New Seven Wonders of the World is a project that attempts to revive the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World concept with a list of modern wonders. A popularity poll was organized by the private New7Wonders Foundation, with winners announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal.
Bernard Weber, president of the New7Wonders Foundation, called the voting for the New 7 Wonders of the World, the first worldwide democratic exercise in mankind’s history.  In 2007 the foundation has begun a similar contest, called New Seven Wonders of Nature, with nominees solicited through December 31, 2008. The 21 finalists will then be the subject of voting until the summer of 2010.
The origin of the idea of seven wonders of the world dates back to Herodotus (484 BC – 425 BC) and Callimachus (305 BC – 240 BC), who made lists which included the Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria. Only the Great Pyramid of Giza is still standing. The other six were destroyed by earthquake, fire, or other causes.
Organisers stated that the primary goal of the campaign is to foster and encourage global exchange and intercultural appreciation. In addition, what New7Wonders calls “Global Memory” was created, meaning 7 things that everyone worldwide can remember and share.  Also New7Wonders wants to use part of the revenue from the contest between the well-known monuments, from future votes, related merchandise, and use of the voters database, to set up, or contribute to, various restoration projects in the world. A goal of New7Wonders has always been “raising awareness about the world’s unique cultural heritage sites. continue

Magic Mountain Hotel

Magic Mountain Hotel in the Huilo Huilo reserve, Chile, has a waterfall cascading down its sides — and the interior is just as strange. In Southern Chile there is not that many true four star hotels and above. Well, we found one. The Magic Mountain Hotel in the heart of the Huilo Huilo nature reserve. The architecture, combined with the forest setting, makes this truly a magical mountain. Full four star international service, in such a spectacular location, sets the Magic Mountain Hotel apart from all the other hotels we have visited in Southern Chile.  The realy funny thing is that the Magic Mountain hotel you see in the photo is possibly the least spectacular thing going on around the Huilo Huilo nature reserve in Southern Chile.  Huilo Huilo (sounds like Willow Willow) is more of region than a single town. It includes one of the largest privately owned natural reserves in Chile along with several nearby towns, lakes, and a volcano with year around snowboarding and skiing, and the river Fuy that is famous for its class 3-5 white water rafting and kayaking. The name sake of the region is the Huilo Huilo falls (salto del Huilo Huilo ). There is also a smaller, but no less spectacular falls Salto de la Leona (Lion falls). The Lake Pirihueico borders Argentina, and daily car transport ferry connects the international highway to Argentina. The Most of the land surrounding the lake is also part of the Huilo Huilo reserve.

The Capsule Hotel

Lose yourself in your own love bubble — The Capsule Hotel is a former oil rig survival pod moored in the Hague that comes with disco mirror ball, fairy-light decorations and silk-lined sleeping bags. What is a Capsule hotel? A Capsule hotel is a unique style of accommodation in Japan, inspired by the pursuit of efficiency of space and functional comfort, originating from the adaptive, creative spirit of the Japanese mind. continue