Two men from Bangladesh were forced to live in New Delhi's Indira Gandhi airport for 48 days. The duo left their homeland to seek employment in Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, they did not have the appropriate papers to enter the country. So, officials confiscated their passports and placed the men on a return flight to Bangladesh with an intermediate stop in India.

The weary travelers landed in the layover country, but upon arriving, they found themselves stranded since their passports were still in Saudi Arabia. The lost souls waited in the transit lounge of New Delhi's airport for the 6+ weeks until Bangladesh could issue them new passports. During their stay, the gentlemen often asked the airport cafeteria to give them work -- without payment -- as a way to pass time. How's that for boredom?

Forty-eight days may sound like an eternity, but Iranian refugee Mehran Karimi Nasseri spent an amazing 18 years living in France's Charles de Gaulle Airport. His story was adapted into the film The Terminal. It's interesting to note that Nasseri continued to live in Charles de Gaulle even after he was offered papers that would allow him to leave.

I can't imagine spending that much time in an airport. I can't even stand being in one for a three hour layover. I think I'd find myself coming up with games to play like "Switch Around the Luggage Tags at the Baggage Claim."

I've stayed in a lot of Hilton hotels, and I'm almost always pleased with the quality of the amenities in their rooms. (Unless it's an airport hotel with a lot of turn-over. Yuck!) So, when I heard about Hilton to Home, I was ecstatic.

Hilton to Home is an official Hilton online store that sells *almost* every product used to create the Hilton hotel room experience. You can order anything from sheets to shampoo.

There are three products I have to mention. I've always enjoyed them at Hiltons, and it's pretty cool that they're available online:

• Serenity Collection bedding - I tried these sheets at the Hilton Sedona, and they were so soft and relaxing. Quite the complement to Sedona's natural serenity.
  
• Shawl Collar Bathrobe - This one reminds me of a stay at the Hilton Berlin. I don't quite remember when or why I put it on, but I found myself wearing the morning after a long night of drinking with the hotel's bar band.
  
• Hilton Family Exclusive Clock Radio - You can find these in almost any Hilton hotel. I like these because there are labeled buttons on the top that are preset to local Jazz, Rock, and Pop radio stations.

It's nice to know that there's a legal way to score some of these things for my own home because believe me... The housekeeping staff notices when things like curtains are missing.

And now, in celebrity travel gossip news...

Keira Knightley, the svelte star of Bend It Like Beckham, found herself while on holiday in the Himalayas. Keira told Elle Magazine about her journey through the remote area: "No-one knew me or cared what films I'd been in." The 22-year-old added that her eyes were opened, and she now wants an obscure life instead of "the celebrity thing."

Ah, yes, I've heard this before... This is a little something I like to call "The Vacation High," and it makes you want to stay on your dream vacation forever. But you know what? The High never lasts because trips are meant to be temporary; They separate you from reality just long enough for you to forget (or ignore) your ordinary life. Call me a cynic.

Don't get me wrong; I think Keira Knightley is great, but I also think her post-travel euphoria will most likely subside once Disney offers her $10 million to star in Pirates of the Caribbean 4: Return to the Caribbean.

(Thanks, Kelly!)

Customer service representatives are supposed to give you service with a smile. Unfortunately, for a number of JetBlue fliers, that corporate grin had a little bit of deception behind it.

A Manhattan District Attorney discovered that four JetBlue representatives and a New York City corrections officer were involved in a credit card scheme that defrauded JetBlue customers. The criminal group stole credit and debit cards accidentally left at a JFK Airport JetBlue customer service desk by hurried passengers. The party used these accounts to purchase liquor, gifts, and lingerie. You know, I always suspected that airlines were ripping me off, but I just thought it was related to ticket prices.

Authorities arrested the five perpetrators, and JetBlue suspended the employees. I guess the moral of the story is "Don't push the agents at the customer service desk."

I'd like to note -- for those playing at home -- that JetBlue had nothing whatsoever to do with the credit card fraud. The company is too busy delaying flights for them to focus on such petty disturbances. Again, that's just another joke.

There are a lot of things I think about when I board a plane. For example, if I get stuck in a middle seat, I expect to be flanked by two lumbering people who smell of hot dogs and failure. The only aspect of the trip that I don't consider is the environmental cost.

Well, hey. That won't happen anymore. The Real Costs project forces a traveler to see what he normally takes for granted. The Real Costs is a plug-in for Mozilla Firefox, and it waits patiently until you plan a trip on a website like US Airways, American Airlines, or Orbitz. After you enter your depart and arrival points, The Real Costs presents you with a bar graph comparing the amount of carbon dioxide produced by that flight and alternative modes of transport like buses and trains. The project creators note: "Think of it like the nutritional information labeling on the back of food... except for emissions."

I tried The Real Costs while planning a round-trip flight from Philadelphia, PA to Munich, Germany. The graph predicted the flight would produce about 11,206lbs of CO2 which requires 203 "tree-years" to convert back into oxygen. There were even 203 little tree icons below the graph to drive the point home. Wow.

The goal of the project is to "increase awareness of the environmental impact of certain day to day choices in the life of the Internet user." The group hopes to expand the plug-in to support driving directions, parcel shipping, and car rentals.

(via MAKE: Blog)

Previously on Gadling: Adrienne mentioned a way to zap tourists with Photoshop. (Oh, Photoshop, is there anything you can't do?)

Well, if you don't have Photoshop -- or are just very lazy -- then snapmania's Tourist Remover is option for you. The web application can digitally shoo away undesirable objects like meddling tourists and passing cars. Using it is easier than the Photoshop method because the Tourist Remover does all of the dirty work for you.

You just need to snap three to ten photos of your scene, and you must keep the camera in the same position for each shot. (A tripod helps, but one isn't necessary.) Try to keep the lighting, aperture, and shutter speed the same for each photograph. Also, you should try to take your pictures so the unwanted objects appear as differently as possible in each image.

Then, just feed those images into the Tourist Remover, and it auto-magically combines the static areas of the image to give you a clearer view of the background. That's it! I haven't had a chance to try it out, but the Tourist Remover gallery shows off some pretty good final products.

(via MobuzzTV)

You know those VIP fliers who get all the perks like early check-ins, shorter security checkpoint lines, and preferred boardings? Well, you can be one, too, if you follow this tip from Peter Vogel of CNN's Budget Travel Online.

Normally, American Airlines gives Gold Status after flying 25,000 miles in a year and Platinum Status after 50,000 miles. Well, through AA's unadvertised "90-Day Challenge," a flier can achieve Gold Status after accumulating 5,000 points and Platinum after reaching 10,000 points!* (Of course, those flights must be made during the 90 day period.)

To apply for the program, you will need to call AA's Advantage line at (800)421-0600. You must choose either Gold Status or Platinum Status for the challenge. Note: If you choose to go for Gold and meet the Platinum requirements, you will only receive Gold Status. However, if you choose Platinum, but only fly enough for the Gold Status... you get nothing. So, choose wisely.

Check out Peter's write-up. He took took a flight to San Diego and a flight to London -- both from New York -- under the program, and he racked up enough points to grab Platinum Status and almost enough miles to achieve Gold Status for the next year.

If you'd still like elite status, but don't want to fly the miles, you can always pick up an airline credit card. For example, US Airways offers two credit cards that will buy you preferred check-in and early boarding.

Update: Reader Nick Hawkins notes that the 90-Day Challenge must be met using 5,000 or 10,000 Points, and one point may not always equal one mile. If you book online, you may only receive half a point per mile. Thanks, Nick!

Watch your six, Southwest. There's another discount airline on the market. It's called Skybus, and it will offer $10 one-way tickets until December 15th. (Of course, that's only for at least ten seats per flight.)

Skybus CEO Bill Diffenderffer announced that "passengers can buy airline tickets for less than the cost of a tank of gas," and a company spokesman added that some tickets could reach $330. Cool. That's still much better than the last-minute tickets I've purchased from US Airways for over $1200.

Skybus plans to lower their costs by slapping advertisements on every available surface of their planes. (Sound familiar?) Also, the company will only take reservations via the Internet, so they will not incur the costs of a call center. Oh, and expect to pay a fee to check in your bags.

Unfortunately, the carrier will fly from only five airports when they begin operations on May 22nd:

• Columbus, OH
• Burbank, CA
  
• Portsmouth, NH
  
• Richmond, VA
  
• Kansas City, MO
  

So, don't plan on flying out to Disney World with that ten dollar bill. You could probably go visit one of your great aunts, though. I'm sure she'd like that. Don't worry about missing out on great fares if you're not in those markets because Skybus will add three more airports by the end of May and another airport in June.

British Airways performed some of their own James Bond-style covert maneuvers when they cleverly edited in-flight copies of Casino Royale. Sir Richard Branson, owner of the rival Virgin Airways, has a cameo at an airport security checkpoint in the theatrical release. However, the British Airways version only shows the back of Branson as he moves through a metal detector. Also, their biased cut obscures the tail fin of a Virgin Airlines plane that appears in the film.

I don't see the point of those changes. I mean, the viewers of that version already gave BA their cash. Would it really hurt to show Branson and the Virgin logo? I guess spite makes airlines do awful things.

I only bring this up because Richard Branson happens to be one of my heroes. After all, anyone who throws a tea party on top of a hot air balloon is ace in my book.

This week, American Airlines launched a female-centric web site with a focus on connecting women fliers. The airline's new offering features ideas for safe, fun, and relaxing travel. Some of the items on the front page include "Girlfriend Getaways," "Book Recommendations," and "Travel Chic."

The airline notes that 50 million women fly American annually, and that number accounts for a little less than half of their total passengers. The company introduced the site with the hopes of boosting their sales to women by 2%. (That translates to a cool $94 million for those playing at home.)

I tried out the site, and it's pretty weak. The content consists mostly of short bullet points that don't provide any useful information. For example, a page targeted to business women advises them to check-in online, use personalized luggage tags, and sign up for frequent flier miles. I'd think anyone who travels often already knows how to do all of those things. Come on, American. I know you only want a 2% spike, but put some heart into it.