Travel from caves to capsules

      

Poseidon Undersea Resort in Fiji

Cave hotel in Turkey

I love stumbling through websites like this. This particular one includes a list of 12 creative hotels, but not much information, so I did a little more research. I was so excited by the Poseidon hotel that I even watched the intro video, which made me want to get on a plane right away. Just begun in 2010, this hotel offers week-long stays with two nights underwater and the rest of the time on beachfront bungalows on a private island in Fiji. There are also adventure options such as scuba diving and piloting your own submarine. Given the comparable chilliness in San Luis this week, coupled with finals stress and the beginnings of a cold, I would kill to run away to Poseidon.

While Poseidon boasts being the first and only of its kind, when I googled "cave hotel Turkey" I was surprised to find there are actually several such resorts -- Esbelli Evi, Gamirasu, and Kelebek, to name just a few. Apparently, "cave rooms" are quite common in Turkey. These hotels range from "small inns" to sprawling resorts, but all are built right into the cliff walls, and all have an ethereal yet cozy feel to them. And if you're worried about lack of activities in the Turkish countryside, don't be. Gamirasu, for example, offers entertainment ranging from horse riding and massage services to Turkish cuisine cooking classes and performances of the 13th century meditation dance of Sufism, also known as the Whirling Dervishes.

Capsule Hotel in Japan

On the other end of the spectrum, there's the Capsule Hotel in Japan. Apparently, their clientele is mainly Japanese businessmen who don't have time to go home, but I have to say, even if I were pressed for time I think I'd make the journey home rather than spend the night in a coffin-sized enclosure. Something about the stacked, claustrophobia inducing capsules located in the red-light district of Tokyo just doesn't appeal to me. 

Of course, given my limited budget as a college student, it's unlikely I'll get to travel to any of these destinations in the near future, but they offer a nice distraction from finals and are definitely now on my bucket list.