Posted by Jackie Hewett on Thu 10th May 2007 at 06:23 PM, Filed in USA Florida
On our first day in Orlando we decided to go to SeaWorld thinking it would be more relaxing than some of the other parks. It was a good choice.
We started with the Dolphin Show called Blue Horizons, which was quite the best show of its type that I’ve seen anywhere with more animals than just dolphins – but I won’t spoil the surprise. There were also numerous acrobats diving, on trapezes and swimming with the dolphins. The set was quite spectacular and the costumes. It’s a definite must see.
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Because I have a penchant for ‘things Egyptian’ we stayed in the Luxor. It was a reasonable choice, but as / when I return to Vegas I think I would choose somewhere different for a couple of reasons:
1. The Luxor is nearly at one end of the strip which made it quite a distance to get to the other end (there are moving ‘travellators’ between many of the hotels but it is still quite a distance from one end of the strip to the other).
2. Apart from our bedroom, there seemed to be few quiet places in the hotel to get away from the noise of the slots
First, a bit about the Luxor. We stayed in one of the pyramid’s deluxe bedrooms in the Luxor, which was spacious enough and nicely furnished with wooden inlays in the wardrobe and other furniture – all shaped and in keeping with the pyramid theme. The structure of the hotel is interesting in itself because I believe it has the world’s only diagonal lift – quite a feat of engineering. When you exit the lift the corridors to the bedrooms are inside a huge atrium that looks down onto the Luxor’s second floor IMAX and entertainment areas – which, at the time, seemed to have a huge amount of wasted space. The Egyptian style statues and décor are, in true Vegas style, well done and probably great if you haven’t been to Egypt (I have!). The Luxor also projects a huge beam of light skyward that is allegedly visible up to 250 miles away, however, you don’t really get the impact of the beam when you are up close to it.
Inside the pyramid atrium at the Luxor
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Posted by Jackie Hewett on Sat 5th May 2007 at 03:03 AM, Filed in January
We are all familiar with throwing events in the Olympics - shot put, javelin and hammer, some of us even throw the caber. But have you heard of throwing fish?!
No? Why not head to Australia where this slippery event is held. When? Over the Australia Day (January 26th) weekend each year, the Eyre Peninsular is host to the John West Tunarama Festival.
Tunarama is claimed to be South Australia’s premier holiday event celebrating Port Lincoln’s primary industry, the Tuna, and plays host to the ‘Tuna Toss’! This seaside town attracts 25,000 people over three nights and four fun filled days of celebrations. It’s fishy claim to fame is in professing to be the “Seafood capital of Australia” so it stands to reason that the festivals main event is tossing a fish.
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Posted by Jill Bowen on Fri 4th May 2007 at 01:05 AM, Filed in Naturism
Go naked on holiday! What me? Show all my bits and pieces to complete strangers! You’re having a laugh? The size and shape of me undressed – not a pretty sight, now if I were drop dead fantastic that might be a different thing….
Actually it wouldn’t. That’s the joy of naturism. It honestly doesn’t matter what you look like…believe me, I’ve done it, been there, but no T shirt as I didn’t wear one – or anything else come to think of it!
Naturism is one of life’s levellers. You are, for once, without the trappings of expensive (or even Primark) clothes, or any bling jewellery to show how wealthy you are as no-one bothers with trappings. No-one will know if you’re a millionaire, or living in abject poverty. You’ll be accepted for yourself, what you are inside – no pretence, no vanity, no outer mask. We’ve all got the same basic anatomy – OK, different shapes and sizes, but so what, variety is the spice of life. Would you want to be a clone of everyone else you see?
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Posted by Jackie Hewett on Wed 2nd May 2007 at 02:26 AM, Filed in Far East, May
To westerners Japanese culture can seem quite alien and incomprehensible, possibly never more so than when they embark, as they frequently do, on a festival. This nation of usually conformist, and by UK standards shy, people seem to need the slimmest pretext to get their kit off and run around half naked beating drums.
If you are interested in visiting Japan there are some good reasons to time your visit for April / May.
One being Sanja Maturi in May, which is the one of the largest Matsuri parades in Japan. During a Matsuri, Shinto followers bear shrines, called mikoshi, on their shoulders using two poles. Frequently the mikoshi look like lavishly decorated miniature buildings, sometimes complete with verandas, pillars and railings. They can require dozens of people to carry each one. The mikoshi are taken from a permanent shrine and carried on a ‘tour’ around the neighbourhood, sometimes via a dip in a pool, lake or river, before being returned to the originating shrine. The mikoshi contain kami (or deities) and the procession is meant to bring luck and good fortune. It is believed that the rougher the journey the kami experiences the better the fortune is bestowed, so bearers often sway the heavy mikoshi precariously from side to side which can be a dangerous occupation for bearer and spectator.
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