#weirdtravel

[fsg-travels]

Experimental travel Travel using dice to decide my fate. I've seen a couple of things online that people do. I'm going to something a lot weirder. Board game travel. #boardgame #experiment #experimentaltravel #weirdtravel #funnybackpacker #2020 #48counties https://www.instagram.com/p/B5BW_gmlMD6/?igshid=ty6b01d0gdur

[longdaystravel]

The Bearded Lady is TWO businesses in one building. Antiques and Oddities and The Mystic Museum. They carry Black Craft Cult and have local art for sales as well. A vast selection and beautifully curated. . . #supportsmallbusiness #shopsmall #oddities #wunderkammer #strangeandunusual #strangeplaces #weirdtravel #odditiesandcuriosities #odditiesandantiques (at Bearded Lady Vintage and Oddities) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByqQX92FbeP/?igshid=18xdqwul6ab0v

[brucedrawsworlds]

Ooh, I always love getting new canvas prints in! Limited edition #1/100 for ‘If Stones Could Cry’, and #3 and #6 for ‘Within the Sky’ and ‘The Wreckers’, respectively. All of them will be hung in the Norwescon art show this weekend and hopefully find their forever homes! :-) #weirdandwonderful #rollthedice #ttrpg #gameartist #weirdlandscape #weirdlandscapes #landscapeart #rpglandscape #weirdplaces #weirdtravel #travelweird #pirateship #aargh #rpgdice #ttrpgdice #numenera #gamedev https://www.instagram.com/p/BwYU1GMl1wd/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=anko1yza26wz

[tomaszagoda]

Love this basketball court in Paris. Via: https://www.instagram.com/p/BVutwC2lHsY

[theaaronsagers]

Yes, there's a Peter Falk Columbo statue in #Budapest (w/ his dog 'Dog,' which is actually a local dog celeb). And there's a bit of a mystery behind the reason why. Is it because he's related to the man the street is named after, or was supposedly part Hungarian, or...? . According to @atlasobscura: . . . 'Installed in 2014 at an estimated cost of $63,000, the bronze P.I. was part of an overall rejuvenation project in the area, although exactly why the figure was chosen is a bit of a mystery. According to organizers, actor Peter Falk may have been related to the 19th-century Hungarian political figure, Miksa Falk, after whom the street is named, although they also admit that this connection has yet to be proven. The American Falk is known to have had Hungarian roots on one side of his family, although it has never been linked to Miksa Falk’s family. Some have also questioned the timing of the statue’s installation given that Peter Falk passed away in 2011, meaning that it is unlikely to commemorate his passing either. Many believe that it was unveiled in time to garner votes in an upcoming election, although this seems to be a strange way to go about it. Just one more thing… At the foot of the metal lieutenant’s feet is a bronze basset hound modeled after a local dog named Franzi, who even showed up for the unveiling. This is of course supposed to be Columbo’s droopy-faced pet, “Dog.” Unfortunately, the dog does not seem to provide any further clues as to the decision-making process behind the statue’s bizarre existence. Maybe if Columbo was still alive, he could have solved the case.' #weirdtravel #travel

[theladyoctavia]

Shameless selfie with the mysterious black waters of Lake Drummond, a perfectly round natural lake with unknown origins and a haunted history, located in the center of The Great Dismal Swamp. 🖤💀🖤 #theladyoctavia #witch #witchesofinstagram #shameless #selfie #roadtrip #adventure #thegreatdismalswamp #lakedrummond #greatdismalswamp #mystery #haunted #weirdtravels #weirdvirginia #hauntedvirginia #ladyofthelake #legend #ghosts #swamp #ghosthunting #hauntedhistory (at Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge)

[eventours]

We always love doing alternative things. Here is one for you to think or join or just laugh at. #alternativeexperiences #eventours #beeryoga #yogatrips #weirdtravel #travel4all #newyork #americandream #travelwide #tripideas #instavideos #instapic #instapeople #instaideas #instago #instatrip #instavogue #travelwell #yogatimes #yogaguru #travel4events #eventourstravels #guwahati #assamtravel #awesomeassam #incredibleindia #condetraveler #worldwide (at New York, New York)

[weirdtravel]

Onsen theme park, Hakone - Japan

An onsen is a traditional Japanese hot spring bath where you can go with others to relax (naked) in hot spring water.  Some of them are located in major cities like Tokyo however we decided to make the trek out to the beautiful and natural mountain regions of Hakone to visit a weird onsen theme park: Hakone Kowakien Yunessun where we had heard you could bathe in pools of red wine.

This onsen theme park is perched up on a hill and is as far from a traditional spa experience as you can get while still being the most weird Japanese thing you could do. The complex has two different areas, the theme park Yunessun where you remain clothes (like a regular water park) or the traditional “Mori No Yu” where you get separated by gender and go butt naked.

We had come here for the weird pools so after working our way between four levels of change rooms and empty restaurants we ended up here. There is a huge main pool that’s quite shallow for kids. The “sky” roof is painted a permanently cheery blue (with clouds) and there is a strange Greek Island vibe. I should mention this entire facility looks like it can handle 20,000 people - there was only maybe 20 people total here the day we went though it was still fully staffed. 100% ghost town vibes.

The main pool had industrial bubble machines and water jets shooting around every so often. We chose to first visit the hot pool (very hot pool) filled with red wine. Yes that’s a huge bottle of red wine that a fountain of spring water pours out of. Other pools included a sake pool, green tea pool (which smelt pretty good), ramen broth pool (my friend pictured above is pretending to be a noodle in the ramen cup) and my personal favourite: the coffee pool where twice a day they would pour freshly brewed coffee into the pool that you could actually drink. People went mad for this.

You could also visit “Dr Fish” who swim around eating the dead skin from your feet. Because that’s a thing people want to pay for. What is life.

There’s a big outdoor area with a cave pool to explore (whyyyyy) and also a geothermal spring waterslide which looks fun but I got stuck half way each time before getting shouted at (politely) by the Japanese life guard to move along.

The kids climbing frame outside looked like a fun game of Wipe Out. It was also a lovely outdoor area with all the cherry blossoms around. I should mention again that this is all geothermal hot spring water so it’s quite warm and lovely ALL THE TIME!

It was also quite nice having the place (basically) to ourselves. We were impressed that the 1000′s of staff that seemed to be working did not slack off (like us Aussies would have) with nothing actually happening. I imagine it gets quite busy here but for us on a Sunday afternoon it was empty. What a relaxing / strange experience.

[thecrownjulies]

My view at Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris today. Visited Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison, then we spent a few minutes getting some grave rubbings. #travel #weirdtravel

[thecrownjulies]

My walk inside the Paris Catacombs today. Amazing. Stunning. 💀#travel #oddities #weirdtravel

[thecrownjulies]

Greyfriars Kirkyard today in Edinburgh, Scotland! Supposedly very haunted. Also, JK Rowling started writing Harry Potter while overlooking this place. There's even a Thomas Riddle here. 💀 #travel #oddities #weirdtravel

[weirdtravel]

Luwak coffee, Bali - Indonesia

Bali is absolutely beautiful, full of Aussie bogans, lovely locals and surprisingly has pretty decent coffee if you know where to go.  Coming from Melbourne where we have one of the best coffee scenes on the planet I feel like my expectations are pretty high when people let me know about their favourite coffee places.  Luwak coffee or as it's known in Indonesia, Kopi Luwak, sounds nice, tastes nice but it is not the nicest story for how it's produced (if you're squeemish).

These little guys are Luwaks (also known as Civet).  They are a cute little mix of tree cat, possum and fuzzy ball of joy.  When I visited their coffee farm they were happy to pose for photos (thanks Luwaks!).

The way it works is these little luwaks like to eat coffee berries and apparently are very selective, choosing only the very best berries to munch on.  I find this very hard to believe as they looked like they would happily munch on whatever they found. Whatever. I'm not going to tell you what to think.

The official story goes that these fussy luwaks choose only the best coffee berries, munch on them and poop out the coffee beans.  People scurry around and collect them, rinse them off, roast and grind them and hey presto - my favourite liquid - COFFEE! 

Our kopi luwak was quite smooth and nice, I wouldn't write home about it but the whole process involved in making it is really weird and interesting.  Who thought it was a good idea to collect poo and make it into a drink in the first place? That's not a normal thing surely!? Anyway it's a big industry now so good on them.

Drinking coffee and having this view. Dreams are made of this.

Go for the cute animals and stay for the coffee. Whoever came up with kopi luwak, I tip my hat to you sir.

[weirdtravel]

Pokemon Cafe, Tokyo, Japan

Let's get one thing straight OK?! I do not and have never been a massive fan of Pokemon. Sure, I could probably name 100 different types of these little Japanese critters but what child of the 90's can't?! My love of weird and unusual places in foreign countries as well as my food obsession got the best of me and I so on a freezing cold day I decided to join the obsession and visit a real life Pokemon cafe in Tokyo!

Just like Mordor, one can not simply walk into the Pokemon Cafe. The cafe opens at 11AM sharp though through a complicated ticketing system (very proud of my broken Japanese skills in working this out) I was able to secure a table with only a 4 hour wait!

While you wait you can collect a limited edition Pikachu for your gameboy if you have one (I didn't FYI). There is also a whole lot of vending machines - because Japan.

So time ticked by and finally it was my turn to get into a real life Pokemon game! I was politely told to order my food in advance and that once I was seated I couldn't order any more food or drinks.  I had already browsed over the menu and opted for the weirdest / craziest things I could find (of course). When in Kanto city after all?!  There was also a photo booth opportunity where you got to dress up like a Pokemon but I won't show you that - I don't want to break The Internet.

As I was a solo diner they made sure I wouldn't sit alone and plopped this stuffed guy in front of me, gave him a menu and even checked if he wanted to order anything #kawaii

I was surprised to find that there was absolutely no children in the whole cafe! Adults were the only customers with a few elderly people joining in too. I guess the kids are into something else now? Nothing is stranger than being in a toy shop with no children... a kids game in real life with only adults = bizarre. 

My drink arrived and I felt like a monster for wanting to devour it.  It was actually pretty tasty, though strange.  Believe it or not but this is a strange mix of iced coffee with passionfruit whipped stuff on top and chocolate dipped biscuit ears. Mmmmm iced coffee passionfruit! #cannoteven

Then this showed up.  Seaweed wrapped omelette with yellow dyed 'saffron' rice. You had a choice of side "Magma sauce" or "Aqua sauce" so being the adventurous type I went with the weird blue gloop / soup stuff.  I then ripped into Pikachu's cute little face and left no prisoners. He was destroyed. RIP Pikachu.

What even is this. No wait, I prefer not to know.  It had the consistency of blue paint, tasted like starchy rice and some unknown flavour I can best describe as 'blue'. mmmm blue stuff.  I got to get a new Pokeball cup to take home though!

There was of course loads of limited edition "cafe only" merchandise to purchase. I was feeling too light headed / full from my blue gloop to think about any of it.  I tasted blue for the rest of the day. WOO CHEMICALS! 

[weirdtravel]

Toilet Cafe - Taipei, Taiwan

I have been fascinated by Taiwan for years.  It's one of those countries (and it is a separate country, despite what China may think) that not that many tourists consider when travelling around Asia.  With Japan and South Korea so close by it's often unfairly overlooked.  I can say right now that it's easily one of the friendliest, cool and weird (in a good way) places I have ever been.  I start salivating just thinking of all the amazing street food.  That brings me to this cafe...

I have loved themed cafes for a while now.  I think it comes from my healthy obsession with unusual, strange and just... different places around the world that make a city truly unique.  Well you can't get much more unique than this gem.

Modern Toilet has been around for a while now and is located in the hipster "mini Harajuku" of Taipei, Ximen (Ximending).  This district is packed full of amazing places like a seafood restaurant where you sit on swings (why?) or cute shops that sell only 6 different postcards (how do they survive?).  These questions aside, I love this area and was keen to try a toilet themed restaurant. 

Gathering a group of fellow travellers we entered Modern Toilet with very low expectations for the food. 

After all we knew it was all served in miniature toilet bowls and lets face it, themed cafes are not known for their great dining. 

We had a large group and were given a nice seat in the corner overlooking the "giant toilet" round table and glowing yellow turd lamps lighting our table up nicely (again... what even... can't deal).

We were shocked to find the prices actually quite good and the set meals of a hotpot/curry etc with sides, drink and dessert looked great.  I went with a vegetarian hot pot though happily my mates ordered a curry because you can't go to a toilet themed restaurant where food is served in mini toilets without ordering toilet looking food right?!

Curry toilet was a highlight... apparently quite tasty too.

Don't worry, even your hot chocolate is served in a mini toilet cup.

The hot pots are actually pretty decent but the star of the show was on it's way and we could barely hold in our excitement for what was to come (might be exaggerating a bit).

MINI PASTEL COLOURED ASIAN SQUAT TOILETS WITH POO COLOURED CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM! #CANNOTEVENHANDLE

Afterwards you can wash up, just watch out because this is the sink... not the toilet.

Gift shop... Yes these are real and all amazing (re: bizarre) 

Mint poos with happy faces... because Taiwan.  Honestly I would recommend checking it out like all the places I post in this blog. It's weird, the food is served in a fun way and your guaranteed a laugh.  Also where else can you do this? Taiwan, you are crazy and I love you.