Where on Earth? Week 43 - Isla Negra, Chile originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 01 Feb 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

And you thought your backyard was overgrown? This was one of three very different houses that a globe trotting Nobel Prize-winning poet maintained in his home country. Come back on Friday for the definitive answer.

Where on Earth? Week 43 originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Love it or hate it, the erstwhile Mullet is the kind of haircut that's hard to ignore, and now a mad Scotsman - unfortunately sans le Mullet - is making his way around the world to visit every place on the globe that's got the word "mullet" as a place name.

He's currently in New Zealand, visiting such out of the way places as Mullet Point and Mullet Creek. So far he's racked up 12 Mullet-sites and is on track for a spectacular total of 29.

Truth be told, most of the Mullet-sites in New Zealand are probably named after the fish.

The haircut that time and taste forgot is unfortunately still pretty big down here, although nothing in comparison to the tonsorial tragedies you're likely to uncover in Eastern Europe or in the southern states of the US.

Click here (if you're brave enough) for shocking photographic evidence.

And click here to visit the website of Simon Varwell, mullet hunter extraordinaire.

Thanks to Mr Jaded on Flickr for the London Mullet

Racking up Mullet-Miles originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 05 Jan 2008 22:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How was New Year's Eve in your neck of the woods?

If you were a little disappointed with how it turned out, don't wait a full year before your next opportunity for end of year shenanigans. Just hop on a plane/train/taxi or chartered donkey and head overseas to intercept the coming of the new year in a different culture.

Chinese New Year kicks off on February 7 in 2008. Welcome to the Year of the Rat.

Around March 21, the Persian New Year or Nowruz is celebrated in Iran and across Central Asia. The traditional meal is Sabzi Polo Mahi, rice with green herbs and fish.

The indigenous Maori people of New Zealand celebrate Matariki or Maori New Year on June 5 2008. In the 21st century Matariki has been celebrated with renewed interest.

The Ethiopian New Year or Enkutatash falls on September 11. Because the Ethiopian calendar is seven years behind the western calendar, the Millennium was only celebrated in Ethiopia last year.

That's by no means a definitive list. Let us know about other opportunities for celebrating the New Year in other cultures and countries.

Thanks to kenyaoa on Flickr for the pic of Times Square

Why wait a year for your next New Year's Eve? originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 04 Jan 2008 21:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I'm spending Christmas in New Zealand with family this year, and Auckland's weather has dawned fine so it promises to be a day of wearing shorts and flip-flops around the barbecue. For northern hemisphere readers that probably sounds pretty exotic, but down here it's just what we're used to.

More exotic have been a few other Christmases that I've spent on the road.

1. In the Vietnamese port town of Nha Trang and attending midnight mass on Christmas Eve at the local Catholic cathedral - all the familiar carols like Silent Night but sung in Vietnamese
2. In the Indian city of Panjim in Goa and being entertained on a karaoke disco riverboat cruise by scores of locals wearing fake Santa beards
3. Christmas night in Penang in Malaysia, trying to find Fairytale of New York by The Pogues at a karaoke bar. The following morning we felt the earthquake that caused the Boxing Day tsunami and saw the wave roll into Penang's beaches

What are your memories of Christmas in a foreign country?

Where have you spent Christmas overseas? originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When I was researching New Zealand's Hermitage hotel a few weeks back for Lonely Planet, I had no idea of the weird no-brain stuff happening behind its flash doors. Maybe it was the altitude and mountain air - the Hermitage is right beside Mt Cook, New Zealand's highest peak - but a recent guest had a bit of culinary trouble in her room.

Hotel staff were called when an American guest in her mid 40s complained she couldn't get her frozen ham and pineapple pizza out of the microwave. Turns out she'd jammed the doughy treat in the lockable room safe, hit a few random numbers she thought stood for 3 minutes on high, and waited for her meaty, cheesy snack to emerge.

Is the appropriate response laughter or sympathy in such a case?

Scary.

Thanks to feeb on Flickr for the pic of a pop tart retrieval process.

Is that damn pizza done yet? originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yep, eveyone's favourite reindeer is on the loose, and a week out from Christmas has already been sighted above New Zealand's capital, Wellington.

Click here to see a larger image of this Yuletide-friendly cloud formation that was snapped by Kiwi photographer Alan Blacklock as he sat in his back garden.

He's adamant it's not the result of some Photoshop jiggery pokery, a stance backed up by the boffins at New Zealand's MetService. Apparently it's the result of light cirrus clouds being blown by a few winds in different directions. Go figure.

Let us know if you've seen any other quirky cloud formations that made you look twice.

Gallery: More Strange Cloud Formations

Rudolph's on the loose above New Zealand originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 18 Dec 2007 07:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One of my favourite Scorcese movies is Casino.

(It's not as good as Goodfellas, but hey, what is?)

So it's cool to see a new museum being planned in Las Vegas dedicated to the role of the Mob in making Las Vegas what it is today.

I haven't been to Vegas yet, but I wish I'd seen it in the glory days of the Rat Pack and the Tropicana. Once I do get there I might be disappointed with the contemporary lure of all-you-can-eat salad bars and Cirque de Soleil.

Of course, Casino was set a few years after the 1940s and 1950s period the musuem's going to focus on - a time when a gangster nickname like Bugsy, Lefty and Sneezy was nothing to be sneezed at.

OK, I made that last one up.

The musuem is scheduled to open in 2010.

Don't fuhgeddabout it, OK?

Thanks to Hometown Invasion Tour on Flickr for the pic of Bugsy Siegel's Flamingo.

A musuem you can't refuse originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 14 Dec 2007 06:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Forget bootleg iPhones and bogus DVDs. Just when you think China's finally getting serious on the purveyors of dodgy counterfeits comes news that a Hamburg museum may have been duped with a touring exhibition of the Terracotta Army from Xian.

They thought the assorted statuary was the real deal, but apparently it's not that simple.

(You would have thought the "Made In China" logos were a giveaway but obviously not).

But does it really matter, when scores of satisfied punters have been to the exhibition before this hub-bub of half-truth?

If the real thing was on display, would anyone have known the difference, and is it any different from the cosmetic surgery applied to historical sites like Angkor Wat or Knossos in Crete?

Your starter for ten: "Exactly what does authentic mean when it comes to travel?"

Thanks to mick y on Flickr for the pic (I'm pretty sure these ones are the real thing).

So this Great Wall thing's the real deal, right? originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A few months back we reported on a couple of special flights offered by Air New Zealand, one an inflight fashion show across the Tasman from Auckland to Sydney, and also a special gay-themed flight from San Francisco to Sydney in time for the Sydney Mardi Gras.

Now the little airline that could is launching a new service they're describing as "in-flight concierges". Basically the idea is have a dedicated person on board the plane whose sole role is to liaise with passengers and handle enquiries on "must-do" activities at their destinations, arranging onward bookings - even advising on wine selection with meals.

The in-flight know-it-alls will begin service on long haul flights from Auckland to North America and Asia in April 2008.

Would you like coffee, tea or insightful travel information? originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 11 Dec 2007 23:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The threat of rising sea-levels is getting a few people excited as they plan and plot new artificial islands. Then again it could just be canny developers with an eye on making megabucks.

The go-ahead Arab supercity of Dubai is leading the pack with developments like the Palms and the World, but now the idea is taking hold in perennially low-lying countries like the Netherlands.

A new island is being planned off the Dutch coast which will be in the shape of a tulip. I guess they could have plumped for a giant windmill or a huge bottle of Heineken, but a tulip is still undeniably Dutch.

What's next? A giant kangaroo off the coast of Aussie's Great Barrier Reef, or a yellow taxi with room for tens of thousands of passengers flagged down in the Hudson River?

Thanks to Marshall Astor on Flickr for the pic.

Welcome to Tulip Island originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 10 Dec 2007 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Truth be told I'm actually happier at the movies or my favourite microbrew emporium, but with attractions like Auckland's newly opened Skywalk it's easy to understand any misconceptions.

In New Zealand's biggest city you can already climb the harbour bridge (and bungy off it if you're so inclined) and leap in a controlled fall from the 192 metre tall Sky Tower.

Now the Sky Tower is offering the chance to walk around its summit on a 1.2 metre wide walkway. Of course it's safe as houses with more harnesses than a bondage convention, but the idea of wandering around in the open being battered by Auckland's maritime breezes gives me the willies.

Mind you, I also write a regular column on Auckland urban adventures for a local magazine, so I'm just waitiing on a call from my editor to make the highrise journey myself.

Thanks to Skywalk for the pic.

Those crazy Kiwis are at it again originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Probably more than one if we're talking about the the new energy efficient bulbs being installed on the Brooklyn Bridge. It's estimated that the new bulbs will save a whopping 24 tons of greenhouse gases per year.

Not to be outdone, the Rockerfeller Center Christmas tree this year will be illuminated with30,000 sparkling LEDs (that's Light Emitting Diodes if you were away from school that day...).

This is all worhy stuff, but I hope it doesn't lead to a general decline of glamourous lights in Gotham. Forget the great works of art and literarure. I seriously reckon that a zenith of our species' time so far on this terrestrial rock is the Manhattan skyline after dark.

How many New Yorkers does it take change a light bulb? originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 10 Dec 2007 07:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's been quite the week for animal stories on Gadling. I posted about Japan's pet rental agencies and the opportunity to adopt a Tasmanian Devil, and Iva joined in with her story on adopting animals through the World Wildlife Fund.

Here's the latest (and hopefully the last I hear some of you sigh...) cutesy animal story - for this week at least.

In Japan, (of course...), Tokyo's Cafe Cat Calico has a whole team of friendly moggies in residence just waiting to be petted and cuddled by worn out workers on their way home. For 800 yen (around $7) an hour, customers can spend quality time with their favourite feline. Weekends are busiet with up to 150 pet-friendly punters streaming in per day to have a cuddle with a cat.

After that many strangers wandering through, I reckon more than a few of the cats must look forward to closing time.

Cuddly cats ease Tokyo's workday pressures originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 05 Dec 2007 07:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If anyone was to give out gongs for the world's coolest animal, I reckon the Tasmanian Devil would be near the top of the list. Not only does it have a Looney Tunes character named after it, if you see one in real life they're like little, furry rocket ships, charging about with an anarchic gleam in their eyes.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that a facial cancer is rapidly accelerating the Tassie Devil towards extinction in the wild, and some estimates give the species only another 5 years. Since Devil Facial Tumour Disease was discovered in 1996, the population has dropped from 140,000 to around 80,000 and it's estimated the existing population decreases by 50% each year.

Up to now funding research and running captive breeding programmes has been the domain of private organisations, and through the Devils in Danger Foundation you can Adopt a Devil for $50.

Now the new Australian government has pledged $10 Million to fund research into the disease that's threatening to wipe out one of the world's most iconic animals.

Adopt a Tasmanian Devil and help save a species originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 04 Dec 2007 07:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yep, that's a pretty bold headline, but that's what a recent list published by www.askmen.com is promising. Here's the top five from the list and I've added a few more I reckon are pretty special.

Askmen's Top Five

1. The Acropolis, Athens
2. Lipu and Yaoshan Mountains, Guilin
3. Lanikai Beach, Hawaii
4. Eiffel Tower, Paris
5. Grand Canyon, Arizona

Here's AskBrett's Alternative Top Five (OK, it's a few of my favourite spots)

1. Sunset on the Bosphurus, Istanbul
2. The Remarkables, Queenstown
3. Charles Bridge at dawn, Prague (right)
4. Wadi Ghul Canyon, Oman
5. Sydney Harbour. Sydney

Let us know what, where and when I've overlooked...

Virgin America hosts in-flight Victoria's Secret models

Inside Air Force One

Japan's Ocean Dome

Barcelona Graffiti

China: Mao in Shenyang

Bear Grylls

Tokyo Motor Show

Sexxpresso Erotic Coffee Shop

America's Thanksgiving Parade

America's Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration

Afghanistan

California: Mt. Whitney

USA: Death Valley

"Gross" Food

Albania: The Painted Buildings of Tirana

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Iceland's Ring Road

Terracotta Warrior Tennis Players

Everest

Austria

Burma

Antigua

Disney Cruise

British Virgin Islands: Richard Branson's Necker Island

Australian Outback

United States: North Beach, San Francisco Foodie Walking Tour

The Coolest Airports in the World

More funny "Engrish"

Bahamas: Shark Dive

Hidden Pocket Pants Project (HPPP)

What's in Your Pack, Justin Glow?

Burj Dubai

Cool Statues Around the World

Japanese Fashion

Bucegi Mountain, Romania

Brasov, Romania

Curtea de Arges, Romania

Mont Rigaud, Canada

United States: Miami, Florida

Russian Police by Rulon Oboev

Poienari Citadel, Romania

Toronto's Drake Hotel - One Cool Hotel

New Beijing Airport

The Transfagarasan Road, Romania

Bicaz Gorge, Romania

Targu Mures, Romania

Sibiu, Romania

Schottenhamel -- Munich, Germany Oktoberfest

The Hippodrom - Munich, Germany Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest!

Girls of Oktoberfest

Crete, Greece

Inside the Airbus A380

Iasi, Romania

Japanese Food

Float Plane Fishing in Alaska

The World's Top Ten Views originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Celebrity TV chefs are all the rage, but I reckon I've found the next big foodie star way down in Tasmania. Forget Mr Angry Gordon Ramsay or uber-Cockney Jamie Oliver. The next big star shoud be Craig Williams, a former butcher who now runs Pepperbush Adventures in Tasmania. Craig's preferred culinary gig is Aussie bush tucker and a few hours bouncing around by 4WD in the north Tasmanian bush with him is more fun (and tastier) than anything I've done in a while.

Craig's a big fan of using natural ingredients from the Tasmanian bush, but too modest by half. His describes his steamed Tasmanian trout with sassafrass, lemon myrtle leaves and pepper berries as "Dead Fish With Leaves", but it's way more subtle and delicate than that.

Mind you, dining outside around an open fire as you wait for wallabies to start bouncing around at dusk would make any meal pretty special I guess.

Give this man his own TV show now originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you sign up for a morning's mountain biking on a South Seas island, the last thing you expect is a rogue snowfall, right? Well if you're on Australia's southernmost (and only island) state you'd better be ready to literally experience four seasons in one day. Especially if you journey to the summit of Mt Wellington, huddled above the Tasmanian capital of Hobart in spring.

A few weeks back we left downtown Hobart - well worth a look with its collection of raffish harbourside pubs and a great weekend market - in complete sunshine . By the time we'd reached the 1270m summit of Mt Wellington there was a full on snowstorm - probably the first and last time I'll experience snow in the Land of Oz.

Fifteen minutes later the clouds had parted and Hobart was before us in sunshine. And half an hour later - after a few semi-technical offroad stages - the rain and wind had come rolling back in.

But when a bike ride finishes up at one of the world's most picturesque old breweries, changeable weather is the last thing you really care about.

Thanks to to Island Cycle Tours for the pic.

South Seas mountain biking in the snow originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

European low-cost airline Ryanair has a pretty good reputation for being friendly and laidback, but the inflight latitude doesn't stretch to allowing a metre-long fluffy (and inanimate) crocodile to sit beside the emergency exit door. A passenger on a recent flight from Rome to Milan was asked to leave the flight when her plush reptilian pal became the subject of a heated debate between her and the flight crew.

In other crocodile-related world news, a crocodile which escaped from a circus in the Ukraine was finally captured after six months on the run.

There's no truth to the rumour he was on his way to the Ryanair counter at Kiev airport.

Thanks to KnifeJuggler on Flickr for the pic.

* Actual crocodile may differ from one shown.

Next They'll Be Banning Snakes On Planes originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Being a pet lover and a frequent traveller can sometimes be pretty challenging. Personal experience has shown that a well-adjusted Siamese cat can sometimes turn into a ratbag when left with a newbie house-sitter (that'll teach me for naming the cat Havoc in the first place....).

If you're living in Japan, help is at hand in the form of pet rental companies. Yep, if you (or your landlord...) doesn't approve of you having a regular four-legged and furry companion, companies like Zoo Japan and Janet Village will let you share in the joys of pet ownership for periods as short as an hour. It's not just cats and dogs either. Six hours with a hamster will set you pack 1000 yen (around US$9 ) while a sojourn with a spider monkey goes for 100,000 yen (around $US900).

There's no word if you really form a bond with your new non-human buddy if the companies also offer a rent to buy scheme.

How Much is that Spider Monkey in the Window? originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.