Croatia Joins EU, Keeps Pretty Money

by Chris Owen on

Travel to Croatia is increasing, up nearly 20 percent over last year just counting visitors from North America. Showcased by the popular HBO series “Game of Thrones,” Croatia has seen a surge in tourism, one that they hope to continue by joining the European Union.

Last year, visitors from the United States and Canada reached 237,826, up 17.8 percent over 2011. Recovering from a multi-year recession, Croatia believes being part of the EU will give tourism an additional boost but will be a member on their own terms.

Croatia, the home of Dalmatian dogs, will not be a member of the Schengen area that allows members easy access in and out of the country. Instead they will continue checking passports of all entering or exiting the country.Known for its lovely islands and beautiful people, Croatia will not adopt the euro as national currency, choosing instead to keep the colorful Kuna as legal tender.

Elephant Shatters Tourists’ Window On African Safari (VIDEO)

by Libby Zay on

While on safari in South Africa, a group of German tourists had a close encounter with an enraged elephant. Already agitated after fighting with another male, the five-ton animal charged at the vehicle. The tourists thought they were safe, but it took only one tap of the elephant’s powerful tusk to shatter the vehicle’s window. The tourists at first seemed shaken, but laughed soon after realizing nobody was hurt. Good thing they left with a video to show to their insurance provider, or they might not be smiling.

This isn’t the first attack at Kruger National Park, either. Earlier this month, a couple visiting from Hong Kong had their car smashed after an elephant encounter. No word on whether or not this was the same elephant, and if so, what beef he has with cars.

[via grindtv.com]

Antarctica Continues To Heat Up, As A Cruise Destination

by Chris Owen on

Antarctica is the southern most continent on Earth and can reach temperatures as low as −129°F (−89°C). But to cruise travelers, the home of the South Pole is one of the hottest new destinations around and cruise lines are sending them there in ever-increasing numbers. Once seen as a place of treks for hearty explorers, burly men of substance and adventure travelers, luxury cruise lines are finding Antarctica a popular choice, offering a variety of itineraries.

In ‘Antarctica For Sissies? Hardly, As Luxury Cruise Line Turns New Page‘ Gadling reported luxury line Seabourn refitting Seabourn Quest to make 21- to 24-night expedition sailings later this year. The 450-passenger ship will sail from Buenos Aires, Argentina, stopping by Montevideo, Uruguay, then the Falkland Islands before spending five days in Antarctica, running Zodiac landings to a variety of ridiculously amazing places.

Now, Crystal Cruises is sailing to Antarctica for a Christmas/New Year’s cruise beginning December 21, 2013. The Buenos Aires-Valparaíso voyage aboard 922-passenger Crystal Symphony sails through Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Falkland Islands, Drake Passage, Cape Horn, and the Chilean Fjords, going ashore on the Antarctic continent multiple times.Unique to the Crystal version of Antarctica, passengers can fly, hike, and zodiac over and on the icy continent and overnight at the Chilean Eduardo Frei Antarctic Base (INACH). Neither are cheap rides though, prices start at $7,450 per person.

On This Tiny Island, Men Speak A Different Language

by Libby Zay on

Sure, you might have rolled your eyes and joked that men and women speak different languages, but in a tiny atoll in Micronesia men actually do.

MentalFloss charted the history of this men-only language spoken on Sapwuahfik, an island northeast of Australia in the Caroline Islands formerly known as Ngatik. In the 1800s, an Australian captain ordered his crew and some Micronesian warriors to massacre all of the men on the island so he could take control of a valuable supply of tortoise shells there. Some sailors and warriors ended up staying, claiming the widowed island women as their wives.

The island has since repopulated and formed a new culture and language, a dialect of the Ponapean language of the region. But about 700 men on Sapwuahfik and the nearby major island of Pohnpei speak a special “men’s only” language, a mixture of the language of the island and English, called Ngatikese Men’s Language or Ngatikese Pidgin. Although women and children can understand it, the language is mainly spoken when men are engaged in activities like fishing and boat building, a kind of echo of the voices of those 19th-century sailors.

Mistreated Chinese Inmates Might Be Making Airplane Headphones

by Libby Zay on

Some of those cheap, plastic headphones airplanes give out could have a grisly origin. Both Qantas and British Airways are investigating whether the disposable headphones they distribute on board were made by poorly treated prisoners in a Chinese jail.

According to news.com.au, two inmates came forward to say that they made headphones for Qantas, British Airways and Emirates. The inmates claim that they worked more than 70 hours per week, and if anyone failed to meet production targets, they were “taken outside and tasered.”

All of the airlines have so far denied the charges, but Qantas has suspended arrangements with the company that supplies headphones to the airline, pending an investigation.