Tayka Hotel de Sal

Where: Tahua, Bolivia

How much: About $ 95 a night

Why it's cool: You've stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That's something few can claim. Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally ofsalt—including the beds (though you'll sleep on regular mattresses andblankets). The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric dried-up lakewhich is the world's biggest salt flat. Builders use the salt from the 4,633-square-mile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste(糊) of wet salt that hardens when it dries. When rain starts to dissolve (溶解) the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks.

Green Magic Nature Resort

Where: Vythiri, India

How much: About $ 240 a night

Why it's cool: Taking a pulley(滑轮)—operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure. As you look out of your open window, there is no glass! You watch monkeys and birds inthe rain forest canopy(罩篷). Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to themain part of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo bed and read. You don't evenhave to come down for breakfast—the hotel will send it up on the pulley-drawn“elevator”.

Dog Bark Park Inn B&B

Where: Cottonwood, Idaho

How much: $ 92 a night

Why it's cool: This doghouse isn't just for the family pet. SweetWilly is a 30-foot-tall dog with guest rooms in his belly. Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side. You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a few steps of the loft(阁楼) in Willy's head, or hang out inside his nose. Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters, there is also a toilet in the 12-foot-tall fire hydrant(消防栓) outside.

Gamirasu Cave Hotel

Where: Ayvali, Turkey

How much: Between $ 130 and $ 450 a night

Why it's cool: Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash. But your stay will be much more modern. Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool insummer. (Don't worry— there is heat in winter.)

    To most people, noise pollution is a jet flying over their head. For one Spanish woman, it is a neighbor playing the piano. The woman has taken her neighbor to court. Now she wants to send her neighbor to prison for over seven years on the charges of psychological damage and noise pollution.

    In a country known for its noisiness, the case has raised eyebrows. Neighbors often complain  about street noise in Spain, but people seeking prison time for someone practicing the piano is unheard of. At the trial, Sonia Bosom says she has been suffering noise pollution up to now due to the practice sessions of Laia Martin, who lives below her. Martin, 27, didn't admit that she played at home that often, saying she took regular classes in other towns and mostly practiced at home on the weekends.

    On the first day of the trial, the newspaper reported that Bosom told the court she now hated pianos so much that she couldn't even stand seeing them in a film. Bosom says years of hearing Constant playing has caused her “psychological injury”. Medical reports show she has suffered from a variety of problems, including insomnia (失眠), anxiety, and panic attacks.

    She says tests by local authorities have found that the sound levels made by the piano are up to 10 decibels （分贝）higher than the limit. City authorities have asked the family several times to either stop the piano playing or soundproof (隔音) the room. The family told the court that they carried out soundproofing work twice but the complaints continued.

    The court hasn't made a final decision. A spokeswoman says the trial will end before May.

    WHERE TO STAY

    With its modern art museums, hidden basement bars and fast-developing food scene, Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital, is one of the most attractive cities in Latin America. Contact us, and we offer you some special hotels.

    Querido

    This is a cheerful seven-room townhouse in Villa Crespo. Its rooms are big, and each is specially designed. A hearty breakfast is served in the dining room. Querido's convenient location means Palermo Soho is a short walk away.

Doubles from ￡73, querido.com

    Home Hotel

    Design and comfort are key at this 20-room hotel in Palermo Hollywood. From Florence Knoll furniture to William Morris wallpaper, every detail has been hand-picked by the British-argentinian owners. There's an outdoor swimming pool and a garden with green trees. Weekend brunch（早午餐）is a welcome choice for tourists.

    Doubles from ￡90, homehotel.com

    Tango Hotel

    A big makeover（翻新）changed this former sewing machine factory in Monserrat into a 59-room hotel. Despite the busy location, the environment is good.

    Doubles from ＄75, tangohotel.com

    La Querencia

    Close to Constitucion, this comfortable four-room hotel in San Telmo is run by a Frenchman, Yann. Decoration is simple but the place is spotless. Guests can make use of the kitchen where Yann prepares breakfast and enjoy their meals in the dining room or in the yard.

    Doubles from ＄55, laquerencia.com

    Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits died hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.

Many roads and places in Singapore(新加坡) are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries — in both the West and the East.

Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus — obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.

    Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, "Base Basah" means "wet rice" in Malay(马来语). Now why would anyone want to name a road "Wet Rice Road"? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.

    A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is "Circular Road" for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like "Paya Lebar Crescent". This road is called a crescent (月牙) because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.

    Your next Saturday night takeaway could be brought to you by a robot after a major food delivery company announced plans to use automated vehicles to transport meals. Europe's biggest online takeaway food company Just Eat has partnered with Starship Technologies to deliver food with robots on the streets of London later this month. "Nobody has ever done deliveries with land-based robots," said Allan Martinson, the chief operating officer of Starship.

    The robot courier can travel up to 4 miles per hour for about 10 miles. It uses a GPS signal and nine cameras to navigate (确定方向). Instead of a person arriving at their door, customers could find themselves receiving a notification on their phone that says a robot is on its way and a code to unlock the automated courier. "Put the code in, the robot opens up, and there's your food," said David Buttress, chief manager of Just Eat.

    The robot, which has so far been tested in Greenwich, Milton Keynes and Glastonbury, costs £ 1 to transport within 3 miles, compared with the £3 to £6 it costs for a human courier. To date 30 robots have driven nearly 5,000 miles without getting into an accident or finding themselves picked on by passers-by. They have driven in more than 40 cities around the world, including London and Tallinn, Estonia.

    An initial worry was how the public would react to robots. But Martinson said the public has been calm when passing the delivery machine on the streets. "The most surprising reaction has been the lack of reaction," said Martinson.

    Another significant fear was that people would disrupt (扰乱) the robots, or try to steal them and their contents. To prevent this, the robot is fitted with nine cameras, two way audio, and movement sensors that send a warning if it is lifted off the ground. And it opens only with a passcode provided to the customer via a notification. "It's much easier to shoplift than it is to steal a robot," said Martinson.

    In San Francisco, where the number of the homeless has risen by 7% in the last decade, a non-profit organization is putting bathrooms on wheels and driving them to those in need. The group, Lava Mae, is improving retiring city buses and bringing them into different neighborhoods, currently providing about 200 showers each week.

    Doniece Sandoval, the founder of Lava Mae, first became interested in the issue in 2012, when she passed a young woman under an overpass near the San Francisco Design Center who was repeating to herself that she'd never get clean. "It made me wonder what her chances were," said Sandoval, who was then inspired to research exactly how many public shower stalls（淋浴间）existed in the city. Her findings were disheartening.

    So Lava Mae came together when she heard the city would be retiring cold city buses. "I told myself, I want those buses!" she said.

    Each bus has two private bathrooms, one of which is wheelchair accessible. Along with the basic shower, sink and toilet, the spaces have soft lighting, digital controls for water, and hair dryers.

    "Though you're only going to be on the bus for 20 minutes or so, it's 20 minutes of complete privacy," Said Sandoval.

    The buses are parked near agencies that already serve the homeless. "If we can reduce the amount of time people have to run from place to place to get essential services, we'll be able to make things better," said Sandova.

    What's next for lava Mae? The group is starting a program so that others can mimic their process. " What we're hoping to do is to get people to follow what we do, so they can recreate it." she said.