Although Japanese Christians make up only 1% of the country’s population, about 90% of weddings in Japan are in the Christian style, complete with the words, “you may now kiss the bride” and the big white dress. There appears to be something of a roaring trade for Europeans to act as fake priests presiding at…

The first of a planned series of tsunami early warning buoys is being put down in the Indian Ocean. The buoy, provided by the US, (who already operate a similar system in the Pacific Ocean) is being placed between Thailand and Sri Lanka, two of the countries worst-hit by the 2004 tsunami which killed more…

Dubai-based Emirates will become the first airline to allow passengers to make mobile phone calls on its flights. Emirates expects to launch the service on one of its Boeing 777 planes as early as January next year. The news comes just months after Ryanair announced it planned to launch a similar service in mid-2007 –…

Spotted by webmaster Paul: gapadvice.org Independent advice on gap years, for people of all ages.

A snake charmer who made a name for himself as Malaysia’s Snake King has died after being bitten by a king cobra. Ali Khan Samsudin, 48, gained a place in the record books for locking himself in small spaces with hundreds of snakes or scorpions for days at a time. According to local press reports,…

Need to convert currency? Take a look at The Globetrotters Currency Converter – get the exchange rates for 164 currencies The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet – create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid Kitty writes in: I am writing a short dissertation on the contents of people’s suitcases, the history of suitcase design and of…

British shoppers heading across the Atlantic to the United States have been warned by HM Revenue and Customs that they must declare gifts bought in the US totalling over £145. Officials warn that if shoppers fail to declare their gifts and pay the required duty, they risk prosecution, which is rather a pity as the…

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Spotted by Mac: a well compiled and complete list of LCC – Low Cost Carriers – These are the cheapest of the cheap airlines, and NOT listed or sold normally by travel agents, you will not find these airlines in Orbitz, Travelocity or Expedia.com. However you will find them in the WIKI – Wikipedia.org.