Scotland’s Loch Ness, home of the elusive monster, Nessie.The Associated Press
The week's strange travel news.
Monstrous allegations
Two men whose careers involve Scotland's legendary Loch Ness Monster are engaged in a war of words. George Edwards, who offers boat tours on the lake near Inverness, wrote an angry letter to the Drumnadrochit Chamber of Commerce. He claimed "Nessie" researcher Adrian Shine hurts tourism by dismissing reported sightings. "How many people come here to see the Loch Ness Big Fish or the Loch Ness Big Wave?" Edwards asked. Shine said he's just being scientific. So far, neither man has addressed Sting's suggestion that the Loch Ness Monster in the Police song Synchronicity II represents his penis.
Unicorns welcome in Turkey
A nine-year-old British girl got into Turkey with a passport she'd made for her toy unicorn. The oversized passport, adorned with gold teddy bear stickers, was stamped by an official at the Mediterranean sea port of Antalya. Her mother, Nicky Harris, only realized afterward she'd handed over the wrong document: "There was a moment of panic when I thought someone would come chasing after us, but nothing," said Harris. Meanwhile, as protests continue in Turkey, the UN may send in My Little Pony.
Budget airline gets extreme
When you're flying long-haul, having food, water and blankets seems like a reasonable expectation. But some passengers on the new routes for Norwegian Air Shuttle were reportedly denied those comforts because they didn't have a major credit card handy. A Thai woman on a 12-hour flight had her cup of coffee taken back and then got no food or water. A 16-year-old shivered en route to New York since he only had cash to pay the $5 blanket fee. Spokesman Lasse Sandaker-Nielsen "apologized deeply" and said the company would review its payment policies. Thank goodness, because a blanket should only cost $3.
Sources: UPI, The Sun, AFP.