Down by the rivers

The path is around 85 kilometres in length and can be walked as a series of individual day hikes or as a single four/five-day trek. The route is said to be suitable for all adults and children aged upwards of eight years and is also ideal for parties of schoolchildren. – DPA

 

Hospitality, Ikea style

“A budget hotel with a boutique feel” is the message from Ikea, as the Swedish furniture retailer expands its Ikea Family concept to the hotel industry. The company plans to open 100 low-cost hotels across Europe. Cheap but chic, the hotels will be designed by Nordic designers with a Scandinavian feel. The first two hotels are planned to open in Germany in 2014, with future locations including Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Britain, and Eastern European countries. However, according to Ikea, the hotels won’t be furnished with the group’s furniture. 

 

And Laos clamps down on tubing while drunk

Laos is clamping down on illegal drugs and dangerous water sports in Vang Vieng, a popular tourist destination on the Xong River. In their efforts to promote the tourist spot, 100 kilometres north of Vientiane, as a safe, ecotourism destination, the authorities closed seven bars on the river after finding they were serving tourists alcoholic drinks laced with opium and hallucinogenic mushrooms. Vang Vieng is popular among backpackers for its limestone cliffs, waterfall and watersports - chiefly floating down the river in innertubes while drinking Beer Lao. But the explosion in popularity of tubing has brought a degree of notoriety, with several deaths from accidents on the river in the past year attracting media attention. – DPA

 

Express from Delhi to Agra

The opening of a new toll way has reduced travel time between the Indian capital and the tourist destination of Agra, home to the Taj Mahal, by nearly half to two-and-a-half hours. The 165-kilometres-long, six-lane Yamuna Expressway was built under a public-private partnership. The toll for a single vehicle for a return journey on the same day is likely to be fixed at 510 rupees (about 9 dollars). Travel between New Delhi and Agra in the adjoining state of UttarPradesh on the heavily used National Highway 2 takes more than four hours with regular traffic snarls. – DPA

 

Nepal introduces new trekking laws

If you’re planning on wandering through Nepal on your own, think again. Nepal is to ban independent trekking from September 1 onwards. All tourists trekking in the country must have at least one government-approved guide. The new regulation is prompted by a number of assaults against hikers, including the disappearance of American Aubrey Sacco in 2010 and the death of Belgian Debbie Maveau, whose body was found off a hiking path in June. The new requirement will cost travellers US$10 per day. 

 

Singapore the best place to meet

Singapore is the top international venue for meetings, according to the latest global rankings by the Union of International Associations (UIA). It is placed above other developed Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (Mice) countries such as the United States and Japan, which ranked second and third respectively. It is the first time Singapore has topped the host country category, with 919 meetings and conferences which met the UIA criteria. This is a 27 per cent rise since 2010, when Singapore was in third place, with 725 meetings. – The Straits Times/ANN.