New flight service to Lijiang

Lijiang is reputed for its pristine landscape that comprises breathtaking snow-capped mountains and crystal clear streams. It is also home to the enchanting Old Town, China’s most well preserved ancient town and Lijiang’s former city-centre during the Warring States period, which is today an Unesco World Heritage Site. The return fare for the new Singapore-Lijiang route is S$254, exclusive of taxes and other charges.

 

A drive along the sunshine coast

Two new self-drive routes along the coast of Queensland, Australia, offer tourists a way to explore using rental cars. The Food Trail takes in wineries, dairies and organic farms. The Arts and Cultural Trail looks at handicrafts, cabarets and bars with live music. Both are 160-kilometre-long routes through the interior of the country and along the coasts, according to Visit Queensland. Visit http://Trails.VisitSunshineCoast.com.au.

 

Teaching kids about the war

How do you tell children about the incidents of World War II? A new museum in Amsterdam looks at the stories of four children who lived in the Netherlands during the German occupation. The Netherlands Tourism Office says it tells the stories of Eva, Jan, Nelly and Henk – who were between 9 and 14 years of age during the occupation. The texts in the museum are written in Dutch and English. The Junior Museum is an expansion of the Dutch Resistance Museum in the capital and opened on October 16. Visit www.VerzetsMuseum.org.

 

Emirates opens up Jakarta route

Etihad Airways has doubled the number of flights between Jakarta and Abu Dhabi from seven to 14 per week. The United Arab Emirates airline says that from this week, there are two daily connections between the cities starting. Etihad is using Boeing 777-300 aircraft with a capacity of 412 passengers.

 

Soaring high with Avatar

Disney has announced plans to open a theme park based on the hit movie “Avatar” in Florida in 2017. The park – modelled on the planet Pandora, home of the blue-skinned Na'vi people – is to open at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida. “In the world of Avatar, guests will encounter awe-inspiring floating mountains and wander through a night-time jungle of bioluminescent plants that are alive with light and sound," noted Tom Staggs, the chairman of Walt Disney's parks. Guests will also discover what it feels like to soar into the sky riding a banshee. Avatar is the highest-grossing film of all time, earning US$2.7 billion worldwide.

 

Luxury at new heights

There is new luxury coming to stays in China. A Ritz Carlton hotel with 41 floors now provides guests the highest hotel rooms in the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province. The building at Tianfu Square has 353 rooms and suites, a fitness centre and a 25-metre-long indoor swimming pool with underwater music. There are nine Ritz Carlton hotels in China. The hotel group Kerzner is planning an Atlantis luxury resort in Sanya in the southern Chinese province of Hainan. There are only two other Atlantis resorts in the world – one in the Bahamas and the other on Palm Island in Dubai. Kerzner International said a 62-hectare complex will be built on the Chinese island by 2016. Construction is due to begin later this year.