When Japanese boys and girls want to escape their parent's watchful eye and get their honor-bound groove on, they often spend their nights in a love hotel. It's not like they can afford a place of their own, with real estate prices in the country being some of the highest in the world. But unlike their seedy American counterparts, these day-rate hotels are decked out in kitschy/cutesy designs ranging from the benign to the bizarre. A new book catalogs the most inventive, including a Hello Kitty/S&M themed hotel. And while we're on the subject of strange Japanese things, may we suggest getting a fish pedicure? We're serious.

Like the old saying goes, it's good to be the king. For most of us, we're not born of royal blood, so we don't get to walk around acting like we own the place. But for an intrepid few, they just declare themselves a king or queen of their own damn country and leave it at that. As long as you don't care about pesky UN-recognition or anything trivial like that, you're golden. Make your own stamp! Wear a silly uniform! Declare your dog the head of state! If you're not brazen enough to start your own country, read this book from Lonely Planet on how to visit the many wacky micronations around the world. And if you are interested in starting your own, enter this competition to see who has the best idea.

If you travel often to areas that are off the beaten path, then you're probably familiar with bribery. In most countries around the world -- especially developing ones -- using bribes is the only way to get things done, or sometimes just a handy way of getting out of trouble. Check out this analysis of a report ranking all the countries by how corrupt they are. Coming in at number one is Albania, where apparently, you can't get much done without a little green under the table. As for the USA, we're practically dead last. Which, for once, is a good thing.

If you're an avid traveler, you've probably come across a destination or two that claim to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Basically any time a country has something (a town, a building, a park) they think deserves money and cultural recognition, they lobby to have the title bestowed upon it. What happens after that is up to the country. Sometimes the tourism helps the site, and other times it just ruins it. At National Geographic Traveler (an often ignored, yet fabulous travel mag), they've ranked all 830 sites that now carry the name. And with that many going around saying they're a World Heritage Site, you know that some of them are just plain crap. Check out this site and make your own list of must-visit places to see before you kick the bucket.

Travelers have been talking up Iceland and its capitol, Reykjavik, for a while now. But if you can't score some serious swag somewhere, does it really exist? Two shop-tastic bits of info have appeared online lately: the first is the opening of a chic boutique Liborius, opened by designer Jòn Sæundur, and the second is a thrift shop, Góði Hirðirinn, which is apparently a must visit. If you're still on the fence on whether or not to head north to the frigid country, you can get a little taste at their official U.S. tourist site. Perhaps some free Icelandic music will pique your interests? And no, there's no Bjork (we checked!).

Iran gets a bad rap. Anyone who's been to the Middle Eastern country or knows someone who has, can tell you that what you know of Iran (primarily from the evening news) portrays a truly distorted view of the land and its people. Imagine if you've never been to the U.S., but only had White House press conferences and episodes of Jerry Springer to paint a mental image. As blogging vacation photos become more commonplace, people are spreading the word that this member of the "axis of evil" has a chic, underappreciated side. Check out this pictorial account of everyday life in the restrictive country, or this jet set traveler's photos of the people and architecture here and here. Just keep an open mind -- remember that it wasn't that long ago that Iran was quite the place to be, and may be again someday soon.

By Milo Auckerman: Art hotels have been around for about the last two years or so. We wrote about Copenhagen's Fox Hotel back in 2005. I love the idea of a hotel whose art is not encased in frames, but consists of the actual the room you're staying in. However, it's been a slow build out and art hotels remain a specialty, not de rigeur. That's why I'm pleased to see the Arte Luise Kunsthotel has sprung up in Berlin. With incredible views of the Reichstag building, the Spree river, and the Brandenburg Gate, the Kunst offers a stellar location and 50 unique rooms. All rooms have been touched by the hands of an artist that include some big, some small, but clearly, it's a well curated list. What's unusual about the Arte Luise is that instead of the rooms being extremely reliant on graphical elements on the walls, many of the rooms are more conceptual. Consider Andreas Paeslack's room:

"The spirit of Carl Spitzweg is present here in what is perhaps his most famous painting. Artist Andreas Paeslack used the painting as the basic motif for his room installation, creating what amounts to a three-dimensional reproduction of it. The aspect of an audience is created by an apparent opening into the room, which gives visitors to the "Hamburger Bahnhof" museum a view into the room. Thus in this game the guest, as the poor poet, becomes part of the central motif together with the room."

Still there are many rooms that are heavy on paint such as the room by Kehl made to look like as though you just stepped into a cartoon (pictured above). All nicely done.

Thus, every room is an original, and all rooms are only united by the high artistic standards with which the concepts have been carried out. Sculptures in the lobby and philosophy in the stairwell accompany guests en route.

At the reception desk a young, competent team is at our guests´ disposal around the clock. Our in-house restaurant "Habel" offers lovingly prepared German-Mediterranean cuisine, which is also served on the broad terrace in the hotel courtyard in the summer.

This combination of a truly unique location, the inspired manifestation of enormously diverse artistic concepts, and the pleasant urbane atmosphere of our small hotel make a stay at the "Luise" an incomparable experience.

By Cherrie Currie: I'm just beginning to really get excited about my upcoming trip to Russia. Thankfully, over on Travelistic, I found a great video (see below) highlighting Moscow at night. The video takes a look at everything from karaoke bars to booty shakin' Miami styled night clubs. However, there's also a large focus on the rapidly growing strip club scene in the city complete with an interview of a patron and a club owner. The video tour also takes on the night clubs that have been cropping up, as well as a healthy new crop of casinos. What's not the video, but should be on any tourists hit list is the new Philippe Starck restaurant, Bon, which is a tribute to the darker side of Moscow (see pics below).
br>Who knows? Maybe Moscow will be the next Las Vegas? It could happen considering that there is now a trend for the city and its business to be open 24-hours a day. Looks like I'm in for a sleepless, gluttonous and possibly, erotic time.