01:24 - Source: CNN
Flying hotel concept is designed to accommodate 5,000 passengers

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This week in travel, we look at innovative new transport concepts, the reopening of Thailand’s most famous beach, and flight attendants speak out about the airport chaos gripping Europe and America.

Blue sky thinking

Someone warn the Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff: If NASA has its way, booms might soon no longer shake the room.

A tour company is urging travelers to visit Ukraine’s bomb-ravaged cities – against international advisories. North Korea has been destroying sites at the Mount Kumgang resort area, once a symbol of reconciliation between North and South Korea. And Emirates CEO Tim Clark tells CNN he wants Airbus to build a new superjumbo to replace the A380.

Other ambitious projects in the works include Spaceship Neptune, the “world’s first carbon-neutral spaceship,” according to its makers Space Perspective. They plan to start taking passengers on flights to the edge of space by 2024, floating aloft in a pressurized ball dangling from a giant, high-tech helium balloon. Take a look here.

Then there’s the video of an enormous nuclear-powered flying hotel that has been doing the rounds online. Don’t try booking a suite just yet, though – it might just breach the laws of physics.

This crazy travel summer

So first, the good news. New Zealand, Samoa and Brunei have all reopened their borders, and the Chinese gambling hub of Macao has eased its Covid restrictions. Malaysia and the Caribbean island of Martinique have also lifted all their Covid-related travel restrictions.

However, as the summer of travel chaos continues in Europe and the States, London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol have announced more curbs to air traffic and the Covid risk level is up in a number of destinations, including Romania and Moldova.

Flight attendants have been speaking out on the “unsustainable and shambolic” summer air travel situation.

Spotlight on Asia

Karla Cripps/CNN
Resurrecting paradise: Maya Bay, a beautiful cove in Thailand's Andaman Sea, began welcoming tourists on January 1, 2022 for the first time since 2018 following a massive rejuvenation program. Today, boats are forbidden from entering the bay.
Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images
Loved to death: As this image taken in 2018 shows, the beach was far from idyllic prior to the closure. Years of overtourism took their toll, with around 5,000 people entering the bay each day at the peak of its popularity.
Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images
Maya Bay in 2018: The bay's coral reef was decimated by years of boats coming in and anchoring. Immediately following the closure, marine scientists began replanting coral and the government improved the area's infrastructure.
20th Century Fox
Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Beach": Maya Bay has been one of the country's most famous attractions over the last two decades, thanks much in part to the global success of 2000 movie "The Beach," which was filmed there.
Karla Cripps/CNN
Maya Bay now: This photo was taken early in the morning about a month after Maya Bay reopened to tourists in 2022. Visitors should come early in the day to avoid the crowds, as busy day trips from Phuket and arrive later in the morning/early afternoon.
Karla Cripps/CNN
New rules: The Department of National Parks has limited the number of visitors to 4,125 persons per day. Tourists are no longer permitted to swim, a move intended to to protect the corals and blacktip sharks that have returned to the bay.
Karla Cripps/CNN
New jetty: Boats can no longer enter the bay. Instead, drivers have to drop passengers off at this newly built floating jetty set at the back of the island.
Karla Cripps/CNN
Early morning: Though traffic gets busy by late morning, with the jetty the scene of controlled chaos, those arriving shortly after 7 a.m. will have a far quieter embarkation experience.
Karla Cripps/CNN
New boardwalk: From the jetty, visitors walk down a new boardwalk, which cuts through the forest, to reach the crescent-shaped beach on the other side of the narrow island.

Cannabis cafes are popping up across Bangkok after the plant was decriminalized in Thailand in June. The crowds are flooding in, but not everybody’s happy with the new outlets.

Also a popular spot with backpackers, Thailand’s Maya Bay was made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio’s 2000 movie “The Beach.” Visitors were unwittingly doing huge damage to the bay’s coral reef, and it was closed for four years for a massive rehabilitation project. Now it’s open to beach-lovers once again.

Japan reopened to international tourism in June, but in its first month of open borders, only 1,500 leisure tourists showed up. Why are visitors so hesitant to come back?

Keeping cool in Abu Dhabi

Countries around the world have been baking in extreme summer temperatures, but some cities are more successful at handling heat than others. Temperatures in Abu Dhabi can climb to more than 120 F (over 50 C), and the city is still making use of an ancient Arabic architectural cooling technique – with a modern twist.

And in the emirate’s Jubail Mangrove Park, a forest of the resilient plants is thriving in the intensely salty waters of the world’s hottest sea. It’s both a serene wildlife habitat and an offer of hope in an era of climate crisis.

And while Abu Dhabi might be known for its scorching temperatures, last year it was the first destination in the Middle East and Asia to be declared an official “Bike City” by Union Cycliste Internationale, sport cycling’s governing body. There’s been huge investment in an exhilarating network of cycling circuits – although the best time for riding is before sunrise or after sundown.

Italian dream home

Massoud Ahmadi
Italian hideaway: Massoud Ahmadi and Shelley Spencer, from Montgomery County in the US state of Maryland, bought and renovated an abandoned home in the Italian town of Sambuca di Sicilia.
Silvia Marchetti
Bargain home: The couple snapped up a 100-square-meter palazzo, one of 16 properties local authorities put up for auction for a symbolic €1 in 2019 in a bid to revive the depopulated town.
Silvia Marchetti
New neighborhood: "It was love at first sight," Spencer tells CNN. "Sambuca is very clean, with nice old stone pavements reminiscent of those in [Washington, D.C. neighborhood] Georgetown and the street lights at night are very romantic."
Silvia Marchetti
Big project: When they learned that their €10,150 (around $10,372) bid was accepted, they quickly got to work on giving the property a dramatic facelift.
Massoud Ahmadi
Amazing transformation: Two years later, and well ahead of the three-year deadline implemented by local authorities, their Italian home is complete. The couple say their spent $250,000 on the renovation work, which included fixing the original staircases.
Massoud Ahmadi
Home elevator: The standout feature of the house, located in the ancient Saracen district of Sambuca's historical center, is an indoor elevator.
Massoud Ahmadi
Comfort first: "We thought it would be great to feel as comfortable as possible by bypassing all those narrow steps, and not having to go up and down four windy staircases several times per day," Spencer says of the added fixture, which has a security camera and telephone installed inside.
Silvia Marchetti
Scenic town: "We love the peacefulness in Sambuca," says Ahmadi. "Our street is very silent and we enjoy the town's slow pace lifestyle philosophy."
Silvia Marchetti
Complete makeover: One of the rooms in the historical dwelling before the restyle, which was completed within two years.
Massoud Ahmadi
Elegant interior: The house also features a living area with an open-plan kitchen, a relaxation area, a guest suite, several balconies, and a panoramic terrace.
Silvia Marchetti
Slow pace: The couple plan to spend around six months of the year in Sambuca, along with their daughter and grandchildren.
Massoud Ahmadi
Extensive work: A view of the front of the 100-square-meter palazzo before the renovation work.
Massoud Ahmadi
End result: "Italian artisans are incredible," says Spencer. "How they transformed this space into something new is amazing. It was a shell, now it looks like a Renaissance house."
Silvia Marchetti
Dramatic transformation: Ahmadi and Spencer say they've already been given back the €5,000 (around $5,100) deposit they initially handed over as part of the purchase agreement, which stipulated that the renovations be complete within three years.

In case you missed it

A Maryland couple bought an abandoned Italian house for one euro and transformed it into their European dream home – complete with an elevator. Here’s how they did it.

A passenger was fined $1,874 for two undeclared McMuffins and a ham croissant.

A not-so-happy meal.

After our warning last week on how to avoid a shark attack, a snorkeler was bitten in the English county of Cornwall.

Now read our tips on surviving a rattlesnake bite.

Imagine, as a 1980s teen on vacation in London, having an outfit so fly you’re asked to be an extra in your favorite pop star’s music video.

Now imagine that pop star’s David Bowie. That’s what happened to Jersey boy Brad Miele.

Fake it till you make it

If you want a sun-kissed glow all year round (and without the skin damage that comes with sunbathing), then you need a good self-tanner. Our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, have rounded up 15 of the best self-tanning products on the market, according to experts.