The culinary capital of China, Hong Kong is a meeting place for food styles of all sorts. Between Buddhist cuisine, Beijing masterpiece dishes, Cantonese delicacies, streetside vendors, and local Dai Pai Dong shops, there are enough choices to satisfy even the most adventurous eater.

The locals in Hong Kong eat five times a day: Breakfast, lunch around noon, afternoon tea at 3 PM, dinner in the evening, and “siu yeh,” or an after-dinner snack around 9 PM. This fact alone should give travelers a sense for the passion behind culinary culture in Hong Kong. Even the locals can’t get enough of their food! You will experience this passion with every bite you take.

Cantonese Cuisine

When discussing the food of Hong Kong, one must first mention Cantonese food. As the primary ethnic group in Hong Kong, the Cantonese are understandably proud of their food. Much of what is considered “Chinese food” in the west stems from the southern Canton region of China. Due to its mild, subtler flavor, it is considered more agreeable to the Western palate than the spicier Beijing or Szechuan styles of food.

While visiting Hong Kong, be sure to go out for dim sum. “Dim sum” means “small heart,” indicative of a tiny snack that’s sure to touch your heart. Much like the Spanish tapas tradition, dim sum consists of a set of traditional light dishes, which range from pork dumplings to various noodle dishes to water chestnut cake to lotus leaf rice to shanghai steamed buns, and more. Dim sum is traditionally served with tea known as “yum cha” (lit. “drinking tea”), which is traditionally a mild, subtly-flavored green tea, puerh, or oolong.

Buddhist Cuisine

Buddhist cuisine consists of simple, healthy vegetable and tofu meals. With their passion for delicious food, however, the natives of Hong Kong have perfected the art of the perfect, savory Buddhist meal. Oftentimes, the tofu, seitan, or mushrooms are prepared in such a way that they are nearly indistinguishable from real meat. Many meat-eaters in the city enjoy Buddhist cuisine just as much as they enjoy their traditional meat-centered meals.

Buddhist cuisine in Hong Kong is enjoyed by a wide variety of people – not just Buddhists. As a vegetarian, you don’t have to worry a bit while visiting Hong Kong; your taste buds will be taken care of! The most common dish, of course, is the sweet-and-sour flavored Buddha’s Delight, but you can simply step inside a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant if you’re looking for Buddhist cuisine. The menu will look the same as a typical Chinese restaurant, with chicken, pork, duck, and beef dishes, but instead of meat, the meals will be made with meat analogues so delicious you won’t be able to tell the difference.

Beijing Cuisine

Beijing is home to some of the most complex, interesting culinary traditions in the world. As the center of China and its former imperial seat, dishes in this tradition are often hundreds of years old.

The culinary passions of the people of Hong Kong pay special reverence to this long-standing tradition, and add their own touches many of these dishes, often too spicy for the western palate, in such a way that westerners can enjoy it. Beijing dishes like Peking Duck, Hot and Sour Soup, Moo Shu Pork, and red bean jelly, cooked in smoother, subtler Cantonese styles, have received international acclaim and recognition.

These are just a few examples of the food offered in Hong Kong. International food, as well as food from all of the eight great Chinese traditions, is in abundance in this city. No matter what your taste, you’re sure to find Hong Kong a culinary delight.

(Images Trodel, fotoosvanrobin, avlxyz, andersondotcom, kalmyket, ann chou, aok.

Divide to Avoid Being Conquered

Photo by bradipo

Similar to the old saying – “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”, this technique minimizes losses in case you become the victim of a skilled pickpocket. Most tourists keep their valuables in one place they consider safe, but one distraction can leave them penniless on the first day of their vacation.

The truth is, not even a small safe can protect you against a very able pair of hands, but if you’re going to suffer a loss, why not make it as small as possible? By storing your valuables in more than one place, you’re making sure you still have enough money left to enjoy your holiday, even in case of a successful pickpocket.

Don’t Be Too Trusting

Photo by toasty

Even if it goes against your friendly nature, try to be as suspicious as possible to everyone you don’t know. Sure, seeing a complete stranger going out of his way to try and help you with your luggage seems pretty impressive, but 9 times out of 10 it just means their trying to rob you.

Some pickpockets pop out in front of you desperately asking you to look at a map, or a document. They’re trying to distract you long enough for their accomplices to work their magic on your luggage, so make sure you politely decline, and keep walking.

Don’t Give Out Signs

Photo by blueace

Pickpockets find their way to your wallet and valuables well enough on their own, but they won’t say “no” to a few free directions. One of the most common techniques to find out where you keep your small treasure, is to yell something like “Watch Out, there’s a pickpocket around!”

You’re probably thinking there’s no way you’d fall for something like that, but you wouldn’t believe how many tourists reach for their safe place to protect or check if everything is in place. That’s all the invitation pickpockets need, so make sure you refrain from such reactions.

Stay Away from Trouble

Photo by acousticskyy

Traveling to a strange, new place can be an incredible experience, but it always helps to keep in mind that dangers lurk everywhere. Even if your vacation destination seems like the safest place on the planet, try to keep away from crowded places, that’s where pickpockets feel most in their element.

Sightseeing often has tourists lose their way, but it’s always a good idea to stick to main streets and stay away from back-alleys. You never know who’s a few feet behind you, waiting for their chance to strip you of your belongings.

Don’t Make It Easy

Photo by epicharmus

Pickpockets are very good at what they do, some of them practicing this “trade” from a very young age, the last thing you want to do is make it easy for them. Never use your outer pockets to store cash or jewelry, keep high-tech gadgets out of sight, until the moment you need to use them.

When possible, keep your hands in your pockets, that will definitely keep any pickpocket’s hands out. Always look around before using an ATM, there’s a good chance someone’s watching your every move.

Image by Tambako the Jaguar

Ponte degli Scalzi

Designed by Eugenio Miozzi and completed in 1934, replacing an old Austrian iron bridge, this is one of the four bridges over the Grand Canal in Venice. This is the first bridge you will see in Venice, since it is the one built right in front of the train station. The bridge connects the sestieri (local urban subdivisions) of Santa Croce and Cannaregio.

Image by Cfuga

Ponte Tron or Ponte de la Piavola

Ponte Tron is one of more than 400 bridges that connect the archipelago of  118 islands divided by 150 canals in the Venetian lagoon. Although the constructors used the same salt-white Istrian stone one can see everywhere in Venice and vase profiles on the balustrade, due to its small size, the bridge is also called la piavola, the “doll’s bridge” in Veneziano.

Image by Wikipedia.

Ponte della Liberta

Not very impressive in style or history, this bridge connects Venice with the mainland, the city of Mestre. Designed in 1932 by the same Eugenio Miozzi and opened by Mussolini in 1933, the bridge became a symbol of the end of the Fascist dictatorship. Being 3.85 kilometers long and having two lanes each way, it was the biggest bridge in Italy when it was finished.

Image by be|design.

Ponte di Rialto

The oldest bridge across the Grand Canal, the Rialto Bridge was completed in 1531. The two ramps of the bridge lead up to a central portico and there are no less than three walkways: two along the balustrades and one between two rows of shops. The bridge is 48 meters long, 22 meters wide and its arch is 7.5 meters long. The whole structure stands on 12,000 wooden pilings even today, after more than 400 years.

Image by llamnudds.

Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs)

Probably the most famous bridge in Venice, Ponte dei Sospiri was built in 1602, of white limestone. It passes Rio di Palazzo and it connects the old prison with the interrogation rooms. This was the last view that convicts saw after the imprisonment and it is said that they would sigh at the view of beautiful Venice. Legends say that kissing in a gondola at the sunset will lead to eternal love.

Image by artorusrex.

Barcelona, nestled between the softly rolling Mediterranean and the Pyrenees, is a cosmopolitan paradise and the perfect place for a spring vacation.

For architecture lovers, Gaudi’s brilliant work is everywhere. Dizzying spiral spires painted every strange color imaginable, from aquamarine to deep violet to blood orange dot the city. His buildings’ imaginative shapes and textures are unmatched anywhere in the world. The golden Sagrada Familia church is a good place to start in your Gaudi tour, as is the Park Guell, filled with sculptures of fantasy creatures and sinuous, curving columns.

If you’re more into traditional architecture, Barcelona is home to some of the world’s most well-preserved Gothic architecture. In the Ribera district at the center of the city, in the middle of narrow streets and alleyways, you can find such gems as the Santa Maria del Mar cathedral. Combining a massive, sturdy stone exterior with an intricately detailed interior space, this landmark is not to be missed.

The Barri Gotic, an entire quarter in the center of the city, has been preserved to look the way it looked five hundred years ago. Walking through here will feel like walking through history.

Spain offers many culinary masterpieces, in no small part due to its being a federation of multiple distinct cultures. Barcelona is the capital of the Catalan province in northeastern Spain, with its own language, customs, and foods.

Traditional Catalan fare involves a lot of tomato and olive oil dishes, as well as pork and seafood. Because it’s so close to France and Italy, it often has a decidedly Mediterranean feel, from the “Pa amb tomàquet” (excellent bread soaked in olive oil and tomato sauce) to the Coques, savory miniature pizza-like pastries with thick crusts and all sorts of toppings.

Barcelona is also close enough to Valencia that the paella is exquisite.

The hill of Montjuïc, just inside the city, is dedicated to a mix of cultural and natural beauty. A museum dedicated to the modern artist Joan Miro sits in harmony with the botanical gardens, and rolling greenery surrounds the ornate The Palau Nacional. At night, the brilliant Font Màgica treats visitors to a display of glowing streams of colored water. You can get to the top of Montjuic by funicular railway from the city or by romantic gondola lift.

Further outside, the area surrounding Barcelona is nothing short of stunning. The Montserrat monastery in the middle of the Pyrenees, facing east over the Mediterranean, offers beautiful sunrises in quiet, peaceful settings. Collserola Park to the west is the largest park near a metropolitan center in the world. Within easy walking and driving distance of the city and probably your hotel in Barcelona, it plays home to a rich variety of wildlife. From wild boar to eagles, tree frogs to giant tortoises, you’re sure to have some sort of adventure while wandering about Collserola park.

Finally, the nightlife in the city. Spaniards love to party, and Barcelona is no exception. With over 200 nightclubs and bars, it can be difficult to choose where to hang out on your spring vacation. Chupitos, located in several spots around the city, is a good choice – with over one hundred shots, including some that spark and some that are set on fire, you get free entertainment with your drink! The Dow Jones prices its drinks according to the stock market, which is a fun gimmick, and the cultured Cafe Milans in the Barri Gotic is home to art galleries and live exhibitions, as well as dance floors and bars. No matter where you go, however, you’re sure to have a fun time, filled with music, dancing and much merriment.

Images courtesy of reinante, fixe, wolfgangstaudt, jsome1, wolfgangstaudt, papalars, austinevan, danielflowers, papalars.

Fontana del Moro

Photo by rafaelji

One of the three fountains in Rome’s Piazza navona, the Fontana del Moro was built in 1575, following the design of Giacomo della Porta. The basin of the fountain was made out of antique rose marble and featured the statues of tritons.

Photo by scalleja

In 1654, Gianlorenzo Beninini was asked to improve the appearance of the fountain designed by Giacomo della Porta, so he added the center statue of a triton standing on a conch. Because of the statue’s facial features, it was called “il Moro” (the Moor) and eventually the name described the entire fountain.

Fontana delle Naiadi

Photo by climens

Commissioned by Pope Pius IX, in 1870, and completed in 1888, the Fontana delle Naiadi is considered the most beautiful of all modern fountains in Rome. The original fountain featured four chalk lions that were later replaced with bronze statues of the naiads.

Photo by 30208099@N00

The four naiads, located around the large circular basin of Rome’s Fontana delle Naiadi, are the Nymph of the Lakes (holding a swan), the Nymph of the Rivers (riding a river monster), the Nymph of the Oceans (riding a horse) and the Nymph of the Underground Waters (lying on the back of a dragon).

Fontana del Pantheon

Photo by andyhay

Located in Piazza della Rotonda, in front of the famous Roman Pantheon, the Fontana del Pantheon was originally designed by Giacomo della Porta, in 1575m and sculpted out of marble. The composition featured a multi-linear shell constructed on three travertine steps.

Photo by basl

In 1711, Pope Clement XI charged Filippo Barignoni to come up with a new design that contained a new basin, made of stone, and the obelisk of Ramses. The base plinth of the center piece is decorated with four dolphins, carved by Luigi Amici.

Fontana del Nettuno

Photo by gabdurakhmanov

Depicting the god Neptune fighting an octopus, surrounded by Nereids and seahorses, the Fontana del Nettuno stands on the north side of Piazza Navona, Rome. It dates back to 1576, but extra details were added in 1878, to adorn a rather plain fountain built by Giacomo della Porta.

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi

Photo by aschaf

Recognized as one of the most beautiful fountains in the world, the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi is the masterpiece of Italian designer, Gianlorenzo Bernini, and an emblematic example of Baroque art. The four marble statues at the base of the great obelisk represent four major rivers of our world (Ganges, Nile, Danube and Plate), which in turn represent the four continents.

Photo by Enth’ust’eac

Just like two other incredible works of art on our list, the Fontana dei Quatro Fiumi is positioned in the center of Piazza Navona, built on the site of the old Stadium of Domitian, this area is one of the major tourist attractions of the city, and thus surrounded by dozens of Rome hotels.

Fontana di Trevi

Photo by Bodow

One of the major architectural symbols of Rome, the Fontana di Trevi is considered by most to be the most beautiful fountain in the world. 26 meters in height and 20 meters in width, this Baroque masterpiece of Nicola Salvi simply dominates Rome’s Piazza Poli.

Photo by Ludmi?a Pilecka

Featuring breathtaking sculptures, executed by some of the finest artists in Italian history, the Fontana di Trevi has to be seen first hand, in order to be fully appreciated. Salvi’s fountain is also famous for the legend which states that anyone who throws in a coin, is guaranteed a return to Rome. Around 3,000 euro are thrown into the Fontana di Trevi, every single day.

Albert Cuypmarkt (Albert Cuypstraat)

This might be the perfect stop after visiting museums nearby Museumplein. It’s the Netherlands’ greatest outdoor market and some say it is Europe’s biggest, as well. Albert Cuypmarkt is a great Bazaar with cheap clothing, traditional herring and fresh cheese that hides behinds its stalls delicious restaurants and shops. Located in Amsterdam’s Quartier Latin, this is a great spot for all those tourists that like to taste the nightlife scene of a city.

Houseboat Museum (Prinsengracht 296 K)

Located on Hendrika Maria, a former commercial carrier built in 1914, the visitors of this unusual museum can acquire information regarding the nature of this special lifestyle in Amsterdam – living on a boat that never sails. The old structure of the house is still preserved and the original configuration of the ship is presented on the tour.

Smallest House (Singel 7)

180 cm wide, less that the average height of a Dutch house – this is the length of the narrowest house in Amsterdam. In the past, the property taxes were set on the width of a building, therefore the owner had in mind to cut some costs. Nowadays, the house is still inhabited, so do not expect to get an inside tour.

Het Concertgebouw (Concertgebouwplein 10)
What’s so secret here? The neoclassical concert hall built in 1888 hosts free lunchtime concerts in the summer months. The Concertgebouw is the home of the Royal Dutch Orchestra, that enjoys a worldwide reputation.

Cine Tuschinski (Reguliersbreestraat 26-34)
A flamboyant cafe located in the main lobby of the theater is a perfect stop if you don’t want to see a movie. Built in Art Nouveau and Art Deco, in 1921, the whole building was recently renovated in its original style. The most splendid movie theater in the Pathe chain of cinemas.

Image credit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Naples is more and more becoming a hip travel destination for the young and the young at heart. Combining a rich history with a happening, super-cool fashion, cultural, and party scene, Neapolis (the original name of the city) is truly the “new city,” offering an experience of complete newness to everyone who goes to visit. No place in the world is quite like it. From beaches to churches, from pizzerias to gallerias, from nightclubs to catacombs, Naples has something for everybody.

The Old New City

One of the most underrated gems of the Naples experience involves its underground crypts, catacombs, and caves. Of all the old Renaissance Italian cities, Naples contains one of the most comprehensive sets of underground tunnels still existant today. Many of these, like the crypts beneath the San Lorenzo Maggiore medieval church or beneath the Duomo di Napoli, contain former Roman ruins. These tunnels have been used throughout history as shelter, both during the tumultuous Medici era of warring Italian states and most recently, during the bombings of World War II. Some catacombs, like the Grotta di Seiano, were artificially hewn out of the earth by the ancient Greeks and are over 2000 years old.

The Teatro San Carlo, an opera house dating from the 18th century, hearkens back to when Naples was considered the musical capital of Europe. Classical and opera performances still take place in this grand hall, all columned box seats and frescoed ceilings. Sitting in the rows, you can feel as though you’re being taken back to the late 1700s and early 1800s when soaring, single-pointed music flourished throughout Europe.

Finally, the churches and museums in Naples are not to be missed. In comparison with other Italian churches, sites like the Sansevero Chapel and the New Jesuite Church have an interesting, unique sort of edge. Sansvero contains marble sculptures of holy figures, while the New Jesuite Church in the Piazza del Gesu is known for its complex baroque spires. The Museo Archeologico Nazionale, one of the most popular museums in the city, fits well with all the underground catacombs and crypts. It contains objects and paintings from Herculaneum, Pompeii, and other Roman excavation sites around Napoli.

The New New City

Beaches! As a port city, Naples is famous for its seafood, and famous for its beaches. The Campi Flegrei along the coast is home to a fascinating mixture of hot springs, Roman ruins, and beautiful coastline, where people from all over the world sunbathe, swim, and take in the intensely beautiful experience that is Napoli.

Pizza! There’s Italian pizza, and then there’s Naples pizza. Naples is considered the birthplace of pizza – almost a sacred landmark for any young person who’s ever lived on pizza in college! You can visit the Pizzeria Brandi near Plebescito Square, where you can find on display the First Pizza Stone Ever and a brief history. The pizza here is, naturally amazing, and people flock here from all over the city (and country, and world) to taste it. Also try the pizzerias lining the Via dei Tribunali for the authentic Napoli pizza experience.

Nightlife! If it’s bar-hopping and clubbing you’re looking for, be sure to check out the Chiaia neighborhood to the west of the classical neighborhood around the Piazza di Plebescito. Young men and women from all over are lending vitality and excitement to the city, and world-class DJs perform in clubs all over the city. The largest congregation of clubs is around the Piazza Santa Maria la Nova, Piazza Bellini, and the Piazza San Domenico Maggiore, just blocks from the ocean.

Of course, you can’t forget Mt. Vesuvius. The iconic mountain of Italy resides just south the city, along with the ruins of Pompeii, and is open to climb and explore. From the mountainside, the view of the city in all its glorious contradictory beauty is a sight to behold.

Images courtesy of francesco sqroi, argenberg, globetrotter1937, cadenl (1 + 2 + 3), peachy6 and shelltyler.

Considered to be the creation of the Hindu God Vishnu, Kerala has played an important part in Indian history and culture since its history began, in 5,000 BC. People have been traveling to this earthly paradise for the last 2,000 years, searching for spices, ivory and sandalwood. Nowadays, Kerala is also a prime tourist destination, thanks to its semi-flooded area that stretches from Cochin to Trivandrum. This amazing water web consists of lakes, canals, estuaries and the deltas of 44 rivers that flow into the Arabian Sea.

The Kerala Backwaters are unique to India, with no other place in the world even coming close in beauty and complexity. Most of the rich aquatic life is endemic to these wetlands, including several species of crab, frogs, mudskippers as well as numerous birds, turtles and otters. Although man has lived in harmony with wildlife, for centuries, the increasing number of motorized boats is causing concerns regarding the pollution of this fragile ecosystem.

The over 900 km of navigable waters make the Wetlands of Kerala a perfect destination for boat cruising. Renting a Kettuvallam (traditional house boat) and exploring the marvelous Kerala marshlands is the main tourist activity in the area. It’s a great way of discovering life in the many interconnected villages and cities of Kerala, including Cochin, India’s famous “Venice of the East”, with its extensive networks of man-made canals.

Kettuvallams are special boats, constructed without using a single nail. The master house-boat makers of the Kerala Backwaters use only wooden planks, fastened with rope made from coconut palm trees and covered with black tar boiled from the shells of cashew nuts. They have adapted to modern demands, so most of them have electricity, bedrooms, kitchenettes, a lounge, and even bathrooms. Measuring up to 80 feet in length, Kettuvallams really are true floating houses.

For a more rural experience, the electricity on the house boats is often cut and replaced with lamps and torches. You can sit back and carefully observe the palms on the banks of the canals, as they bend over the water giving it a green hue, or you can venture off into the friendly villages and experience their lifestyle up close, while enjoying some refreshing coconut water.

However you choose to discover Kerala, you won’t regret traveling to God’s Own Country and its picturesque backwaters.

Belden Place

Some call it a street, others call it an alley, one thing it’s for sure – this is the hub of the French American community of San Francisco. The area was the home of the 3,000 French people that moved here at the end of the Gold Rush, in 1851. Nowadays, the street is packed with the city’s best French and Italian restaurants and cafes.  Belden Place is a pedestrian area, therefore you won’t be needing your car to explore this marvelous street.

The Castro Street

The street, as well as the district, is a well known gay neighborhood, a famous location for all the LGBT events and activism. The street originates at the Divisadero and Waller Streets intersection and its name comes from a leader of the Mexican opposition to US rule in the 19th century. A movie palace built in 1922, Castro Theater, Twin Peaks Bar – the first gay bar in San Francisco and probably in the United States and the Pink Triangle Park – are just several attractions located on this legendary street.

Grant Avenue

It’s one of the oldest streets in Chinatown that runs on a north-south direction, starting at Market Street and ending past Francisco Street. Originally called Calle de la Fundacion (Spanish for “Street of the Founding”), on the days when the city was named Yerba Buena, the street got its actual name, after the president Ulysses S. Grant, in the re-construction of the city that followed the 1906 earthquake. The street is lined with dragon entwined lamp posts and hundreds of shops with food, fabrics and furniture from China and Taiwan.

Montgomery Street

The “Wall Street of the West” was once a waterfront street of San Francisco, sometime in the 1840s. Between 1849 and 1852, the waterfront advanced four blocks. Nowadays, Montgomery Street is no less than seven blocks away from the water. Some of the world’s largest financial institutions and major American banks have their headquarters here, especially between Market Street and Sacramento Street.

Lombard Street

Dizzily hairpin turns for one block and a steep angle – that is something you’ll never see anywhere else not just in San Francisco, but in the whole world. On the Russian Hill, between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets, the road has eight sharp turns that made the street “the crookedest street in the world”. The hairpins were designed to reduce the hill’s natural 27% grade, which was too steep for most vehicles to climb. On this section, the speed limit is just 5 mph (8 km/h).

Image credit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

1. International Rotten Sneaker Contest

Apparently there are 250,000 sweat glands that dot each of your feet and can be very productive when it comes to the usually much unwelcome wetness. With the Odor Eaters expertise one cannot be mistaken. But this time, it’s sweat time, no time for embarrassment! Give your sneakers a very special wear-and-tear and make them the grimiest and grungiest footwear to ever tread the Earth. Wear off the soles, lose the laces and grommets, let your toes wiggle and don’t forget – offensive smell is essential. Raise your head high and proud for this time there are qualified specialists with di-stink-tive titles of “odorologists” to appreciate your effort at the annual International Rotten Sneaker Contest in Montpelier, Vermont. Held in March, no foot talc or baths before recommended!

_{Rotten sneakers anyone? Photo by claire.m}

2. Two Harbors Outhouse Race

One might think a privy is an intimate matter. Not in Two Harbors, Minnesota where every February you’re given a one-of-a-kind chance to display your outhouse creativity. Before you let your imagination bubble with images of how imaginative one can be in a toilet, let’s put it straight – Outhouse Classic is a race. Just use your DIY and a bit of design skills, put your very own privy together, fit it with a seat and a roll of toilet paper and ready … steady… flush! Similar events take place in Mackinaw City, Michigan, Conocully, Washington, and Trenary, Michigan.

_{Show your creative streak, too! Photo by Brian Rossow}

3. Emma Crawford Coffin Race

If morbid skeletons, half-rotten corpses and taking a peek inside a coffin make your heart beat faster head for Manitou Springs, Colorado, where every weekend prior to Halloween the town hosts some macabre events in memory of Emma Crawford. As the local lore goes, Emma came to Manitou to take advantage of the healing climate and fight her tuberculosis. In vain. She died and was buried atop the Red Mountain where she rested peacefully till one rainy summer which washed her coffin down the mountain and into the canyon below. As you can imagine that was enough of an incentive to start commemorating her death in a somewhat original way. Feel it yourself and join the crowds of mourners parading along the streets, racing their coffins and showing off their spooky costumes.

_{Emma, is that you? Photo by Lars Leber}

_{Memento mori. Photo by normreich}

4. Sidewalk Egg Frying Contest

To spice up you Route 66 ride pull over at Oatman, Arizona, which becomes pretty hot and sizzling every July 4th for its annual egg frying contest. Piece of cake, you might think. Not if you have to use solar heat to fry. It is a feast of creativity and DIY for the contestants who use anything from the humble aluminum foil and magnifying glasses to more sophisticated homegrown solar gadgets to get an egg fried in maximum 15 minutes. Bon appetit!

_{And becon? Photo by Dragan}

5. Burning Man Festival

There is an ephemeral city in Nevada desert that turns into the epicenter of shocking art and free-spirited minds for one week. Out-of-this-world installations, extraterrestrial sculptures and architectural experiments intermingle with naked body-painted humans and wacky vehicles. No tags, no labels attached – it’s the art and imagination that rule here, not the names and artists. Bizarre as it is, the Burning Man is a world-class event. Don’t waste your time if you want to be a part of it, after a week the city is disassembled and burned leaving the desert wilderness barren as it is before the festival starts.

_{Desert fauna or flora? Photo by light bloom}

_{Sand-proof merry-go-round. Photo by loupiote (Old Skool)}

A crazy world, isn’t it? Yet so compelling and irresistible.

This is a guest post by OpenTravel – a perfect avenue on the world wide web to share your travel experiences, plan your trips and connect with other like-minded travelers.