This weeks travel blog of the week is Honeymoon Around the World written by Steve and Christy. It follows their progress as they take time out from their jobs for an extended honeymoon travelling around the world. Their journey starts in June 2007 with their wedding in Mexico and then heads to Iceland, Europe including Ireland, England and Italy and then onto Africa before heading to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and eventually New Zealand.

There is a lot of interesting content on this blog but for  me a few posts stood out. The first from their time in Thailand is about the interesting food available at the street markets. One vendor was selling an interesting mix of fried bugs including meal worms, grasshoppers, crickets and cockroaches. Steve and Christy were brave enough to sample the fried grasshopper (pictured left) with Steve describing it as a "a fried mass of legs of body".
 

Another post also on the subject of unusual food highlights the options available at a local  market in Laos. Here, Steve finds an appetising selection of fried rats and fried bats. Although Steve was not planning on purchasing anything a fellow tourist offered him a bat. Apparently you do not need to add sauce to enjoy a fried bat (pictured right), you simply eat it as it is. The verdict was that it tasted like chicken. Despite trying the bat Steve stayed away from the other delicacies preferring not to sample the fried rat or surprisingly the coagulated cow blood. I can't imagine why it all sounds very tasty.

Travellers at Heathrow were affected by a complete break down of Terminal 4’s baggage handling system on Wednesday. Economy class passengers who arrived at the terminal were told they could only take hand baggage with them meaning they either had to leave their luggage behind of miss their flights. Around 4,000 passengers were affected by the problem, with most of them decided to switch airlines or postpone their trip rather than leave their luggage behind. The problem was caused by the automatic baggage sorting system breaking down because of a software failure. It is now the 10th time the baggage handling system has broken down since last May.

An engine fault has been ruled out as the cause of the Heathrow crash a few weeks ago. The investigation also found that the engines had not been hit by a bird or a piece of ice. The news means that the investigators are still no closer to solving the mystery of why the plane came down short of the runway. There were also no signs of fuel contamination, however there were pieces of debris found in the fuel as well as unusual air bubbles in the high pressure fuel pumps. These findings are still being considered.

BA and Virgin will have to pay out refunds to customers who flew long haul between 11 August 2004 and 23 March 2006 after they were found to be fixing prices. BA was fined for price fixing on fuel charges. Virgin also admitted to breaching the law but escaped a fine. The two companies will have to refund one third of the fuel surcharge which would work out to between £2 and £10 per flight.

Satnav devices have been blamed for directing articulated lorries down small country lanes which then leads to damage to bridges. The problem was highlighted after rail chiefs found three of the most hit rail bridges were within a one mile radius in the same town. The three bridges in Grantham in Lincolnshire have been struck 62 times between them in the last year. The number of collisions nationally has also risen from 885 10 years ago to 1,340 today. A spokesman said: "It's a rising problem and satnavs are playing a greater role. They are great tools but they are no substitute for common sense and following the rules of the road." The problem is put down to the fact that when people are using a satnav device they rely on it blindly and do not question whether a bridge is high enough. Apparently drivers are no longer able to read the danger low bridge signs.

Monmouthshire council leaders have backed a campaign to stop six post offices closing. The council cabinet says that six post offices that have been earmarked for closures are essential in the county and that they provide vital services especially for the elderly. The threatened Post Offices includes outlets in Govilon, Llanellen, Mathern, Sudbrook, Tintern and Devauden.

A new system of luggage tracking has gone on trial at Heathrow. The system used radio frequency identification to tag baggage. The trial project will involve Emirates and will track around 50,000 bags each month over a six month period. It will allow staff to track bags at each stage of the process so that they know exactly where the items are and should help to cut down on lost items. Passengers that give their mobile number will also be able to receive a text message to let them know the location of their bag when they land.

Pakistan and India have agreed to double passenger flights between the countries. They will also expand the number of destinations which are served by the flights and allow more airlines to operate on the routes. There are currently 12 flights a week which link Delhi and Mumbai in India with Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan with only Indian Airlines and Pakistan International Airway operating on the routes. The new deal will mean that both countries will be able to operate up to three airlines on each route. The number of routes will also increase to include the Pakistani capital of Islamabad and the southern Indian city of Madras.

This weeks travel blog of the week is China Travel. The blog covers the travels of Tom Carter who has spent 2 years backpacking in China. Focusing more on the the things you probably wouldn't see if you went on a packaged holiday.

One of the most amusing articles on the blog is titled Chinese Youth Hostels. As a veteran backpacker, hostels are essential for Tom. He quite comically recalls an extended stay in a laid back hostel in Chengdu over 7 days. Encountering several Australians, Europeans and Americans who had also got pulled into the laid back life style of the hostel. Tom likens the hostel environment to that of a Reality TV Series 'Backpackers Behaving Badly', his stay is filled with occurrences of dorm mates arriving back drunk passing out in the early hours of the morning after going out partying each night.

A study has found that people living in the noisiest places around airports are more likely to develop high blood pressure. The study was carried out on 600 people who live under the Heathrow flight path. It also found that noise from flights causes immediate increases in blood pressure in sleeping people. Campaigners say that the results of the study support the argument for a ban on night flights at UK airports.

The EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini has said that visitors to the EU could face biometric border checks. He says that visitors from outside the EU could face a biometric check as part of their visa whilst those not needed a permit will be checked when they arrive. Under the system travellers from within the EU would face only random checks. He also has plans to improve border surveillance. If the new measures are approved by all EU member states they would be introduced between 2010 and 2015.