hombit Today in news that will make you feel like a complete and utter failure who hasn’t done anything with your life, a teenager from California has become the youngest person to successfully climb the highest mountain in each of the world’s seven continents. Instead hanging out at the mall slurping an Orange [...]

Coffee Chains Spike Drinks to Spike Sales in China

Starbucks ©dunhilaryu Starbucks is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of coffee giants taking over China (and the world for that matter…) The company has been very vocal about its plans to triple its current number of stores in China to 1,500 by 2015. But another company, Pacific Coffee is challenging [...]

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