Abandoned Six Flags Theme Park

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, and now six years later there is still evidence of some of that destruction. One of the casualties was the New Orleans Six Flags theme park, which has since been abandoned by Six Flags and has since seen interest by various developers wax and wane.

The abandoned amusement park has taken on a thoroughly creepy vibe with graffiti artists and rust taking over most of the park. LoveThesePics has put together a gallery of photos of Six Flags New Orleans, which presents a fascinating look at the process of decay.

Image by Christopher Dame.

Word Travels Forum Round-Up #24

Happy Monday, and here's hoping everyone in the US and UK are enjoying fine weather on their day off! Here are the most popular travel topics on our forum this week:

Best time to go to Singapore

Best islands near Bali

Climate in South Korea

Tour operators in Poland

Don't forget to visit the forum to find answers to your travel questions!

Win a Trip to the Arctic!

You can win a trip to the Arctic to see polar bears, walrus, whales, seals and more! Arctic Expeditions is giving away a $20,000 European Arctic Adventure to one lucky Australian!

Sound good? You can enter through June 17th on their website.

Image from here.

Top 5 Free Things to do in New York City

New York City is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the US... and the world. Unfortunately, it's also one of the most expensive. A day spent visiting the Statue of Liberty, seeing a Broadway show, or admiring works at the Guggenheim will take a chunk out of any tourist's pocket.

Sure, there are always the sights to take pictures of, like Times Square, Wall Street, and Ground Zero, but there are fun things to do in New York City besides taking pictures. And they're free.

So here's our list of the top 5 free things to do in New York City:

Staten Island Ferry - The ferry goes from Battery Park to Staten Island and back, and is totally free. On the way you'll get fantastic views of the Statue of Liberty and the Lower Manhattan skyline. It leaves every 30 minutes, so you can hop off and explore a bit of Staten Island before heading back.

Manhattan Adirondacks Tour - The North Woods of Central Park were designed to look like the stunning forests of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York State. If you don't have the time to get out of the city, you can take a free one-hour tour of the North Woods from the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center. The guides are knowledgeable and the crowds are few.

Bronx Zoo - Although the Central Park Zoo is more famous, you can escape 90% of the other tourists and save a bit of money by visiting the Bronx Zoo on Wednesdays when admission is free.

Shakespeare in the Park - New York City is known for its world-class theatre, and one of the most hotly-anticipated events on the calendar is the annual Shakespeare in the Park, another of the free things to do in Central Park. Celebrities like Robert de Niro, Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway often star. Tickets are free, but highly sought-after, and distributed at the Park.

Big Apple Greeter - What better way to get an insider's view of New York City than to take a tour from a local? The Big Apple Greeters are volunteers who are passionate about their city, and give interesting and informative private tours of their neighbourhoods for up to six people at a time. Tours need to be booked 3-4 weeks in advance.

Image from here.

Travel Movie: The Hangover 2

What do Las Vegas and Bangkok have in common? They're both commonly thought of as wild party destinations, and they've both gotten the Hangover treatment.

Last time four guys went to Vegas for a bachelor's party, and one nearly didn't make it back. In The Hangover 2, the ultra-responsible quartet of Phil, Stu, Alan and Doug are heading to Thailand for Stu's wedding. He wants a quiet pre-wedding brunch, but what are the odds of that happening?

Slim to none. Now they've lost Stu's fiancee's 16-year-old brother.

The plot is pretty much the same as the first film, with no one remembering the previous night and one man missing, so if you enjoyed the first you'll probably enjoy this one too.

Don't expect to see much of glamorous Thailand though. The focus is on the seedy hotels, backstreet drug dealers and generally less savoury parts of Bangkok.

Verdict: See it (if you liked The Hangover)

Best and Worst Hotels for Wi-Fi

If there's one thing that we always have to worry about when travelling, it's internet connectivity. While hotels seem to have standardised most amenities (you can pretty much assume you'll have a bed, tv, phone and bathroom), 21st-century needs are tacked on with enormous charges, or sometimes not catered to at all.

A friend who travelled often for work would keep a running tally of how much he paid for in-room internet, and the results were all over the map. At some hotels he basked in the glory of free wi-fi, others charged him up to $20 a day for ADSL connections, and still others simply sent him to hotel hell: the business centre.

With travellers adding gadgets like smart phones, laptops and tablets to their electronic arsenal, free wi-fi has become a near-universal demand in travel. Hopefully hotels will get the message soon.

HotelChatter.com has put together a guide to the best and worst hotel chains for wi-fi.

The best? Hotel Indigo for InterContinental Hotels (free) and Kimpton Hotels (free when you join their free loyalty club).

The worst? Marriott Flagship Hotels (the only Marriott hotels where you have to pay) and W Hotels ($14.95 per day).

Read the rest of the report, which includes city wi-fi reports and international hotels, on HotelChatter.com.

Image from here.

Word Travels Forum Round-Up #23

There hasn't been a forum round-up in the last several weeks since South Africa has a crazy number of public holidays in April and May. There have been some very interesting discussions happening though, so here's a little of what you've been missing:

Costa Rica for Women

Holidays in Riga - good or bad?

Restaurants in Bodrum

Honeymoon in Africa

Got your own question? Ask our local experts today!

Image from here.