Nice Digs
When you think of subterranean housing, the first dwellings that spring to mind are stark, concrete fallout shelters and the lairs of evil movie scientists. But in reality, underground housing is far from dark or depressing.
Where’s My House?
If you’ve ever had trouble finding your house keys as you’re about to unlock your front door, try this conundrum out for size. A house in the middle of a maze. It’s an intriguing idea, but one best not tackled late at night, after a big night out.
Down and Out in Moscow
The Russian Federation spreads across eleven time zones and two continents. It’s home to nearly 143 million people. It covers approximately 6.6 million square miles. When you’re traveling, sometimes time and money only allow for a taste, a nibble. So, on arriving in Russia, we make like nearly a quarter of the federation’s population, and head for the city. In this case, Moscow.
The American Tourist
The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who ‘travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than 24 hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.’
Contain Yourself
When you hear the word Cholula, you probably think of hot sauce. Fair enough. It’s one of Mexico’s best-known exports. The famous hot sauce was named after the ancient city of Cholula. And while hot sauce and a spectacular pyramid (the great temple of Quetzalcoatl) are reason enough to visit Cholula, its new container city has become another, more contemporary draw.
Breaking Away
In 2010, the world acquired a new country. It goes by the name of Hau Pakumotu or Moorea (meaning Yellow Lizard). It’s a popular destination that was located in French Polynesia’s Society Islands, northwest of Tahiti, until a group of islanders, overwhelmed by the high cost of living, proclaimed a new republic.
The Final Frontier
Ever since the days of the popular television show Star Trek, outer space has been the final frontier. Man has conquered all other forms of travel, from high speed air travel to luxury ocean liners that travel around the world. But what’s going on in outer space? A lot.
Concrete Mushrooms
During the Cold War, approximately 750,000 military installations, referred to by Albanians as Concrete Mushrooms, were constructed throughout the tiny Balkan nation (one for every four citizens). Soldiers stood guard in them, protecting Albania from invasion.
The Temple of a Million Bottles
It’s one thing to incorporate used materials into your living space, it’s another to completely make it out of them. The Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple in Thailand is an amazing example of just how you really can turn waste into wonder.
Love’s Labors Found
You’ve probably heard of Japanese love hotels. If you haven’t, they’re chintzy, pay-by-the-hour hotels where lovers meet for illicit trysts, or just a bit of harmless fun. But here’s one you probably haven’t heard of: the Pearl Love Hotel, a ‘vintage’ love hotel, abandoned and left to decay under a forest of twisting vines, deep in the Japanese countryside.
