Dubai-based Emirates will become the first airline to allow passengers to make mobile phone calls on its flights. Emirates expects to launch the service on one of its Boeing 777 planes as early as January next year. The news comes just months after Ryanair announced it planned to launch a similar service in mid-2007 – subject to regulatory approval.

Spotted by webmaster Paul: gapadvice.org Independent advice on gap years, for people of all ages.

A snake charmer who made a name for himself as Malaysia’s Snake King has died after being bitten by a king cobra. Ali Khan Samsudin, 48, gained a place in the record books for locking himself in small spaces with hundreds of snakes or scorpions for days at a time. According to local press reports, Mr Samsudin was reportedly bitten 99 times in his life so he was not unduly worried when he was bitten again, however, he died before he could receive hospital treatment.

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.

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid

Kitty writes in: I am writing a short dissertation on the contents of people’s suitcases, the history of suitcase design and of special travel items (for example travel irons, plug adapters etc), as an indicator of cultural and social changes over the past seventy years or so. I have had real difficulty finding any material on this subject at all. I was wondering whether anyone at the Globetrotters club knows of any books published on travels trunks or suitcases, the turning points in design (for example when more people wanted to have a lightweight case, rather than making a big deal out of their journey with bringing a trunk…), or any history of packing. Kitty can be contacted by e-mail on: kittybennett@mac.com

British shoppers heading across the Atlantic to the United States have been warned by HM Revenue and Customs that they must declare gifts bought in the US totalling over £145. Officials warn that if shoppers fail to declare their gifts and pay the required duty, they risk prosecution, which is rather a pity as the US/£ exchange rate is the best it has been in years. Up to 20% duty can be levied on goods and on some items an additional VAT at 17.5% must also be paid.

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

Spotted by Mac: a well compiled and complete list of LCC – Low Cost Carriers – These are the cheapest of the cheap airlines, and NOT listed or sold normally by travel agents, you will not find these airlines in Orbitz, Travelocity or Expedia.com. However you will find them in the WIKI – Wikipedia.org.

News from Malaysia says that motorists driving along the East-West Highway in particular the stretch of road leading to Banding and Kota Baru in the east coast must not honk or switch on the car headlights when they come across elephants on the road. Perak Wildlife and National Parks Department director Shabrina Mohd Shariff said the advice was among other tips put up on a signboard to inform motorists on what to do in such a situation. The signboards, she said, were put up following reports of elephants straying onto the highway located next to the Belum Forest Reserve, which is the elephants’ habitat. “By honking, the elephants will get agitated and may attack the motorists,” she said on Monday.

Europe From a Backpack series travel books have just published Italy From a Backpack and Spain From a Backpack. This is how the publishers describe the Europe Backpack books: despite their numbers, few, if any travel books have told their stories. Now, we have collected the best from more than 1,000 submissions.

They cover a wide range – changing one’s life on the 600-mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage (“To Be a Pilgrim”), throwing 90,000 pounds of tomatoes at Buñol, in Europe’s biggest food fight (“Tomato Fight!”); sneaking past Vatican guards to view Michelangelo’s Pietà (“Sneaking Into St. Peter’s”); meeting the forebears at their luxury hotel in Sicily (“The Old Country”). Some are thoughtful (“Off the Map”), some ridiculous (“The Curse of the Tassled Loafers” and “Hostage of the Hostile Hostel”) and some sublime (“What I Learned About Coleoptera By Having a Few Climb Up My Shorts”).

Free Book Offer: If you can’t make up your mind between the Italy and Spain book, just buy them both.
E-mail your receipt from Amazon.com, Bn.com, or Powells.com and we will send you a book of your choice (Italy, Spain, or Europe) for free. Deadline is Jan. 15, 2007. EuropeBackpack@aol.com