A Trip News

Vietnam’s central Danang region will soon have a new tourist attraction; from 25 March a cable car system will open taking visitors to the top of Ba Na Mountain. Ba Na Hills Resort, which will operate the VND300 billion (US$17 million) attraction, was reported saying that the 94-cabin cable car will take 15 minutes to climb the 5km stretch to the mountain top, from where they will be able command fantastic views. Ba Na Mountain is located 25km from Danang City. Source: VietnamNet Bridge.

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MELBOURNE’S $100 million Southern Star Observation Wheel is in danger of quickly turning into a giant white elephant after engineers discovered damage caused to the structure during Victoria’s recent heatwave will put it out of action for at least six months.
Shopkeepers are yet to learn of the longer than expected delays to the reopening of the tourist site in the Docklands precinct despite a meeting held last week to update concerned business owners on the situation, (more…)

Sky City Entertainment Group, New Zealand’s largest casino operator, has reported 6.4% drop in profits for the six months ending 31 December, according to a Bloomberg report.
The company, which derives over 70% of its profits from its casino and conference centre complex in Auckland, saw pre-tax income drop to NZ$148.5 million (US$76 million) for the half, down from NZ$158.7 million a year earlier, according to the report.
Earnings at the Auckland complex fell 5.2% as domestic spending slowed. (more…)

Cup size has more than one meaning at a new US coffeehouse.
Servers are topless at the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop, which opened its doors on Monday on a busy road in Vassalboro, in the northeast state of Maine.
A sign outside says, “Over 18 only.”
Another says, “No cameras, no touching, cash only.”
On Tuesday, two men sipped coffee at a booth while three topless waitresses and a bare-chested waiter stood nearby.
Topless waitress Susie Wiley said men, women and couples have stopped (more…)

Travellers spend nearly a third of their travel budget on a good night’s sleep, according to the latest data from the Visa and Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), ‘Determining Travel Preferences in 2009 and Beyond’ survey.
The average holiday budget, excluding airfare, comprises accommodation (30% of travel budget), followed by F&B (22%) and airport duty free stores (10%), clothing and accessories (9%) and cash withdrawals from ATMs (8%).The remainder of the budget is spent on miscellaneous (more…)

Costa Cruises has released its 2010 brochure, enabling customers to take advantage of “ProntoPrice”, the company’s pricing policy that deals greatly discounted rates to early bookers.
Costa will be increasing its capacity in 2010 by 16% compared to this year, with approximately 250 destinations and over 100 different itineraries. 

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Since tickets went on sale on 6 February, 60% of the 2009 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix Paddock Club availability has already been sold.
Sales of Sky and Club suites have also been brisk with 40% of the available corporate suites already taken up with a number of locations already fully sold or close to sell out.
“Given the current economic realities we are greatly encouraged by the very strong support we have received,” said Darren Chen, Singapore GP’s Director for Corporate Sales. (more…)

A drunken tourist staggers about as he repeatedly drops his bags of elephant feed on Bangkok’s Soi Cowboy boulevard.
Beneath the neon lights advertising Thailand’s bars and bargirls, the man teases the two-year-old elephant as the beast tries to coax a few sugarcane snacks from his shaking hands.
Finally the distressed elephant lets out a cry and her handlers pull her down the street to the next group of paying tourists.
“They get beaten because they’re tired, they don’t want to walk, it’s (more…)

Celebrities including singer Natalie Imbruglia and Marcia Hines were among 800 guests at a cocktail party on Thursday night to celebrate V Australia’s inaugural flight to Los Angeles.
The inaugural flight leaves Sydney for LA on Friday.
Virgin Group chairman Sir Richard Branson landed in a helicopter on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour, making his way to the stage to be met by models with their bodies painted with the stars and stripes.
The party was a fund-raiser for the Victorian bushfire (more…)

THE BASICS
Although it’s named after the early-20th-century French fashion designer Jean Patou, the Hotel Patou is more like a B & B than a full-service boutique hotel that can handle the demanding whims of a fashion icon. Still, its namesake might have appreciated the hotel’s chic and glossy rooms — all 12 of them feature original photographs of models draped in his sartorial creations — as well as its being on Amsterdam ’s most exclusive fashion and art row.
THE LOCATION
One would (more…)