Travel Wires
No thanks for the memory The world’s most pointless souvenirs — as rated by the locals. Germany: cuckoo clocks, “most produced in China”. Australia: plush kangaroos or wombat keychains “made in China, shipped over here, sold to a Chinese tourist, and taken back to China.” India: elephant-print pyjama bottoms. Hawaii: the coconut bra is pure fiction. Canada: maple syrup; produced only in Eastern Canada and the Northeastern US but on sale in every supermarket around the world. Spain: bottled sangria. The premix is truly awful, and sangria is not difficult to make at home. Northern Ireland: anything with Guinness on it. It’s made in Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. ’ave an ’arf in Aberdeen Scottish craft brewers BrewDog have crowdfunded to build a 26-room hotel at their Aberdeen headquarters. Dubbed The DogHouse, it’ll have working beer taps in the guest rooms, brewery views through the bedroom windows and the en suite showers will feature minifridges stocked with craft brews. Founded in 2007, the “post-punk, apocalyptic, motherf***er of a craft brewery” created the world’s strongest beer in 2010: a 55 per cent IPA. Each bottle came packed inside a dead squirrel. Carry-on carry-on Passengers aboard an American Airlines flight that caught fire at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport in 2016 refused to leave their carry-on bags while flames and smoke poured into the cabin, according to the US National Transportation Safety Board. It recommends fines for passengers who endanger others by putting their luggage ahead of others’ safety. The issue also came up during the evacuation of a United Airlines flight that slid from an O’Hare runway in January 2016, and two other incidents. Association of Flight Attendants president Sara Nelson says authorities should crack down on passengers endangering themselves and countless others as they put computers, cosmetics and clothing ahead of human life. Good head for heights? Here’s a different way to see Machu Picchu: staying in a transparent capsule hanging off the side of a mountain. The spectacular 8m x 3m lodges, reached by climbing 400m up a rock face, feature four beds, a dining area and private bathroom. They are crafted from aerospace aluminium and weather-resistant polycarbonate and promoters promise the pods are safe and secure. The NZ$545-a-night price includes daytime views of the valley below, night-time stargazing at the Milky Way, equipment, guides, a gourmet dinner with wine, breakfast and a zipline ride back to the valley, bookended (more or less) by the former imperial capital Cusco and 15th-century Inca citadel Machu Picchu.
— travel@nzherald.co.nz