Crazy roads from around the world

by Kraig Becker on

Lets face it! We all love a good road trip now and again. Who hasn’t enjoyed hopping in the car with some friends to hit the open road? And when that road is unique and interesting, it makes the journey all the more fun. To helps us find more of those roads Popular Mechanics has put together a list of their selections for the 18 strangest roadways from around the world.

As you can imagine, the list, which includes photographs of each of the routes, has some crazy roads, often located in exotic locations. Take for example, the Hana Highway on Maui, Hawaii. This road made the list thanks to the stunningly beautiful views of rocky cliffs on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other. But what really sets it apart is the 600 curves and 54 bridges, spread out over just 52 miles of pavement.

If you prefer the mountains to the ocean and you’re looking for something more remote for your next road trip, then consider the Karakoram Highway, which runs for 800 miles between Pakistan and China. This road winds through the Karakoram and Himalaya mountain ranges, and reaches altitudes in excess of 15,390 feet. Altitude sickness can be a legitimate concern for drivers making this drive.

A number of countries are represented on this list, including Italy, Iceland, China, Argentina, Norway, and more. Some of these streets are marvels of modern engineering, while others are primitive and basic. But they all have one thing in common, they are unique and interesting in their own way, and each of them will give you a road trip to remember.

Photo of the day 12.07.09

by Karen Walrond on

This beautiful shot shared by Code N in the Gadling Flickr pool is a masterful example of showing how a photographer can maximize and manipulate the light to the utmost advantage. Code N has perfectly exposed all the streetlights, the sunset in the background, and the reflections in the water in Shanghai to stunning effect. Beautifully done.

If you’ve got some great travel shots you’d love to share, be sure to upload them to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We might just pick one as our Photo of the Day.

Fake fingerprints let woman slip through customs

by Sean McLachlan on

A Chinese woman who had been deported from Japan for overstaying her visa wanted to get back in so badly that she had plastic surgery to change her fingerprints. Japanese customs officials never discovered Lin Rong, 27, was back in the country until she was arrested on a different charge and her true identity revealed.

When police arrested Ms. Lin last month for allegedly faking a marriage to a Japanese man, presumably to guarantee her stay in Japan, they noticed she had odd scars on her thumbs and index fingers. Investigators said she confessed to having paid $15,000 to have her fingerprints switched by removing the skin of her fingertips and grafting it back on the opposite hand.

She’s now being charged for the very new crime of biometric fraud. Japan is one of many countries to use a biometric recognition system to check fingerprints, and so it’s inevitable that something like this would happen sooner or later. In fact, it’s not even the first time. Last year a South Korean woman managed to fool the machines by putting a special tape on her fingers.

The United States uses a biometric recognition system too. There’s no word on what expensive piece of hardware is going to be needed to replace what’s already become a beatable system.

Photo of the Day (12.6.2009)

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Today’s shot comes to us courtesy of Photo of the Day regular t3mujin, who captured this vibrant image during a trek near Sa Pa in Vietnam. Trying to take a picture of falling rain is no easy feat, but this photo manages to look “wet” simply through a great use of color. The verdant green hills, shrouded in mist, are complemented nicely by that extremely colorful rainbow umbrella.

Want your pics considered for Gadling’s Photo of the Day? Submit your best ones here.

Japanese hotels offer track-side views for trainspotters

by Sean McLachlan on

Most owners of a hotel next to a train station would curse their luck, but some Japanese entrepreneurs have turned their noisy locations into profitable ones by marketing the track-side rooms to trainspotters.

Trainspotters, who prefer to be called “railfans” much like comic book readers insist they read “graphic novels”, constitute a growing subculture in Japan. National organizations claim more than 20,000 members, there are several glossy magazines, and a lucrative industry serving the hobby, so the tourism trade was sure to pick up on the trend.

One popular destination is Shinjuku station, the busiest station in the world. The Odakyu Hotel Century Southern Tower right next to it not only caters to business travelers, but railfans with a special rate, guaranteed views, and a paperweight made of a piece of track. With an average of 3.64 million people going through the station every day, railfans are sure to see plenty of action.

While hotel owners next to Shinjuku station may have a great location, they can’t compete with the Dream House lodge in Ueda, which is made Azusa limited express train cars similar to the one pictured here.

If you can’t swing the airfare to Japan, you might want to try Ohio, which seems to be the most train-happy state in the Union.