15-Story Hotel Built by Chinese Workers in 6 Days

Here is an awesome video of a hotel constructed in six days. Called the Ark Hotel, most materials were prefabricated off-site and assembled on-site. Despite its quick construction time, the structure is designed to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake. Nearby residents who have been gone for a week would probably be the most surprised. Somehow in the end knowing a hotel was built in six days does not make the hotel any more attractive for a stay.

Top 10: Top Visitor Attractions in the USA

Forbes.com has released an updated list of the Top 10 visitor attractions in America. Forbes defines these as sites of historical or cultural interest; natural phenomena and landmarks; and officially designated entertainment and recreation centers. How many have you visited?

Times Square

1) Times Square, New York, New York (37.6 million visitors)
2) Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada (29.1 million)
3) National Mall and Memorial Parks, Washington, DC (25 million)
4) Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, Massachusetts (19 million)
5) Magic Kingdom Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida (17.1 million)

Golden Gate Recreation Area

6) Golden Gate Recreation Area, San Francisco, California (17 million)
7) Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California (14.7 million)
8) Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California (10 million) tie
8) Hollywood Walk of Fame, Los Angeles, California (10 million) tie
10) Great Smoky Mountain National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee (9.5 million)

Click here for the Forbes.com Top 50 Most Visited Attractions in the World.

Smoky Mountain National Park.
All photos used for illustration purposes only.

Do-It-Your-Self-Travel Continues: Self-Tagging

USA Today reports that American Airlines, Delta Airlines and Air Canada are in talks with the Transportation Security Administration for a test program to let travelers tag their own checked bags. American and Air Canada plan a trial run in Boston later this year.

Self-tagging (or letting travelers print and affix destination tags on bags) is common at foreign airports. Only airline agents can currently do this in the U.S. Airlines indicate this process is designed to help speed passengers through check-in. Passengers will still have to see an agent who will check the ID, scan the tag to validate it and place the bags on the conveyor belt.

Worldwide, 32 airlines allow self-tagging at airports in such cities as Amsterdam and Stockholm where passengers can place tags and drop their luggage at designated spots without seeing an agent.

I noticed on my last two overseas trips on American that more and more services are being optioned through self check-in. For example the kiosks to check-in and print boarding passes are also used for upgrades, one-day memberships to the airline lounge and for promotions such as miles maximizing which for a fee based on distance a passenger is able to increase the number of miles earned for the ticketed travel.

Bottom line this process may or may not speed the check-in process but it reduces the cost for airlines as the labor of and need for airline agents declines.

'Les Miserables' 25th Anniversary Concert at The O2: London Comes To A Cinema Near You

Alfie Boe & the cast.

Even though the 'Les Miserables' 25th Anniversary Concert occurred on October 3, 2010 after my London visit, thanks to modern technology the concert will be broadcast in U.S. cinemas on November 17, 2010 for one performance and one night only. Click here for info about the broadcast or visit fathomevents.com. Tickets for this movie theater experience are on sale now and scaled at US$15 each. Not bad considering the best seats at the concert held at the The O2 was well over a hundred dollars.

I have come to learn that stage productions broadcasted on television do not have the same impact, even if viewed on a DVD. But after seeing some of the The Met's live opera broadcasts in cinema, the experience is more impressive.

Performing in 'Les Miserables' especially in a 25th Anniversary Concert event is such a high-profile vehicle, the big question is how did Alfie Boe, a tenor from the opera world, fare in the role of Jean Valjean. Below are press photos from the concert and an article from the Daily Mail for one result.

The concert is scheduled for DVD (Region 2) release in the UK on November 29, 2010. DVD release in the U.S. has not been announced.

I will be publishing a review and photos of the cinema presentation. In the meantime, click on these links for reviews of the other two versions of 'Les Miserables' in peformance in London during the same weekend as the O2 concert:
'Les Miserables' at the Barbican Theatre (25th Anniversary TOURING cast)
'Les Miserables' at the Queen's Theatre (West End cast)

Update: Review of cinema presentation reviewed on 11/18/10, click here to read the post with additional photos from the evening.

Jan 2011 Update: U.S. / American / NTSC DVD & Blu-ray release of Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Concert Available.



Related Links:
25th Anniversary Concert Trailer
25th Anniversary Touring (UK) Production Trailer
Dress Circle Shop event featuring the Cast of the 25th Anniversary Touring Production
The Queen's Theatre Venue
The Barbican Theatre Venue
Stage Door Meeting with Alfie Boe



Alfie Boe & Matt Lucas

From left: Producer Cameron Mackintosh, Nick Jonas (Marius), Samantha Barks (Eponine), Matt Lucas (Thenardier), Alfie Boe (Valjean).

Article and photos used for illustration purposes.

The World's Smallest Airplane Seat

Photo by Avioninteriors.

Avioninteriors, an Italian aircraft seat design firm, unveiled last month the smallest airplane seat that reduces the average 30 to 32 inch seat spacing to 23 inches, a reduction of 25%. Compared to riding in a horse saddle, the new seats called the Skyrider could appeal to low cost airlines and be an entirely new class of service.

The firm indicates the seats will likely be used on flights of three hours or less. Airlines who have toyed with the idea of having passengers stand on their flights (most government authorities nixes this suggestion) would likely find these seats attractive such as Ryanair, an Irish low-cost airline, and Spring Airlines, a low-cost carrier in China.

We shouldn't worry anytime soon about being a prisoner of such an airline seat. A carrier still has yet to commit to the seats and would have to meet all applicable Federal Aviation Administration requirements.

For Halloween: "The Shining" Stanley Hotel

For Halloween, Sherman's Travel has reported this hotel to be one of the haunted hotels in the United States. This hotel is the stuff of nightmares for anyone who has seen the Jack Nicholson thriller "The Shining". Once you've seen it, the word 'redrum' will always send chills up your spine.

Photo by: Flickr/mssmith 1965

mThe property is the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado made famous by Stephen King's 1977 novel that was adapted into the 1980 feature film. The report reveals:

The spectacular Rocky Mountain peaks surrounding this famous Colorado hotel steal the spotlight by day, but after dark the place crawls with the spirits and ghouls that inspired Stephen King to write The Shining. The haunted hotel hosts mostly happy spirits, as the mountain retreat was once a vacation destination for many of these lingering souls, but that doesn’t detract from the estate’s creepiness. A room on the paranormally buzzing fourth floor practically guarantees a frightful getaway. A little boy in room 418 playfully switches water faucets on and off. Bitter Lord Dunraven, the estate’s original owner (who was forced out of proprietorship, making way for new owner F.O. Stanley who opened the hotel in 1909), holds court in room 401, the estate’s most haunted (and second-most requested) room, but by far the most chill-inducing suite is room 217, the very place where King penned The Shining. Ghost-busting visitors can enlist the help of the on-site paranormal expert, who will outfit them with spirit-hunting equipment and provide access to hotel grounds only open to guests. If spending a night thwarting ghoulish shenanigans sounds too frightful, opt for one of the hotel’s daily ghost tours ($15 per person; available from 10am–5pm, reservations are required), which explore the property’s most notoriously spooky spots. Room rates from $119/night.


Visit stanleyhotel.com and shermanstravel.com for more information. Click on the images above for the novel or DVD.

London Futures at the Museum of London

After recently visiting London, I thought these photos would be interesting to post. They propose some possibilities of the city's future based on various climate changes.

The photos are part of an exhibition called London Futures at the Museum of London on display from October 1, 2010 to March 6, 2011. For more info visit london-futures.com or museumoflondon.org.uk. Here are samples from the exhibition:

Flooding of the Thames River.

Shanty town stretches across London and around Buckingham Palace.

Climate refugees settle in Trafalgar Square.

London adapts to rising waters with rice paddies at the Houses of Parliament.

Gulf Stream slows and Thames River freezes around Tower Bridge.

The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace becomes a wind farm.

National Theatre Live Around the World

If you cannot visit London, then London shall come to you. For the second year, live broadcasts of some of the best plays in London will be presented in a movie theater near you. Best part there's no airfare or hotel costs involved. The first four broadcasts this season are:

The season continues with Frankenstein (March 2011) and The Cherry Orchard (June 2011). Click here to find a cinema near you participating in the broadcasts. Broadcasts in each city may vary from the dates listed above. More info at nationaltheatre.org.uk.  Special pricing applies. However with pricing at these production at £20-£30 (US$30-$45) live and in person, the US$20 admission to the broadcast is fairly reasonable. Below is the trailer announcing the season of live broadcasts.

Visit These Cities Before They Sink

U.S. News & World Report reveals "7 Cities About to Sink". Rising sea levels and unstable foundations threaten some of the world's most popular visitor destinations. The lost city of Atlantis will have some company. Here are the rankings:

1) Mexico City, Mexico
This city is sinking into the soft clay on which it sits at about eight inches per year.

2) Venice, Italy
Over the past 100 years, flooding has increased from roughly 10 to 60 days per year.

3) New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Already most of it below sea level, this city is steadily sinking.

4) Shanghai, China
Over the past century this city has sunk over eight feet due to mass groundwater extraction and flimsy foundation.

5) Houston, Texas, USA
Extensive oil drilling and groundwater extraction has disturbed the city's foundation to push it towards the Gulf of Mexico.

6) New York City, New York, USA
This city will soon experience hurricanes and high tides along with the rising Atlantic.

7)  Bangkok, Thailand
Due to rising sea levels experts say this city could be uninhabitable in as little as seven years.

Visit usnews.com for the latest breaking news.

Camera Charging On the Go and Abroad

Most digital cameras available today are powered via a rechargeable battery. This portable Kodak charger is convenient when planning to rough it without electricity or feeling afraid to charge an expensive camera in a foreign outlet even with a power adapter.

The charger is good for two full charges of a USB compatible camera but the unit itself must be charged before traveling. Click here to pick it up at Kodak or here from Amazon. 

My experience while traveling abroad for ten days is the charger did its job of two full charges. But after almost six days, the charger could no longer juice my camera. Luckily I had a spare fully-charged camera battery and my camera could be charged using my iPad charger. But if you use video or constantly turn on and off your camera and take a vast amount of photos, you are likely to run the battery much quicker than you'd like therefore requiring a charge soon afterwards. The only other drawback is the charging of the unit itself took overnight.

One added benefit is the base unit is able to charge other USB devices such as iPods and phones in addition to cameras (see photos below).

My camera is from Kodak's EasyShare 'M' series (model #M109315). Kodak constantly updates their product line and this camera is no longer available even though I purchased it about a year ago. Updated versions are available at kodak.com.

Programs Cost, Playbills Free

Collection of London programs.

During the intermission of a London performance of 'Love Never Dies' I observed a group of visitors from America claiming to an usher at the Adelphi Theatre that they did not receive their playbills when they were seated. In New York and in all theaters across the United States, the ubiquitous playbill at a stage play is normally included in the price of a ticket and most theatergoers treat this tradition as a god given right. However in London programs must be paid for and the usher indicated it so to a bewildered group.

Souvenir Brochure (or Souvenir Program) next to Programme (or Playbill)

This is normally a shock for visiting Americans. On Broadway I always found it wasteful that at the end of a play the floor is littered with discarded playbills. With producers claiming of high production costs its a wonder Broadway has not followed suit. In London there are no programs laying waste after the performance.

The programs in London are much more durable being constructed of a thicker paper stock and a couple of centimeters larger than a Broadway playbill. Most programs cost about £3 (US$5) or even up to £7 (US$11) for magazine size versions.

Pages in Programme.

The program is not be be confused with the souvenir brochure. Much larger in size than a program, the souvenir version contains pages of color photographs from the production. The one caveat is the souvenir brochure is produced at only certain times during the production's run. Because of this the photographs in the souvenir brochure will often contain photos of cast members no longer with the production while the program will always list the current cast members. To remedy this, an insert of the current cast is placed in the souvenir program. Most souvenir brochures cost about £10-£12 (US$15-$18).

If a program and souvenir brochure are available I will always purchase both as they are the only documentation of the theater experience. Souvenir brochures (or in the USA, souvenir programs) are primarily produced for musicals. Plays will normally offer only a program or playbill.

Pages in Souvenir Brochure.

The London Theatre from Stalls to Balcony

Her Majesty's Theatre stage view of 'Phantom' set from balcony. Photo by flickr/dbray46 (2008)

London stage theaters name the levels of seats differently from Broadway houses. When purchasing tickets for London it's important to know this distinction especially if you are very particular about seat selection.

In most Broadway theaters, there are only two levels but at least a couple have three. They are classified from the lowest to upper levels:
- Orchestra
- Mezzanine
- Balcony
So if you purchase a balcony seat, you will find yourself on the third level. However many local theaters outside of New York classify their second level as the balcony. Because of this some ticket holders to a Broadway show, such as 'Mary Poppins' at the New Amsterdam Thetre, are disappointed to find they are seated much higher than expected.

In most London theaters, the lower to upper levels are classified as follows:
- Stalls
- Dress Circle or Royal Circle
- Upper Circle or Grand Circle
- Balcony
So if you purchase a balcony seat, you will likely find yourself in the most upper reaches of the auditorium.

Keep in the mind the higher the level, the more severe the rake of the balcony. Handrails are usually present to help patrons guide themselves along the steep aisle steps.

Palace theatre stage view from balcony. Photo by: webshots/ptschan (2003)

Another important distinction is the arrangement of seats on the stalls level in London compared to orchestra level on Broadway. Almost all Broadway houses have a orchestra left, center and right with two center aisles and two side aisles. In London, the stalls level on most theaters have seats in an unbroken row with aisles only on the sides. Some London theaters will have a singular center aisle. The largest of London theaters: Palladium, Apollo Victoria and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane have stalls seating arranged similar to that of Broadway houses.

Because many London theaters were constructed when there was a distinct class system and mixing of the classes of avoided, some balcony ticket holders will find themselves using a separate entrance from ticket holders seated on the stalls or dress circle levels.

Below are two samples of London seating charts. One for London's Palace Theatre which currently houses the musical 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' and the Noel Coward Theatre which currently houses the revival of 'Deathtrap'.

Noel Coward Theatre Seating Plan.

Right Size Wallet for British Bank Notes

British Sterling bank notes are a couple of centimeters wider than U.S. bank notes. For this reason, UK money will likely stick out of most wallets used by the average American male. The wallet I have been using for visits to the UK had served its duty and was ready to be replaced.

The Fossil brand had the exact wallet I was looking for and it was perfect for this London visit. The 'International Combi - Evans' imported leather wallet (Style# ML9628 US$45) measures 4"x5" with lots of slots for cards and even coins. I found the wallet at the Fossil store on 34th Street in New York City. It is available online and at select Fossil retail locations. More info at fossil.com.

There it Went and Here it Ends - Back to Reality

So all good things must end. This 2010 visit to London has to be one of the best among my travels. Sure it may have been helped that the airfare and hotel was taken care of by using a lot of points and miles. But it was worth it all.

So there it went and here it ends with final shots from this vacation taken from my airline seat: the entertainment system showing the near arrival to LAX and the view from my window of the California coast and downtown Los Angeles. I'll leave it there as everything after this point is norm for my travels to/from the US mainland. After landing, it's another journey through immigration and customs, a two-hour layover and then a five-hour flight on one of American's aging 757s to Honolulu.

All I can think of at this moment is I want go back.