Can you say FOOD FIGHT?

If you’re one of those people that loved starting food fights in the school cafeteria, you’re going to love La Tomatina festival. every year, on the last Wednesday of August, thousands of people gather on the streets of Bunol, Spain and throw over one hundred metric tons of tomatoes at each-other. Tradition says the tomato fight of La Tomatina is supposed to begin when someone manages to climb up a two-story high greased wooden pole and grab a piece of ham, but since that takes forever the battle starts all of a sudden.

During La Tomatina people just come at you and tear the shirt right off you, even if you’re a woman so don’t act all surprised or scared. The whole tomato battle lasts for an hour aftewhich everyone goes to Bunol River to wash up. If any stragglers are still on the streets after the fight, the locals are more than happy to hose them down.

La Tomatina helps keep the towns streets clean through the acid properties of the tomatoes.

Diggerland is an unusual fun-park where children and adults alike can experience life on a construction site.

I can’t say I’ve ever been a big fan of construction machinery but if you or your kids love it head on to one of the four Diggerland parks in England and enjoy a full day as a construction worker. You’ll get the chance to drive trucks, mini diggers and giant diggers under the strict supervision of trained professionals, take pictures and get a good meal at the Dig inn.

I’m sure some kids might love this stuff but me, well I’ve never dreamed of a career in constructions so I guess I won’t be visiting Diggerland anytime soon. For more details on the unusual Diggerland theme-park head over to their official site.

The world’s first sand-hotel is open for business on Weymouth beach, Dorset, in England. The 1000 tone-of-sand structure was built in a week by a team of 4 sand-sculptors and is only expected to last until it rains…which, as you probably know, happens quite often in Britain.

The sand-hotel was commissioned by a local travel website that, upon doing some research, found out that 57% of English tourists prefer foreign beach-destinations instead of national ones. So this is like a statement that signifies the rebirth of British tourism. The sand hotel has no roof, so you have a clear view of the star-filled night sky, no toilets and is not recommended for those that hate getting sand between their toes. For an offbeat experience like spending a night at the wonderful sand-hotel, you only have to pay $21, more than a fair price, in my opinion.

And if this doesn’t appeal to you, maybe you’d like to try the ice-hotel? But you’ll have till winter for that one.

Source

Last time I saw a cruise ship in a city was in that crappy sequel to Speed (starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock), what was it called again…oh yeah, Speed 2. But this particular ship didn’t actually sail to the middle of Hong Kong, it was built there. Whampoa ship is one of the main tourist attraction Hong Kong has to offer and one of the most unusual commercial centers in the world. It has the size of an actual cruise ship and inside you can find many restaurants, shops and even a hotel. To see how much Whampoa really is, just look it up on Google Maps, or better yet take a trip to Hong Kong.

In these three settlements, “living on the edge” gets a literal meaning.

Ronda (Malaga, Spain) is a popular tourist attraction, because of El Tajo, a 100-meter deep gorge separating the old town form the new one. El Tajo is spanned by three bridges, each built in a different historical age: Roman, Moorish and 18th Century.

Bonifacio (Corsica, France) is a beautiful port town set in the south-most point of Corsica, on white limestone cliffs eaten away by the wind and waves they had to endure. A naval haven throughout the century, Bonifacio is now a small marina, for expensive yachts from around the world.

Castellfolit de la Roca (Catalonia, Spain) is one of the smallest towns in Spain, set atop of a 50 meters-high basalt formation stretching out for a kilometer. The edge is a result of the erosion of two rivers that flow right near the town.

One think I’ve never done is eat in the toilet, well it seems many people would love to do that and pay for it.

A new Toilet Restaurant has opened in Hangzhou, China as a result of the impact the first Toilet Restaurant, from Taipei, Taiwan had on the public. Now, the company is thinking of opening a whole network of Toilet Restaurants across the world and I’m pretty sure they are going to be successful.

Toilet Dining concept is about sitting on a toilet seat, serving your food from a toilet bowl or a bidet and wiping your mouth with toilet paper-looking napkins, practically everything you see around you has nothing to do with a real restaurant or kitchen, it’s all toilet-wear.

I wouldn’t try it, I’m sure my appetite wouldn’t be the same in that place, but tourists love this stuff, so Toilet Restaurant is a sure hit.

Image source

Dating back to as early as 1150 ., the ruins of Mesa Verde are one of the oldest in America.

They are set in the Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, USA and are all that is left of the ancient Pueblo people, also known as the Anasazi. Around 600 houses dug in the cliffs of Colorado can be found through the park, most of them very small, but some are absolutely huge, able to house more than 250 people. The Anasazi came to these places around 550 A.D., but only started digging their dwellings into the canyon cliffs around 1150.

Set in Haukadalur valley, in the south part of the country, Geysir is one of Iceland’s largest geysers.

Geysers are quite a sight to behold when they erupt and they are also one of Iceland’s most precious resources. Geysir is one of the lazier geysers, it only erupts 4-5 times a day, while others do it at intervals of 5-10 minutes. Here are some photos of Geysir’s eruption caught on camera.

The melting of Briksdal Glacier in photos shot over the years.

Briksdal Glacier used to be the largest glacier on the European mainland, in Norway. But due to global warming it has been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self. Once a great tourist attraction of the Scandinavian peninsula, Briksdal Glacier is now no longer available for glacier tours. As you can see from the photos the effects of global warming are undeniable and they say you can here the ice melting because of the caverns formed between the glacier and the rocks. It’s a tragedy, but, as always, nobody gives a damn and no one with some real power does anything about it.

2001

Read More »

A swimming pool on water, there’s something you don’t see every day.

Called the Badeschiff (that’s German for “bathing ship”) this floating swimming pool is really just an old barge transformed into a public pool last year in Berlin, on the Spree river. Unfortunately, the river itself is much too polluted for people to swim in, so this idea, as crazy as it looks, makes some sense.

It was first spotted in 2007, during a very hot Summer and during the off-season it’s covered and closed to the public. But the hot Summer is here again and the Germans in Berlin will once again be able to enjoy a swim in the cool water of the Badeschiff. Would’ve been cool if it had a glass bottom though, so you could see the river.

Read More »

Coober Pedy is a place where people like to live underground.

Coober Pedy is a small Australian town, famous for being the opal capital of the world because of the large quantity of opal stones that are mined here. What people don’t know about this place is that the locals mostly like to live underground. A tradition that goes back to the early 1900, when the first miners arrived in the area, cave-boring in the hillsides is still popular. The temperatures here during the Summer are unbearable for some, so they opt for underground living quarters, at approximately the same price as a surface-built house. The first one keeps a constant, cool temperature during the Summer while the second needs air-conditioning. It can get quite cold during the winter, though.

One of the most popular attractions in Coober Pedy are the underground churches.

Read More »

Angel waterfall in South America is the highest waterfall on Earth

Set in Canaima National Park, Venezuela, Angel is also one of the most beautiful falls on the planet. It’s a clear 802 meter drop right into the Kerep River flowing at the base of the falls. The water falls from so high an altitude that it’s turned into mist by the powerful winds, before it even reaches the bottom.

This incredible place was unknown to the outside world until aviator James Crawford Angel spotted it in 1933, while he was looking for a precious ore bed. He tried to land his plane on Ayuan-tepui in 1937 but it got stuck in the muddy ground, so he and three other companions had to descend by foot. It took them 11 days but they finally made it down and were able to tell the world about their incredible adventure, which eventually became popular and the falls were named Angel in his honor.
‘s plane remained there for another 33 years before being lifted out by a helicopter.

Read More »

A building partially covered with real gold.

Built in 1397 as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Kinkaku is a three-story building, with the last two, fully covered with pure gold leaf. The temple was set on fire by a monk in 1950, but it was restored and the new gold coating dating from 1987 is much thicker than the original one.

Kinkaku is one of Japan’s most beautiful attractions and it serves as a “shariden”, a place where relics of Buddha are stored.

Read More »

Oh my God, the Chinese have stolen Venice.

Well, not literally stolen, but they copied it on a smaller scale. I’m talking about the Venetian Macao in China, the world’s largest casino and the third largest building in the world. It has more than 1000 slot machines and over 600 gaming tables open 24/7. So it’s safe to say you’ll find a table to lose your money at.

The Venetian is a huge complex with the central building standing over 40 stories high and costing $1,8 billion to build. It also has a smaller replica of the famous, romantic city of Venice which proves once again that Asians love to copy western culture.

Read More »

This is one of the most beautiful glaciers in the world.

Named after explorer Francisco Moreno, Perito Moreno glacier is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that are not retreating. The 30 km-long ice formation sometimes advances into the L-shaped”Lago Argentino” acting as a natural dam and separating its two halves. The water on one side of the river rises with up to 30 meters higher above the normal level of the lake, in its attempt to brake the icy barrier. The enormous amount of pressure produced by the pushing waters sometimes breaks the frozen dam in an extraordinary event. This glacier rupture cycle isn’t regular, it occurs between once a year and once in more than a decade, but if you happen to see it, it’s totally worth the wait.

The Perito Moreno Glacier is part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the world’s third largest fresh water reserve.

Read More »