Travel Trouble

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US tourist in shock after being charged more than $4215 for a single kebab platter

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A US tourist got the shock of her life after realising she was charged more than $4215 for a single plate of shawarma meat at a restaurant in Jerusalem.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The restaurant owners maintain that it was an honest mistake, but according to reports from </span><em><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/9870941/tourist-charged-2000-kebab-jerusalem/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Sun</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a former employee has said it’s happened before.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Laura Ziff first brought the incident to light via a Facebook post asking if anyone knew the address of the restaurant.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I need help please. Can someone provide the address for a restaurant right by the Jaffa gate called “Old City Shawarma (sic)”. That is the name on the receipt that I received. Also if the restaurant possibly has a different name in Hebrew.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Laura continued her story, saying that the owners had made a mistake by charging her $USD 2,900 for a single plate.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A receipt of the transaction shows that she was charged 10,100 Israeli shekel.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Laura said that she had been in contact with the owners, who were promising a refund to her credit card since August 12</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">th</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> but hadn’t received anything so far.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The incident went viral and was covered by local media in Egypt.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On Keshet 12’s </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Morning News</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> program, someone who claimed to work for the restaurant said it wasn’t the first time it had happened to tourists, according to </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Jerusalem Post</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It works like this: They don’t have a menu. They ask tourists for NIS 80 ($A33) for a shawarma platter and charge them in euros or dollars,” the former worker explained.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Sometimes the person notices and catches it, but sometimes he gives you the credit card and then signs. He sees 80; sometimes the word ‘dollar’ doesn’t show up. It’s crazy.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the story unfolded, Laura continued to update and said that she had been in contact with the owners.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I have received phone calls and texts from the business owner Hasan and his brother Adam,” Laura wrote on Facebook.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“They both apologised that the refund had not been completed and had been trying to work with their bank. I contacted my credit card company and they provided some additional information that should assist Adam in making the refund happen very quickly.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On September 3</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">rd</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Laura had another update.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“As of this morning we spoke and he provided proof that the owners of the restaurant have contacted the bank and are in the process of refunding the money.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I absolutely believe him. I am assuming that my next post will say that the funds are in my account and the matter is closed.”</span></p>

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Couple caught in 'mile-high club’ after leaving plane toilet together

<p>A couple has been caught emerging from a plane toilet together as a long queue of passengers waiting to use the facility looked on.</p> <p>The two passengers reportedly spent 10 minutes in the loo on a United Airlines flight before they stepped out.</p> <p>At one point, a flight attendant with a trolley remarked to one of the women waiting in line, “You’re still right here.”</p> <p>“There’s folks in there,” the passenger said.</p> <p>The bathroom door finally opened with a man going out, followed by a woman behind.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B2M7WUeAcOP/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B2M7WUeAcOP/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Well this...was definitely a first 😳🛩 . 😂 Tag a friend who needs to see this!👀 . #thelegendsaretrue #whatamiseeing #traveldiaries . 🎥: @staffordslick</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/staffordslick/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Stafford Slick</a> (@staffordslick) on Sep 9, 2019 at 12:46pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Passenger Stafford Slick, who recorded the scene, wrote on Instagram, “Well this… was definitely a first.</p> <p>“Couldn’t believe my eyes … I’ve heard the legends, but never thought I would see it in real life.”</p> <p>Since it was posted on Tuesday, the video has gone viral, racking up more than 5,000 views in a day.</p> <p>United Airlines has yet to comment on the incident.</p>

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Rude! 7 things you should never do in other countries

<p>Travelling abroad is an ideal way to discover new cultures and find out more about yourself – and others.</p> <p>Just don’t make a fool of yourself by doing the following things.</p> <p><strong>1. Don’t talk with your hands in your pockets in Germany</strong></p> <p>It’s considered bad manners. It’s also customary to keep your hands on the table while you’re eating.</p> <p><strong>2. Don’t tip in Japan</strong></p> <p>Service at restaurants and hotels will likely be exceptional in Japan, but tipping isn’t done; and it could be seen as degrading.</p> <p><strong>3. Don’t smile at strangers in Russia</strong></p> <p>They’ll see it as an intimate gesture, indicating a genuine affinity toward another person.</p> <p>If you don’t know them, they might consider you insincere.</p> <p><strong>4. Don’t use your left hand in India</strong></p> <p>The left hand is thought of as unclean in Indian culture, so always use your right hand to greet someone, exchange money, or pick up merchandise.</p> <p><strong>5. Don’t wave your chopsticks around in China</strong></p> <p>It’s like drumming with your knife and fork. Best not.</p> <p><strong>6. Don’t honk while driving in Norway</strong></p> <p>It’s only used in an emergency – so your unnecessary beeping could cause drivers to panic.</p> <p><strong>7. Don’t forget to say hello in France</strong></p> <p><em>“Bonjour madame, monsieur”</em> should be the first words out of your mouth, otherwise you’re subtly showing you feel the person is beneath you.</p> <p><em>Written by Reader’s Digest Editors. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/rude-7-things-you-should-never-do-other-countries">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.com.au/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_campaign=RDSUB&amp;keycode=WRA93V">here’s our best subscription offer</a>.</em></p>

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“I don’t want to be served by you lot”: Kiwi man demands to be served by “white girl” on flight

<p>A former New Zealand man has been convicted of racially aggravated abuse after demanding he be served by a “white girl” on a British Airways flight.</p> <p>According to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm?c_id=7&amp;objectid=12265788" target="_blank"><em>The New Zealand Herald</em></a>, Peter Nelson, 46, was awoken by flight attendant Sima Patel-Pryke on the 11-hour flight from Heathrow to Rio de Janeiro and launched into a tirade of abuse.</p> <p>UK media reported that the father-of-three said: “You Asians think you are better than us, I don’t want to be served by you lot, I’ve paid your wages for the last 20 years.”</p> <p>His tirade “targeted” Patel-Pryke and reduced the stewardess to tears after he shouted “very loudly” at her and another crew member.</p> <p>The cabin crew got a restraining kit ready to use on him before threatening Nelson with arrest.</p> <p>Prosecutor Michael Tanney said that Nelson “subsequently demanded services in the future only from the white member of the crew.”</p> <p>In Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, a jury delivered a unanimous guilty verdict to one count of racially aggravated abuse on the flight on June 2 last year.</p> <p>Judge Edward Connell said: “You plainly displayed a contemptuous attitude towards the staff from the outset, when Pryke, simply doing her job, came to wake you in order to take your food order.</p> <p>“You took immediate offence at her having the audacity in your view to wake you up.</p> <p>“It seems that that was the beginnings of what turned out to be on your part an opportunity for you to get very upset without any justification at all.</p> <p>“That manifested itself in the most unpleasant of ways.</p> <p>“It was thoroughly unpleasant period of conduct by you; such was your conduct that members of staff were called to deal with you and they had cause to contact the pilot.</p> <p>“It’s quite plain, albeit this wasn’t the most serious case the court hears, that it had an impact on Pryke who we heard in evidence was upset and ended up in tears because of your behaviour.</p> <p>“It was completely unacceptable and I’m entirely satisfied that it was contributed by that you had drunk a significant amount of alcohol during the course of that flight.</p> <p>“I accept this conviction will have profound ramifications for you and your employability so I’m just persuaded that this can be dealt with a financial penalty.”</p> <p>Nelson was fined $AUD3,582, with $894 compensation to his victim and $6290 costs to the prosecution.</p> <p>Defence lawyer Lauren Sales said that Nelson’s wife has suffered from stress due to the allegations.</p> <p>“He has lost his job. He was the breadwinner of the family. It is life-changing for Nelson, the two of them have taken the decision to take their children out of their school because it’s an international school,” she said.</p> <p>“They feel they cannot go to the gates of the school and stand in the playground.”</p>

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Most expensive beer in history: Aussie charged $100,000 for a single pint

<p>Cricket writer Peter Lalor has been charged $100,000 for a single pint of beer at a British hotel bar – calling it “the most expensive beer in history”.</p> <p>During his stay in a branch of Malmaison in Manchester ahead of the fourth Ashes Test, Lalor decided to treat himself to a bottle of Deuchars IPA at the hotel bar.</p> <p>What was supposed to cost him $9.90 ended up causing a significant dip in his pocket.</p> <p>“I didn’t have my reading glasses when she presented me with a bill for the beer and when she had some problems with the machine I didn’t think much of it, but it was eventually resolved, I said I didn’t want a receipt and she went to leave,” Lalor wrote on his Twitter account.</p> <p>“Something, however, made me ask: ‘How much did I just pay for that beer?’ She checked, covered her mouth, started to giggle and refused to tell me, saying only there had been a mistake and she would fix it.</p> <p>“She kept giggling, I told her it needed to be fixed and fixed right now. She ran to get her manager, who took the situation far more seriously and went about attempting to arrange a refund. She told me somebody would be in contact.”</p> <p>The journalist, who writes for<span> </span><em>The Australian</em><span> </span>and is also the paper’s “beer editor”, said no one had gotten in touch with him about the error.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">See this beer? That is the most expensive beer in history. <br />I paid $99,983.64 for it in the Malmaison Hotel, Manchester the other night.<br />Seriously.<br /><br />Contd. <a href="https://t.co/Q54SoBB7wu">pic.twitter.com/Q54SoBB7wu</a></p> — Peter Lalor (@plalor) <a href="https://twitter.com/plalor/status/1169544516048687105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">5 September 2019</a></blockquote> <p>He was unaware of just how much was taken out of his account until he received a call from his wife.</p> <p>“The sum of $99,983.64 had been removed from our account,” he said.</p> <p>“There’d been a transaction fee of $2499.59 to add to the pain. The fee has been refunded but not the larger amount.”</p> <p>Lalor went on to say how he found it “baffling” that the payment had gone through “unquestioned”. While he has been promised a refund, it is expected to take close to nine working days, and “in the meantime, there’s a massive hole in my finances”.</p> <p>A spokesperson for Malmaison released a statement regarding the matter, saying: “We are currently carrying out an investigation.</p> <p>“We have been in contact with Peter to apologise and ensure this has been resolved as quickly as possible.”</p> <p>Lalor said Australian’s usually find Britain quite pricey, “but this takes the cake”.</p> <p>“I’m just a cricket writer, I don’t earn big bucks and it’s costing me in interest,” he told the<span> </span><em>BBC</em>.</p> <p>But despite the beer not being worth the price, it was still considered to be a good beverage.</p> <p>“It’s a good beer,” tweeted Lalor. “The original version of it won a heap of awards, including the Supreme Champion Beer of Britain, but if you are thinking that no beer is worth the best part of $100,000, then I am inclined to agree with you.”</p>

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Piers Morgan slams Prince Harry as “hypocrite” over private jet use

<p><span>Piers Morgan has slammed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as “hypocrites” after the prince defended their use of private jets.</span></p> <p><span>The prince and his wife Meghan have faced criticism after media reports emerged that they <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-49567157">flew privately four times in 11 days this summer</a>.</span></p> <p><span>Prince Harry said “we can all do better” with sustainable travel at a launch of eco-tourism project in Amsterdam on Tuesday.</span></p> <p><span>“I came here by commercial. I spend 99 per cent of my life travelling the world by commercial,” he said.</span></p> <p><span>“Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure that my family are safe – it’s generally as simple as that.”</span></p> <p><span>Morgan accused the prince of making false statements to defend his travel practices, saying that he has flown on private jets for the majority of his known trips since his wedding to Meghan in May 2018. </span></p> <p><span>“When he was pressed to explain why he uses fuel-guzzling private jets all the time if he cares so much about the environment, Harry point blank lied,” Morgan wrote on his <em><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7426913/Hypocrite-Harry-needs-high-horse-stop-preaching-say-not-do.html">Daily Mail</a> </em>column. </span></p> <p><span>Morgan also said the prince’s safety concerns are “completely bogus” as he noted how Prince William and the late Princess Diana travelled with commercial airlines. </span></p> <p><span>“Did you really accept a free ride on Elton John’s private plane to the South of France last month because you were worried about the safety of your family, or because you just fancied a more luxurious mode of travel?” Morgan wrote.</span></p> <p><span>The TV host argued that the Duke is “fast becoming Hypocrite Harry”.</span></p> <p><span>He wrote, “They want to be the first ‘woke’ royals – using their status as a platform to regularly dictate to us how we should live our lives, whether it’s demanding we stop using social media so much or instructing us to curb our flying – as they themselves bombard us with endless social media posts, and use private jets like taxis.”</span></p> <p><span>Speaking on <em><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/9858855/piers-morgan-slams-meghan-markle-prince-harry-defiant-rant/">Good Morning Britain</a> </em>Wednesday morning, Morgan said of the Sussexes: “Nobody wants to hate these two, but they are making themselves look like rank hypocrites and you can’t as a Royal do that.”</span></p> <p><span>A <a href="https://www.royal.uk/sites/default/files/media/final_sovereign_grant_for_website.pdf">sovereign grant report</a> published in June showed that the royal’s household carbon emissions almost doubled last year due to business travel.</span></p>

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6 crazy (but totally real!) requests from VIP hotel guests

<div id="page1" class="slide-show"> <div id="test" class="slide"> <div class="slide-description"> <p>If you think asking for extra pillows, towels, and blankets when you travel makes you a difficult hotel guest, you’ll get a kick out of the crazy requests guests have made at five-star hotels.</p> <div class="at-below-post addthis_tool" data-url="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/tips/14-crazy-totally-real-requests-vip-hotel-guests"><strong>1. Colour allergies</strong></div> <div class="at-below-post addthis_tool" data-url="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/tips/14-crazy-totally-real-requests-vip-hotel-guests"> <div id="page2" class="slide-show"> <div id="test" class="slide"> <div class="slide-description"> <p>“We had a lady come to stay that was allergic to the colour purple,” explains Nathan Brown of the Rees Hotel Queenstown in New Zealand. “Yes, a colour. She emailed prior to her arrival asking that any room amenities, furniture, or fixtures in her room and around the hotel were removed from her sight so she would not feel ill upon seeing them. All of our amenities at the time were lavender scented, we had purple coloured books in our library, shades of purple on wine bottle labels, and paintings in our art gallery as well as flowers throughout the hotel. We did it, no questions asked, and she managed to stay healthy her entire stay.”</p> <div class="at-below-post addthis_tool" data-url="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/tips/14-crazy-totally-real-requests-vip-hotel-guests"><strong>2. A swim with (pet) fishies</strong></div> <div class="at-below-post addthis_tool" data-url="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/tips/14-crazy-totally-real-requests-vip-hotel-guests"> <p>“We had doting parents demand some unusual things for their toddlers,” says a representative of high-end concierge company Levitiscus Lifestyle. “They wanted us to fill a bathtub every morning, then add (ever so tenderly) the kids’ pet fish; then hand-wash and air-dry the babies’ clothes, daily.”</p> <p><strong>3. Disco naps, anyone?</strong></p> <p>“We had a VIP family who wanted us to transform our Tata Presidential Suite into a 70s-themed disco for their son’s 18th birthday,” shares Sanela Mrkulic, director of guest relations at New York’s Pierre Hotel. “Our engineering team brought in a dance floor, we hung several disco balls, removed furniture, used tons of silver foil, and voila! Full success. The guests were so happy they insisted we dance with them.”</p> <p><strong>4. Perfect romantic touches</strong></p> <p>“We had a guest taking the love of his life on a romantic getaway who asked us to arrange for multiple surprises along the way,” says Maurice Dancer, chief concierge of the Pierre Hotel. “He asked for two dozen white roses, one dozen in the limousine for collecting them from the airport, and another in the room upon arrival. Also awaiting them was a silver tray with chocolate covered strawberries, a large plate of sliced fruit, and two lychee martini cocktails. The finishing touch, greeting them in their room, was a singer and pair of dancers performing the Marc Anthony song, ‘I need to know.’ All accomplished as a team in Pierre style!”</p> <p><strong>5. Long lost relatives</strong></p> <p>On multiple occasions, Hilton concierges have been asked to find long-lost relatives and loved ones. The concierge at The Waldorf Hilton, London was asked to help locate a friend of a grandmother of a young American woman (how’s that for twisted already?). All she knew was that the woman was the landlady of a pub in North England during one of the world wars. After two days and several phone calls, the concierge located the woman and helped plan a surprise afternoon tea!</p> <p><strong>6. Woof woof</strong></p> <p>Edward Mady, a longtime manager of The Beverly Hills Hotel, asked the hotel to arrange a $15,000 wedding for her two pooches, including an ordained minister and catering. If that’s not weird enough, another guest at the hotel actually requested the entire staff address him in dog language only instead of English. We’re not sure where the accent on the word “woof” goes, but we’re assuming the word is meant to be said with a lot of exasperation if you’re a hotel concierge.</p> <p><em>Written by Bryce Gruber. </em><em>This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/tips/14-crazy-totally-real-requests-vip-hotel-guests">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.com.au/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_campaign=RDSUB&amp;keycode=WRA93V">here’s our best subscription offer</a>.</em></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>

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Tourists who buy cheap glasses overseas are putting themselves at risk of eye cancer

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A new study has found that tourists who buy cheap sunglasses from beach sellers overseas are putting themselves at risk of blindness and eye cancer.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A total of 35 per cent of the rip-off of famous brands offer zero protection against UV rays, which means that wearing them in bright sunlight could cause irreversible damage. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to </span><em><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/9825387/cheap-sunglasses-blind-eye-cancer-warning/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Sun</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">travellers should be hyper aware of cheap fakes, including “Ray-Bon” which are on sale at many international destinations.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">High UV exposure can cause photokeratitis and photoconjunctivitis — a kind of sunburn to the eyeballs or eyelids, insurance company Direct Line said. It said drivers should always use good eyewear.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A survey by insurance company Direct Line found that 18 per cent of those buying sunglasses did not check for UV protection and 11 per cent said they would still purchase the sunglasses even after finding out that they offered no UV protection.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An added problem for drivers was that many who normally wear prescription glasses wear non-prescription sunglasses in bright sunshine. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Steve Barrett, head of motor insurance at Direct Line, said: “We urge all motorists to wear appropriate eye protection and prescribed lenses including prescription sunglasses while driving.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If people cannot see to drive safely, either through not wearing the correct prescription lenses or sunglasses to protect from glare, they pose a real danger to themselves and everyone else on our roads.”</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p>

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Where did he go? Pope Francis rescued after 25-minute scare

<p>While thousands of eager churchgoers gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the usual traditional Sunday service, the main attraction was nowhere to be found. </p> <p>Usually, the service starts specifically at the dot-of-noon, and involved the Catholic leader sharing a few words and giving his blessing, but after seven minutes of waiting the same question began to buzz around the square: where is the pope? </p> <p>After 25 minutes, he appeared and said: "First of all I must excuse myself for being late. I was blocked in an elevator for 25 minutes."</p> <p>Francis explained the electric power had a “drop in tension,” which caused the elevator to become stuck. </p> <p>"Thank God the firefighters intervened," he said in reference to the on hand Vatican City State’s own fire department. </p> <p>The influential Catholic church leader concluded his announcement by asking the audience to give his “rescuers” a round of applause for he shared  the news of 13 new churchmen of becoming new cardinals. </p> <p>The Vatican has not confirmed if the pope was alone or accompanied by any of his aides in the elevator.</p>

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Jail time and $20,000 fine: Husband's grand airport gesture for his wife has landed him in hot water

<p>A man has been arrested at Singapore’s Changi Airport for saying goodbye to his wife near her gate before her flight.</p> <p>According to Singapore Police, the 27-year-old man was in possession of a boarding pass that allowed him to enter the airport’s transit area so he could farewell his wife, despite not having any intention of leaving the country.</p> <p>By law, anyone with a boarding pass who accesses the transit area past security should only be there if they intend to travel.</p> <p>“The Police would like to remind all passengers that the transit areas of Changi Airport are gazetted as Protected Places,” said Singapore Police on Facebook.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsingaporepoliceforce%2Fposts%2F10158819545404408&amp;width=500" width="500" height="720" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>“Passengers who enter the transit areas with a boarding pass should only be there for the purpose of travelling to their next destinations. Those who misuse their boarding pass to enter into their transit areas, with no intention to proceed to their next destinations, are liable for an offence under the Infrastructure Protection Act.”</p> <p>The man in question is now facing court and can possibly be fined up to $20,000 ($A21,400) or be jailed up to two years or both.</p> <p>Police revealed that this is the 33rd incident this year where a person has been arrested at Changi for misusing a boarding pass.</p>

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How hotel air conditioners could be making you sick

<p>So many things can be the cause of illness while on holidays, such as the sudden change in temperature and environment. But have you considered the germs that could be lurking in the air of your hotel room?</p> <p>One former hotel manager, Chris Johnston, revealed what is possibly the dirtiest part of a hotel room.</p> <p>Johnston revealed to <em>Bustle</em> that the air-conditioning vents are the germiest part of a hotel room and suggested to avoid using them if possible, <span><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/5360662/hotel-air-con-machines-could-make-you-sick/"><em>The Sun</em></a></span> reported.</p> <p>“One often overlooked source of … germs is the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) unit in the room,” Johnston revealed.</p> <p>“If hotel staff fail to clean the filters, or at least the top visible portion, simply turning on the unit can cause these particles to fill your room and your lungs.”</p> <p>It’s recommended the filters of the aircon be changed every three months.</p> <p>The relationship between air-conditioning and illness have been linked to a spread of flu within the United Arab Emirates. Due to the hot and humid weather in the country the cooling systems are widely used.</p> <p>Dr Jimmy Joseph, who works at the Universal Hospital in Abu Dhabi, revealed to <em>Gulf News</em>, “It would certainly help if residents had their air conditioning and ventilation ducts serviced. These areas can harbour allergens, and allergy-related respiratory illnesses are known to be particularly common in the UAE.”</p> <p>Another thing to avoid in hotels is using drinking glasses.</p> <p>A <span><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/5230158/why-you-should-never-use-the-drinking-glasses-in-a-hotel-room/">disturbing video emerged</a></span> in December 2017 of cleaners in some of China’s most luxurious five-star hotels, where guests could be paying as much as $640 a night, using a toilet brush to clean drinking glasses and mugs before moving on to the toilet bowl.</p> <p>The cleaners were also exposed with indecent floor cleaning as they dunked bath towels in the toilet bowl before mopping the bathroom floor with them.</p> <p>Additionally, the cleaners folded the bedsheets on the floor and used hand towels to dry the drinking glasses and mugs.</p> <p>The video was supposedly shot by an undercover journalist for <em>South China Morning Post</em> after poor hygiene reports at the Kempinski and Shangri-la hotels in Harbin.</p> <p>The reporter posed as a cleaner to be employed by the hotel and filmed the disturbing video during a trainee shift, where experienced cleaners were teaching the newly hired the unclean routines.</p> <p>Reports from the Chinese media suggest the health planning commission in Harbin is investigating and plans to fine the hotels involved, while the Kempinski hotel claims the staff member shown in the video has since been fired.</p> <p>Another item to steer clear of while abroad incudes the <span><a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/accommodation/the-disgusting-reason-you-should-always-bring-your-own-hairdryer-on-holiday/news-story/fb246b320181900f9e29f25a4a4805dc">hotel’s hairdryer</a></span> which can contain more germs than the toilet seat – yuck, right?</p> <p>In a previous study for <em><a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/BusinessTravel/story?id=4269295&amp;page=1">America’s ABC</a>,</em> nine hotel rooms were tested across the board, ranging from three to five stars. The test was conducted by microbiologist Charles Gerba.</p> <p>“There must be some things you can do with a hair dryer that I am not aware of because some of them were pretty germy,” he revealed.</p> <p>This is thought to be the case due to cleaners focusing on the more obviously dirty items within the bathroom such as the toilet, the showers and the sink, and therefore, disregarding the secret more hidden germs lurking elsewhere.</p> <p>The light switches and even room service menus can be just as grimy as many dirty hands have touched the items and they most likely haven’t thought to be given a wipe down, enabling the germs to grow over time.</p>

Travel Trouble
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A full royal household: How is Balmoral Castle handling all their guests?

<p>With all the royal members staying at the Queen’s summer residence over the last few weeks, it is a wonder how they are managing all being so close to each other - even if the Summer home is a castle. </p> <p>Each year during the summer, Her Majesty spends time away from London in Scotland’s Highlands, at Balmoral Castle. </p> <p>When the warmer months are in full swing, other members of the royal family head north to join the Queen and Prince Philip. </p> <p>However reports are stating this year’s long list of visitors has forced couriers to make a few adjustments to the sleeping arrangements. </p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1OQ4aHgNi6/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1OQ4aHgNi6/" target="_blank">A post shared by Royals now and then (@royalsnowthen)</a> on Aug 16, 2019 at 4:17am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>British publication<span> </span><a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1170228/prince-william-prince-harry-news-feud-balmoral-castle-queen-summer-holiday"><em>The Express<span> </span></em></a>said the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit has coincided with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and due to this, both Prince William and Duchess Kate are staying out of the castle itself. </p> <p>"The Queen has a lot of guests coming and to ease the pressure the Cambridges are likely to stay at the cottage," a royal insider said. </p> <p>The Cambridge’s are believed to have settled into Tam-na-Ghar which is situated in the castle grounds.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan along with baby Archie are expected to be staying within the castle walls. </p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1pMmCCnSqQ/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1pMmCCnSqQ/" target="_blank">A post shared by The Royal Windsors (@royals_off_the_record)</a> on Aug 26, 2019 at 3:19pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>So far, Balmoral Castle’s royal visitors include Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Andrew, and his daughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice.</p> <p>Princess Eugenie's husband Jack Brooksbank and Beatrice's boyfriend, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi have also visited up north. </p> <p>The guests are not sitting around either, the royal insider continued. </p> <p>"It can get quite busy at what they call 'the big house' and it's not especially relaxing even though it's a holiday.”</p> <p>"There's a daily routine which evolves around mealtimes, several outfit changes every day, sometimes five, and the Queen likes everything to run like clockwork."</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1eNv3ynuR0/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1eNv3ynuR0/" target="_blank">A post shared by Royal Icelander 🇮🇸 (@royalicelander)</a> on Aug 22, 2019 at 8:57am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>While the royals prefer to keep their activities private, Princess Eugenie has previously opened up about some of the ways they like to keep themselves occupied. </p> <p>The royal said in the documentary<span> </span><em>Our Queen at Ninety,<span> </span></em>Balmoral Castle is her “Granny’s” happy place. </p> <p>"Walks, picnics, dogs—a lot of dogs, there's always dogs—and people coming in and out all the time," she said. </p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Uv0DIHfZa/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Uv0DIHfZa/" target="_blank">A post shared by CAЯLOS (@los009)</a> on Aug 18, 2019 at 4:42pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"It's a lovely base for Granny and Grandpa, for us to come and see them up there, where you just have room to breathe and run."</p> <p>Balmoral Castle has been one of the royal’s residences since 1852, when Prince Albert purchased it as a gift for his wife Queen Victoria.</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery above to see the royal family at Balmoral Castle throughout the years.</p>

Travel Trouble
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Surprising holiday photos that can land you in trouble

<p>On holidays people tend to take photos of everything that they see, from old rustic buildings and narrow streets, to food at a restaurant and the view of city lights. But there are some photos in particular that can get you in trouble with the law.</p> <p>A British tourist in Egypt was arrested over mobile phone footage of the airport which happened to capture a military helicopter in the background.</p> <p>Muhammed Fathi Abulkasem, 19, from Manchester was arrested and charged with collecting intelligence on the Egyptian military, reported the Associated Press.</p> <p>The teenager innocently filmed the landing of his flight, which showed a helicopter in the background. Taking unauthorised photos or videos of military facilities, equipment or personnel is illegal in Egypt.</p> <p>“We all have one of those landing videos on our phones,” his cousin Shareen Nawaz from the UK told AP.</p> <p>“They shouldn’t have military helicopters in public spaces if this is what will happen.”</p> <p>Many countries have outlawed the photographing or filming of military related materials, equipment and personnel. The strictness of these laws are related to the country’s level of secrecy.</p> <p>More seemingly innocent photographs can also land tourists in hot water from places of worship, airports, museums and galleries, bridges, tunnels and railway stations – and even shopping centres and buildings.</p> <p>These all seem like normal things a tourist would capture on camera – but taking snaps of these places could be illegal without you even knowing it.</p> <p>The most surprising things people can’t take pictures of include some of the most famous photographs in the world, such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris at night.</p> <p>The reason being, under European copyright law, works are protected for the lifetime of the artist, plus an additional 70 years. The tower’s designer, Gustave Eiffel, died in 1923 and the building entered the public domain 10 years later.</p> <p>Although the lights weren’t installed until 1985 by Pierre Bideau and are an artwork, they are still protected under European copyright law.</p> <p>Therefore, taking photos of the Eiffel Tower with the lights off isn’t breaking the law, although at night when the lights are flashing and dazzling over the city, it could get you in trouble with the law.</p> <p>Tokyo’s most famous night bar location in Golden Gai in the centre of the Shinjuku district is an iconic spot jam-packed with around 200 miniature bars with a labyrinth of really narrow alleys winding through the block.</p> <p>Signs throughout the district warn tourists of the banning of photographs.</p> <p>The Sistine Chapel in Rome also forbids photographs, although not for the reasons you may assume. The Sistine Chapel contains the famous artworks of Michelangelo and Cosimo Rosselli.</p> <p>People assume the reason is that the flash could damage the artwork, and although it is a concern for the longevity of the priceless art, that’s not the primary reason.</p> <p>A Japanese TV company owns the exclusive rights to these famous artworks. It attained these rights when they helped fund a major restoration project. The TV corporation offered US$4.2 million to spend on restoration in exchange for the exclusive rights to photograph and film the restored art. The company produced many documentaries and art books from the deal.</p> <p>The photo ban extends from buildings, artwork and iconic landmarks to animals. In particular, Chinese pandas. This ban comes after tourists have attempted to get dangerously close to the endangered creatures.</p> <p>In an attempt to maintain safety for tourists and the pandas, animal groups encouraged the ban.</p> <p>The tightly controlled and regulated country of North Korea consists of many photography bans, which extend to almost everything.</p> <p>Getty Images photographer Carl Court spent a week in the country documenting people’s daily life. Court explained the things he was an wasn’t allowed to photograph.</p> <p>The biggest rule for his photos included having to capture only full-frame images of Kim II-sung and Kim Jong-il statues and iconography.</p> <p>“You can’t crop the feet off the statues. You can’t cut a bit of the corner off,” Court said.</p> <p>Tourists are only allowed to enter the country if they are with a state-approved travel group that closely monitors where they go and what they see.</p> <p>Electronics and mobile phones may be searched by Korean authorities at any time.</p>

Travel Trouble
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"My husband is planning an accident": Princess Diana’s explosive letter claims

<p><span>Princess Diana’s death may have been at the hands of her former husband Prince Charles, a new podcast has claimed.</span></p> <p><span>The creators of controversial podcast <em><a href="https://www.nowtolove.com.au/royals/british-royal-family/diana-case-solved-car-crash-letter-57801">Diana: Case Solved</a> </em>claimed that they have new evidence – including diary entries, letters, recordings and eyewitness testimony – suggesting that the Prince of Wales may have been responsible for the death of his former wife in Paris on August 31, 1997.</span></p> <p><span>In a letter reportedly written by Diana to her butler Paul Burrell, the princess said she felt her safety was at risk.</span></p> <p><span>“This particular phase in my life is the most dangerous. My husband is planning ‘an accident’ in my car, brake failure or some serious head injury in order to make the path clear for him to marry Tiggy [William and Harry's nanny].”</span></p> <p><span>In the letter, she also said Camilla Parker, now Duchess of Cornwall, “is nothing more than a decoy so we are being used by the man in every sense of the word”.</span></p> <p><span>The news came after a body language expert claimed that the late princess spent her final days looking “hunted” and “desperate to hide”.</span></p> <p><span>Judi James told <em><a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/princess-diana-looked-hunted-in-18985368">Daily Star Online</a> </em>that photographs of the princess in the days before the car crash at Alma tunnel showed her increased use of “’hide’ gestures”.</span></p> <p><span>“Her cut-off gesture now involves a shielding hand that is placed across her forehead with either the heel of her hand or her fingers used to shade and hide her face,” James said.</span></p> <p><span>“The expression we can see underneath it looks unhappy rather than the part-smile she often used when facing a barrage of cameras as a royal.</span></p> <p><span>“She does look more hunted and less in control here and her intense shielding gestures and unhappy facial expression could suggest some new levels of fear.”</span></p>

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3 travel scams to look out for in Cambodia

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Exploring the world and what it has to offer can be exciting for tourists, especially when they reach their destination after a long flight of cramped quarters and noisy eaters.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are issues that you should look out for when you’re travelling. </span></p> <p><strong>1. Border patrol scams</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One writer for </span><a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/kiwi-traveller/114403182/the-travel-scams-we-fell-for-cambodias-border-bandits"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stuff NZ</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> detailed their experience as they were scammed at the border of Cambodia.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The writer was approached by a well-dressed border patrol worker and said that they would be taken to a separate checkpoint to analyse their passports and be issued with a visa.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was only when they reached the office that the writer realised something was amiss as the border patrol worker demanded more money and their passports.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The scam is a common one, where people try to get more money out of unsuspecting tourists. The average visa should cost around $US 25.</span></p> <p><strong>2. Traffic police bribes</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ideally, bribing police should not be on your list of things to do in Cambodia.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Being pulled over by the police is a scary experience, but there are rumours that the traffic police in Cambodia are corrupt and will come up with reasons you should be fined until you bribe them.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As traffic police tend to pull over tourists and not locals as they are aware of how much the real fines are, it can be scary when you’ve rented a vehicle and get pulled over. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some fines might be legitimate, but the money you pay to the traffic cop will go into their pocket.</span></p> <p><strong>3. Being stopped by a fake monk for donations</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some tourists delight in seeing monks and a photo of a monk outside a temple can be a holiday treasure for some.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As locals are aware that there is a demand for tourists to see monks, many have taken advantage of this, according to </span><a href="https://www.movetocambodia.com/practicalities/cambodia-scams-fake-monks/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Move To Cambodia</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are fake monks scattered throughout Cambodia, but there are a few ways to figure out whether or not the monk you’re seeing is legitimate.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fake monks are usually middle aged whereas legitimate Cambodian monks are in their twenties or even younger. Try to resist when they ask for more money, despite your donation already.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aggressive begging is also another tip-off, as reported in a </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/06/nyregion/panhandlers-dressed-as-monks-confound-new-yorkers.html?_r=0"><span style="font-weight: 400;">New York Times</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> piece about fake monks.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Aggressive begging is utterly unheard-of in the Buddhist tradition. The monks typically do not even acknowledge the offering,” says Robert Buswell, director of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at UCLA.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Cambodia, most monks stand quietly outside of businesses or traffic-heavy areas and hold their begging bowls while waiting to be noticed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If a monk comes up to you asking for donations, they are most likely a fake monk.</span></p>

Travel Trouble
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Batten down the hatches: Ferocious winds set to batter Australia

<p>With ferocious winds “thousands of kilometres long” set to hit southeast Australia for the next 24 hours, make sure you’re prepared for 100km’h winds and waves of up to 15 metres high.</p> <p>Severe weather warnings are in place for large parts of Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales, including areas that are close to Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart and Geelong.</p> <p>There are flood warnings that are out for parts of Victoria and Tasmania.</p> <p>Cape Grim on Tasmania’s west coast has already recorded winds of up to 95km/h and Essendon Airport in Melbourne’s north recorded a blast of 57km/h.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">⚠️ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Warning?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Warning</a> current for damaging <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/winds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#winds</a> across the southeast including <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Illawarra?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Illawarra</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SouthernTablelands?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SouthernTablelands</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SnowyMountains?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SnowyMountains</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SouthCoast?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SouthCoast</a>. Windy conditions likely to persist until later Thursday. Check the latest at <a href="https://t.co/Z11hCDKat1">https://t.co/Z11hCDKat1</a> <a href="https://t.co/SUtLd5w9V8">pic.twitter.com/SUtLd5w9V8</a></p> — Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) <a href="https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1163940830014529536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">20 August 2019</a></blockquote> <p>“Gale force winds will continue to last for the next 48 hours as a pair of cold fronts whip across southeast Australia” said <strong><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.skyweather.com.au/" target="_blank" title="www.skyweather.com.au">Sky News Weather channel </a></strong>senior meteorologist Tom Saunders today to<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/band-of-gales-thousands-of-kilometres-long-to-batter-southeast-australia/news-story/a34e8c6e4cc71960fa0b74a769b63575" target="_blank">news.com.au.</a></em></p> <p>“There’s a long stretch of gales extending thousands of kilometres, and as a result, we’ll see massive waves along the NSW coastline averaging eight metres with maximums waves of 15 metres on Thursday and Friday,” said Mr Saunders.</p> <p>The cold fronts are set to bring wind but not much rain. Some heavy rainfall is forecasted for Tasmania, but light showers are set to hit Melbourne and no rain is forecasted for Sydney.</p> <p>Melbourne is set to reach a high of just 13 degrees on Thursday and a low of 5 degrees at night heading into Friday morning.</p> <p>Sydney’s average temperature will reach 20 degrees but will possibly be windy. Lows are looking to dip to 8 degrees.</p> <p>Perth is hitting a solid 25 degrees on Thursday, but heavy rain is set to sweep through overnight and into Friday.</p> <p>Darwin misses out on the bad weather entirely, as it will be sunny with a high of 32 degrees over the next few days.</p> <p>Canberra, however, is set to prepare for a freezing minimum of -5 degrees on Friday morning.</p> <p>Hobart is looking at a high of 11 degrees on Thursday but bracing itself for a low of 2 to 4 degrees over the next few nights.</p> <p>Adelaide is set to be cloudy with highs in the mid to high teens.</p>

Travel Trouble
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“They can be very noisy and even dirty”: Parisians are sick of mass tourism

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Parisians are used to tourism, but mass tourism takes their pet peeves to a whole new level. As tourists come to the country to visit iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Saint Michel and the Arc de Triomphe, they “clog up traffic”. A local explains to </span><em><a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/114402962/mass-tourism-troubles-the-residents-of-paris-france"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stuff NZ</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">:</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Saint Michel is a typical location for tourists and on some evenings, it gets really hard," said Arnaldo Gomes, a 70-year-old building superintendent who's been living in the area since 1974. "There are so many groups and they can be very noisy and even dirty."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As France remains the world’s top tourist destination and is aiming to hit the target of 100 million visitors in 2020, the city has drawn in $147 million in revenue.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The revenue is coming at a cost. With 25 million tourists a year heading to Paris, this is ten times more people than the population that lives there.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are 500,000 jobs that are directly or indirectly linked to tourism in Paris, which is about 9.3 per cent of the city’s salaried workforce.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With Parisians being less vocal about how tourists are impacting their lives, officials are beginning to realise that change needs to happen.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"There is no 'over-tourism' in Paris per se, but there's an issue with so-called group tourism, the sort that irritates the Parisians," Jean-Francois Martins, another deputy mayor, said in an interview.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"That's when tourists travel in packs and end up in the same iconic places, over-crowding them at the same time, such as the Eiffel Tower, certain museums and churches."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Veronique Potelet, a spokeswoman for the Paris Tourism board, says that it’s a good thing that Paris’ landmarks are dispersed around the capital, as it makes the crowds easier to handle.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The Parisian territory is compact, yet attractions and interesting sites are spread across many districts that are not highly populated, so it's less of a nuisance," Potelet said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some changes have been made, which include the banning of double-decker tourists’ buses. They annoy Parisians as they try to deal with the bottlenecks amid roadworks to open bike lanes as well as widen sidewalks on boulevards. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"We don't want tourist buses plying in a totally anarchic way in Paris," Emmanuel Gregoire, deputy mayor of Paris, said in the Parisien interview. "Buses are no longer welcome downtown."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This change does little to stop the hyper-inflation that’s driven by apartment-sharing companies such as Airbnb. However, it’s a step in the right direction.</span></p>

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“You are in charge of him”: Easyjet Flight attendant scolds’ family with unruly child and threatens $180 fine

<p>An EasyJet flight attendant has been secretly filmed on a flight scolding the family of a disobedient child.</p> <p>The footage shows the crew member on the flight ordering a woman to stop their child from standing on the seat.</p> <p>The clip captures the attendant mid-sentence as she argues with the alleged mother of the toddler.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1JewOxHgf1/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1JewOxHgf1/" target="_blank">Here is the @easyjet jobsworth woman. Such bad form. For the record the seatbelt sign was NOT on, this family were not English &amp; their English was limited. It was totally out of order intimidating behaviour. The little boy was about 2 and standing on the seat facing backwards to see his family in the row behind. He wasn’t crying or making any noise or fuss, poor little mite &amp; poor parents! . . re all the comments about safety - she’s telling the child to stand on the floor in the footwell of the seat but not ON the seat, it’s nothing to do with sitting down or safety! If there was an air pocket or turbulence he would have still been hurt standing in the footwell. This is about throwing her weight around and being bossy! There are ways to speak to paying customers and I’m not sure this is it 🤔🤔😲😲 . . Everyone knows how hard a flight is with a toddler let alone having some idiot harass you. The first thing she said which I sadly didn’t get on camera was “IF YOU CAN’T CONTROL YOUR CHILD AND STOP HIM STANDING ON THE SEAT I WILL FINE YOU £100 FOR CLEANING” the little boy didn’t even have shoes on!! . . . If she said that to me I would have got £100 and stuck it in her big gob. Travelling with children is so stressful, all the bollocks about safety was a load of crap so she could attempt to justify her disgusting power trip. Give someone an orange uniform and BAM 💥 . . . What would you do if faced with this @easyjet woman?!</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/luisazissman/" target="_blank"> Luisa Collins (Zissman)</a> (@luisazissman) on Aug 14, 2019 at 7:46am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"... sit down. He needs to stand on the floor, but not on the seat. If you cannot control your child ..." she begins, before being interrupted by the toddler’s mother.</p> <p>"You are an adult. You are in charge of him. You need to make sure he is safe. I need to make sure he is safe. You do not stand ... "</p> <p>The video was filmed and made public by UK entrepreneur and reality TV star Luisa Zissman, who described the incident as “intimidating”.</p> <p>She spoke about the incident on her Instagram story.</p> <p>"On my flight home when I came back from France there was a really, really grumpy EasyJet air stewardess who basically had a go at this mum because her two-year-old was standing on the seat," Zissman said.</p> <p>"And said: who is in control of this child? If you don't get control of this child, I'm going to fine you £100 ($180) for having the seat cleaned.</p> <p>"It was so intimidating and so horrible. And the mum didn't speak English. I felt really sorry for her, so I started filming the woman, and then got in trouble for filming it."</p> <p>An EasyJet spokesman talked to<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://travel.nine.com.au/latest/easyjet-flight-attendant-threatens-family-with-fine-if-cant-control-child/6cc9ba9c-a3f9-4ab1-9771-e031d2c2f8c5" target="_blank">9Honey</a></em><span> </span>about the incident.</p> <p>"It is clear from the video the crew member is concerned for the safety of the child so requested that they either stand on the floor or sit on the seat. We don't charge customers for cleaning.</p> <p>"We are sorry if the manner in which the crew member explained this caused offence.</p> <p>"The safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority."</p>

Travel Trouble
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Is overtourism impacting our favourite destinations?

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Overtourism can be a big dream killer, especially if you’ve been saving up and looking forward to your trip all year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the population of the world continues to grow, overtourism is fast becoming one of the more debated issues in the world of travel.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many factors are at play when heading to your favourite destination, including cheaper flights, rising incomes and social media’s ability to put a laser-like focus on destinations that were once hidden from the world.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Headlines from around the world have highlighted that cities who are reliant on tourism dollars undergo an identity crisis when the boatloads of tourists become more of a problem than they’re worth.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Tourism is like any other industry: it needs to be regulated and managed locally to prevent negative impacts," says Justin Francis, CEO of UK-based tour operator Responsible Travel told </span><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/how-to-stop-overtourism/index.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">CNN</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In some of the world’s more popular destinations, such as Venice, Italy, the locals are already taking charge.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B016qhkhyLW/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B016qhkhyLW/" target="_blank">One day in Venice is all we needed. It wasn’t the crowds, sitting police, expensive treats and excursions, or sore feet, that left us feeling sombre as we made our way back to the bus. The city of Venice is built on 118 islands! Its architecture is inspiring. However, it’s history and future is what left me saddened. Things like the Venetian Ghetto makes my heart sink. Not only my heart, but the city itself is sinking and doomed to sea level rise. As tourism soars and rents rise, the Venetian residents leave and the city's quality of life erodes. Venice, there is no other city like yours 💔</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/franncarver/" target="_blank"> Frances Carver</a> (@franncarver) on Aug 6, 2019 at 5:21pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The main problem is 'mordi e fuggi' tourism, day trip tourism," says Guido Moltedo, Editor in Chief of Ytali, who claims this accounts for two thirds of visitors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The city has introduced a new levy on day-trippers, which starts at 3 euros. By 2020, the fee will range between 3 euros and 10 euros, which are dependant on the time of year and the amount of visitors in the area.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, Moltedo is aware that it doesn’t solve the problem.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The real problem is not getting more money, but reducing the impact of tourism."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Other smaller countries are suffering as well.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Due to the popularity of the show </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Game of Thrones</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Dubrovnik in Croatia has seen a popularity surge to locations such as its Old Town.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With an increase of 8 per cent from 2017 in 2018 numbers, with a massive 1.27 million people visiting, the city needed to do something.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B01rfMWgTpO/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B01rfMWgTpO/" target="_blank">Kayak into the deep blue... 🚣🏼‍♀️ 📸Credit to @aznlamaaaaaaa . . . . . . #Croatia #Dubrovnik #DubrovnikSea #DubrovnikSeaView #View #ViewAtTheTop #Kayak #DubrovnikKayaking #DeepBlue #Ocean #Nature #Crazy #FirstofTwo #Travelgram #Freedom #TravelPhotography #TravelEurope #EatPlayLive #Globetrotting #DoYouTravel #Lifestyle #IGTravel #IGWorldclub #IGCapturesClub</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/mlinhling/" target="_blank"> Marie-Linh NC</a> (@mlinhling) on Aug 6, 2019 at 3:08pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Dubrovnik is successfully conducting a project called 'respect the city', with the aim of sustainable and responsible tourism development," says Romana Vlašić, director of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"One of the measures is limiting the number of cruise ship passengers to 4,000 at the same time."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the weather heats up around the globe, some people want to escape to the colder weather that can be found in Reykjavik, Iceland.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The annual numbers have jumped from 500,000 in 2010 to 2.3 million in 2018 and this means that the country has had to deal with a huge influx of people.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1KgzokiZqD/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1KgzokiZqD/" target="_blank">One shot 🌊🗺 #waterfall #iceland #dji #trip #holiday #makeup #fun #me #cooking #a #b #c #d #e #f #foodporn #style #love #london #thegoodlife #vscocam #l4l #friends #fuck #ok #cooking #cool #photography #canonphotography</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/bgphotopl/" target="_blank"> BGphoto</a> (@bgphotopl) on Aug 14, 2019 at 5:21pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, instead of discouraging visitors, Iceland is looking to diversify the offerings for tourists.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Recognizing the strain being placed on Reykjavik and a small number of other sites, they have tried to promote areas further afield to ease the pressure on the 'Golden Circle,'" Francis says, referring to a popular day tour of geological attractions.</span></p>

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Chernobyl to become an official tourist attraction

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chernobyl has become a hot new destination for tourists after the surging popularity of the show of the same name.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The destination is infamous for an explosion in 1986 at its atomic plant, which sent clouds of nuclear material across Europe. The blast itself killed 30 people immediately and caused environmental repercussions for years to come.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the town has carried negative connotations until the popular show, done by HBO, told the story of what happened before and after the explosion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Ukrainian government has decided to take advantage of the fame and has taken it to the next level by approving upgrades to Chernobyl to make it more tourist friendly.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B01h6HBAYyO/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B01h6HBAYyO/" target="_blank">First trip of 2019 booked: Serbia. Almost a year after Ukraine, which shows I really need to sort my life out and get out more 🗺 . . . . . #kiev #ukraine #travel #travelgram #instatravel #throwback #latergram #yearlatergram #chernobyl #pripyat</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/elizabethkatkin/" target="_blank"> Elizabeth Atkin</a> (@elizabethkatkin) on Aug 6, 2019 at 1:44pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">President Volodymyr Zelensky gave the green light for the upgrades, which include new walking trails around the power plant and better phone reception according to </span><a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/travel/2019/07/11/chernobyl-tourism-visit-upgrades/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The New Daily</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Chernobyl has been a negative part of Ukraine’s brand,” </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48943814"><span style="font-weight: 400;">BBC</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> reported Mr Zelensky saying.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The time has come to change this.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We will create a green corridor for tourists. Chernobyl is a unique place on the planet where nature [has been] reborn after a huge man-made disaster.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We have to show this place to the world: to scientists, ecologists, historians [and] tourists.”</span></p>

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