Travelling

Tibet - Spiritual Place In Asia

2007-08-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

2007-08-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

Auschwitz

2007-08-02T06:20:00.000-07:00

There are two well-known facilities here. Auschwitz-I is the original or 'main' Auschwitz camp. Auschwitz-II or Birkenau was the main killing center in the area, and is many times larger than Auschwitz-I. See the map below for their relative locations.

The area can be reached by driving west on A4 from Krakow, and taking 933 south to Oswiecim.

A - Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (site of Auschwitz I). The visitor reception center is located in the building adjacent to the parking lot:
B - Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (site of Auschwitz II-Birkenau)
C - Railroad station; adjacent Globe Hotel
D - International Youth Meeting House
E - PKS bus stop
F - Dialogue and Prayer Center
P - Parking

Also in the area is the Buna Werke. This was a huge manufacturing plant run by I. G. Farben, and the remains of it still exist today. This is also where the Mono or Auschwitz-III work camp was located.These are a few of the dozens of camps and sub-camps that made up the constellation of Auschwitz facilities, all administered centrally from Auschwitz-I, and for which the main extermination center was Auschwitz-II/Birkenau.

These places are very real.Words here fail, and likely these pictures will too, but some are provided below.I strongly recommend a physical visit to anyone interested in learning more about this critical time in world history.

Auschwitz-I

Auschwitz-I or the "main camp" was the first prisoner camp used by the Germans in the Oswiecim area, and was built around an earlier Polish army compound.

Birkenau/Auschwitz-II was a considerably larger camp, and contained purpose-built combined gassing-cremation facilities. At Birkenau many hundreds of thousands of people were systematically killed.

In addition to barracks and a makeshift gassing-cremation facility, Auschwitz-I contained the administrative offices which controlled the main and (numerous) satellite camps in the Auschwitz constellation.



	Flying over the farming area of Poland that contained Auschwitz, en-route to Krakow airport.


	In Oswiecim, the sign for Auschwitz-I. Auschwitz-I is now largely preserved as a museum.


	Visitors entrance to Auschwitz-I museum today. This building was constructed by the camp inmates late in the war to act as a central 'reception center'.


	The main gate to Auschwitz-I. The sign reads arbeit macht frei, or work makes freedom.


	View from roof of gatehouse, circa late 1945. Main gate, double electric fence, and kitchen in foreground; barracks in background.


	Auschwitz-I main gate. All prisoners marched in and out of the camp under this gate; a prisoner orchestra played music a few meters to the right.


	Auschwitz-I barracks. Double electric fence runs around perimeter.


	View along double electric fence at Auschwitz-I. Camp reception center on right, kitchen on left.


	Empty tin of Zyklon-B gas 'crystals'. A specially modified --to remove odor-- fumigation gas produced by Degesch GmbH, this substance was used in great quantities at Auschwitz-I and especially Auschwitz-II/Birkenau to kill people.


	Zyklon-B gas 'crystals'. Deadly cyanic acid was soaked into these bits of diatomaceous earth. Such 'crystals' were taken out of their tins by SS wearing gas masks, and dropped through small openings into sealed rooms of trapped prisoners, allowing the gas to escape, killing all within.


	Room in Block 11 of Auschwitz-I where the Gestapo held 'court' hearings on the ultimate fate of many prisoners.


	Wall of Death. Execution wall (center, rear) located between blocks 10 and 11. Note windows on women's block (10), on the left, were boarded over in an effort (unsuccessful) to stop viewing.


	Crematorium I, Auschwitz-I. This partially subterranean building was the first killing center at Auschwitz, and housed an ad hoc gassing chamber along with several cremation ovens. This facility was partially reconstructed from post-war ruins. The evidence of reconstruction was recently used as an excuse by so-called 'revisionists' to raise spurious questions as to the Nazi's use of the building.


	Roof of Crematorium I. Note small access lids, through which Zyklon-B crystals were dropped.


	Gassing chamber in Crematorium I, Auschwitz-I.


	Double-muzzle brick cremation ovens in Crematorium-I. Note rails for moving trolleys efficiently.


	Metal slide for placing bodies into oven.

Auschwitz-II / Birkenau

Birkenau was the largest extermination camp ever built by Nazi Germany.

Most of the deaths attributed to the dozens of Auschwitz-affiliated camps occurred here, at Auschwitz-II/Birkenau, where systematic killing took place over a 600+ acre site.

This remote campus, purposefully engineered around a nexus of European rail lines, became an ultimate focal point for Nazi racial policy.



	Birkenau main gate and guard tower (viewed from inside the camp). The rail line leading into the camp, and all inmates, passed under the archway.


	Rail yard within Birkenau. The notorious 'ramp' is seen left of center as the light colored area between two rail sidings. The B-I women's barracks are on the right; B-II men's, quarantine, gypsy and family camps are on the left. The two main Birkenau crematoria, II and III, are out of view and behind the photographer's right and left, respectively.


	Photo taken in 1944 by an SS man on the roof of a cattle car. New prisoners, having exited the cattle cars just after arrival, are being formed into two lines on the 'ramp'. Camp entrance visible in distance.


	Partial view today of the B-II barracks area of Birkenau from the main gate guard tower. This was a tremendous complex covering hundreds of acres.


	Barracks in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. This photograph was taken after the liberation of the camp. Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland, after January 29, 1945. National Archives and Records Administration USHMM # 04412


	Barracks area with temporary guard tower in foreground. The cruder guard towers, such as seen here, were only used to watch over arriving trains while they were unloaded.


	Some of the converted horse stables that served as barracks in the B-II area.


	Interior of a wooden Birkenau prisoner's barrack today.


	Interior view of a wooden barrack circa February 1945, shortly after camp liberation. Note straw used to keep warm.


	Electric fencing. Always in service, single-layer electric fencing was found to be sufficient by the time Birkenau was built (1942).


	Melted tableware in the 'Kanada' section of Birkenau. All personal belongings of arriving prisoners were plundered, and stored in a series of buildings referred to as Kanada, for eventual shipment to parts of the Reich. These storage buildings were set on fire by the retreating Germans in the winter of 1945, and masses of melted personal belongings are found in this area today.


	Crematorium-II. One of the two main crematoria/gas chambers at Birkenau. Steps in foreground led to an underground undressing room ('Auskleidungsraum'). The gassing chamber is out of view on the right in the distance, and was also built underground. All the combined gas chamber/crematoria at Birkenau were systematically dismantled and then dynamited by the Germans in late 1944.


	A 1943 SS photo of the ovens within Crematorium-II. Click image for larger view.


	Crematorium-III. A mirror image of crematoria II. Steps in foreground lead to Auskleidungsraum. Gassing chamber is out of view in the distance beyond this room, off to the left. Rubble upper center includes part of the above-ground oven section.


	A 1943 SS photo of Crematorium-III. Note prisoners tending the grounds. Photo taken from behind Crematorium-II area; Birkenau main gate out of view to far right. Click image for larger view.


	Crematorium-IV. One of two 'crematoria in the woods', this and Crematoria-V are located in a field of birch trees (Birkenau means 'place with Birch trees') and out of view from the main barracks area.


	A 1943 photo of Crematorium-IV taken by the SS. Click on photo for larger image. Note ash piles in left foreground.


	Ash pond adjacent to Crematorium-IV, near those shown in photo above. These small pits were dug alongside the crematoria for dumping ash.


	Human skull fragment from the edge of the ash pond shown above.


	Crematorium-V. Located in a remote corner of the camp, this facility was the last in operation at Birkenau. Note guard tower and fence in background, right of center.


	One of only three photographs ever taken by prisoners at Birkenau and successfully smuggled out. This was taken in 1944 by a camp inmate assigned to one of the special prisoner teams (sonderkommando) who were forced to work in the gas chamber/crematoria. This photo shows prisoners burning naked corpses freshly removed from the gassing facility at Crematorium-V. It was taken from the area to the right of the guard shack in previous photo, near the back fence. Click image for larger view.


	Bunker-II. Despite having four purpose-built combined crematoria/gassing facilities at Birkenau, the Germans still outstripped their capabilities. Here a farmhouse was converted into a gas chamber, and long open pits were dug in the field beyond, in which thousands of bodies were burned.


	Ruins of a portion of the Buna Werke industrial complex, located several kilometers outside of Oswiecim. Buna had its own satellite labor camp known as 'Monowitz' or Auschwitz-III. Among many thousands of others, the chemist/author Primo Levi spent time here.

Wierdist Hotels In The World

2007-07-20T00:57:00.000-07:00

Ice Hotel (Sweden): 6,000 square feet of ice and snow

Made up of over 6,000 square feet of ice and snow, it's the largest - and the original - ice hotel in the world. Guests sleep in a thermal sleeping bag on a special bed built of snow and ice, on reindeer skins. In the morning, a cup of hot lingonberry juice is brought to their bedside. After enjoying a good (?) night's sleep on a bed of snow, that morning delivery should be quite a delight. With an average temperature of 17 degrees Fahrenheit, bring lots of layers, or just visit the Absolut ICE bar and drink some vodka to stay toasty - in more ways than one.

Gamirasu Cave Hotel (Turkey): a cave on a volcanic rock

Sleeping in a cave, according to the management of Gamirasu Cave Hotel, is surprisingly comfortable. The volcanic rock that insulates the cave keeps the temperature at a comfortable level, between 63 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit, year round. The cave itself used to be a Byzantine monastic retreat, dated at about 1,000 years old. Until recently, part of this retreat was used by Christian monks, and some of the individual rooms were used as cells.

Old Jail Mount (Australia): an actual prision

If you've ever spent a night in jail you probably don't want to go back. However, for the do-gooders that may never get there - The Jail in Australia is just the place to get locked up for the night, sans the legal fees and court appearance. This old prison in Mount Gambier has been transformed into a lodging aimed at budget travelers. Considering guests will have to eat in the mess hall and sleep next to a toilet, it's pretty safe to say that anyone with more than budget needs should steer clear of The Jail.

Poseidon Undersea Resort (Fiji): an underwater hotel

By early 2009, travelers will have the opportunity to stay at the grandiose Poseidon Undersea Resort. Nestled forty feet below the surface of the clear blue Fijian Lagoon, the underwater suites will be accessible by elevator. 70 percent of each suite is enveloped in Acrylic walls that allow for spectacular views of the ocean. Guests are invited to interact with the surroundings. At the push of a button the fish are fed, and a flip of a switch turns on the sparkling underwater lights.

Capsule Inn (Tokio): capsules instead of rooms

The Capsule Inn provides more a capsule, than a room. While the Inn provides a public lounge space, including bathrooms, guests stay in a capsule unit. These capsules, which are made of reinforced plastic, have all the required amenities, like TV, radio, lighting, and alarm clock access. While you may be asking, required amenities for who? a quick stay in the Capsule Inn just might make you long for an all access capsule of your own.

Green Magic Treehouses (India): built in trees 90 feet high

If you longed for a tree house getaway as a child, the Green Magic Treehouses in Kerela, India may be a long awaited dream come true. The houses are built in trees 90 feet high, and nestled in a tropical rainforest. They come complete with running water in private baths, telephones, and if you're feeling extra adventurous - access to a hanging bridge. All of the houses are made of Eco- friendly materials, and run by alternate energy sources, avoiding conventional electricity power. This, coupled with the beautiful abundance of flora and fauna, make for a beautiful and unique place to stay.

Exploranter (Brazil): a hotel on wheels

The Exploranter -- a hotel on wheels -- was certainly designed for the adventure traveler. Though the digs are modest, Exploranter is fully equipped with facilities that include a kitchen, hot showers and 28 beds. The Exploranter is based in Sao Paulo and tours through Brazil, Chile and Argentina. The hotel even caters to themed private parties, such as hot-air ballooning, horseback riding, rafting, or visiting vineyards. Keep an open mind when you're traveling with the Exploranter gang: the chef on board wants guests to sample international cuisine and might surprise you with a snack of crispy red ants.

Woodlyn Park Motels (NZ): a railcar and a plane

Planes, Trains, and Hobbit Motels? Woodlyn Park in Waitomo, NZ offers three unique lodging options. A 1950's railcar and a Bristol Fighter plane have been refurbished and transformed into small self-contained motel units. The Hobbit Motel resembles an authentic hobbit hole built into the side of the mountain. The entertainment provided at any of the 3 Woodlyn Park motels is equally bizarre. Guests are invited to enjoy a sheep shearing and fun with bush animals, such as the kiwi bear or the dancing pig.

McMenemins Kennedy School Hotel (USA): back to school

Have you ever experienced the went to school in your underwear nightmare? At McMenemins Kennedy School hotel, that nightmare becomes a reality. The Kennedy School, a historic elementary school, has been converted into a delightful little place to stay while visiting the Portland area. Each room, fashioned from original schoolrooms, contains a chalkboard and comes fitted with a phone, Internet connection, and even a private bath.

Woodpecker Hotel (Sweden): on a park, for a single guest

The Woodpecker Hotel is among the smallest in the world. It only accommodates a single guest or a couple, which makes perfect sense considering that the digs at the Woodpecker are located in a tree house about 42 feet above a Swedish park. Your tree house is not completely rustic -- it comes complete with a veranda, hammock and toilet.

Travel To Serbia - Belgrade

2007-07-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

At a cafe in the Belgrade's train station, I got a dark look when I remarked on the clerk's perfect English. "You're in Serbia, not on Mars," she said mirthlessly.

I may have deserved the rebuke, but my mistake was understandable. Western visitors who gleaned most of what they know about this country from news reports during the 1992-95 Balkan wars are bound to be pleasantly surprised at almost every turn in the Serbian capital.

The conflict brought an estimated half-million refugees to Belgrade, and NATO bombing in 1999, aimed at stopping Serbian aggression in the province of Kosovo (now a U.N. protectorate), destroyed parts of Belgrade; some of it is still in ruins. Accused war criminals, including Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic, remain at large, dimming Serbia's hopes of eventually joining the European Union and entrenching its image as a pariah.

Last month, Montenegro voted for independence from Serbia, joining Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia in rejecting the Belgrade-based union of Balkan states previously known as Yugoslavia, once the dominion of spectacular Adriatic coastline that drew tourists.

But U.S. tourists certainly haven't flocked here. Few guidebooks cover the city, and those that do damn it with faint praise. "Belgrade may not be the most elegant of capitals, but it has a vitality undiminished by years of power cuts, sanctions and international isolation," author Laurence Mitchell writes in "Serbia: The Brandt Travel Guide."

Still, the dauntless Serbian tourism organization has gone to work touting the attractions of Belgrade's cafe life, secret bars and late-night clubs, drawing partyers mostly from neighboring Slovenia, Croatia and Macedonia.

The message it's trying to spread to Europe's flush youth: Belgrade is now as hot as Prague once was, only cheaper and less touristy than the capital of the Czech Republic.

Never mind club crawling. I wanted to find out how Belgrade had fared in the wake of wars and to see the sights of this once-stylish old-world capital set around a hilltop citadel overlooking the Sava and Danube rivers.

But I worried about safety — needlessly, it turned out — in a perennially poor and politically volatile country still rankling over what it deemed a betrayal by allies during the American-led NATO bombing campaign. So, when Polly Platt, an American friend who lives in France and has family in Belgrade, told me she was coming to Serbia, I took the opportunity to travel with a companion.

You can't visit the Balkans without exposure to the region's tangled politics, as Polly and I discovered during the $15 cab ride from the airport to downtown. Along the way, we went through New Belgrade, which grew up on the western side of the Sava River during the communist era, when Yugoslavia was led by strongman Marshal Tito (born Josip Broz).

Now a business center, New Belgrade has the city's ritziest hotels and high-rise apartment buildings, a new sports stadium and convention center.

We passed a shopping strip the driver called "Little China," home to Chinese-Serbs and the former site of the Chinese Embassy destroyed during NATO bombing in May 1999. Serbs bristled when the U.S. later termed the destruction a "mistake," and anti-American demonstrations erupted in Beijing.

A handful of bridges spans the Sava, providing good views of the vast plain to the north where the river joins the mightier Danube. Both banks of the Sava are lined with floating restaurants, or splavovi, and on the eastern side of the confluence, the Kalemegdan fortress rises, aptly described by journalist Rebecca West in "Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia," published in 1942 and still one of the best books on the Balkans.

"Ever since there were men in this region this promontory must have meant life to those that held it, death to those that lost it," West wrote. "Its prow juts out between two great rivers and looks eastward over the great Pannonian Plain that spreads across Hungary towards Central Europe."

I chose a hotel near Kalemegdan, which is now a park. At the recently privatized Moskva, Polly got a single for $65 and I had a double for about twice that. This turreted, green-roofed Art Nouveau landmark was built in 1906 at a wedge-shaped intersection with a fountain where sports fans congregate to swap soccer and basketball cards. It has a sidewalk cafe and a first-floor restaurant known for its band and its Viennese pastries.

The low-ceilinged lobby got an unlovely renovation during the communist era, but the rooms upstairs are large and old-fashioned, with stiff antique settees that recall Serbia's sporadic periods of domination by the Austro-Hungarian Empire and folk-craft carpets reflecting five centuries of vassalage to Ottoman Turkey.

It was a five-minute walk from the hotel to wide Republic Square, the city's nerve center, site of the demolished Istanbul gate and October 2000 demonstrations that sparked a bloodless revolution unseating Yugoslav Federation President Slobodan Milosevic. The square is surrounded by the pervasive architectural mélange that gives Belgrade its eclectic but tonic air.

At its northeastern corner are the 19th century national theater and early 20th century museum. Ongoing renovation has closed all but its temporary exhibition gallery and foyer, where there's a double row of striking Art Deco caryatids by Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic. (More of his work is on display in Kalemegdan park.)

In front of the museum is a valiant equestrian statue of Prince Mihailo Obrenovic, who ruled Serbia when Turkish forces were finally expelled in 1867, only to be assassinated a year later. The dirty steel-and-glass Press House, erected in the 1950s, looks across the square at Baroque confections from the Austro-Hungarian era and the early-Modern Yugoexport building.

In Republic Square, visitors discover that Belgrade's vitality is no empty claim. People press into shops in subterranean galleries and along Kneza Mihaila, the city's main pedestrian artery. The workday starts at 7 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m., giving Belgraders long afternoons for endless rounds of Turkish coffee in open-air cafes.

Wedding day

ON our first morning in town, a beautiful Sunday, Polly and I began walking along Kneza Mihaila but got only as far as the fountain in front of the hotel where 100 couples were parading toward City Hall for a mass marriage ceremony, an annual spring event in Belgrade. Like a spread in a bridal magazine, the women proudly modeled white gowns and seemed in no rush to get to City Hall, where I hoped an ambulance waited because, by my count, every 10th one was about to give birth.

When we reached the city's domed cathedral, we found another wedding in progress, this one featuring a couple and all the "dark magic," as journalist West put it, of the Orthodox rite. Polly, who was married in the Orthodox church, wanted to stay until she saw the priest place crowns on the heads of the bride and groom and lead them, swinging a censer, around the church while dour statues of saints silently approve from the gold-encrusted iconostasis.

Polly had family business and left me to wander the old town on my own. I started with lunch in the courtyard of the ? restaurant, which bears a punctuation mark for a name because ecclesiastical authorities protested when the owner tried to call it the Cafe by the Cathedral. It specializes in traditional Serbian cuisine, which means flat, unleavened bread, salads topped with shavings of zesty cheese and myriad varieties of grilled meat.

I pondered the English menu, which listed such entrees as "tripe with calf's head" and "young bull's sex glands," then ordered grilled chicken, followed by a slice of delicious, honey-soaked walnut cake.

Nearby, I found the Palace of Princess Ljubica, onetime home of the wife of Prince Milos Obrenovic, also part of the Obrenovic dynasty. (He was twice Serbia's ruler in the tumultuous 19th century, during which he won his country limited autonomy from the Ottoman sultan.) The handsome, white two-story building is a schizophrenic blend of Turkish and Western European décor. Next to a room with low banquettes and tables, lacking only a hookah to complete its Orientalism, is a parlor with prim divans and armoires that would have pleased Queen Victoria.

Complex history

THE Serbs arrived in the Balkans at the beginning of the 7th century and enjoyed a golden age during the early medieval period. But on June 28, 1389, they were defeated at the Battle of Kosovo by the Muslim Ottoman Empire as it encroached into the southeast corner of Christian Europe.

For the next 500 years, with occasional interludes of Austro-Hungarian rule, Orthodox Serbia suffered under the Turks. In Western Europe, Serbia was seen as a wild frontier, crossed by crusaders on their way to the Holy Land but basically left to go it alone under the heavy thumb of the Ottomans.

This is the very least a visitor needs to know about Serbia's confounding history while walking through Kalemegdan park, a desperate battleground between the Muslim east and the Christian west that now seems a peaceful Belgrade playground. There are statues and flower beds, kissing couples, baby carriages, accordion players, benches overlooking the confluence, tumble-down walls built by the Turks and a Baroque Austrian clock tower.

I toured the park's Military Museum, fronted by a collection of World War II tanks and guns that children climb and dangle from in heartening fulfillment of the biblical injunction to beat swords into plowshares.

Handicraft vendors, selling embroidery, wood carvings and vintage bric-a-brac, line the park's main walkway. One man specialized in old currency, which reminded me of how Serbia was ravaged by hyperinflation in the 1990s. In those days, a 500-billion dinar bank note (with 11 zeros) was introduced and was worth half its value by the end of the day.

I bought a beautiful 1931 1,000-dinar bill decorated with a picture of Serbian Queen Maria. It was too big for a wallet but eminently suitable for framing.

The rest of my four-day stay in Belgrade passed agreeably with an expedition to the open-air Bajloni market, a one-stop shop where you can find underwear and plumbing supplies and fresh cherries.

I sat in quiet Student Square just off Kneza Mihaila, then toured the nearby Ethnographic Museum, devoted to Serbian folk crafts, costumes, customs and architecture.

In the up-and-coming Dorcal neighborhood, I strolled along Strahinjica Bana, lined with trendy bars, restaurants and cafes, many of which opened during NATO bombing, when Belgraders congregated in the streets instead of hiding.

Now the area is known as Silicone Valley — for the enhanced breasts of women in rhinestone-studded jeans and stiletto heels who hang like ornaments on the arms of men generally thought to be Serbian mobsters.

Polly and I ate dinner at Dva Jelena, one of about a dozen traditional Serbian restaurants on Skadarska Street serving the inevitable grilled meat and Montenegrin red wine while a loud band played folk tunes.

Another night with some of Polly's friends we had fresh fish at Stara Koliba, a splavovi reached by a long boardwalk, at the confluence of the Sava and Danube. When I asked the waiter whether we should watch for alligators, he returned the joke by saying that they were only a problem before the war.

Young Serbs seem more than ready to put the past behind and get on with life. But it's harder for older people with longer memories.

Polly and I had tea one afternoon in the apartment of Joca Lalosevic, her 79-year-old cousin and an eminent Belgrade physician with a gentlemanly air. Unlike others his age who justify Serbian aggression in the 1990s by citing the ethnic Serbs' history of victimization, he has no illusions about the recent past.

To him, Milosevic was a gangster. But he also remembers how Serbia stood alone in the Balkans against the Germans in both world wars, spilling its blood for the Allies.

His kindness never flagged, but when I asked him what he thought about the U.S. now, he paused and said, "We liked Americans very much until the bombing."

I had to listen hard to hear that. I had to look closely at both smooth and lined faces in this miraculously thriving city. I had to make the mistake of thinking Belgraders didn't speak English or walk their dogs in Kalemegdan park without stumbling over land mines. But in the end, that's why I came to the city — to see the other face of a coin I used to think was the same on both sides.

World's Tallest High-rise Buildings

2007-07-02T03:38:00.000-07:00

This overview is the most accurate compilation of its kind and uses in-depth research results and reliable building information. It is based on data standards as outlined by the Emporis Standards Committe (ESC). This listing is verified and updated continuously and includes high-rise buildings which have been topped out, including those still under construction or on hold. The ranking is based entirely on the buildings' structural height. TV towers, masts, and other building types are not included.

Taipei 101

City Taipei

Country Taiwan

Height 509 m 1,671 ft

Floors 101

Taipei 101 is the world's tallest building, surpassing the height of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur in late August 2003.
- Taipei 101 holds the world record in three of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's height categories: tallest to the structural top, tallest to the roof, and highest occupied floor.
- The outdoor observation deck is the highest in the world. It is expected to be surpassed by the outdoor deck in the Shanghai World Financial Center.
- This was the first world's tallest building completed in the 21st century. The next will most likely be Burj Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
- The 89th floor holds an indoor observation area, and an outdoor observation deck is located on the 91st floor.
- Taipei 101 is the first and currently only building in the world to break the half-kilometer mark in height.
- The highest section of the spire was installed on 9 October 2003. At the official ceremony on 17 October, Taipei's mayor Ma Ying-Jeou fastened a golden bolt to signify the official topping-out.
- Before the spire was installed there was a separate topping-out ceremony on July 1st, 2003 for completion to the roof level. The president of Taiwan and the mayor of Taipei participated in the event.
- The design is inspired by traditional Chinese architecture, with a shape resembling a pagoda. The sectioned tower is also inspired by the bamboo plant, which is a model of strength, resilience, and elegance.
- The tower's design specifications are based on the number "8", a lucky number in traditional Chinese culture; it features 8 upward-flaring sections, and is supported by 8 supercolumns. The Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai also employs this numerology in its design.

- The elevators are the fastest in the world, rising at 1008 meters per minute (60.48 km/hour) and descending at 610 m/min (36.6 km/hour). The top speeds are 34 percent faster than the previous world's fastest elevators in Yokohama Landmark Tower.

- This is one of the few buildings in the world equipped with double-deck elevators.
- Each elevator is designed with an aerodynamic body, pressurization and emergency braking systems, and the world's first triple-stage anti-overshooting system. The cost for each elevator is over $US 2 million.
- The Taiwan Stock Exchange rents 7 floors in the building.
- Inside the base of the tower is the large Taipei 101 Mall, which opened before the tower on November 13th, 2003.

Petronas Towers

City Kuala Lumpur

Country Kuala Lumpur

Height 452 m 1,483 ft

Floors 88

- The security system includes a card access and alarm monitoring system, closed circuit television, a voice intercom, and a photo ID system.
- The two towers have a total of 76 lifts, including 29 double-decker high speed passenger lifts in each tower. Each double-decker elevator can carry 26 persons.
- The architectural and engineering team was chosen on the basis of its experience with the Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle, a world's-tallest proposal from Chicago with a narrow concrete structure that was very similar to the Petronas design.
- From 1996 to 2003 this tower shared the world's tallest building title with Petronas Tower 2.- The skybridge is now open to the public, and connects both towers at levels 41 and 42. It is 58.4 meters long (192 feet) and weighs 750 tons.
- The tower has 29 double-decker elevators.
- Shared the world's tallest building title with its twin from 1996 to 2003.

Sears Tower

City Chicago

Country U.S.A.

Height 442 m 1,451 ft

Floors 108

- Until Taipei 101 was topped out in 2004, the Sears Tower held title to the world's highest roof and highest occupied floor.
- The height was listed in many sources for years as 1,454 feet. This is the result of misprinted data which was copied by several sources until it was corrected by the engineers in the middle 1990s.
- The lobby contains the moving sculpture "The Universe" by Alexander Calder.
- The structure is formed from 9 bundled square tubes, each 75 feet wide with no columns between the core and perimeter. Two of the tubes are 50 floors high, two are 66 floors, three are 90, and two are 108.
- The floor count is usually given as 110; however this figure includes the elevator box and its roof, features not normally counted as floors.
- This has been the tallest building in Chicago since 1974. For a timeline of Chicago's tallest building through history, start with Holy Name Cathedral.
- The observatory elevators are among the world's fastest at 1600 feet per minute.
- Double-decker express elevators take passengers from the first two floors to skylobbies at floors 33/34 and 66/67.
- The lobby floor is decorated with metal tiles in a stylized design based on the bundled tube structure.
- Sears Tower was topped out on May 3, 1973, surpassing One World Trade Center as the world's tallest building.
- This is not the original Sears Tower; the previous headquarters of Sears Roebuck was a vast building on Chicago's West Side that included the Sears Merchandise Building Tower.
- Sears Roebuck & Co. originally occupied the lower half of its namesake tower. In 1995 the company moved to a low-rise complex in the northwest Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates.
- Sears executives chose to build a single tall headquarters building over an alternative proposal for twin towers at half the existing tower's height.
- The Skydeck occupies the 103rd floor, the highest non-mechanical floor in the building. It has its own entrance on Jackson Boulevard, and attracts approximately 1.5 million visitors per year.
- Before the tower was developed, its site was split in half by West Quincy Street. Sears paid the city of Chicago $2.7 million for the street segment.
- The building's facade has been climbed twice: by Dan Goodwin in 1981 and by Alain Robert in 1999.
- 2.5 million cubic feet of concrete were used during construction.
- In 2000, four high-definition television antennas were lifted to the roof by helicopter.
- The tower has a pressure lock (like an airlock) at the freight entrance to combat the 'stack effect' generated by the differential in air pressure caused by cold air meeting warm air in the building.
- World's tallest building from 1974 - 1996; surpassed by Petronas Tower 1 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Jin Mao Tower

City Shanghai

Country China

Height 421 m 1,380 ft

Floors 88

- The tower has an observatory (with a floor space of 1,520 square metres) on the 88th floor, at a height of 340.1 metres. It is the largest and highest observation deck in China. Admission is 50 rmb (about $6 US).
- Grand Hyatt Shanghai occupies floors 53-87.
- The building's shape draws on traditional Chinese forms, especially the tiered pagoda.
- Offices occupy floors 3 through 50. A 5-star Grand Hyatt Hotel fills the top 38 floors with 555 rooms.
- The tower is designed to withstand an earthquake of 6 on the Richter scale and the strongest level of typhoon.
- The hotel atrium starts at the 53rd floor and extend upwards to the 87th floor. It has a clear height of 152 meters and a diameter of 27 meters, making it one of the tallest atriums in the world.
- Designed by Adrian D. Smith, FAIA, RIBA Design Partner at Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP.
- Contains the world's highest hotel rooms, and is the world's tallest building with a hotel inside. The Ryugyong Hotel in North Korea is still considered the world's tallest hotel because it is a pure hotel and not mixed-use.
- Replaced King Tower as the tallest building in Shanghai.
- Currently the tallest building in the People's Republic of China (replacing CITIC Plaza), and the fifth tallest in the world.
- Bregman + Hamann Architects was involved in the design of the Grand Hyatt's food court/theatre area.

Two International Finance Centre

City Hong Kong

Country China

Height 415 m 1,362 ft

Floors 88

- It is one of the few buildings in the world equipped with double-deck elevators.
- The Hong Kong Monetary Authority bought several floors in the top portion of the tower for 0.48 billion USD.
- Financial Times, HSBC, and Cathay Pacific put up an advertisement on the facade from October to November of 2003 that stretched more than 50 stories tall, covering an area of 0.2 million square ft and a length of 230m; making it the world's largest advertisement ever put on skyscraper.
- This is the tallest building in Hong Kong, surpassing Central Plaza.
- 2 IFC's reign as Hong Kong's tallest will not be long, as International Commerce Centre is under construction and will claim the title in 2007.
- More than 3500 workers from various places around the world worked at the construction site during the peak construction period.
- This building was featured in the Hollywood movie "Tomb Raider 2".
- The 88th floor of the tower contains the office of the Chairman of the HK Monetary Authority.
- The tower is attached to the second phase of IFC Mall.
- An exhibition area and a library of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Information Centre occupy the 55th floor and are open to the public.
- This building is one of 18 buildings involved in the Hong Kong Tourism Commission's Victoria Harbour Lighting Plan.

CITIC Plaza

City Guangzhou

Country China

Height 391 m 1,283 ft

Floors 80

- The tallest building in Asia between 1997 and 1998 when Petronas Towers were built
- Was briefly the tallest building in China, until completion of Jin Mao Tower.
- The tallest concrete building in the world. To view a historic timeline of the world's tallest reinforced concrete skyscrapers, start with the Ingalls Building in Cincinnati.

Shun Hing Square

City Shenxhen

Country China

Height 384 m 1,260 ft

Floors 69

- Tallest "steel" building in China.
- The building provides offices, apartments, car park and shopping arcade complex.
- The shopping arcade is a five-storey mall with four sets of escalators, five passenger lifts and two service lifts and a floor area ranging from 3450m2 to 4900m2.
- Buildings was constructed with fast pace, four storeys in nine days.
- There is an observation floor called "Meridian View Centre" at the 69th floor.
- Was momentarily the tallest building in China and Asia until the completion of CITIC Plaza in Guangzhou, 1997.

Empire State Building

City New York

Country U.S.A.

Height 381 m 1,250 ft

Floors 102

- The Empire State Building is a legend. Built in the midst of the Depression, it was, and still remains a testament to American fortitude and ingenuity.
- An international icon, it has been visited by more than 117 million people, who come to marvel at the 80-mile view into New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
- Built in 1930 to be the tallest structure on earth, the Empire State Building was then considered the largest commercial venture and investment ever.
- The façade is composed of more than 200,000 cubic feet of Indiana limestone and granite, and utilizes several setbacks to offset the optical distortion of its 102-story height.
- Construction took just over 18 months.
- On a Saturday morning in July 1945, a US B-25 Bomber crashed into the 79th floor offices of the Catholic War Relief Services. Fourteen people died. Despite suffering some fire damage and a 20-foot gash, the Empire State building opened back up for business on Monday.
- Decorated with enormous bronze medallions celebrating the craftsmen responsible for the building, and a metal mosaic featuring the building as the center of the universe, the lobby is without peer.
- The lobby is a five-story Art Deco masterpiece crafted in rich granite and marble, and highlighted by brushed stainless steel.
- Tallest building in the world from 1931 - 1972; surpassed by One World Trade Center.
- The Empire State Building was constructed on the site of the former Astoria Hotel.
- Excavation began on January 22, 1930.
- Construction started on March 17, 1930.
- Cornerstone was laid on September 17, 1930 by former New York governor Alfred E. Smith.
- Framework rose at the rate of 4 1/2 floors per week.
- The masonry was completed on November 13, 1930.
- President Herbert Hoover officially opened the building on May 1, 1931 by pressing a button from the White House that turned on the building's lights.
- Declared Landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on May 18, 1981.
- Listed on State & National Register of Historic Places on December 20, 1982.
- Regained city's "tallest" title September 11, 2001.
- Houses over 1,000 businesses with its own ZIP Code.
- Declared a National Historic Landmark on October 23, 1986.
- The metal-plated tower on top of the building was planned as a zeppelin port. Yet it was used for only one zeppelin landing because the winds were too strong at such heights making mooring dangerous and also because the golden age of zeppelins was quickly slipping into the past.
- A broadcasting antenna was added to the building in 1951 putting the almost vacant metallic tower at the top to use as a storage area for broadcasting equipment.
- During planning stages the construction death toll was estimated to be one worker per floor, or over 100 workers overall. However, only a handful of workers lost their lives during construction.
- During construction of the steel frame, eating facilities were set up on appropriate floors to cater for the workers.
- The building incorporates 10 million bricks, 1,886 kilometres (1,172 miles) of elevator cables, 6,400 windows and weighs 331,000 tonnes.
- The tower was one of the first to employ the then new fast-track construction technique.
- At least 32 people jumped to their deaths off the observation deck on the top during the deck's operation.
- Soon after opening it became a major tourist attraction, attracting many famous people, including the French Prime Minister, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Pope Pius XII, Fidel Castro and Queen Elisabeth II, to name a few. The only one known to have refused Alfred E. Smith's invitation was Walter P. Chrysler.
- Constructed with 60,000 tons of structural steel.
- There are 1,575 steps from the lobby to the 86th floor.
- The building was completed about a month and half ahead of schedule and about $5 million under budget.
- The Empire State Building is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers.

Central Plaza

City Hong Kong

Country China

Height 374 m 1,227 ft

Floors 78

- The tallest building in Hong Kong until completion of Two International Finance Center.
- Was the tallest building in Asia from 1992 until Shun Hing Square was built in 1996.
- World's tallest reinforced concrete building until the completion of CITIC Plaza in Guangzhou.

- Took the tallest building in HK title away from the Bank of China when completed in 1992.
- The tower mast is 102m tall, although some of the mast is not exposed.
- The highest floor with the pyramidal atrium is the world's highest church.
- Phase 2: 28-45, completed February 1992.
- Phase 3: 46-tower top, completed August 1992.
- Land cost was triple construction cost.
- Designed for 8,000 people - 6,000 working.
- Phase 1: B3-27, completed October 1991.
- The skydeck on the 44th floor was closed to the public after Septermber 11th, 2001, due to security concerns.
- It was the second building outside the United States to break the 1000 foot mark. That also means it was the tallest outside America from its completion year, 1992, through the completion year of Shun Hing Square, 1996.
- There are 39 columns on every typical floor.
- Site area is 7,230 m².
- This building is one of 18 buildings involved in the Hong Kong Tourism Commission's Victoria Harbour Lighting Plan.

Bank of China Tower

City Hong Kong

Country China

Height 367 m 1,205 ft

Floors 70

- Many critics have stated again and again, "One of the most outstanding achievements in modern architecture".
- A small skydeck that is open to the public on the 42nd floor gives a view to the northwest side of Hong Kong.
- Construction of this tower was started on 18th April, 1985 and the official opening ceremony was held on 17th May, 1990.
- Grouping of four triangular glass and aluminum towers of varying heights that emerge from a granite podium.

- The changes in geometry, from a square base through several geometric changes to a single spire, result in a multifaceted facade of angles and profiles that reflect the light and seem almost crystalline in composition.
- The silver reflective glass is glazed in a low maintenance dry gasket system, and the curtain wall is a unitized design assembled off-site under factory conditions. This enabled close quality control of all aspects of the frame assembly, which numbers over 10,000 pieces in total.
- The megastructural steelwork is expressed externally by naturally anodized panels that form part of the curtainwall.
- Virtually every aspect of this building was challenging from moving material to a height never before achieved outside of the USA, to glazing the largest 25mm thick pattern cut lights ever produced. All required not only careful planning but also the development of new erection techniques.
- The inspiration of the design of the BOC is derived from the elegant poise of bamboo; its sectioned trunk being propelled higher and higher by each new growth. The BOC Tower is symbolic of strength, vitality and growth.
- Tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia from 1989 to 1992, until the completion of Central Plaza.
- First composite megastructure space frame high-rise building.

- Replaced Hopewell Centre as the tallest building in Hong Kong when completed.
- It was the first building outside the United States to break the 1000 foot mark. That also means it was the tallest outside America from its completion year, 1990, through the completion year of Central Plaza, 1992.
- The topping out ceremony was held on 8 August 1988, which is the century's most auspicious date.
- This building is one of 18 buildings involved in the Hong Kong Tourism Commission's Victoria Harbour Lighting Plan.
- The building sports a 15-storey atrium.
- Hear the radio interview (10MB, MP3) about the Bank of China Tower held by the BBC with Thomas Jaehndel, Emporis editor from Hong Kong.

Santa Cruz

2007-07-01T00:22:00.000-07:00

This year marks the final season for a couple of well-known seaside attractions on the East Coast -- Coney Island's Astroland and Atlantic City's Steel Pier. But on the West Coast, the summer of 2007 is merely another birthday for the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

While Santa Cruz doesn't have 100 mph roller coasters like Six Flags or Cedar Point, it still attracts an estimated 3 million visitors a year.

The enduring salty dog of amusement parks turns 100 this year.

Exhilarating rides, foods on a stick and pocket change entertainment are still the main attractions along a strip of shoreline that first hosted a string of bathhouses in the late 1800s. The Santa Cruz boardwalk itself was born in 1907, and it has survived even as similar attractions -- like Toledo Beach on Lake Erie in LaSalle Township, Michigan, and the original Myrtle Beach Pavilion in South Carolina -- have gone under.

And while Santa Cruz doesn't have 100 mph roller coasters like Six Flags or Cedar Point, or rides themed on movies like Disney and Universal, it still attracts an estimated 3 million visitors a year. In fact, it is considered one of the last remaining gems of its breed, said Dennis Spiegel, president of International Theme Park Services, a consulting firm to the attractions industry.

The Canfield family has run the Santa Cruz attractions since 1952, when Laurence Canfield bought a controlling interest in the Seaside Co., which operates the boardwalk. His son, Charles, started working there four years later, as a teenage ride operator in Kiddie Land, a collection of rides for children not tall enough for the larger attractions.

The Giant Dipper roller coaster, a National Historic Landmark, remains the signature ride at the boardwalk. It began thrilling visitors on May 17, 1924 and its 500 feet of twisting track and wooden construction survived the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

The slow climb to the Giant Dipper's 75-foot peak is a tense affair. The small cars chatter and the cranking of hidden chains and gears gives the impression of something bad looming. Then you drop, and your stomach is briefly weightless as you recall the deep-fried artichoke hearts you inhaled half-hour earlier.

The boardwalk also still hosts a strip of hand-eye coordination games where dexterous dads impress their brood by winning a stuffed animal -- the dime-toss, tennis ball-shooting bazooka guns, and the old toss-a-rubber-ball-at-the-weighted-milk-bottles routine.

Games of chance and skill are housed in the main Casino Arcade, but the clunky, simplistic wooden contraptions of the past have given way to cutting-edge video games.

Some of the old games have been relegated to showpiece status, including a dangerous looking contraption that reads "Electricity: The Silent Physician," which dared boardwalk visitors of an earlier generation to grab hold of its two metal handles and receive a gentle jolt of electricity to encourage vitality.

The Buccaneer Bay two-story miniature golf course used to host the Plunge, also known as the Natatorium, from 1907 to 1962. It was a large indoor saltwater swimming pool that featured water carnivals and fancy high-dive demonstrations.

"I like the vibe in Santa Cruz," said Jason Hall, of San Jose, who visited on a recent Sunday and recalled seeing the boardwalk featured in the 1987 Kiefer Sutherland film "The Lost Boys." "It's got its own energy that's different from anything else."

CAN'T MISS HIGHLIGHTS

Top three rides:

"The Giant Dipper." Constructed in 1924 in 47 days, this wooden beauty of a roller coaster is the signature ride of Santa Cruz. The tension mounts as cranking chains pull the tiny cars 75 feet above the boardwalk, only to send you hurtling downward in a screaming blur. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987, the Dipper is as old-school as it gets, but it hasn't lost its ability to thrill.

"The Looff Carousel." Installed by Charles I. D. Looff in 1911, this merry-go-round boasts real pipe-organ music, hand-carved horses and rings from a mechanical dispenser to throw in the clown's mouth each time around.

"The Cave Train." This slow-moving train ride takes you back in time -- to the Stone Age -- with comical statues of cavemen in otherwise mundane activities such as fishing, sleeping and drinking. It's also the perfect place to steal a kiss from your summertime sweetie.

Top three eats:

Surf City Grill corndogs. Hand-dipped and huge. Surf City Grill was known as Hodgie's when it was run by the late Howard "Hodgie" Wetzel. His gut-busting legacy lives on with these bready delights, which will set you back $3.45.

Marini's salt water taffy. That giant metal contraption contorting in the front window is twisting taffy just for you. Flavors range from trusty old strawberry to pina colada. A one-pound box costs $12.

"Sandaes." Hands-down the best dessert at the boardwalk. Vanilla ice cream, sandwiched between two chocolate chip cookies, dipped in hard-shell chocolate and smothered in peanuts for $3.25. All done up right before your eyes and not handed to you in a plastic wrapper by a disinterested 16-year-old. They're available at a few of the ice cream vendor windows along the boardalk.

Top three ways for adults to kill an hour while waiting for the kids:

The Casino Arcade. Relive your own youth with some of the classic games of the past, including Superman pinball, Pac Man, air hockey and foosball.

Beer, billiards and boardwalk history. In the upper reaches of a building called Neptune's Kingdom, you'll find pool tables, draft beer and historic photos from the amusement park's past.

Sundown beach stroll. Santa Cruz's broad beach is just steps away. You can stand ankle-deep in the Pacific as the screams of the crowd and the rumble of the rides blends in with the gentle lapping of the sea. When the sun goes down and the boardwalk lights up, you'll realize you're in a special place.