Hot in travel: the best of the week’s news for fellow travellers

This week packed a news-worthy punch, from the election results in Myanmar, to the celebrations for Diwali causing smoke and havoc, it was an eclectic and busy week no matter where you were. Here’s a few stories to sum up the week that was in it!

Leader of Myanmar’s opposition National League for Democracy party, Aung San Suu Kyi,  Image by (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

The day has finally come! Google Maps have announced they will be rolling out a version of the app that works without wifi. The irony of the super-handy tool for finding your way, has long been the fact that it isn’t available when precisely you need it most. Steep data roaming charges or simply bad connectivity have long made using it abroad a problem, with other apps being launched that worked to solve this specific problem, although none have been particularly reliable. The news will be greeted with joy by many a traveller with a bad sens of direction. Read the full story here.

Travellers will now be able to use Google Maps even when there is no internet connection. Image by Lonely Planet

Pack’em in! Emirates announced this week that they will be getting rid of the first-class section and introducing more seat to the Airbus A380, making it the highest capacity plane in existence with 615 passengers, compared to the current record high of 538. But don’t worry – the leg room will apparently be the same, with the added bonus of a 13-inch in-flight entertainment screen. Read more here.

Emirates airline has reconfigured an airbus to fit in 615 passengers. Image by Emirates

An exhibition of erotic art in Tokyo has drawn 90,000 visitors since its launch and caused controversy in Japan where the tradition of pornographic artwork is varied, from Ukiyo to manga cartoons. Shunga art, as its known, is getting its first ever exhibition in Japan and depicts characters from the Edo period  involved in sexual acts. The exhibition is on for another month. Read more here.

An image from the Shunga exhibition at the Eisei Bunko Museum in Tokyo. Image by Eisei Bunko Museum

Adventurer Henry Worsley is attempting the take on Sir Ernest Shackleton’s famous expedition on the Endurance, to mark its centenary. The 55 year-old ex army man will be taking the Shackleton Solo challenge on his own without a sledge and without drop offs for supplies. He predicts he will lose 12 kilos during the expedition. Read more here.

Henry Worsley boarding the flight to Antarctica on Tuesday November 10th Image by Instagram

Our Lonely Planet Ultimate Travelist 2015 top destination had an announcement during the week. Angkor Wat temple  in Cambodia will be opening two hours earlier, starting in January, in an effort to accommodate visitors – but that doesn’t mean more time and space to take a naked selfie. In fact, due to a trend in travellers’ behaviour, the popular destination is implementing a new code of conduct. Presumably the measure comes after a spate of incidents involving tourists taking their clothes off. Read the full story here.

Temples of Angkor, Cambodia are No1 in the Ultimate Travelist Image by Mark Read, Lonely Planet