travel

Sin cities in which you can pursue vice and debauchery have existed throughout history -- from Rome’s glory days where you could follow up your bet on a gladiator fight with an orgy to Shanghai where you could float for days on drug and sex highs in opium dens.

In the 21st century, new sin cities from around the world have taken up the cause, and we’ve compiled them all on our top 10 list. The criteria for a locale to make our sin cities list is pretty simple: It has to offer a strong presence of gambling, sex, drinking, drugs, and/or partying.

Here are the top 10 sin cities that made the cut.

Whole yak penis or sheep testicles on a bed of curry, anyone? A Beijing restaurant serves painstakingly decorated gourmet dishes for the fearless. They're supposed to increase male potency, but women should try a bite, too: Eating penis is good for the skin, apparently.

"Here, try it," says Zhaoran, a business student, as she places a beige-colored ox urethra onto her friend's plate. He's in the middle of wolfing down a piece of chewy dog penis.

As of today, we're taking bets to see how long it will take before people realize that "GPS" does not stand for "Auto Pilot." The latest "But the GPS told me to..." story is brought to you by a charter bus driver in Seattle. Piloting a coach through the Washington Arboretum -- as the GPS instructed him -- the driver ignored, or didn't see, or didn't believe (take your pick) the flashing lights and sign warning him that his 11-foot-high bus was too tall for the looming 9-foot concrete overpass.

If Hollywood ran a travel agency, they’d really suck at it. Think of all the places around the world that they have trashed for sake of a good (or even tired) plot point.

With this week’s release of The Ruins, about a bunch of kids that are infested with evil weeds while visiting a Mayan temple in Mexico, we are reminded of the other places that Hollywood has warned us about in the past. You won’t see this stuff on a AAA brochure.

It's not that an $11 bowl of official San Francisco clam chowder at Fisherman’s Wharf doesn't hit the spot. And, granted, there's no substitute for an authentic replica of the Great Pyramid at Giza. But not all overcrowded, merchandise-swollen travel hot spots are created equal, and some deserve to be flagged as full-fledged tourist traps.

Weighing crowds against breathing room, bulging postcard racks against actual scenic vistas, and most of all hype against reality, we've compiled a list of ostensibly beloved destinations that you might consider striking from your global to-see list — no matter how glossy and luscious those brochures are.

It´s a hotel located in caves underground in the city of Cappadocia (6 levels, 30 rooms).

Now imagine the age of the buildings, given they were was erected 5 or 6 centuries ago.

You are about to view pictures of what has to be the most dangerous Tourist Hiking Trail in the world. After you see the pictures, I have little doubt you will agree.

The Great Cnyon have made a "path aereo". They opened the so-called "road aereo" (Skywalk) built on the Grand Canyon in the state of Arizona.

The first visitor to the "air route" has been the astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second person to step on the Moon. Their feelings to go through this corridor transparent with the ground, placed on a height of 1.2 km on the bottom of the Grand Canyon, has summarized as great.

Have you been paying attention during geography in school? Have you travelled the world numerous times? If so, you stand a chance of beating my score of 390,518 points at the Travel IQ Challenge

The Great Wall of China was built over 2,000 years ago. Started by Qin Shi Huangdi who was the first emperor of China. It was a first line of defense against invading states or tribes. Over the years other emperors and rulers have added to it. The Great Wall is an engineering marvel and one of the most appealing world attractions due to its historical and architectural significance.

It may look insane, but the guy at the picture is not a Photoshoped. He’s swimming at the Devil’s Pool, a natural rock pool at the very top of the Victoria Falls, at Zimbabwe, with a height of about 100 metres. From September to December, due to low water levels, it is possible to swim at the edge of the falls in a naturally formed safe pool, accessed via Livingstone Island.

No, serious, have you ever visited the Netherlands? It's worthwhile!

And if you plan to do so sometime this year let us know and we can have a beer, or two, or three, or many.

You’ve packed your suitcase, told your friend to collect your newspaper and mail, finally made arrangements for your dog – great! You’re taking that much needed holiday vacation!

Whether you’ve booked at a luxury ski resort in Europe that threatens to leave you with a whole year of rice and beans dinner, or you’ve decided to go backpacking with friends, it always helps to have some music blaring in the background to “bookmark” a certain moment in the vacation or just to give you a shot of energy (not like you need it anyway, but definitely won’t hurt) on your way to your destination of choice. You may or may not like my choice of music, but these are my personal picks whenever I wanna get psyched up for a trip!

Think our winter's been a bit grim? Try visiting Yakutsk – the Russian city where 'a bit nippy' means minus 50C, and a quick dash to the corner shop could end in frostbite. Shaun Walker enjoys a mini-break in deepest Siberia winter temperatures.

At minus 5C, the cold is quite refreshing and a light hat and scarf are all that's required to keep warm. At minus 20C, the moisture in your nostrils freezes, and the cold air starts making it difficult not to cough. At minus 35C, the air will cold enough to numb exposed skin quickly, making frostbite a constant hazard. And at minus 45C, even wearing glasses gets tricky: the metal sticks to your cheeks and will tear off chunks of flesh when you decide to remove them.

Silken Hotel Puerta America 5* GL Madrid in Central Madrid was conceived as an architectural showcase, with individual floors fitted-out by different world-renowned architects, including Foster and Partners, Zaha Hadid, John Pawson, and Ushida Findlay. The Foster vision for the second floor was inspired by the work of the late Basque sculptor, Eduardo Chillida, who was a personal friend of both the client and Lord Foster. Chillida's work explored natural materials, organic forms, and an architectural sense of space.

Designed by architects from across the world, this luxury hotel is a unique, contemporary space located at the entrance to Madrid and a short distance from the city centre. With the latest technology and wireless internet in all its areas, this hotel is ideal for those looking to stay amid style, exclusivity and the best in architectural design.

Dubai's artificial islands are about to get a little competition: a miniature "Russia" in the Black Sea.

Off of Sochi, Russia, a new island will house athletes for the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

The entire Icehotel is on loan from the mighty Torne River and is a place where time stands still. Just a short period before, fish swam in the water and the river was a crashing torrent of whitewater, wild and frothing. And very soon, when the spring comes and then finally the summer, the rooms, the suites, the bar, the reception, in fact the entire creation, will once again become part of the rushing rapids coursing toward the sea.

Merging the soothing ride of an ocean cruise with Richard Branson’s futuristic visions of space travel, the Stratocruiser offers short, regenerative journeys for the cosmopolitan traveler. The project aims to bring lifestyle and health into travel routines, which have become increasingly compacted and frenzied. Like modern nomads we can again enjoy travel, arriving more refreshed than we left, thanks to incredible views of the worlds most exciting landscapes and cities.

Please do not be alarmed, and we hope not to alarm anyone... But the Possibility of Time Travel Truly Exists...

See the world through the bottom of your glass, on the FIRST EVER round-the-world pub crawl!

It's a round-the-world ticket, a list of pubs… and one hell of an experience.

Pure party, and the ultimate non-stop pub crawl to some of the most incredible party destinations on earth. You'll be the envy of all your mates, and have a story to tell for life.

Book your place in history and be part of this once-in-a-lifetime tour starting from London in March 2008... from then onwards, it's one month of hammertime!

London. One of the world's most important, or self-important, cities, depending on your point of view. Home to over eight million people of all origins and from all continents, it'll come as no surprise to discover that London is one of the best venues in the world for serious record collecting.

The upside is that the variety of records available can rival that of Tokyo; the downside is that there's inevitably a price to pay, either in terms of legwork or the typically wallet-busting prices that go hand-in-hand with running a record shop in one of the most expensive retail space environments in the world.

In this feature, the first in an occasional series of articles on second hand record shops in the London area, we'll be taking a look at some of the legendary, and some of the relatively undiscovered, places to find good vinyl in the central London area. Our route will take us around the West End, through the City and onto the fringes of the East End.

Through a thick drizzle I gaze at the ominous gray stone buildings of the Tower of London, England's most notorious prison. I wander from one to the next, trying to imagine what it was like to be held captive here hundreds of years ago. That's when I hear a ghost. "Psst, you there... I'm sentenced to die tomorrow morning. Please, I beg you, can you help me escape?" I stop walking and look down at the screen of my HP iPAQ. There's a picture of a portly Brit in 18th-century garb. His name is Lord Nithsdale, and he was involved in a plot to overthrow King George I. In my earphones, the voice tells me I've entered the year 1716 and again asks if I want to play the Lord Nithsdale adventure. I wipe the raindrops off the clear plastic pouch holding the PDA, a GPS unit, and a radio transmitter and hit Yes.

Every notable landmark seems to have one thing in common: visitors, and lots of them. But if you want that postcard shot or that image that shows how the location may have once appeared, you have a challenge ahead of you. This digital photography and PhotoShop tutorial will provide a means to remove the tourist throngs from your vacation images.

Bargaining while buying some trinkets in the Maldivian capital, Male, recently, I heard most unexpected words: "You can keep your dollars."

This tiny nation of 1,200 islands has long accepted U.S. currency out of convenience for visitors and financial sobriety. The dollar tended to do better in global markets than the local monetary unit, the rufiyaa. That may be changing and it's a bad omen for the world's reserve currency.

"My dollars aren't as popular here as they've been in the past," says Moyez Mahfouz, 51, who has visited the Maldives from Bahrain with his family once or twice a year for a decade. "More and more on this trip, I'm being asked for rufiyaa."

Once deemed the most European city in America and routinely ranked as a top travel destination, Boston's place in the minds of travelers has been eclipsed by up-and-coming cities in recent years. When Travel + Leisure rated the best cities in North America earlier this year, Boston wasn't even on the list.

"Boston has had an image problem," said Linda L. Lowry, an associate professor of tourism and hospitality at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. "The Big Dig hasn't helped.... Hotel prices have gone up and up."

"The people here are not as fat as it is said in Europe," said Ralph Lebreton, 24, who was visiting Quincy Market last week from France.

As wilderness getaway weekends go, it rarely gets much better than this.

On the deck of a hunting lodge, couples are feasting on their catches and rehashing the day's adventures. Farther down the road, crews are finishing the roof of yet another lakefront, luxury home.

The latest villa to sprout on the shores of the Kiev Reservoir is just a few metres from the barbed-wire fence that marks the 30-kilometre exclusion zone surrounding the infamous Chernobyl plant.

Paris is a city of endless surprises, and walking is the best way to get to know it. Walk, if you can do so. Walk a lot. And if you tire of walking, there are plenty of scenic places and cafés along the way in which to rest. There also is a good Métro system to help you out on the longer stretches.

Get yourself a good map or maps. Get a sense of what is north, south, east and west (Left Bank is south of the Seine, Right Bank is north). And then, if you are like me, highlight possible destinations on your map with stick-on arrows. See if they make a pattern, and create walks.

And now, some of my favorite discoveries, to take you into Hidden Paris.

Hotel designed by Sybarite Architects would feature a two-storey jungle at the top of the 28-storey building

Developers are said to be hovering over this unique 7-star hotel in Dubai designed by Sybarite Architects after a major hotel group showed interest in putting up the funds.

The US$350m (£173m) 28-floor Aperiron building would be 300m from the Dubai coast and accessible only by boat or helicopter.

As well as 438 luxury suites, it would contain a spa, an art gallery, and an underwater restaurant with views into a surrounding lagoon.

This cruise ship weighs 160,000 tons, it is 1,112 feet long, 184 feet wide and it has 15 passenger decks holding 3,634 guests double-occupancy. Freedom of the Seas towers 208 feet tall, approximately the same height as two of the Statue of Liberty, placed head to toe.

A brand new feature is the H2O Zone, or the “sprayground” which has colorful fiberglass sculptures shooting jets of water, geysers shooting from the ground and water cannons.

Planning a vacation? You might wanna cross these places off your list.

Kosi Bay, South Africa; Gansbaai, South Africa; Brisbane, Australia; Bolinas Beach, Northern California; New Smyrna Beach, Florida; Umhlanga Rocks, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa; North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii; Recife, Brazil; Kahana, West Maui, Hawaii; West End, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas.

Want to know the reason?