Everyone met up in Petra today, the big day. I went early to do some filming and also to supervise something quite extraordinary – the tethered flight of the New7Wonders hot-air balloon in front of the Treasury, in a quite small square at the end of the Siq, the famous, narrow canyon that leads down […]
I was very much looking forward to the visit to Petra in Jordan. The preparation of the world tour event had long been carefully planned and prepared by the Jordanian authorities, and we expected to have not only an interesting but also an enjoyable time promoting this unique candidate. Unique because it is the only […]
After flying with a Beechcraft twin turbine prop. 17-seater for more then an hour and a half over the Sahara, suddenly, in the middle of the desert, the river Niger spreads out into a huge delta: huge lakes and hundreds of tributaries suddenly create a surreal image. Sooo much water in the middle of the […]
Surprise, surprise! What had been one of the biggest question marks on our World Tour agenda back when we were planning in early 2006 has now become one of our nicest surprises! Believe it or not, Mali has been one of the most responsive and communicative countries in the world for N7W! So much for […]
The Taj Mahal is the most tightly secured monument we have visited so far on our World Tour and with all the rulings that have been issued as to what can and cannot be done there, it has also become somewhat of a hot spot. This warning I only heard when we arrived in Agra. […]
Again, to have ideal light for filming, the certificate ceremony was scheduled in the afternoon. The press had been brought by bus from New Delhi to Agra and, after they enjoyed a lunch at our partner hotel, the delightful Mughal Sheraton, they were excited to see the N7W airship being inflated in the splendid gardens. […]
From Cambodia to India, what a dramatic change! People everywhere, even at night. It seems like there is no day or night in India. People simply sleep when they are tired. In India, I knew I was racing against the clock to get our airship flying. Our Swiss transport company had put us in an […]
To present the candidate certificate to Mr. Phirin in the – literally! – best light, we had decided to do the ceremony in the afternoon, before the sun set. The accumulated heat of a full day of sun was such that, even without moving, my shirt stuck to my body and inevitably turned from light […]
We travelled from Sydney to Siem Reap (Cambodia’s second-largest city, home to Angkor) via the new airport of Bangkok. A brand-new, gigantic and fantastic airport (it seems like there is a worldwide competition for who can build the biggest, best designed and most expensive airport!). We were flying for half an hour over soggy swampland […]
The first call for the New7Wonders event day was planned for 4:30 in the morning! Luckily, this call was only for the Sydney Opera House staff and for the radio people who had sound checks for their stage and 6-9AM live coverage of our event. Our call was for – slightly more bearable – 6:30AM! […]