The inspiration behind the Sydney Harbour Bridge was the Hell Gate Bridge of New York. It was built under the instructional guidance of Dr. J.J.C.Bradfield and got opened for the public in the 1932. It is known to be the sixth longest arch bridge of the world and is also the tallest arch structure being 134 metres away from the water level.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge uses 6 million hand driven rivets and the surface area of the bridge which had to be painted took the estimated area of 60 sports fields. Such is the design of the field that the hinges can absorb the expansion of the bridge taking place due to sun. The grand old bridge can support eight lanes of vehicular traffic, one pedestrian footpath, one bicycle path, and lastly two railway tracks. The arch has been built with the help of 28 panel arch trusses and a number of modified pylons which were re-modified in the 1942 with the help of anti-aircraft guns so that they could be of help to provide defence in case of necessity.

The grand Sydney Harbour Bridge makes the face of Australia along with the famous Sydney Opera House. Right from it construction period, the Sydney Harbour Bridge has been of tourist interest from a number of perspectives. One of it is interesting features is the south east pylon which can be accessed through the pedestrian path and then with a flight of 200 stairs. Reaching up the pylon there are a couple of attractions like the camera obscura, the Aboriginal museum, a cafe, a ”pashometre”, and lastly the viewing platform where there are telescopes from which the entire Sydney is visible.

Though during the Second World War, the pylons went under the authority of the armed forces but, in the year 1982 they were reopened for the public and other attractions like souvenir shops were opened on the pylon.  From 1998 there has been yet another interesting part of the bridge where people were given the permission to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Now there are similar climbing tours of the bridge even during nights, except for times when there are predictions of electrical storms and strong winds.

As the Sydney Harbour Bridge is of national importance to Australia, it has been used for various kinds of celebrations too like the 50^th Anniversary celebrations, the Bicentennial Australia Day celebrations, the New Year’s Eve of Sydney every year, and so on. It is therefore undoubtedly an attraction worth a visit.

Holiday means running away from the mundane surroundings of concrete and technology. Holiday is defined by complete relaxation and spending some quality times with your near and dear ones while doing things you enjoy the most. Holiday, therefore, has to include an experience of visiting the Waterfall restaurant of Villa Escudero Resorts of San Pablo City, Philippines.

Unique Attraction

Neither in the vicinity of mountain ranges, nor getting the company of vast oceans or seas, the Villa Escudero Resort gets its charm by being nestled in the heart of a green coconut plantation which presents a mix of colonial and native tastes. The two hours’ drive to the resort from Manila takes you through villages where the happy faces of the villagers extend warm greetings to the visitors. All this makes the Villa Escudero Resort, which started for tourists from 1981, an extremely popular tourist attraction as it portrays the true Philippine culture in terms of dress, food, heritage, and so on. Amongst the other attractions of the Villa Escudero Resorts is their uniquely styled restaurant which takes the visitors extremely close to nature in a manner tried by almost no other tourist destination across the world. It is situated at the foot of the Labassin Waterfalls and is completely one of its kinds.
Such is the decor arrangement of the Waterfall restaurant in the Villa Escudero Resort that while you enjoy the traditional Philippine cuisine and specialities sitting on handmade bamboo chairs and tables, the crystal clear water of the waterfall flows besides you and constantly washes away your feet. The beauty of the area is virgin and pristine and there is no danger of the water fall getting menacing as the source of the same is a clear stream.

Complete relaxation

This is one such tourist spot where it does not matter if you are without your shoes or shirt. Rather, you can lie on the water covered walls of the waterfall and relax or can also enjoy a calm rinse off after completing your sumptuous lunch. Post lunch, once you dry off, you can spend time watching the green country sides and doing activities like bamboo rafting, bird watching, or going to nearby villages on ox drawn carts or jeepneys. And the best part of this destination is that this of beauty prevails throughout the year making it easier for you to plan a trip as per your convenience.
The Villa Escudero serves good for both a single day’s stay and for that of a longer period. Apart from being a holiday destination, it also has arrangements to hold conferences, seminars, and other corporate ventures. Reservations for weddings are also taken in at the resort.
Thus, if you have still not experienced the magic of this beautiful destination, don’t leave the next chance of planning a trip to it for whatever occasion possible.

Such is the magic of architecture that it can convert places of serious business to attractive tourist destinations as well. The United States Air force Academy, which stands on an area of 18,500 acres in the northern part of Colorado Springs in Colorado, USA, has a Chapel for cadets whose amazing structure does exactly so as mentioned above.

The chapel, better known as United States Air Force Cadet Chapel, was built with an idea of providing some quite prayer space for multiple religions like Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam. It was designed by architect Walter A. Netsch and got completed in 1963. In addition to fulfilling its purpose and offering the prayer space to the cadets, it has also become a tourist attraction of Colorado which gets more than half million people annually.

The reason for which the United States Air Force Cadet Chapel has received such popularity is because of its outstanding structure which is made of aluminium, steel, and glass. The most attractive feature of the entire structure is its 17 spires which can never go unnoticed. While the skeleton of the United States Air Force Cadet Chapel is made of steel, it is panelled inside with aluminium and filled with normal or coloured glasses. Apart from this, the 150 metre high structure has separate prayer rooms for each religion and has multiple entry points as well. While approaching the front entrance of the United States Air Force Cadet Chapel there is a staircase made of granite which has hand rails made from steel and covered by aluminium. The rest of the adornments of the chapel along with the neighbouring empty spaces have been the contributions from a number of other companies and people.

In terms of the prayer areas, there are separate spaces for Protestants, Jews, Catholics, Buddhists and those following Islam. There are also rooms called All Faith rooms which are used by people who follow other religious sects apart from those mentioned above. There are separate timings of prayers in each of these sections which do not interfere with one another.  Thus, the initiatives which was taken by the people believing in the concepts of Earth-Centred Spirituality and who were also there in the Air Force Academy is now a well appreciated devotional as well as scenic structure.

The importance of this chapel in the Air Force Academy is that while the young minds get trained in becoming the protector of lives and leaders as well, they are also trained to develop a strong spiritual sense. Tourists can take a tour of the United States Air Force Cadet Chapel all week from Monday to Saturdays and also on Sundays but at a different time by taking permission from the Cadet Chapel Public Relations. There are also schedules which do not require permissions. Lastly, the United States Air Force Cadet Chapel is also available for occasions like weddings and similar ones.

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu is the Maori name for a 305 metres hill which stands in Porangahau, the southern part of Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand.

The literal translation of Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu is “The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one”. This hill is dedicated by the local people of the region to their ancestor Tamatea Pokai Whenua who was a valiant warrior of his time and whose son, Kahungunu founded the tribe of Ngati Kahungunu.

As per the legends of the region Tamatea was a well built man who fought many battles and made many raids. In one such battle called Matanui Battle he lost his brother. Thereafter, he stayed in the place for quite some time grieving the loss of his brother and during this time every morning he used to lament the loss by playing his maori flute. The lament is still a popular folk rendition in this part of New Zealand. From the top of the Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu the spiritual mountain of the Ngati Kere tribe can be seen. Though, the name of the mountain is shortened by the local people to Taumata while talking but, the board which gives access to the mountain has this name displayed on it. The first instance of fame came for it when it was found to be the second longest place name found in any country speaking English. Thereafter, it was found to be the second longest name of place found in the world as per the Wises New Zealand Guide.  The name in use currently is known to have 85 letters. There are although other versions of the name which have 92, 105, and 125 letters, respectively.

The place is of great tourist interest not only for its name but also for the scenic beauty of the location. The best way of visiting the Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu hill is by driving in the south direction from Waipukurau and after going for 55 km to take the Wimbledon Road on the right. A 5 km drive on this road brings us to the name board of the location. As the mountain is known to be a private land therefore tourists or outsiders require permission to go inside the premises. Once inside, it provides a number of locations worth capturing in the camera. The cities which are located nearby to this place are Palmerstone North, Napier, and Masterton which can in turn be reached from the largest city of New Zealand, namely Auckland.

As the temple is still in progress, the architect has dedicated his life to make the sculpted dream as perfect as possible. He believed that it is going to take about 70 years to get completed in totality and therefore passed his artistic notions on to the 60 helpers working on the project before breathing his last.

The total temple plan of the Wat Rong Khun Temple includes 9 buildings which cover an area of 3 acres. In these buildings are the chapel, the pagoda, the hermitage, crematorium, meditation venues like the monastery hall, and preaching hall, the museum, the pavilion, and lastly the resting areas. The main areas are covered with mirrors and contemporary bizarre objects all of which symbolise the malice and devastation of the current times. Every sculpture and design intricacy of the Wat Rong Khun temple points towards the teachings of Buddha. The white colour of the temple is the symbol for purity and the heads of the demons which are seen throughout the premises indicate towards the sins of desire.

Being a temple inspired from the contemporary happening of real and fictional lives comes the strangest part of the Wat Rong Khun temple where there are the images of the modern science fiction heroes like Batman, Superman, and the aliens of Predator all over the temple which try to re-instate the fact that Buddha exists in the modern times as well. It also depicts modern day icons such as Michael Jackson and the modern time devastations like the 9/11 Twin Tower disaster.  Amidst the depictions of destructions there are the golden flowers which surround a calm Buddha and try to convey the message that meditation is a means to reach dharma and so one should try to follow the preaching of Buddha.

A large part of the foreign tourists visiting Thailand come to see the Wat Rong Khun Temple which appears like a porcelain piece when seen from a distance. The best means of reaching the temple is by taking a normal regular running bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai or Phayao and then getting down at the stop of Wat Rong Khun.

The earlier name of Taipei 101 was Taipei World Financial Centre. The most recently acquired title by the building has been that of the tallest green building of the world which is designed to judiciously use and maintain Energy and Ecosystem. The designer of Taipei 101 is C.Y.Lee and partners whereas it was constructed by two parties namely KTRT Joint Ventures and Samsung C&T Corporation. The construction of the building started in 1999 and ended in 2004.

The structure of Taipei 101 consists of 101 floors which are over ground and 5 underground floors. In its design there is both Asian and western influence which establishes the changing mindset of the people of Taipei. The tower has been made both typhoon and earthquake resistance with a weight of 700,000 tonnes. The observatories of the Taipei 101 are located on the 89^th and 91^st floors which are at a height of 382 metres and above from the ground. This height is reached with the help of the elevators which are also famous to be the fastest in the world with a speed of 63 km/hr and being double decked.  The observatories are popular with the visitors for providing a 360 degree panoramic view of the entire city. While the owner of Taipei 101 is known to be Taipei Financial Centre Corporation, the maintenance of the building is known to be a responsibility of a segment of Urban Retail Property Corporation which is based in Chicago.

Apart from its many technological features which make Taipei 101 a standout, the one which does not exist anywhere else in the world is its 660 metre ton tined mass damper whose job is to keep the building stable during times of strong winds.  The other attraction quotients of the Taipei 101 include the two world cuisine restaurants which are located on the 85^th and 86^th floors. The building is also home to a mall which occupies 6 stories and includes a number of stores, restaurants, and clubs. A number of corporate offices like BNP Paribas, KPMG, Meryl Lynch, and so on are also located within the building. There are many interior decorations within the Taipei 101 which point towards the fact that feng shui customs have been obeyed while decking it up.

Ever since its completion, Taipei 101 has also played host to a number of events and is also a venue of the New Year fireworks in Taipei. It figures amongst the prime attractions of China and as per the records of 2012 already received one million visitors.

It is large, divine, and straight from the legendary Sphinx myths of Egypt. The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of the oldest statues of the world and depicts a reclining mythical figure which has body of a lion and a human head. It sits in Giza which is situated on the western bank of the Nile River in Egypt and the nearest big city to the place is Cairo.

The statue of the Great Sphinx of Giza is made of limestone and has a length of 73.5 metres with a width of 19.3 metres and a height of 20.22 metres. Though, it is still not certain as to who or when the statue got constructed but, most of the assumptions date it back to the era of Pharaoh Khafra of Egypt. Over the course of years a number of studies have taken place in order to dig these details about the Great Sphinx of Giza with little success so far. However, the Great Sphinx of Giza has remained an extremely popular tourist spot for ages and continues to be so.

Such is the importance of The Great Sphinx of Giza in the Egyptian context that it is now considered as a symbol for the country. Apart from the tourists, the place has also been a favourite destination of many poets, scholars and adventurous, all of whom try to seek the hidden mysteries of the mythical figure. Though, sphinxes are visible in many regions of Egypt but, the Great Sphinx stands apart from all of them by its sheer immensity. Beneath the statue, it seems there existed a quarry once where the people of Khafre are known to have worked. The studies of the statue reveal that it is not just an isolated creation but, in order to understand it you should also analyse its surroundings. The Great Sphinx of Giza is therefore known to be a part of a complex which also included a temple and some other small buildings.

As like most other sphinxes, the Great Sphinx also faces the rising sun and thereby stands for a symbol of power and might. Previously on the top of the head of the statue there was a hole which once supported additional decoration but later was filled up. There have been many times, in course of decades that the body of the Great Sphinx of Giza has got covered by sand till the face and has been later excavated by engineers. Today, the statue is in course of decay because of the effects of pollution, smog, and humidity which drifts in this direction from Cairo. A number of places in the statue have developed fissures which are patched from time to time with cement. Erosion is also happening from wind and it is expected that in some years we will be witnessing the complete deterioration and destruction of such a great wonder.

The city of Giza, apart from the Great Sphinx, is also famous for food and accommodation. The best way of reaching is by metro or taxi or bus from Cairo.

A good number of manmade wonders correspond to buildings which reach the summit of sky and talk to the clouds. The one which stands at the number two position in the world has its location in Sumida and is the pride of Japan. This is the Tokyo Skytree which, with a height of 634 metres, has shifted the Canyon Tower of China to the third place.

It is the second tallest building of the world and comes after the Burj Khalifa. It is used as a broadcasting centre, an observatory tower, and a venue to a couple of popular restaurants which serve fusion cuisine of Japan and France. The Tokyo Skytree is part of a commercial venture taken up by the Tobu Railway and six broadcasters from across the territories that are in turn headed by NHK. The tower is built at a place which is equidistant from both the Tokyo Skytree and Oshiage stations. The Tokyo Skytree also has an aquarium inside the building.

The main objective behind the tower of Tokyo Skytree is to help in the smooth relaying of TV and radio signals which can help the city life. Previously this job was done by the Tokyo Towers but, with a height of 333metres and getting obstructed by a number of other neighbouring high rises, it is unable to broadcast the terrestrial signals properly. The Tokyo Skytree has two observation decks at the top and got opened for public on May 2012. These two decks, at the heights of 350 and 450 metres, give a panoramic view of the entire Tokyo city. In between the two observatory decks is a gallery called the Tembo Gallery which is also known to be the “highest skywalk” in the world.

While designing the Tokyo Skytree, the objectives which were kept in mind were related to taking an approach which was both modernistic as well as keeping in mind the old notions. As Tokyo is prone to natural catastrophes such as earth quakes, safety was certainly one of the primary requirements to be fulfilled by the building. Lastly, it was also thought that the Tokyo Skytree should come up as a landmark of the city which could attract people from distant locations to pay a visit and thus energize the city.

The shape of the Tokyo Skytree has been kept cylindrical so that the entire city and river can be visible. It is told that the dampers of the tower have the absorbing capacity of 50 percent of the seismic energies. The outer colour of the Tokyo Skytree is “Skyline White” which comes from the traditional blue white colour of Japan, also called aijiro. The entire tower is also adorned with illumination effects with the help of LEDs and the colours used are sky blue and purple.

Tokyo Skytree can be reached through buses from various locations of Tokyo like Tokyo Station, Ueno Station, Tokyo Disney Resort, and Haneda Airport.

Portugal may be famous for many things but, one of the primary attractions of the country is the Vasco da Gama Bridge which runs above the Tagus River close to Lisbon and is the longest bridge in the European continent and the 9^th longest bridge in the world. It mainly rests on cables and in addition to the main bridge is completed with the help of roads and viaducts.

The construction of the Vasco da Gama Bridge started in the year 1995 and it got opened for public in 1998 preceding the Expo 98 which was a World Fair held to commemorate the 500 years of Vasco da Gama’s discovery of a trade route between Europe and India. The total length of the Vasco da Gama Bridge is 17.2 kilometres within which the actual bridge has a stretch of 0.829 km and the remaining 11.5km and 4.8km is completed by viaducts and access roads, respectively. The purpose behind constructing the Vasco da Gama Bridge has been to connect the previously detattached motorways of Lisbon, to connect the Eastern Lisbon to the motorways, and also to reduce the traffic from the other bridges of Lisbon like the Ponte 25 de Abril.

Constructed on the widest part of River Tagus, the design for the Vasco da Gama Bridge was made by a company named Armando Rio Engineering and they planned for a structure which could accommodate traffic in 6 lanes and could be supported with the help of cables. Though the planning of the bridge faced a strong opposition from the public of Portugal because it was not found to be relieving the people living in the southern suburbs of Lisbon and also had high toll rates but, the government went ahead with the plan. Now 11km of bridge stands on water on top of pillars which are 150 metres high.

Usually the speed limit for vehicles on the Vasco da Gama Bridge is kept 120km/h like the motorways but there are parts where it is reduced to 100km/h and also there are days when the rain, wind or fog is strong when the speed is further reduced 90km/h. The total cost of the Vasco da Gama Bridge has been $1.1billion and as it was divided in four parts so; the construction was done also done by four different companies which were together supervised by a single consortium.

The survival plan of the Vasco da Gama Bridge is known to be for 120 years and it has been made keeping in mind the withstanding power against strong winds and powerful earthquakes. In order to prevent any environmental hazards, the viaducts on the left side of the bridge have been extended so that the marsh land does not get affected and also the lamp posts on the bridge tilt inwards so that no light falls on the water.

‘The smoke that thunders’ or Mosi-oa-Tunya seems to be an ideal name from the magnanimous Victoria Falls which is a waterfall in Africa in between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe and formed on the Zambezi River.

Just on the basis of the width of the Victoria Falls, it is considered to be the largest in the world. The presence of the natural spectacle was first brought in to notice by the Scottish explorer David Livingstone in 1855 when he spotted the falls from a piece of land on the river just before the drop. This mass of land is now called the Livingstone Island. The total width of the Victoria Falls is known to be 1,708 metres and the water falls from a height of 108 metres. The water which falls per minute over the falls is estimated to be about 500 million cubic metres. The rock from which the water plummets seems to be a wall of basalt and sprays of water are visible from a distance of one kilometre at least. As the water falls, it gives rise to a mist which covers the rain forests in the vicinity.

As because the Zambezi River flows through the flat lands of a plateau and gets a number of small islands in its path so, the Victoria Falls gets formed by a series of falls where the water gushes through gorges below. The streams of water that fall down have specific names starting from the direction of Zimbabwe towards Zambia. These names are Devil’s cataract, Main Falls, Rainbow Falls, and the Eastern Cataract. The highest amount of water in the Victoria Falls is usually visible during the rainy season which lasts from February to May. During this time the spray of water is known to rise to a height of 400 metres. Also, in this time on days of full moon, a moon bow is visible on the spray of water. In the Zambian side, there is a Knife-edge Bridge which is known to give the best sight of the entire Victoria Falls.

In the Zimbabwean part, the nearest town is called Victoria Falls and it is a major tourist destination. It is close to the Zambia border and the city of Botswana. In the recent few years, the number of tourists and adventure seekers going to the Victoria Falls have risen a great deal as the tour operators have launched a great deal of packages to cover the busiest tourist attraction of Zimbabwe.

When you decide to visit the Victoria Falls, the most important aspect to be freezed remains which country to go to in order to have a good trip. In this aspect it is very important to also take a call on the factor as to which is more cost effective. Though two third of the Victoria Falls fall on the Zambian side but, the view from that side is not complete. The Zimbabwean side benefits you on this aspect. You can also cross the borders of the two countries but that involves charges for Visa, the duration of your stay in each side, and how many entries you have to pay for. Keep in mind all charges in this part have to be paid in cash. If you wish to see a dramatic nature of the fall, the ideal time of visiting is during the rainy season as during the dry time, the volume is less.