The World’s Sexiest Penthouses

by Willy Volk on

Private, elegant, and with a hint of superiority, penthouses are, by their very definition, sexy. Way up high, looking down on all the little people scurrying about like so many ants, penthouse users seem eternally to be sipping cold drinks (brought to them by their in-house butler) and snuggling by the fire (sparked by the aforementioned butler). Though I like my adventure a bit more rough-and-tumble, I could certainly enjoy a night or two of high class in a penthouse. Don’t agree? Check out the view from Trump Towers’ Penthouse, and your opinion might change. Golden…and dizzying.

If you’d like to try a night of living large, then check out Concierge’s list of the top 10 sexiest penthouses. From Miami to St. Barths, from Australia to the Maldives, the list is To Do List for people who love Big Pimpin’.

Generally, penthouse luxury doesn’t come cheap, however. The costliest penthouse profiled (the Hong Kong Intercon) runs a hefty $11,215 per night. Yikes. For the rest of us, Milan’s The Gray runs a more affordable $648 a night — and, frankly, looks way cooler. Now you just have to get to Italy.

Researchers to Measure The Great Wall

by Willy Volk on

The Great Wall of China, built to protect the northern border of the Chinese Empire, is an amazing spectacle. In fact, the Great Wall — known to the Chinese as the “Long Wall of 10,000 Li” — is actually a series of walls and earthen works begun in the 5th Century BC and connected centuries later. Since it’s so old, it seems odd that no one really knows the precise dimensions of the iconic structure. Didn’t anybody bother to measure it when they were building it? Or when David Copperfield penetrated it? So weird.

In any event, researchers with both the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping are planning to undertake a detailed survey to establish just how long the ancient barricade is. In addition, they also plan to map the wall’s exact route and check its fortification. After all, a wall over 2000 years old probably needs some patching.

Though you can’t really tag along on the 4-year project, you can walk the Wall yourself with a tour company like China Hiking Adventures or the Adventure Center. Alternatively, you can arrange for the permits and try to tackle it yourself, like Eddie Davis and Beau Bacevicius did in 1997. It took them 109 days, and they clocked it at a paltry 1800 miles. Curiosity piqued? Brendan Fletcher and Emma Nicholas are walking the Wall right now — and blogging their adventure!

Laos: Tough Bus Rides, Beautiful Scenery

by Willy Volk on

Laos is a long, skinny, landlocked country in southeast Asia, often overlooked by tourist-friendly, coastline-owning Thailand. However, with its centuries-old temples at Luang Prabang, 4000 islands at Si Phan Don, and easily-reachable (depending on your definition of easy) Army of Buddhas at Pak Ou, Laos may be one of the most overlooked travel destinations on the planet. While your travel dollars can go far in this beautiful, mountainous country, your memories may be hard-won — especially if you’re a high-maintenance traveler. To see what I mean, check out this excellent 2-minute video of portions of Al Brenner’s bus ride through Laos. Gorgeous…but by no means first class.


If I were heading to Laos, I would have to add the enigmatic Plain of Jars to my list of things to do. Don’t know what the Plain of Jars is? Check out this excellent trip report, and it’ll be on your short list, too.

Worldmapper

by Erik Olsen on

A very cool use of technology, geography and demographics can be found over at the site Worldmapper. They have developed a really amazing algorithm that allows you to see the world and the various sizes of the country therein, through various statistics. Countries look skinny or fat according to their share of wealth or trade or population or education or whatever gets plugged in, but they maintain their familiar boundaries and shapes. Some of the results make the countries look silly (i.e. a Chile-shaped USA), but they are scientifically precise.

For example, the map here shows the break down for tourism. Now this is fascinating, right? It seems that Western Europe is the most popular destination for international tourists, receiving 46% of world tourist trips, while on the other end 0.1% of world tourist trips are made to Central African territories. Hmmm, I guess that’s not too surprising, though. More interesting perhaps is the map here that shows countries that receive more international tourist visits than international visits are made by their residents. Anyway, that’s just a sampling. There are a lot more fascinating maps to see at the site.

Worldmapper was created by geographers from the University of Sheffield’s Social and Spatial Inequalities Research Group (There’s an innovative college major!) and by Mark Newman, a physicist at the University of Michigan. Really neat.

The Peril and Beauty of Indian Roads

by Erik Olsen on

I can honestly say that one of the more harrowing experiences I’ve had while traveling was driving along a road in India at night. Our driver not only had a lead foot, pushing his TATA as fast as its rickety old body could take us along the highway, but also his efforts to pass drivers ahead of us too, I estimate, about three or four weeks off my life.

He would literally force drivers coming the other direction off the side of the road, and on a few occasions, those drivers who didn’t abide his aggressiveness, stared us down, resulting in actual games of chicken along roads where medical attention was likely very far away.

And yet all of that seems impossible when you take a look at this series of photos along Indian roads from Indiculture.com. From the alpine majesty of Manali Pass to the fall splendor of Ahtong – Sikkim, you’d think my story above was a complete fabrication. Alas ,what’s missing are the shots of the pollution-laden, traffic-clogged roads of Mumbai and New Delhi…but I suppose that was largely the point of the post here, to show off the other side of India’s highways that most people probably never see.