A hospital themed restaurant that recently opened in Xinzhu, Taiwan, attracts lots of diners there and mind you, none of the diners are sick. The restaurant is a complete hospital with waitresses in nurse’s apparel and the decor in pristine white, complete with x-rays and prescriptions adorning the wall. The theme is not just about the decor, you get served on the hospital beds with drinks and beverages served from a vat suspended from the ceiling.

Now that you are in it, you might as well play along being a patient, so request for a wheel chair to be wheeled around to your table by the nurse or opt for crutches and walk to your table as the nurse-waitress helps you along. At your table, request for beverages to be injected into your mouth with syringes!

Oh yes! You can rush into one of the ‘emergency rooms’ (aptly named so) in case you need a wash room.

Hopefully, you don’t fall really sick while you try ‘Sick Dining’!

Image
Source

Abdul Qader al-Husan, Head of Jordan’s Rihab Centre for Archaeological Studies, confirmed that they have evidence to believe that the church was sheltered by early Christians, the seventy disciples of Jesus Christ, who fled persecution in Jerusalem, founded and took shelter in churches in northern Jordan. This discovery has been labeled as an ‘important milestone for Christians all around the world’. We may here say that in this age of sin and adultery, such spiritual disclosures are a miracle in itself. Apart from this great and holy historical achievement, we also expect a long season of spiritual plunge in Syria.

Via: Nola

It’s a place we all dream of – a remote island miles from civilization, the sun, sand and sea and all the time in the world to do just nothing! The tiny and remote Drawaqa island in the Yasawas group of Fiji is just the place to relax and unwind. The Barefoot Lodge on this island is perhaps the closest one can get to nature when on a holiday and it offers a genuine Fijian island village experience. No electricity, running water, phones or TV to distract you. The only sound you hear is the gentle lapping of the water and a soft wind blowing in the coconut palms. Accommodation is simple and the only way to reach the island is by ship or boat.

Visitors here can snorkel, go fishing, visit a neighbouring inhabited island and even plant a tree but the best way to soak in the peace and tranquility is to snuggle in a hammock strung between two coconut trees and snooze. After all sleeping is not a bad idea on this lazy island.

Via: Stuff

Now, you get your fix by watching Japanese having their sweet moments in the hot chocolate tub!

Source: 3yen

Be it any calamity, catastrophe, or hassle, life moves on even better than before. Ever since the destructive earthquake hit China in May - the biggest natural disaster to hit China since 1976 - there had been a sort of hidden fear among people about its recurrence, which is now fast disappearing. Sichuan has borne it bravely and it’s further attested by the increase in number of tourists. Penglai Resort became a witness to the fervor when thousands of swimmers capered into a pool to commemorate victory of life over nature’s devastation. Though this exhibition couldn’t last long as they weren’t able to swim for very comfortably, it’s so very indicative of the normalcy restored in the coastal province.

Source: Dailymail

If you have a taste for weird and exotic food and are bored with the regular meaty fare you get in the eateries, then you must try the exotic rat dishes served in one of the two Taiwan village restaurants. The Ho-la diner and Jiashing restaurant together dish out about 18 kg of rat fare every day. While Ho-la serves ten varieties of rat platters including rat soup and battered, black pepper-dipped, deep-fried rat, Jiashing serves 12 rat platters, focusing on one similar to the more common kung-pao chicken.

Rat meat became popular among people who could not afford poultry or meat way back in 1940’s and the flavor seems to have caught on with fervor. Wait, don’t smell a rat yet; the rats that are hunted grow up on crops from the surrounding fields and are not from the sewerage and drains. So, you can safely conclude that were hale and hearty before they reached your platter! The place is so much in demand at the meal times that you have to book table hours in advance if you don’t want to wait.

Looks like humans want to gnaw everything that creeps, crawls or walks!

Via: Stuff

When William Blake penned down about ‘Tiger’, he did say:

Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

People can interpret those lines in any form of philosophy or psychology, but the simple matter of fact is that, probably Blake was also marveling at god’s creation by looking at this powerful and splendid creature. Not for one moment did the poet imagine it to be weak, loving or tender. It was always a symbol of force, might and all conquering raw passion and energy. So, very rightly, Blake says that it is a creature to roam with majesty ‘in the forests of the night’.

But then the ‘Tiger Temple’ in Thailand is a place where you find these mighty creatures roam with unabated freedom among human company. Tigers in this temple have been bred by the monks and have always spent their lives in the quarry that is adjacent to the temple. While the whole thing started way back in 1999 when the temple found an abandoned tiger cub, it slowly lead to the locals giving the temples a few more cubs that were found in the surrounding forests. Now the temple has nearly 35 tigers, many of them full grown and as powerful as any.

The Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi, 100 miles north of Bangkok and is a major tourist destination, especially those who seek the thrill of walking with this stunning beast of nature. But there are growing concerns that this unnatural proximity might eventually lead to a casualty which is better avoided than later regretted. An incident very recently where a tiger walking beside a monk chose to turn back and speed towards a bunch of British tourists has caused a few flutters. Many believe that despite it not leading to any major incident on that day, the inevitability of someone losing a limb or even life one day is too obvious to see.

For long many believed that these tigers were drugged, removed of teeth and claws and are hence totally harmless. But nothing is more distant form the truth than that. They have always been in human contact, since their very birth and hence feel no threat in human company. For the tigers in the Tiger Temple, we are a natural part of their surroundings that they have no necessity to attack. This is nothing new as we have seen famous environmentalists hang out with mountain Gorillas and tame be friends with the Lions that have grown up with humans.

This is not to say that visiting them is a good idea though. A photo with a Tiger sleeping in your lap for $15 is not really the best snap you will ever get. Sure, these Tigers will never ever attack the monks that they grew up with, that is understandable and acceptable. But tourists are strangers to these wild cats and they might in one moment take anyone out. Visiting the temple is fine, but going that close might be going a bit too far. As Blake did say, they are at the end of the day, mighty force of forests and jungles; not your pet cats!

Source

The Chinese government had banned foreign tourists visiting Tibet following violent anti-government riots ahead of the Olympics in Lhasa and the nearby provinces, which have a predominantly Tibetan population. The restrictions were put, according to government officials, for the safety of foreign tourists and journalists.
The Chinese reaction was swift with troops sent in to stifle the demonstration. They performed drills in town squares and set up checkpoints around sensitive areas including Buddhist monasteries, which were surrounded by security forces and closed off.

Hundreds of suspected perpetrator have been arrested in the last three months, with many sentenced to years or life in prison in short trials for their role in the protests. Security agents carefully monitored the Olympic torch run through Lhasa and only a few handpicked foreign journalists, were invited to cover the event.

According to the official Xinhua News Agency, Life in Lhasa had returned to normal, however despite the lifting of the ban, it’s still not clear how accessible Tibet really is given the fact that foreign visas to China are being restricted in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.

Image

via: IHT

It took three months of preparation for this royal funeral and last rites. Agung Suyasa died on March 28. His body was kept embalmed under vigil where family and people of Ubud came to pay their last respects and brought daily offerings. Meanwhile the stage was being set for a royal and traditional cremation according to hindu rituals. Some dead bodies had waited months, even years, for this spectacular cremation on this Hindu island.

According to Hindu customs, the dead body is consigned to flames; which symbolizes it being reduced to earthly elements of earth, wind, water, fire and ether. The ashes are disposed into sea. The ritual also means soul is purified and renewed. Balinese belief says soul is then ready to inhabit a new being. It is a big circle of life. Everything transforms, takes a new form.

In the globalized world, such display of traditional rituals that too on such a big scale makes this a rare event. Death is rarely celebrated with procession, drums, music, thousands of masked volunteers, porters, symbolisms, emblems of the celebration and much fanfare. Separate pyres were made for all the bodies. The head of royal family had a huge pyre, with symbolic hollow bull structure inside which the body was placed and consigned to dancing flames. Bali itself has seen such a cremation after three decades.

This plurality of culture may look threatened by globalization but as people of this island believe; traditions of people and flavor of the place will never be dead, buried and forgotten. It’ll renew itself, it’ll transform into something new, something more intriguing, something more spectacular.

source: IHT

The arrival point is Tehran, also the capital of the country which houses the embassies and other structures of political importance. The people of Iran are extremely friendly; probably more than in any other part of the world which extends to mean they would even stand and greet strangers on the road striking a conversation. Every city in Iran is famous for one thing or the other which can be for making mullahs’ robes, tents or mattresses or for growing pomegranates or some citrus fruit.

Some of the cities are even famous for sexual potency or homosexuality. These cities can be visited by road from Teheran and each one has its own unique story to recite which is either deep rooted in the Islamic culture or reflects the rich history of the country.

The mosques of the country are architectural masterpieces each of them very beautifully made and preserved. The city of Persepolis also known as the city of minarets reveals beautiful twentieth century excavations which have come to represent the country of Iran itself. The journey to the city of Yazd is another visual delight with pistachio farms and lilac pale snowy mountains adorning the sceneries. The Iman square is extremely beautiful with its aesthetic Islamic architecture at its best.

The best period to visit is autumn-winter and the food available is good and cheap. The way of dressing has to be kept conservative and the women have to compulsorily keep their heads covered as an obligation. The country is extremely beautiful with the breathtaking sceneries and the aesthetic architecture and creates a very beautiful canvas which amalgamates beauty of nature with that of man-made excellence.

Via: The Telegraph