ROUND 1

Written round6 questions, based on Indian stamps5 points each

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

The answers…

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Round 2

1. “The 84 mile National Trail takes walkers along the riverside route in Tyneside, through farmland in Tynedale and the grazing upland section dominated by the Whin Sill enscarpment. It then gradually descends to the rich pastures of Cumbria and finally the salt marsh of the Solway Estuary” – This is how the website of a trail describes itself. What does this trail follow?

The answer is…

Hadrian’s Wall

2.

The answer is…

Antilia

3. This novel follows a group a group of expatriate Americans and Britons from Paris to attend a festival held in honor of  the co-patron of Navarre, where the festival takes place. Which festival?

The answer is…

The festival of San Fermín(the running of the bulls in Pamplona is the most famous event in the festival)

4. _________ Harding is an American video game designer who began his game industry career working for a video game specialty store called Cutting Edge Entertainment. He later worked as an editor for GameWeek Magazine in Wilton, Connecticut, and then as a software developer for Activision in Santa Monica, California and then Brisbane, Australia. What is his major claim to fame?

The answer is…

5. His travel guides with red bindings and gilt lettering set the standard for authoritative guidebooks for tourists. He was careful to include specific details of transportation, accommodations, prices, and so forth. He was famous for his careful work; when visiting Milan Cathedral in 1847, he was observed to drop a pea at every twenty steps of the staircase to the roof, so as to be able to report the number of steps accurately. Name him or the travel guide he started.

The answer is…

Karl Baedeker

6. Originally conceived by Mr. J.C. Kolhoff, the first Conservator of Forests, Cochin, the project was implemented by Mr. V. Alwar Chetty, a Forest Officer on special duty. It was inaugurated by the Governor of Madras, Sir Arthur Oliver Villiers Russel, 2nd Baron Ampthill on 3rd October 1905. The money obtained from this project was used to equip Cochin for the modern port. The Wellington Island, Roads, Bridges and Educational Institutions of Cochin were funded by this. After running successfully for nearly 50 years and creating history by making Cochin a present day commercial harbour and trading centre, it was abolished in 1951 on the basis of special finance committee report. What?

The answer is…

Cochin State Forest Tramway

7.

The answer is…

Monuments to the Great Fire of London(The first one is near Pudding Lane, where the fire started, and the second one is near Smithfield where it ended)

8. Some Earth observing satellites need to be precisely calibrated in terms of the distance measurement while in orbit. A common approach for calibrating the satellite elevation measurements is to compare them to an accurately surveyed terrestrial reference target. The reference target has to be a large, stable surface having strong reflection, similar to that of ice sheets. Which popular South American tourist attraction is commonly used for this purpose?

The answer is…

Salar de Uyuni (Salar de Tunupa), the world's largest salt flat

9. The Okavango Delta, in Botswana, is the world's largest inland delta. It is formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert, where most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea. There are thousands of islands in the delta, which have barren white patches in their centre, which have become too salty to support plants. Most of these islands were created due to the activity of an insect. Which insect?

The answer is…

Termites

10. The Clyde Auditorium is an iconic concert venue familiarly known by a nickname due to the similarity of its shape to that of the animal of the same name. Many comparisons have been made with the Sydney Opera House, although this was not the architects' inspiration for the design, which was in fact an interlocking series of ship's hulls, in reference to the Clyde's shipbuilding heritage. What is its famous nickname? Where is this auditorium located? And where did we see a representation of the auditorium recently?

The answer is…

The Armadillo, Glasgow, at the closing ceremony of the commonwealth games.

*

The answer is…

Phileas Fogg

Round 3

Theme round6 questions+30, 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5-5 through out

1. This city holds the distinction of being “the only major city in the United States conceived by a woman”, Julia Tuttle, who was a local citrus grower and a wealthy Cleveland native. The area was better known as "Biscayne Bay Country" in the early years of its growth. Some published reports described the area as a promising wilderness. The Great Freeze of 1894–1895 hastened its growth, as the crops of the area were the only ones in the state that survived. Julia Tuttle subsequently convinced Henry Flagler, a railroad tycoon, to expand his railroad to the region, for which she became known as “the mother of ________.” Which city?

2. This city was founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535 under the name City of the Kings (Spanish: Ciudad de los Reyes) because its foundation was decided on January 6, date of the feast of the Epiphany. By what name is this city now known?

3. This city played an important geopolitical role in the second half of the 19th century, when the city served as a major stopover for ships travelling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by crossing the Straits of Magellan. Always a magnet for European immigrants, it mushroomed during its golden age, when the city was known by international sailors as “Little San Francisco” and “The Jewel of the Pacific.” Which city?

4. The soil in some parts of this desert has been compared to that of Mars. Due to its otherworldly appearance, it has been used as a location for filming Mars scenes, most notably in the television series Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets. In 2003, a team of researchers published a report in the journal Science titled "Mars-like Soils in the ________ Desert, and the Dry Limit of Microbial Life" in which they duplicated the tests used by the Viking 1 and Viking 2 Mars landers to detect life, and were unable to detect any signs in the desert soil. The region may be unique on Earth in this regard and is being used by NASA to test instruments for future Mars missions. Which desert?

5. This world heritage site was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Since then, it has become an important tourist attraction. Identify.

6. People from which South American capital city are referred to as porteños (people of the port)?

The answers…

1. This city holds the distinction of being “the only major city in the United States conceived by a woman”, Julia Tuttle, who was a local citrus grower and a wealthy Cleveland native. The area was better known as "Biscayne Bay Country" in the early years of its growth. Some published reports described the area as a promising wilderness. The Great Freeze of 1894–1895 hastened its growth, as the crops of the area were the only ones in the state that survived. Julia Tuttle subsequently convinced Henry Flagler, a railroad tycoon, to expand his railroad to the region, for which she became known as “the mother of ________.” Which city?

Miami

2. This city was founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535 under the name City of the Kings (Spanish: Ciudad de los Reyes) because its foundation was decided on January 6, date of the feast of the Epiphany. By what name is this city now known?

Lima

3. This city played an important geopolitical role in the second half of the 19th century, when the city served as a major stopover for ships travelling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by crossing the Straits of Magellan. Always a magnet for European immigrants, it mushroomed during its golden age, when the city was known by international sailors as “Little San Francisco” and “The Jewel of the Pacific.” Which city?

Valparaíso, Chile

4. The soil in some parts of this desert has been compared to that of Mars. Due to its otherworldly appearance, it has been used as a location for filming Mars scenes, most notably in the television series Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets. In 2003, a team of researchers published a report in the journal Science titled "Mars-like Soils in the ________ Desert, and the Dry Limit of Microbial Life" in which they duplicated the tests used by the Viking 1 and Viking 2 Mars landers to detect life, and were unable to detect any signs in the desert soil. The region may be unique on Earth in this regard and is being used by NASA to test instruments for future Mars missions. Which desert?

Atacama Desert

5. This world heritage site was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Since then, it has become an important tourist attraction. Identify.

Machu Picchu

6. People from which South American capital city are referred to as porteños (people of the port)?

Buenos Aires

And the theme is…

Round 4

11.

The answer is…

Santa Fe Trail

12.

The answer is…

Michael Palin

13. This Spanish conquistador in South America, nicknamed El Loco, 'the Madman', is best known for his final expedition, down the Amazon river, in search of the mythical El Dorado. Name him.

The answer is…

Lope de Aguirre

14. This archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean was also known as the Friendly Islands because of the friendly reception accorded to Captain James Cook on his first visit there in 1773. It is the only island nation in the region to have avoided formal colonisation. Name this country, which operates as a constitutional monarchy.

The answer is…

Tonga

15. This profession is controlled by a guild, which issues a limited number of licenses granted after periods of training and apprenticeship, and a major comprehensive exam which tests knowledge of history and landmarks, foreign language skills etc. In August 2010, Giorgia Boscolo became the first lady to be granted a license for this profession. What profession?

The answer is…

Gondolier

16. This city’s metro system, called the ‘tunnelbana’, is well known for its decoration of the stations. It is sometimes called the longest art gallery in the world. Which city?

The answer is…

Stockholm

17.

The answer is…

Aurora borealis

18. The name of this region comes from a word used by Magellan in 1520 to describe the native people whom his expedition thought to be giants. It is now believed they were actually Tehuelches with an average height of 180 cm (~5′11″) compared to the 155 cm (~5′1″) average for Spaniards of the time. Which region?

The answer is…

Patagonia

19. There are two major theories regarding its origin. One theory relates to the supposed destruction of X by Olaf II of Norway in 1014. Another theory refers to the burying, perhaps alive, of children in the foundations. This was based around the idea that 'primitive' cultures believed that X would collapse unless the body of a human sacrifice were buried in its foundations. What are we talking about?

The answer is…

The nursery rhyme “London Bridge is falling down”

20. The identity of its southern point has been disputed through history, with the two most likely candidates being Monte Hacho in Ceuta and Jebel Musa in Morocco. What are we talking about, and what is its Northern equivalent?

The answer is…

Pillars of Hercules, Rock of Gibraltar

* The Tibetans call it ‘Chomolungma’ (mother goddess of the universe.) The Nepalese call it 'Sagarmatha’. By what name do we know it?

The answer is…

Mount Everest

ROUND 5

Theme round6 questions+30, 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5-5 through out

1. The first part of this city’s name comes from Persian via Indian languages and means “port” or “haven”. The second part comes from a honorific Sanskrit word. The third part is a name given to monarchs who have abdicated in the country, originally coming from another Sanskrit word. Name the city.

The answer is…

Bandar Seri Begawan

2. This city is a part of the historic location of Sumer, and a proposed location of the Garden of Eden. It is also the home of Sinbad the Sailor. It has a major role in H.G. Wells's 1933 future history "The Shape of Things to Come", where the city is at the center of a world state emerging after a collapse of civilization, and becomes in effect the capital of the world. Name the city.

The answer is…

Basra

3.

The answer is…

Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok

4. Its construction started in 1987. Three mountains were excavated for 21,000,000 m3 of landfill. 10,000 workers and 10 million work hours over three years, using eighty ships, were needed to complete the 30-metre layer of earth over the sea floor and inside the sea wall. In 1990, a three kilometer bridge was completed to connect the island to the mainland, at a cost of $1 billion. On 19 April 2001, it was one of ten structures given the "Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium" award by the American Society of Civil Engineers. What?

The answer is…

Kansai International Airport , Osaka

5. Post Box No. 5, Lake Pichola .

Address of?

The answer is…

Lake Palace, Udaipur

6.

The answer is…

Vayalar Raktha Sakshi Mandapam, Near Cherthala, Alappuzha

And the theme is…

“Venice of the East”