Houtong Cat Village – How a Few Purring Felines Saved a Dying Community
This is the story of how a few dozen cats managed to save an entire community just by purring and looking pretty. Houtong was just another dilapidated mining town in the mountains of eastern New Taipei City, but everything changed when the felines came and livened up the place. Houtong used to be one of Taiwan’s most […]
Japanese Man Completes 40,000Km Walk Around the World
Masahito Yoshida, 32, recently returned to Shanghai, the city where he started his epic walk around the world, four and a half years ago. He walked a total of 40,000 kilometers across four continents carrying with him a two-wheeled cart full of baggage. On New Year’s Eve, in 2009, Masahito Yoshida, an average Joe from the […]
Experience Space Travel in the Back of a Japanese Bus
Long bus tours can be pretty boring, but Japan’s Star Fighter buses are so incredibly cool they just don’t give you a chance to get bored. If you think they look impressive on the outside, wait until you see what’s in store for passengers inside. Going on a Tokyo bus tour usually gives tourists a […]
Japanese Cafeteria Offers Curious Eaters a Taste of Prison Food
In Japan, you don’t actually have to get thrown in jail to get a taste of prison food. The Prison cafeteria, in Abashiri, Hokkaido, specializes solely in food actually served inside Japanese prisons. I’ve often wondered what jail food tastes like, but I was never curious enough to commit a crime and find out. Luckily, for […]
Idol Rock – Nature’s Balancing Act
The 50-acre expanse of Brimham Moor in North Yorkshire, England is home to a number of curious rock formations shaped by tens of thousands of years of erosion, but the most impressive of all is Idol Rock, a 200-ton monolith balancing on a tiny pyramidal base. The 15-foot high Idol Rock looks like it’s about […]
Svolværgeita: Jumping the Goat’s Horns in Norway
Up until a century ago, the Svolværgeita or Goat’s Horns rock tower had never been conquered, but these days not only has it become one of the most popular climbing pinnacles in Norway, but thrill-seeking mountaineers defy death by jumping between its granite horns. Goat’s Horns peak was first climbed in 1910 by Carl Rubenson, Alf B. Bryn, […]
Every Minute Counts at Germany’s Slow Time Cafe
Slow Time, a newly opened cafe in Wiesbaden, Germany, is charging clients on how much time they spend there, rather than on what they order. Coffee and biscuit snacks are free, and customers can even bring their own food, but on departure, they have to pay for every minute spent inside. The “time cafe” concept […]
The Chillout Ice Cafe Is Literally a Very Cool Place to Hang Out
In the desert city of Dubai, summer temperatures average at about 40 degrees Celsius, so the last thing you’d expect to be able to do in this place is chill out in a sub-zero climate. But this is the UAE, where almost everything is possible, if you have the money. Welcome to the Chillout Ice […]
Battle of the Queens – Switzerland’s Ultimate Cow Fighting Championship
Every year, the peaceful Swiss village of Aproz becomes a battleground for Herens cows, a breed of cattle known for its genetic predisposition for combativeness. During the Battle of the Queens (Combats de Reines) the animals get a chance to fight each other for supremacy. Before you pick up the phone to call your favorite animal rights […]
Jembatan Akar – Indonesia’s Amazing Tree Root Bridge
For the last hundred years, the residents of two tiny Indonesian villages in West Sumatra have used a 30-meter-long bridge formed from the interconnected roots of two trees located on each side of a fast-flowing river, to reach each other and trade supplies. Today, the natural wonder known as “Jembatan Akar” has become a popular tourist attraction. According to locals […]
The Iconic Floating Forest of Sydney
There are a lot of shipwrecks in Sydney’s Homebush Bay, near the Olympic village, but none quite like the SS Ayrfield, also known as “The Floating Forest” for the lush mangrove vegetation that now covers its rusty hull. The SS Ayrfield (originally launched as SS Corrimal), was a collier ship built in England in 1911 and used […]
All Aboard the Controversy Inn’s Tram Apartments
Viewed as one of the most unusual hotels in the world, the Controversy Inn gives the term “room and board” a whole new meaning by repurposing old tramcars as luxurious accommodations for guests. Located in Holland’s Hoogwoud village, the Controversy Inn is run by two kooky Prince fans and offers visitors the unique opportunity of sleeping […]
Hooker’s Lips – The World’s Most Kissable Plant
Here’s a dumb question: if (the young) Mick Jagger was a plant, what would he be? Probably Psychotria Elata, commonly known as Hooker Lips or the Hot Lips Plant for the shape of its bright red bracts that resemble two luscious lips. This weird plant might look like the work of a photo editing software, but I […]
Playa del Amor – The Hidden Beach of Marieta Islands
If it weren’t for the sound of the waves gently washing up on its fine sand beach, people would probably walk right past Playa del Amor without even knowing it was there. Located several meters inland on one of the Marieta Islands, the Hidden Beach is one of those unique natural wonders you definitely don’t […]
The Unkai Terrace of Tomamu – A Magical Place Above the Clouds
Located in Japan’s Tomamu Resort, on the island of Hokkaido, the Unkai Terrace is a unique scenic spot perched high atop a mountain peak that is often above the clouds, offering tourists breathtaking views of the white, fluffy sea beneath them. The “unkai” (sea of clouds) phenomenon has been attracting tourists to the resort town […]