Four skyscraper hacks

I'm not great with heights at the best of  times, so the promise of a little liquid lubrication is one of the best ways to get me to the top of scary tall buildings. Parting with a few pennies for some liquid courage is also a great way to dodge hefty admissions fees to popular sights; at worst you break even on the cost of a pint or cocktail each and sometimes you even come out a few bucks ahead - here are a few of our favorite skyscraper hacks.

Marina Bay Sands: Singapore

I'm going to say this outright (and I'm glad that I didn't know at the time of my visit) but the Marina Bay Sands is owned by mega-Republican donor and all-round geriatric-baddie, Sheldon Adelson. So should you chose to visit, just know where your money goes . . .

But if you must . . . the Marina Bay Sands is reportedly the most expensive building in the world - and it looks it; it was finished in 2010 at the cost $5.5 billion. I am not going to lie, it is impressive and virtually overnight has become Singapore's most iconic building.

So, if you've already slung a few Singapore Slings at Raffles but are still a bit thirsty and hankering for a bird's eye view of the city, you could do worse than heading to the rooftop bar Ku De Ta. Yes, a pint of Stella will set you back about $20 (welcome to Singapore!), but that beats the hell out of $23 just for the elevator ride to the observation deck. So hop the elevator to the bar (and don't pay the observation deck fee) - that way you can assuage your guilt of lining Sheldon Adelson's pockets with a cold beer while you enjoy the view.

John Hancock Building: Chicago

Chicago is famous for many things; political corruption, pizza, gangsters, bootlegging and its skyscrapers - yes, Chicago had them first (sorry NYC).  While The Sears, erm Willis Tower is the tallest (it gets you get to the 103rd floor) and has that terrifying little skybox, it does not have The Signature Lounge.  The Signature Lounge at John Hancock gets you nearly as high - to the 96th floor of this Michigan Avenue icon and like the Marina Bay Sands, you can pay for a lift to the top, or you can ride free and have a cocktail at the other end - I know which one I'd go for. The toughest decision is whether to go in the daytime and enjoy the fabulous views across Lake Michigan or at night to take in the city lights.

The Stratosphere: Las Vegas

Daredevils can bungee jump or $18 will get you to the observation deck; but (I guess you're seeing a pattern by now) we opted for the free ride and splurged on a post-nuptial glass of champagne. The Stratosphere isn't the trendiest or most popular hotel/casino in Vegas, but you'd be hard-pushed to find a better view.

View from KL Tower

KL Tower: Kuala Lumpur

The Petronas Towers rightfully hold the title of KL's most impressive - and tallest buildings; but the problem with visiting the Petronas Towers is that once you are in them, you can no longer see them! It's also worth mentioning that a visit to the Petronas Towers doesn't get you any higher than the skybridge, tickets are limited and queues long. So, cheat and make time for a visit to the KL Tower instead. It's recently gone under a much-needed renovation and the cost of the lunch buffet is nearly the same as a ticket to the observation deck. It may not be a free lunch, but it's close.

And if you're really just wanting to ogle the Petronas Towers and being sky-high isn't a top priority, then KL has plenty of rooftop bars with lower, but still spectacular views - there's the Skybar at Traders Hotel, Luna Bar at The Pacific Regency and several others. Bottoms up!

The Taj Mahal

We are 'home' and our little spurt of holidays is (unfortunately) on hold as contrary to popular opinion, we do have jobs.  Anyway, it does give me the chance to go back and cover my time in India. I blogged a bit about Delhi and after an all too brief exploration of that truly enormous city we set out for Agra - or more specifically, the Taj Mahal.

We hired a driver and mini-van and despite some hair-raising lane changes we made it there safely in about 4 hours. Agra was the capital of the Mughal empire before moving to Delhi in the 1620s. Despite the presence of the Taj and other architectural gems, this relatively small city of about 1.7 million is a verifiable dump - a status confirmed by being the 19th most polluted city in India.

Aware of Agra's bad reputation we didn't plan to stick around for long. In fact, I was thoroughly prepared to be underwhelmed - envisioning the blistering heat of the Indian summer, vast crowds, relentless tour touts - all those standard elements that can suck the joy out of any large tourist attraction - but here, as with everything in India, I expected it to be particularly in your face.

We arrived and inevitably the anticipation started to build. The large onion shaped domes of the Taj were just visible from the hotel, and once we'd our first glimpse we were eager to be on our way. The Taj Mahal was built by the slightly unhinged and architectural-obsessive Shah Jahan. The Taj is a mausoleum built for his third and favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

 The perimeter of the Taj is surrounded by red sandstone walls and a covered walkway with ornate entrances and mosques at the front and either side of the Taj Mahal itself.  The rear of the Taj is left exposed to the Yamuna River, which is far less picturesque than it sounds as the Yamuna is the dumping grounds for 80% of Agra's sewage (the smell was considerably less bad than anticipated).

The story has it that this perimeter shields the Taj like a veil from prying eyes, thus maintaining modesty - an important characteristic of any devout Muslim wife, and apparently one that should be maintained even in her not-so-modest final resting place.

Shah Jahan's other, less popular, wives are interred in tombs outside these walls.

Eager to get to the main event we didn't linger outside.

We were all - even Ankit who hadn't been since he was a small child - completely amazed.  The Taj Mahal is by all accounts, impressive.

The size and the symmetry are the first things that strike you - like a much bigger and better version of Sacre Coeur in Paris. But it doesn't take long - even from a distance of a few hundred meters for the sheer attention to detail to set in.  The craftsmanship is easily on par with any European church, castle or monument. 

It was crowded, but not overly so, no jostling for that perfect photo.  It was even possible given the right angle to get a view completely devoid of people.  For this, we could thank the weather - it was hot - very hot, and apparently most sane people avoid travel during the summer months in India.  As a result, there were remarkably few Western tourists but plenty of Indians, who had come from far and wide to see their most treasured national monument.

We soon discovered that the Taj was not the only tourist attraction.  Like other tourist attractions in India, there is an Indian nationals and PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) price and a tourist price.  So whilst entry to the Taj set me back about $30, it only costs Indian around $0.30, thus making the entry fee affordable for all but the very poorest citizens (don't forget this is a nation with 1/3 of the population on $1 a day).

It goes without saying that I am more than happy to pay this price, I think it is completely fair - not only economically, but maintaining buildings like the Taj doesn't come cheap - someone has to pay and I'm certainly willing to do my part.

I digress. Given this low entry fee for locals, means that many people from small towns and villages make the trip - for them this is a real two-for-one deal - not only do they get to see the Taj, but for many of them, this is the first time they will have ever seen a white person.

It is easy to get annoyed with the staring, leering and photo-taking, but it's all part of the experience.  My blond-haired, blue-eyed travel companion easily had the worst of it, with entire families queuing up to have their photos taken with her.  She gracefully declined, if she'd consented, I suspect we'd still be there.