Gadling

I love a good night photo, and this one by Trent Strohm (aka Strudel Monkey) fits the bill. It's colourful, it's clear, it's well-composed, and most importantly, it fills me with the insatiable urge to go to China right-freaking-now. Taken recently, the photo is of the Huilan Pavilion in Qingdao, China. It was built in 1891 and might look oddly familiar for a very good reason: It's on the label of all Tsingtao beer bottles.

Have a photo to share? Submit it to our Gadling Flickr Pool.

My first few hours in Barcelona went like this: Wandering around with an outrageously heavy pack on my back, a battered lonely planet in my hands, and a confused look on my face. I was lost, more lost than I think I've ever been. I have a natural sense of direction and a knack for reading maps and yet I still couldn't figure the place out. The city is a maze of busy streets, teeny alleys and meandering walkways. Don't get me wrong--it's not a bad place to get lost in, what with all the beautiful architecture and such--but if you're going to get lost, it's best to do it after you've found a place to leave your baggage.

This photo from Tyson Williams takes me back to the hurried streets of Barcelona. You too?

Got a photo that takes you back somewhere? Submit it to the Gadling Flickr Pool.

As far as photography subjects go, sunsets and sunrises are about as original as young celebrity starlets 'accidentally' showing off their ladyparts in public. In other words? It's been done before.

But every now and then, you come across a sunset photo like this one from Tarik B that kind of takes your breath away for a moment. It's just that good, you know? I love everything about this photo, from the surfers in the foreground to the divine-looking orange rays jutting out from the fluffy clouds. Truly awesome work.

Got a photo you think is just as fantastic? Submit it to the Gadling Flickr pool.

I picked this photo by Kouiskas as the photo of the day because it looks almost too good be real, you know? Everything is perfect, from the colours of the earth to the fluffiness of the clouds. Postcard-perfect photos are usually fairly elusive, down to nothing more than the stroke of luck that you happened to visit a site on the ideal day. And it's why we bring our cameras everywhere -- we're afraid of missing that perfect photo opportunity.

Got any perfect photos to share? Share them with us -- join the Gadling Flickr Pool.

One of my strongest memories of my trip to southeast Asia was being chased by a herd of monkeys in Vietnam. It was kind of funny at first, until we realized how persistent they can be when they want some food. I think I can honestly say that hungry monkeys lose the 'cute' factor pretty quickly. Still, they're kind of charming in photos like this one from Geotraveler. So what do you think? With innocent monkeys in Phnom Penh guzzling Fanta like it's the sweet nectar of the Gods, is the obesity crisis going to start affecting Animals too?

Have a funny/cute/moving photo to share? Submit it to the Gadling Flickr pool.

A beach holiday in the English tourist town of Blackpool just isn't the same without a seaside ride on a donkey for the little one--it's one of those quirky traditions that has made Blackpool such a famous vacation spot in the UK. But new animal cruelty rules will soon ban overweight kids from taking the traditional donkey rides. According to this article from The Daily Mail, riders must weight less than 8 stone (112 lbs) in order to ride the donkeys, meaning the ride is open to normal-sized children and Nicole Richie.

And that's just the beginning of the new labour regulations for the Blackpool beach donkeys -- they also must have one day off a week, they must be cleared for labour by a vet and they must be allowed at least an hour's rest either at lunchtime or in the evening.

It's hoped that these regulations will help set the standard for the rights of asses around the world (sorry, I couldn't resist.)

This photo of Bondi Beach really speaks to me, you know? I love the scenery--the sand, the surf, the bright blue sky stacked above the perfectly tanned sand. It's a perfect scene, particularly for those of us who are feeling the last remnants of winter.

Have another 'perfect' scene to share? Submit it to our Gadling Flickr Pool.

Canada: America's Hat. Catchy, ain't it? The folks over at Tourism Canada thought so so they've decided to make it the official new slogan for the country's soon-to-be-even-more bustling tourism industry. And Prime Minister Stephen Harper's endorsed the slogan, saying, 'It will show the world that I ... I mean, we Canadians have a sense of humor. Ha. Ha. That's funny'

Still, not everyone is sold. Says one die-hard Canadian: 'It doesn't make any sense. Canada's bigger than the states. Who wears a hat that's bigger than them?' Adds another, 'If Canada's the hat, then the USA is like Mr. Peanut. The hat's the best part -- without it, he's nothing. He's just a nut.'

Here's an excerpt of an employee handbook found at a small Mexican restaurant located in Huntington Beach, CA that I saw on Gridskipper. And thank goodness I did because I really had no idea that all Mexican people like booths and hate waiting to be seated. Wait, does that mean that us whities don't mind sitting around and are okay with uncomfortable hard-backed seats? Really, the logic here is beyond me.

That's not all--women waitressing at this gem of an establishment must wear make-up and cannot wear a skirt that goes below the knees. Kind of reminds me of the dress code rules at my high school--except completely opposite.

A divorced British banker died after a blow to the head on the Inca Trail and was found in a nearby river--and it's raising more than a few eyebrows across the pond. Colin Murphy, 44, disappeared on News Year's day during a Christmas holiday to Peru from the town of Aguas Calientes in the Andes, not far from the Machu Picchu.

The last hours of his life were spent with 14 other holidayers, who left their campsite on New Year's Eve to grab a drink at the nearest watering hole. The next day, Mr. Murphy was not in his tent. It's believed the last person to see him alive was fellow tourist Harvey Layton, a construction worker he had befriend on the trip.

Called "the life and soul of any gathering.", Mr. Murphy's body has since been flown back to England, and while investigators are looking into his suspicious death, they're hesitant to speculate on what happened.

I guess I can stop complaining about how awful my New Year's Eve was ...