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Archive for October, 2008

Doing time

In the Slovenian capital, Ben Stubbs locks himself into one of the world’s most unusual hostels.You always remember your first night in prison; the eerie shadows painted by the steel bars on the concrete floor as the night slips by, the incessant snoring of the inmate on the bunk below you, the deafening click of […]

Macau’s gaming revenue falls again

( China )

For the second straight quarter Macau’s casino revenue has fallen, Bloomberg has reported. Total gambling revenue in the former Portuguese colony fell to MOP26 billion (US$3.3 billion) in the third quarter, down from MOP28.9 billion in the previous quarter, according to figures released on Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau’s Web site.Restrictions imposed on mainland […]

Thrills, spills and spokes

By foot, bike or by Segway, there’s plenty of ground to cover at the former Olympic site, writes Briar Jensen.I was a bit apprehensive that I might not be able to master this weird-looking contraption but now I’ve progressed to top speed and I can’t wipe the smile off my face.I’m riding a Segway, an […]

Free flights to celebrate airline’s fifth anniversary

Gulf budget-carrier Air Arabia announced Monday that all of passengers travelling on October 28 will fly for free in celebration of its fifth anniversary.The website of the region’s first and largest no-frills carrier posted a large announcement saying that passengers “shall board their flights with our compliments.”Passengers to and from all 42 destinations served by […]

Top 10 tips for cutting your travel costs

( France )

Cutting travel costs is easy with these top-10 tips, writes Jane E. Fraser.1. Be flexibleWhat a difference a day can make when booking travel.Give a search engine an exact date and it will spit out an exact price but you can often save money by going just a day earlier or later.Travel agents are usually […]

John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John welcome Qantas A380

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John reunited today to give Qantas’ new super jumbo, the A380, a Hollywood-style red carpet premiere in Los Angeles.The A380, with a trademark Qantas flying kangaroo emblazoned on its tail, made history this morning when it landed at LA international airport filled with passengers who boarded in Melbourne.It was the first […]

In Turin, the Olympic glow hasn't yet faded

( China )

IN the Lingotto district of Turin, just steps away from the original Fiat factory, is Eataly, a rust-colored warehouse that looks like an Italian Home Depot with its sunny logo and glass entryway. Inside, you won't find nails or hammers, but pyramids of fresh artichokes, barrels of Friuli wines, and row after row of aging […]

Drifting in a god’s domain

There’s no substitute for sailing around Italy’s Aeolian Islands, writes Travel + Leisure’s Lisa Dabscheck.Floating off the north-east coast of Sicily like a bunch of naughty children who have strayed too far from their mother, the Aeolian Islands owe much to their isolation, which has preserved them for the most part from the ravages of […]

Belfast regains its voice

The Friday night session was just getting started on the second floor of Maddens, a dimly lighted pub in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast. Six musicians — a young woman fiddle player; a pony-tailed, grizzled uilleann piper; a pair of guitarists; a tin-whistler; and a bodhran, or Irish tambourine, player — sat in a circle […]

Luxury goods heir ‘grabbed pilot’s crotch’

( France )

An heir to French luxury goods empire Hermes had to be tied down on an Air France plane after fighting crew members and seizing the captain’s crotch, US officials said today.Mathias Guerrand-Hermes was arrested yesterday when the flight from Paris landed at JFK airport in New York. He was charged with “interference with a flight […]