Wednesday, 2 June 2010 12:00
Travel Weird Tourist Attractions From Around The World
There are only so many times you can fly to Cancun, visit Cocobongo, and wake up on the beach with nothing but a t-shirt on. While the world is filled with picturesque destinations, party centrals and eclectic wonders, sometimes it pays to through normalcy to the wind and visit a noodle bath in Japan.
Bitchin’ Lifestyle takes a look at six weird tourist attractions from around the world.
Noodle Bath – Japan
Leave it to the Japanese to think of a way to make bath-time more fun. Or weird, if you don’t think bathing in soup is hilarious. Spa officials in Tokyo claimed that the popular Ramen noodle soup and its ingredient, pepper collagen, does wonders for the skin and decided to make the whole meal into a spa treatment. The bath uses real pork broth but doesn’t use edible noodles. Health code authorities find that ass-soaked soup is not entirely good for customers to eat. This is just another addition to the ‘amusement baths’ Yunessan Spa Housesuch offers – chocolate, wine and sake are also available. Silly American societies have been using water and soap for centuries.
Cockroach Hall of Fame – United States
The next time you’re headed to Plano, Texas, and you’re just itching to do something different, swing by Michael Bohdan’s Cockroach Hall of Fame. With over 20 years of experience in the pest control biz, it’s really not a stretch to fathom that he would somehow find a way to showcase these deceased little critters. If bugs don’t creep you out, the fact that he dresses them up like ‘Liberoachi’ might. The Hall of Fame features the cockroaches in different settings and different costumes – like the one above titled ‘Roach Liberty. The museum doesn’t showcase dead roaches alone either. If ‘dead’ isn’t your thing, the museum is home to very much alive Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches too.
Cabbages and Condoms – Bangkok
This isn’t the only ‘interesting’ place in Bangkok but it is the only one that offers a free vasectomy along a side order of Thai food. Aimed at maintaining a healthy level of birth control and an environmentally conscious society, the establishment is a full blown working restaurant and decorated with over 40,000 condoms from all over the globe. Don’t worry, they aren’t used. The goal of the restaurant is to make condoms as mainstream as cabbage. What’s their marketing strategy? Well, they offer a free condom with every coffee you order and, if you’re interested and willing, you can get a little snip right next door.
Hobbiton – New Zealand
A comicon lover’s paradise, Hobbiton is a haven for Lord of the Rings fanatics. In the green lands of New Zealand is a farm, a farm that houses the remnants of Frotto’s digs in the movie. Here, you’ll find 17 of the 37 ‘hobbit holes’ from the original flick. The actual farm offers 2-hour tours and the ultimate ‘sheep farm experience.’ Whatever that means. Now, all that’s missing is your cosplay gear, a plane ticket, and your dignity.
Manneken Pis – Brussels
This little statue is one of Brussels most popular tourist attractions. The statue made of bronze, depicts a boy peeing into a fountain’s basin. Not so impressive. What is interesting about this statue is that they dress him up in costumes several times a week. The schedule of costume changes is located near the fountain area and several of the costumes are on exhibit in a nearby museum in the city. The bronze statue, which has been dressed in a Judo outfit and as an organ builder, is also occasionally hooked up to a beer keg. Passersby are then handed plastic cups of beer which they can happily enjoy. Now, that’s impressive.
Sleep under water – Ithaa restaurant, The Maldives
This last attraction isn’t so much weird as it is unique. Five years ago Hilton opened the world’s first undersea restaurant at the Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa Rangali Island. The restaurant was over 15 feet deep within the Indian Ocean and has spectacular views of the ocean above and around, seating 12. As a special anniversary treat, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island offered the space up as a hotel room. The views are said to be spectacular but an overnight stay may be a little eerie especially when you’re the one in the tank and the fish are looking in.
What’s the weirdest place you’ve been to?
