This Week in Travel: The Fiasco That Was Fyre Festival, Brought to You by Ja Rule

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” — Helen Keller

#1 So, a Passenger Requested for a Gluten-Free Meal…

Who: A Londoner named Martin Pavelka.

Where: On a Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo, Japan to Sydney, Australia.

What: Ask for a gluten-free meal and ye shall receive a banana along with a fork and knife. Pavelka, who suffers from coeliac disease which makes gluten in his diet a real hazard, was more impressed with his fellow passenger’s breakfast onboard than his unfortunate breakfast fruit. “All other passengers were served a full breakfast meal consisting of eggs, sausage, mushrooms, bread, and yogurt,” Pavelka told the Evening Standard. “This was a nine-hour flight. Although definitely gluten free, the banana did not keep me full for very long.” The passenger has since filed a complaint with the airline. From a sad banana to mystery meat, check out our picks for the best and worst airline food.

#2 Missing: A USD 1.6 Million Piece of Artwork in a Taxi

Who: An art dealer.

Where: Paris, France.

What: Add ‘mega-expensive artwork’ to the list of things accidentally left behind in a taxi. The object in question is a piece called “Concetto Spaziale”, part of a series of abstracts by Argentina-born Italian sculptor and painter Lucio Fontana, who died in 1986. An art dealer was meeting a collector while carrying the piece which he left in the trunk of car. Luck was not on his side during a two-day hunt for the taxi, prompting the art dealer to file a theft complain with the police. Unfortunately, luck hasn’t been on their side either as the painting is still at large.

#3 It Started With a Vacation Fling, Now a Baby & Lawsuit

Who: An unnamed woman.

Where: A hotel in Halle, Germany.

What: Back in 2010, the woman stayed at a hotel with a male companion she knew only as “Michael”, and well, you know how babies are made. She tried getting Michael’s contact details from the hotel, however, the hotel denied the woman’s request, saying they had no legal obligation to release guest’s information. On top of that, the hotel had four guests named Michael during the time of her stay. Enter the lawsuit (filed as “Father Roulette”), which unfortunately ended with the notion that the man’s right to protect his family or marriage takes precedence over the woman’s right to child support, and that it was possible Michael wasn’t even his real name. Oh dear.

#4 Fyre Festival or the Hunger Games?

I wonder if the tent supplier is happy from all the exposure they got from #fyrefest. #fyrefestival #eventprofs #vendors pic.twitter.com/rapKlW7dTg

— Alex Stivers (@AlexStivers) May 1, 2017

Who: The rapper to the soundtrack of your college days, Ja Rule,  who co-founded Fyre Festival with tech-famous Billy McFarland, who’s just 25-years-old, by the way.

Where: Norman’s Cay, in the Exumas district of the Bahamas.

What: They say it was doomed from the start, especially when much of the festival’s budget was pumped into influencer (called “Frye-Starters”) marketing. This included a promo ad that starred models like Bella Hadid who were all flown to the Exumas and paid six figures. But to the horror of the party-loving millennial guests, the festival was nothing more than white tents, poorly set-up toilets, cancelled acts like Blink 182 and Major Lazor, as well as cheese and bread “gourmet food”. Ja Rule says they’ll be back next year, better than ever, despite current lawsuits against the company. Good luck, man.

#5 Can’t Get Enough of Bali?

Who: Ideal for couples, families and small groups of friends.

Where: Villa Michelina in Seminyak.

What: Brand new on The Luxe Nomad is this 3-bedroom private pool villa located in Legian, only 200m from the Double Six beach. At one end of the pool is a bar area plus BBQ, while the other end features sun loungers and umbrellas to shade from that tropical sun. The villa is superbly positioned, surrounded by restaurants, local souvenir shops, cafes, bars, and spas.

Why stay home this weekend?