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Travel Notes
ED PETERS PROVIDES LOCAL NEWS FOR THE JET SET
PARADISE FOUND
Xi’an’s Terracotta Warriors and Big Wild Goose Pagoda now have a new rival in the shape of Tang Paradise, a US$150 million, 165-acre theme park on Furong West Road that celebrates the 300-year-dynasty when Chinese culture reached new heights. Market places, palace grounds and pavilions recreate the sounds, sights and tastes of a millennium ago. Entry is 48 yuan, which includes a souvenir brochure. Tel +86 (0)29 8551-1888
HOTEL WATCH
According to a study by Hostelworld. com, backpackers wending their way about Asia have been overtaken by a new breed dubbed as “Flashpackers”.
Toting iPods, mobile phones and on professional sabbaticals rather than grubbily “trying to find themselves”, they are less concerned with saving every penny and more interested in making the very best use of their time.
Flashpackers are pitching up their tents at smart yet reasonably priced establishments such as Mystères d’Angkor (www.mysteres-angkor.com), a Khmer-style house surrounded by lush gardens in Siem Reap, and the Asha Guest House in Bangkok.
Even once-humble YMCAs, such as those in Hong Kong and Singapore, are now seen as retro-cool, being centrally located and unpretentious as well as “wired”. Further details are available at www.hostelworld.com.
However, for those with a penchant for the 
upper tiers of luxury, Le Royal Meridien Baan Taling Ngam (www..lemeridien.com/kohsamui) remains the trump card of Koh Samui’s myriad of accommodation options, and a cocktail sitting up at the pool bar is the best way to appreciate the sunset over Thailand.
INSIDE TRACK
For anyone who is mildly flummoxed by Chinese history, Zhengzhou’s Henan Provincial Museum is a tonic. The fourth largest museum in China, its display of Shang and Zhou dynasty relics are clearly interpreted 
in English, and there is also an informative audio guide on hire for 30 yuan.
Better still, the museum’s team of English-speaking guides are enthusiastic, cheerful and a bargain at 100 yuan per tour. Its star attraction is the oracle bones, one of the earliest known examples of Chinese writing. 8 Nongye Lu, tel +86 (0)371 351-1237
DIVE IN
Looking for a thrill in Bangkok? Head for Siam Ocean World, Southeast Asia’s largest aquatic education centre at Siam Paragon, and sign up for the Dive with Sharks programme (tel +66
(0)2 2687-2000, www.sharkdive.org). Operated by Planet Scuba, the thrice-daily dives cost 5,300 baht and are even open to novices who receive full training for being immersed among a host of man’s greatest underwater predators.
Similar aquatic entertainment is also available at the Underwater World on Singapore’s Sentosa Island (tel +65 6275-0030, www..
underwaterworld.com.sg), with six opportunities a day to jump in the aquarium’s main tank and meet a whole host of marine life.
LOCAL HERO: HANGZHOU
Chinese web designer Echo Shen fell for Hangzhou right after moving there from Shanghai: “I love this city, and one of my favourite hangouts is Qing He Fang, the oldest part of town. It’s roughly divided into six blocks, specialising in traditional medicine, tea, restaurants with names like The Number One Scholar, antiques and arts, handicrafts, and cultural sites such as the drum tower. It’s as much a museum as a place to pick up souvenirs, and the guys working there are all really friendly.”
travel notes cont…
ON THE MOVE
First, it was Rangoon, then the capital of Myanmar was renamed Yangon. And now the seat of government has been moved lock, stock and barrel 600km north to Naypyidaw, according to some sources on the advice of official fortune-tellers.
The good news is that, after the exodus of civil servants, Yangon itself remains as charming and inviting as ever – full of graceful colonial architecture, exotic temples and welcoming inhabitants.
HONG KONG HIGHS
Measuring three and a half miles long, the Ngong Ping 360 cableway (www.np360.com.hk) is the longest in Asia, sporting 112 cabins that can hold up to 17 passengers.
Running from Tung Chung, right by the international airport, up to the Big Buddha and surrounding attractions atop Lantau Island, the cableway is Hong Kong’s newest and most thrilling transport of delight, providing magnificent views ove
r the city and its countryside.
TRIP LIT
It is no surprise to find that some of the most popular cities of the world – as voted by Lonely Planet authors, staff and travellers – are in Asia.
Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hong Kong and Phnom Penh all rate highly in The Cities Book (www.shop.lonelyplanet.com), an 
illustrated and informative tome that acts as an instant dose of wanderlust.
Besides highlights of awesome architecture, each metropolitan portrait includes hot topics, urban myths as well as the best places to eat, drink and rock your socks off. The winning selection 
also includes intriguing metropolises that fall off many people’s mind maps, such as Maputo, Abuja and Nuuk.
The Cities Book is a tremendous achievement, and naturally features the island state of Singapore, where Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler stapled together their first guidebook back in the 1970s.
HELPING HAND
Landmines still litter the more remote parts of Cambodia, but visitors can help by donating to Adopt-A-Minefield (www.landmines.org), a dynamic charity patronised by Paul and Heather McCartney which both clears mines as well as helps survivors.
It costs one British pound to clear one square metre, while 50 pounds will help a child walk again. Donors are told exactly where their money has gone and will receive a report after the project is completed.
TURTLE TALES
According to fossil evidence, turtles have been around for the past 150 million years, and a dedicated band of environmentalists is planning to keep it that way on Thailand’s Phuket coast.
The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation (which was initiated by the JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa) is making huge strides in helping to protect this endangered species, encouraging villagers to safeguard the nests where the turtles lay eggs, and incubating them in a specially built hatchery. The foundation welcomes visitors.
Tel +66 (0)76 338021
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