Archive for General

6 April, 2007 | No comments

The dying Venice

Venice is under threat of, but not because of flooding, but owing to the development of tourism.
One more hotel is likely to be constructed in the ancient city…
Last kindergarten in the historical center of Venice, near the St. Mark square will be closed within the next few days and reconstructed into the modern hotel.
In opinion of Italian analysts, the city on water gradually turns from an inhabited corner of Italy to not promised tourist sight. In the XXth century the number of inhabitants of Venice made 175 000 person, has decreased up to 121 000 in 1966, and at the moment it hardly reaches 61 000 and is constantly continuing to decrease. Thus not less than 50 000 foreign tourists visit Venice every day. The market cost of habitation is also simultaneously increasing. In the center it comes nearer to a mark of one million euro for standard apartments (100 m²). Venetians recollect that in the middle of XXth centuries the street abounded with shops and the shops, serving a life of local residents - now the majority of shops specialize on souvenirs like porcelain and carnival masks.
Venice’s mayor approves, that “extinction” of the small settlements of tourist value is a problem all-European. Experts believe, that the aiming at tourist success contrary to comfort of radical inhabitants will soon deprive romantic city on water of its primordial charm and will transform it either into a museum, or into the copy of the noisy Disneyland.
Already the glorified “local” gondoliers make up to 40 % from the total seasonal workers who have arrived here to earn additional money.
The main characteristic parameter demonstrates that now there are hardly more than 700 inhabited apartments in the Venetian center, thus 230 hotels have been reconstructed from public buildings.
It is not clear whether the XXI century will become the century of destruction of Venice. It depends not only on will and desire of local residents, whose population is continuing to decrease, but it also depends on the decisions, which should be accepted at the global state level.
 

18 March, 2007 | No comments

Design-hotels: night nightmares are included in cost of residing

Berlin - Propeller Island City Lodge
The kaleidoscope of images and spirits
Four-star Propeller Island City Lodge hotel offers the materialized fruit of imaginations of the architect. All subjects of 45 rooms interior are executed manually and unique, and the special theme declared in their names corresponds to each number. For example, Symbol Room, consisting of 300 black-and-white squares-symbols, will certainly plunge the lodger into reflections about a universe, as well as someone seemed “cozy” number Freedom representing simply a prison cell, whence, by a hole in a wall, the former prisoner has run away, having left the future lodgers for memory the hammer forgotten on a floor. As well as it is necessary to stylistics of prison cells, the room number is far from the luxury: the toilet and a washstand are absolutely beside, in the same room. The Mirror Room represents an opportunity to consider and surrounding stop in a mirror kaleidoscope, in passing reflecting about metaphysics of the world and its separation, and in room Upside Down the world has really turned over: a bed is on a ceiling, and a luster is on a floor… How and where to sleep to sleep? It turns out that, for a berth the convenient box in a cellar is adapted. And the special attention is given to the main vacation spot - to beds. Forms and their arrangement is a separate theme of the designer. The visitor is also offered a couple of “pretty” coffins, suspended on circuits at height of one and a half meter, shaking box (it is possible to climb up in it on vertically put up ladder), a huge wooden round table from fairy tales about giants, which actually appears a sofa.
The cost of numbers is from €70-190 per person.
Madrid - Puerta America
The museum of forms and colors
What will turn out, if 19 eminent architects will work above one project? Madrid five-star Puerta America hotel is a place for acquaintance to modern architecture. As unlike museums where it is possible to contemplate only the exposed exhibits, in hotel - Puerta America each visitor has an opportunity to lie down, sit and even “to open-close and twist” on these design features. At entrance the fact-finding card on which it is possible “to choose the designer” is handed over to the visitor.

14 February, 2007 | No comments

Road of death

Any road can be unsafe to a certain extent. But some roads are really very dangerous. An old road in Bolivian province Yungas (North Yungas Road) is considered as the most dangerous road in the world and is known as “Road of death”.
Annually the road “takes” lives of 100-200 people. According to one of the sources, the road has been constructed in 1930th by Paraguayan prisoners. Other people say that here it was built by the American building company in the middle of the last century.
The road goes down from the height of 3, 6 thousand meters up to 330 meters above sea level. Here there are very abrupt slopes, a slippery and dirty covering. Sometimes, two cars can’t part on this twisting and extreme road, so, it makes drivers to stop, go forward, to take a reading by estimation of the situation and to agree on further actions.
By the way, one of local road rules orders to the driver of a going down car to keep external line of road, and the priority of right travel is always given to climbing uphill transport. The most interesting is that even one lorry can somehow to find necessary place on the road, besides, that lorries and buses is the basic transport on the “Road of death”.
During the journey the drivers should deal with not the most favorable meteorological conditions: the cool plateau of the Andes with monthly average temperatures from 6 up to 11 degrees is replaced by damp jungle of Amazon. There, the road is not only narrow, but it is also very slippery. Asphalt covers only the first 20 kilometers of the way, the rest is a dirt and clay. Also do not forget, that a motor-vehicle park of Bolivia is a very old car park with worn out cars and busses with the erased trunks.
Because of dense fogs it very often happens so that the road becomes visible only in some meters forward. And then it is necessary to move very slowly and accurately. By the way, tropical downpours often provoke landslips, and the piece of road can simply be washed off. So, here is the recipe of fatal fear.
However North Yungas Road is one of few routes connecting northern Bolivia with the capital, therefore its exploitation does not stop even for a day. The danger of the road has made its popular among tourists.
Many people come here to lift a level of adrenaline in blood, having gone down on it on an off-road car or a mountain bicycle. Not all of them come back. But those who have managed to pass it and to survive, compare this route with the conquest of the Everest. And usual inhabitants of Bolivia continue “to submit” this road every day.

23 January, 2007 | No comments

What do the tourists lose during their vacations?

As it was found out during the interrogation lead by mail.ru project, more often travelers lose sunglasses - 14,4 % of travelers lose this beach attribute - fifty-fifty among men and women.
On the second place, strangely enough, belongs to the time (10 % interrogated). Perhaps, these tourists were disappointed with their rest or do not know that it is possible to find any necessary information about the best vacation spot in the Internet. For example, it is possible to get the required details about the resorts, and also to receive other helpful information.
The third place goes to a purse or money. They were lost with 5, 1 % of respondents.
Among other answers are:
 Room key (3, 7 %);
 Clothes (3, 6 %);
 Shoes (3, 1 %);
 Sex-toys (1, 3 %);
 Mind (0, 8 %).
The top-ten answers set closes with those who lose virginity (0, 8 %), honor and conscience on the rest.
The majority of tourists (52, 1 %) lose nothing, being on vacation.