10 spooky haunted destinations
photo by champagnedor
1. The Tower of London London, England Site of torture, execution, and murder for more than 1,000 years. see photos 2. Dracula's Castle (Bran Castle) Brasov, Romania Former home to Vlad the Impaler, widely thought to have inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula. see photos 3. The Colosseum Rome, Italy Bloody gladiator shows and gory animal fights. Some hear the sounds of battle by night. see photos 4. Charles Bridge Prague, Czech Republic Said to be haunted by ten decapitated lords who roam the bridge by night. see photos 5. Ballygally Castle Ballygally, Northern Ireland Home to the ghost of Lady Isobel Shaw, whose husband let her starve to death in a locked room. see photos	6. The Queen Mary Long Beach, California More than a dozen apparitions have been recorded aboard this celebrated luxury liner. see photos 7. Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh, Scotland A phantom piper, a headless drummer, and a dog are among its ghostly inhabitants. see photos 8. Salem, Massachusetts Best known for witch trials in 1692. Tourists come to see the Witch Trial Memorial and Old Burying Point Cemetery. see photos 9. Catacombs of the Capuchins Palermo, Italy Meet the mummified dead ofPalermo in these spooky underground passages. see photos 10. Rose Hall Great House Rose Hall, Jamaica Said to be haunted by former owner Annie Palmer, who murdered three husbands and a succession of lovers. see photos

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Australia's Big Pineapple gets a new lease of life

Queensland tourist icon has seen the rough end of the pineapple in recent times, but its future is now looking a lot sweeter.
A massive cleanup and restoration program has begun to bring the Big Pineapple at Woombye on the Sunshine Coast back to its former glory days.
Following the purchase of the attraction by a private consortium in August, scaffolding has been erected around the pineapple itself, as work begins to re-establish the site as a leading agri-tourism operation.
Newly appointed general manager Paul Ziebarth, the architect and manager of the acclaimed Northey Street Organic Markets in Brisbane, says after years of neglect it will be a huge task.
"Stage one will include welcoming back the produce markets, which were a highlight here at the Big Pineapple for many years, cleaning up and reclaiming the 400-acre (162-hectare) site, restoring the plantations and orchards over two years, restoring and reopening the Pineapple, specialist fixing of the famous train, and developing the masterplan proper,'' he said.
"It's important to recognise that the Big Pineapple was completely rundown and in a derelict state after being neglected for a long time, and lying dormant for well over 12 months.
"The orchards and gardens need very serious attention and care, all buildings on the site need cleaning, restoring and assessment, and the Pineapple needs full restoration.
"Some of the buildings, like the Nut Factory and the Chocolate Factory have been completely gutted, to the point (where) returning to their original use is simply impossible.''
The produce markets will return to a new and permanent home from November.
"While the markets at the Big Pineapple were traditionally focused on tropical fruits, our focus is to build on this solid foundation, and develop all primary food bases into a full range market offer covering fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy and grains and in the longer term, seafood,'' Ziebarth said.
"In the orchards alone there are some 12,000 trees all in a seriously neglected state. Restoring the gardens and orchards of avocados, pineapples, macadamia nuts, lychees and more is a very big job.
"The masterplan is to create a self-perpetuating hub with very real business and employment generators.''
"The Big Pineapple is a big part of the Sunshine Coast family and we are keen to engage ideas and suggestions.
Built in 1971, the Big Pineapple burnt down and was rebuilt in 1978, and during its life has been owned by various operators including Rupert Murdoch during the 1980's.


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Hong Kong cross-harbor swim returns after 33 years

Hong Kong, Oct 16, 2011 (AFP) -Hong Kong's iconic cross-harbor swim race made its return Sunday after a 33-year suspension forced by pollution and heavy traffic on the famous waterway.
The annual race, a tradition dating back to 1906 which in its heydey attracted hundreds of swimmers to the city's famed Victoria Harbor, was halted in 1978 as water quality deteriorated.
The event was revived this year due to popular demand, with organizers insisting that water quality has improved, allowing 1,000 participants to take part in the 1.8-kilometer race.
The participants dashed between Hong Kong island and the Kowloon peninsula on a bright autumn day, with the frontrunners completing the course in about 20 minutes.
"It's a meaningful event. It brings back a lot of memories for old Hong Kong people," said Ronnie Wong from the Hong Kong Amateur Swimming Association, a three-time champion of the race between 1967 and 1969.
"A lot of people have been asking me when we can hold the race again," he said, adding that the association had to turn down nearly 500 applications to limit the number of participants to 1,000.
Environmental groups had warned before the race that there were still high levels of harmful bacteria including E.coli in the famous port.
But Wong said that fluctuating water quality had improved in recent days in the eastern part of the harbor where the race is held, and that it was safe for the event to go ahead.
Wong said the association was considering opening the race to foreigners from next year, after drawing a big field of entries from swimmers young and old, plus a smattering of expatriates.
"Once we open the entry to international participants, this will become a tourist attraction," he said.
Pollution -- air quality in particular -- is a major issue in Hong Kong, and critics say that as well as posing a

Please visit my other blogs Salt of Life at http://www.salt-romblonwriter.blogspot.com,
Miscellaneous at http://www.micellaneous-oddnews.blogspot.com, and Fun in Life at
http://www.salt-funstories.blogspot.com

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Romblon, a less-known tourist haven

Looking for materials to write for this blog, I thought of Romblon, a small province in the heart of the Philippines, where I grew up. Romblon, known among Filipinos as the Marble Country for its vast marble deposits, is a less-known tourist destination where mountains often meet the sea.

Romblon Bay: A safe haven for ships during storms.
At foreground is the town of Romblon, Romblon
 nestled between mountains and sea.

The province consists of three major islands - Tablas, Sibuyan and Romblon. Although not as popular as other tourist spots like Boracay off Panay Island or Puerto Gallera in Mindoro, Romblon has equally-beautiful beaches and coral reefs that are ideal for scuba diving under turquoise sea. 
Having lived on the capital island of Romblon in my teens, I can vouch that almost all beaches around the island are ideal for swimming but the most famous of which is Bonbon beach because of its proximity to the town - three kilometers away. From the beaches, tourists can go to nearby villages and see how the village folk live.

The town of Romblon itself hosts several tourist attractions - the St. Joseph Cathedral, a Spanish-era church with a separate belfry, the Spanish fortress on a hill known as San Andres, and stores selling souvenir items crafted from solid marble rocks. The picturesque Romblon harbor is a haven for ships during storms because the landlocked bay is buffeted by two islands at the entrance.

The Romblon National High School in Romblon, Romblon

Those who want to see how marble is processed into slabs or tiles can take a tricycle to the quarries where solid marble rocks are cut into blocks or the factory which processed the blocks into slabs or tiles that are installed as flooring or plastered on walls. Romblon marble comes in different shades ranging from black, white to gold. The shades often come in streaks.


Although few foreign tourists have discovered Romblon as an ideal vacation haven, a steady stream of visitors, some coming from other parts of the Philippines, prompted enterprising residents to build cottages along the beaches. The cottage owners also serve home-cooked foods. 
Aside from Bonbon, the other known beach  resorts on the island are in Ginablan, a village 12 kilometers away from town.

Bonbon beach 

Ginablan, where I grew up, has a wide swath of rice fields that crawl to the foot of the hills. I haven't gone back to Romblon for more than 30 years now but I can still remember the houses mostly built of wood or bamboo slits strewn far apart amid coconut trees. Off the shore is a small island which can be traveled by foot during ebb tide. Inland, the rivers were pristine and the woods, where birds perched quietly on branches of lush trees, were eerie in their silence.

Across the western horizon of Romblon, Tablas, the biggest of the three main islands in the province, has quite a number of tourist resorts. Among them is the Aglicay Beach Resort in Alcantara municipality which offers a clear shore with "kiss powdery-white sand" and a bed of corals where tropical fish with dazzling colors take shelter. It also boost of breath-taking hills that are "alive with the songs of birds". 

Aglicay beach off Alcantara town on Tablas island.

Tourists who want to stay in seclusion on a private island may choose the  Morel Island Resort on Morel Island. And like most beaches across the province, Kambaye Beach Resort in Binonga-an, San Agustin municipality, has a white long sandy shore, and offers a full view of Romblon island across the sea.


Sibuyan island on the eastern side of the province offers other attractions, aside from its white beaches. For instance, Mt. Guiting-Guiting, the highest peak in the province, has been attracting mountaineers for its abundant wildlife and waterfalls. Catingas River Valley, in Taclobo, San Fernnando municipality, is home for the world's smallest bats, mangcogo or iron wood and clean inland water.

White beach going to the Isla de Gallo,
  also known as Cresta de Gallo island.

Busay Falls, in Panangcalan, San Fernando, takes pride of its "remaining untouched falls in the Philippines" while Isla de Gallo in Azagra, also in San Fernando, offers a beautiful scenery of coral reefs for divers.


In a small island municipality known as Corcuera, visitors will find centuries-old coffins made of hallowed logs in Guyangan caves, which was discovered in 1936, years before World War II. Lis-ong Cave in Colong-colong village offers wonderful sights of stalactites and stalagmites.
At the peak of Mount Andradoon in the village of Mangansag is a grotto of the Immaculate Conception where devotees go to pray during the Lenten season. On a hill overlooking the town of Corcuera still stands the Cotta Tower built between 1860-1865 by San Agustin de Pedro to ward off Muslim pirates.
The 28-hectare Saba Bay Lagoon straddles the border of the upland villages of San Roque and Mabini with serene waters. In the domelike Guiniwagan Cave in Mahaba village  is a pool of cool water where villagers swim. I have gone to Corcuera with a high-school friend who lives there and found hot springs on the shore on the fringes of the town


Note: In case foreign readers wonder why there is Spanish-era church in Romblon, the Philippines was once a colony of Spain. Colonial churches are strewn across the country.


How to go to the islands.


The fastest way is by plane to Odiongan, Romblon's biggest town. Visitors who may want to go to the island of Romblon could travel by land to San Agustin and then take a rigger boat from there. 


There are also Ro-Ro  ferries from the pier of Batangas, south of Manila. The ferries, which take both passengers and cars, are operated by Viva Lines (Tel. +6343-7239302 +6343-7239302),    Montenegro Lines (Tel. +6343-7238294 +6343-7238294) and Shipshape Ferry Inc.(Tel. +6343-7237615 +6343-7237615)     The ferries sails daily to Odiongan, daily except Wednesday to San Agustin on Tablas Island, Romblon on Romblon Island and San Fernando on Sibuyan Island.  Corcuera island is also accessible from Batangas. 



Sailing from Manila thru North Harbor is the easiest way to visit Romblon province. Pier 8 at the North Harbor is the main port of MBRS Lines.  MBRS ships sail alternately, serving the three main islands of Sibuyan, Romblon and Tablas. 

Please visit my other blogs Salt of Life

The Creek House hotel in Romblon, Romblon

http://www.salt-romblonwriter.blogspot.com,
Fun in Life http://www.salt-funstories.blogspot.com and
Miscellaneous http://www.miscellaneous-oddnews.blogspot.com.

All photos are from the Internet.


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