PERK UP WITH BLACK IVORY BLEND—$1,100 PER KILO
For those who like their coffee with a strong nose Thailand could be the ideal destination, after a blend made from elephant dung was put on sale by an upmarket hotel chain. The Black Ivory blend, made from coffee beans digested and excreted by Thai elephants, is billed as producing a particularly smooth cup. But it is not cheap, with Anantara Hotels saying the “naturally refined” coffee costs a staggering $1,100 per kilo, making it one of the most expensive blends in the world. “Research indicates that during digestion, the enzymes of the elephant break down coffee protein,” the Thai-based hotel group, which is selling the pungent brew at around […]
GET HITCHED AT DUBAI’S TAJ MAHAL
A replica of India’s world-famous Taj Mahal, four times the size of the original, is to be built in Dubai as what is to be billed as the world’s grandest wedding venue. It took the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan 22 years to build the marble mausoleum for his queen 360 years ago, but the copy, to be known as Taj Arabia, is expected to take only two years. The billion-dollar project will be set in the heart of the 41 million square foot Falcon City of Wonders on Emirates Road, said Arun Mehra, chairman of sub-developers Link Global Group, at the annual Cityscape Global real estate exposition in Dubai. “Marriage […]