Join the 13-mile high club in a MiG

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Incredible Adventures wants to push you through the sound barrier. Step into a MiG-29 and prepare to be thrust past Mach 1 in the fighter jet that caused Rocky to fight Drago. Or, find your way to the edge of space in a MiG-31. Find your way to Russia to get started, and then leave the Earth behind.

To pass the speed of sound, Incredible Adventures takes you to Nizhny and gives you a choice: the legendary MiG-29 or the newer MiG-31. The company has an arrangement with the Nizhny Novgorod Sokol Aircraft Building Plant, making the whole “MiGs over Moscow” program possible. The people who supply fighter jets to more than 30 countries, of course, take quality seriously. After all, they needed to develop the goods to end democracy. So, they’ll do everything possible to make sure your day at the airbase is an incredible adventure.

If new heights matter more to you than outpacing the words coming out of your mouth, check out the “Edge of Space” program. Join the “13-mile high” club in a MiG-31 with one of Russia’s premier fighter pilots.

When you touch down, lament the loss of your wingman, jump on a couch and tell people not to take psychiatric medicines.

Choose Your Own YouTube Adventure

by Brenda Yun on

What would life be like if we were able to travel through time? I recently came across an entertaining and creative YouTube video that mirrors the premise of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” book series from the 1980’s.

Filmmakers/Actors Chad Villella, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Rob Polonsky, and Jonah Goldstein tell a very unique story of three ordinary guys who find a time machine that is wanted by Matrix-like Mr. Smith’s. The trio travel through time and have to face dragons and zombies to ultimately avoid the bad guys and return to peaceful life again.

If you’re short on time and want to get to the happy ending, choose these adventures when prompted:

  1. Get In!
  2. Sorry, Rob!
  3. The Agents!
  4. Sorry, We’re Late for a Meeting

If you follow these choices, your viewing time is about 10 minutes. Enjoy your time travels!

Thrill Seekers Can Swim Nose to Nose with Crocs in Australia

by Josh Lew on

Adventurers needn’t head to the Outback to get a taste of what it is like to be eye-to-eye with Australian wildlife. A new attraction at Crocosaurus Cove, in Darwin, Northern Territory, allows divers to come within inches of giant saltwater crocodiles. A mask and swimsuit is all that is required for those who want to enter the “Cage of Death.” The transparent “cage” is made from 5-inch-thick acrylic. It moves on runners through 4 croc pens housing animals that 18 feet long and weigh over 1 ton. The “ride” takes about 20 minutes.

Despite their legendary status, crocodiles attacks are rare. Warning signs are displayed on lakes and rivers inhabited by the giant beasts. On average, there are only 1 or two croc-related deaths per year. That probably doesn’t lessen the amount of adrenaline that comes from being face-to-face with the toothy creatures, separated by only 5 inches of glass.

[Via Reuters]

Attention adventurers: Do you have a personal beacon locator?

by Abha Malpani on

A British student researcher while on a project in Kamchatka in Russia broke her leg after falling off a horse. She had a 406 megahertz beacon locator, the distress signal of which reached Scotland — 3,700 miles away! She was rescued and is currently recovering.

Kamchatka is a scarcely populated remote part of eastern Russia, one of the world’s last great wildernesses that is also home to 300 volcanoes.

I think we tend to take safety for granted; you never think you are going to be stuck in the middle of nowhere alone and disconnected. The girl in this case was with 8 others, and she had an advance beacon thing. What happened to the Russian rescue services?

I’m not very knowledgeable about the types of personal beacons, the way the work, and the distance they cover, but if they can send SOS signals to centers cross-continent, whoa, hats off to technology. Apparently, this is not normal though.

Here’s a good piece with basic information on personal beacons. They are available for around £200-300, probably worth the investment if you are going to be away from civilization for a while.

Tours where you get to be Indiana Jones

by Abha Malpani on

As if traveling to a new country wasn’t adventurous enough, a Spain based company called “Viajes Con Imaginación” (Vacations With Imagination) has started offering trips to Egypt where they not only organize your entire itinerary, but they also plan strange things and make them happen to you. For example: robberies, kidnappings, ghosts coming to haunt you at night — it’s all part of the package — “Indiana Jones Style” they say. Check out their promo video of what you may encounter on your tour. Of course, exactly what will happen is a surprise.

They also offer a 3-day trip to London where under the “Jack the Ripper” theme, you get to be part of a mysterious investigation while you see the city.

Please tell me that I’m not the only one who doesn’t find this cool. Why would I want (and pay for!) an actor pretending to be a robber, jump on me and steal my money while I am enjoying the Pyramids? Besides, even if it sounds like fun, it’s NOT REAL — how could you take it seriously!?