“Can’t we just go to Ź?” may be the cry of tourists visiting some of these locations with the longest place names in the world.

The north island of New Zealand is home to Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapiki- maungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.

Generally called Taumata, the Maori name for this 305m high hill in it’s full form can be translated as The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one, though there are a number of other forms with different meanings.

In Wales we find the the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

Often shortened to Llanfair PG, the name was invented in the 1860s as a means to attract tourists and can be translated as St Mary’s church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave. Wikipedia has a helpful guide to pronunciation should you wish to visit.

Massachusetts is home to Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaug.

More commonly called Webster Lake, the name comes from the native Nipmuck language and means fishing place at the boundary, though again there are other forms with different meanings.

While the above are all names with a single word, the Guinness World Record for longest official name gives the title to the city of Bangkok: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.

This translates as The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukam. More info at Wikipedia.

Thanks to Shea Marshall and Dave Lartigue.

A stupa is a Buddhist monument, originally simple mounds believed to cover the remains of the Buddha. They have evolved over the centuries to be large, ornately decorated structures, and today there are hundreds of significant stupas around the world.

Boudhanath Stupa near Kathmandu in Nepal is one of the largest in the world, and it is a focal point for Tibetan refugees in Nepal. During religious festivals the stupa is lined with thousands of oil lamps which provide an incredibly atmospheric view for the thousands of people circumambulating the structure.

Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, India is considered the oldest known stupa, having been built around 500AD to replace an earlier structure. It represents the original, simpler design of stupas – being simply a column of bricks and stone.

In the Rocky Mountains of Colorado is the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya, one of the first and largest stupas in North America, this stupa was built to commemorate Chogyam Trungpa, a respected teacher who helped develop Buddhism in the West.

Previously on Google Sightseeing: The Shwedagon Pagoda, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

There’s lots more to learn at the Wikipedia entries for Bodhnath, Dhamek and Dharmakaya.

Thanks to Davee, Evelyn Mitchell, Michael and Yuval.

As more and more street-level imagery keeps getting added, it’s time for another Friday Street View Roundup – and today’s theme is “Crime on Street View”!

8) Indecent Exposure

This woman’s dignity has been saved by a bit of face-blurring! Of course her nipples are exposed for all the world to see. Fail!

7) Antisocial Behaviour

These pesky kids are setting up a trip-wire between two bollards. The youth of today, eh? If only the Street View camera had captured the moment they tripped a passer-by…

6) Blocking the road

Five of Providence’s Police Force have blocked up this road for a bit of a pow-wow. How inconsiderate! Someone should give them a ticket.

5) Having a camera on the roof of your car

The French authorities obviously deemed the large camera on top of the car to be a suspicious device, and pulled the Google driver over for an investigation.

Move south down Rue de la Garde and you’ll experience a thrilling chase scene!

4) Grand Theft Auto

It’s one thing to steal a car, but propping that car up on six-foot stilts in your garden is probably unwise.

3) Grafitti

This the the work of Invader, whose Space Invader themed artworks can be spotted all over Paris. He’s even branched out into Oscar the Grouch artworks¹.

2) Taking Hostages?

Of course this could be any crime really, but if it requires an armed policeman hiding behind a car, you can expect whoever’s inside did more than steal some sweeties.

1) Alien Invasion

Presumably there can be no greater crime than invading our planet in little red UFOs?

All these Street View sightings were previously posted to our Twitter account – make sure you follow us for instant updates!

Visitors to Dubai who suffer in the summer temperatures over 45°C can cool off at Ski Dubai.

The resort offers the full winter experience, from building snowmen to taking ski lessons. There is even the ‘cozy mountain lodge’ where you can sit by the fireplace and enjoy some apres ski … though of course your glass of mulled wine would have to be non-alcoholic.

This however is not the largest indoor ski slope in the world  – that honour goes to SnowWorld in Landgraaf, the Netherlands, while AlpinCenter in Bottrop, Germany claims the longest indoor run.

Still, Ski Dubai doubtless has the largest energy bill as a result of maintaining a temperature around -1°C in the desert!

More information and lots of images at the official sites of: Ski Dubai, SnowWorld and AlpinCenter, and Wikipedia has a full list of indoor ski centres.

Thanks to Roy, Jack Langdon and David Thornton.

Drivers on the A10 ring road in Amsterdam can be forgiven for any confusion experienced when they see this incomplete section of highway bridge.

We’re not sure what happened – maybe the construction crew finished up early one Friday afternoon and by the following Monday had forgotten what they were supposed to be building?

Meanwhile in Tehran, a similar situation seems to be coming to an end. We’re told this bridge sat unconnected to anything for at least 8 years, but the construction currently visible at the north end of the bridge may mean that it will finally get put to use some day. Still a bit of a drop if you were to drive off the south end though…

Let us know if you find any more abandoned bridges.

Thanks to Asmir Babaca and Mazi.