Category: Sidebar

  • Air travel no longer cheap

    A report from Malaysia's Star newspaper gives examples of how soaring fuel costs are impacting on air fares in certain instances. They gave two examples: a return ticket to Colombo, Sri Lanka from Kuala Lumpur costs RM400 but the fuel surcharge is RM450. Another bargain – a two-night return package to Bangkok from KL on…

  • Space Tourist Returns

    The US businessman and scientist Gregory Olsen is the third person to pay to be a space tourist, after American Dennis Tito in 2001 and South African Mark Shuttleworth in 2002. If you have something in the region of £11m ($19.3m) to spare and are fit, perhaps you could apply too.

  • 20% of Americans Have Passports

    A recent survey of Americans indicates that international travel, particularly for leisure, continues to rise. A record number of nearly 62 million U.S. travellers went abroad last year, up 10 percent from 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Interestingly, while the number of Americans who travel outside U.S. borders is climbing, the number…

  • Soccer Flight Scam

    Pilots of a chartered jet carrying 289 Gambian soccer fans faked the need to make an emergency landing in Peru so that passengers could watch their nation's team play a key match. The plane, claiming to be low on fuel, landed in Peru's northern coast city of Piura, where Gambia played Qatar in the FIFA…

  • Have you got a tale to tell?

    If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites

  • Fave Website

    Spotted by webmaster Paul: “Because your first trip to Tokyo can be like going to another planet. Planet Tokyo is here to guide you through the culture shock that many western travellers experience upon arrival in Japan. If you're planning a trip, or just hoping to learn something new and interesting in this western traveller's…

  • Venice Barriers to Go Ahead

    Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has agreed that work on an underwater dam to try to save the lagoon city of Venice from floods will go ahead, despite increasing calls for it to be halted because of environmental damage. Work on the project known as Mose, Italian for Moses, began in 2003. Designers hope the…

  • Fears of a Terrorist Attack in NYC

    American soldiers in Iraq claim they uncovered evidence of a terrorist bomb plot targeting the US. People in New York City are warned to remain on alert amid fears of a terrorist attack on the New York subway system. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered increased security on the subway system and warned that…

  • Robot Fish in London Aquarium

    Spotted by webmaster Paul: three robot fish, created by robotics experts from Essex University can be found at London Aquarium. They move around the tank like real fish, and have sensor-based controls, so they can move around the tank, avoiding objects and other fish, and reacting to their environment as a real fish would. Professor…

  • Great White Journey

    A tagged great white shark (called Nicole, by researchers – after shark loving actress Nicole Kidman) crossed the Indian Ocean from South Africa to Australia and back again in just nine months. The act of tagging a great white is something of an achievement; several people need to hold the creature still while the satellite…