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Trust me, this is not a joke. A Czech travel agency is offering trips to Prague for your favourite teddy bear or other stuffed toy.

For the equivalent of £78 ($122), the agency will take pictures of the toy tourists at Prague’s major sights and put them on a CD so that you, the owner, can ‘boast to friends or on Facebook’.

The man behind it, Tomio Okamura, said:

“It is not a joke. We are four owners [including] me – the vice president of the Czech National Association of Travel Agencies – also Miss Dana Bérová, who is a former minister. So it’s proof that it’s a very serious business.”

But the sightseeing is just the half of it. For an extra £52 ($81), the toys can have massage or aromatherapy sessions. Mr Okamura again:

“Yes, we will make massage on the mat next to Charles Bridge, with Prague Castle in the background. So we will put teddy bear on the mat, put candles around him and take photos. So then his owner can say that his bear had a massage in Prague.”

Of course, the tour organisers need to know in advance if the guest is vegetarian because lunch is included …

Look, I can’t go on with this, it’s too ridiculous. If you have a teddy that’s shown an interest in broadening his horizons, go to www.sendyourdarling.com.

by Andy Moreton

Why send your teddy when you can go yourself? Here at Luxique, we describe the Czech capital as ‘a fairyland of pinnacles, towers and fabulously ornate castles and palaces.’ And we have a selection of 23 of the best luxury hotels in Prague.

A couple who lost their camera overboard from an ocean liner in the Atlantic have had it returned to them – by a Spanish trawlerman who found it in his nets.

Barbara and Dennis Gregory, from South Africa, were en route from New York to Southampton on Queen Mary 2 in 2008. When their camera went over the side, they didn’t expect to see it again, let alone any photos.

But Benito Estevez, fishing off the west coast of Europe, caught it in his nets, with five photos still intact on the memory card. He posted them online and they were then shown on a TV programme in the UK. Friends of the couple recognised them.

Speaking through a translator, Mr Estevez said:

“It makes me really happy to see that they have recovered the memories they lost. If it had been any other thing we would have thrown it back into the sea … but these circumstances were different. I think it’s because of destiny.”

Mrs Gregory said it was ‘absolutely mindboggling’.

And if you’re wondering what sort of camera could survive such an ordeal, it was the Nikon P90. Expect the company to advertise its hard-wearing qualities very soon …

by Andy Moreton

One of the more bizarre travel stories of the past week was in the Daily Telegraph, which reported that Chechnya was to market itself as a ‘Swiss-style’ ski resort to attract Russian and foreign tourists.

As the Telegraph’s Moscow correspondent, Andrew Osborn, observed:

“If the plan succeeds, it will be one of the most radical makeovers in the history of global tourism. The southern Russian republic is better known for suicide bombings, kidnappings and two brutal wars than for après ski parties and designer ski wear.”

The President of the troubled region, Ramzan Kadyrov, said he thought the small mountainous republic had huge tourism potential. He and his advisers have earmarked a scenic area called the Argun Gorge for a large ski resort to include a luxury hotel, mid-priced chalets and a spa complex.

“We have a good climate and wonderful scenery,” said Mr Kadyrov. “We have places that, when equipped with the necessary infrastructure, will be in no way inferior to Swiss resorts.”

Russian tourism experts believe Chechnya does have potential, but say personal safety issues mean the bold plan is ahead of its time. That’s a view echoed by the Foreign Office in London. It advises against all travel to Chechnya, saying terrorism and kidnapping remain a serious threat.

by Andy Moreton

We all love those hotels that go the extra mile for their guests, but here’s one free service you might think you can do without.

The Holiday Inn chain in the UK is to pilot a scheme in Manchester whereby someone sleeps in your bed to warm it up before you get in. Sleep experts say a cold bed inhibits sleep – the ideal temperature is 20–24 degrees Celsius (68–75 Fahrenheit).

The human electric blanket will be dressed in an all-in-one sleeper suit and spend five minutes under the duvet.

Holiday Inn spokeswoman, Jane Bednall, said:

“People want to leave the cold outside and climb into a warm bed. The service is a bit like having a giant hot water bottle in your bed, warming it up before guests climb in to give them a great night’s sleep away from the cold. Of course they jump out before you jump in.”

Of course. But it could take some explaining if you forgot to tell your partner you’d booked the service …

by Andy Moreton

Most of us try to avoid hanging around airports for hours, but a British academic is going to spend a year in one – funded by the government.

Anthropologist Dr Damian O’Doherty will live for up to 18 hours a day at Manchester Airport, observing passengers’ and workers’ habits. The aim is to make them better places to visit or work.

Dr O’Doherty said he was particularly interested in what he called the kinetic elite:

“people always on the go, fixing business deals on their laptops, at the same time talking on their iPhone and perhaps posting a Twitter to friends and family.”

“It is very unusual for an anthropologist to do this but the place is a vibrant hotbed of change and it fascinates me.”

The exercise will cost about £40,000 to the taxpayer and not everyone thinks it’s money well spent.

Matthew Elliott, of the spending watchdog, the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said:

“If the department [for Business, Innovation and Skills] wanted to find out how people interact in an airport, all they needed to do was to rent the Tom Hanks film [Terminal Man, 2004]. Surely that would be better than squandering tens of thousands of pounds getting someone to research it for a year?”

by Andy Moreton

If you happen to find yourself in Manchester and in need of a hotel, rather than an airport bench, Luxique has four luxury options, including the renowned Lowry.

I wrote last week about some of the items that are lifted from hotel rooms (Nickers Down Under).

As far as the former US Ambassador in London, Raymond Seitz, is concerned, there’s only one souvenir he looks for – the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign. He’s now amassed a collection of 500, he told February’s Condé Nast Traveller magazine.

“I think I’m attracted to these signs because their message so perfectly captures my personal philosophy. I would be happy if I could go through my life with one of them hanging around my neck,” he said.

He’s not alone in his passion – I discover there are a number of collectors around the world and at least one website dedicated to this peculiar pastime, set up by someone who’s got a staggering 6,000 of the things (http://www.freewebs.com/dndcollector/).

Mr Seitz is apparently not a fan of the trend of some hotels to re-word the simple message in favour of such modernisms as ZZZZ, I am re-energising, or I’m catching a cat nap.

by Andy Moreton

I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone organised a parachute jump from the world’s tallest building – the Dubai tower I wrote about last week.

Omar Al Hegelan and Nasser Al Niyadi, two experienced base jumpers, leapt from 2,716 feet (828m), taking just one-and-a-half minutes to reach the ground at speeds up to 136 mph.

Al Niyadi, who already holds a world record for the first Mount Everest sky dive, described the feat as ‘the best experience ever’.

“When we were at the top of the building I was thinking ‘this is crazy’. I was a little nervous but I wanted to jump from the highest tower in the world to record an achievement for my family and for my country,” he said.

Originally named the Burj Dubai, the tower was renamed Burj Khalifa in tribute to Dubai’s financial rescuer – its oil-rich neighbour, Abu Dhabi (Sheikh Khalifa is its President).

When news of the sky-dive appeared online, one message board contributor suggested:

“If its economy continues as it is, it will not be long before we see the royal family of Dubai jumping from the top … without a parachute.”

by Andy Moreton

See the over-the-top phenomenon that is Dubai – Luxique offers a selection of a dozen of the finest luxury hotels in Dubai City.

What’s the difference between a beach in Thailand and one in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland?

Quite a lot you might say, but that didn’t stop Thai tourist officials from promoting Kai Bae Beach by using a picture of the Isle of Berneray. The give-away is the picturesque range of the Harris Hills in the background.

The subterfuge was first spotted by the British writer Ian McNamara, who runs a small guest house on Koh Chang island where Kai Bae Beach is located. It seems the Thais lifted the picture from the website www.isleofberneray.com.

Photographer John Kirriemuir took the shot four years ago. He said: “True, there are some similarities – great sand, unpolluted sea. But also some differences: if you swam off both beaches, you would very quickly realise what one of them is.”

A VisitScotland spokeswoman said: “Here in the Outer Hebrides we are fortunate to have some of the most spectacular scenery in the world right on our doorstep.”

“They do say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, so although the use of the photo of a beach on the Isle of Berneray to represent a Thai beach is somewhat misleading, I’m sure it’s a compliment in disguise.”

by Andy Moreton

Luxique offers the best rates at 27 luxury hotels in Thailand.

Continental Airlines had a slightly weird but entirely valid excuse for an eighty-minute delay on a flight out of Houston, Texas just before Christmas.

A pair of otters had escaped from their wooden cages in the hold and were seen scurrying across the tarmac. Airport workers managed to catch the animals and return them to captivity, and the flight took off for Columbus, Ohio. One worker was slightly hurt in the chase.

“They told us there were a couple of otters loose in the cargo area,” said passenger Nicky Devanny. “People thought it was a joke at first I think.”

Some travellers reported that the otters had tried to chew into their luggage.

by Andy Moreton

My seasonal award for the most thoughtful travel gesture this holiday time goes to Air Berlin.

The airline – the second biggest in Germany after Lufthansa – is allowing passengers to take their Christmas trees with them on flights at no extra cost. Customers can take trees of up to two metres (six feet) in height until Christmas Eve on condition they notify the airline at least 24 hours in advance.

Titus Johnson, Air Berlin’s manager in the UK and Ireland, said: “Most of the demand for this comes from our German customers – it seems they can’t bear to be parted from their trees at Christmas. After all, it was Queen Victoria’s [German] husband, Prince Albert, who brought the tradition with him to England in the first place.”

The trees will, of course, go in the hold, not on the empty seat on the aisle. I’d love to witness the scene at the baggage carousel!

by Andy Moreton