Find Cheap Flights Plus Hotel Discounts

19 Year Old Set to Clean up the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch Fatal spot for millions of creatures every year Founder and President of The Ocean Clean Up, Boyan Slat says he has “invented a method to clean up almost half of the great Pacific’s garbage patch in just 10 years, using currents to [his] advantage.” At just 19 he’s been working on the project for many years and his success shows his passion. Millions of tons of plastic litter the world’s oceans. Over the years the litter has converged together to create a tough blanket of trash called a gyre which just keeps getting bigger and bigger. These gyres prove fatal to more than one million birds and another 100,000 marine mammals every year.   Boyan wants to put a stop to this. He started to work on the idea after a diving trip in Greece. I was coming across more plastic bags than fish. He asked himself, “Why can’t we clean this up?” Boyan recently sp...

South Africa has a luxury resort that looks like a slum For that 'all-authentic slum experience' you've always wanted If a night in the slums seems a bit too real for you, but you'd love to give it a go in safety knowing you'd still get breakfast and a comfortable poo in peace in the morning, you can now stay in 'The Shanty Town'. Located inside the game reserve of the Emoya Luxury Hotel and Spa near Bloemfontein, South Africa, it'll definitely be a change to the usual bunkbeds and backpackers. Part of the hotel has been set up to look like a slum – cashing in on the practice of 'slum tourism' that's so popular now. It's estimated that worldwide 1 in 8 people live in 'slums', so it's only natural for gappers to want to see what they're like. But surely, you want to see what they're really like, not a candycoated version that comes complete with Wi-Fi. The shacks are made from scrap wood and ...

24 and seen it all: British banker becomes youngest person to visit every country Globetrotter scoops the world record for ticking 196 countries off the list James Asquith, 24, spent five years travelling through as many nations as possible, from Argentina to Zimbabwe. He’s graced the distant shores of Vanuatu, met soldiers in North Korea, and seen Iceland’s floating icebergs. His adventures were funded by working in bars and holiday jobs along the way, he says, and cost him the princely sum of £125,000. Starting in Vietnam in 2008, James soon caught the travel bug. But it was not until he visited war-torn Egypt that the adrenaline really kicked in: he went to Libya three weeks after Gaddafi fell and Afghanistan two weeks after a terrorist bomb attack on Mazar-i-Sharif. James spent longest in Africa, travelling for six months overland from Senegal to the Congo and through east Africa. But James faced tough competition. The list of accepted c...

Just launched: glasses that translate menus Understand foreign language in seconds  Japanese phone operator NTT Docomo have just launched a Google Glass-style visor that will translate any menu or sign written in either Japanese, Chinese, English or Korean immediately. Unveiled at the Ceatec trade show in Tokyo yesterday the device could prevent a whole host of problems caused by the language barrier. No more accidentally ordering dogs bollocks in Vietnam, sautéed guinea pig in Peru or octopus ice cream in Japan. Shame for some we know. The glasses are still at the prototype stage, but should be ready for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. A NTT Docomo spokesperson said: "Character recognition technology enables instant language translation for users travelling abroad and reading restaurant menus and other documents." The glasses will also be able to turn flat surfaces into touch screens and identify people through face recognition so long as there...

The world's most contagious prank Yawning around the world Roman Atwood is a bit of a prankster, so when he cut a video together around the world we were immediately excited. Let us introduce to you the world's most contagious prank. Roman's been travelling around the world showing the power of the yawn. As he says: "What if I could pull a prank around the world, almost like a magic trick, a prank so sneaky nobody knows its happening. "This is something we do every day, but today, I'm going to make you do it with the power of a yawn." Outside of landmarks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome, and the Great Pyramids in Egypt, Roman walks by tourists while stretching and yawning, causing them to do the same. He even gets hussled at one point. Let's just hope he took the time to actually enjoy all the places in the background of these clips and didn't just sleepily pass through! With a following just short of ...

Fishmonger finds bomb inside squid Explosive squid caught in China This may not go down as the catch of the day but a Chinese fishmonger has found a live bomb inside a squid. The fishmonger got something of a shock while gutting the squid for a customer when he found an eight-inch live bomb inside it. The fishmonger thought something was up when his knife hit something metallic (go figure). The three-foot long squid was caught off Guangdong province, China, and taken to the fish market in Jiaoling county. According to The Daily Telegraph , the fishmonger gave his name as Mr Huang and told the local Guangzhou Daily newspaper: “This sort of squid lives close to the shore and normally makes a meal of small fish and prawns. “Perhaps he thought the bomb was his favourite food and gulped it down. He certainly had a big belly when he was caught.” The man called the police, who suggested it might have been dropped by a fighter jet, but the date of it was unclear. The t...

Cat vs. crocodile Cat battles crocodile in epic dual to the death Usually curiosity would kill the cat, but not this one. The cheeky critter took on a crocodile in an epic battle that’s reminiscent of Mohammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier. It had the stare-downs, the huge haymakers, and a clear victor. The peeping tomcat stayed into the crocodile enclosure in a zoo in Jaipur, India, and came face to face with a Gharial crocodile. Ears back and teeth bared, the fearless feline was clearly determined to hold its ground. The croc edged closer only to be slapped twice on the snout by unsheathed paws. Somewhat startled by the defiance, the croc took a second take. It decided the furry fiend was too much trouble and retreated back to deeper water, with the cat the victorious. The cat vs croc moment was filmed by Manu Chaudhary, 25, and her husband Vishal, 26, from Southall, Middlesex, who were celebrating their first wedding anniversary with a sightseeing day trip. Mr Chaudhary, who l...

Axolotl Salamander is the world’s cutest animal The Axolotl Salamander has won gapyear.com’s ‘cutest animal’ award After a debate at gapyear.com HQ, sparked by the relative cuteness of Boo, the world’s cutest dog, we set out to find the world’s cutest and most awesome animal. After an arduous process which saw the controversial axeing of many small, fluffy, smiley creatures; such as the Holland Lop bunny, the Philippine Tarsier and numerous nominees from the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee; a short list of the cutest and coolest reptiles, mammals, fish and amphibians was drawn up and tested. “Look at his smiley little face,” “how can he even be real?” and “where can I get me one of those?” These were just a few of the many positive responses given by a test group who ‘oohed’ and ‘awwed’ as they melted at the sight of Big Ben the Axolotl Salamander (featured in the image above). Despite some e...

Man travels 24,000km in search of the best banger He’s tried more than 400 varieties of sausage on his travels Everybody needs a passion and for John Gledson it’s a good hearty sausage. He’s travelled the world, 15,000 miles (24,000km) to be precise, to sample all kinds of sausages, from Cumberlands to chorizos to chipolatas and everything in between. He told the Metro “I’m a sausage lover and it probably all stems from when I used to live in Cumbria as a child. “Everyone used to come round for my mum’s cooked breakfasts – she used to go out of her way to find new sausages.” Now 44 and with six sausage sampling countries behind him this year alone he’s so far decided that the currywurst in Hamburg is his favourite. Although he’s still got a few more to try, and next year will travel to Italy, China, Indonesia and South Africa to see if their porky offerings can beat the legendary currywurst. Few facts about sausag...

Travels with Charley Tell Charley Boorman all about your hidden gem in South Africa Backpacking is all about getting off the beaten track and uncovering those hidden gems. Once exposed, they’re shared among backpackers until the next destination is discovered. Some places remain less travelled than others; that’s why travel expert Charley Boorman is going to the Extreme Frontiers of South Africa. He wants to find out what South Africa’s really about and he’s looking to uncover those hidden backpacker haunts in the process. We want you to swap roles with him – you’ll become the travel expert and he’ll become the backpacker. If you think you know any, then we want to know all about them. If you share your insider travel knowledge, we’ll give you the chance to meet Charley Boorman in South Africa and show him your hidden gem. South Africa is a dream destination, yet it seems more holiday makers than backpackers travel to the country, so we really want to uncover a place that no...

While Puerto Rico usually goes by the same rules as the United States, the island has implemented its own COVID-19 entry requirements.  Puerto Rico's tourism industry was was growing fast prior to the pandemic with over 2.2 million visitors in 2019 which was up over 28% from 2018.  Here is everything travelers need to know before booking their trip to Puerto Rico including health protocols and COVID-19 entry requirements.  Flamenco Beach on Culebra Island, Puerto Rico Countries Permitted To Visit Puerto Rico The following countries are NOT permitted to enter Puerto Rico. All European Union Countries China Brazil UK Ireland Iran ...

Northern Lights brighten up North America The Northern Lights are one of the most famous natural phenomenon’s in the world and seeing them are on most people's bucket list. Brought to you by MySingleFriend.com For those looking to experience the Northern Lights on a gap year you usually have to travel to Scandinavia, such as Iceland and Norway, to see them, but things are looking bright for those wanting to discover the beauty of the lights. Freak solar activity yesterday saw the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis , leave the confines of the Poles and stretch much further than usual. The Lights were seen across half of northern America and as far south as Alabama. It is the second time in the last decade that the Northern Lights have been seen so far south. The Northern Lights are a natural light display created by collisions of electrically-charged particles in the protective magnetic field around the Earth. When the particles are carried t...

Searching for a little Twitter travel inspiration? The other day I came across this valuable checklist from TweepML of some of the greatest and most preferred travel-themed twitters on the net, such as bloggers, corporate styles, media, and freelancers. Several of these tweeters you’re probably currently following, but it gives you some excellent ideas to round out your travel checklist a bit. You know, so you have something to do though at operate.

Oh guy, this is a single group you do not want to choose a battle with. It all commenced innocently enough, final month, when the emperor of excursion himself, Arthur Frommer, offhandedly pointed out in a submit that households ought to take a look at SeaWorld more than competing theme parks due to its “educational worth for a youthful audience.” Nicely, this naturally did not go above nicely with the individuals in excess of at PETA, who apparently avidly follow Art’s weblog (who knew?). In response, they fired over a lengthy letter, highlighting the inherently cruel nature of the park, which include the park’s practice of creating the orcas “perform circus-design tricks for meals [and] swim limitless circles in modest, barren concrete tanks,” all though living a existence “far short of the 60-year maximum life span that orcas love in the wild.” PETA also mentioned that “twenty-1 orcas died in U.S. SeaWorld amenities between 1986 and 2008 — an typical of practically one particular ...

Why is it that the British get the ideal travel shows? Yes, we have “No Reservations,” but the Brits get Michael Palin, the “Planet Earth” with the very good voice-over by Sir David Attenborough, and Simon Reeve, who has been undertaking some good travel documentaries for the BBC2, his most current remaining “Tropic of Cancer with Simon Reeve.” Obtaining spent the past five years circling the globe three instances for his present, Simon seems to be back at his adventures in this recent piece in The Independent . From sneaking into Burma to meet the persecuted Chin men and women, to a larcenous experience with an orangutan in Borneo, Simon tries to pin down his favourite landscape of his travels, and what it has all meant for him. But if landscapes have been a competitors, Madagascar would be the winner. Crossing the island, the fourth biggest in the globe, the black road carved across a sandy plain, by a lower forest of thorns, a plain of octopus trees, then a plain of baobab trees,...

“A great deal can occur in a week. And some factors can keep frustratingly the identical.” I’ve been following Matador.com’s campaign to assist Haiti due to the fact I posted their efforts on TheExped last week. There are a number of things to share. Initially items initially, this is a big undertaking and, to be done properly, may perhaps get time. It would seem as although Julie and the crew do not want to just ship a planeload of ready men and women down there with tiny extra than their personal power — that could prove futile and even disastrous. They are really hard at function, contacting organizations in the U.S. and Haiti, coordinating localized and larger-scale donation drives, reviewing volunteer information and facts, and keeping anyone up to date. In current updates, they are verifying New York City and Miami donation web pages and sharing their medically-experienced volunteers with the organization Partners In Wellness. Also, it was reported that a Matador volunteer re...

Not material with listing the finest New Year’s parties in the planet (everyone knows this occurs at TheExpeditioner.com’s yearly New Year’s celebration exactly where we break out the bottles of Boone’s Farm and Twister for a rockin’ evening), I decided to find out in which the most significant parties in the planet get location. one) RIO DE JANEIRO The record-holder for the greatest New Year’s celebration in the globe goes to Rio de Janeiro in which 4 million persons packed the seashores of Copacabana in 2008 (even though this variety dwindled to only 2 million at last year’s 2009 celebration). two) SYDNEY In excess of 1.5 million people pack Sydney’s harborfront on New Year’s to watch 3,000 kilograms of explosive products, together with eleven,000 shells, ten,000 shooting comets and one hundred,000 personal pyrotechnic effects get lobbed into the air above the harbor for a magnificent fireworks demonstrate. three) NEW YORK CITY Coming in at number three is New York City’s I...

One Castle. Seven Ghost. Culzean Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland, was the spot for a current Most Haunted episode. This brilliant castle was built in 1777, but the authentic buildings of the compound date back to 1165, and could be 1 of the most haunted destinations on earth. Every of the ghosts have their very own reported identities and selected destinations of haunting inside of the castle, but if you select to spend the evening inside the thick stone walls, a very likely sighting will transpire in either the upstairs  bedroom or the most important staircase, a symbol of the ghost’s universe in between two worlds. Legends circle about who it is that is haunting the castle a piper’s music is frequently heard, a bedroom chair may well residence a young girl, a former architect may possibly prevent by for a take a look at, and other individuals.  The Castle is open each and every day from April to November, grownup admission close to £13. Tours near at 5.00pm, which is just...