Drizzt
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Blow away a cow for $400, and other weird tourist attractions
25.03.2004
By JIM EAGLES, travel editor
How would you fancy the chance to fire a rocket-launcher at a cow? Or an anti-aircraft gun at a chicken? They are among the special attractions on offer to tourists in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.
I think that tops off the parasite museum, sewer tours, turtle races, asylum-hotels and bone sculptures in the list of weird tourist attractions sent in by readers in response to the story about Flight Centre's Top 10 Strangest Tourist Attractions.
Tim Mitchelson discovered the Cambodian Army's jolly little foray into the entertainment industry when his taxi driver in Phnom Penh asked if he would like to try his hand at firing an assault rifle.
"Replying in the affirmative, I was driven to a nearby Army base, where I was met by a young soldier with a price list," he says.
"These guys had everything under the sun: pistols, grenades, machineguns, anti-aircraft guns, and - of course - rocket-launchers. Asked if I got to shoot at anything, they offered me a choice of a coconut, a chicken or a cow.
"Pressing them further on price, they announced their special combo was a cow and a rocket-launcher for US$400: US$200 for each. On the bright side, you got to keep your US$200 for the cow if you missed. I settled for the machinegun and the coconut."
But if you want to take the armaments home, Somalia is the place to head for.
The Economist magazine reports that, "Brave tourists can find unusual bargains in Mogadishu. In the market a hand grenade sells for US$10, a howitzer for US$20,000." Weirder still, it also reports that Somalia, which has a Minister of Tourism, has officially not had a single tourist for 14 years.
The minister, Abdi Jimale Osman, can't understand this. "I'm sure tourists would leave Somalia alive and I'm hopeful they wouldn't be kidnapped," he is reported as saying. "At least, we would try to make sure they were not kidnapped, though it can happen."
The story goes on about some other 'odd' tourist attractions, but you can click on the link if you want to see that...
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/tr...el&thesubsection=whatson&thesecondsubsection=
25.03.2004
By JIM EAGLES, travel editor
How would you fancy the chance to fire a rocket-launcher at a cow? Or an anti-aircraft gun at a chicken? They are among the special attractions on offer to tourists in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.
I think that tops off the parasite museum, sewer tours, turtle races, asylum-hotels and bone sculptures in the list of weird tourist attractions sent in by readers in response to the story about Flight Centre's Top 10 Strangest Tourist Attractions.
Tim Mitchelson discovered the Cambodian Army's jolly little foray into the entertainment industry when his taxi driver in Phnom Penh asked if he would like to try his hand at firing an assault rifle.
"Replying in the affirmative, I was driven to a nearby Army base, where I was met by a young soldier with a price list," he says.
"These guys had everything under the sun: pistols, grenades, machineguns, anti-aircraft guns, and - of course - rocket-launchers. Asked if I got to shoot at anything, they offered me a choice of a coconut, a chicken or a cow.
"Pressing them further on price, they announced their special combo was a cow and a rocket-launcher for US$400: US$200 for each. On the bright side, you got to keep your US$200 for the cow if you missed. I settled for the machinegun and the coconut."
But if you want to take the armaments home, Somalia is the place to head for.
The Economist magazine reports that, "Brave tourists can find unusual bargains in Mogadishu. In the market a hand grenade sells for US$10, a howitzer for US$20,000." Weirder still, it also reports that Somalia, which has a Minister of Tourism, has officially not had a single tourist for 14 years.
The minister, Abdi Jimale Osman, can't understand this. "I'm sure tourists would leave Somalia alive and I'm hopeful they wouldn't be kidnapped," he is reported as saying. "At least, we would try to make sure they were not kidnapped, though it can happen."
The story goes on about some other 'odd' tourist attractions, but you can click on the link if you want to see that...
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/tr...el&thesubsection=whatson&thesecondsubsection=
