Underwater bollywood dancing on the Great Barrier Reef

by Jessica Festa on



While it isn’t hard to find countless videos on the web showing you the beauty and marine life of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, it isn’t that often that you find the location being the set of a choreographed, underwater dance number. The video is actually a contest entry for the Tourism Tropical North Queensland’s bollywood dance competition submitted by Seawalker, an underwater diving company that allows you to walk on the ocean floor. Despite having gravity working against them, the Seawalker team actually does an impressive job at mastering the dance moves, and are clearly having a great time doing it.

Karl of Seawalker commented post-production, “It’s a very unusual experience trying to dance underwater in a helmet, as all you hear is bubbles, no music, and yourself counting out the moves in a 4/4 count just hoping that everyone around you are in time. Thus, [it took] about 15 takes to get it right.”

Check out their finished product above.

Unconventional new eco-tour will take travelers through Japan’s tsunami debris

by Jessica Festa on

While most eco-tours use activities such as bird watching, rafting, and hiking to highlight regional issues, a new tour, led by expedition leader Marcus Eriksen, will take a different approach. Beginning May, 2012, travelers will have the opportunity to sail via yacht through floating islands of debris left from the March 11, 2011, tsunami in Japan. Tourists will see first-hand the pollution problem that now exists in the country as lighters, toys, bottle caps, and other plastics float down the river.

According to Danielle Demetriou of The Telegraph, this unusual “tsunami debris” trip was created by two nonprofits devoted to raising awareness about sea pollution, the 5 Gyres Institute and the Algalita Marine Research Institute. The tour will begin in Hawaii and will head towards the gyre, “a vortex of ocean currents where sea rubbish accumulates”. From there, travelers will head across the “Japan Tsunami Debris Field”.

Since the news has been released there have been some Telegraph readers who don’t agree with the ethics being used, calling the tour “depraved” and saying that the tour operator is “making money from tourists whilst hiding behind the “eco” excuse to justify what he is doing”.

What are your thoughts on this unconventional new eco-tour?

Most unsual way to go to Las Vegas: The Flying Elvi

by Jamie Rhein on

This scene in Honeymoon in Vegas is the most unusual way to head to Las Vegas if I’ve ever seen one. Here at Gadling, unusual travel is not unknown. Catherine is trying out various travel options in China at this moment, Jeremy is traveling around Southeast Asia as creatively as he can, and if you check out Mike’s personal blog, you’ll see A LOT of the unusual. I mean A LOT.

Although Honeymoon in Vegas is not the best movie Nicholas Cage has been in–Moonstruck and Raising Arizona are my two favorites, this scene is a hoot. This is something Mike would do when he slips out from behind his SkyMall Monday desk. Totally. The Flying Elvi, sky divers who are Elvis impersonators, do exist. I can see Mike now.

By the way, Honeymoon in Vegas is still wandering around cable channels. I saw part of it two weeks ago which reminded me of this scene. It also has one of the funniest altercations with another passenger at an airline check-in desk. You can see that here.

Off-beat travel experiences people actually pay for: 6 worst vacation ideas

by Jamie Rhein on

When it comes to yard sales, there’s an adage “One person’s junk is another person’s treasure.” When it comes to vacation experiences, you might say the same thing.

Some folks can’t seem to get enough of a Disney theme park, while others wouldn’t step a foot in one. Being willing to fork out cash for Disney–or not—is a run of the mill vacation choice. Here are other options that fit the unusual to the downright weird.

Tom Barlow, my pal over at Blogging Stocks and Wallet Pop sent me this link to the “6 Worst Vacations People Actually Pay for” at Cracked.com. Jason Moore’s round-up includes one experience we’ve written about here at Gadling.

Jason lists a stay at the Ice Hotel in Sweden as his number two worst vacation idea option. Frankly, I’m with Jason on this one. I’m sure it’s fascinating and beautiful, but too cold for a relaxing night of slumber. Ruben Laguna, who snapped this pic has several others which gives me the impression I could be wrong. Still, it does look too cold for my taste.

Jason’s number one choice of bad ideas is the one where people shoot farm animals with rocket launchers. WHAT!!! Isn’t there a grim film called, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? In this case, horses aren’t on the menu, but you can shoot chickens and cows. The place is near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Here’s a link to that weirdness.

Moore’s other bad idea choices are:

  • Tour the sewers of Paris
  • Illegal Border Crossing Experience
  • Ghetto Tours
  • Crossword Puzzle Cruise

The Paris sewer tour does sound interesting to me. The crossword puzzle cruise? Not so much. Check out Jason’s post for more details on each option. You can find decide for yourself what’s trash and what’s treasure.

Click the images to learn about the most unusual museums in the world — from funeral customs, to penises, to velvet paintings, to stripping.


Unicycle Tour of Vietnam

by Jamie Rhein on

When I was a kid, I thought it would be swell to learn to ride a unicycle. There’s something magical about a unicycle –something circus-like. Here’s a tour of Vietnam that might give the people who live there the impression that the circus has come to town, and it’s a happening you can join.

If you do know how to ride a unicycle, or think you maybe could master it before March of 2008, you can hook up with Grasshopper Adventures’ unicycle tour of Vietnam. Starting in Hanoi, a group of 24 unicyclists will travel through Hue, Hoi An (my absolutely most favorite town), Quy Nhong, Nha Trang and end up in Ho Chi Minh City. So far, 20 unicyclists from various parts of the world have signed up. As of August 27, there were four slots left. If you want to see who you will travel with, check out the riders page. The youngest person is 18, and the oldest is 51.

Since the tour is mostly along the coast, this will make for a gorgeous ride. I’ve been to Vietnam 5 times and have traveled on the same road in a car. That was an adventure of another kind. Not once did I see a unicycle.