Funny little Chinese girl

This funny little girl couldn't stop laughing. She just liked laughing very laud :o) ! In this movie she is covering the mouth with her hands because in fact she barely had any teeth. In the country side of China you often see very young kids with missing teeth from eating too many sweets and of course from poor dental care. However, even with missing teeth this cute little 5-year old girl was amazingly hilarious!

HUANGSHAN, the mysterious Chinese "yellow mountain"

Huangshan, with an elevation of 1,864 metres, means in Chinese Huang=yellow and Shan=mountain. The yellow mountain is situated in the southern part of Anhui province in eatern China (about 6 hours bus-drive from Shanghai or 1 hour by plane). The mountain range is very famous for its mysterious scenery: the particular shaped granite peaks, the thick clouds standing constantly next to the mountainside, the so called Huangshan pine tree and the amazing view of the sunset and sunrise. The scenery of the yellow mountain is one of the main subject in the Chinese art, in fact it is frequently found on traditional Chinese paintings and literature. In 1990 Huangshan was entitled as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site becoming one of the most popular Chinese tourist's destination. To fully enjoy the mysterious Huangshan experience, you have to climb or descend the mountain from either entrances. If you are really into an extreme challenging adventure, then you should choose the North or West entrance where the path is amazingly scary but an unbelievably gorgeous scenery will be surprising you!
The closest city to the mountain is Tunxi or also known as Huangshan city. From Tunxi you can take a bus that would bring you directly to the starting point station of the mountain. Remember that the bus station in Tunxi is not located in the city centre and so it is recommended to reach it by taxi (it will not cost more than 10 yuan).
If you wish to obtain a full experience of the Huangshan scenery then I would suggest you to overnight on the mountain; there are many hotels and hostels which are often overbooked if you do not reserve at least a few days ahead. Also you could overnight in the closest biggest village called Xiuning, from where you can explore Huangshan (max 45 mins by bus), the Qiyunshan mountain (25 mins by bus) and the two UNESCO villages Hongcun and Xidi. The Scholars Conference Hotel in Xiuning is a new brand hotel that opened during summer 2007 and offers a fabulous combination of oriental and western interior design. The hotel's concept is based on the philosophie of Confucius Analects. The staff are mostly local and they are very friendly people.

Visit the Malcantone region and overnight by B&B Atelier Beatrice

Malcantone is part of the Lugano-region in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland on the border with Italy. It is a stunning place to visit during the period from spring until autumn offering a variety of characteristics from middle size mountains to rivers and the lake Lugano, old stone villages as well as various outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, rock-climbing, paragliding, sailing and more. You can have a look at the Malcantone site which offers all kind of information and descriptions about the region. Italy is reachable within few minutes by train, car or the FLP orange regional train. If you want to stay for a couple of nights or for a longer sojourn I would suggest you the B&B Atelier Beatrice laying on the top of a hill overlooking the Vedeggio valley and the Lugano lake in the little village of Bioggio. The ecological house made mostly of wood has a very particular looking design attracting the eyes of every passersby. Look at the pictures below and you will receive a better idea of it. The owner is a local family composed of three young girls, the mother and the grand-dad. They are all very friendly and warm-welcomed people who will deliver coziness to your Swiss Italian journey in the South part of Switzerland. With the precious knowledge of the grand-dad you receive any kind of information you want about the history and the legends of Ticino. For more information click www.malcantone.ch and click on Atelier Beatrice. ENJOY YOUR STAY!

The Space Elevator... the future is closer than it appears!

The Space Elevator will connect the Earth and the space in an amazing way that was never possible before!
Making it the ultimate environmental green technology. In the close future the space elevator will enable people to travel around the planet by taking up a local space elevator, then in a spaceship fly to the other side of the Earth, at a very low cost and no emissions, and then take another space elevator down.
A space elevator for Earth would consist of a cable anchored to the Earth's surface, reaching into space. By attaching a counterweight at the end (or by further extending the cable for the same purpose), inertia ensures that the cable remains stretched taut, countering the gravitational pull on the lower sections, thus allowing the elevator to remain in geostationary orbit. Once beyond the gravitational midpoint, carriages would be accelerated further by the planet's rotation (Wikipedia 2009).

So, could you imagine to travel into the space from one side to the other of the world in a very short time... are you ready for it? Watch the video without believing your eyes and your ears! Shockingly AMAZING!

The challenge to climb a GLACIER!

Last August I climbed the highest mountain (3'402.2 meter above sea level) in Ticino, the only speaking-italian region in southern Switzerland. The mountain posses two names: Adula in Italian and Rheinwaldhorn in German. The mountain Adula stands on the border with the Grison canton (the eastern German-speaking region of the country) and it is surrounded from three different glaciers one of which is called Adula like the mountain. The Adula glacier has shrank the most in the last 50 years compared to other glaciers in the region, retrieving about 900 meters in the last 60 years which correspond to 1/3 of its initial length. It is an amazing excursion that you should try to plan during the months of Summer (June, July, August) where the temperature on the top of the mountain is still comfortable. The walking track starts from either Olivone or Dangio (in Bellinzona region) and it takes maximum 3 hours to reach the first hut, CAS (Club Alpino Svizzero - The Swiss Alpine Club, which website offers a list of all the huts in Switzerland).The first part of the walk it is easy and very relaxing. It starts to be arduous and tiring from the CAS hut to the UTOE one climbing for about 2 hours on a steep rocky mountain with an altitude difference of 381 m. From the UTOE hut you can enjoy an amazing view over the Swiss alps and relish the comforting sounds of the nature. The hut offers the essential facilities such as a large dormitory, showers and kitchen to spend one or more nights (about 25.-- Swiss francs per night with breakfast included). From spring until autumn there is always a guardian who looks after the accommodation and usually a menu of basic dishes is provided as well. Once you have reached the spot and decided to overnight, you can't miss to climb the Adula glacier the next day! You need to get up quite early, about 6 am, to be able to walk on the glacier before noon when the glacier start melting. Bring with you the necessary equipments, which you could also rent in the hut, such as cramps, pickax and rope (we were fine also without rope)... and even if it is August remember to take gloves, a scarf and a warm hat since it is quite windy and chilly on the summit. The whole way up is a gorgeous varied landscape from minimal greenery, to rocky until you will be surrounded from a flat, white surface. It was quite scary to walk up the glacier; a steep, slippery expanse which could hide a few cracks and therefore you have to watch out not! Walking on the ice with the cramps is an amazing adventure... all around you is flat and white with the majestic alps dominating far away the wide, enormous area. It is a feast for the eyes! To climb up to the peak took about four hours and only two to walk back... it was absolutely exhausting but incredibly satisfying!