The Top 100 Hotels in the World

by Justin Glow on

As odd as it was to have some of the most extreme poverty I’d ever witnessed co-existing with the most grandiose luxury, it was no coincidence that the nicest hotel I’d ever been to was in India. I didn’t have the privilege of staying at the JW Marriot on Mumbai’s Juhu Beach (I was there for a wedding reception), but I did spend plenty of time getting lost in the lavishly decorated hallways leading to the pool and deck area. While the hotel guests were served fantastic, Indian-flavored hors d’oeuvres on one side of the massive, guarded concrete pillar, thousands of Mumbai’s poorest combed the beach for broken bottles, and peddled their wares to the tourists on the other.

And this hotel wasn’t even one of the “nice” ones. Udaipur, India’s Oberoi Udavilas (pictured right) scored the number one spot in Travel and Leisures 2007 World’s Best Hotels award. This is the first time an Indian hotel as scored first. Here are the top ten hotels in the world:

  1. Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur, India
  2. Singita Sabi Sand/Kruger National Park, South Africa
  3. The Oriental, Bangkok
  4. Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet, Turkey
  5. The Milestone, London
  6. Relais Il Falconiere, Cortona, Italy
  7. Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa
  8. Mandarin Oriental, Munich
  9. Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Hawaii
  10. Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, India

For the rest of the list, visit Travel +Leisure. [via]

Robbers Super Glue Naked Man to Exercise Bike

by Justin Glow on

South Africa can be a dangerous place. According to a survey compiled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “South Africa was ranked second for assault and murder (by all means) per capita,” while the U.S. Department of State urges foreign visitors “to be vigilant and avoid any large gathering, particularly protests and demonstrations.”

However, things are evolving in the world of South African crime. Gone are the days where you could expect to be restrained and robbed with the classic tools consisting of rope or gaffer’s tape; Criminals in South Africa have a new weapon of choice: super glue.

The Register is reporting on a case where an unnamed man was pulled off the streets and forced to his home, where theives super-glued his naked body to an exercise bike. “They also glued his feet to the pedals and hands to the handlebars. Finally, his lips were sealed with the adhesive.”

Worried about being victim of this new trend in robbery? Just carry around some nail polish remover next time you’re traveling in unsavory places. “Even though Super Glue is incredibly strong, it has one weakness: acetone,” says the Superglue Corp’s guide to proper removal. “Fingernail polish remover with an acetone base has also been successful for removal of cured adhesive from skin.”

Detour Worth Making: Nieu Bethesda’s Owl House

by Willy Volk on

Of all the side trips I’ve taken, the most interesting was a visit to Helen Martins’ Owl House. Born in 1897, “Miss Helen” suffered through a failed marriage, the death of her parents, and then, in her 40s or 50s, found herself alone in the dry, dusty, desolate Klein Karoo of central South Africa. Surrounded entirely by brown, Miss Helen decided to transform her environment. She hired local workers to install large panes of glass in her modest home. She began casting concrete-and-glass figures — playful, haunting, flat, but passionate — that she assembled around her property…maybe to keep her company. All 300+ of the figures face east.

Simultaneously, Miss Helen began collecting colored glass, grinding it to a fine powder, covering the interior walls of her home with glue, and spraying them with the glass. The effect — brilliant, shiny, kaleidoscopic, and dreamy — was more striking than paint. Unfortunately, it was also more dangerous, as her eyes, damaged from fine bits of flying glass, soon failed. In 1976, she committed suicide by swallowing caustic soda. Athol Fugard wrote a play, The Road to Mecca, about her, and This Is My World is a photo-essay of her dreamscape-home.

Today, the Owl House stands as a tribute to this reclusive yet inspired woman. Smack in the middle of still-tiny Nieu Bethesda, this rural community has grown into a small but thriving artist’s colony. Though hours from the coast, it’s absolutely worth an overnight.

Delta to South Africa

by Erik Olsen on

A quick bit of news that might be
of interest to folks out there…and I post this partly, too, because a buddy of mine is headed to South Africa,
literally, today. Delta Airlines is proposing a new service from Atlanta to Africa, with routes to Dakar, Senegal, and
Johannesburg, South Africa. They still need approval from the Department of Transportation, but if they get it then
Delta would thus be the only mainstream U.S. carrier with scheduled service between the United States and the African
continent. As someone who as ALWAYS wanted to go to South Africa, I see this as bright news from an industry that has
not had a great deal of bright news lately.