The best tourist traps?

We loved the exotic passport stamps that readers of BudgetTravel.com recently shared with us.We've taken a dozen of the most fascinating stamps, and put them into this slide show. (You'll find the stories behind the stamps here.) Locations include Laos, Turkey, Libya, Sri Lanka, Burma, Nepal, Brazil, Suriname, Mozambique, and Bangladesh. Shown at left is a honorary stamp from Port Lockroy, British Antarctic Territory.

Up until now, the airlines have allowed any given senator an option to hold seats on multiple flights even though he or she had only bought one ticket for one flight. In other words, senators have been able to book confirmed reservations on multiple flights, improving the odds that they will depart on at least one of the planes. But new Senate ethics rules threaten fines and imprisonment to any company that offers handouts to senators. In response to these rules, Continental, Delta, and Northwest have withdrawn the privilege. They say they fear that by giving senators this privilege they risk being accused of offering handouts. After all, ordinary customers are not offered this service. Some senators are annoyed. They have asked the Senate's rules committee to make a statement to the airlines assuring them that they can offer this favor to senators without breaking any ethics rules about handouts. "It's really hard because if you can only book one flight, and you can't make that flight, then you're stuck," says Senator Diane Feinstein, Democrat from California, who suddenly has to fly like the rest of us. [Story, and quotation from Senator Feinstein, via the Seattle Times.]

Wendy, who says she works for Southwest (and who prefers not to have her last name published), has posted a comment on our blog defending her airline's actions against the passenger whose attire—or lack thereof—has provoked a national debate. Here's what Wendy wrote: As an airline employee, specifically of the airline involved, I am so tired of hearing about this "poor, picked on girl". First, there are two sides to every story and I don't feel she was completely honest about the way she was wearing that outfit. I heard she had the shirt pulled up and the skirt pulled down exposing her entire midriff and pelvic bones. An airplane is not a nightclub and even though we serve drinks, it is not a bar. Dress appropriately. I am tired of seeing everybody's body parts no matter their size. Second, SWA is a business and is responsible to all passengers including the one that complained about her outfit. As any business they can reserve the right to refuse anyone. I have never seen an employee address a problem with a passenger ON the aircraft. It is always done in the jetway. Perhaps the reason the entire airplane was staring at her wasn't because they overheard her "dressing down" but because she was dressed like that. DUH! Third, have you seen this girl's My Space page? Her heroes are Jenna Jameson (the porn star) and Paris Hilton (who has her own issues with decency). [Editor's note: We cannot verify that this webpage is, in fact, an accurate cached version of Kayla Ebbert's MySpace page--or even if Kayla Ebbert has a MySpace page. For example, the name Kyla on this page is spelled differently from Kayla.] Enough said about that. Please let's move on from this whole blown-out-of-proportion, juvenile, waste-of-time, fame-seeking, and ludicrous ordeal. You'll find other reader comments on the original post.

Dozens of our readers say no, while dozens more say yes. Here's a sampling of reader views: I live in Michigan, near the Canadian Border and on the Great Lakes. The border includes thousands of miles of open water, with tens of thousand of boats plying it, and thousands of miles of open land where the border is not even marked, or at least not controlled. If terrorists want to come across from Canada to the U.S., or go the other way, they can do it with or without a passport requirement. Requiring passports for a simple trip back and forth across the Canadian Border is a waste of money and resources, and is a needless inconvenience.—David L. RichardsWhy should the safety of the American public be at risk just because people are too lazy to get a passports?—Tara I do believe that the cost of GETTING the passport is much too high.—Janice Manley Would this have helped protect us on 9/11? No. Would it help keep illegals from entering? No. Is it a hassle? Yes. We're letting the terrorists win when we make our nation more like the ones they come from.—Rich My father served in WWII. He's never had to prove he was an American. Now, if he wants to go on a cruise, he's got to prove he's an American to leave the country and then again to return. He's 82-years-old. He doesn't need a 10-year passport. I want to take him on a cruise before it's too late. The government wants to charge me a tax (in the form of the cost of a passport) to take him on a cruise. That's not right.—Archie Windham Archie, this is not the same world it was when your Dad went to war! In case you haven't noticed, the govt has intruded into our lives more and more over the past 50 years! I'm 75, and may not need a 10 year passport, but so what? Who knows, maybe I will, and $100 is quite a lot of money to us, but judging by what most people spend for recreation (i.e. dining out, shows, etc.) these days, it won't be a severe hardship on the majority of people. I know it won't entirely stop illegals from getting into our country, but in the world we live in today, every little bit helps.—Clairee Meeks I don't know if [requiring passports] would stop any of the terrorism but if it stopped just one act then everyone should have a passport.—Barbara Conkle If it will help weed out the illegals, I am all for showing passports at all times. However, the Feds need a way to identify fake passports more easily. Of course, the illegals are still going to try and get across and bypass authorities so that is where they need to focus.—Sherie Harbin More: Read the comments on this earlier blog post.