Moon Petal

For those who like to keep their adventures in other cities interesting, and if there’s a taste for the unusual, then a visit to the College of Physicians in Philadelphia is definitely something that should be in the cards. It’s been here since 1787, and like everything in Philadelphia, there’s more history here than anyone could ever imagine. They have a great track record for educating future doctors, to be sure, but the interesting thing for visitors is more likely to be found in the Mutter Museum .

Here, there are more medical oddities than most people could ever look at in the course of an afternoon. But when the dust settles after traveling to the city, getting situated in the local hotel, Philadelphia has a plethora of attractions. It’s a city with a lot of culture, where many traditions and histories mix and blend in the present. The past is also well worth excavating, and there might not be a more fascinating place than the medical past.

At the Mutter, there are historic photographs and old medical equipment, including a real iron lung, that start to give an uneasy sense of how far the science has come. It’s hard not to see the history of medicine as barbaric in earlier times, but after a little while, it starts to seem that the present will someday be the past, and suddenly everything becomes uneasy in a rather splendid way.

There are large sections of the museum that are certainly not for the squeamish, with specimens of very unusual pathologies. There are also plenty of skulls of people who have died in strange ways, and a tour of the medical oddities of the country’s presidents. Perhaps one of the more startling things on display is the body of a soap woman. She had reached a certain weight, and the chemical properties of her internal workings were just right, so that she actually began to turn into hardened soap.

The rest of the city is extremely refreshing after seeing this museum, and it’s a visit that only another attraction can help one forget. Fortunately, the city has plenty of things to choose from.

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Are you a bird person? Do you like to find areas of the world that have large bird species and the people who know were they are? Hong Kong has lots of birds and the hotel room is not were you will find them. Your going to have to leave that cozy bed and warm bath to venture out into the forests and waters to see an array of beautiful birds. You may want to check with the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society to see what is going on with the birds in the area. Currently, they are trying to stop a railway from being built through Long Valley in the New Territories of Hong Kong. There are more than 200 species of birds in that area because of the wet flood plains that are there. It is the last wet agriculture area so it holds a special kind of bird heritage. It would be a great loss to the Hong Kong birds if they destroy it.

This society keeps an eye on birds located all over the near by area. The offer tours from one day to week long. There are about 450 bird species in the Hong Kong area so that should keep you busy all you need is a good guide, binoculars and telescope, notebook and pen. A camera if you can catch them fast enough would be great too. There is a great guide book by Clive Viney and Karen Phillips called Birds of Hong Kong and South China. It can direct you into some of the areas as what to look for. Bird watchers can start looking right in Hong Kong Park and branch out to Kowloon Park, many areas in the New Territories and other islands. So don’t forget your mosquito repellent, snacks and water for the longer outings and enjoy.

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