Police in India’s Western state of Gujarat are to wear new uniforms impregnated with the fragrance of flowers and citrus to help improve their image. “Most policemen look hassled, drenched in sweat after coming from any scene of crime,” said Somesh Singh, a designer at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad that drew up the uniforms on request of the state government. “They are surely not the best person one would like to meet, but if they smell good and fresh one might as well approach them,” said Singh. The cotton fabric will not only have a fragrant finish, but also an optic technology to make the uniform glow in the dark so officials can be located easily.

A Mauritanian man hijacked a plane to France and demanded that it go to France. The man was unable to speak French and spoke only Arabic. The pilot told him that he did not have enough fuel to go to France and that they would land in the Canary Islands. Then, over the loud speaker system, the pilot told the passengers, in French, that he would land very hard on the runway and speed up, so when the armed hijacker was knocked over on landing, please could the passengers jump him. They did. “When the pilot landed he deliberately braked very hard. The man fell to the ground and was jumped on by passengers. He fired two bullets but there are no serious injuries,” the Mauritanian sources said.

If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites

Valentine’s Day has been and gone, and if, like the Beetle you did not receive any declarations of undying love, there’s always some of America’s most desirable felons who are lining up to send you love letters, poems and even proposals of marriage. If that is your cup of tea, take a look at: www.hotprisonpals.com. Inmates, both heterosexual and gay, pay $19 to post their photograph and a short note on the site. Women inmates are also invited to join hotprisonpals, but none has applied so far.

With no access to the Internet, letters are often the only contact U.S. prisoners have with the outside world. “Prisoners have real abandonment issues. Friends and family often stop writing after a couple of years,” said Bangkok based Jason Rupp, a 30 year old photographer who built the Web site in 2003.

British Airways seem to be going all Ryanair on us. The latest hoo-hah is going to hit travellers with more than one check in item of luggage hard. Passengers flying with British Airways could face an additional cost of $470 if they choose to take an extra bag with them on a return flight. The airline has announced that from February 13, 2007 the cost of checking in an extra bag on a one-way long-haul flight will be $235 (£120). Short-haul travellers will face a $118 (£60) per bag fee, while those taking UK domestic flights will have to fork out $90 (£42) for each additional case.”

Hundreds of Russian fishermen were recently rescued from ice-floes which began to drift after breaking away from the shore off Sakhalin island in the Sea of Okhotsk. The anglers had been fishing through holes drilled in the ice, a traditional winter pursuit for many Russians. The Emergencies Ministry rescued all 442 people who were adrift, although about 70 had initially refused to leave without their gear. One ministry official was quoted as saying many of those rescued were in a state of “heavy alcoholic intoxication”.

Machu Picchu is a Unesco World Heritage Site and currently attracts as many as 2,500 visitors a day. A controversial 80-metre (262ft) bridge, due to open in February 2007 will create a new route to the Incan ruins and enable locals to take produce to Cusco in three hours instead of 12. Critics, however, say that the new bridge could have a damaging impact on tourism to the ruins by increasing tourist numbers, which could damage the ruins and lead to an increase in drug trafficking in the region. Unesco inspectors are due to inspect the site later this year to ascertain whether its status is endangered

My name is Christina Yang, and I wanted to introduce you to the organization I am volunteering for as I think it would be a great resource for independent travellers to know about.

CICERONES DE BUENOS AIRES is a non-profit organization that offers a free tour guide service. It is a greeter program, to help visitors explore the city through the eyes of a porteño (Buenos Aires resident.) The service is similar to the “Big Apple Greeters” in New York, and as it is a non-profit it is completely free. It is a great service for everyone, but especially for independent travellers because it is essentially a way to make a friend in an unknown place. For more information, visit www.cicerones.org.ar, or you can e-mail at contacto@cicerones.org.ar.

Professor Stephen Hawking, the eminent professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge, author of erudite books recently warned that future generations would need to leave the planet to ensure the survival of the species. He is quoted as having said that space rockets using Star Trek technology like the ‘warp drive’ would be needed to colonise hospitable planets. Professor Hawking also spoke of his desire to go into space, and appealed to the Virgin tycoon, Sir Richard Branson, who is planning a “space tourism” venture, to realise his ambition. “My next goal is to go into space. Maybe Richard Branson will help me,” he said. “Sooner or later, disasters such as an asteroid collision or nuclear war could wipe us all out. But once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe. There isn’t anywhere like the Earth in the solar system, so we would have to go to another star.

MTV and Frommer’s travel Guides

MTV has teamed up with Frommer’s travel guide to publish a series of travel guides specifically for young holidaymakers and those studying abroad. The guides offer a unique perspective on popular hotspots such as Ireland, Italy and Europe in general. In addition, further travel guides on Spain, France, England and road trips in the US are planned for April next year. The MTV Travel Guides can also be downloaded in podcast format from Frommers.com and iTunes.

If you, like the Beetle have a yen to go and visit the gorillas, it is disheartening to learn from a recent survey that over 5,000 gorillas may have died in recent outbreaks of the Ebola virus in central Africa. Scientists warn that, coupled with the commercial hunting of gorillas, it may be enough to push them to extinction. One of the most virulent viruses known, Ebola has killed more than 1,000 people since it was first recorded in 1976. Scientists are still working on a vaccine and there is no known cure. In 2002 and 2003, several outbreaks of Ebola flared up in human populations in Gabon and Congo. Outbreaks of the disease in humans have sometimes been traced to the bush meat trade.

People you care about can benefit from the wealth of information about travel available on the Internet. Help them learn how to do it by forwarding them this issue of the Globetrotters eNewsletter!

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office advise against all but essential travel to Thailand. The Beetle notes that it is interesting when governments issue travel warnings, when you have first hand experience of being in that country – all is not what governments make it out to be. Parts of this travel warning seems a little extreme. This is what they say about Thailand:

On 31 December 2006, eight bombs exploded in various locations in Bangkok, killing three people and injuring at least 36 others including six foreigners. As a result, the Thai authorities have strengthened security in Bangkok. Very little real evidence of this during the Beetle’s visit, which included 31^st December. Security at the new airport is atrocious.

The possibility of further attacks cannot be ruled out. You should exercise caution when travelling within Bangkok and where possible avoid crowded public places.

There is a high threat from terrorism throughout Thailand. Attacks could be indiscriminate and against places frequented by foreigners.

On 19 September 2006, there was a coup against the Thai civilian government and martial law was imposed throughout the country. Yep, the Beetle was there too when this happened – all very good natured and utterly peaceful. On 28 November 2006 martial law was effectively lifted in 41 (of the total of 76) provinces, including Bangkok. An interim Prime Minister was appointed on 1 October 2006. There remains a risk of further political instability in Thailand. You are advised to avoid any demonstrations and large crowds.

A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we’ll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!

Using the latest forensic techniques, scientists at Dublin’s City University have discovered that One hundred percent of banknotes in the Republic of Ireland carry traces of cocaine. The researchers were said to be “surprised by their findings”. Some of the notes had such high levels of cocaine on them that it is thought they were used to snort the drug. Others had much lower traces and may have been cross-contaminated, perhaps in the wallets or pockets of users. The results are similar to other similar scientific studies from other countries such as the UK and Spain where cocaine has also been found on a high proportion of notes. The study found that higher value banknotes, such as 20 and 50 euros, were more likely to contain greater traces of the drug.

Spanish researchers also recently published a study that revealed that traces of cocaine can be found on 94 percent of banknotes in Spain, a country that has one of the world’s highest rates of users. Cocaine now sells for as little as 60 euros ($80) a gram, or 5 euros ($7) a line, and it is regularly used by 1.6 percent of Spaniards, up from 0.9 percent in 1999, a government report said this month. Law enforcement agencies say cocaine is getting cheaper and more popular in Europe because of efforts to boost production by Colombian paramilitaries and rebels who need money for weapons. Spain is a major entry point to Europe for the smugglers.

Pressure from animal rights activists has resulted in many Indian snake charmer’s snakes, (mostly cobras one of India’s endangered reptiles,) being impounded. What to do? Enterprisingly, the newly unemployed Indian snake charmers have started to play their flutes at weddings and world festivals.

“We now have accepted the fact that we cannot perform with snakes,” said Hawa Singh Nath, a wiry, bearded 68-year-old charmer who lives in the suburbs of the capital, New Delhi. “We are hardly earning half of what we used to earn before,” Nath said. “Many are going to the cities and most of our children do not want to take up our profession. We have no regrets that they won’t play the flute. We need to do other jobs now to survive.”

Nath himself performed his 300-year-old music at the Dubai film festival in 2005, while others have travelled to the U.K. and Middle East or put on special wedding or birthday party shows. Other charmers have turned the tables and some now work at animal centres and forestry offices, educating visitors about snakes.

Still on the subject of snakes, China has come up with a novel earthquake prediction system which relies on the behaviour of snakes. The earthquake bureau in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi autonomous region in southern China, has developed its early warning system using a combination of snake natural instinct and modern technology. Experts at the bureau monitor snakes at local snake farms via 24 hr video cameras linked to a broadband Internet connection. “When an earthquake is about to occur, snakes will move out of their nests, even in the cold of winter,” said bureau director Jiang Weisong. They are said to be able to sense an earthquake from 120 km (70 miles) away, three to five days before it happens. “If the earthquake is a big one, the snakes will even smash into walls while trying to escape.” Beats being eaten.

Help A School in Ghana HASPOG is a non-governmental organisation whose goal is to help enhance education and development in Ghana and at the same time promote healthy interaction among peoples of different countries through our International Volunteer-Teacher Program.

In this program HASPOG has been, and is still, inviting and placing volunteers from different parts of the world in Ghanaian schools, both in the countryside and urban areas – according to their preference; and they are enjoying it! We call it ‘Educational Empowerment for Accelerated Development’. By the time volunteers leave Ghana they would have been immersed in the rich Ghanaian culture, way of life and not least, the friendly and warm spirit of the people. Click here for more information.

Need to convert currency?

Take a look at The Globetrotters Currency Converter – get the exchange rates for 164 currencies The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet – create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.

Spotted by Mac – a complete listing of all UNESCO sites around the world. A great resource.