Seven Weird and Wonderful Towns Around The World
Dear friends,
I personally do not enjoy travelling but what I have always longed for is to live in the mountains with trees, streams, greens and nature ever since I was young. I would like to stay in the mountains in a small little hut with trees surrounding me.
I would live there on vegan foods with my dogs. I would have a large outdoor Vajrayogini statue made of stone and make offerings of juniper leaves burned daily as sang. I would love to live in the mountains away from the senseless repeating actions in urban life. Urban life with its various pollutions do not connect us to who we are inside. We become more lost in urban artificial lives.
The article below highlights some of the most mesmerising and unique places on earth. Some of them are set in nature, which I like very much. It is amazing to see these places and actually believe they exist. The imagination and creativity behind these places are wonderful.
I hope you enjoy the article.
Tsem Rinpoche
Seven Weird and Wonderful Towns Around The World
Sep 7, 2016
Pauline Morrissey
Editorial Producer
No roads? No problems! Photo: insureandgo.com
If you think that your own neighbourhood is strange, then this list will likely make you reconsider. From a town that has more cats than humans, to a village that has no roads – these pockets of the world may just tempt you to relocate to somewhere a little more weird and wonderful.
1. Coober Pedy, Australia
Let’s start on home turf with this South Australian town that exists entirely underground. Coober Pedy came about in 1915 as an opal-mining hub and to this day is still the biggest opal mine in the world. You can find houses, stores, churches, galleries and even a 4-star hotel, all peculiarly built, you guessed it, underground. In a place where temperatures are sweltering during summer, it’s understandable the local residents would do anything they can to beat the heat.
Photos: Getty, Mark Kolbe
2. Aoshima, Japan
Fancy yourself a cat person? Then pack your bags and head to Aoshima. Here you’ll see cats wherever you roam, because the furry little creatures outnumber humans six-to-one. Originally, the cats were brought in to deal with mice that plagued fishermen’s boats, but the cats stayed and multiplied. The human residents are mostly pensioners, who have remained here since the Second World War. They go about their business while more than 120 cats rule the streets.
Photos: Thomas Peter/Reuters
3. Slab City, USA
Visitors may find it tricky to find Slab City, because there are no signs offering directions, and that’s how the residents would like to keep it. Once a World War II training ground for Marines, the camp was later abandoned. Only a handful of chemical company workers set up trailers and stayed put. From here, the off-grid community grew, made up of vans, campers and shacks, all without running water, sewers or electricity, housing people who refer to themselves as “slabbers”.
Photos: Dawg Shed / VQR Online
4. Giethoorn, Netherlands
If you’ve ever dreamt of living your own fairytale, or wished you lived somewhere serene and peaceful, then you may want to consider moving to Giethoorn. Also known as “Venice of the Netherlands”, this magical village has no roads nor modern transportation, only canals. Locals get around by “whisper boats”, which have noiseless engines. The village’s website claims that “the loudest sound you can normally hear is the quacking of a duck or the noise made by other birds”.
Photos: Flickr / Getty, Chris Hill
5. Monsanto, Portugal
Sticking to the fairytale theme, Monsanto is a boulder-friendly town. Here, the natural placement of the rocks determined the structure of the town. Rather than moving the boulders, the locals used them as walls, floors and even roofs, resulting in tiny streets carved from rock and granite and houses squeezed between giant boulders. This real life Bedrock is home to about 800 people, and the preferred mode of transport through the narrow cobbled streets is by a donkey.
Photos: Live Journal, Uhaiun
6. Chefchaouen, Morocco
The small town of Chefchaouen not only holds a rich history, with beautiful natural surroundings and wonderful architecture, it is most famous for being painted entirely in shades of blue. Nicknamed “heaven of the hillside”, the colour was introduced by Jewish refugees in 1930, who considered blue to symbolise the sky and heaven. The colour was then adopted by all residents, who repaint their homes every spring.
Photos: Getty
7. Burano, Italy
If you’re a fan of the whole rainbow, not just blue, a move to Burano is probably a better fit. Long ago, the fishermen of this island painted their houses in bright colours so they could locate them through thick fog as they sailed home. The result is this rainbow-like town, bursting with colour. Fun fact: residents are required to send a letter to the government if they want to repaint their house. They are then sent a list of colours they’re allowed to use and risk jail time if they use the wrong colour.
Photos: Getty A Rey, Gu
Source: http://www.domain.com.au/news/seven-weird-and-wonderful-towns-around-the-world-20160906-gqhzau/
For more interesting information:
- You will enjoy this one!
- Life In The Trees: A House Tour
- 16 Unique Places in Japan
- You will enjoy this one!
- Into The Wild
- 3 Amazingly Attractive Villages in Japan
- I like this!
- A Tiny Place In Bali
- These are creative and beautiful!
Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:
If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
This article had provided me some thoughts to feel the adventures and to explore further than my dreams. I enjoyed the view and fascinated over the places. Sometimes we really need to surrender to the beauty of nature.
Nature has its own way to induce plants to grow its own way, and those who truly love nature and have the experience would feel pleased to follow the way.Thank you very much for sharing this wonderful article.
Out of these seven weird and wonderful towns around the world, I like Giethoorn in Netherlands and Monsanto in Portugal the most. These two places are very good examples of how we can live harmoniously with the environment and nature. Instead of introducing more man-made components, the residents here try their best to keep or not to disturb the natural environment.
Thank you for sharing, had an opportunity to view the weird yet amazing places in the world. Feeling strange and looks very interesting but I think it will be a great vacation to discover the mother earth nature.
This place is meaningful to me because it is part of the county I dreamed and loved to visit. This article had provided me some thoughts to feel the adventures and to explore further than my dreams. I enjoyed the view and fascinated over the places.
Colours can change one’s view and perception of things. I am happy that these unique cities are not only unique but their unique inspire us all.
I want to happily tell you about a group of Buddhists in Chongchang China that rescued a truck of 300 dogs that were illegally being taken to a slaughterhouse for dog meat.
There are so many of us around the world that were watching for 2 days the horrible event . The police were corrupt and even attacked peaceful animal activists trying to demand the proof of necessary quarantine papers.
The Buddhists bought the dogs from the evil dog meat traders.
They are our Heros!!!
Thank you!
Hello Crystal Aldana,
Thank you for sharing this wonderful news with us. If you have more information and pictures, perhaps you can submit this story to our editors to review/ consider publishing it on this blog.
For more information about submitting your story: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/submit-a-story
You may also be interested to look at our other articles on “ANIMALS, VEGETARIANISM & ENVIRONMENT” here: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/category/animals-vegetarianism
One of the articles we feature in the category is about Marc Ching (https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/animals-vegetarianism/marc-ching-shows-us-the-way.html) whose continuous effort in rescuing dogs from the Asian Dog Meat Trade inspires many.
How did you get to know about tsemrinpoche.com? It’s nice to meet people who are passionate about animal welfare here on the blog.
I googled Marc Ching and your article about him appeared.
I’m so glad I found you!
I would love to write an article about what happened recently in China.
Wow interesting! How kind of these people. I would definitely love to read your article on it!
Thank you for such wonderful news. When there are such wonderful news and heroes, which is often rare, we must let people know so that more awareness on animal cruelty, abuse and the aweful dog meat trade which should be banned! Though I do secretly wish all meat trade is banned! A dog, a chicken and a cow are all the same – living beings and hence, in reality there is no difference, and all of the deserve to live and be free as nature intended.
Well I for one am agerly waiting for your write up 🙂
Dear Crystal,
Nice to meet you again on the blog. I am reposting the link for “Submit A Story” here just in case: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/submit-a-story
I hope that your article will be able to help create more awareness and educate the public about the dog meat trade in China. Please read through the guidelines for submission on the link/page before you submit your story 🙂
Thank you for the great news Crystal! There are people who are interested, but then there’s also a special group of people who speak up and say something, help, rescue, donate. Anyone who gets involved in the welfare of animals and shows kindness to the less fortunate is my hero.
Unfortunately some people are just evil, but there are also many people engaged in the slaughter of animals who either don’t have a choice or don’t know any better. It’s so important to educate people and give them other opportunities so they don’t have to be involved in the slaughter of animals, and they know why they shouldn’t be.
But again, thanks for coming back here to let us know the good news. May such kind people find more and more support for their works 🙂
TekLee on Oct 26, 2016 at 1:45 am
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing the article. Sometimes we really need to surrender to the beauty of nature. Or, should I say the will power of human that want to live and survive. It’s unexplainable. For example, Giethoorn, Netherlands, and Mondanto, Portugal, it seems the nature doesn’t stop them from building their habitats surrounding it, and yet it creates such a beautiful scenery. It’s really fascinating. I love all the places that Rinpoche posted.
Thank you again Rinpoche. _/\_
Thank you Rinpoche for this interesting article. I think I would probably choose either Giethoorn, Netherlands or Burano, Italy as a place to stay due to the peaceful looking environment.
With folded palms,
Vivian
These places are so lovely! How I wish I could visit all of them.
It’s a known fact that the Japanese love their cats and celebrate them. Maybe they like all things cute. There’s Hello Kitty, Maneki Neko, Krocchi. There’s even Tama the cat who was the train station master of Kishi Station, Wakayama that saved the local railway line from closing down. Last I heard, Tama the cat died last year.
Wow thank you for the wonderful article! I really like the Giethoorn village! Seeing the nature with quiet surrounding helps on spiritual healing.
These are all said to be weird towns, just because they don’t conform to the ‘norm’ of what people expect towns to be. However, they are all very creatively set up. They achieve the purpose of what the townsfolk wish their towns to be.
1. An Underground Town to get away from the sweltering summer heat!
2.The town with more cats than humans just grew up that way. The pensioners and old folk , who are the main residents here don’t mind.
3.A make-shift town, off the grid, made up of vans, campers, and shacks, that grew out of a World War II training camp.It is without running water, sewers or electricity, or housing. The town-folks like it that way.
4.“Venice of the Netherlands”!This magical village has no roads nor modern transportation, only canals. Locals get around by “whisper boats”, which have noiseless engines. The village’s website claims that “the loudest sound you can normally hear is the quacking of a duck or the noise made by other birds”. I like this best. So close to nature and the natural! It is so beautiful and peaceful!
5.This town grew around the huge boulders. The locals used these boulders as walls, floors and even roofs, resulting in tiny streets carved from rock and granite and houses squeezed between giant boulders. Donkeys are used for transport along its narrow coblles streests!
6.This town,nicknamed “heaven of the hillside”,is all colored blue, because originally the colour was introduced by Jewish refugees in 1930, who considered blue to symbolise the sky and heaven. Subsequently, this colour was adopted by all residents, who repaint their homes every spring.
7.The seventh town is a rainbow colored town, painted in such bright colors so that fishermen who live in this township , can locate their houses through the thick fog. Residents can only change the color of their homes to a specified list of colors provided by the government or risk jail time!
Each town is unique in itself.The important thing is residents are happy living in their towns. Who’s to say what about these towns?
The Giethoorn of Netherlands seems like a place existed only in fairy tales to me. Living in a heavy poluted environment with noises, dusk, industrial wastage etc now a days, seeing lots of green and clear river water gives a sense of peace and lots of comfort, and perhaps a good place to engage retreat practice as well.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing the article. Sometimes we really need to surrender to the beauty of nature. Or, should I say the will power of human that want to live and survive. It’s unexplainable. For example, Giethoorn, Netherlands, and Mondanto, Portugal, it seems the nature doesn’t stop them from building their habitats surrounding it, and yet it creates such a beautiful scenery. It’s really fascinating. I love all the places that Rinpoche posted.
Thank you again Rinpoche. _/\_
Sorry Paul, I posted wrongly. I actually wanted to post comment in this blog, and wanted to reply your comment, but accidentally posted the comment in your reply 🙂
I wanted to reply to you that, I agreed with what you said, it’s like fairy tales, but it’s really nice to live in such environment, although it might be trouble that we can’t go out jogging or walk the dog in the evening, but I don’t mind! 🙂 With such a nice environment, I think I only remember swimming and forgetting jogging 🙂
Dear Rinpoche,
Burano, Italy reminds me very much of La Boca in Argentina, although the colours are less vibrant compared to La Boca. I like the vibrant colours in La Boca and the street activities such as open air street tango performances. Have attached a couple of photos of La Boca which is in Buenos Aires. Here is a short excerpt on La Boca from http://famouswonders.com/la-boca-district/
La Boca is one of Buenos Aires’s 48 barrios or neighborhoods. It is located at the southeastern part of the city, near the old port in the mouth (boca in Spanish) of the Rio de la Plata. Nearby barrios are Barracas in the west, and San Telmo and Puerto Madero to the north. Many of the district’s residents are of European descent. This is because the old port was where the Italian, Spanish, Basque, French, and German immigrants arrived.
Inside La Boca, one will feel as if they had stepped back in time as the neighborhood still retains its Genoese look with traditional colorful wooden houses. While some inhabitants still spoke the Genoese dialect in the late 20th century, use of the dialect has been in recent decline. Presently, La Boca is part artist colony and part working class neighborhood.
Thank you.
I would probably go to Giethoorn in the Netherlands, if I had to go anywhere on this list. The Dutch are very nice, open-minded people and the weather there is fantastic. Giethoorn also looks quiet, pleasant and green and easy so I’d be able to do my practice and my works, and no one would disturb me. The other places look a little too urban, and Coober Pedy and Slab City both look way too hot! Not a fan of heat!
Unlike you Rinpoche travelling is one of my most favourite things to do! I love seeing new places and discovering the world. I believe that we must go to unique places out of our comfort zones. And these towns seem to fit that belief. I would love to go to any of these seven towns.
Out of the seven towns I think the one i would visit first would be Aoshima in Japan. Im not exactly a cat person, but I am an animal lover! I love animals! All kinds of animals. So being in a place which is surrounded by cats seems fun. And definitely not something you would see on a daily basis.
Thank you for a easy reading on a rainy evening. It is indeed interesting to see these not-so-common towns.
My favourite would be the Slab city, where everyone is loving off the grid. With today’s “standards”, everyone wants the convenience of tap water, electricity, etc. It is really back to basics. If there is a nuclear war and everything is destroyed, I think the citizens are the only few ones who can survive the world without all the basic infrastructures.
Prior to reading this article, I had no idea that such weird and unique townships existed except for Aoshima which I saw on a Facebook posting.
It is really interesting to know that such townships actually exist and are not just something out of a fairytale book. The towns that stood out for me would be the Australian town of Coober Pedy where buildings such as hotels, houses and stores are all built underground. Another town which I really like is the town of Burano in Italy. What I really like about it is because it portrays a very vibrant and colourful enviroment.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article!
Amazing townships which I never thought it exist. The places are all so beautiful.
For Monsanto, Portugal although the landscape is all around the big rocks but the people can still build around it with beautiful design. I think human are adaptable as long as they wish too live there.
I personally prefer the Giethoorn Netherlands. So beautiful, clean environment and living condition.
Wow these homes are amazing!
My favourite one is Giethoorn, Netherlands! Wow what a quaint little village, it feels quite magical. I love it except for the part where the neighbours is just 10 ft away and the only loudest sound you’d ever hear is from the ducks or birds. I guess we can rule out moving furniture around after midnight! Lol but no doubt these are very unique beautiful homes/community.
My 2nd choice is Chefchaouen, Morocco and 3rd Burano, Italy – love the colourful houses and being near water is always soothing and peaceful.
Those who love nature would wish to maintain a landscape best created by nature – like “Giethoorn, Netherlands” as shown in this blog’s photos. They would do their best to try preserve it, integrate same into their architecture with the nature. Nature has its own way to induce plants to grow its own way, and those who truly love nature and have the experience would feel pleased to follow the way! This is what is called, “to live in harmony with nature”. Of course, such a practice requires a lot of patience, learning, study, effort and appreciation in mastering them. Living in such natural green lifestyle, surrounded in comfort with beautiful trees, stream, bushes and greeneries will inspire one to live a more healthier and longer life of peace, harmony and happiness. As such, this will further inspire us to develop more potential for the practice and the benifit of all beings! Om Mani Padme Hung.
These places feel weird where we might read in from a story book but they do actually exist. For residents who stayed there for them it looks normal but for us it feels so bizarre. These are really interesting places on earth.
Weird but they do have their individual beautiful sights of it. Out of the 7 weird and wonderful towns, i like Giethoorn, Netherlands (Venice of the Netherlands) the most. this scenic magical village is clean and fresh and peaceful with flowers and green planted by the river banks and surrounding the houses. It’s sure feel good to be living in such a healthy environment that has no vehicle and sounds pollution, even the boat they use is noiseless, incredible! Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this interesting article.
Giethoorn, Netherlands definitely looks like a place out of a fairytale book, magical village waved together by still streams and quiescent cottages parked in patches of lush greenery, it is hard to imagine anywhere else prettier than here. Aoshima, Japan is an interesting cat colony where men and cats co-exist peacefully. How unique! Thank you Rinpoche for the refreshing sharing of the article on Seven Weird and Wonderful Towns Around The World. I enjoyed reading it.
These places are interesting though I do not particularly like Cooby Peedy as it make me feels claustrophobic. Giethoorn, Netherlands is beautiful with the lush green surrounding and the calming water. Mosanto has unique architecture, using boulders and rocks to determine the structures. Chefchaouen is beautiful too with its different shades of blue which has a calming effect while Burano is a happy and cheerful place.
Home is where the heart it. It is the place that we love the most; where we feel loved and most comfortable. It can be any kind of building, but most important is that we feel at home.
Thank you, Rinpoche, for sharing these beautiful photos.
Wow!!! This is really interesting with beautiful places. I love the cute cats of 2. Aoshima, Japan,cosy houses and canal of 4. Giethoorn, Netherlands,Monsanto,Portugal a boulder-friendly town.Really beautiful pictures to light up my weekend. Thank you very much Rinpoche 🙂
Coober Pedy, Australia makes me claustrophobic but i love the quiet Giethoorn, Netherlands. it reminds of fairy tales and the river i used to play in as a kid. That brings back very happy memories.
Burano, Italy looks like a happy place with its bright and fresh colors. The cat island and boulder city seems scary to me.
Interesting how every image invoke different feelings. Is it our imprint from previous lives or this life? I think we should just live in the present and just enjoy the beautiful images, I think. We have to learn to live in the present and be aware and present. but, always with an eye to the future.
Thank you, Rinpoche for sharing these beautiful and interesting pictures of these weird towns.
Wow, some of the places are so beautiful like Giethoorn, Netherlands and Monsanto, Portugal. Others are quirky like Aoshima, Japan and Slab City, USA. Then there is Coober Pedy which created was out of necessity due to the extreme summers. Chefchaouen, Morocco and Burano, Italy bringing colours in their lives for historical reason and a touch of nature.
In reading this article I find that most everyone puts so much effort into creating a paradise for themselves. Always seeking a place to feel safe, comfortable and pleasant on the eye. And yet even with having that, most times we will feel bored and ready to go out to fill our senses with activities. Little do we know that what we really seek is within ourselves, our Buddhamind, which a qualified Guru and the precious Dharma helps us find.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing all these places, which although beautiful, my preference would be where my holy Guru is.
Weird but beautiful in their individual architecture design.Amazing not easy to build after all example in Giethoorn, Netherlands modern transportation, only canals and in Monsanto in Portugal,using rocks to determine the structure.With determination they manage to build beautiful houses.Among them, i like the sea small blue town of Chefchaouen Morocco .just so beautiful …seeing blue every where.so peaceful and comfortable..Unique and creative architecture.
.Thanks Rinpoche for sharing those beautiful photos and article.