Banwol Island: An Instagrammable Purple Island in South Korea

Purple Island in South Korea 

Say hello to Banwol Island, also known as half-moon island! Situated in Sinan-gun, a beautiful county in South Jeolla province, this charming island is definitely a sight to behold. In August 2019, the South Jeolla provincial government and Sinan County planned to transform two neighbouring islands, Banwol Island and Parkji Island into purple islands complete with beautiful flowers and crops in matching colours! These islands are connected via a bridge, which makes a great opportunity for visitors to appreciate the scenic seascape too.

The county had planted 40,000 lavender around the island as well as white cedar, empress trees and other purple flowers for this transformation. Overall, the village on Banwol Island certainly lives up to its aesthetics. Take a walk to spot residential homes, bridges, streets, food trucks, sidewalks all painted in purple!

If you're interested to explore more parts of the island, you can rent a bicycle for KRW5,000 per person or spend a night in a local homestay for approximately KRW50,000 per night.

Today, although travel is banned all over the world due to the Corona epidemic, but as soon as the ban is lifted, the "purple island" will be ready for tourists from all over the world.

Giethoorn Village in Netherlands | Fairytale Village

 

Giethoorn Village in Netherlands | Fairytale Village also dubbed "Venice of the North"

Giethoorn is a mostly car-free village in the northeastern Dutch province of Overijssel. It’s known for its boat-filled waterways, footpaths, bicycle trails, and centuries-old thatched-roof houses. It borders a section of the Weerribben-Wieden National Park, a marshy area once popular for peat and reed harvesting. Next to the park, Museum Giethoorn ‘t Olde Maat Uus is a farm museum illustrating the region’s history.

If you ever wanted to live your own fairy-tale, you may want to consider moving to the village Giethoorn. Also known as “Venice of the Netherlands”, this magical village founded around 1230 is the kind most people could only dream of… It has no roads or any modern transportation at all, only canals. Well, and 176 bridges too. Tourists have to leave their cars outside of the village and travel here by foot or boat by (usually by “whisper boats”, which have noiseless engines). So you can probably imagine how peaceful it is here (well, when it isn’t flooded with tourists, of course)… Even the village’s website says that “the loudest sound you can normally hear is the quacking of a duck or the noise made by other birds”.

Beautiful movable city on rails, Norwegian city of Andalsnes

Imagine a city in motion, where not a single building is anchored to the ground, with hotels, event halls and other structures all on rails and movable at will. That’s the vision behind ‘A Rolling Master Plan‘, a concept for the Norwegian city of Andalsnes by Swedish architects Jägnefält Milton. Both existing and new railway systems would be used to reconfigure the town for seasonal changes and special events.



The concept, which won third place in a competition to design a new masterplan for the city, is based upon small blocky buildings including a rolling hotel, public bath and concert hall. Because the town is full of tourists in the summer but becomes very cold and dreary in the winter, such a scheme would allow the entire town to take full advantage of warm weather by spreading out.



In the winter, the collection of buildings would be pulled into the the town center for locals to enjoy. Moving the structures and reorganizing how they’re laid out gives tourists a new town to come back to every year. Each of the portable structures is kept on a trailer at all times, making transport quick and fairly simple.

World’s Beautiful Rooftop Nightlife | Top 10

1. Sirocco

Bangkok, Thailand

No night out in Bangkok is complete without a couple cocktails at Sirocco. Perched on top of The Dome at State Tower, 64th floors above the hectic streets of Bangkok, this sexy rooftop bar boasts 360 degree views of the city with city lights in every direction, as far as the eye can see. If you’re looking for a picturesque place to dine, they also serve dinner.

2. The Penthouse

Madrid, Spain

The Penthouse is an ultra-chic rooftop bar owned by Rande Gerber, celeb nightlife entrepreneur and husband of Cindy Crawford. It’s located on the roof of Hotel ME Madrid Reina Victoria, in Plaza Santa Ana, and has a great view of central Madrid. The crowd is dressed to kill, the waitresses are smoking hot the drinks are pricey and the place is often frequented by Spanish celebrities. Best to get here for happy hour, because although it’s open till 3am, the line to get in is insane after midnight.

3. Luna Bar

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This super sexy rooftop and poolside bar is a hang out for the twenties and thirties nightlife scene in Kuala Lumpur. It’s got a long indoor bar with a chic design leading you out onto the breezy rooftop for the best views of the lights of KL. For a romantic night out, be sure to get there early to snag a private little enclave up against the glass.

4. Rooftop Bar

Melbourne, Australia

An ultra cool venue for music, cinema, or just sunny boozing, this bar sits atop the Thai bar and restaurant, Cookie, on a six story 1920′s building in central Melbourne.

5. Gravity

Dublin, Ireland

Although not an open air bar, Gravity boasts an unobstructed 360 degree view of Dublin. It’s got a swanky style and comfortable seating right up against the glass to sit in while you enjoy the view from the highest bar in Ireland.

6. Top Floor Bar

London, United Kingdom

Looking for the perfect place to throw a swank party in London? The Top Floor Bar, the final floor of the Gherkin, London’s newest architectural darling, is available for private parties. The ultra modern venue sits under the spectacular glass cone roof and has stunning views of the city.

7. Moon

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Palms teamed up with the Playboy Club giving revelers in Vegas a sexy place to blow their money on the 53rd floor of the palms Hotel. The sound system here is rockin’ and although it can be tough to get in, it’s a great place to check out on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights.

8. Captain Bar

Shanghai, China

This cool rooftop bar has a wide variety of cocktails and a great view of The Bund and surrounding city lights. It’s usually a cool mix of locals and travelers which makes for a diverse and thirsty crowd.

9. Hudson Sky Terrace

New York, New York

This super chill rooftop bar has great service, amazing sangria and everything else you could want on a hot New York afternoon. From an air conditioned game room to a hammock with a view of the river, the Hudson has you covered, but like many of NY rooftop hot spots, you must be a guest in the hotel to enjoy it.

10. Condesa DF Rooftop Bar

Mexico City, Mexico

This is an awesome bar in an all-around cool hotel. The Condesa DF is decked out in extraordinary design, from the table cloths to the couches. This super-chic hotel only has 40 rooms so make sure to get a reservation, and make sure to hit its rooftop paradise for some cocktails as the sun goes down over Mexico City.

Strange Monuments in American Cities | Odd sculptures to strange statues

From odd sculptures to strange statues, cities love to erect unusual structures to show some local color. Here are a handful of our favorites from around the country.

15 America's Top Cities For Finding Jobs | Unemployed workers

The jobs website Juju.com releases a monthly Job Search Difficulty Index, which measures the difficulty of finding employment in 50 major cities around the country. The Index is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed workers in each metropolitan area, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by the number of jobs in Juju's index of millions of online jobs in the United States. Here are the cities that, according to that formula, are the least difficult to find a job in.

1. Washington, D.C.

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 1.11

2. San Jose, Calif.

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 1.20

3. New York, N.Y.

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 1.63

4. Baltimore, Md.

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 1.89

5. Hartford, Conn.

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 1.89

6. Boston, Mass.

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 1.97

7. Austin, Texas

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 2.25

8. Salt Lake City, Utah

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 2.37

9. Denver, Colo.

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 2.38

10. Milwaukee, Wis.

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 2.40

11. Cleveland, Ohio

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 2.45

12. San Antonio, Texas

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 2.52

13. St. Paul, Minn.

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 2.53

14. Oklahoma City, Okla.

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 2.57

15. Dallas, Texas

Unemployed individuals per advertised job: 2.61