america

Ski Resorts across the world are doing more to woo us to their resorts.  They are adding more to the usual winter sports, now there is a combination of festivals, celebrating music, food and comedy.  Starting in November, there are ski festivals through out the winter until April, when the season closes.  So if you want to add a bit more to the usual skiing on your next ski break we have collated a list of resorts drawing the crowed.

Chef’s Cup, Alta Badia – Italy
The Chef’s Cup is a high altitude celebration of haute cuisine in the heart of the Dolomites, it was created by Michelin-starred chef, Norbert Niederkofler.  It is the perfect destination for culinary enthusiasts who want to improve on their culinary skills along with their skiing. The Chef’s Cup combines the best of skiing with the best of food. The event attracts up to 400 of the world’s finest chefs; to show of their dishes and share their expertise with visitors. The Chef’s Cup takes place in the last week of January (chefscup.it).

Golfing doesn’t get more treacherous or difficult than at these golf courses scattered around the world. From Camp Bonifas in Korea, which is considered the most dangerous course to the $1 Million(US) hole in South Africa - needs a helicopter to reach the tee, we have list them here. If you are a golfing enthusiast you can add a visit to one of these courses as part of your next short break.

Coober Pedy Golf Course, Australia (Any Hole)
There are no bunkers, no trees, no obstacles and no grass either.  Coober Pedy is a town in South Australia with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. It’s famous for its opal mines and it is bleak. To make the golf course remotely playable, oil is used to keep the sand compact and to stop it from blowing around.  Players are allowed to carry around a small that’s all the help they get on this nine-hole course.  Bizarrely, Coober Pedy has reciprocal playing rights with St. Andrews.

This short break idea takes to different places around the world where worshippers of white water rafting make their pilgrimage every year. These are the Colorado River USA; Inn River, Switzerland; Apurimac River, Peru; çoruh River, Turkey and Tummel & Tay Rivers Scotland.

First it’s the çoruh River in the north eastern part of Turkey. The çoruh River offers a roller-coaster of rapids coming down from the Kaçkar Mountains. A good time to go is in May – June when the water levels are at their highest and the surroundings hills are a light with beautiful flowers.

The adventure allows time for you to stop in remote villages to meet and chat with the locals. If you are upto it you can trek to the Byzantine castles, you can also sleep in riverside tents to see the stars each night.

If you are a lover of Art and culture then Philadelphia is the perfect destination for a short break.  Labelled as the biggest smallest city in the U.S., the city of Philadelphia stands out for its Art and is known for its excellent murals.  The city has more than three thousand murals depicting urban life, landscapes, portraits of community heroes and other abstract works of Arts.  These paintings can be seen through out the city’s neighbourhood boundaries making it the largest public art program in the United States.