|
Heading
Below,
you'll find extensive information on leading al lacosta samui
articles and products to help you on your way to success.
Samui Training Center Opens First-of-its-kind It Training Facility
Earlier this week, Training Center spokesperson and technology veteran Paul Valente announced the opening of the fledgling training giant's IT training facility. The facility will initially offer instructor-led vendor-approved courses geared towards obtaining popular IT certifications such as MCSE, and CompTIA Linux+, but will later extend to include seminars on IT outsourcing and executive level business communications. Because of its remote, tropical location, the opening of the facility marks the company's first pioneering step in developing the world's growing travel-to-train IT training and certification market."We've all seen the same market indicators," said Valente when asked about the company's unique approach, "we have just chosen a different response." According to Valente, in an industry where careers look perhaps less attractive and more challenging than they once were, IT training companies have focused on trying to cut the cost of training an individual student to an absolute minimum, in order to remain competitive.According to Valente this has resulted in there being "simply nothing left worth buying" from your typical "McDonald's brand" IT training vendor. "Why not just buy a book?" says Valente, bluntly. While web based training methods entice the student to make a purchase thinking they will get more for less, unfortunately all too often the huge cost savings afforded the training provider do not find their way to the student and the IT student's value to business fails to increase significantly as a result of their online training.As businesses race to outsource their technology initiatives and the IT training industry focuses on web and online based delivery methods, it may seam strange that Training Center is offering instructor-led courses targeted at students from all hemispheres looking to boost their technology careers and travel."What STC offers is an educational experience," says Valente, "a chance to expand technical ability and value, create business and technology
Ryanair plans new bid for Aer Lingus
<p>
Low-cost carrier Ryanair revived its takeover interest in Dublin-based airline
Aer Lingus today.
</p>
Duty-free allowances double, thanks to Brown
<p>From today, travellers returning to Britain from outside the European Union will be able to bring back double the amount of wine, electrical goods and souvenirs without paying tax. </p>
Disaster? Megéve was a triumph
]]>
<p>Let me count the ways in which this should have been a disaster. We'd chosen the last-but-one week of the season, a warm and sunny Easter holiday, in a region untouched by snow in the whole of the previous April. We'd booked horrendously early flights with easyJet. (Can saving a couple of hundred quid ever compensate for a 3.45am alarm call?) By the time we'd reached Megève via a minibus transfer from Geneva, midday felt like midnight, and there was a whole afternoon's skiing ahead. </p>
It's all go in the rainforests of Dominica
]]>
<p>Would Tom Cruise choose to take a mud bath? His Hollywood hair and Rodeo Drive wardrobe couldn't cope with such squalor, right? Wrong. And Dave, a Dominican who divides his time between farming the land and taking visitors out into the private rainforest estate that surrounds his bright-yellow home, was eager to prove the point to me, leafing through a worn photo album to show me snaps of Cruise caked in thick mud. </p>
City Slicker: Why Boston is best for shopping
]]>
<p>
<b>Why visit?</b>
</p>
<p>
Should you go Christmas shopping in America this winter? The pound doesn't
offer the amazing value that it has for the past few years, and though
sterling steadied after the Chancellor's pre-Budget report, the economic
situation remains volatile.
</p>
Don't panic! We can go skiing and save the planet
]]>
<p>'The world is going to end and no one's doing anything about it!" As a statement of fact, this is hard to argue against, particularly with an upset 13-year-old fed a daily diet of climate apocalypse.</p>
Stay the night: Rose Walk, The Cotswolds
]]>
<p>Something's stirring in the sleepy Cotswolds. At the end of the year, a campaign will be launched to make this area the Rural Capital of Culture. The idea is to draw attention to the array of cultural events that brings the area to life throughout the year (see cotswolds.com for the full calendar) and prove there's more to the Cotswolds than the olde-worlde charm of its villages.</p>
Belarus is missing a tourist trick with Chagall
]]>
<p>The childhood or working homes of most painters of world renown are now well-established tourist honey pots. The massing of art-hungry visitors at Monet's Giverny came to mind as I wandered, alone, around the house of Marc Chagall. Despite his Francophone name, Chagall lived in a bungalow down a quiet cobbled lane, which is to be found in Vitebsk in the international tourism backwater of Belarus.</p>
Tips and deals: 30/11/2008
]]>
<p>
<b>The gear</b>
</p>
<p>
New from firebox.com, the Wrap-up Tripod is a protective case featuring an
integrated stand. Attach the die-cast aluminium tripod to your camera's
screw-in socket for use on the move with the minimum of fuss. Price £19.95.
</p>
Katy Holland: How to ease the pain of travelling with children
<p>Oh, the joys of travelling with children. Why do we punish ourselves so? Juliet Merrick from London has written to me asking if I can recommend something to ease the pain of a 12-hour road trip to the Alps at New Year with two squabbling nearly-teens in tow. Yes, Juliet, it's simple: don't do it. </p>
Fantasy islands: Joanne Harris heads to Hawaii
]]>
<p> When I was very young I had a book in French called Hina, la petite Hawaïenne. Lavishly illustrated with black-and-white photographs, it features a six-year-old Hawaiian girl and her everyday life on the island; shows her hiding in the jungle with a flower in her hair; shows her fishing; sailing; swimming with sea turtles; playing her ukelele; picking fruit; running for sheer joy along what looks like unbroken acres of gorgeous white sand. I still have my battered copy and ever since then I have dreamed of Hawaii, hoping one day to see Hina's island paradise in colour. </p>
The Complete Guide To: Byzantium
]]>
Pizza with more pizzazz: Puglia is a food-lover's paradise
]]>
<p> The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to learn how to make a pizza – and that's why I came here. But as often happens when travelling, the world was taking me over. It was increasingly hard to stay focused on my task.</p>
48 Hours In: Strasbourg
]]>
Travel Agenda: St Andrew's Day celebrations; luxurious new East African lodgings; Art Basel hits Miami Beach
Simon Calder: Air Passenger Duty is still in a hopeless mess
<p> The runway to hell is paved with good intentions. Look, here is what the Treasury said only this week about flying: "The Government was minded that aviation duty, as a per plane duty, should apply irrespective of the passengers carried." At last: recognition that an aircraft with only half its seats occupied has almost as much impact as a full one. I have been banging on for a decade about the need for tax to reflect the damage caused by aviation, by applying Air Passenger Duty (APD) to every seat whether or not it is occupied. Airlines would be incentivised to fill their planes, and flights which regularly flew with lots of empty seats would be grounded.</p>
Something to declare: Thailand; Kuala Lumpur; city breaks in vision; maps and guides for less
Can you ski in Spain?
]]>
<p> I was off on another ski trip. "Where are you going this time?", asked a friend. To Spain. "Spain! Why do you always ski in such peculiar places?" </p>
My Life In Travel: Frank Skinner, comedian
Five luxury barns
]]>
Family travel: 'We want a rural, festive weekend'
<p>
<b>Q. Our extended family is unable to spend Christmas together, so we're
hoping to get together for a weekend in the next few weeks. However, we're
finding availability difficult for 12 of us. Since we will be travelling
from various parts of the country, somewhere in the middle would be ideal,
as would somewhere with facilities and/or activities for children and some
scenic country walks. Any ideas? F Worth, via email</b>
</p>
Tourism: Images that threaten a flourishing trade
]]>
<p>The targeting of British and US nationals at luxury hotels in Mumbai may have serious consequences for tourism in the region.</p>
Thailand shuts down second airport
<p>
Thai authorities shut down Bangkok's second airport today after it was overrun
by anti-government protesters, completely cutting off the capital from air
traffic as the prime minister rejected their demands to resign, deepening
the country's crisis.
</p>
British tourists moved from Bangkok airport
]]>
<p>
Hundreds of stranded British tourists were taken by coach to out-of-town
hotels tonight after anti-government protests closed Bangkok airport.
</p>
QE2 cruise ship arrives in Dubai
<p>
Britain's most famous luxury cruise ship, the Queen Elizabeth 2, has arrived
to Dubai to begin a new life as a floating hotel moored off an artificial
island.
</p>
More Rhine cruise Britons hit by virus
<p>
Four more British tourists on a River Rhine cruise hit by an outbreak of a
gastric virus have been admitted to hospital, the tour operator said today.
</p>
Virgin urges EU to reject British Airways link-up plan
<p>
Sir Richard Branson's airline Virgin Atlantic today urged the European
Commission to reject the planned tie-up of British Airways and giant US
carrier American Airlines (AA).
</p>
No-frills airline connects UK to Asia for under £100
<p>Travellers will be able to fly to Asia for under £100 on a new no-frills service from London to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.</p>
Ryanair pulls out over £10 airport charge
<p>
Budget airline Ryanair is to stop services from one of its departure airports
in protest at a £10 charge being introduced there in the New Year.
</p>
How to get in shape for the ski slopes
]]>
<p>The nights are drawing in, the mercury is falling as steadily as the rain, and, let's face it, the idea of dusting off those running shoes or digging out that forgotten gym-membership card is enough to bring even the keenest pavement-pounder into a cold sweat. But for those of us heading to the mountains this winter, hitting the snooze button is not an option. </p>
We will fight them on the beaches...
]]>
<p>British tourists who decide to take a late night stroll on Benidorm beach – or perhaps engage in a steamy romantic encounter – might soon be surprised to find their revelry interrupted by a patrolman handing out €750 (£640) fines.</p>
Warsaw steps out of the shadows
]]>
<p>Warsaw is a modern city of wide boulevards, skyscrapers, advertising hoardings, traffic jams, shopping malls and a thriving population of 1.7 million people. People live normal 21st-century lives here; they look as ordinary as the residents of Milton Keynes, and their aspirations are probably no different from MK-man. </p>
There's something magical about this Czech chateau
]]>
<p>'The Elixir of Power is designed to relax the part of the brain that is adult-inhibited," says Jim Cusumano. "It allows the creative responses to flow freely."</p>
Tips & deals: 23/11/2008
]]>
<p>
<b>The tour</b>
</p>
<p>
Find out more about Chesterfield's crooked spire and why Ashover is the home
of Bertie Bassett, courtesy of new interactive audio guides to the Peak
District's border country. Go to visitchesterfield.info for free download of
the trails to your MP3 player.
</p>
Get on the straight and narrow in Austria's Alps
]]>
<p>
There are two types of people in the world, those who've got the skiing bug
and those who haven't. People who love skiing will for ever hanker after the
thrill of the slopes and the feel of salopettes, even if they went only once
with the school 20 years ago. People who don't – well, don't.
</p>
Katy Holland: Last minute family getaways.
<p>You lot love to leave it till the last minute to book your Christmas breaks, don't you? I've just received a fluster of requests from panicking parents asking if I can recommend any cut-price cottages over the school holidays. </p>
Top 10 bargain breaks to beat the winter blues
]]>
<p>
<b>1 Dubai</b>
</p>
<p>
Dubai hits the headlines for its swanky five-star resorts. But there are
other, cheaper, well-appointed options, too. The budget-but-chic Rimal
Rotana Suites, in downtown Deira bordering the Creek, has a rooftop pool
where you can soak up the same rays and be within walking distance of the
city's cultural highlights. Remember, you can make further savings by eating
at local restaurants.
</p>
Stay the night: Trump International Hotel & Tower, Chicago
]]>
<p>Donald Trump's ambitions don't stop at turning Aberdeenshire into a golf course. Over in Chicago, the billionaire is engaged in a similarly audacious project – turning a hotel into a landmark. When a 22-storey spire is popped on top of the Trump International Hotel & Tower, the skyscraper will become the second highest building in the city, after the Sears Tower. It will also make it the tallest residential building in North America.</p>
The real star of 'Australia' is the Kimberley Mountains
]]>
<p>On a bright October morning, I bumped along the graded Gibb highway toward El Questro, a million-acre ranch in the back end of Aussie nowhere. Iron-red cliffs competed for attention with 1,000-year-old boab trees, distant relations to Madagascar's celebrated baobabs. Their swollen, water-storing trunks underlined the all-embracing dryness, as the 4x4's air con struggled with a thermometer hovering around 42C. And it wasn't even 10am. </p>
24-Hour Room Service: Diamant, Sydney, Australia
]]>
<p>As boutique-hotel interiors go, the Diamant isn't just sober, it's committed to its own 12-step programme. There isn't a single statement-making piece of furniture to be seen, notwithstanding some flirtatious low-level lighting fixtures in the hallways and a particularly shiny lobby. The exterior is equally sober; it could easily be mistaken for a corporation HQ.</p>
48 Hours In: Heidelberg
]]>
My life in travel: Jonathan Agnew
]]>
Travel Agenda: Budapest's 10th annual Christmas fair; 2011 Rugby World Cup; A380 between Heathrow and Dubai
Child's play: Austria's scenic slopes are a hit with families
]]>
<p> Early in the 21st century, the Austrian ski resorts of the Vorarlberg region – of which the best known is St Anton – introduced a "Learn to ski" offer for children aged five and over. This was the offer: the local ski schools promised to teach children to ski in three days; and if they failed, the lessons would continue, free of charge, until the child became proficient.</p>
Liner notes: All at sea with John Walsh
]]>
<p>It was probably pure coincidence that Céline Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" was playing on the PA system as our coach pulled up in Fort Lauderdale harbour and we first laid eyes on the Celebrity Solstice where she lay at anchor like a fat skyscraper. Beside it, the Titanic suddenly seemed pretty small fry. Nobody could look at this massive, towering, sleekly bulky ziggurat of maritime elegance, reflecting the hot Miami sunlight from 700 starboard windows, and imagine her coming to any harm. She seemed the match of any earthly manifestation of weather, wind or icy flotsam. (Not, of course, that you find many icebergs in the Caribbean Sea...)</p>
On and off the rails: Britain's old railway routes are being reclaimed
]]>
<p> Deep in the heart of Somerset, a strangely straight path leads southwards from the river Yeo. On either side, a tangle of undergrowth and overgrown trees could convince you that you have somehow stumbled through a space-time hedgerow and ended up in darkest Peru – a sense amplified when you peer through the verdant muddle and discover evidence of ancient masonry. </p>
Five luxury ranches
]]>
Trail Of The Unexpected: House-proud on the prairies of Kansas
]]>
<p> In 1900, one L Frank Baum wrote a book about a farmhouse (with a girl inside) being picked up by a tornado and deposited in a strange land. His book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was popular, but when MGM dropped the "wonderful" and made it into a film in 1939, tourism to the State of Kansas – for that had been the location of Dorothy's farm – received a boost that continues to this day. </p>
Something to declare: Shrinking transatlantic choice; Albania; UK hotel bargains
Simon Calder: Cuba as risky as Darfur? Don't make me laugh
<p>
Travel, like life in general, requires judicious risk management, ranging from "Am
I a strong enough swimmer to cope with those currents?" and "Should
I really have that extra drink?" to "What countries are too
dangerous to contemplate?"
</p>
Rail passengers face above-inflation fare rises
<p>
Rail passengers will face big fare rises in the new year with some tickets
going up by more than double the rate of inflation, it was announced today.
</p>
Going on vacation on location
]]>
<p>Across Western Australia, tour operators are pouring coals on barbecues, chilling lagers in cold stores and hanging corks from their wide-brimmed hats in preparation for an influx of visitors, following the international roll-out of writer-director Baz Luhrmann's new outback epic, Australia, which is due to be released in the UK on Boxing Day.</p>
Sir Stelios ramps up row with easyJet's directors
<p>Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou intensified his dispute with the board of easyJet yesterday by refusing toapprove the annual accounts of the budget airline he founded. His move came as the group said its profits were slashed by the high cost of fuel this year. </p>
Discover Helsinki and let off some steam!
]]>
<p>
Relax and unwind in a modern European cultural city where urban cosmopolitan
lifestyle exists in perfect harmony with nature. Just as Helsinki cannot be
described in one word, neither can it be experienced in just one way.
Helsinki has something for everyone.
</p>
Ryanair to compete with rival on holiday routes
<p>
Budget airline Ryanair announced today that it was to compete with rival
easyJet on two key routes from a major holiday-flight airport.
</p>
EasyJet reports sharp fall in profits
<p>
Budget airline easyJet PLC reported a 45 per cent drop in full-year profits
today as higher fuel costs offset a strong gain in revenue.
</p>
Ski industry predicts boom as cold sets in
]]>
<p>
Clad in salopettes and woolly hats, skiers swished effortlessly downhill
yesterday as nervous beginners concentrated hard on their snow-ploughs. OK,
so this was a dry slope in Sheffield, but dozens of those on the artificial
piste are gearing up for the real thing and booking pre-Christmas breaks to
the Continent and North America.
</p>
A Christmas menu for you to source in Pas-de-Calais
Turn that booze cruise into a gourmet tour
<p>
“Champagne tasting is a strange concept,” says wine critic Oz Clarke, as he
kicks off our sampling session. “We don’t usually bother tasting it, we just
get on with drinking it.”
</p>
Let the good vines roll in New Zealand
]]>
<p>There is no more sublime way to travel than in a hot-air balloon, I thought, as we drifted towards the town of Martinborough, on New Zealand's North Island. But to the sheep munching weeds in the vineyard below, the appearance of this monster was the signal to scatter in panic.</p>
Turn that booze cruise into a gourmet tour
<p>
“Champagne tasting is a strange concept,” says wine critic Oz Clarke, as he
kicks off our sampling session. “We don’t usually bother tasting it, we just
get on with drinking it.”
</p>
City Slicker: St Petersburg
]]>
Tips and Deals
]]>
There's plenty more room at the inn for the Barmy Army
]]>
<p>St Lucia may be accustomed to big storms, but the tiny Caribbean island probably didn't know what hit it when it found itself sprawled across the British tabloid press 18 months ago. England's cricketers were based on the island for the 2007 World Cup and Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff had to be rescued from a pedalo that he had managed to steer into Rodney Bay in a drunken stupor. </p>
CAA moves to extend consumer protection to airline passengers
<p>The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will gather the great and good of the travel world for a meeting in London this week to thrash out an industry stance on the extension of consumer protection to the airline industry. </p>
Phnom Penh: We only serve Cosmopolitans here
]]>
<p>'You want to buy a newspaper?" asks the street kid in perfect English as I sit eating a bowl of noodles. "OK if you don't want to buy. I will rent to you. Only 1,000 riel. It costs 4,000 to buy, so this is a good price. You can read for one hour. Then I will come back and collect it." As I've only just begun slurping on my noodles, I hand over the cash and get something to read.</p>
Katy Holland: Holidays with the grandkids
<p>I love receiving emails from you, dear readers, even though you sometimes rap my knuckles. This week I got a ticking off from Emily Vernon, a disgruntled grandma from Sussex, for a recent column I wrote about holidays with grandparents. </p>
Stay the night: Café du Vaudeville, Brussels
]]>
<p>Brussels' newest hotel is housed in one of its oldest buildings. The ultra-chic Galerie de la Reine, off Grand' Place, was one of the first shopping malls in the world. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels frequented the Galerie's Café du Vaudeville when it opened in 1847. Later, Victor Hugo and Auguste Rodin were regulars at both the café and 260-seat theatre. </p>
Peak practice: Escape to the Lakes
]]>
<p>
I firmly believe there is a breaking point for all London Underground
commuters and mine was at 8.38am on a Friday morning. Wedged into a
neck-snapping position with an armpit against my cheek, I strained for the
last few particles of oxygen only to receive a sneeze in the face. Turning
to escape the repeat blast, I inhaled someone's hair, which stuck to my face
like sweat-flavoured candyfloss.
</p>
Hot to trot: saddle up for some adventure in Aruba
]]>
<p>
Riding through the dusty red earth of Aruba's interior, you could be forgiven
for thinking you'd passed on to the film set of a cowboy movie. The flat,
arid landscape, studded with giant cartoon-like cacti, looks more Texan than
Caribbean, and the sheer number of ranches (there are five on an island just
21 miles long and a few miles across) is equally surprising.
</p>
Tough stuff: The best gear for the adventure traveller
]]>
<p>
<b>Click on the images to the right to view our pick of the latest adventure
equipment.</b>
</p>
Great heights: Eastern Europe's mountains set the heart racing
]]>
<p>
Just for a moment – at the point where my heart seemed finally to be about to
explode – I closed my eyes and wished I'd decided to spend my holiday
lounging around a beach. But then we reached the end of our three-hour
ascent and caught up with the 360-degree view from the White Tarn in the
High Tatras mountains.
</p>
48 Hours In: Basel
]]>
Trail Of The Unexpected: How one man brought skiing to New Mexico
<p> The United States is a big country: the amount of ground between New York and Los Angeles is such that entire states can be off the beaten track. Take New Mexico: clearly, a beaten track runs through it, since Gallup, New Mexico features in "Route 66"; but what goes on beyond its verges is a bit of a mystery. </p>
Simon Calder: Child-free flights... and why not end free alcohol, too?
<p> Say what you like about Radio 2: it remains consistently the best listen of the BBC's national radio networks, not least the excellent Jeremy Vine programme on weekday lunchtimes. On Thursday, his 1pm debate was on the concept of child-free flights. It soon morphed into a tirade against inconsiderate flyers who recline their seats without regard to the passenger behind, nor their meal/drink/laptop. But the central question posed by Vine – "Could child-free flights be a popular and profitable venture?" – set me thinking about whether, and how, it would work.</p>
Family travel: 'Where can we enjoy some sun in December?'
<p>
<b>Q. We are hoping to take our four-year-old son away for a pre-Christmas
short break. As it will be during the week before Christmas, we don't want
to fly too far. Where will we be guaranteed reasonable sunshine and some
nice outdoor activities? D Elms, via email </b>
</p>
Something To Declare: Bahrain; Papua New Guinea
24-Hour Room Service: Casa Camper, Barcelona, Spain
]]>
<p> Ever since the 1990s, when it opened its first shoe shops outside Spain, Camper has been a byword for simple, stylish footwear – and now fans of this fashionable Spanish firm can stay in a dedicated Camper hotel. Barcelona's Casa Camper opened in 2005, and it quickly became a cult classic, with a hip, no-nonsense attitude that echoes the ethos of its shoes. </p>
The Complete Guide to: The Gulf states
]]>
My holiday in Australia: Polly Burton, aged 7
My Life In Travel: Luiz Felipe Scholari
]]>
Travel Agenda: Free art at Under Scan; Fontainebleau hotel; Museum of Islamic Art
Plate With A View: Tugra, Istanbul
<p> In the 19th century, the Bosphorus – which divides Europe and Asia – became a great place to build your palace if your were a relative or favourite of the Ottoman emperor. Only a few of these marble pleasure domes exist today and the neo-baroque Ciragan palace is one of the remaining three. It was designed by the great Armenian architect Nigogayos Balyan and completed by his sons in 1872. This was to be the new home of Sultan Abdul Aziz, the painter-emperor, who lived here until he was deposed in 1876. Monumental gates and a bridge connected the Ciragan to the older Yildiz Palace, where the women of the harem lived. </p>
Five Thai island retreats
]]>
Snow business: Can you still afford to ski in North America?
]]>
<p>The United States had a remarkable ski season in 2007/8. First, there was the snowfall – a huge amount of it. Snow depths broke records at Aspen Snowmass, Crested Butte, Steamboat and five other resorts in Colorado; on the West Coast snowfall was up 61 per cent on the previous season, and on the north-eastern slopes by 28 per cent. </p>
Paris in the bling: How to do the French capital in style
]]>
<p> In 1980, between finishing my A-levels and heading off to university, in what was not yet so widely known as a gap year, I went to live and work in Paris. I found a job as a humble bagagiste – a luggage-carrier – in a three-star hotel on the rue Cambon, right next to the headquarters of Chanel in what was literally one of the ritziest neighbourhoods: my hotel, the Hôtel de Castille, was owned by the Ritz, and stood opposite its back door, later made famous as the fateful getaway exit for Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed. </p>
Open Jaw: The North goes west
<p>I think you let British Airways off the hook a bit re the airline ending its Manchester-New York flights. Manchester is not a "Newcastle" or a "Bristol", but the most important UK airport outside London. And while it may not be a flight hub, it is, unusually for the UK, a public transport hub – with frequent through trains from the North-west, and the North-east, and even Edinburgh. Maybe, too, BA's word is accepted too easily. That BA have cancelled may not be just about the lack of custom, but their strategy of going particularly for the business market. </p>
EasyJet and Virgin in talks for Gatwick bid
<p>
Sir Richard Branson's airline Virgin Atlantic today confirmed it was in talks
to form a bidding consortium to run Gatwick airport.
</p>
Economic woes hit tourism numbers
<p>
The global financial meltdown is hitting the number of overseas tourists
visiting Britain as well as UK trips abroad, official figures out today
showed.
</p>
QE2 runs aground on final trip home
]]>
<p>
The QE2 ran aground today heading into its home port for the final time.
</p>
Emergency landing for Ryanair jet hit by birds
<p>
One of Rome's main airports was closed temporarily after birds caused a
Ryanair aircraft to make an emergency landing.
</p>
Life in the swamp (or how I nearly became 'gator bait)
]]>
<p>I am driving south on US41 towards Naples, Florida, in a monsoon downpour and there is not a manatee to be seen. It was the promise of swimming with manatees that brought me to the south-west coast of the "sunshine state" but someone up there forgot to turn off the power shower. It has rained almost non-stop for four days and I'm doubting whether I'll ever glimpse a manatee, let alone swim with one.</p>
Tips and deals
]]>
<p>
<b>The book</b>
</p>
<p>
Out this Friday, 'The Good Tourist: An Ethical Traveller's Guide', by Lucy
Popescu, explores the various abuses that are hidden from tourists and
serves as a practical guide to what you can do after your holiday to help.
Price £11.99.
</p>
relationships and put it in a context that applies to businesses who are looking to capitalize through technology enabled global business strategies."Samui Training Center's efforts to create an IT training facility in a tropical paradise had previously been thwarted by such region's usual lack of access to reliable electrical, Internet and communications infrastructure. With the recent construction of the Information Technology Complex near Lamai Beach on the popular island paradise of Koh Samui, Training Center has finally found what they've been looking for.The island of Koh is less than one hour from Bangkok International Airport by airplane and--made popular a decade ago by the novel The Beach and later by the nearby island of Koh Phangan's Full-moon Party--is one of Thailand's most popular tourist destinations for travelers wishing to relax on the beach, swim, dive, snorkel or spa. The giant, totally-IT, air-conditioned monolith is on Island's main road fifteen minutes from the island's second most popular beach and has everything expected of a top-notch training facility. "Even if you offer the best accommodations package in the world at the lowest price, you can't have a technical training center without redundant power and high-speed Internet," says Valente, standing outside the facility in the hot sun.But students won't brave the high seas for high speed Internet and redundant power. Training Center anticipates training many students from the America's and Europe who want to get away, see the world and come back ready for a new job or better equipped and more valuable to their old job. Students from Asia will come because they want a better education and don't want to travel far out of the region to get it. Many will come for the great vacation and to look for global business opportunities as well.More information on Training Center and the new facility can be found at www.samuitech.com..
|
