Open wide!

Description: A worker cleans a large model crocodile in preparation for a live crocodile show opening next month in Manila April 28, 2008.
Location: Manila, Philippines
Credit: REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco
Source

Vatnajokull - Europe's largest national park opens soon

Vatnajokull in Iceland, the largest national park in Europe is to open from 7th of June. The 13,000 square kilometres park covers 13% of Iceland and will include previously unprotected land as well the existing Skaftafell and Jökulsárgljúfur national parks.

Olof Yrr Atladottir, director general of the Icelandic Tourist Board, said: “Personally, I see a myriad of possibilities for all sorts of activities opening up such as action tours, eco-recreation, study visits and learning experiences as well as the chance to experience the nurturing silence of Iceland's highlands.”

Ryanair's is rising extra charges yet again.

From May 5th, the fee for checking in baggage is rising by 80 pence and so are the airport check-in charges.

Ryanair continuous tactics of not including extra charges in its advertised fares, resulted in the Office of Fair Trading investigation after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) accused Ryanair of repeatedly breaching advertising guidelines.

Did I hear someone yelling "Liar, liar pants on fire?"... Nah, I must be mistaken ...

easyJet to fly from Manchester to Alicante

A new winter sun flight route from Manchester to Alicante in Spain will start on September 29th 2008.

Flights will operate four times per week throughout the winter on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

UK commercial manager for easyJet Carly Brear commented: "This is the first new route easyJet has introduced to its new Manchester base and we look forward to further expansion in the near future."

New routes from Newcastle to Corfu and Rhodes

Jet2.com will be flying to popular the holiday destinations of Corfu and Rhodes this summer from Newcastle International airport.

The two new scheduled services have just gone on sale and the first flights will depart on June 4th to Rhodes and June 20th to Corfu.

The new services from Newcastle airport are part of Jet2.com's continued expansion programme in the north.

Inca Trail sold out for summer 2008

Bad news for all hopefuls who planned to go trekking on Peru’s famous Inca Trail, but did not made a booking yet. The stunning walk route to Machu Picchu is completely sold out the 2008 summer travel season, with the next available opening in September 2008

The restrictions were implemented by Peruvian government back in 2005, limiting a number of daily hikers on Inca Trail to only 500.

Berlin to bring back Berlin Wall... with a gadget

From 1st of May, tourists in the German capital disappointed to find little of the Berlin Wall left will be able to have it reappear before their eyes with a gadget.

A handheld multimedia device, will allow visitors walking through the city to see what the Cold War barrier looked like at the spot where they are standing.

The commentary, in English and German, will also allow tourists to avoid herds of tour groups and find their way on their own

End of $40,000,000-a-flight space tourism

Due to national criticism of the space tourism project, Russia is scrapping the $40,000,000-a-flight space tourism enterprise.

There are just 2 year left, so better hurry up everyone!

Further restriction on travel to China

China furthers travelling restrictions with new requirements, just weeks after stopping the issuing of multiple entry visas.

Travellers to China will have to present a copy of a travel ticket both in and out of the country and a hotel voucher before a visa application is accepted. Without this supporting documentation the visa application will be rejected.

In addition, citizens of many countries will now no longer be able to apply for a visa in Hong Kong, which is a popular place to arrange travel into China and has a separate legal and visa system from the mainland.

Nationals from nearly 30 countries, including Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, will have to apply at the Chinese embassy in their home capital.

Hollywood Knitta Attack

Description: Hollywood Knitta Attack
Location: Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States
Credit: KNITTA, knittaplease
Source

Project Genesis

Royal Caribbean is building its biggest ship yet – the 1,180ft long and 220,000-tonne luxury liner with the working name Project Genesis.
The cruise liner is to have a New York style "Central Park" open air space onboard the ship. The park will be located on Deck 8 of the 16 deck ship and open to the sky, with dimensions of 62ft (19m) wide and 328ft (100m) long. Trees in the park will tower more than two-and-a-half decks tall and the area is to have micro-climate control techniques to make sure the plants thrive.

Richard Fain, chairman and chief executive of Royal Caribbean, said: "This ship is a quantum leap in architecture and design and will deliver an unparalleled vacation experience to all who sail with us."

It is spectacular… but one has to wonder; when big is too big…

Pictures: Daily Mail

Flight delay forecasting

With airline schedules became more and more unpredictable with chronic flight delays would it not be nice to have a crystal ball telling which flight will be actually on time?

Believe it or not, there is a website which predicts flight delays. Delaycast was established to provide information about possible difficulties in flight itineraries and to give travelers realistic expectations about their travel plans. Its goal is to help flyers avoid delays, missed connections, and unintended stay overs.

Under the cherry blossoms tree

Description: Under the cherry blossoms tree
Location: Shukugawa-river park, Nishinomiya City, Japan
Credit: 'shotam'
Source

Online multi language keyboard

So you sit in the internet café in Beijing and look with despair at a keyboard… what do you do?

• I carry on without any problems; I am Chinese and speak Mandarin fluently after all…
• I carry on with slight panic in my eyes, hoping someone will understand…
• I give up and go for Chow Mein instead; after all there is no hurry…
• Chinese keyboard? No problems at all… There is multi-language Virtual Keyboard and I am not afraid to use it!

It does not matter what language you speak, there is Online Keyboard that enables you to write in your language wherever you are in the world, with an online on screen keyboard emulator. After you finish writing, just copy and paste it to your email browser. Easy peasy lemon squeeze!

Oasis Hong Kong Airline - help information for stranded passengers

Oasis Hong Kong Airline announced yesterday its voluntary liquidation cancelling all its flights and leaving passengers stranded in Hong Kong, London and Vancouver.

Notice To Passengers

Date: 9 April 2008 – 2050h HKG time

It is with regret that Oasis Hong Kong Airlines announces that the airline has this morning applied to the Hong Kong Court to appoint a provisional liquidator. The Court has appointed Edward Middleton and Patrick Cowley of KPMG as the provisional liquidators, and they have assumed control of the airline with effect from 1400h HKG time today.

Our flight operations have been cancelled until further notice. The Provisional Liquidators are liaising with other airlines in order to help customers make alternate travel arrangements as quickly as possible.

The Hong Kong government is implementing contingency arrangements with other airlines to help travellers, secretary for transport and housing Eva Cheng told a press conference. Ms Cheng said passengers seeking compensation should approach Oasis or the Hong Kong consumer council for help.

Oasis has set up hotlines for affected passengers - 0844 482 2323 in London and +44 129 359 6633 outside the UK).

Cathay Pacific is offering to help stranded Oasis passengers

"We sympathise with the many passengers in Hong Kong, London and Vancouver who have been stranded by the Oasis’ decision, and we will do our very best to help them through this difficult and stressful period,” Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Tony Tyler said today.

Cathay Pacific is adding two extra flights to London, scheduled for the early hours on Friday and Sunday . A number of seats would be set aside on these as well as scheduled flights, where possible, to accommodate the returning students.

"We hope our contingency arrangements can accommodate as many as possible of the school children affected, and take people home who have been stranded by the closure,” Mr. Tyler added.

Special ticketing arrangements have been made to help Oasis customers who had confirmed bookings on the airline over the next two weeks – effective up to and including 23 April 2008.

A special one-way Economy Class fare at HK$2,500 (plus applicable charges) will be offered to eligible Oasis ticket holders on Hong Kong to London, or Hong Kong to Vancouver. The special fare from London to Hong Kong is GBP160 and from Vancouver CAD320.

A hotline has been established and the airline urges Oasis ticket holders to call the number on 2747 6181 to ascertain details of Cathay Pacific’s special ticketing arrangements. The Hong Kong hotline is open 24 hours and available with immediate effect until further notice. Details can also be found at www.cathaypacific.com.hk.

"We will be doing our utmost to help people out, but our efforts are complicated by the fact that our own flights are very full at the moment, and remain so for the next few weeks,” Mr. Tyler said.

China halt multiple entry visas until further notice

According to Singapore travel agents, China stopped issuing multi-entry visas and one-day travel visas from Hong Kong until further notice. There is also news of considerably slower visa processing times.

Finnish student fined and banned after vandalizing Easter Island statue

A Finnish tourist, who vandalized a Moai statue on Easter Island last month, was sentenced by Chilean court with €10,000 fine, banned from entering the island for three years and also compelled to make a public apology.

According to Finish newspapers, this is the highest fine that the local Chilean court has ever imposed for a similar offense.

"Sex and the City" perfect days

"Sex and the City" fans now have a chance to live life of their favourite character for four days.

For a cool $24,000, a New York based travel agency offers "Sex and the City" tours, filled with chauffeured trips to chic department store Saks Inc and Barneys New York, dinning experience in famed restaurants including Balthazar and Pastis, and clubbing at Bungalow 8 and other exclusive nightclubs.

The experience varies depending on a character; Charlotte’s fans will take a trip to jeweler Tiffany & Co and a tour of art galleries, while Samantha’s devotees will shop on Madison Avenue and visit a high-end sex shop.

The same travel company plans future trips based on films including the Lord of The Rings including a trip to New Zealand, where it was filmed.

Tsukiji Market restricts tourist access

Anyone visiting Tokyo has to visit Tsukiji Market (築地市場, Tsukiji shijō) – the largest fish and seafood market in the world and its world famous tuna auction.

So far tourists could roam the Tsukiji Market freely. Unfortunately, from 1st April tourists will have restricted access due to numerous complaints from traders. From now on Tsukiji Market visitors will be able only to watch the tuna auctions from a designated area. The entry times are also being restricted from 05.00am to 06.15am.

Metropolitan Opera to transmit La Boheme to Princess ships at sea

In an industry exclusive event, Princess ships will become the first cruise vessels ever to broadcast a live performance from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The special The Met: Live on the High Seas presentation of Puccini's La Boheme will be held on Saturday, April 5 as part of the Met's series of eight opera performances that are transmitted live via satellite to movie theaters around the world.

This unique experience will be offered across Princess' 16-ship fleet. On vessels equipped with Movies Under the Stars, passengers can enjoy a unique "Opera Under the Stars" event, as they take in the production on the giant poolside LED screens. Other vessels will show the broadcast in the Princess Theater. Opera lovers and newcomers alike can enjoy this famous love story while sailing in locations such as Mexico, the Caribbean, or Hawaii, as well as exotic locations such as Cape Horn and Egypt.

"It's quite unusual to be able to sit by a pool in the Caribbean and watch a world-class opera live from New York," said Jan Swartz, Princess' senior vice president. "We're very excited to be breaking new ground with this first-ever live Metropolitan Opera broadcast at sea. It's a rare opportunity to present our passengers with such an enriching cultural experience included in their cruise."

Kanye West - travel agent

So probably you have already heart about Kanye West opening online travel agency. Putting aside divagations ‘is it an April’s Fool joke or not’ where the sense of such a decision? Whatever next? Posh Spice with a helpline "How to gain few pounds?"...

I have no idea about plumbing… maybe I should open the plumbing services, sounds great! www.nocluewhatiamdoing.com and here I come!