Vacation packages for family

Man Vs monkey in copyright row While on an intrepid, photographic holiday in Indonesia back in 2011, David Slater, a professional photographer, set up his camera hoping to capture some images of crested black macaques. Now, depending on how you look at it, he got exactly what he wanted; the macaques were intrigued by his kit and proceeded to investigate with the usual primate curiosity. Pretty soon they’d worked out where the shutter was, and after initially being scared off by the shutter sound one of the monkeys ended up taking hundreds of selfies. Years later and Wikipedia is still using the images and listing them under a Creative Commons license (which essentially means they have no copyright), much to Mr. Slater’s disgust and have repeatedly ignored his requests that they desist in using his images without his permission. He’s spent over $17,000 in trying to get the images taken down, so you’d hope they have a good reason for ignoring him. The...

Steps made famous by Rocky could be demolished Tourists running up stairs and cheering could be no more in Philadelphia Get your last run ups and photos in, because an expansion of the Philadelphia Museum of Art could see the famous ‘Rocky steps' being removed. Although nothing has been agreed, talks have begun about building a 24ft window in front of the museum. The steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art have become a huge tourist attraction following the iconic scene in the 1976 film Rocky , in which Sylvester Stallone’s character runs up the stairs. Moving stuff guys, we know. The new window is to be designed by Frank Gehry, a famous modern architect, and would mean that visitors can get a view of the Philadelphia skyline from the gallery. The expansion could take more than a decade to complete, and will extend the museum by 169,000 square feet. This will allow for more spaces and more items to be displayed. But sadly, it would mean that the 72 ...

Hotel CCTV catches man stark naked and locked out  Things not to do on your gap year #434 This poor guy was just enjoying cleaning out his room and feeling the warm hotel air on his bits when his bedroom door closed behind him.  Thanks to the CCTV, we can all laugh at his misfortune as he put his plate out for room service, turned his back and realised that click he'd heard had been the lock.  Distress ensues.  Totally starkers he attempts to act causal as two guys pass him in the corridor a few seconds later. The nonchalance seems to work as they don't even look back. After jiggling the door handle to double check his predicament, he decides the only thing for it is to make a run for the lift to seek help.  All to the great surprise of the poor, unsuspecting mother and child who'd already boarded the lift.  With just a metal bowl for cover he attempts to get another room pass from reception.  "Do you have any...

Rent a girl’s bum as a pillow Tokyo ‘cuddle club’ allows patrons to rent a Japanese girl to sleep with Heading to Japan on your gap year? Fancy sleeping with a stranger or hiring a human bum pillow for a few minutes? Well now you can! (Don’t worry, you don’t have to dress up as a gimp to partake – that’s just for anonymous video purposes…) Soineya, a ‘co-sleeping speciality shop’, opened last year in Tokyo’s eccentric Akihabara district and allows patrons to sleep with a stranger, for a price of course. According to Rocket News, Soineya, whose name literally means ‘sleep together shop’, isn’t a brothel, but a cuddle club where after paying an admission of 3,000 yen (about £21 / $33), customers select from a menu of sleep durations. For 1,000 yen (about £7 / $11) a pop, the customer can give the woman a foot massage, have the woman look at him or her, get petted on the head, or have the woman change...

It’s the end of the world Mayan prophecy actually happened; we’re all dead If you’re reading this then it’s the end of the world and you’re already dead. We’re sorry that you had to find out like this but it’s the cold hard truth. As foretold, the Mayan prophecy condemning the world to destruction actually happened. What we now live in is an alternate existence that in many respects is exactly the same as the last one. Everything around you will seem similar, you’ll feel no different in yourself, yet you’re just a conscious being living in what can only be described as a ‘parallel universe’. Pre-eminent scientist and astrologer Simon Tology said: “We started researching into the Mayan prophecy a year ago to see if there was anything in it. After extensive analysis on nano-particles when they react to prophecies (in our experiments we had to recreate the works and predictions of Nostradamus to act as a prophecy)...

Felix Baumgartner set for supersonic skydive attempt Felix Baumgartner to jump from the edge of space A while ago we published a story on Felix Baumgartner, the skydiver who’s going to jump from the edge of space. Months down the line, the day is finally upon us, and within the next few hours he is either going to be hailed a hero, a pioneer of pushing boundaries to the limit… or he is going to die a horrible death. Felix Baumgartner, from Austria, will attempt to become the first human to break the sound barrier. As in, HE will be the first human to beak the sound barrier – completely unaided by vehicles or support. The Austrian will jump out of a space capsule 23 miles (37 kilometres) above Roswell, New Mexico, with a live video feed following his progress. The 43-year-old, who has spent five years preparing for his supersonic challenge, said: “It has always been a dream of mine.” ‘Fearless Felix’ will accelerate beyond about 690mph with...

Man caught with a monkey in his pants trying to board flight “Is that a monkey in your pants or are you just pleased to see me?” Custom authorities in India have arrested a man who was attempting to board a flight in New Delhi with an endangered monkey in his pants ( honestly, you couldn’t make this stuff up – Ed ). The suspect from the United Arab Emirates, who was detained along with two other travellers, had arrived from the Thai capital Bangkok and was about to take a connecting flight to Dubai on Jet Airways. “Security personnel found the monkey in his underwear while frisking the transit passengers,” a customs official said. The 17-centimetre loris is a type of monkey native to India and South East Asia, and is seen by some as possessing aphrodisiac qualities. Petite and round-eyed with a white stripe down its face, “the monkey is an endangered species,” said the official. Another was discovered in a dustbin at the Indira Gand...

The rise of the Tweetup Tweetups are a great way to meet fellow travellers Definition of a Tweetup: A tweetup is when a group of people who have spoken via Twitter or social networking sites meet in person. It isn’t as creepy as it sounds, we promise! If the words ‘tweetup’ or ‘internet-meetup’ make you cringe and conjure images of geeky teenagers gossiping about World of Warcraft then you wouldn’t be alone. It’s true that there was once something nerdy about meeting friends on the internet through chat rooms, forums and twitter and it would be even nerdier (that’s a word, right?) to meet them in ‘real-life’. But times are changing and these once geeky encounters are starting to become the norm. We’re seeing more and more people using the gapyear.com message boards to find travel mates and meet up with them before they leave or while they’re away. It can be scary arriving in a new country where you don...

Aussies smash world record 1,000 Aussies break the world record for people wearing the same team kit Aussies once again proved they’re the best in the world… at drinking and having fun. Last night 1,000 Australians broke the world record for the most people wearing the same team kit to show their support for the Australian Olympic team. The event took place at the pub The Windmill on the Common in London. Organiser Louisa Galligani said the event was spread purely by word of mouth, and staff estimated by the end of the night they’d turned away another 2,000 people. The first 1,000 Aussies received a goodie bag which consisted of a free yellow t-shirt, black shorts and yellow socks. They were also lured to the pub by the prospect of a free sausage and beer (though they had to pay for that). Jack Brockbank, Guinness World Book of Records adjudicator, said that the hardest part was keeping all 1,000 Aussies still for 10 minutes for it to be considered a world record. Desp...

Spain is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and well known for its laid-back lifestyle, vibrant culture, awe-inspiring architecture and Mediterranean beaches. With tourism contributing up to 11% of Spain's GDP, the country is looking to revitalize the sector after being decimated by the pandemic.  Spain is now welcoming visitors under new health protocols to help curb the spread of the virus and keep visitors safe.  Here is everything you need to know about the COVID-19 entry requirements before traveling to Spain.  Countries Permitted To Visit Spain For Tourism Countries in the European Union Countries in the Schengen area Australia, Canada, China, Georgia, Japan, Morocco,...

Mystery of whale bones found in Chilean desert It sounds like the start of a joke, but how did 75 whales end up in the desert? That’s the question being asked by palaeontologists as prehistoric whale skeletons have been discovered in a Chilean desert. The skeletons were found just metres apart from each other, side-by-side, in one of the world’s best preserved graveyards for prehistoric whales, but scientists are still debating exactly how the whales ended up more than 800 metres inland. Opinions are divided on how they got there. Many believe that the whales became disoriented and beached themselves, while others believe that they were trapped in a lagoon after being moved inland by a landslide. The skeletons were found in Caldera in the Atacama Desert in Chile and they have been taken to the Smithsonian Institution for study. It is thought that the whales died between two million and seven million years ago. Nicholas Pyenson, curator of fossil marine ma...

Since Christmas is upon us and we’re all day dreaming about someone gifting us a vacation, I figured I might as well share some travel contests with you. Who knows… you might win the trip of a lifetime. And is there anything on this Earth that's better than free travel? I think not. Actually, I used to think that nobody won these types of contests until I met two girls that actually did! I was on a solo trip by myself in Huatulco, Mexico and I met 2 girls who were also from Toronto and had won a 1-week all expenses paid vacation from entering a contest online. (I think it was through CityTV or a similar Canadian TV channel.) Anyway, she told me she entered a form online and about 4 months later g...