New travel guide spoofs, “Where not to go before you die.”

by Laurel Miller on

Prolific travel writer Catherine Price is over the whole “bucket list” trend. Annoyed that a crappy movie spawned an obnoxious national book craze of all the things one must see, do, and visit before they kick it, Price decided to strike back. Her new release, 101 Things Not to See Before You Die is a hilarious, tongue-in-cheek compendium based on Price’s own travel experiences.

Some of Price’s picks include The Beijing Tap Water Museum, Times Square on New Year’s Eve, rush hour on a Samoan bus, and Nevada. But the 31-year-old New Yorker is far from being a jaded crank. In a recent CNN interview, she explained, “People shouldn’t take it too seriously– it wasn’t my intention to say all of these places are actually horrible. Some of them are pretty interesting. (The motivation…) was just to liberate people from the feeling there are all these things they have to do. I’m guilty of this myself, but if you’re just going through things checking off lists then you’re not really experiencing them. You’re just doing it like an assignment.”

Daily Pampering: The world’s most expensive sushi

by Laurel Miller on

Really top-notch sushi is pricey, no doubt about it. But you work hard, and if you’re a fan of the raw fish, there’s nothing like a serious splurge when your wallet’s fat.

Angelito Araneta, Jr. laughs in your face. The 21-year-old, Manila-based chef, known for his “unusual” food artworks, recently debuted the world’s most expensive sushi, which goes for 91,800 pesos-an estimated $2,000 to $2,700 USD, depending upon which news report you read. The five-piece nigiri, which appears to be augmented with crab, is encrusted with .20-karat African (“gives new meaning to blood”) diamonds, and wrapped in 24-karat gold leaf. Because sometimes, you just have a hankering for precious gems with your hamachi.

Araneta’s prior stunt was a diamond-studded, gold-leaf wrapped wedding cake, which sells for approximately $2,500. The young entrepreneur sells his culinary objets d’art as gifts for courtships or marriage proposals. The downside? Getting the diamonds back after the meal…

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Europe’s relaxed attitude toward nudity makes American travelers uncomfortable

by Laurel Miller on

While the image of a naked Rick Steves getting a rubdown in a Turkish bathhouse might be a bit TMI for many of us, the seasoned traveler, guidebook author, and travel show host makes some excellent points in a recent CNN article on Europe’s cultural tolerance for nudity.

According to Steves, who starts the piece with a flashback from a 1978 trip, “if you can leave your inhibitions at home, you can better appreciate some of the amazing experiences Europe has to offer.” Like, perhaps, ogling soapy boobies on a Belgian billboard, or admiring “sunbathing grandmothers [with] no tan lines,” in southern France. Or visiting museums.

Actually, Steves himself admits to being “uncomfortable” when confronted with all the nekkidness Europe has to offer, but he’s quick to point out that the trend is often rooted in a historical, sociological context. Turkish baths, for instance, were partly designed as a gathering place, where Muslim women could socialize, celebrate the birth of a child, or search for a suitable bride for their sons (and you think your mother-in-law is bad). And, he adds, he likes “a continent where the human body is considered a divine work of art worth admiring openly.” Cheers to that.

[Via Tribune Media Services]
[Photo credit: Flickr uses historic.brussels]

Drunk Australian rides crocodile and lives to tell the tale

by Sean McLachlan on

There must be a patron saint of idiots, because it’s a miracle this guy is still alive.

Michael Williams, 36, got so plastered in a pub in Broome, Western Australia, the night before last that the barman kicked him out. Not having anything else to do, he broke into Broome Crocodile Park to visit Fatso, an 18 ft. saltwater crocodile. Williams climbed the fence and tried to ride the crocodile by sitting on its back. Fatso took exception to this and bit off a chunk of the guy’s leg.

Amazingly, the crocodile let him go. Park owner malcolm Douglas, a documentary filmmaker and crocodile hunter, says that recent cold nights had made Fatso sluggish, otherwise Williams would have become a midnight snack. Williams was able to get back over the fence and go back to the pub. Instead of kicking him out again, at which point he would have probably gone off and done something equally stupid, pub owners called emergency services. He’s now recovering in the hospital.

So the lesson for today is–booze and crocs don’t mix!


Photo courtesy Tourism NT.

Rare, really smelly Sumatran “Corpse Flower” to bloom at Houston museum

by Laurel Miller on

The botanical world is a fascinating thing, but fans of “Little Shop of Horrors” will be especially excited about the eminent blooming of the endangered Amorphophallus titanum, at the Cockrell Butterfly Center at Houston’s Museum of Natural Science. Nicknamed the “Corpse Flower” for the unholy stench it emits in bloom, the phallic-looking plant is one of the largest, rarest flowers in the world. Native to parts of Indonesia (I’ve seen Raffelsia, a similar flower from a different family, on a trek in Thailand’s stunning Khao Sok National Park) these suckers can reach up to 10 feet in height, with a diameter of up to six feet. Early explorers in Sumatra actually believed the flower was a man-eating plant.

“Lois,” Cockrell’s resident Corpse Flower, is about to bloom for the first time, and visitors can check it out for themselves in person, or via webcam. Lois even has her own blog, and Twitter account (not affiliated with the museum). Says Dr. Nancy Greig, director of the Center, “The Corpse Flower is unique because it’s totally unpredictable. No one really knows what triggers a given plant to flower, and [it may] flower once in its lifetime. We’ve had ours for six years and this is the first time it has bloomed-we’re very lucky. It may be the largest, smelliest flower in the world, but its beauty is unparalleled.” Lois is one of perhaps only 30 cultivated Corpse Flowers to ever bloom in the U.S..

If you want to see (and smell) Lois for yourself, she’s due to flower at any second; the museum is open 24 hours until she does. Check her blog for updates.

[Photo credit: Flickr user lornagrl]