Published December 27th, 2006
in Asia.
Held yearly over seven days in February, The Sapporo Snow Festival is an event that showcases the amazing talents of Japan’s finest snow sculpters. Dating back to 1950 when six local high school students built six snow statues in Odori Park, the festival’s popularity is such that it now attracts up to 2 million visitors per year.
The life of a snow sculpture starts with the construction of a wooden frame that is filled with tightly packed snow. Once the snow has hardened, the frame is removed and the carving carefully undertaken using hatchets and shovels. Many of the artists work at night as the sculptures become fragile during daytime temperatures.
The 58th annual festival will take place from 6th-12th of February 2007 at the Odori Site, Susukino Site, and Satorando Site. The official Sapporo Snow Festival website recommends all visitors wrap up warm as February is the coldest month of the year.
View The Sapporo Snow Festival Slideshow
Festivals,
Holidays,
Japan,
Sapporo,
Snow,
Winter
Published December 12th, 2006
in South America.
Foggy, wet and situated on cliffs 3 miles above sea level, the treacherous North Yungas Road between the Bolivian capital of La Paz and Corioco is the World’s most dangerous road.
The North Yungas, built by Paraguayan prisoners of war in the 1930s, is affectionately known as Death Road amongst the locals; a suitable nickname for a 40 mile stretch that accounts for the lives of 200-300 unfortunate travellers each year.
Those brave enough to attempt the journey across are known to spill their beer on the ground below, a token to the Gods in return for a safe passage. The gesture is well-advised, if only in helping the drivers remain sober as they chance their motoring arm along the precipice of doom.
Not all is bleak. A new by-pass is being built in the Andes that will effectively replace the North Yungas. Worryingly though, it has already been 20 years in the making. For the lorry and bus drivers regularly forced to battle the World’s deadliest route, an alternative to death road cannot come soon enough.
View The World’s Most Dangerous Road Slideshow
Bolivia,
Dangerous,
Driving
