Experiencing Formula 1 In Valencia, Spain At 300 Kilometers Per Hour
July 12, 2011 by Anil P.
Filed under Car, Pictures and Video
Sometimes, travel, for a few minutes or another, just congeals into one big hedonistic thrill. I arrived in Valencia, Spain on the dime of Tour Spain and Valencia Tourism, to eat paella, drink great wine, and experience the Formula 1 race held there annually. I’ve got to admit, I didn’t know anything about Formula 1, cared a bit less about it, and figured anybody could hop behind the wheel of those flashy cars, do a few laps, and win a trophy if they essentially didn’t screw up.
Then, this happened.
The Best Lap F1 x 3 Experience in Valencia, puts you next to a Formula 1 driver in a modified race car with 2 side seats, testing all of your preconceptions in the 1.8 seconds it takes to get to 97 kph (60 mph). That car, by the way, won the Formula 1 in Brazil in 2004, and would be driven by Felix Porteiro.
I like fast, going fast, and things that are survivable-ly dangerous; so by the time the two-step safety course came around I was practically one big goofy smile. The two main rules seem easy enough, simply lie very low into the seat in case of a flip, and, well, I was so excited I forget the other one. But, it’s not until you completely sign away your life – under any and all circumstances (and I mean any) – that you know two laps around the Circuit Valencia course are going to be fun. With that signature, I was bouncing up and down; a Formula 1 convert and man soon-to-be eating his words in the making.
- The photo above was taken by John O’Nolan; web designer, photographer, and overall awesome guy – thanks!
It’s not the top speed (~360kph) that make these cars so impressive but the acceleration in which they get to them. When you slide down into the car seat, it vaguely feels more like lying down into a coffin than sitting in an automobile. A twinge of claustrophobia sets in as the pit crew straps you in, mumbling a few words the helmets prevent you from understanding. By the time you can comprehend that inaudible mess, a few thumbs-up appear in your peripheral vision. Then you go. And unless you’ve been a jet fighter pilot or partied with Keith Richards, it’s faster than you’ve ever accelerated in your life.
The acceleration is so powerful that I could feel the blood draining from my fingers tips, only to return when the car slowed on turns. The occasional times I decided to peek left or right, my head was stuck in that position until the gears were lowered. When I hopped out of the car about 3 and a half minutes later I felt like I had run the course on foot, not by car.
It’s nearly impossible to leave the experience without acquiring some new appreciation for Formula 1 drivers. Whether it’s the average 3 kilos per race they lose due to dehydration or the incredible strength and stamina required not to succumb to 3-5 G-forces, feeling in this case is believing.
(Those of you reading via email will need to click here to view the video below.)
- PromoTourismo so elegantly captured, among other moments, me speechless after my F1 experience. Check them out PromoTourismo on YouTube.
A ride on the Best Lap F1 x 3 Experience is on par with skydiving as far as adventure travel experiences go, the closest experience I can compare it to. The kind of senseless fun that one relives over and over in their imaginations to capture a slice of the excitement even weeks later. The Best Lap F1 x 3 Experience is currently developing their website but has enough contact information up if you’re interested to learn more or give it a 750 horsepower whirl yourself.
You can see more photos of the track, cars, and the Formula 1 race in my album here.
3 Common Tech Mistakes That Will Screw Up Your Vacation And How To Avoid Them
There are several laws of the universe that are difficult to quantify (like those socks that disappear in the dryer) or the fact that your technology will fail you. At the worst possible time. Whether you’re trying to tweet on the beaches of Boracay or trying to get some work done in Dubai, the same technology that can screw up your trip can save it as well.
It comes down to preparation; basic digital precautions you should take that most travelers don’t. Those omissions give nerds like me the shakes when I hear about vacation photos that are lost forever because there’s no backup of them. A few good minutes right now however can save you from being the victim of a cranky laptop, no matter where you are in the world.
1. Not Backing Up (Automatically)
Ideally you should backup all of your digital data but since you and I both know you probably won’t, focus on backing up you most important travel files.
- Your Photos – I learned my lesson more than 7 years ago when I lost a set of pictures from a trip to London with my mom due to a hard drive failure. I’m still kicking myself over it but today but you don’t need to lose a single photo to save yourself that lesson.
Casual photo takers should use a bread and butter online backup system that will sync your photo folders somewhere online. Some good free options are Dropbox, Mozy, or my personal favorite Crashplan. Those of you using your smart phones as your primary camera can have your photos synced wirelessly with your laptop for a few bucks with Photosync (iPhone) or PicPush for Android (which has options to sync to Flickr, Facebook, and other online accounts).
For you more snap-happy travelers out there, take a look at the Eye-Fi Mobile X2. It’s pricey at $80 but it lets you sync and backup photos from your digital camera on the fly as you take them. You can use the smart phone in your pocket or iPad, for example, to save pictures in nearly real time before you have a change to forget.
- Scans Of Your Passport And Travel Documents – Chances are you’ve got digital copies of your most valuable identification documents, files that are small enough to be saved automatically using one of the methods mentioned above.
Finally, most newer hard drives come equipped with sensors that can determine if the drive is close to failure – SMARTReporter (Mac) or Active@ Hard Drive Monitor (Windows) give you a good early warning system.
2. Using The Same Password For All Of Your Accounts
If you’re one of the 60%-plus using one or two passwords for all of your online accounts you are setting yourself up for an Internet nightmare. The very first thing a savvy criminal does when they obtain any of your passwords is to use it on your email, then other sensitive accounts. Your email is like the key to the castle, just think about how many password resets and other juicy tidbits about your life are in there. It’s important to insulate your passwords so one hacked Twitter account doesn’t mean some crook is buying themselves an iPad halfway around the world thanks to your bank account.
- Also, think of emails as postcards, open messages floating across the Internet. Don’t send credit card numbers, passwords, or other sensitive information via email. Rather use the free program your laptop shouldn’t travel without, Skype, to encrypt data.
KeePassX can generate individual random passwords for all of your individual online accounts. Only memorize the password to access your KeePassX account, then use, say, DropBox to sync that encrypted KeePassX file on your laptop and smart phone. You’ve not only now got a fairly secure backup of your passwords and insulted them from an individual attack, but can also quickly change them after a session at an Internet cafe. Two points for security with a bonus point for laziness.
3. Updating Software Upon Arrival
Jailbreaking your iPhone is really handy when you want to use your mobile internationally but the first day of your European vacation isn’t the best time to try it. Lots of things can go wrong the first time around with unofficial hacks and it’s easy to miss a step here or there when you’re more interested in checking out Amsterdam’s canals than chatting with your boss on the phone.
- It’s also not the best idea to patch your software or laptop operating system with updates right before shorter vacations. It’s not a matter of fixing the issues that may crop up – you’ll eventually do that – but not wasting your precious travel time to deal with a wonky Windows patch.
For longer trips though you can hire your own unlimited personal IT support, aka. me, for 6 months at less than $40.
Make Those Circuits Work For You
We can all get sucked into the pattern of looking at our gadgets like the other common machines in our lives that require manual control. Sure, your car can’t drive itself (yet) or change its own oil – but your laptop can back itself up and your phone can go about its syncing merry way. All mostly without you. And that’s a nice thing because that’s part of why computers are around – to give us more time – to enjoy our vacations.
[photos by: Tina P. (frustrated toddler), chalo84 (Polaroid panorama), angermann (password by laptop), _zand (iPhone update)]
Haunting Cairo’s Heliopolis District Nearly 100 Years Later: The Baron Empain Palace In Egypt
July 7, 2011 by Anil P.
Filed under Pictures and Video
This distant photograph is as close as my zoom could get me to a building that caught my attention nearly immediately after arrival at Cairo International Airport. “They worship devils there,” my cab driver nonchalantly pointed out as we drove past the Baron Empain Palace in Cairo’s well-to-do Heliopolis area. The wealthy Belgian, Baron Empain, actually created the area in 1907 to become a center of luxury in what was then nothing but desert sand. Today, it’s where young Egyptians go to hang out in Starbucks and shop at European clothing outlets a block or two away from a palace that looks more like it belongs in southeast Asia than northern Africa.
Empain went to Egypt in 1904, initially to check on one of his railway projects that was in danger of collapsing; later building the palace to overlook his new upscale Heliopolis. Or imprison his daughter who eventually went insane – depending on who you ask, of course. Then there are the mirrors that bleed, caused by his enraged wife (not too happy with his extra-marital relationships). But wait, it’s just getting weird.
There are also persistent rumors that the tower rotates (or used to) so the interior would always be lit by sunlight whenever possible and a few people have mysteriously fallen to death here as well. Perhaps. While most people in Cairo you ask about the Baron Empain Palace will give you some version of one or more of these stories, they persist because the entire site was closed after Baron’s death in 1929. It’s not Satan-worshiping or orgies that have kept the Baron Empain Palace closed but rather the fact that it was sold to foreign investors from Saudi Arabia long ago.
The palace, unmistakably inspired by Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, was bought back by the Egyptian government in 2005, only to be closed nearly 2 months later. Claims to the deed by Baron’s grandson resulted in a legal case which has been mostly forgotten since the Egyptian revolution.
Years of neglect has seen the Baron Empain Palace vandalized many times, with the offbeat Satanic verses to Nazi swastikas; left not by devil worshipers but mostly drug dealers and users who often bribed their way into a free hangout. Easily one of the most interesting structures in a city that sits in the shadows of the Great Pyramids, the Baron Empain Palace could be an important part of Egypt’s recovering tourism industry – if and when it eventually opens to the public for good.
You can see more of Heliopolis and Cairo in the gallery here.
The Rebirth Of Valencia, Spain: The City Of Arts And Sciences
July 5, 2011 by Anil P.
Filed under Pictures and Video
Prior to being invited to Valencia, Spain by Tour Spain and Valencia Tourism, I heard two versions to expect of this city that sits along the Mediterranean coast. An industrial town that wasn’t easy on the eyes or at best a nice place to stroll around – neither incredibly enticing – maybe I would find some rustic charm upon arrival? Valencia certainly has plenty of that; but it’s the modern 350,000 square meter City of Arts and Sciences, which has revitalized Valencia’s tourism industry that made me feel like a most ignorant and amateur traveler.
Ground was broken on the project in 1994 and construction was completed with the L’Agora in 2005. Since that time, Valencia has seen an increase of 1.2 million plus tourists annually, brought in part by the designs of local Santiago Calatrava and Felix Candela. The complex is made up of 8 futuristic buildings that are nearly impossible to comprehend the aesthetic perfection of – even as you stare right at them.
Within the company of ancient marvels like the Taj Mahal, Great Pyramids, or the Hagia Sofia even, the City of Arts and Sciences has to be one of humanity’s most impressive architectural achievements. Personally, it’s the most incredible architecture I’ve ever seen. There’s no better way to describe it than to say it just makes you feel good. And, to take a leap, there’s the powerful presence of Calatrava’s hometown pride somewhere embedded in all that concrete and steel. (Except for that awkward dinosaur somebody decided it would be a good idea to plunk down in the middle of that pool above.)
Similar to Istanbul’s Basilica Cistern, it’s impossible to get a bad photo of the City of Arts and Sciences. Yet, unlike the Basilica, there are a lifetime’s worth of angles to shoot from. I mean, I’m practically gushing like a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert at this metal-marvel plaza whose buildings house cinemas, operas, and one impressive aquarium.
Entry into each of the building vary as each serve separate functions. Prices generally run about 7-30 Euro per building, or you can get a combined pass for all for about 37 Euro. If you’re pressed for time though I’d recommend the Principe Felipe Science Museum (shown below) for those of you with kids or young in spirit; it has interactive exhibits about things from space travel to the physics of the comic book world.
Much of Valencia’s rural outskirts, along with residents, were moved out in preparation for the City of Arts and Sciences. The only things that remains of those old cottages and farmland are the occasional water pumping station, all of which are protected by the local government.
In a part of the world where so much of the tourism focus goes into the old and the ancient, Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences does what so few tourist attractions can. Rather than making you feel humanity’s best days are behind us, the behemoth City of Arts and Sciences subtly gives you a nostalgia about the present and hope for the future to come.
You can see the rest of my photos from Valencia in this gallery here.
