Cats in Hats, Hotel Dinosaurs & the World's Worst Airline

Travelzoo Staff
28 Aug 2015

Welcome back to World of Travel, where we round up our favourite stories from the farthest reaches of the travelsphere. You can expect everything from hints and tips sourced from the world's leading travel bloggers, to pictures and videos of incredible destinations you might not have known existed, plus loads of other stuff. You may even see a few travelling animals here and there.

Just so you know, we publish a new one of these every Friday. This is a quite deliberate move, designed to ensure that you have something to read/watch while easing into the weekend. Just make sure the boss isn't watching.

This week we have stories from (among others) @TelegraphTravel, @CNNTravel, @nytimestravel, @buzzfeedtravel and @RoughGuides.

Good Week For...

Passengers on a delayed flight in the US who were entertained by a dramatic, and protracted, public break-up. Not such a good week for the couple in question, whose bitter altercation was broadcasted to the Twitterverse in painful (hilarious) detail.

Read the rest of the tweets here. "Star Wars" fans, who can finally take to the skies in a plane graced by the film's characters, including the lovable R2-D2. Japanese airline ANA will also ensure that all six films are available to watch on its in-flight entertainment programme.   The New York Times has more. Wine lovers, because now there are even more glorious regions of the world where you can get your quaff and tipple on. CNN has rated the world's top 10 up-and-coming wine regions, from the Czech Republic to Lebanon. Chris Eubank, who finally took up Alan Partridge's suggestion that he should hit up a hostel, following a Twitter brainstorm. The rest is viral history...

Bad Week For...

The couple who decided to cancel their honeymoon and enjoy the questionable delights of Banksy's ironically desolate Dismaland theme park instead. "When we got there it had been raining so everybody left. The rain made it much more dismal," said the delighted bride. Find out more at the Daily Mail. The problem-solving airline passenger who downed an entire £120 bottle of cognac at the check-in gates after security attempted to confiscate it. Unfortunately, she was then denied boarding her flight due to being "too drunk" and had to be taken to a room "in a wheelchair so that she could rest". The Independent has more on the dangers of the 100ml rule here. Passengers of Air Koryo, which has been named the world's worst airline for the fourth year running. The North Korean carrier hasn't ordered any new planes in a quarter of a century. See photos of the fleet's Soviet-era aesthetic over at The Daily Telegraph. A disgruntled guest at the Yellowstone Lodge in Montana, US, who left in a huff having not spotted what he deemed to be a sufficinet number of bears. His note says it all:

Did You Know…?

Japan's first robot hotel has opened. And it's weird. The receptionist is a dinosaur. But it’s a bow tie-wearing dinosaur with an American accent, so that's ok then. Check out Rough Guides for the full story or watch the video below:

You can now stay in Nelson Mandela's former house in a private game reserve. The villa sleeps up to 12 people and boasts a guest book signed by Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton.

Read the review at The Daily Telegraph.

Weird Travel Experience of Week

Dinner with a bank-robber, anyone? It's a truth universally acknowledged that Barcelona is hella boring. Sun, unparallelled tapas, Gaudi, sipping gin and tonics the size of your head by a rooftop pool. If all that's not enough for you, how dinner with a former bank robber? For 120€, Dani the Red will fill you in on how he robbed 150 banks (but never hurt anyone). Spanish interpreter included. Find out more at The New York Times.

(Non-)Travelling Animal of the Week 

And so, just once more, to Japan, where Kishi train station finally has a new stationmaster – Nitama the cat. Obviously. Nitama beat several other feline candidates in a gruelling selection process that included, amongst other things, an analysis of the applicant's willingness to wear a hat. Just writing this stuff down has us wondering whether we're making it up, but look, there are pictures and everything... Follow the story at CNN.

From the Blogs & Beyond

  • Think you're street? Sick and tired of lolling around in the lap of luxury when you could be kipping in a prison cell instead? Don't panic, the intrepid journos at CNN have taken a break from their kitten-watch duties to create this roundup of out-of-commission-jails-turned hotels. You're welcome.
  • Quiz time! Can you name these islands just by their outline?

This Week We're Dreaming About...

... these amazing palaces in India that make us want to go on our very own royal tour. Thanks, BuzzFeed.

Bonus Landscape Porn

So a casual run through the Alps does not sound like most people's idea of a good time, but this point-of-view footage from French filmmaker Sébastien Montaz-Rosset as he navigates the frozen landscape of Chamonix is compulsive viewing. Watch it with the sound on to hear the crunch of his trainers on rock and snow. Sunday morning jog from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.

Instagrammer of the Week

Carin Olsson, who runs Paris in Four Months. In 2012, Carin moved from Sweden to Paris for four months to learn the language, but ended up staying on for good. Now she posts pictures and updates from her adopted home - a great source of inspiration for anyone planning a Paris break.

Magical Parisian summer nights, that I wish would never ever come to an end ✨💛 (📷: @lousielue)

A photo posted by Carin Olsson (@parisinfourmonths) on

Twitter Hero of the Week

Matthew Kepnes is the man behind the inspirational Nomadic Matt blog, which is full of tips "to help others travel more and spend less". Sounds like the kind of mission we can get behind. If you agree, we recommend you follow him here.       

Do you have a travel story that you think the world needs to hear? Email rbatho@travelzoo.com with the details or tweet us (we're on @Travelzoo_UK) using the hashtag #TravelzooWoT.

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