Editor’s note: Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. Get news about destination openings, inspiration for future adventures, plus the latest in aviation, food and drink, where to stay and other travel developments.
CNN
–
This week in travel news, we bring you fish head pie, “devil poo”, mummified crocodiles and a toad named Toadzilla. Also, we want to hear your craziest, wildest travel stories.
We’ve all had trips that didn’t go according to plan. Maybe you were in a motorcycle accident that sent you home stitched up and smart; maybe you’ve been robbed, beaten and cheated on – but you still managed to have the best summer ever.
We want to hear your stories of the most epic journey with a happy ending, where you lived to tell the tale and now have a successful streak. Email us a brief summary and we can be in touch to turn it into a CNN story to share with the world (unlockingtheworld@cnn.com).
If you accidentally get a speck of the divisive Indian ingredient on your hands, the pungent smell will linger no matter how many times you wash them, earning the nickname “devil’s poo.” But fans of the wild fennel plant say it’s a base note flavor that perfectly bridges the gap between garlic and onion.
On the other side of the world, Cornwall’s Stargazy pie, made in the seaside village of Mousehole, sounds quaint – until you learn that its central ingredient is bulging-eyed fish heads staring open-mouthed at the sky from prison their pasta. The taste, it is said, is like a “seafood flavored cream”.
Deer brain cream and fermented rice ice cream with caramel pearls are some of the latest concoctions to be served at Copenhagen’s Noma, one of the world’s most popular restaurants, which will close for dinner next year. It will be reborn in 2025 as a “giant laboratory”, called Noma 3.0, dedicated to “food innovation”.
See what it’s like at China’s ‘North Pole’ during record-breaking winter
China’s northernmost city — Mohe, near Russian Siberia — recorded its coldest day ever on Jan. 22: a tingling -63.4 F (-53 C). East Asia has been gripped by a severe cold storm and climate experts are warning that extreme weather events like this are the “new norm”. Further south in New Zealand, Auckland was hit on Friday by torrential rains that flooded the city’s airport.
California has also been hit by wild rainstorms recently, with some of the state’s beloved parks and forests hit so hard that they still haven’t been able to reopen. Closures include Los Padres National Forest and El Capitán State Beach. There’s better news next door in Arizona: The Grand Canyon’s Havasu Falls is reopening to visitors after three years.
A colorful cane toad that may be the largest toad on record has been found in northeastern Australia. The naked amphibian, which reaches a whopping six kilograms without too much flinching, has been named Toadzilla.
And a massive, rare American eel — four meaty legs of it — just washed up on a Texas beach. For footage that looks like a deleted scene from Tremors, see here.
A mummy’s little “golden boy” is even more precious than thought: Computer scans have digitally “unwrapped” the remains of a 2,300-year-old Egyptian teenager, revealing 49 exquisite amulets adorning his body. The remains of the unidentified boy were first discovered in a cemetery in southern Egypt in 1916.
Of course, it wasn’t just humans who got the dry-and-dry treatment. Archaeologists discovered 2,000-year-old mummified crocodiles near the city of Aswan in 2019. Look here to see the five ancient reptiles, which are thought to be from two different species.
Finally, after a two-year joint investigation by the United States and Egyptian authorities, a 500-kilogram ancient Egyptian sarcophagus lid known as the “Green Sarcophagus” has been recovered from Egypt after it was stolen and smuggled into the US in The last.
You can have the European islands mostly to yourself
Poet WB Yeats was homesick for London when he dreamed of escaping alone to an island hut in Ireland where there should be “some peace there, for peace comes slowly”. Yeats didn’t have the benefit of seeing our guide to the best islands in Europe to get away from just about anyone, but you can read it here.
The days when you wrap a t-shirt around a bottle of local booze and hope you make it home before your suitcase resembles a brewery glass fight. The VinGarde Valise Grande suitcase comes with 12 foam inserts that hold bottles of any shape and will keep your purchases safe. Our partners at CNN Underscored, a guide to product reviews and recommendations owned by CNN, put it to the test.
Lunar New Year celebrations are in full swing: Here we are illustrated guide to the most common traditions.
Then find out your zodiac predictions for the Year of the Rabbit.
Fans of Disney’s Splash Mountain are grabbing all the souvenirs they can.
These include plastic cups, Ziploc bags and “Splash Mountain water” of questionable source.
There is an Alpine hotel with an international border running through its rooms.
Guests can sleep in France and Switzerland at the same time.
Top image: Cornish delicacy Stargazy Pie (Annabel Dean).
