Win a Trip to Norway!

UK residents are eligible to win an 'Arctic Highlights' Hurtigruten voyage in Norway!

You can enter here.

Top 5 Local Drinks You Have to Try

Everyone knows that in Mexico you drink tequila, in Japan you drink sake, in Greece you drink ouzo, and in Ireland you drink Guinness. But there are other, really interesting drinks that you'll only find in certain places all over the world. Here's our global pub crawl, and top five local drinks you have to try:

Palm Wine (Nigeria)

Made famous by the Fela Kuti song, palm wine (or palm toddy) is made from the sap of various palm trees, which is then fermented. It tastes light and sweet, more like a weak cider (4%) than a wine.

Feni (India)

Popular at trance parties in Goa, feni is a liquor distilled from cashews or coconuts, sometimes with lime or lemon infused. It's a strong drink (42%), with a powerful aroma. Be careful to buy it somewhere reputable.

Lao-Lao (Laos)

This Laotian rice whisky is often called Snake Whiskey or Scorpion Whiskey, depending on which creepy-crawly is inserted into the bottles sold to tourists. It's strong (40-45%), but has a mild vanilla-like flavour that mixes well with fruit juice.

Cachaça (Brazil)

The most popular drink in Brazil, which consumes over 1.5 billion litres annually. Distilled from fermented sugarcane, it has a rum-like flavour and a strong kick (up to 54%). It's most popular as a traditional part of the famous caipirinha cocktail.

Palinka (Hungary)

A traditional Hungarian brandy, Palinka is made from a variety of fruits including plums, pears, apricots, apples, and cherries. The strength varies from 40-80%. Locals say it is best drunk as a shot at a temperature warm enough to smell the fruit.

Food Replica of Boston

Check out this creative chef's miniature replica of Boston landmarks, built entirely out of food:

Tiny Urban Kitchen is more of a cooking blog, but I love the creativity in the food replicas of various flags from around the world as well:

Can you identify all the countries?

Win a stay at Kapama Game Reserve!

Okay South Africans, this one is for you:

Amarula is giving away a 3-night stay at the Kapama Game Reserve near Hoedspruit. All you have to do is send them a picture of your best sunset!

For more info or to enter, visit their website.

Top 5 Crazy Hotels in Sweden

I'll admit, this post was going to be worldwide, because there are crazy places everywhere. But as I researched all the wild and wacky accommodation options, I kept seeing Sweden pop up again and again. So in tribute to those crazy Swedes and the odd things they like to sleep in, here are five crazy hotels in Sweden:

Ice Hotel

There are many copycats, but Sweden’s Ice Hotel is the original. Snuggle up at -5 degrees in sleek, minimalist rooms made completely of ice. They also offer Northern Lights bus trips, ice sculpture carving classes, and weddings.

Tree Hotel

The rooms at the Tree Hotel aren’t your childhood treehouses. Each unique, they look like bird’s nests, lego houses, mirrored cubes, UFOs, and more. The only things they all have in common is that they’re perched high above the ground in the trees.

Utter Inn

This hotel lets guests sleep underwater after being left in the middle of Lake Malaren. An inflatable canoe is provided for visits to the nearest (uninhabited) island.

Jumbo Stay

For the half of the world (including me) that can’t manage to sleep on flights, Jumbo Stay lets you snooze on a plane anyway. There are 27 rooms and suites including the luxury converted cockpit, and a cafe.

Sala Silvermine

If isolation is what you’re after, then a hotel room 500 feet underground is perfect! The Sala Silvermine Underground Suite combines lavish banquets and furnishings with the stark rock walls of the underground cave its situated in.

The Truth About Shark Attacks

Resorts in the Red Sea were recently 'terrorised' by a spate of shark attacks, so once again there's a lot of misinformation going around about how sharks attack. The Mother Nature Network put together this informative (and funny) infograph to dispel the myths:

Win a Trip to Miami!

Captain Morgan is giving away a trip for four to Miami, all you need to do to enter is send in a picture of your best 'Captain Pose'.

You can read more and enter here.