My travel game: closing my eyes, blindly opening the book "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" and hoping for the best that I can visit the place on the page that fate has chosen for me.. Result for today: Count Dracula's Castle in Bran, Transylvania, Romania.
Found in Brasov County in the town of Bran, 130 miles/209 km from Bucharest.
ReplyDeleteThe book cites:
In Bucharest, contact Paralela 45 for customized trips {I wonder how customized this can be?} tel # 40/21-311-1959; fax # 40/21-312-2774; email: office@paralela45.ro.
Best times: May-Jun, Sept-Oct
btw, there is no proof that Prince Vlad Dracula of Walachia (c. 1431 - 1476) actually ever lived at the medieval Bran Castle but tourists still flock there as they find the "land beyond the forest" (this is the Latin meaning of Transylvania) one of the last great European wildernesses - a time-locked country that seems never to have felt the 21st century's touch.
ReplyDeleteA picture of Bran Castle...
ReplyDeleteCool! I'd love to visit Count Dracula's castle.
ReplyDeleteI just came from another site, which cited (no pun intended) Hungary as the country which has the people most prone to suicide (so its not Japanese)..
ReplyDeleteoh well..I digress...
but coming back to this, fear of fangs aside...I'd be willing to stay overnight in the castle with my garlic necklace...*grin*
Wow, Hungary must really suck then, because Japan has a much higher population than they do.
ReplyDeleteHungary Pop: Just over 10 million.
Japan Pop: Around 126 million.
Perhaps they mean per capita suicide?
Don't forget to wear a cross ;-)
oh yes, I ought to have specified...
ReplyDeleteTHE CAUTIOUS KAMIKAZE
Despite the image of kamikaze pilots and hara kiri, the Japanese are not the people most prone to suicide in the world
Some comparative figures (annual deaths per 100,000 population):
Hungary 40 (60 for men)
Japan 16
(Source: World Health Organisation)
link given by my friend Tochie:
http://www.benhills.com/articles/articles/JPN28a.html
garlic cross? *grin*
ReplyDeleteShocking!
ReplyDeleteBe sure to have a priest bless your bottled water. Vampires hate holy water!
ReplyDeletehmm...the problem is, I'm the type to drink lots of water during trips...I may just drink that bottled water by mistake...
ReplyDeletethis sounds ugly, but if I throw up that holy water on the vampire, I wonder if it would make a difference...
don't mind me..am just in one of my weird phases...
I don't remember which European country it is that has a very high suicide rate. It has excellent cradle-to-grave social security system. It has a very rich economy and stable government. The problem, they say, is that the people are bored.
ReplyDeletemaybe Switzerland? hmm...no, it wouldn't be....mea culpa..who could commit suicide with that much chocolate?
ReplyDeleteMwahaha. No it is a country with permissive sex. Sweden?
ReplyDeleteI checked the posting...there's Finland, Denmark, Austria and Switzerland...
ReplyDeleteany of the above?
I wouldn't remember. The stats were probably too long ago. We were then covering an international bowling competition here in the Philippines. The writers (which include me) researched on the countries participating and were very surprised to find out about the suicide rate of one country that was (and probably is) very progressive. Which led me into thinking: material wealth or security cannot buy peace of mind or true happiness. Hehe. Tignan mo Pinoy, always self-rating themselves as poor but still one of the happiest peoples on earth. Baka lang sira ulo. : )
ReplyDeletewould I be tooting my own horn (because Pinoy din ako) if I offer my humble opinion that...well its precisely because of these challenges we are constantly presented with, that we can say we are living?
ReplyDeletewe have strong ties to our family..extended family pa...which is like a crutch..or...let's call it support..
we have these challenges - not just a showbiz-church-poliltics mix which is hilarious (sometimes pathetic)
...
I give up.....I think Pinoys sometimes defy description...we are just human after all...
and yes, the "sira-ulo" probably is more apt hahaha!