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From below – your options to see the Titanic?

October 29, 2010 in Above or Below, Inspiration, Travel with 0 Comments

The Mir submersible

Mir submersible for viewing Titanic in the Atlantic

Most people know the story of the Titanic, the “unsinkable” ship that sunk on its maiden voyage after hitting an iceberg crossing the Atlantic in 1912.  The story has been retold many times and in abundance since the rediscovery of the ship on 1 September 1985 by American and French research vessels, which has led to numerous expeditions being mounted to investigate the wreck. You’ve probably seen the Oscar winning movie and in recent years there seems to be a Titanic exhibition popping up everywhere hosting some of the objects that have been recovered from the wreck site, survivors or the onslaught of time and sea water.

I recently visited Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition in Melbourne which has been sold out for months and its season had to be extended.  Sailing away in November it will move to another part of the world to retell the story while enabling people to see some of the items from the ship recovered from the ocean floor. A quick search online tells me that over the past 15 years, more than 22 million people have seen this exhibition in major cities worldwide – from Chicago to Los Angeles and Paris to Dublin.  And starting in November London is next to stage it over 6 months at the O2 arena.

Whats more with the 100 year anniversary of the fateful sailing in 2012, expect to be hearing much more about the Titanic in the coming year. For starters a Titanic Memorial Cruise, meant as a tribute to those who lost their lives, will cross the Atlantic arriving where the liner sunk on the 100 year anniversary (April 14/15) for a remembrance service.  Already sold out more than 500 days before it will sail, the 12 night cruise will follow the Titanic’s original itinerary. Travelling the other direction Voyages! Titanic 2012 cruise will depart Boston, Massachusetts, on April 9  2012.

Titanic wreck

But nothing would be quite the same as getting up close to the remains of the Titanic lying on the ocean floor.  The IMAX film Ghosts of the Abyss might provide some impression of the scale of the adventure required to explore the wreckage inside and out, but if you have the means then the Great Canadian Adventure Company can help.  Running from Newfoundland, exhibitions on the Russian Research vessel, Akademik Keldysh, travel to the wreck site and then aboard the MIR I and II submersibles will take you down underwater nearly 2.5 miles to the wreck site.  At US$54500 for an 11 day adventure, it’s the price paid for being one of the first non scientists (or movie makers) to see the wreck of the Titanic up close.

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From Above – Taking a Peak at Hong Kong

September 28, 2010 in Above or Below, Travel with 2 Comments

I recently returned from a trip to Hong Kong, a city I have great memories of but somewhere I hadn’t stopped in for the past decade.  And while some things have changed what every visitor loves about the city is the skyline and harbour, particularly from above. 

The best known place for the view from above is the Peak, and it’s highly recommended the first clear day or night you get that you make the journey to Victoria Peak both to be in awe of the beauty of the city and harbour below and get a great perspective on the layout of Hong Kong. 

The Peak Tram (really a funicular railway) makes the journey up to the Peak Tower every 10 minutes and from the Peak Tower there are a range of walks you can make around Victoria Peak.  Of course as many do you can also just take in the views and then return down into the city below.  My wife and I though decided to walk back down (our calves got perhaps more of a workout than they needed on our first day after an overnight flight) what is quite a steep road and enjoyed the views of the city from different locations and seeing the lush vegetation that contrasts with the concrete jungle. 

The old peak road deposits you at the top of the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical gardens, which is worth a stop on your way down, both for a short rest and a drink but also to see the surprisingly good collection of exotic plants, bird aviaries and zoo with lots of monkeys playing.  For the kids there is also a playground. From here we made our way over to the Mid Levels escalator, following as you do in Hong Kong pedestrian signs that seem to double back take you away from and then over busy roadways.  And on reaching the top of the escalator by the middle of this very hot and humid day we found that the escalator was not heading down, there is only the stairs for that, as it’s only a one way escalator which you take from the bottom to the top – well we’ll know for next time. 

Hong Kong is best explored by foot and going up the peak and then walking back down took us through some great neighbourhoods.  If you have time you can also take different tracks down such as the one to Aberdeen. And if you want more views from above and you’re not in one of the many high rise hotels with views over the city and harbour try heading to the public viewing gallery on the 43rd floor of the Bank of China building (On Garden road), all you need is your passport/ID to get through security.  Or alternatively for a night out stop by Felix for views from the bar at the top of the Peninsula Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.

From Below – Finding more than Opals in Coober Pedy

August 23, 2010 in Above or Below, Travel with 0 Comments

I’d always wanted to visit Coober Pedy in the far north of South Australia, primarily because I’ve been fascinated with living underground for a long time! This fascination is possibly from seeing too many James Bond villains in their underground lair at the movies or reading the Hobbit as a kid. Though these days it’s also an interest in energy efficient buildings, and living underground does give a comfortable year long temperature range.

And if you ever go to Coober Pedy, a frontier town in the middle of the desert in central Australia, halfway between Adelaide and Alice Springs, you’ll understand why they built underground to escape the baking heat.  Known as the opal capital of the world my family and I were there this past Easter on a trip from Melbourne up to Alice Springs (and back). While above ground we’d timed our visit to coincide with the annual opal festival, which turned out to be an engaging friendly town fair and perhaps made it the most lively time we could have visited.  Not that it felt like anyone extra was in town, as tourists frequently only make a stop for the night on their way up to or from the centre of Australia. 

Our interest was in spending a few nights staying underground, which we did at the aptly named Underground Motel, which had rooms carved into a small sandstone hill overlooking the town and offered rooms suitable for travelling families or couples alike with a friendly host happy to explain more about the town. 

Underground Motel

While during our day in town we visited an underground church, underground town museum, an (underground) opal mine and also Crocodile Harry’s – an bizarre underground house of the aforementioned Harry, which has been used in several movies such as Mel Gibson’s Mad Max beyond Thunderdome.

Underground Church

 

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Coober Pedy, I loved that a lot of it was underground. It’s unusual and unlike any other place you’ll visit with a character all of its own.  So did my kids, they loved the idea of living underground, exploring caves (as they termed them) and discovering what was there.

From Below – Eiffel Tower: The view is not just from the top

August 10, 2010 in Above or Below, Inspiration, Travel with 0 Comments

The Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel) is one of my favourite world landmarks, I’ve been coming back to Paris for years now, first as a backpacker and more recently as a husband with kids, and regardless of which arrondisement you’re in you are always catching glimpses of It rising up above the city. A constant reminder you’re in one of the most beautiful cities on earth.

From Below - Eiffel Tower - Day

Built in 1889 for the World’s fair, the tower was originally derided by the public, calling it an eyesore, and was intended to only stand for twenty years when it was to be pulled down.  However it was deemed useful for communications purposes and was allowed to remain.  A good thing as well as now it is the most visited paid monument in the world and a universal symbol of Paris.        

 

The view from the top of the tower is a must for any first time tourist, being able to see over all of Paris is breathtaking.  However I’ve always enjoyed the view from below the tower just as much and although I might have only gone to the top two or three times I’ve walked under the tower on over a dozen visits taking in the lattice structure from different angles, night and day, as you can see from my pictures from different visits 

Underneath Eiffel Tower

From above you appreciate the city unfolding before you, but from below you can appreciate the complexity of its construction – a structure as a piece of art, while taking in the sounds of Paris life.

From Above – The Nazca Lines

August 3, 2010 in Above or Below with 1 Comment

The Nazca Lines are one of the most unique sites you’ll ever see. On an arid plateau between the towns of Nazca and Palpa in Peru are hundreds of figures carved into the ground that are only clearly visible only from above.  The figures range from simple lines through to shapes and pictures of animals and birds such as spiders, monkeys or hummingbirds.

Whatever your reason for visiting Peru, whether it be to see Machu Pichu or any number of other sites make sure you make the trip to the Nazca Lines.  There are multiple companies that operate small planes to fly you over the site each and every day. A longer flight will give you more time to take in the wondorous figures but even a short flight will give you an ever lasting memory. 

Even more mysterious is how they got there, no one knows for sure but most scholars ascribe religious significance to them. Recent archaeological research in the area proports that a long since vanished people lived in the area and carved the lines while some like to think they were made by aliens.  Whatever the truth it is amazing to think as you fly over them how these precise works could have been completed hundreds of years before the invention of human flight and for what purpose they served.

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