Category: Exploring Second Life

Recently I was asked by a friend in Second Life if I knew of any good holiday resorts in-world, a question that had me thinking; while over the last few years there seems of have been a upsurge of vacation-style destination venues in SL, I’ve rarely covered them in this blog (partly, I’ll admit, because of unfortunate experiences in a couple) However, the question came on top of me also learning about a relatively new such destination in world, and it prompted me to hop over and take a look.

The destination in question is Badu- Egypt – Aswan City, a place which offers a mix of public spaces and more private opportunities for vacationing and touring, with a mix of activities that can be enjoyed by visitors as well as by guests availing themselves of the vacation opportunity.

Operated as (at the time of writing) the latest destination presented by AshaRhia Resident as a part of her Asha Destinations SL Travel Agency, Badu – Egypt is currently set to be open for at least 2 weeks (starting on March 25th), with a potential for this to be extended to up to four weeks, depending upon its popularity. Like Aswan, it mixes two faces of Egypt, ancient and modern, into a single location, offering visitors the chance to learn about some of the history of Ancient Egypt whilst also being pampered.

The two halves of the region are divided by height., with the ancient Egyptian elements occupying the land just above sea level, and the luxury amenities of the hotel sitting on a plateau above them, a layout that keeps them nicely separated while maintaining their relationship via the interconnecting steps leading from one to the other.

The ancient Egyptian elements of the region are located on its east side, and laid out in a north-south orientation. To reach them from the landing point follow the path around the base of the cliffs and pass the steps rising to the hotel area. They are dominated by the bulk of a vast temple, that sits with a chariot racing arena as a buffer between it and the rest of the setting, whilst containing what is very much a modern museum. Here, visitors can find images and information cards on multiple aspects of life and society in ancient Egypt, encompassing the lives of Pharaohs down to those of humble farmers, and incorporating elements such as clothing, jewellery, wigs, etc., with the temple itself offering a huge sense of space, wall frescoes, and a nod to the importance of water to the Egyptian civilisation.

South of this and the chariot arena, is a more desert-like landscape that offers a feel of the great pyramids of Giza coupled with the ancient ruins of somewhere like Thebe. Together with the more pristine building to the north, these serve to give visitors a good sense of Egypt’s long history through the ages without being tied to a singular period.

The upper area of the region presents a luxury resort complex, split between public and private areas, with the former taking up the central part of the resort and comprising with a front desk, swimming pools, the treatment spa, etc., all of which can be enjoyed by the casual visitor. The seven private suites border this to either side, all clearly delineated from the public areas by their frontage while offering a luxury stay for guests.

The larger of the suite designs present lower floor lounge areas with adjoining kitchen and dining areas, an upper TV lounge area,  private terraces (one with a hot tub), and a separate sleeping wing with lower floor grand bedroom with dressing room and bathroom, and an upper level with two further bedrooms and shared bathroom. The smaller units, located around the front desk and the hotel’s bar, offer single-floor accommodation with a more open plan approach to living, dining and kitchen, with a separate bedroom and bathroom, and each has a single terrace with hot tub, they also share a communal poolside lounge.

Guest / visitor activities take various forms, including Afrobeat dance classes, a quest, chariot racing, pottery classes and basket weaving classes (all role-play) – non-guests can participate in these for a fee of L$500, with details of times, etc., available at the front desk. Spa treatments and fine dining (both again role-play) are also available, with prices available to non-guests at the front desk. In addition, guests and visitor can join a guided tour of the Abu Simbel Temple Museum.

Badu- Egypt – Aswan City is a setting that has been brought together with a great deal of care and thought for visitors within to experience the fullness of travel to a destination within Second Life. The region is well laid-out, clearly signed, and there is a lot on offer. Fees, as noted, can be found at the hotel’s front desk, and vacations can be booked through the associated website, via the bookings page.

Given all this is available within the region, it can take its toll on the viewer; therefore those on low-to-mid-range systems should (as I’m prone to note in these situations) be prepared to make some adjustments to their system if they encounter problems. However, this should not put anyone off taking a trip to the region and seeing it for themselves!

SLurl Details

• Badu- Egypt – Aswan City (Origins 1, rated Moderate)

I recently received word from Natalie Starlight that she and Nessa Nova have been re-working their Lost Unicorn estate, together with an invite to drop in for a visit.

I just wanted to let you know that we have brought back an all new Lost Unicorn (forest)! Nessa and I both missed the magic of the old sim with the elves, unicorns, mermaids, etc. We’ve added much of that back and are also currently working on a new Storybook area behind the gallery on the other region!

Just thought you might want to stop by when you can and see the changes.

– Natalie Starlight

Given how much I’ve enjoyed previous iterations of the Lost Unicorn builds, I made sure to hop over and take a look.

Lost Unicorn has always offered a special delight for me ever since my first visit to it, the gallery and the delightful and the soon to return (as Natalie indicates above) Storybook, some four years ago. A dreamy and mystical elven realm shrouded in mist, the home of fairies, centaurs, unicorns and more, Lost Unicorn has always been a rewarding visit, with much to see, photograph and simply enjoy whilst following the paths and trails that wander through it.

With this returning, Natalie and Nessa have fully recaptured all of this richness and beauty found in earlier iterations of the region, and wrapped it all in something new but just as engaging.

From the landing point towards the east of the region, visitors can wander as their moods dictate. Take the path down from it and across the bridge and make your way up to the high castle as it commands a view across the region towards the (under reconstruction at the time of my visit) Lost Unicorn Gallery.

Or you can go by way gazebo and path around the base of the peak on which the castle is built with where another bridge spans a gorge to reach a fair elven home and stairs spiral up around the trunks of giant trees and span the air by means of further bridges to again offer a means to reach the high castle, passing by way seats and games a free houses along the way.

Those who find there way down to the valleys and lowlands shaded as they are by the richness of boughs from the forest will find more paths and trails, some in shadow others lit by streamers of sunlight falling through those same boughs, all leading to points of interest and beauty. Some of these – such as the gardens with the piano, ancient walls and sakura blossoms – may be easy to find; other might be more hidden, requiring a trip away from sunlight altogether and into caverns old; still others might be said to hide in plain sight – should you have the eyes to see them.

For those who don’t there are experience-based teleport portals waiting to carry visitors directly to points of interest – but again, finding these is all part of the broader experience of discovery. All I will say is that at the feet of bridges, secrets may be found. Nor, in fact does everything necessarily lie either above or below ground.

But the truth is, wherever your feet take you within Lost Unicorn, you will find something to captivate, be in elves, fairies, art, mermaids, centaurs, animals – or simply a place to sit and past the time, listing to the ambient soundscape and perhaps the notes of the piano drifting through the trees.

SLurl Details

• Lost Unicorn (rate Moderate)

 

Sometimes playing pot luck with Second Life’s Destination Guide can result in the most unexpected visits. Recently, for example, I riffled through the DG and ended up dropping into a pair of builds by Mitch Charron; both are located within the same region and both offers their own sense of history, albeit in very different ways.

The first of these is a genuine page from history and takes the form of HMS Iron Duke, the flagship of the British Grand Fleet operating out of Scapa Flow in the Scottish Orkneys during the First World War. Sporting no fewer than 10 13.5-inch guns, Iron Duke and her four sister ships were, for a short time following the outbreak of hostilities, the most powerful warships in His Majesty’s Royal Navy. In 1916, three of them participated in the Battle of Jutland, the only major clash of battleships of that war – and the last major naval engagement fought primarily by capital ships before aircraft became the main offensive weapon in naval warfare.

Within Second Life, Iron Duke is offered as a WWI role-play environment, the vessel appearing to be moored within Scapa Flow. The landing point in on her main gun deck, close to the aft superstructure that mounts one of the ship’s massive twin turrets of its main armament. This superstructure provides access to the below decks areas where can be found offices, the main mess deck for ratings (complete with hammock rigged over the tables and benches), the officer’s mess with it modest comforts, etc.

Forward of the landing point, past the midships main turret, it is possible to reach the armoured steering house and the flying bridge with its charthouse that rises above the forward superstructure. Other details include the vessel’s casement-mounted secondary guns, her steam tenders and general deck details that match available drawings of the ship for the period 1914-1919, all of which make for an engaging visit.

Located high above the mists of Scapa Flow, meanwhile, sits another location risen of the history of television. Located within the magnificent desolation of the Moon’s surface over which a (rather large) gibbous Earth hangs, is the grey bulk of Moonbase Alpha, a place made famous  – and most media sci-fi fans will likely know – by the 1970s live-action TV series Space: 1999, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson (and the last production in their partnership).

For those who aren’t familiar with it, the series focused on the plight of the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha, a scientific research centre, after Earth’s Moon is blasted out of its orbit – and out of the solar system – on September 13th, 1999 courtesy of a massive nuclear explosion. While we now may be looking back at 1999 knowing this never happened, at the time it allowed the series to offer the 311 people stranded on the wandering Moon to partake in numerous adventures (some of them very hooky) in deep space.

The series drew inspiration from some of the production designs seen in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and this is very much in evidence within Mitch’s design, presenting as it does various interior spaces of Moonbase Alpha, all of which are intended to offer a free-form role-play space for those wishing to get involved.

Those familiar with the TV series will instantly recognise what can be found here, from Main Mission, the station’s control centre dominated by the base commander’s large desk, through the plastic-walled corridors to the recreational facilities, the medical centre, the science labs, crew quarters and even a travel tube car. Corridor intersections include the show’s iconic communications posts, while out of the landing pads a (possibly more iconic) Eagle Transporter awaits lift-off.

The interior of an Eagle forms the landing point, with a loading door accessing the travel tube (and thence the rest of the station), while the computer panel to one side of the Eagle’s pod offers teleports to the ground-level sights within the region, which may well be the subject of a future visit. Other teleports will deliver people to some of the outlining facilities around the core of the base.

From reading the notes (provided via the Communications Posts), I understand the station is to be extended, and custom props are to be developed and supplied to those involved in RP within the setting. The role play itself is apparently set some two years prior to the events of the TV series, meaning the station in not under the command of Martin Landau’s John Koenig, but will progress to that fateful day in September 1999. Anyone who does fancy becoming an Alphan should contact Mitch Charron directly.

I’ve no idea how much actual role-play goes on at either location, but for the historically-minded, Iron Duke makes for an interesting visit. Moonbase Alpha is a very credible reproduction of the environment from the TV series – so much so that I wouldn’t have been surprised if Nick Tate’s Alan Carter had stepped out of the cockpit of the Eagle interior landing point.

Both Moonbase and battleship make for very eclectic visits, but both offer multiple opportunities for photography, (although the battleship could perhaps benefit from the use of materials to help bring the texturing to life, land impact allowing; it also would also perhaps be nice if the ship had an information giver similar to the ones at Moonbase, but this is a minor quibble.

SLurl Details

Andorra is rated Moderate.

• HMS Iron Duke
• Moonbase Alpha

Back in late 2021, I revisited Lam Erin’s Cherishville, which at the time was dressed for winter. Unfortunately I didn’t blog about it at following my visit for assorted reasons, and by the time I did hop back to refresh my memory, I knew I’d be better holding off until the region had been redressed for 2022. So when Lam re-opened for spring 2022, I made sure to hop over at the earliest opportunity, and this time make sure I completed a write-up, even though by doing so, I was leaving almost exactly a year between covering Cherishville in these pages.

At that time of my 2021 visit, Cherishville presented a coastal setting that perhaps leaned towards being somewhere in North America more than, say, northern Europe (although it could perhaps have been part of the latter). For this year’s spring, the setting shares some of that past life; it again has a waterfront area, this a little more established than in 2021 in terms of the working buildings that back the wharves, although at least a couple of the the boats also offer a link back to that former build.

However, this time I’d say that we I to hazard a guess as to where this iteration of Cherishville might be were it to exist in the physical world, I’d likely point more to Europe and perhaps the Baltic coastlines of the northern European counties, simply because of the overall styling on buildings, landscape and vehicles. Although that said, there are elements that suggest we could be in North America, perhaps somewhere around the great lakes, rather than on the coast.

To the south of the region a single-track road loops around a small town nestled on the upland to the region, the upper reaches dominated by a chapel with what appears to be a rather extensive manse sitting alongside it, the tall tower of an ancient stone gatehouse sitting just across the intervening passage of the road. Down slope from these, the houses and shops are partially furnished to give them a sense of depth and life from the roadside, but the chapel and the buildings around it that share the hilltops are shells, their presence also giving depth to the setting but without burdening viewer with yet more to render.

The land to the north of the town is largely flat and broken by the passage of waters that drop from just below the town to cut a broad, rocky path north and west until they meet a substantial opponent in the form of a humped rise of land which forces them to branch west and north in order to reach more open waters, which a further, narrower channel even tracking back eastwards.

This narrower streams splits the region’s northlands into an island on their own, home to large, wood-build house that sits upon it as a further empty shell reached by a single, frail-looking bridge. The L of the house are positioned so the wings look west to the low, stubborn hill that forces the river’s waters to split, and the windmill that sits upon it, sails turning lazily. Reaching this windmill most directly is best achieved going via the wharves on the region’s west side. However, at some point in the past, it appears some started putting together a very makeshift bridge to cross the rocky waters between house and hill, leaving it unfinished and apparently abandoned.

Extending northwards and bounded on one side by the broader passage of the river whilst end at the banks of the east flowing stream, is a tongue of land, a branch of the single-track road winding into it. Here, guarded by the dropping arms of weeping willows and the hunched forms of aged trees, is a place given over to festivities lights having been strung from a central raised post to a ring of posts surrounding it. Caravans and makeshift shacks have been circled here, tables and benches of food and drink scattered between them in readiness for music and dancing. All that is missing are the revellers themselves, frolicking through the knee-high grass – although even without them, the imagination conjures the sounds of bows and penny whistles giving life to a happy tune.

This is a setting that has been put together with the photographer in mind – hardly surprising, given Lam is himself an accomplished landscape photographer – with details large and small awaiting discovery and lending themselves to lens, angle and lighting, all set under a spring sky with clouds lit by the Sun. For those who love photographing SL architecture, there is particularly a lot to appreciate within this version of Cherishville, as I hope the images here show!

That said, the very fact there is so much detail packed into the region means there is a lot for the viewer to tackle, particularly if you’re running with settings at the high-end for photography and are not on a high-end system. At the time of my visit, there were also some rough edges that could do with some smoothing as well – some elements floating in the air, some prims / mesh elements with overlapping textures (the stone courtyard around the chapel, and part of the waterfront area), a car sitting somewhat sunken in the road; but these can be ignored with suitable camera angles (if noticed at all), leaving the region ready to be appreciated.

With thanks to Shawn Shakespeare for the reminder.

SLurl Details

• Cherishville (Neomah, rated Moderate)

For some reason, my favourite places on Earth seem to be islands. On numerous occasions in these pages I’ve mentioned that facts that I have spent time in Hong Kong both in childhood and as an adult, and that I consider Sri Lanka a kind of “spiritual home”. Another place – vastly different to either of these two – that holds a special attraction for me is Iceland.

It’s a place I’ve been fortunate to be able to visit several times, most of them initially spent in and around Reykjavík on arrival before heading north by air to Akureyri (the so-called “Capital of North Iceland” with a spectacular approach to the airport running down the fjord), and thence onwards by road to the Mývatn region and the great volcanic caldera and fissure zone of Krafla (where tours are available of the geothermal power plant as well as out onto the lava landscape that is indescribably stunning). So when Shawn Shakespeare informed me Serene Footman has settled on another part of Iceland for his latest region offering, I had to hop across and take a look.

For his latest 2022 build, Serene has chosen Dyrhólaey (“Door Hill Island”), a place almost directly opposite my stomping ground (so so speak) of Akureyri, being located on Iceland’s southernmost reach of coastline. It’s a part of the island I’ve not personally visited – although it, the village of  Vík í Mýrdal and the area around Katla have been on the list of potential visits for a future return to the island.

Dyrhólaey started life around 100,000 years ago as an island resulting from a volcanic eruption. Today, it forms a small promontory sitting between the North Atlantic to the south and the Dyrhólaós estuary to the north. Rising some 120 metres above sea level, it runs eastwards and links to the Reynisfjara, the black sand beach that runs west from the mainland, and which in 1991 was ranked one of the ten most beautiful non-tropical beaches in the world, and in 2021, the 6th best beach in the world.

With views across the beach towards the Reynisdrangar that sit off-shore to the east and inland toward the glacier Mýrdalsjökull and the uplands of Katla, Dyrhólaey is a popular attraction for both tourists and Icelanders alike, being a 2-hour drive from Reykjavík. However, the two things that make it most notable is the sweep of the beautiful – if at time treacherous – Reynisfjara sands, complete with their basalt columns, and the a gigantic black arch of lava standing in the sea that gave the promontory its name.

The latter two – the basalt columns and the great arch – are features of Serene’s build, but rather than confining himself to the landscape around Dyrhólaey, he brings together elements from across Iceland (and another from the imagination) to capture the sprit of the island. As  he notes in his own blog post, Iceland has many waterfalls, a good many of which are stunning.

To honour theses waterfalls, Serene includes a set of high falls within the build whilst also mentioning the glorious Svartifoss (“black waterfall”) which lay 140 km east of Dyrhólaey. It’s an apt choice to mention: the falls drop over a set of basalt columns of a similar nature to those at Reynisfjara – columns that have influenced many an Icelandic architects, one of whom built the unmistakable Hallgrímskirkja church in Reykjavík (a building with which I’m very familiar, the bed and breakfast we use during visits being located a short walk away, on the route down to the harbour area.

Iceland is a genuinely dramatic country – and one that isn’t the easiest to visualise, not when it comes to trying to fit that drama into the 65,536 square metres and just 5,000 LI available within a Homestead region.

However, from the high cliffs through gathering the black sands of the beach around the base of the cliffs, from the tough grass that makes a good portion of the island’s vegetation to representing its rich diversity of wildfowl and birds – and even the hardy Icelandic ponies – to the off shore rocks that capture the spirit of Reynisdrangar, this is a region that does so admirably. Even the touch of American architectural visualisation inspired by  Alex Hogrefe fits right into the setting; while he may not be a son of Iceland, Hogrefe’s  work is very mush in the style of forward-thinking Icelandic architects.

Once again, a marvellous visualisation by Serene – so be sure to see it while you can!

Related Links

• Dyrhólaey (Aride Isle, rated Moderate)
• Serene’s blog post

Hi Inara! Sending my best regards to you – remember when I told you that we had a sim project on the go already? Well, finally we feel like it’s ready to be opened. – So I’m introducing “Bamboo”, and Yu and I would love if you came by. There’s a lot to explore and look at, scenic. Looking forwarding to having you as always as our guest 🙂 .

Jin Zhu (KidDreamz)

Thus was the invitation I received from Jin Zhu (KidDreamz) and Yu Zhu (JamaicasianBaby) to visit their latest region build which they have just opened to the public. I’ve always enjoyed touring their work, so as soon as time allowed, I jumped over to Bamboo to take a look – and it is an impressive build, richly oriental – as is Jin and Yu’s style – in content with much to see and photograph.

Surrounded by high mountains, the region is divided into three elements linked by bridges. The largest of these is home to the landing point, and sits as a formal gardens built around a large building with a temple-like feel to it that dominates the island’s plateau. Facing east, the building sits over water that has been carefully penned by the gardens around it, the water allowed to flow through pipes to a lower pool before which a meditating carved bodhisattva sits under a Torii-style gate, a miniature Zen garden adding to his journey towards Buddhahood.

An aged peach tree faces the carved figure, occupying the heart of the landing point square, which is again surrounded on three sides by water. To the west sits more water drops away via a single fall to lower steps of the landscape – mortals will need to follow the paths and steps to descend to these lower reaches, sitting under giant willows and oaks, houses sitting under the shade thrown by board boughs and cooled by the passing waters.

Northwards are two further islands that are richly diverse, mixing trees and paved walks, houses and temples, gardens and places to eat, torii gates and grassy walks, waterfalls and rocky climbs, stone bridges and rope bridges, snowy highlands and cliff-side shrines, and rickshaws and tuk-tuks – and a lot more!

Such is the beauty of the region, I really don’t want to waste time burbling on here, but rather encourage everyone who enjoys exploring Second Life to make sure Bamboo goes to the top of their list of places to see – and to allow themselves a decent amount of time to explore, as there is a lot to appreciate and a lot of little touches that can be missed if you’re not careful. Make sure as well, that you have local sounds enabled for the fullest experience.

My thanks to Jin and Yu for the invitation, and also to Shawn Shakespeare for also poking me about Bamboo.

SLurl Details

• Bamboo (rated Moderate)