“Ghost Town” : Bokod, Hungary

Bokod Hungary is not a tourist destination. It is barely visited – it’s just an old village on a lake. Along the lake shore, rickety boardwalks lead out over the lake to old fishing cottages that stand on stilts. It’s not the nicest location, but I think there’s something enchanting about the photographs, and there is certainly something artsy about the boardwalks and cottages on the misty water.

 

Bokod is a lake about 80 kilometers west of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. It was hard to find information on Bokod. There was a website in Hungarian, but unfortunately I am not fluent in Hungarian, and google translate was not very helpful…

 

I’m not sure if the lake houses are inhabited – one website reported that they were abandoned but I’m not sure if it was a reliable source. If it is abandoned, I’m not sure if the boardwalks are even safe to walk on. I was disappointed when I realized this, because I saw the picture first and thought the lake houses seemed like a really cool place to stay.

 

Aeriel View

What to do? I probably wouldn’t actually visit Bokod, since there isn’t a lot to do there – just look at the houses and take some photographs I think. If I did, it would be part of a larger trip to Budapest. There are all kinds of things to do an sights to see in Budapest that would make for an excellent trip. I just decided to cover Bokod because it’s such a weird, interesting place, and the pictures are really cool.

 

What to eat? No classy restaurants here guys, this one's a picnic lunch. I'm sure there would be somewhere to eat in the village, but I wasn't able to find any online information.

 

I think Bokod certainly has potential though – if someone were to restore it and make the fishing houses into cottages for rent, it would be a lovely and very cool place to stay. What do you think?

“Cave of the Three Travellers” : Fangweng Restaurant

Imagine dining in mid air, hundreds of feet above a sweeping gorge with a beautiful river at the bottom. Cool? Terrifying? This is pretty much what if would feel like to dine in the Fangweng Restaurant, in the Hubei Province of China.

 

The restaurant, also known as "the restaurant near sanyou cave,"  or the "cave of the three travellers," is about 30 minutes north of the city Yichang, in the Xiling Gorge, a scenic range of cliffs and park. The cliffs are riddled with caves and the Chang Jiang river flows through the bottom of the gorge.

 

The entrance to the Fangweng Restaurant is marked by a small building that is pretty darn ugly. The real wonder begins once you pass through the building. To get to the main restaurant, you must take a precarious walk along a boardwalk built into the face of the cliff. The walk is said to be spectacular. On the left, the cliff face goes up almost vertically, and on the right only a small railing guards the boardwalk from the perilous slopes of the gorge and the river below. Historically, the cave was used as inspiration for many famous poets and artists.

 

When you arrive, you will be seated. Most of the tables are inside the restaurant, which is actually a naturally formed cave in the cliff – how cool is that?! The strange combination of being in both a Chinese restaurant and a cave makes for a pretty unique atmosphere. Some tables, however, are on a deck built out over the gorge. I can’t even imagine eating a mean with only a few deck planks between me and a sheer drop to the bottom of a gorge. The view is amazing, but I would be terrified (I’m not good with heights).

 

 
What to do? Well, eat, obviously. The best time to go is during the day, when the restaurant is not crowded, and the light is good for viewing the gorge. Other than that, you can hike, bungee jump, or take a boat tour throughout the valley, among other local activities.
 

What to eat? The menu consists of a combination of local specialties and traditional Hubei cooking. Dishes include freshwater fish, duck, pork and if you’re feeling adventurous, you could try turtle (not for me, personally). Most of the dishes include sauce, vegetables and strong spices.

 

I just think this would be a fantastic and breathtaking (but scary) experience you would never forget, and you would be hard pressed to find another place like this one.

There's not a ton of information on the Fangweng restaurant, but this travel blog covers it pretty well.