The Week That Was #13

~ Welcome to my weekly collection of the Odd, the Useful, and the often Bizarre – although the first item (see image) could safely fit into all three categories.

The Odd: Complete Swiss Army Knife: If you’re in the market for a multifunction tool that just can’t be beat, have a look at this Guinness World Record holding collection of tools.

Called the Only Complete Swiss Army Knife, it features 87 precision-engineered tools which span 112 different functions - including (takes a deep breath) seven blades, three types of pliers, three golf tools, 25 Phillips and Flat headed screwdrivers, plus saws, wrenches, a signal whistle, combination fish scaler, hook disgorger, line gauge tool, chain rivet setter, shotgun choke tube tool, cigar-cutting scissors, tire-tread gauge, tweezers, toothpick and for a modern twist, a laser pointer.

This Swiss Army Knife to beat all knives is available now from Hammacher Schlemmer for just $1,400. Did I say, Odd? It could just be the most Useful gadget you’ve ever owned – if you can get your fingers around it!

The Useful: Cheap International Calls. Matt Gross, who writes the Frugal Traveler column for the New York Times, recently wrote about various ways to stay in touch with family and friends via cheap international phone carriers such as Skype. It turns out however, there are many other players on the market providing similar services to Skype, and he examines some of these in his article Calling Home for Even Less, which was a follow-up to a previous article, Staying in Touch Internationally on The Cheap. Both articles are worth reading (which is why I mention them here). Make sure you read through the many comments added to Matt’s articles, since these are a good source of additional information about other companies providing cheap international phone services.

The Bizarre: Wi-Fi Detector T-Shirt. This is another one of those items that could be deemed useful or bizarre, depending on your current state of mind. Seriously, those weird and wacky folks over at ThinkGeek are selling a T-Shirt with an attachment which lights up as you walk past wireless hotspots. Now you don’t have to open your laptop just to see if there is any Wi-Fi internet access about – since the glowing bars on the front of the shirt dynamically change as the surrounding Wi-Fi signal strength fluctuates.

The Week That Was #11

Welcome to my weekly collection of The Odd, The Useful, and The Downright Bizarre.

The Odd: First up, I’m posting a video for you to watch, but only if you promise never to do what you are about to see on your next international flight.

Promise? Ok, then. Now you can watch it:



The Useful: 5 secrets for avoiding sky-high cell phone bills. Christopher Elliott, over at Consumer Traveller writes about ways to avoid exorbitant cell phone bills while you are travelling, and recounts one example of Verizon greed when a traveller returned home from vacation to a staggering $8,000 cell phone debt. Among the strategies Elliott suggests for keeping your cell phone costs under control are these: Buy another phone in the country you are visiting; Get a plan that specifically includes overseas calls at favourable rates; Go VOIP and use services such as Skype; Swap cards — that is, swap out the SIM cards on your phone with a local national card; and finally, if all else fails, turn your phone off or better still, leave it at home. Read more here…

The Downright Bizarre: "Putpockets" give a little extra cash. How’s this for a weird promotional idea? A British broadband provider is paying reformed pickpockets to surreptitiously slip money into the pockets of unsuspecting Londoners. Instead of ‘pickpockets’ the firm has coined the word, putpockets, because the former thieves now give people money instead of steal it from them. "It feels good to give something back for a change -- and Britons certainly need it in the current economic climate," said Chris Fitch, a former pickpocket who now heads TalkTalk's putpocketing initiative. Fagan would be rolling over in his grave! Read more here…

The Week That Was #9

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Welcome to my weekly collection of The Odd, The Useful, and The Downright Bizarre.

The Odd: Rhyolite, Nevada Bottle Building - In 1906, in the old ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada a saloon owner named Tom Kelly, built a house out of bottles because lumber was scarce at the time. Reportedly he used some 50,000 beer, whiskey, soda and medicine bottles to build the structure which still stands today. Mr. Kelley was 76 years old when he built the house and it took him almost six months to complete. Read more here…

The Useful: The Rule of Thirds. Ned Levi is a professional photographer who points out the rationale behind the “Rule of Thirds”, the concept that the most eye-pleasing photographic compositions split the field of view into roughly equal thirds, and that the scene’s important compositional elements are placed along these lines or their intersections. It doesn’t matter whether you are using a typical consumer-level, point-and-shoot camera, or the most expensive professional digital SLR, the ‘rule’ has been in use for hundreds of years by generations of artists and photographers, and for a very good reason. It works. Read more here…

The Downright Bizarre: The Illegal Border Crossing Tour in Mexico. Yes, you read it right. This tour apparently lets you the experience the drama and the adrenalin rush of being an illegal immigrant trying to cross the Mexican border in the United States. According to a New York Times reporter who tried it, the locals want tourists to understand the experiences and traumas that illegal immigrants face. During the night-time guided hike you’ll be chased in the dark, shot at by (fake) police, and you may or may not make it under the fence. But you’ll definitely have an interesting story to tell the folks back home. Read more here…

The Week That Was #8

~ Welcome to my weekly collection of The Odd, The Useful, and The Downright Bizarre.

The Odd: Kandovan – The Stone Village. Is this the village that inspired the setting for Riven, the setting for part three of the Myst series of games? Kandovan (Candovan) is a tourist village located near the city of Tabriz, in Iran. Legend says the first inhabitants of Kandovan moved here to escape from the invading Mongols. They dug hideouts in the volcanic rock and ultimately ended up transforming them into permanent houses. It is now one of Iran’s most popular tourist destinations and the rock-houses rival the famous Cappadocia Hotel.

The Useful: Niagara Falls Webcam. Never been to Niagara Falls – the most powerful waterfall in North America? Don’t worry dear reader, you can watch six million cubic feet of water fall over the crest line every minute in high flow from the comfort of your own home, simply by tuning into the Niagara Falls webcam attached to the Sheraton on The Falls Hotel. Of course, you will have to adjust your time zone to suit. As I type this it is 11.30pm at the Falls, and all I can see is a dark, grainy image of something which looks like water flowing in the murky blackness. However, I will be back to take another look during daylight hours. In the meantime, I am looking at a huge interactive map here… to help me get my bearings.

The Downright Bizarre: Ryanair Poll - Passengers Would Fly Standing. No, it’s not an April Fools Day joke, according to a Ryanair online poll, 66% of 120,000 respondents said they would be willing to stand in the cabin on flights one hour or shorter if the fare was free. Well, for a flight of less than an hour, I guess even I would be happy to stand if it meant getting there for free. However, the figures change as the options become less accommodating. Read more here…

The Week That Was #7

~ Welcome to my weekly collection of The Odd, The Useful, and The Downright Bizarre.

The Odd: Top 5 Naked Events And Top 5 Nude Beaches. I bet that got your attention! Those people over at Tripso.Com have a feature on the top nude events and beaches around the world. They even mention Maslins Beach (Australia’s first official nude beach), here in South Australia, which apparently hosts the Nude Beach Olympics in January. I wonder if they will let me down there with my video camera to film a clip for this blog?

The Useful: Ten Tips for Planning a Round The World Trip.

Planning a trip is always part of the adventure of travelling, and even more so if it’s a round-the-world (RTW) trip across many countries on various continents. Planning a trip around the world is a fun experience but keep in mind that there are various distinct aspects involved that are usually a non-issue for a typical ’single-destination’ holiday. These include varying costs and climates in different countries. When I prepared my RTW trip last year, I made many notes along the way, organising them by region. My notes included things I wanted to see, transportation, costs and accommodation options. I also created a checklist for other important aspects such as travel health insurance and things to pack. Read more here...

The Downright Bizarre: 35 of The World’s Most Bizarre Hotels. Hot on the heals of last weeks entry about 21 strange and unusual hotels, comes Newsday with their online feature about the very same thing. Not to be outdone, Newsday has photographs and information for 35 out of the ordinary hotels including covered wagons,

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing – enjoy the rest of the weekend.

The Week That Was #6

Welcome to my weekly collection of The Odd, The Useful, and The Downright Bizarre.

The Odd: Sinks Canyon, Wyoming. At Sinks Canyon State Park outside Lander, Wyoming a major river just disappears. The Middle Fork of the Popo Agie rushes out of Wyoming's largest mountain range, the Wind River Mountains, and into Sinks Canyon. It flows merrily along for quite some time until it suddenly turns into a large cave and, as the name of the park and canyon suggest, sinks underground. It isn't until ¼ of a mile later that the river re-emerges at a large, calm pool called "the Rise." Read more here…

The Useful: 10 Incredible Hotel Art Collections. What’s the first thing you see as you walk through a new hotel? You might say you’re simply looking for your room number but truth be told you’re seeing much more. Hotel halls and rooms around the world are lined with some of the most beautiful artwork available. So beautiful, in fact, that you might be just as entertained roaming the halls of your hotel as you would have been had you gone out and paid admittance to a local art museum. Not every hotel, of course, is famous for the artwork adorning its halls. Some, including those featuring works by Picasso, Warhol, and other famous artists, are obviously more well known. So in which hotels should you book your room if you want to see some incredible artwork? Read more here...

The Downright Bizarre: 21 of The World’s Most Bizarre Hotels. Sometimes the hotel is as much a destination as the city or attractions you’re planning on visiting. Hotels such as the Daspark Hotel in Austria which has rooms inside drainpipes (see image above). Apparently, you can name your own price for staying in this hotel, which offers three mini guest rooms that include a bedside table, a lamp, and a double bed. To see a collection of 21 strange and bizarre hotels click here... http://blog.ratestogo.com/bizarre-hotels/ and here... http://blog.ratestogo.com/most-bizarre-hotels/

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And just for laughs: The RVer's* Fishy Story

An RVer named Stanley was stopped recently by a game warden in Northern California as he was returning to his motorhome with a bucket full of live fish. "Do you have a license to catch those fish?" the game warden asked. The man replied, "No, sir. These are my pet fish."

"Pet fish?" the warden asked. "Yes, sir. Every night I take these fish down to the lake where I'm camped and let them swim around for awhile. When they hear my whistle, they jump right back into the bucket and I take them back to the motorhome."

"That's a bunch of baloney," the game warden said as he reached for his pad of citations. The man looked at the game warden for a moment and then said, "If you don't believe me, then follow me back to the lake to see how it works."

Still suspicious, but curious, the game warden agreed. And so they walked to the lake. There, the man poured the fish into the water, where they disappeared. "Okay," said the game warden. "Call them back."

"Call who back?"

"The fish," replied the warden.

"What fish?" asked the man.

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*RV = Recreational Vehicle

Found online at RV Jokes.Com…

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Wherever you are, whatever you are doing – enjoy the rest of the weekend.

The Week That Was #5

Welcome to my weekly collection of The Odd, The Useful, and The Downright Bizarre.

The Odd: The Floor of The Standard Grill, New York City. Their website is nothing to shout about, but apparently the floors are! The image shows a photograph of one of the floor areas of the New York City eatery, The Standard Grill. Located under the High Line, on the corner of Washington and West 13 Street, at 848 Washington Street. The floor is covered entirely in pennies. (Note: click on the image to view full size).

The Useful: Capturing great photographs of your vacation or family holiday has never been easier if you own a digital camera. However, if you want to improve your photographic skills higher than the usual ‘happy snaps’ that pass for most holiday photos, take a few minutes to read through the tips on the following two Microsoft At Home pages, here; 8 tips for better holiday photos, and here, 8 tips for super vacation snapshots.

The Downright Bizarre: The World's Worst Travel Gear. Spot Cool Stuff is a website that examines products and places of interest for the most discerning traveller. Sometimes, though, a product can be so mind boggling terrible that there is something good about the horribleness of it. Like the Shenis, a device that let’s women urinate while standing up - in public. You can even see a photograph or watch a video of the Shenis in action if you are game! Warning: Adult content. Not for the fainthearted!

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing – enjoy the rest of the weekend.

The Week That Was #4

~ Welcome to my weekly collection of The Odd, The Useful, and The Downright Bizarre.

The Odd: (but interesting) Bird Nest Bonanza. Ultrasonic humidifier? Check. Swiftlet Bazooka Tweeter? Check. Feces powder? Er, check. All you need now is a multistory house with no doors or windows but plenty of holes, and you're almost ready to join one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing cottage industries: harvesting edible birds' nests. You'll also need birds, of course — lots of them. That's the tricky part. Read more…

The Useful: Healthy Cruise Ships. Anita Dunham-Potter writing for Tripso has some timely advice for staying healthy on your next cruise ship vacation – or on any vacation for that matter. Anita reports how poor sanitation turned a ten-day cruise of a life-time into a one-day nightmare, when the 400-plus passengers and crew were stricken by a suspected norovirus outbreak on a German cruise liner. Her advice: Wash your hands (just like your mother always told you to). Noroviruses can cause severe diarrhea, nausea and vomiting over a 48- to 60-hour period. The American Center for Disease Control estimates that 23 million people, or 8 percent of the U.S. population, develop symptoms of norovirus each year. Less than 1 percent of cruise passengers are affected by norovirus, but you don’t want to be one of them, do you? Read more here…

The Downright Bizarre: 20 stupid questions asked by tourists. Yes, as a follow up to last weeks The Week That Was, where we highlighted some of the most bizarre complaints uttered by tourists, this week comes 20 of the most stupid questions asked by tourist, including, "Are there any lakes in the Lakes District?", "Why on earth did they build Windsor Castle on the flight path of Heathrow?", and this doozy from a tourist at Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire, "Why did they build so many ruined castles and abbeys in England?" Read more…

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing – enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Image courtesy of the Telegraph Online.

The Week That Was #3

~ Welcome to my weekly collection of The Odd, The Useful, and The Downright Bizarre.

The Odd: San Fermin ‘Running of the Bulls’ Festival. Yes, it is that time of the year again, when thousands of Spanish citizens and international visitors try their luck, and risk their lives at the nine-day San Fermin Festival.

More popularly known as the Running of the Bulls Festival, the event is currently underway in Pamplona, Spain. Each year dozen of participants are injured and occasionally some die as a result of their involvement in the daily runs. In fact, since 1924, 15 people have died and over 200 have been seriously injured in the event.

The Useful: Trip Advisor Forums. Sometimes, even I can be a bit slow on the uptake. So when I discovered the Trip Advisor Forums on the Trip Advisor website recently, I knew I was amongst friends. I have no idea of the number of forums on the site, but certainly there must be thousands, since every major region in the world has its own section on the site, and those regions are subdivided into smaller sections, which are in turn subdivided into smaller zones, which ... well, you get the picture. If you are planning a visit to Paris, France (or Paris, Texas for that matter), you will find a forum with members willing and able to answer your questions and provide useful advice. Highly recommended.

The Downright Bizarre: Bizarre Travel Complaints

Travel agents must have thousands of stories to tell (both hilarious and horrifying) about their clients. Like the holidaymaker who said he felt inadequate after seeing an aroused elephant, which in turn ruined his honeymoon. Or the tourist who complained that “the beach was too sandy,” and another upset when they discovered fish swimming in the sea. Huh?

In another complaint a British guest at a Novotel hotel in Australia said his soup was too thick and strong, not realising he had been supping from the gravy boat. In an even stranger twist, one traveller blamed a hotel for her pregnancy. "My fiancé and I booked a twin-bedded room but we were placed in a double-bedded room. We now hold you responsible for the fact that I find myself pregnant,” the guest said. “This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked."

Other complaints included “there are too many Spanish people in Spain” and “too much curry served in restaurants in India”.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing – enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Click above image (if you dare) to view full size…

The Week That Was #2

~ Welcome to my weekly collection of The Odd, The Useful, and The Downright Bizarre.

The Odd: Going to The Dogs! Four Reasons Pets Shouldn’t Fly

Christopher Elliott, in a recent post on Tripso.Com reports the following story: At just two pounds, Natalie Maldonado’s teacup Chihuahua weighs less than her purse. But on a recent AirTran flight from Tampa to Atlanta, as she tucked the dog under her seat, a crewmember stopped Maldonado because the pet had been improperly tagged, she says.

“I was surrounded by four agents, a gate agent, the flight attendants and another crewmember,” she remembers. “They demanded that I pay a $70 pet carry-on fee.” Read the full article here…

The Useful: Safety Tips for Female Travellers

Evelyn Hannon, editor of Journeywoman.com is an expert on women and travel. She is the consultant to Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and the author of 'Her Own Way, A Woman's Guide to Safe and Successful Travel,' a 32-page booklet available at all Canadian Passport offices. For her creative work on behalf of female travellers, TIME magazine chose this expert, 'one of this century's 100 most innovative thinkers.' Here are Evelyn's top safety tips for female travellers learned from personal experience over the last 25 years. Read more here…

The Downright Bizarre: “Standing Room Only” on Chinese Airline?

Pinch me! Is it April Fool’s Day already? Here’s my nomination for Dumb Idea of The Month: Rick Seaney reports that four year old Spring Airlines, based in Shanghai, is looking at the idea of “standing room only” for some of its passengers. Strap-hangers of the world unite - you have nothing to lose but your seats! Read more here…

Got a few strange stories of your own? Feel free to share them via the Comments box below.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Image courtesy of ABC News…

The Week That Was #1

~ Here for your browsing please I offer a roundup of the some of the more interesting travel related stories that have come to my attention over the past week.

America’s Top Summer Music Festivals

Though the economy may have hit a low note, it seems that people are still willing to pay for a music high. In fact, most music festivals may not be feeling the fiscal pinch; festival producers across the country say ticket sales are just as high as last year, if not better.

Ken Weinstein, who represents Bonnaroo, one of the largest and most famous summer festivals, says, "Bonnaroo offers fans four of the best days of their lives, during which they are not only allowed but required to forget the recession and all the unfortunate things going on in the world.” Click here to view a slide show of the some of the top summer festivals…

Eight great trips that give back

You don't have to wear a hair shirt and dig a well to give back when you travel. Here are eight great trips that connect you with the world, and each time you frequent these locations you support the self-sufficiency and the economy of the local people. Click here to read more…

Book your own cruise? One do-it-yourselfer tells his secrets

by Ron Saia writing for Tripso.Com

Ron Saia has been on over 45 cruises, written articles about cruising and helped many people who have never cruised before prepare and experience a great cruise vacation. He’s not a travel agent. He’s a do-it-yourself serial cruiser. This post focuses on getting a great deal.

The key is to start by getting a great price for your cruise vacation. Book way in advance — anywhere from eight months to a year — or select from special discounted cruises. Click here to read more…

WikiTravel: How did this slip under my radar?

Wikitravel (similar to the open source Wikipedia) is a project to create a free, complete, up-to-date, and reliable worldwide travel guide. So far there are 21,648 destination guides and other articles written and edited by Wikitravellers from around the globe. You can check out the Help page to see how you can edit any page right now, or the Project page for more information about Wikitravel and getting involved.

Author Shelley Seale on children living in the slums of India

Very few people haven’t heard of the Oscar-winning movie, Slumdog Millionaire. The story follows two young brothers as they grow up in and survive the slums of Mumbai, India. In order to show the reality of life for poverty-stricken Indian children, many scenes in the movie were actually filmed in the Mumbai slums. But in true Hollywood fashion, the ending was heartwarming goodness. The ending for the real children of these slums is not so pretty. Click here to read more…

Hotel bedbug horror degenerates into a war of words

by Christopher Elliott writing on Tripso.Com

The Stanley Hotel is an historic resort in Estes Park, Colo., perhaps best known for inspiring Stephen King to write his horror masterpiece The Shining. And also, bedbugs — if Julie Kobayashi has her way. Get those images of Jack Nicholson typing “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” out of your head. This spat reminded me more of the recent exchange between Elizabeth Becton and McBee Strategic. In other words, it degenerated into a needless but not uninteresting war of words.

IMAGE: View of the River Murray

Photographer: Jim Lesses