Now that the festive season is behind us, many people (those who can still afford it after Christmas) will be thinking about, and maybe making plans for holidays later in the year.

So today we reported on a couple of travel related stories.

Have you ever been to Venice, and if so have you taken a ride on a gondola?

Right now you might want to think twice before you go there, as they’ve just introduced a special tax for visitors not spending the night there, and that’s in addition to the nightly tax which is now automatically added to hotel bills across Italy.

But I digress because just recently a group of tourists taking a trip to Venice, and who took the almost obligatory trip on a gondola, were so busy taking “selfies” that they ignored the shouts of the gondolier warning them to sit down whilst he attempted to manoeuvre under a bridge.

Instead they all moved to one side of the craft resulting in them being flipped over the side into the cold, and probably heavily polluted water.

Onlookers rejoiced in the spectacle of the drenched tourists clinging to the side of the boat.

The gondolier even dived in to rescue a number of his clients who had to be taken to a warm place to dry off. 

Probably worth going just on the off-chance of witnessing a re-play!

But meanwhile let’s move on to Thailand where it seems that a number of people anxious to bring home mementos or souvenirs of their stay, have seemingly taken that idea to the limit.

A 22-year old man from Taiwan was recently detained at the international airport at Bangkok, with two Asian small-clawed otters and a prairie dog stuffed down his trousers!

Suspicious of a large bulge protruding below the man’s waistband, security staff apprehended the man and conducted body scans which revealed the live creatures had been stuffed into three separate socks and then taped into the man’s boxer shorts.

It’s thought he’d the purchased the animals from from a market in the Thai capital.

Mind you just last year two women were caught at the same airport trying to board a flight to India with more than a hundred live animals concealed in their suitcases.

Nithya Raja, 38, and Zakia Sulthana, 24, were detained after 50 chameleons, 35 turtles, 20 snakes, two porcupines and two armadillos were found in their bags.

Anything to declare?

All being well I hope to have the pleasure of your company tomorrow from 1pm
Scott