The LG Travel News Roundup: Ukrainian Zookeeper and the Lions’ Den
Weekly Travel News — By Candace R on August 12, 2011 at 6:00 amBy Susmita Baral
LG News Intern
Missed the big travel stories of the week? And the weird, wacky and insignificant ones? We’ve got your roundup right here…
Zookeeper in Ukraine Begins a Five-Week Sleepover With Lions
Zookeeper Alexander Pylyshenko, 40, plans on living exclusively with lions for five weeks. Pylyshenko, who has spent his life studying the animals, will be living with the lions in his private zoo at his house in Vasylivka, Ukraine. His cohabitants will be Katya, a pregnant African lioness who will be giving birth during his stint, and her male partner Samson. Pylyshenko has installed a toilet and shower–but will be avoiding toiletries since lions dislike sharp odors–and will be fed meat through the cages. Source: DailyMail
USA: New Travel Hot Spot for North Koreans?
According to Yonhap News Agency, there has been a 50% increase in the number of North Koreans visiting the United States in 2011 in comparison to 2010. That being said, 2011 has had three major North Korean delegations representing themselves including: a group of scientists in February, an economic delegation in March, and a martial arts visit on the East Coast. Source: Gadling
Loch Ness Lady in a German Lake
A giant sculpture revealing a woman’s head and knees is gracing Binnenalster Lake in Hamburg, Germany. Titled “Die Badende” (“The Bather”), the sculpture was created by German sculptor Oliver Voss as an advertisement for British beauty products company Soap & Glory to promote the “art” of bathing.” The sculpture rises 13 feet out of the water, stretches 67 feet long and weighs more than 2 tons. Source: Time
New Saudi Tower to Challenge Burj Khalifa
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal announced plans to build the world’s tallest building in Jeddah that will be 3,281 feet (1,000 meters) high and will include a hotel, luxury condominiums and offices. This building will be significantly taller than the current tallest building–the Burj Khalifa, which is 2,717 feet tall (828 meters) and opened two years ago. A 4.6 billion Saudi riyal ($1.23 billion) deal has been signed with the Bin Laden Group (unrelated to Osama Bin Laden) and will take five years to complete. Source: Wall Street Journal
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Travel News Bits
One lucky winner can re-create the novel-turned-movie One Day
If you fell in love with Dexter and Emma in David Nicholls’ novel One Day and can’t wait for the film to come out, STA Travel is giving away a free trip (airfare, hotel, and city tour) to your choice of London, Edinburgh, or Paris, all of which are featured in the movie. Source: STA Travel
Thumbnail courtesy of National Post
Tags: Burj Khalifa, Die Badende, Germany, Hamburg, latest travel news, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, travel news updates
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1 Comment
I respectfully disagree with the comment made in the section on the new tower in Saudia Arabia. Although the Bin Laden Group is unrelated to Osama Bin Laden’s terrorist activities, but the company was founded by his father and it is still operated by relatives, albeit distant. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Binladin_Group)