THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Luxury in the city

Luxury in the city

Ho Chi Minh City, once known as Saigon, celebrates its colonial roots with the recent opening of Le Meridien.

Luxury in the city
Ho Chi Minh City, once known as Saigon, celebrates its colonial roots with the recent opening of Le Meridien. Located along the bend of the Sai Gon River, Le Meridien Saigon pushes the city’s hospitality services up to the next level. With different types of guestrooms, the hotel offers views of both the river and the city where shophouses stand side-by-side with colonial buildings. Established by Air France in 1972 to accommodate its aircrew, Le Meridien is now recognised as a luxury hotel under Starwood group. Le Meridien Saigon follows in the footsteps of its parent company with statements in design, art and coffee culture. Visit www.Facebook.com/lemeridiensaigon.
 
Dengue on the move
Strong protective measures against mosquitoes are not only advisable for travel to the sub-tropical and tropical countries of Asia and Africa, but also, increasingly, to southern Europe as well, a German health institute is warning. Dengue fever is spreading in the region, as the Asian tiger mosquito, which carries the disease, is spreading to countries outside the tropics, reports the Centre for Travel Medicine (CRM) in Dusseldorf. In August, for example, two people in southern France came down with dengue fever, the CRM said, citing French health authorities’ reports. - DPA
 
Kung fu fighting
In the countryside outside the birthplace of the Chinese sage Confucius, 35 students – the vast majority of them foreigners – battle the elements as well as exhaustion at a remote kung fu training academy. The students in Qufu, from as far afield as Brazil, Ukraine, Spain and France, vary in age from six – a young boy who accompanied his mother on a summer holiday – to 50. It is a disciplined, regimented regime, with activities beginning at 6am every day and featuring several hours of practice. This includes runs up and down thousands of steps through the steep hills of a neighbouring national park, interspersed with meals. The students are divided into three groups based on their ability, with each group assigned a kung fu master who blows a whistle at the start of every activity. Learners can choose how long to stay, from those taking short breaks to one Dutch man who has been training for a year to become a kung fu master and open his own academy in Holland.
 
Walks on the wild side
The Gujarat government in India is working on a new policy to attract more holiday-makers with a focus on developing eco-tourism spots, especially wildlife, with added participation from the private sector. The new tourism policy will replace the existing one, which was announced in 2009, Saurabh Patel, Gujarat Finance Minister, who also holds the Tourism portfolio, said recently. “We are working on a new tourism policy right now. Through the policy, we will try to develop new destinations and boost eco-tourism, especially wildlife tourism," he said. Tucked away in westernmost India, Gujarat is rich in natural sites varying from a mythical full moon over desert in Rann Utsav to wild birds in Na Sarovar Lake. Visit www.GujaratTourism.com.
 
An explosion of tourists
Myanmar continues to enjoy tourism growth with three million tourists arriving in the country by the end of August, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism told the Myanmar Global Investment Forum in Nay Pyi Taw. “We’re expecting to see up to 5 million tourists by the end of the year,” said Khin Than Win, the ministry’s director. Around 792,000 tourists entered Myanmar in 2010, 816,000 in 2011, 1 million in 2012, 2 million in 2013 and 3 million last year. About US$320 million was earned in 2011, $530 million in 2012, $930 million in 2013 and $1.8 billion in 2014. Regional cooperation was proposed at the forum. “Myanmar has the possibility of development within the Asean region. It connects with Thailand. Thailand connects with Vietnam and these connections could lead to development,” said Aung Myat Kyaw, chairperson of Myanmar Tourism Federation.
 

Luxury in the city

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