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Dubai, UAE: Hotel Planned To Be Taj Mahal II


The popular resort city of Dubai, with its oil rich income and getting richer as gas prices soar, is planning an ambitious construction. Scheduled to open in 2014 is The Taj.

The plan is to make the resort complex a replica of the Taj Mahal, the world-famous monument in Agra, India. That palace was built in the 17th Century by a mourning emperor in memory of his late young wife. Plans are to make the new Taj at least four times the size of the original, with its flagship structure a five-star resort.

According to recent reports, the Taj will be part of a thousand-yard complex, called the Falconcity of Wonders Project. In addition to the resort hotel, there are to be upscale shops, athletic facilities, restaurants and condos.

The planners also say the site will include replicas of the Eiffel Tower, Great Pyramid, Tower of Pisa, a segment of the Great Wall of China and Italy’s Venice Harbor. They haven’t yet mentioned the Colossus of Rhodes, Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Battle of Waterloo. Just kidding.

For more information, go to falconcity.com

Texting and cellphoning while driving are accidents waiting to happen PDF Print E-mail

Cell phone

We see them doing it while racing by us along the highway. Talking on cell phones while driving was bad enough. Now, with latest devices, gabby drivers look away from the road and down to punch out text messages on little lighted boxes.

Drivers need to pay total attention to everything going on in all directions at all times. Texting while driving has caused many accidents, and some states have banned the dangerous practice. Any distraction that forces the driver to take eyes off the road for a second or two is a danger. It is considerably worse to text messages that take eyes off the road for five or ten seconds.

Read more...
 
Big surf at Big Sur, California PDF Print E-mail
Big Sur
 
Bees are all the buzz in posh London hotel PDF Print E-mail

“Honey, I’m home” has a whole different meaning at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, in London’s Hyde Park district. While all other hotels in the world take great pains to rid themselves of pesky little bugs, this ecology-themed one has installed honey bee hives on its roof housing more than half a million little winged residents.  

There’s no chance the honey bees will need to venture below into the human hotel rooms, because they’ll be tended full time by four bee experts. The roof hives will be surrounded by an array of plants, including flowers, bushes and trees. During the spring and summer season, the honey bees will sip the natural nectar and help pollinate the plants for future growth. During cold weather, the hotel’s bee team will supply hive heating and nectar feeding stations.

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Fido and Fluffy fly in exclusive comfort PDF Print E-mail

Dog in flight goggles

Many people want to travel with their pets, but most airlines insist of putting the animals in cramped cages in baggage compartments. Long flights were very stressful for pets not accustomed to tight confinement. Additionally, where small pets were permitted to ride in passenger cabins, many non-pet people objected. Would you believe now there’s an airline that's pet-only? Pet Airways flies to five major cities, including New York and Los Angeles. The only humans aboard are the flight crew and flight attendants.

Along with favorite toys and travel bag, cats and dogs of all sizes can travel in comfort. Each one will have a roomy private compartment, and will be accompanied by trained animal care attendants. Food, water, aisle walks and toilet breaks will also be provided.

It won’t be cheap for Fido and Fluffy to fly in luxurious comfort. Ticket prices start at $149 each way. For more information, go to petairways.com

 
Is airline bar-stool squatting the next cheap travel pain? PDF Print E-mail

Mike O’Leary, CEO of Ryan Air, is known for his joking around. He was the first to suggest airlines put in pay toilets. Now he’s talking about offering cheaper fares to people willing to fly squatting on close-packed stools.

His theory, if he isn’t kidding, is that by using bar stools instead of regular airline seats, and he could jam another 50 percent more people onto each flight. O’Leary adds that if passengers accept the idea, and with a full aircraft, he can not only cut costs, but also reduce prices.

O’Leary, known for his often disturbing Irish wit, is suspected of joking on the bar stool idea, because he recently came up with the pay toilet in the air idea. He said passengers would use credit cards in slots to activate toilet doors, and be charged from one U.S. dollar on up to an English pound for each potty break. What's next? Airline straphanging?

Subway scene

 
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