If you fancy yourself as some kind of international man/ma’am of mystery, this could be your dream celebration. Venice’s famous Carnival, like Carnival all around the world, involves an orgy of decadence before the self-denial of Lent. At least, that’s what Carnival is meant to celebrate, even if its origins have been long forgotten by many. Of course, Venice’s 12-day extravaganza is renowned for its masks that not only add an extra dash of colour to proceedings, but also encourage behaviour that may not come quite so naturally should the perpetrator be more easily identified.
Naturally, there are parades and drinking and dancing and debauchery, but also look out for other entertaining options: jousting tournaments, walking theatre performers leading tours of the city and its secrets, and games of calcio storico, an ancient sport that resembles football but also involves competitors knocking two shades of shit from one another.
If you fancy yourself as a bit of an artisan, get out the glue gun and BeDazzler, whip up a mask and enter it in the competition at Gran Teatro di Piazza San Marco. The overall winner receives a holiday in Venice and VIP tickets to Carnival events.
It is well worth the early pre dawn start to drift above the Masai; the only sound being the rushes of flame as the balloon pilot occasionally heats the air that keeps you afloat. It is certainly a whole new perspective to watch a lone elephant leaving a winding grass wake as the sunlight spills over the Mara or to look down on a giraffe nibbling an Acacia tree.
Outside of the game viewing the views from a hot air balloon highlights the beauty and vastness of the Masai Mara in a way that is impossible in a traditional open top vehicle.
It’s one of the most thigh-burning climbs to a temple you will ever endure, but Bhutan’s Tiger’s Nest Monastery (Paro Taktsang) is worth the effort. Perched on a cliff face 600 metres above the valley floor, the Tiger’s Nest is the kind of traveller’s eye-candy your body will forgive you for. After you’ve finished the trek, follow in the footsteps of Guru Padmasambhava (the founder of Tibetan Buddhism) and meditate. Legend has it he meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours, but he also purportedly reached the monastery by catching a tigeress there.
The Spanish island of Mallorca derives its name from the Latin word maiorica, meaning the larger one. What better motivation is there for shedding those extra kilos at the Ashram?
The island may be famous as a destination for the rich and beautiful, but there’s more to experience here than lazing by the sea.
Tackle nature’s very own stairmaster climbing 900-metre mountains each day and be rewarded with stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea, not to mention a bootilicious butt.
The week-long programs are aimed at fat-busting and muscle building and include daily 5.30am wake-up calls, kayaking, circuit training, pilates and yoga, topped off with a nutrient-rich vegetarian menu. Become ‘the smaller one’ you’ve always wanted to be.
Think you’ve got the downward dog, cobra and child’s pose down pat? Try doing them on a board in the water, smartypants. Introducing YOGAqua, a stand-up-paddle-boarding-meets-asana caper for yogis who like to multitask. In 90 minutes of bodily bliss, learn how to limber up on a paddle board and sprout new muscles as you test your balance on a moving surface.
If it all becomes too much, you can always ditch the board and trade downward dog for dog paddle. After all, you’ll need to know how to swim if you want to make it back to shore.
Been a while since you pulled up a pew in the house of the Lord? There’s no better incentive than a pilgrimage to the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá in Colombia. Voted the best of the country’s many wonders, the church was carved from halite rock in the tunnels of a salt mine, 200 metres underground. This newest version of the Catholic place of worship was inaugurated in 1991, and is considered one of modern Colombia’s greatest architectural achievements.
Scarf-wearing, cigar-toting Maximón is believed to be the reincarnation of the Mayan God, Mam. A scarecrow-esque effigy of this curious character moves house every year in the Guatemalan village of Santiago, and attracts a steady stream of worshippers. Local children will lead you to Maximón for a fee, and you can make an offering of incense, whisky (his favourite) or cigars, but that will cost extra.
Imagine a land completely surrounded by succulent lobsters? Such a place actually exists and it’s called Panjang Island.
But the most fascinating feature of this rocky outcrop, which juts out from the ocean about 100 metres offshore of Yogyakarta, is not the delicious bounty roaming near its base but the unusual mode of transport the lobster catchers use to get there. Hooked up to a series of ropes and pulleys is a rickety cage that fishermen clamber into before hauling themselves across the churning sea.
If you’re plucky enough, slip some cash to the owner, jump on board and hurtle over massive waves smashing into the rocks below. Be sure to wait around to see the trappers return, and if the sight of fresh seafood gets your stomach rumbling, swap some rupiah for a feed then chill out on nearby Timang Beach.
The Toraja ethnic group of South Sulawesi has some of the most elaborate death customs in the world, and the Londa burial caves, the region’s oldest, provide the best opportunity to encounter these fascinating traditions up close. After an expensive, intricate funeral – held months or even years after death – the deceased’s coffin is either laid in a stone cavern or hung on a cliff face. Upon approaching the caves, visitors can observe the hanging coffins and tau tau (carved wooden effigies of the dead) tucked into crevices in the cliffs.
At the entrance, be sure to buy a lantern since there’s no lighting inside, and negotiate with a tour guide for the best deal. Inside, the cavern extends for hundreds of metres, and the low ceilings can make it difficult to navigate. Watch your step – there may be a centuries-old skeleton underfoot.
Imagine a cave so big it could house an entire New York City block of 40-storey skyscrapers; a subterranean system so vast it creates its own weather system and is home to a micro-ecosystem of lakes, rivers and concealed jungle. First explored in 2009 and later officially declared the largest cave in the world, Hang Son Doong in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, north-central Vietnam, is a geological marvel only recently opened to the public.
Join a seven-day expedition led by experts from the British Cave Research Association and be one of the first to discover the secrets of this fascinating network of limestone chambers, karst pinnacles, stalagmites and stalactites. Wade through thigh-deep water by torchlight, examine 350-million-year-old fossils and keep your eyes peeled for white spiders and shrimp. A Boeing 747 could comfortably fly through the largest cavern but you’ll make the trek on foot with a team of porters and guides, who will take you to places that experience less foot traffic than Mount Everest.
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