After a recent whitewash in England, Indian cricket fans and even players were very upset. But now India have chance to overturn the result on their home soil. With spinners Aswin and Jadeja, Englishmen are struggling. However, english cricketers are very tough guys. I would say they are much tougher than Indians. So, we can expect to comeback strongly in upcoming matches. Below is the schedule of matches :

Oct 14, 2011	14:30	09:00	India vs England, 1st ODI (India Won By 126 Runs)	Hyderabad
Oct 17, 2011	14:30	09:00	India vs England, 2nd ODI	Delhi
Oct 20, 2011	14:30	09:00	India vs England, 3rd ODI	Mohali
Oct 23, 2011	14:30	09:00	India vs England, 4th ODI	Mumbai
Oct 25, 2011	14:30	09:00	India vs England, 5th ODI	Kolkata
Oct 29, 2011	20:00	14:30	India vs England, 1st T20	Kolkata

England tour to Indian 2011 will be great entertainment for sure. Though they defeated with huge difference in the 1st ODI (India won by 126 runs), we have seen what attacking players like Kieswetter, Bairstow can do and the players like Trott, Cook, Pietersen make the batting line up perfect for England. They have allrounders like Bresnan, Patel, Bopara, Swann which means they bat really deep. The collapse in first ODI can’t be expected to repeat again. If we look at the Indian side, there are good players too but most of them are yougstars. Dhoni and Raina in middle order are the backbone. And they cannot be “hero” in each matches which can cause real trouble for India. Home soil will definitely advantage India but i still expect England to win this series by something like 3-2

It would be great to hear from you guys.

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As a cricket fan, i am excited to see Champions league t20 2011 Schedule being published. I couldn’t wait to share it with you

My favorites were KKR and RCB and hope one of them will snatch the title.  Cause MS Dhoni’s leading is terrific at the moment i think CSK will not win. Its great entertainment watching T20 cricket. have some beer, watch those sixes and enjoy sexy cheerleaders ? have fun guys

Going to Europe for your holidays this year? The choice between air, rail or sea can be a deciding factor in your eventual destination. If you’re hankering after a French break then your best options are typically the Channel or the ferries. Taking a Eurostar under the English Channel may not be ideal for the claustrophobic traveller so the open air and the fresh seas of the ferries will resolve the matter. Pardon the pun, but the ferry may not always be plain sailing. Strong winds and choppy waters can make a trip very unpleasant if not downright dangerous. Human error and faults can also cause their fair share of problems. Perhaps before reading on, you’d better double check your European travel insurance.

Ever since the movie Titanic came out, we’ve seen how a ship can break up and sink spectacularly. To ease you in gently I thought I’d better start with this cruise ship calamity Lego re-enactment.

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Risk of Capsizing

If the thought of sinking is a source of worry then take pity on the souls on board this vessel as strong wind and waves threatened to capsize it.

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Wilstar

Waves are a big concern to even the saltiest of salty sea captains. It’s the freak wave that is the hardest to prepare for. In 1974 the Norwegian tanker, Wilstar, fell foul of a freak wave which tore out its fore peak tank.

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Clelia II

Fair play, this cruise ship was a little way from the English Channel; the Antarctic to be exact when it encountered heavy seas and 55mph winds. 160 souls suffered while the Polar Cruises ship was battered.

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MS Explorer

This Canadian cruise ship met the same fate as the RMS Titanic after it hit an iceberg and sank.

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MS Sea Diamond

Failing to keep its watertight bow doors shut resulted in the end of this 21 year old cruise ship. It sank off the coast of the Santorini caldera, Greece. Read more.

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Maersk Tampa

This container vessel demonstrates the peril approaching a quay with a bit too much speed. The video is essential viewing for any fan of Speed 2’s ship collision! Again it shows that the weather doesn’t always have to be the cause of a cruise ship calamity.

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Norwegian Dream

The date: December 10th 2007
The place: Montevideo Harbour, Chile

Yet again, a cruise ship has a collision with another vessel, a freighter, but luckily no-one was hurt. Oh, and yes, those are containers that have ended up on the deck of the cruise ship.

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Costa Classica

Getting too close to other vessels is a concern of mine when someone else is at the helm. Thankfully no-one was injured when this vessel collided with a Belgian cargo ship. Still, the 20 metre gash torn into the starboard side would give most people pause for thought. It would certainly make some of the cabins more open plan!

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And finally,

Here’s a summary that should help you make your mind up about your next means of transport to get to the Continent.

Firstly, a picture:

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And secondly, a video:

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Guest blogger, Greg Coltman, writes prolifically for transport and travel blogs and enjoys the romance of steam travel and the excitement of sailing..

As you may know or not, i love music much as most of you do and specially bollywood because it touches me. (I understand it better ?)… I rarely miss any reality show and can fairly judge talent of folks. Watching all these shows since 1990s i am now good enough to at least figure out who should be top. However, the choices are personal. Some will love something and the other will hate it. What matters is the majority. However, when voting system is there we rarely get the best result.

Image from http://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-x-factor-final-twelve-contestants/20110610.htm

Lets take an example : Prasant Tamang wins Indian Idol. WTF is that ? He shouldn’t have been in top 10 position (According to the talent) but he kept getting votes. Voting was not done on basis of his talent but on basis of nationality, his profession etc.

X-Factor india has made good decision. Bottom two will perform on face off and 1 will eliminated on basis of that particular day’s performance but this time Judges will vote. This will make sure best singers won’t get eliminated. 9Which is fair enough). Sonu Nigam gave very good example of fair judgement by out voting his own team member Piyush last time. (Though he should have stayed there). His performance that day may not be good enough but he was damn good singer.  I am sure he will do something great in future. I suspect he will be the only one that didn’t cry after being eliminated. Truly, i don’t remember anyone else. He is bold and lets hope will rock soon !!

Come to the point, Seema Jha !! What a talent she has. Shreya was just 14 r old (I think) when she won Saregamapa in 1995-96 ?? Seema Jha should win the x-factor 1011 in similar way and enter into bollywood playback singing world.  She has every chance of becoming next Shreya. (Its really a tough ask though…:P).Her voice touches directly into the heart. There are few participants in X-Factor India 2011 show like Deewana Group, Nirmeeti, Sajda ! but when they are compared with Seema Jha, Seema gets +1 point everytime. There are 3 folks in Shreya’s team who are good upto now. But they should get eliminated one by one from now onwards. If they stay further then if will be unfair to other participants.

Lets not talk about all of the contestant right ? All of them has talent. By any mean i am not disrespecting their talent. I don’t show to sing, sur taal nothing. The only thing i know is music should touch out heart. By any way .. rap-hiphop-shastriya sangeet …

Kartal Uncle ? He is still there ? Good to have old experienced guy of course. He is soo simple and cute and i think many  hot teen girls are voting for him lol. Trule, he is the cutest. (Imagine how he was @ age of 25). For me he can stary there for 2 more weeks. In coming week Geetsagar should be eliminated. Really guys, common…. On what basis are you voting ? You have kicked Piyush and Kept Geet ? Then it will be really tough !

Amit is best performer among all. All the groups are fine. Uncle should leave now. (I can tolerate him until top 3 though). Because no one is counting him as competitor.

Ah ! Seema Jha, cute naughty and simple girl (Till now).  In my personal opinion she should win the title. Its upto you guys to decide whom to vote for…

But please please leave your thoughts in the comment box below…

In the pages of the first issue of Action Comics, 1938, we were introduced to Superman. Hot on his heels came a plethora of superheroes that have become so engrained and loved by the masses they have stayed with us to this day. Part of the accoutrements of the superhero was the ‘supervehicle’, a means of transport that could serve as a base or a store for equipment. Superman and Batman had the Supermobile and Batmobile; Wonder Woman had her invisible plane. All very handy – but if all else failed I suppose they could have made use of some handy van hire.

But it was the heroes we were mainly interested in reading about and how their alter egos coped with the troubles of everyday life. For the disenfranchised and lonely teens they were characters to identify with and whose morals we aspired to.  The imaginative wondered just how the world would have turned out if superheroes really existed. Would political situations really been allowed to escalate to the point of war? And if so how would World War 2 have played out? After all, characters from both the DC and Marvel range during that period regularly fought with Nazis in glorious jingoism (very much of its time).

Thanks to skilled individuals who have put their Photoshop skills to good, artistic use we can view some monochrome pictures taken at the time with superheroes sprinkled in for good measure.

Officer Spiderman just before his tour of duty.

It’s anachronistic of course, Spiderman’s first appearance was 1962 in Amazing Fantasy #15.

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Indonesian Artist Agan Harahap has produced these great composite images.

Cherbourg-Normandy, 1944

American soldiers fighting in the streets, Avenue de Paris aided by Spidey.

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Afghanistan, 1986

The Incredible Hulk is saddened by the sight of an Afghan resistance fighters’ village destroyed by Soviet troops.

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Neuschwanstein, 1945

Superman helps soldiers from the 7th US army liberate priceless artworks from Neuschwanstein Castle that had been stolen by the Nazis.

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MATS Terminal Washington, 1959

Fidel Castro (looking suspiciously like Liam Neeson) is watched over by the Dark Knight.

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Captivity of German Soldiers, 1945

The German Army, the Wehrmacht, offered unconditional surrender on the 25th April. The Flash helped take control of the soldiers.

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Greenham Common Airfield, 1944

Batman gives the order: ‘Full victory – nothing else!’, to English paratroopers as they depart for the first assault on the continent.

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Taret de Ravenoville, 1944

The Quality Comics superhero, V, joins in as well (although his character is even more anachronistic; his origin is set in 1997 following a nuclear war in Britain). Here we see V ensuring the German soldiers come quietly.

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A Camp near Minsk, 1941

Debate rages over whether Captain America has gone native as he talks with Heinrich Himmler during an inspection of a POW camp in Russia. No chance! The Cap has a cunning plan, that’s all.

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And finally…

If I was getting slightly perturbed about anachronistic photos then this clever reworking by FlashDaz of a painting into Wonder Woman should push me over the edge!

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Guest Blogger, Greg Coltman, spent his science days looking for a way to make himself invisible. Standing behind a door saying, ‘Can you see me?’ just didn’t cut it.

Being made redundant at any age is a shock and it can have big self esteem implications. With a shrinking employment market and a recession that continues to make its effects felt, finding new work in your chosen field is an ongoing struggle. So much so that prospective job hunters need to come up with ever more inspirational ways of making themselves the most desirable employee a business can have. Advertise a job – the traditional way of a company looking for staff and the job hunter replies to the ad is no longer a good enough technique.

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One step is to upload your CV onto a recruitment website. This can help tailor your job search and also allows potential employers to find you through a CV search. You certainly need to stand out, promote yourself and come up with awe-inspiring ways to hook an employer. This was what passed through Andy Palmer’s mind when he was made redundant by Northern Rock in 2009. As a mortgage advisor for a failing building society in a time when the banking industry was laying off staff in order to keep afloat, Andy was faced with a career cul-de-sac. After 30 unsuccessful attempts to find new work the ‘old fashioned way’ he posted himself on eBay under the title ‘Employee for a Month’.

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In his description he offered his services for a 35 hour week with a starting bid of £1000, 25% of which would go to his chosen charity, the NSPCC. Putting himself forward as a flexible worker he told BBC Radio Kent that he ‘would work in any industry providing that it had nothing to do with sex or illegal activities’.

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Surrounded by publicity and interest, Andy was taken on as a consultant by Simon Coulson who paid £1500 for his services. And in November of 2009, he kept his part of the agreement, paying the NSPCC a useful £375.

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Read Andy’s blog article

It was certainly a novel way to get noticed and bidding on employees is still very much an unusual method in finding a workforce. Today, it is much more of a senior management prerogative and referred to as ‘poaching’ where a company – particularly in the financial sector – will approach existing employees of a rival company to try and get them to ‘defect’.

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Considering today’s economic climate and the Bank of England’s statement that inflation will reach 5% by the end of this year and that any new jobs will have to be in the private sector (funding for public or third sector work being negligible); it seems almost certain that more people will take Andy Palmer’s method, move it up a notch and promote themselves in ever more inventive ways.

Greg Coltman left the rat race in 2005 to work as a freelance writer but loves to read about ingenious job hunting techniques.

At first glance, the title ‘Churches in Trains’ may seem a little incongruous. After all, aside from the main, engine and passenger carriages the only other one we are used to is the buffet carriage. Nevertheless, if you were to rewind to the 1800s in Russia you would have found that their trans-Siberian trains regularly incorporated a church carriage to help spread the Word to the thinly populated masses of the country. Not only did you get to your destination but your train tickets gave you a spiritual connection as well as the railway variety.

Today, thanks to the fall of Communism and the renewed freedom of Orthodox Catholic worship the church cars are on the move once more. Well, perhaps some of them are. Quite a few of the old carriages have been incorporated into streets’ architecture and act as the local church, often with the addition of a few extra outbuildings to serve other needs; dining halls and so on. I would just hope that a drunken tourist wouldn’t wander in with his train timetable and end up joining in Mass instead of joining fellow travellers to the airport.

Here is my pick of some of the most fascinating examples of stationary churches in trains.
In this first one I particularly like the typical Russian architectural influence of the bulbous domed steeple.

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And that same church again from a different aspect.

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The interior of the carriages is larger than you may expect.

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The carriages are often found in prominent positions, a reminder of how much religion plays a part in the residents’ lives. This image of this church serves two purposes; one is to illustrate they can be part of a new housing development and secondly, that Russia is not the cold, inhospitable place that we, in the West, typically assume. It has air conditioning.

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Just because they are train carriages adrift from the engine it doesn’t mean they are without power. This one has a simple cable connection to the mains.

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The self-same church surrounded by its parishioners.

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This location has benefited from having the site enclosed by a solid timber wall created in the same style as the church.

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And finally…

This is a redevelopment area where a church train has been installed on a brick plinth. The ground around is being levelled prior to resurfacing and, in the background, new homes are being constructed with only a few needing their roofs installed.

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Guest blogger, Greg Coltman, has done a bit of travelling in his time but is the first to admit he would prefer spending time in the buffet car. Now are there any of those on plinths around here?

While travelling on the Dover to Calais ferry to France for our long weekend in magnificent Paris my hubby was reading all about old cars and the races they took part in in the early 1900s to brush up on his cultural knowledge. So I had a quick peek and soon realised how dangerous these cars and races were back then. It makes you more relieved than ever that we had remembered to get some European car insurance just in case anything awful happened while we were away especially with our little girl onboard. The last thing we would want is to be broken down and stuck in a place we werent familiar with. But were lucky, I am sure those olden day races werent insured. They were so dangerous who would have wanted to insure them? They were just lucky to go across the finish line still alive I bet!

Some of these races were so dangerous, that not all the drivers made it back, never mind over the finishing line. So here are some Terrifying Historical Car Races…

Fernand Gabriel driving a Mors in the Paris – Madrid Race in 1903

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Marcel Renault had it is first fatality in the Paris to Madrid Race in 1903 but it didnt stop there. After a total of 9 fatalities, French Authorities stopped the race in Bordeaux and proceeded to ban open road racing in France.

Starting Line up at the New York to Paris Race in 1908

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This was known for being the longest and most gruelling Motor race in History! Out of the 6 teams (France, Italy, Germany and the US) beginning the New York to Paris race in 1908, only 3 teams made it to the finish line. The torturous route started at NYC and proceeded on to Albany, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Valdez Alaska, Japan, Vladivostok, Omsk, Moscow, St.Petersburg, Berlin and Finally the race ended in Paris. The Worst Part of the Journey would be travelling across the Bering Straits in the dead of Winter! An American Thomas Flyer, driven by George Schuster won the epic 22,000 mile race in 169 days.

Gaston Chevrolet at the Beverly Hills Speedway 1920

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This was a 500 lap, 1 mile long board race track which was notoriously treacherous even in the best of conditions. Drivers could reach speeds of anything up to nearly 90mph on this track. Gaston Chevrolet (younger brother of the co founder of the chevrolet  motor car company) was killed aged just 28 at this Los Angeles race track in 1920. The accident also claimed the lives of fellow Racer Eddie O Donnell and his Mechanic Lyall Jolls and also seriously injured Chevrolet’s Mechanic John Brenahan. But Gaston Chevrolet never got to know that he had won the National Race-Car-Driving Championship.

Targa Florio 1906

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Named after the founder Vincenza Florio the Targa Florio Race took place in the beautiful but dangerous Sicilian Mountains.The race consisted of 3 laps, totalling 277 miles. This was a terrifying death defying, high altitude race. Full of winding roads with sheer drops and nothing to stop you falling off them. Not only was the landscape dangerous and hard to navigate but the locals were also shooting at the racers and trying to protect their fields and animals. If you happen to break down on this race it might not be just the cold that would get you but also the wolves that prowl these mountains!!

The Carrera Panamericana 1950-55

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The Carrera Panamericana is a race on the 2,100 mile stretch of road in Mexico which began in 1950 when the road was completed. The race lasted for 5 days and covered the whole stretch of road. There was absolutely no planning and any type of car was allowed to compete and any one was allowed to enter. The crazy thing is that you did not need to be a Racing Driver. It was so dangerous, especially when you mix Racing Drivers with loads of experienced and total novices. Lots of accidents ensued.

Even Taxis Drivers got in on the act, they took part and collected passengers and fares on route.
There were no rules to speak of but if anyone stopped to help other competitors, i.e. if they had crashed or broken down, they were disqualified. In the 4 years that the race took place, 27 competitors died. It was then banned in 1955 after a horrific accident at the Le Mans 24 Hour Race, where 83 spectators were killed.

The Carrera Panamericana Route

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Mille Miglia 1957

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The Mille Miglia was a 1,000 mile endurance race that took place 24 times in 30 years from 1927 until it was banned in 1957. A crash that same year killed Spanish (Ferrari) Driver Alfonso de Portago, his Co-Driver Edmund Nelson and 9 spectators, 5 of whom who were children. A blown tyre was suspected to have caused the crash. Later that same race a second crash took the life of Joseph Gottgens who was driving a Triumph TR3. These 2 fatal accidents resulted in the race being totally banned for many years.

Here is the Memorial for those who lost their lives on the Mille Miglia race in 1957.

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Hope you enjoyed this little insight into Car Racing in the early days….

Demon Chick xx

Beautiful. Not a word youd often associate with an underground train network. We’re more used to the idea of grotty, ramshackle, graffiti scrawled, noisy places we would rather avoid. This isnt always the case though. Some countries take great care and pride over their subway stations, spending money and keeping up a good maintenance schedule as if they were historic buildings. Indeed, some of these subways are monuments to the past. They go hand in hand with the experience of romantic breaks in Europe.

Even if you arent indulging in a weekend getaway with your beau, you can have a great time with some sightseeing and retail therapy. Shopping in Paris is still one of the most exciting diversions of these modern times. All across Europe there are magnificent examples of beautiful subways. Ive found many instances of great architecture, amazing masonry, painting, sculpting and the incorporation of light shows. Its not just confined to Europe either. Over the Pond, the Americans are rewarded with gothic curves that would not go amiss in the latest realisation of Batman’s Gotham City. Only downside is that they arent always in operation.

A stones throw from the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is this great subway station. Unfortunately, it’s been closed to the public for almost 70 years but maybe this gem will be re-opened in some form or other. It features Guastavino tile, brass-coated chandeliers, large skylights and colourful glass mosaics. It was built as a showpiece of the system

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Solna Centrum Metro Station, Stockholm, Sweden

I’m staggered by the ‘world’s longest underground art gallery’ courtesy of its extensive cave paintings.

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Linea Starmestska Station, Prague, Poland

Vaguely reminiscent of the inside of the TARDIS, this station uses repeated simple geometric shapes and limited colour palette to strong effect.

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Mayakovskaya Station

Built during pre-World War 2, this example of Stalinist architecture is named after Russian poet, Vladimir Mayakovsky. Its design relies heavily on the art deco period and its entrance features motives from ‘The Backbone Flute’. 34 mosaics line the ceiling and portray brilliant Soviet future by painter Alexander Deyneka.

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Elektrozavodskaya, Moscow

Vladimir Schucko, Vladimir Gelfreich and Igor Rozhin, three of the Soviet Union’s most famous architects built this as a tribute to how the advent of electricity improved so many people’s lives.

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Prospekt Mira

The north of Moscow boasts this station inspired by the Botanical Gardens of Moscow State University. This one was designed by Vladimir Gelfreyech and Mikhail Minkus. The pillars are white marble and feature intricate bas-reliefs and ornate chandeliers for a lavish touch.

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Georg-Brauchle-Ring, Munich,Germany

Munich Public Transport System (MVV) has a fantastic selection of brightly coloured underground stations.

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And finally…

Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, Shanghai, China

200m of spectacular, colourful optics gives the passengers a stunning lightshow of spiralling threads when the train moves.

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Guest blogger, Greg Coltman, has done his fair share of train journeys though never in such gorgeous surroundings.