GREEN RAILWAYS IN EUROPE

THE NATURAL ROOT BRIDGES OF CHERRAPUNJI, INDIA

Deep within the southern Khasi and Jaintia hills (north eastern India), the humid and warm climate determines unusual natural shapes and rich vegetation. This is the place where bridges grow naturally instead of being built.

The Ficus elastica is a a species of Indian rubber tree with very strong roots which have the ability to extend and surpass any obstacle, whether we are talking about boulders or rivers. This is how these amazing root bridges of Cherrapunji were formed. Currently they serve as means of locomotion for the locals.

Some of these bridges are incredibly strong and can hold up to 55 people at a time. The root bridges have a medium length of a hundred feet (about 30 meters) and some of them are 500 years old.

DESERTED ISLAND OFF THE COAST OF JAPAN-HASHIMA ISLAND

Hashima Island off the coast of Japan was once the most densely populated city on planet earth. From 1890 to 1974, the island was a coal mining facility. But when petroleum replaced coal in the 1960's, coal mines across Japan began shutting down and Hashima was abandoned, giving it a new nickname, “Ghost Island.”

Mitsubishi bought the island in 18901 and began using it as a coal mining facility. When space for the workers began to run out, they built Japan’s first large scale reinforced concrete apartment block on the island in 1916. More concrete tower blocks followed, and by 1959 the population of Hashima reached its peak of 5,259 – an astonishing 1,391 people per 10,000 square metres within the residential district – which is said to be the highest population density ever recorded in the world. The 15-acre island is one of 505 uninhabited islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture about 15 kilometers from Nagasaki itself. Sightseeing boat trips around the island are provided by two operators; Yamasa-Kaiun from Nagasaki Port, Kyodo Co. from Nomo Island.

As of April, 2009, the island is open again for public visits, with Yamasa Kaiun providing transportation to the island from Nagasaki. When petroleum began to replace coal here in the 1960s, coal production at Hashima began to decline, and Mitsubishi officially announced the closure of the mine in 1974. Today there is nobody left at all. Protected by a high sea wall, and completely off-limits to the public, the island is now an empty, rotting and collapsing ghost town, as clearly demonstrated.

CHINESE STUNTMAN MUNCHES ON LIGHT BULBS

Zhang Yujian, a Chinese stuntman from Mudanjiang City, Heilonjiang Province, has eaten two light bulbs during his performance. The glass-eating master has a record of three light bulbs eaten in just 120 seconds. He certainly made short work of the sharp glass, without any serious cuts.

BORYEONG MUD FESTIVAL, SOUTH KOREA

The Boryeong Mud Festival is an annual festival which takes place during the summer in Boryeong, South Korea. The first Mud Festival was staged in 1998 and, by 2007, the festival attracted 2.2 million visitors to Boryeong.

The mud is dug up near Boryeong, trucked to the Daecheon beach area, and dumped at a 'Mud Experience Land'. The mud is considered rich in minerals and used to manufacture cosmetics.

Some of the final weekend participants are foreign tourists, and especially American Soldiers, but most of the participants during the week are Koreans, attracted by clever marketing by the town. The town fathers and mothers discovered that the mud is more lucrative as a tourist attraction than using the muddy fields for agriculture. The economy generated from the festival supports the many hotels and restaurants along the waterway and several blocks inland. There is also a great deal to see and do in the vicinity and a free tourist bus takes visitors to local sites, including an impressive coal mine and a famous Buddhist shrine.

Boryeong Mud Festival took place from July 17-25, 2010.

EUROPEAN BEARD AND MOUSTACHE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Germany’s famous East Bavarian Beard Club played host to the European Beard and Moustache Championships high in the Austrian Alps on October 2, 2010. The event drew about 150 participants from eight countries to the town of Leogang, not far from Salzburg, Austria. The competition saw men compete in 17 eccentric categories, including "Freestyle Beard," "Natural Moustache" and "Verdi," with the winner of the latter category bearing a style akin to the famous 19th century Italian composer Giuseppi Verdi.

LIBRARY DESK MADE FROM RECYCLED BOOKS

Whoever thought of this idea is pretty bright... After a devastating fire in the Architecture building burned down a portion of the library, Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands purchased a new collection to replace the old volumes. Instead of throwing away the old, unburned books, they stacked them up to create this awesome administrative desk, which they appropriately placed in the library.

FLOWER SHOW IN PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA