The Philippine Tarsier. Bohol, Philippines.

Ain't no Tower High Enough

Many people love to climb mountains. But for those who share this head for heights, but not the sense of extreme adventure, there's an easier way: take an elevator ride to the world's greatest towers.

I did on separate occasions took the elevator route to reach the summits of the CN Tower, Sydney Tower, Taipei 101 and The Space Needle.

The CN Tower stands at 1,815'5" or 533.33 meters that make it one of the world's tallest buildings and free-standing structures. It weighs 130,000 tons which, according to the tour guide, is the equivalent of 23,214 large elephants!

This tower is almost twice as tall as the Eiffel Tower and more than three times the height of the Washington Monument. It was built in 1976 by Canadian National (CN) Railways.

Most of the attractions when I went there in December 2001 were in the seven-story Sky Pod which tested my threshold for heights (without hurling). This area got indoor and outdoor observation decks, a 360-degree revolving restaurant and a bar. The Space Deck stands 447 meters from the ground. There is also the glass floor observation deck with nothing beneath it except a direct view of the open grounds 343 meters below. The glass floor could hold 14 hippopotamuses. There was no hippopotamus when I was there :)

The Sydney Tower stands as one of the highest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere with a height of 1,065 ft above the harbor. It can be seen from almost anywhere in the city and far beyond it.

Also called the Centrepoint Tower it offers magnificent 360-degree views that extend 85kms away to the Central Coast to the north, Wollongong to the south and the Blue Mountains to the west. From the deck,
one can easily spot the Darling Harbor, the lush Hyde Park and the world-famous Opera House. It’s definitely the place to watch the city go by.
The Sydney Tower doubles as a television tower. It also houses an observation deck and two revolving restaurants plus a coffee shop. When dining here, make sure to stay for more than an hour because it will take the restaurant 70 minutes for one full revolution.

In Seattle, the Space Needle is the city’s most recognizable symbol and landmark. At 605 feet, which tour guides say is approximately 1,320 candy bars tall, the Space Needle provides excellent views of Mount Rainier, the Cascade and Olympic Mountain Ranges.

The Space Needle came about originally as a balloon design, but was turned into a flying saucer by Architect John Graham for the 1962 Seattle’s World Fair. The structure was completed in December 1961 for $4.5 million and since then witnessed many key events. Here was where an 11-year old Bill Gates of Microsoft won a dinner at the turntable Space Needle Restaurant after reciting 3 chapters of the Gospel of Matthews.

Aside from being Seattle’s number one tourist destination, the Space Needle serves today as a warning beacon for aircrafts. The tower has 24 lightning rods to withstand lightning strikes. It can sway an inch for every 10 mph of wind, which seems inconceivable for a structure that weighs 9,550 tons. The Space Needle is built to withstand wind velocity of 200mph.

Again, there is the easy way (computerized elevator) and the hard way (848 steps) to reach the Space Needle’s Observation Deck. The elevator can beam people up at 10mph, 14 feet per second, 800 feet per minute, or as fast as a raindrop falls to earth. The stairs, on the other hand, can take people up to where their legs give out.

Finally, there's the architectural marvel and genius that is the Taipei 101. I was there few years back for an Acer anniversary event and we had cocktail party at the summit. We were not at the 101th floor, maybe 99th but the wind was so strong I was afraid I'd be blown and carried away into Taipei's sky. I also remember my ears popping and humming during the ascent and descent from Taipei 101. It was a great experience.

I haven't been to any skyscraper tower lately and I wish there's one in the Philippines already.

A "beadtime" story

It was a software convention, not Mardi Gras, that brought me to New Orleans one fine February. I was there attending technical sessions right smack in the two week or so Carnival season, so the temptation was strong to leave and get masked. But just when I thought I would never even get a glimpse of the biggest FREE street party on Earth, a steady stream of fantastic floats and marching bands rolled down right in front of my hotel.

Mardi Gras is a French festival, borrowed from the pagans who showed their appreciation to their gods by throwing flour into the fields. Today, Mardi Gras "maskers" throw beads and trinkets to the crowds. The Mardi Gras season officially begins on the Twelfth Night, January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, or King's Day. Fat Tuesday is the culmination of the Carnival season preceding the religious observance of Ash Wednesday and the onset of Lent. A parade organized by "krewes" can have up to 50 floats.

Nothing prepared me to catch beads, cups and trinkets. On the first night I only caught a few because the tall Americans around me could catch everything in mid-air. At one point, a cup hit me in the head when a good-natured krewe directed it my way so I could have that cool souvenir. Note to self: practice how to catch stuff with your dog.

The beads' colors have meanings, like green for faith, purple for justice, and gold for power. At night when everybody is intoxicated in more ways than one, they all look like real gold to revelers who actually trade them around for other Carnival collectibles.

My three nights of reveling gained me close to 100 strings of multi-colored beads. I think I have just about enough to last me a lifetime.

Hello World!

Where do I start? I’m not a travel guru or somebody who lives to travel. I just happen to get a lot of chance to travel, even though sometimes I don’t want to. But I’m glad to have seen by now a good part of the developed parts of the world. I’m not that travel weary yet and I still wish to see more. But all these years I’ve always left something unpacked — words, visions and memories to describe what I’ve seen and experienced. I’ve just left them floating around my mind at risk of being one day forgotten. To unpack them I need this blog. It's long overdue and I need to start now. So, bear with me, I've got lots of things to unpack.