On Safari – in a Folly Tent

It’s like London buses used to be, none around for ages when you want one and then several come along together. So it is with follies and fantasy buildings. Two in a single day today.

Here is our second treasure of the day – the Chongwe River House in Zambia on the banks of the Chongwe River.  Strictly speaking it isn’t a folly as it is a working building, a luxury safari lodge, but I defy anyone to look at the image above and say it doesn’t fulfil many of the fantasy elements of the best follies.

If you want to stay there, it has four bedrooms, waterfall showers and open air bathrooms and a range of wild life watching options, including hippo spotting on the river, exploring the Lower Zambezi National Park (with your own private guide and armed ranger or hanging out in the lodge’s pool and elephant spotting on the lawns. Not your bargain basement stuff more a dream like fantasy.

More information at Chongwe Lodge website

Read Full Post »

Taking Tea up in the Cherry Blossoms (treehouse)

Chashitsu Tetsu (Tetsu Teahouse)

by Terunobu Fujimoir and Nobumichi Ohshima (Ohshima Atelier)

 

I know very little more about this than the information contained in the caption – that it is a Japanese tree house set among the cherry blossoms, effectively combining two Japanese traditions – drinking tea and admiring the cherry blossoms. It is not clear how you get up there from the low steps below.

I think it dates to around 2006.

 

This appears to be another variation on the same theme.

 

If anyone has any more information please feel free to comment.

Read Full Post »