The Giza Pyramids.MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY/Reuters
This week's strange travel news.
Valuable vacation
In these tough economic times, we all have to make sacrifices – except for the guy who's booked a one million-pound ($1,575,000) vacation, that is. British luxury retailer VeryFirstTo.com has sold a two-year package featuring visits to most of the world's 962 UNESCO heritage sites. The frantically paced itinerary covers more than 150 countries, with business-class airfare and five-star accommodations included. The anonymous buyer is reportedly a male Chinese PhD candidate. He can bring along a companion if he wishes. That could make for some interesting arguments: "I'm sick of pyramids! And why do we always have to have foie gras?"
Bogus tomb, dudes!
If you viewed the tomb of emperor Yang Guang while visiting Yangzhou, China, you might want to get a refund. Earlier this month, Chinese archaeologists discovered another tomb six kilometres away. Based on an inscribed tablet, this one appears to be the true final resting place of Yang (581-618 AD), who allegedly murdered his father and killed millions while rebuilding the Great Wall of China. That means the tomb that's operated as a tourist attraction since 2001 was likely built to fool grave robbers. Oh well, things could be worse. Like, what if the tablet said "Made in Taiwan"?
The joys of customer service
Conde Nast Traveler recently published some tales of outrageous customer behaviour from travel and hospitality professionals. A New York taxi driver once had a drunk couple get in his car after midnight, with the man passing out and the woman yelling, "I'm a bad girl!" while crawling into the front seat to kiss the driver against his will. A Cambodian hotel manager said a guest who complained of sore feet wasn't satisfied with having hot water and Epsom salts delivered to her room – she wanted him to rub her feet as well. And a flight attendant recalled Zsa Zsa Gabor having a hissy fit and throwing a glass of wine in somebody's face. Now that's crossing the line, dah-ling!
Sources: Conde Nast Traveler, CNN, China Daily, The Guardian.