The Amazing Oak Chapel of Allouville Bellefosse
The French village of Allouville-Bellefosse is famous for the Chêne Chapelle (Oak Chapel), which is literally a chapel built into an oak tree. The amazing architecture consists of a wooden staircase spiraling around the ancient tree, leading up to a couple of chambers. These rooms have always been used as places of worship, by the village locals. […]
Dargavs – Russia’s City of the Dead
A place called the City of the Dead actually exists in Russia’s North Ossetia, hidden in one of the five mountain ridges that cross the region. Needless to say, several myths and legends shroud the place, with locals claiming that no one has ever come back alive. The ‘city’ hardly ever gets any tourists either, […]
Drug Lord Pablo Escobar Becomes Colombian Tourist Attraction
When Pablo Escobar died in 1993, the people of Medellin, Colombia, sighed in relief. But little did they know that the world’s most notorious criminal at the time would become one of their country’s most popular tourist attractions. The legacy of Escobar lives on in Medellin, in a different and slightly unusual manner. The man […]
Taichung’s Rainbow Village – The Hand-Painted Wonder of Taiwan
It’s hard to believe that one man can change the fate of an entire village. Huang Yung-fu, an 86-year-old war veteran has done just this. Huang lives in a village in a corner of the Taiwanese city of Taichung, a community that was created for Nationalist soldiers in the 1940s and 50s. Over the years, […]
Leila’s Hair Museum Is a Tribute to Victorian Hair Art
Leila Cohoon of Independence, Missouri is a retired hairdresser. She now teaches hair weaving and runs her own cosmetology school. She is however, linked to hair in more ways than apparent. Leila collects hair art, and puts it all on display in her museum. What is hair art, you ask? We wondered the same. Contrary […]
Collector’s Holiday Home Houses over 10,000 Teddy Bears
Ricky Lenart, an artist and resident of Uptown New Orleans, has an entire holiday home dedicated to his collection of teddy bears. Every room of his three-story house at Duffossat Street is filled with the soft toys, a total of 10,000 in number. Lenart’s unusual hobby did not come cheap. He says that it would […]
The Iconic Goat Tower of Fairview
The Fairview Wine and Cheese farm in South Africa is famous for more than just its wine and cheese. Owned and run by Charles Back, it houses a unique monument built for the comfort and use of the farm’s goats – The Goat Tower. Acknowledging the fact that goats love to climb, sometimes even up […]
No Snow? No Problem, We’ll Just Ski on Rocks
Although it’s December and the skiing season is officially open, there is no sign of snow in the Tyrol region of Austria. But that’s no reason not to ski, at least not for those brave enough to practice the winter sport on a rock-covered slope. 45 kilometers west of Innsbruck, near the picturesque village of […]
Wieliczka Salt Cathedral – Poland’s Underground Wonder
The Wieliczka Salt Mines in Poland have been used for several centuries to extract salt, but are now in the news for a different reason. Through their excavations and adventures, Polish miners have left behind something unique in these underground spaces, little known to the world until recently. It has been over ten years since […]
Mauth Ka Kuan – India’s Well of Death
Circus shows have been getting censored, simplified and overall less exciting just about everywhere. Not in India though, that’s the place where the infamous phrase “death defying stunt” lives on through Mauth Ka Kuan, or the Well of Death. Though originally performed all over the world, riding a bike on a vertical wall can now […]
China’s Richest Village Is a Tribute to Knockoffs
China is the most populated country in the world, probably the most hard working country in the world and well on its way toward becoming the richest one as well. Considering how they’ve managed to achieve such a feat is considerably less fun than making snide remarks at their legendary knockoff business. Millions of brands […]
Katskhi Pillar – Going to Church on a Stairway to Heaven
Trust me on this, that headline has absolutely nothing rock’n’roll about it . Weirdly enough, it’s actually true and you can even go on to experience it yourself, provided you’re willing to travel. Travel a little or a lot rather depends on where you’re starting from as you’ll have to go to Georgia in order […]
La Pourcailhade – Becoming a Pig in France
La Pourcailhade is a festival dedicated to one of the most popularly eaten animal around the world, the pig. I’d like to mention that the Festival isn’t dedicated to pork as much as it is to the pig. There’s the usual “eat the most… to win” contest and a few barbecues go on but they’re far […]
Japan’s Zauo Restaurants, Where You Catch Your Own Meal
Zauo, which translates as “sit and fish” is a unique restaurant chain where clients are given fishing gear and get to catch what they want to eat. It’s one of those quirky places where you just have to go for an authentic Japanese experience. I don’t know if they were inspired by the old saying […]
Paga Village – Where Crocs and Men Live in Perfect Harmony
The small village of Paga, in Ghana, defies the laws of nature as local population bathes and swims in the same nearby pond as over 100 deadly crocodiles. So far none of the villagers have ever been harmed by the reptiles. Something very weird is definitely going on in the African village of Paga, where […]