Travel Tidbits: Cha-Ching!

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

24 Sep 2007 04:45 PM

I've written about luxury travel destinations and high priced travel items in previous posts, but this next one just might take the cake... or, at least the fruit compote.

Visitors trekking to the upscale Sri Lankan resort called The Fortress, located in the coastal city of Galle, can now dine on what is being heralded as the "world's most expensive dessert."

For $14,500 you can dig into the fruity confection complete with a chocolate sculpture and a gigantic gemstone (that latter is the real deal and is not made for human consumption). I'm not kidding. According to hotel managers, "The Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence" was created by chefs at the resort to provide visitors with a "one-of-a-kind experience."

So what exactly is this six-figure confection comprised of? Hotel chefs say they use a gold leaf Italian cassata flavored with Irish cream, and add a mango and pomegranate compote with a champagne sabayon. The dessert is decorated with a chocolate carving of a fisherman clinging to a stilt, and includes a carefully balanced 80-carat aquamarine gemstone.

Hotel managers say the dessert has to be specially ordered. And, while they have had inquiries about the chocolate and fruit concoction from as far away as Japan, hotel chefs say no one has yet to drop the $14,500 to dig into it.

And here's a guy I don't expect will be ordering the resort's signature dessert anytime soon.

Thirty-three-year-old Tim Brady is going to need at least $14,500 to cover the costs related to his need for speed.

Brady made history earlier this year in Britain when he was caught going 172 mph in his company's Porsche. (A car dealer set the previous record of 156 miles per hour in 2003.) Brady reportedly took the $198,000 Porsche 911 Turbo without permission from his employer, a luxury car rental firm. According to court records, he then gunned it down a major thoroughfare and was caught by police. Today a judge banned Brady from driving for three years and sentenced him to 10 weeks in jail. The judge also called Brady's move "criminally self-indulgent" and admonished him for creating a dangerous situation for innocent motorists.

I don't know about you, but I have never been in a car that has gone faster than 100 mph (I wasn't the one driving) and can't imagine speeding through town at 172 mph. Come to think of it, I don't think I have even sat in a car whose speedometer registered a number higher than 120. Have you?

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Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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