Temple of Tigers

Tiger Temple, or Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, is a Buddhist temple in Western Thailand which keeps numerous animals, among them several tigers that walk around freely once a day and can be petted by visitors.

The Theravada Buddhist temple is located in the Saiyok district of Thailand's Kanchanaburi province, not far from the border with Myanmar, some 38 km north-west of Kanchanaburi along the 323 highway.

It was founded in 1994 as a forest temple and sanctuary for numerous wild animals. In 1995 it received the Golden Jubilee Buddha Image, made of 80 kilograms of gold.

Conservation organizations charge that the tigers at the temple are not rescued wild tigers, but are obtained by illegally trading with black market tiger farms. They say the real purpose is making money, not helping tigers. The groups also criticize the Tiger Temple for interbreeding different subspecies of tigers, which they say violates conservation principles. Abuse of tigers at the temple has been reported by some visitors. Some locals assert that the temple's stated goal of building a new sanctuary has been repeatedly put back as moving the tigers to a more natural environment would disrupt their ability to charge for photo opportunities with them.

An investigation by Care for the Wild International (CWI) revealed evidence of illegal tiger trade, animal cruelty, false conservation claims and visitor safety risks based on information collected between 2005 and 2008. The CWI investigative report was released on 20th June 2008.

Ellora Caves

Ice Hotel in Sweden

Although ice hotels now exist in several cold countries, the Ice Hotel in Kiruna, Sweden is best known as the earliest. Since its creation in 1989, the hotel has featured in many television travel programmes, newspapers and magazines. With the exception of the beds, the entire hotel is made completely out of ice blocks - even the glasses in the bar are made of ice. The ice is made from water taken from the River Torne. The hotel features more than 60 rooms and suites, a bar, reception area and chapel. The hotel only exists between November and May.

Crab Island

Salt Hotel in Bolivia - Hotel de Sal Playa

In the dining room of the Hotel de Sal Playa in Bolivia, the salt is always on the table. In fact, at the world's only hotel made of salt, the salt is the table.

Located near the famous Uyuni salt mine in the southwestern part of the country, Hotel de Sal Playa's roof, and bar are built of salt. Even the floor is covered with salt granules.

The hotel was built in 1993 by a salt artisan who saw a mint in the number of tourists looking for places to stay while visiting the nearby mine, which is one of the world's largest of its kind.

The lodge has 15 bedrooms, a dining room, a living room and a bar.

The hotel walls are made of salt blocks stuck together with a cement-like substance made of salt and water. During rainy seasons, the walls are strengthened with new blocks, while the owners ask the guests to avoid licking the walls to prevent deterioration.

Amazing Water Bridge in Germany

EVER SEEN A WATER BRIDGE ?

Water Bridge in Germany... What a feat! Six years, 500 million euros, 918 meters long.......now this is engineering!

This is a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg, near Berlin. The photo was taken on the day of inauguration.

To those who appreciate engineering projects.

Taking six years to build and costing around half a billion euros, the massive undertaking will connect Berlin's inland harbor with the ports along the Rhine river. At the center of the project is Europe's longest water bridge measuring in just shy of a kilometer at 918 meters. The huge tub to transport ships over the Elbe took 24,000 metric tons of steel and 68,000 cubic meters of concrete to build.

The water bridge will enable river barges to avoid a lengthy and sometimes unreliable passage along the Elbe. Shipping can often come to a halt on the stretch if the river's water mark falls to unacceptably low levels.

Great Rail Journeys

Great train journeys provide a return to more leisurely days, when travel was a decorous adventure rather than an irritant endured between home and holiday. Between them, this list carve up the most spectacular scenery on the planet.

Switzerland: The Bernina Express

This takes you over the highest rail summit in the Alps – 7,405 feet up – at anything but express speeds between St Moritz and Tirano. The curves on the climbs are so sharp that you can photograph the train going in the opposite direction. The final highlight is the viaduct near Brusio that helps the railway corkscrew its way down the river valley.

Canada: Rocky Mountaineer Vacations

The three train routes – Kicking Horse, Yellowhead and Fraser Discovery – operated by Rocky Mountaineer Vacations’ air-conditioned, dome-car day trains offer the best way of seeing the most spectacular parts of the Rockies.

Coach links over the Columbia Parkway allow a 10-night circuit: Vancouver–Whistler–Quesnel–Jasper–LakeLouise–Banff–Kamloops Vancouver. Overnight accommodation is in hotels.

South Africa: Rovos Rail

Now regarded as superior to the Blue Train for quality and service, the two trains of beautifully restored wood-panelled carriages follow a variety of itineraries through southern Africa lasting two days to two weeks, with excursions from the train.

The 36 suites accommodate a maximum of 72 passengers. Observation cars allow unrivalled views across the bush.

Russia: Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express

The world’s longest train journey at nearly 6,000 miles is no longer an endurance test thanks to this new 21-car train that provides comfort unknown since Tsarist times.

It operates itineraries of varying length up to the 15-day Moscow to Vladivostock run. Guided excursions by coach are organised to places of interest.

South East Asia: Eastern & Oriental Express

The 1,262-mile journey from Bangkok to Singapore travels through dense rainforests and towering mountains, past golden temples, rubber plantations and remote towns and villages.

North America: California Zephyr

The Amtrak trip on the California Zephyr runs through the heart of the Rocky Mountains and is regarded as one of the most scenic train rides in North America. For visitors from outside the US or Canada, Amtrak offers impressive bargains.

Great Britain: Northern Belle

The Flying Scotsman used to be the way to see the Scottish Highlands. Now there's another – the Northern Belle, which aims to recreate the feel of travel as it was in the 1930s.

The "Grand Tour" follows a circular route north via York, Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands before returning south via Chester, Snowdonia and Bath.

Europe: Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

A trip on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to London has long been one of the "must-do" rail journeys.

Passengers can enjoy the ultimate in luxury surroundings, with banquet-style meals, as they glide through Italy, Austria and France.

Japan: The Shinkansen

An altogether different encounter, the Shinkansen is an unashamedly modern experience. The Bullet Train, as it is better known, is closer to a rocket than a train.

On the Tokyo to Kyoto Bullet Train trip, the adrenaline rush is the train itself, rather than the rather featureless countryside.