For most people, the idea of space travel is limited exclusively to either astronauts or fictitious movies and television shows. It’s true that many popular movies, such as Star Wars or Star Trek, have depicted space travel as a mode of transportation that is strictly made for science fiction movies – but the reality is that it’s not. Space travel, or the so-called space tourism industry, is a very real thing, and it will allow “regular” people the chance to travel through space.

The whole idea of space tourism is exciting for most people to think about, and the idea that space travel may soon be on the same level as commercial air travel in terms of accessibility and popularity, is even more exciting to think about. Today there are already companies out there that are basically “space travel agencies”, and with their services, you can book your flight to outer space. One of the largest companies of this kind was founded in 1998 and based in Virginia called Space Adventures.

Before you run out to book one of these one-of-a-kind private space travel experiences, you had better have some money in the bank to finance the space trip, because they’re not cheap! The first official space tourist was Dennis Tito who reportedly payed $20 million for the ticket. Tito was blasted to outer space aboard the Soyuz spacecraft en route to the International Space Station. His flight left in May of 2001 with the Russian Space Agency providing the transportation approximately 189 - 248 statute miles up into space. These days, that same trip costs about $30 million to climb aboard the 3 person spacecraft, and it’s booked solid through 2009.

Spacecrafts for these flights into space are being designed and built as we speak. Here’s a short list of some of the innovative spacecraft designed for commercial space travel: Soyuz spacecraft, SpaceShipOne, SpaceShipTwo, WhiteKnightTwo, Cosmopolis XXI. On average, these spacecraft will reach speeds of Mach 3, they’ll fly 360,000ft, or 68.18 miles high, and the entire flight will last between 1 - 3 hours with seating for only 5 or 6 people.

As space tourism continues to become ever more affordable, so demand and accessibility grows, and thus, we are seeing spaceports popping-up around the world. In many ways, these new spaceports are like typical airports, except for the fact that they are launchpads to outer-space. Many spaceports being constructed today are privately owned and financed, while some will be sponsored by the government of their respective countries. Many new spaceports are planning to begin launching travellers into outer space within the next year or two. Costs for these flights are estimated to be in the $200,000 range, and in most cases the flight will last about 1 hour. So is there a spaceport near you? Lets find out!

Spaceport America, New Mexico

Spaceport America:On April 4, 2006 workers broke ground on the $225 million, 100,000 square foot spaceport in New Mexico that is to be called Spaceport America. This is the first commercial spaceport in the United States that was actually built from scratch rather than being converted from an airport and is the rumoured future venue for the annual X Prize Cup spaceflight competitions. The first rocket launched from Spaceport America in September, 2006 was unsuccessful; it lost control after launch and crashed. The second voyage was successful in April, 2007. This launch sent a rocket into outer space with a primary payload of cremated human remains. The first companies that will actually be using this revolutionary spaceport for commercial space travel are UP Aerospace, Zero-G Space, Starchaser Industries, and Virgin Galactic. Sir Richard Branson will reportedly make this his primary spaceport for his fleet of Virgin Galactic spacecraft.

United Arab Emirates Spaceport, Near Dubai

United Arab Emirates Spaceport: This planned spaceport will be located in Ras Al-Khaimah which is about an hour drive from the popular tourist destination of Dubai, and should be operational within the next couple of years. The estimated $265 million spaceport will be funded by various parties including the government, and the USA-based space travel company, Space Adventures. A leading Russian aerospace organisation by the name of Myasishchev Design Bureau has designed a spacecraft called the Explorer which will be one of the spacecraft stationed at the UAE Spaceport. The Explorer is based on the design of the Cosmopolis XXI spacecraft, and it will seat a total of 5 passengers.

Mojave Spaceport, California

Mojave Spaceport: The Mojave Spaceport in California was the first spaceport (2004) in the United States to be approved by the Federal Aviation Agency as a spaceport to be used for the horizontal launches of reusable spacecrafts. It was also the location of the famous Ansari X space race where spaceports competed for a $10 million prize to see who could fly a spacecraft a minimum of 62.5 miles into the air at least 2 times within a week. Mojave Spaceport is also one of the locations where billionaire Richard Branson will fly his Virgin Galactic fleet of spaceships. Virgin Galactic is scheduling space flights for next year, and within a couple of years they hope to be flying 1 - 2 flights into space per day. With the support of Virgin Galactic, the Mojave Spaceport will be one the largest and busiest spaceports in the world. As Mojave Spaceport is near Hollywood, and it’s such a wide-open area, a lot of action movies have been filmed here including Die Hard 2, Dragnet, S.W.A.T., and (strangely) Waterworld.

Oklahoma Spaceport, Oklahoma

Oklahoma Spaceport:The Oklahoma Spaceport received approval from the FAA in 2006 to begin the initial steps toward their goal of providing space tourism services to the public. This revolutionary spaceport is located on a 2,700 acre site and features one of the longest runways in North America at 13,503ft by 300ft wide. Oklahoma Spaceport even features an on-site golf course, so you can play a quick round while you’re waiting for your flight into space. They’ve teamed-up with Rocketplane/Kistler (RPK) to provide the Oklahoma Spaceport with a full-service space tourism company. Rocketplane is scheduled to begin test flights of their reusable spacecraft called the K1 in late 2008. The K1 is a vertical launch spacecraft that is 121ft in length, 22ft in diameter and weighs in at a hefty 845,000lbm at liftoff. This ship is powered by liquid-propellant engines that are designed to be reused 100 times before needing to be replaced. The K1 is not the only spacecraft that will use Oklahoma Spaceport as a launch site, but it will be one of the first. If all goes well with testing, the Oklahoma Spaceport should be fully operational within the next couple of years.

Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), Virginia

Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport: MARS was the third spaceport in the United States to be approved by the FAA for commercial space travel. While Virginia isn’t aggressively pursuing a full-service private spaceport used for space tourism, they certainly are interested in converting the MARS into that type of facility. There’s a lot of money to be made in the developing space tourism industry according to Futron Corp, an aerospace consulting firm. They estimate that by 2020, space tourism will generate 13,000 passengers and $700 million in revenue annually. Experts say that MARS will need about $30 million of upgrades to the spaceport in order for it to be properly equipped for the space tourism industry. Many people believe that Wallops Island, Virginia is the ideal location for a commercial spaceport used for space tourism because it’s located right on the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. Spacecraft are launched out over the ocean, which makes it safer for people inland during launches.

Kodiak Launch Complex, Alaska

Kodiak Launch Complex: This spaceport is located on 3,717 acres of land that is owned by the state. The Kodiak Launch Complex was completed in 2000 at a cost of about $40 million. It’s located at Narrow Cape on Kodiak Island, which has hosted 12 launches since 1998. There haven’t yet been any commercial flights into outer-space from Kodiak Spaceport, but the facility is fully-equipped for such a mission. The Kodiak Launch Complex is an ideal spot to launch commercial spacecraft because it’s in such a wide-open and desolate area.

Baikonur Spaceport, Kazakhstan

Baikonur Spaceport: This spaceport, located in Kazakhstan along the Syr Darya river, is the world’s oldest space launch facility and is actually leased by the Russian Space Agency through 2050. Baikonur was where the first ever space tourist was launched into space enroute to the International Space Station (ISS) back in 2001. There have been 4 other space tourists who have been successfully launched into orbit from Baikonur Spaceport, and these individuals have paid as much as $20 million for the opportunity to do so. Currently, this is the place to go if you want to plan a trip into space. Flights can be purchased through Space Adventures, located in Virginia, to climb aboard the Soyez spacecraft for a flight to the ISS. Just make sure you can cover the cost of the ticket for this flight, which can be as much as $30 million. FYI: We’re not the only ones hoping Borat has nothing to do with Baikonur!

Spaceport Sweden, Sweden

Spaceport Sweden: The plan for Spaceport Sweden is that it is to be the primary European spaceport in terms of space tourism, in the future. The inauguration of this spaceport, located in Northern Sweden, took place on January 26, 2007. Spaceport Sweden has already signed an agreement with Virgin Galactic to be the main spaceport to be used by the company outside of the United States. Esrange Spaceport has their first space tourism flights into space scheduled for 2012. They claim that their spaceflights blast straight through the Aurora (the northern lights), which provides a beautiful backdrop on the way up into space.

Spaceport Singapore, Singapore

Spaceport Singapore: This new spaceport is a proposed $115 million facility scheduled to be completed in 2009. The Spaceport Singapore will be a state-of-the-art aeronautical facility which features an education center, a four-day camp for children, astronaut training facility, and much more. The spaceport complex will be spread over 183,000 square feet in East Singapore. Officials estimate that the spaceport will generate about $3 billion in revenue over a 10 year period. There will be a couple of different ways to experience space travel at Spaceport Singapore. They will offer sub-orbital space flights that blast passengers 62 miles above the earth’s surface and last about 90 minutes with 5 minutes of weightlessness – all at a cost of about $102,000. For about $10,000 you can opt for a parabolic flight which doesn’t actually go into space, but you still can experience the feeling of weightlessness.

Corn Ranch Spaceport, Texas

Corn Ranch Spaceport:The Corn Ranch Spaceport is located on 165,000 acres (66,774 hectares) of desolate land in West Texas, and it’s owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. Jeff’s plan, dubbed Blue Origin, is to make space travel affordable and safe for the public. The first test flights at Corn Ranch Spaceport were conducted in November, 2006 and were a success. The Blue Origin plan involves the use of a spacecraft called the New Shepard which is a vertical take-off, vertical-landing spacecraft. Once testing is complete, Bezos hopes to fly about 1 flight per week in the New Shepard spacecraft starting in 2010.

The next time you are thinking about booking your holidays you should remember that in a few years, and with enough expendable cash, you could be taking a weekend break in space. Now there’s a though!

This post is taken from TravelBurner, a popular blog about travel and lifestyle.

Spaceports: Blasting Off Around the World

As a kid you probably enjoyed making sandcastles on the beach but did you ever think sandcastles could be so big, so elaborate or intricate? Some take it seriously, very seriously. Amateurs, artists and businesses from around the globe compete to win the prestige, prizes and press attention from their sandcastles AKA sand sculptures, the more accurate term for this peculiar endeavour. Even the corporates at companies such as eBay take a good sandcastle seriously, eBay commissioned a monster 75 tonne sand sculpture for their 10th anniversary. These sand sculptures are typically made using river sand, which is a finer material when compared with beach sand and therefore more suited to being sculpted. Unlike your puny childhood attempt at sand castle glory, some of these oversized sandcastles withstand weeks of erosion before disappearing. Here are some of the finest examples of sand sculptures from around the world!

Lifesize Skoda, Sydney

Lifesize Skoda: Who would have thought it? For many long years the humble Skoda bore the brunt of a near-constant stream of contempt and abuse from the western car-owning world. Derided and written off as a poor man’s car (and a poor car for most), Skoda was bought over by Volkswagen in 1991 and like a Czech Phoenix has been transformed into a reliable and respectable brand with sales figures to match. Part of their renewal has been a successful viral marketing campaign, like when Skoda introduced their vehicles to Australia in a manner in which Aussies can relate - a life-sized car on Sydney’s Palm Beach scultped using 60 tonnes of sand. Since then Skoda have gone on to create a replica Fabia cake!

Neptune’s Sandcastle, Virginia Beach

Neptune’s Sandcastle: Neptune’s Sandcastle is the largest sandcastle in the world, which was sculpted for the 2006 Virginia Beach Neptune Festival. This 37ft, 4 storey tall sandcastle easily trumped the previous 32.5ft world record. Neptune’s Castle kept six, skillful, sand sculpters from Team Sandtastic busy moving and shaping over 3,000,000lbs of fine sand until it was completed. Check out the video for a timelapse of how they do it.

Rapunzel’s Castle, Fraser Valley

Rapunzel’s Castle: As the old story of Rapunzel goes, the fair lady was trapped in the tower by an evil witch until her Prince came along. This stunning castle was sculpted for the annual sand sculpting competition at the Harrison Hot Springs Resort in the Fraser Valley of BC Canada.

Boracay Island, Philippines

Boracay Island: Boracay Island in the Philippines is a tropical paradise famed for crystal blue waters, thriving marine life and palm-fringed whiter-than-white sand beaches. Tourists on holiday from Australia and Europe are drawn to Boracay Island for all these reasons and while they are there they might see an intricate shoreline creation such as this one! Castles like this have stiff competition on Boracay. This place seems to be the center of the sand sculpting world!

The Sandcastle Group, Myrtle Beach

The Sandcastle Group: The Sandcastle Group are holders of the World’s Longest Sand Sculpture, which stood at 16.39 miles long on Myrtle Beach, Florida. Reyelt and his team mobilised 8,000 volunteers to help construct it, all of whom are Guinness world record holders. The same poeple who were responsible for this monstrous sand castle recieved Guinness World Records in the past for the 25,000 tonne ‘Blue Beard’s Castle’ in 1985 and the five-storey high Lost City of Atlantis in 1986.

Sandsation, Berlin

Sandsation: Martin Tulinius created this small piece of paradise on earth back in August 2007 for the fifth annual Sandsation event in Berlin, Germany. And around 100,000 Germans filed through to enjoy some of the best sand sculptures in the world.

Castle to the Sun, Casco

Castle to the Sun: It took 40 dump truck loads to get the 1,000,000lbs of sand needed for the Castle to the Sun sculpture. Project leader Ed Jarrett spent his summer building this colossal 31.5ft tall sandcastle at Camp Sunshine with help from the kids staying at the camp and community volunteers. The sandcastle was to raise funds to benefit the camp for children with life threatening illnesses. You can see a time elapsed series of photos documenting the building process.

Zadanyuk & Varano, Fraser Valley

Zadanyuk & Varano: Winners of the World Championships of Sand Sculpture 2007 at Harrison Hot Springs, BC were sculpting masters Pavel Zadanyuk of Moscow and Richard Varano from Florida. The duo created Beauty and the Beast which won the Gold Medal with 1,951 votes of over 10,000 cast.

Sandology, Byron Beach

Sandology: You could have walked past this beautiful yet modest sandcastle creation and missed its significance. This sandcastle was created by Steve Machell of Sandology in 2005 on Byron Bay beach specifically for a marriage proposal. I wonder if Sarah said yes?

Here’s the Church, Fraser Valley

Here’s the Church: Here’s the Church, a sculpture that garnered 1855 votes to win the Silver Medal also at the World Championships of Sand Sculpture 2007 Harrison Hot Springs. Sculptors Michael Velling of Federal Way, Washington and John Gowdy of Venice, Italy had to settle for second best.

This post is taken from TravelBurner, a popular blog about travel and lifestyle.

10 of the Most Amazing Sand Sculptures From Around the World

Celebrities generally maintain a permanent residence in some pretty beautiful places, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still want to get away from time to time. In an industry where trendiness is everything, there’s a different hot spot every year. As you’d expect these are some of the most stylish and expensive hotspots on the planet, after all, what self respecting celeb wants to be papped fumbling around the beach on some bargain holiday with the rest of the bucket and spade brigade? Here are nine vacation hot spots where you’ll more often than not run into someone rich and famous.

Hawaii, USA

Hawaii: Hawaii is an old standby for stars looking to get away. A gorgeous tropical paradise that’s only a quick five hour flight from LA guarantees that celebs will always be spending time on it’s various islands. The islands feature awesome hiking and spectacular views, but realistically the famous seek the area out for it’s pristine beaches and resorts. It’s not quite as flashy or hot as some of the other destinations on this list, but Hawaii will always get it’s fair share of celeb traffic.

St. Barth’s, Caribbean

St. Barth’s: St. Barth’s is a Caribbean island owned by France. It caters to the elite with upscale shopping and restaurants, as well as some of the prettiest beaches in the entire world. Privacy is a big perk for the famous when visiting St. Barth’s, with many private villas available. Hotels are even fairly private, with most having less than fifteen rooms.

British Virgin Islands, Caribbean

British Virgin Islands: The British Virgin Islands is a group of islands in the Caribbean that is owned by the United Kingdom. The area is composed of over 50 islands, but most of the population is concentrated on the islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke. Celebrities making the trip have the option of staying in one of the most expensive resorts in the world. Necker Island is a 74 acre private island owned by Richard Branson, and costs $47,000 a night. That $47,000 enables you to stay with twenty seven of your closest friends. Numerous celebrities have visited Necker, including Janet Jackson, Eddie Murphy, Oprah Winfrey, and it recently saw the marriage of Google co-founder Larry Page to his girlfriend Lucy Southworth.

Miami, USA

Miami: Miami is one of the premier areas of the world for fashion which means thousands of models live in the South Beach area. While that’s a draw in and of itself, South Beach also appeals as a tourist destination for the celeb who is looking to party, not so much someone who wants to get away from it all. The nightclubs are some of the most exclusive in the world and they draw celebs such as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan who love being in the spotlight. It is also a draw for Latin celebs who are made to feel at home with the cities Latin heavy culture.

Bahamas, Caribbean

Bahamas: The Bahamas are made up of over 700 islands and are an extremely attractive destination because of their proximity to the US. It’s closest point to the US is the island of Bimini, which is only 50 miles east of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Like many of the places on this list, the Bahamas feature some of the nicest beaches in the world. It also features many impressive resorts, including the Royal Towers. The biggest suite there is contained in the span connecting the two towers and costs $25,000 a night.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Cabo San Lucas: Cabo San Lucas is located at the southernmost tip of the California peninsula and has recently become one of the hotter places in the world for visiting celebs, partially owing to it’s closeness to Los Angeles. Recent years have seen vacation appearances from Jessica Alba, Kim Kardashian and Kate Beckinsale, among many others. The area caters to the ultra rich with exclusive hotels, gated communities, and resorts that cost many thousands of dollars per night and offer perks like 24 hour butler service along with the standard beautiful oceanfront views.

St. Tropez, France

St. Tropez: St. Tropez is just one of the many areas in the south of France that is popular with celebrities. The town is located along the French Riviera and has a harbor which is home to many luxury yachts. A regatta featuring some of the biggest yachts in the world is a popular event every October. Many reclusive celebs love the south of France (and the lack of media) so much that they make it their permanent home, the most notable being Johnny Depp.

Puerto Banus, Spain

Puerto Banus: If it’s big-name Euro celebs you’re after then head to the Spanish resort of Puerto Banus on the Costa del Sol. This place erupts nightly during the peak summer months with some of the craziest parties in Eurozone. It’s a haunt for Euro models, top footballers and high-rollers from around the world, many of who stay in their luxury yachts moored in the harbour. The Beckhams, Sean Connery, publicist Max Clifford, music mogul Simon Cowell and numerous pop artists are frequently papped here.

Bora Bora

Bora Bora: Bora Bora has been a marriage hotspot of late, seeing the nuptials of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, as well as the marriage of Eddie Murphy and Tracey Edmond. Like St. Bart’s, Bora Bora is owned by the French, but it is actually located in the Pacific Ocean. Bora Bora is a popular destination for people looking to get away from prying cameras, as it is pretty far from just about everything. Additionally the island is only home to about nine thousand people, so chances of seclusion are good. There are many activities for celebs to choose from on the island, including scuba diving and snorkeling in the crystal clear waters. The resorts are some of the finest in the world, and include the $15,000 a night Royal Estate suite, which is reportedly 13,000 square feet. With a private pool. Not a bad place to honeymoon.

The Hamptons, USA

Hamptons: The Hamptons is a catch all name for an area that encompasses the towns of Southampton and East Hampton. The rich and celebs have spent their summers in the Hamptons for decades. The close proximity to New York City makes it an attractive destination for the famous who often have to conduct business there. East Hampton has some of the most beautiful beaches in the country and a long list of celebrities who own summer homes in the village, including Jerry Seinfeld, Steven Spielberg, Martha Stewart, Howard Stern, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Renee Zellwegger.

This post is taken from TravelBurner, a popular blog about travel and lifestyle.

In Their Bikinis: Where Celebrities Vacation

New Year’s Eve is just as much about spectacular fireworks displays as it is about expensive club entry fees, booze and parties. In recent years there has been growing competition between the world’s major cities as to who can lay claim to the title of best New Year’s Eve fireworks extravaganza, and 2008 was no exception. This year’s party was characterised by displays of war-like proportions; in London the display was of such magnitude that at one stage it seemed Donald Rumsfeld was back to open another can of shock-and-awe whoopass for the world to see! Here are the best displays we could find captured on video. Turn your speakers way up, grab a drink and watch as these major cities quite literally blow up our taxes!

London, UK

London: At the stroke of midnight on Big Ben, London ushered in the new year with an incredible 10 minute long pyrotechnic and light spectacular. The focal point of London’s fireworks display was the London Eye, which was used as a backdrop for lighting and as a launch site for over 100,000 pyrotechnics. The intensity and rhythm of the display half way through resembled, perhaps deliberately, the theatre of war. There were even two speed boats being used as mobile launch pads as they scurried around the Thames River. Several pauses in the action were needed to allow the huge plumes of smoke to disperse and to give the 700,000 strong crowd a chance to ready themselves for the next visual and sonic onslaught and booming finale. The total cost of the display was ~ $2,500,000, or $250,000 per minute. If you were in London for New Years Eve, you saw the best fireworks display anywhere in the world!

Sydney, Australia

Sydney: Well over one million people lined the banks of Sydney Harbour to be among the first making it into 2008. Up to 3,000 privately owned boats squeezed into the harbour for the best vantage point to see this dazzling show. All other Australian cities usually have to play second fiddle to Sydney’s amazing fireworks display on New Years Eve - and 2008 was no different. Come to think of it, most cities in the world would find it cahard to beat Sydney’s pyro-music-light display. Sydney blew up something in the order of $3,500,000 million of fireworks to create 30,000 effects from Sydney Harbour Bridge, six barges covering 3.75 miles of the harbour plus eight skyscrapers in the CBD for a 12 minute long display.

Las Vegas, USA

Las Vegas: Vegas brought in the New Year in the only way it knows how - with a gigantic 20 minute long fireworks and light spectacle backed by performances from a plethora of famous entertainers. The night opened up with Robbie Maddison’s record breaking motorcycle jump at the Rio Suite and Hotel. Then the real party began as the Strip exploded in an eight minute long pyrotechnic extravaganza with fireworks launching from seven casino-rooftop locations.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro: After taking in a few bands in the city center the party moved down to Copacabana Beach where all eyes were skyward at midnight for a impressive barrage of fireworks as roughly two million Brazilians and tourists (give or take a few hundred thousand) say “despedida” to 2007 and “Olá” to 2008. Brazilians, as you well know, like to party and what is really cool about the fireworks in Rio is that they last longer than the usual few minutes - Rio’s fireworks last for well over fifteen minutes! Fireworks are set off from hotel tops and barges out to sea creating one of the best shows anywhere.

Dubai, UAE

Dubai: What more would you expect from this booming city than a fireworks spectacular? Dubai wanted to start 2008 with a bang while attempting to break the world record with one of the largest and most artistically detailed fireworks display in history. The emirate employed the services of NYC-based fireworks specialists ‘Grucci’ to design and orchestrate the two-minutes of dazzling fireworks at Dubai Marina. Incidentally, ‘Grucci’ are the same folks who were responsible for the fireworks at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. A piano concerto led the evening up to the countdown at midnight when fireworks from over 25 locations along the beachfront were launched up to a record breaking 2,000ft. The ‘love and peace’ theme was evident in a stunning rainbow that illuminated the skyline from the Emirates Towers and down the Sheikh Zayed Road.

Taipei, Taiwan

Taipei: As with most Asian fireworks displays, the creative folks behind the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Taipei made good use of the city skyline. For over three minutes the Taipei 101 Tower was the focal point of everyone’s attention. Not only is Taipei 101 ridiculously tall (standing at 1,671ft) but it also holds the title as the largest countdown clock in the world for use specifically in New Year’s Eve celebrations. The fact that the display was launched from the top 8 floors of one of the tallest buildings on earth made Taipei’s fireworks unforgettable.

Hong Kong, PRC

Hong Kong: It’s the Olympics this year in China and Hong Kong was eager to impress. The highpoint of Hong Kong’s celebrations was the IFC One building, which towers above the skyline at 1,335ft tall. The locals of Hong Kong love a good fireworks show and hundreds of thousands gathered around the Central District, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui areas to get a good view of the display. If you enjoy the sound of fireworks as much as the visual aspect you needed to get as close as possible to the IFC building itself or the fireworks won’t be very loud. This video was taken from a distance so the sound wasn’t so impressive, but visually the fireworks display was unreal.

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague: Who would have thought of Prague as a New Year’s Eve destination? Prague actually has two fireworks celebrations, the professional display put on along the River Vltava near Prague Castle, which caters to families and tourists. Afterwards there is … the ‘unscripted display’ in the Old Town Square put on by the good people of Prague which is basically an opportunity to risk your life in a free-for-all of rockets and bangers. Alongside the famous ‘Running of the Bulls‘ spending New Year’s Eve in Prague must surely rank highly for those seeking dangerous fun. Check out the footage from the 2007 New Year’s Eve display for a better idea of what goes on. Its an unscripted war zone!

Paris, France

Paris: Les Champs Elysees looked beautiful, L’Arc de Triumph was elegant and the Eiffel Tower was lit up like a Christmas tree but the fireworks were to be honest, quite modest. Still the French revelers, numbered in the hundreds of thousands, were treated to a few minutes of fireworks as rockets, mines, bombs and comets were unleashed from three locations around the Eiffel Tower. Paris does go much bigger for fireworks when they celebrate Bastille Day on 14th July. For a much more dramatic (and perhaps magical) New Year’s Eve in France check out the seven minute long fireworks extravaganza at Disneyland Paris.

New York, USA

New York: Perhaps I’m a purist when it comes to pyrotechnics and this may come as a surprise to some but … New York came in low down the list due to the fact that the fireworks play second fiddle to the famous New Year’s Eve Ball descending from the flagpole atop One Times Square. Over one million Yankees don’t seem to mind as they packed into Times Square in celebration, joined by millions more nationwide and a further estimated billion worldwide via a live televised feed. Honestly, I thought NYC would do NYE better.

This post is taken from TravelBurner, a popular blog about travel and lifestyle.

The 10 Best Fireworks Displays of New Years Eve 2008

The Chinese seem to have understood the secret behind bicycles more than anybody else(it’s changing); they use it more than any other form of travel. Rich cities in Europe and Japan have been realizing the advantages of bicycles and have jumped on the bandwagon. United States is probably the only country that hasn’t embraced the secret behind longer living with good health and healthy environment. Less than 1% commuters in the US use bicycles.

The production of bicycles is outnumbering other vehicles by a huge margin. Around the world, the production of bicycles outnumbers automobiles by almost two times; and outnumbers cars by at least three times.

This post is taken from TravelBurner, a popular blog about travel and lifestyle.

Transport That Makes a Difference: Bicycle