Dinner with robots in Tokyo

Everybody knows that Japan has a reputation for being a little bit quirky, but in all my years of travel I have never experienced anything quite like Tokyo’s Robot Restaurant, in Shinjuku. From the moment you enter the psychedelic waiting room and are handed a robot dinosaur to play with, you know you are in for a “different” night out. The craziness levels ramp up as the dinner show starts; where else would you witness robots fighting giant sharks to a soundtrack of Gangnam Style, accompanied by scantily clad girls whizzing round above your head on swings? It truly has to be experienced to be believed, and your benchmark for “odd” will never be the same again!

charlotte54

Oil wrestling in Turkey

The annual oil wrestling festival in Edirne. Photograph: Alamy

My first trip to Turkey was a memorable one. Crossing the border from Greece on a sunny June morning, my first stop was Edirne, where the locals were getting excited about the annual oil wrestling tournament. I watched, fascinated, as contestants of various shapes and sizes stripped down to leather trousers in an open field and began pouring copious quantities of local golden olive oil over themselves. To my amazement, some locals procured some suitable clothing for me and invited me to participate in the warmups. I did so – needless to say, coming off the worst.

gonca

Greenland’s Kangerlussuaq ice cap

Russell glacier near Kangerlussuaq. Photograph: Alamy

One of the most remote places on earth is Kangerlussuaq, just north of the Arctic Circle: population 540. We stayed there, and our guide took us to the Kangerlussuaq ice cap by truck. It was an amazing experience. We stood on the ice cap, listening to the sound of the creaking ice and an otherwise eerie silence. We were lucky to see some wild cariboo and had the opportunity to go inside an igloo. We also saw some massive ice mountains which looked like rock from a distance. We drank hot chocolate and cookies while standing on the ice sheet in -30C.

everylevel73

Haircuts in remote places

A barber’s shop in Mongolia. Photograph: Thomas Koehler/Photothek via Getty Images

It all started after reading a news article about the limited (10) haircut options for men in North Korea. Since then I have been trying to get a haircut in every country I visit, to document fashion choices across regions and cultures. I have now documented haircuts from around 20 countries – and there are a lot more to go! The most remote region I’ve had a trim is western Mongolia. Because of my limited language skills, the hairdresser went ahead with what she thought would be a cool, modern look for me. After almost shaving the right half of my head, she proceeded to razor-cut a strange line just above the shaven area. I had a TV interview a few days later, which wasn’t scheduled before the cut, so it was now immortalised on television. The hair grew back to normal in a few weeks, but the experience is one to remember!

Krishna Krishnamurthy

Adopting a godchild in Peru

An Uros and her baby on Lake Titicaca. Photograph: Alamy

While travelling in Peru with a small group, we took a trip out on Lake Titicaca and stopped at the amazing floating islands, which are made of reeds and are home to the Uros tribe. While we were there, one young local baby had come of age and was due for a rite of passage, which involved cutting a lock of her hair and blessing her into childhood. As the first person to cross the village threshold that day, the honour became mine. I am now the proud godparent of “Betty” and am officially recognised in the village (although this was eight years ago now and she never writes or calls!)

Sucarpenter

Sleep in a gurdwara in India



Bangla Sahib gurdwara in New Delhi. Photograph: Patrick Horton/Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

Cycling from London to Japan on a tiny budget meant we tried to sleep for free as often as possible, and this led to some very strange and unique encounters. One of our favourite memories of India was the nights we spent sleeping in gurdwaras (Sikh temples). After some initial reservations we were warmly welcomed (and fed) by the Sikh community, and spent the evening entertaining the youngsters and chatting with the elders. It was an enlightening experience, as neither of us knew much about this religion beforehand, and we were blown away by their kindness.

Claire Mason

A staring competition in Burma

Rate my stare… Photograph: Brent Winebrenner/Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

Burma is pretty baffling on an ordinary day, with countless quirks and untold oddities around every corner. But this wasn’t just an ordinary day: this was the day I was to take part in a televised staring competition. Remember that game you used to play as kids, where you stared at each other until one of you blinked? Well, Burma has made a TV show out of it. And I was to be the first – and only – foreign competitor, grabbed off the street by the TV crew earlier that day. Having not been training for such an occasion, I didn’t manage to stare for very long, keeping my eyes open for only 17 seconds before the urge to blink beat me. The winner, incidentally, stared at the camera for over 19 minutes. I can’t imagine it was very interesting viewing.

Charlotte Rose

A locals’ wedding in Malaysia



Traditional Bajau wedding costume in Sabah. Photograph: Reuters

Whilst visiting Kinabatangan river in Sabah, Malaysia, we were invited to a local wedding, and were blown away by the hospitality. The hosts kept offering us food and a drink that looked like Pepto-Bismol. The groom was weighed and presented with his weight in coconuts and rice, while the bride sat beautifully “on show”. A disco followed, and we were given boiled eggs as wedding favours. It was a privilege to have been invited, and an experience to savour. The journey to and from the wedding was in pitch-black darkness, and an even bigger highlight. Speeding down a river, teeming with wildlife with nothing but a torch sure makes for an exhilarating evening.

Sabrina Qua

A bowling-alley party in Laos

Photograph: Avdeev Aleksey//Getty Images

Everywhere has a curfew in pious Luang Prabang, a Unesco-listed city in Laos; even the pandemonic night bazaar, where makeshift stalls burst with everything from whisky-pickled python hearts to pseudo-Buddhist trinkets.

Perhaps it’s a curious loophole of the Laotian late-night laws, or simply an obsession with everything tenpin, but after the bars shut and the evening marketplace ceases, the only place to be in this town of pagodas and perplexing temple complexes is the bowling alley.

We hitched a taxi to the out-of-town alley and joined the lengthening queue of locals at the door around 11pm. Inside, the bowling was in full swing, and so was the karaoke and dancing, beneath gaudy disco lights. With a bar touting 10-pence shots of less-than-accomplished local rum, by the end of the night my own attempts at bowling were meandering around the alleys more than the Mekong river around the town outside!

Bolkonsky

Dinner at the House of Poo Poo, in Beijing

Hungry? Photograph: Ben Goodwin

Who knew a toilet-themed restaurant could be so much fun? Brightly decorated with see-through tables (concealing fish, lizards and tortoises), diners sit on toilet seats with their food served in mini-commodes. Food such as “poo funny mud” (mashed potato) and mini curries ensure the fans hit the culinary sh*t. It feels like a playgroup for adults, but – guess what? – the food isn’t too bad. I was just a bit disappointed that the restaurant’s toilets were so, well, normal.

Ben Goodwin