Page 172 - Hospitality Recreation
Flags welcome await North Korea's Olympic cheer squad
Tight security awaits North Korea's 230 cheerleaders who will make this exclusive South Korean mountain resort their home-from-home from Wednesday during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Flags of welcome are already flying here for the North Korean cheerleaders -- mostly elite, attractive females in their 20s -- who will arrive in a convoy of buses after crossing the world's most heavily fortified border earlier in the day. The cheer squads are leading a North Korean charm offensive in the South following a diplomatic thaw between the two bitter rivals triggered by the nuclear-armed North's agreement to take part in the Games. North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-Nam will attend the opening ceremony on Friday. Surrounded by mountains in the sparsely populated town of Inje, the Inje Speedium hotel, near to a 3.9 kilometre auto racing track, is seen as an ideal spot for enforcing tight security while at the same time maintaining close surveillance on the large
Reopen liquor outlet, women appeal to Erode Collector
A group of women in the district today made an unusual appeal to the district administration to reopen a state-run liquor outlet in their village, which was shut following protests. Ten women from Malapalayam village came to the Collectorate here with a petition requesting the district collector S Prabakar to reopen the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) shop that was closed. In the petition, they said the male members in their village were visiting TASMAC shops in Chettipalayam and Perumanallur areas, about five to six kilometers from their village. Besides, the closure of the outlet in their village has led to the sale of liquor at exorbitant price by some unknown persons, they alleged. Last year, Tamil Nadu had witnessed a spate of anti-liquor protests by public, who demanded that the outlets in residential areas be closed, citing nuisance created by the tipplers.
Why a visit to the world's largest river island is a must (Travel Feature)
Assam's Majuli faces flood fury -- and the threat of erosion -- whenever the mighty Brahmaputra river swells. So take a break from your high-tech lifestyle and hop on that double decker boat to live the simple life in the world's largest river island before it loses the title.
Melange of cultural accents showcased at Ridhi Mehra Sekhri's show at LFW
For Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2018, designer Ridhi Mehra Sekhri wooed the audience with her "Cinco" collection that defined mystique glam and was a melange of cultural accents.
5,000 varieties of seeds showcased in Hyderabad festival
Over 5,000 varieties of seeds were showcased in a two-day seed festival in Hyderabad that concluded on Sunday.The festival saw participation by seed conserving farmers from over 20 states.Manjunatha, a fodder seller at the festival told ANI, "Our company is the first company to sell fodder for the betterment of cows. Our main motto is to improvise the 'Desi' cows. Cows help us in many ways, and it is our responsibility to take care of it."Keeping in mind the health of the consumers, several sellers had put on display organic grains.Raju from Nagarkurnool, who sells organic seeds, said, "Today many of us are being adversely affected by the food grains we consume. Most of the food grains contain different types of chemical but our grains are completely organic through which we can get healthy food."The sellers also showcased multiple usages of organic vegetables.Another organic seed seller from Mysore, Manju said, "We have 70 varieties of seeds with us. We try to encourage the organic ..
1-km-long banquet held in China to welcome 'Lunar New Year'
A traditional "1,000-metre-long banquet" was organised over the weekend in China's southwest Chongqing municipality as people welcome the Lunar New Year. More than 800 tables of delicacies were presented at the banquet along a street that stretches more than a kilometre in Chongqing's Zhongshan old town. The food was for the hosts' relatives as well as more than 30,000 tourists. Residents of the town traditionally hold these banquets to welcome the Spring Festival, which falls on February 16 this year. In the past, the town was a busy port, and locals would prepare food along the street to cater to business people and porters who could not make it home for family gatherings. In 2005, locals decided to boost local tourism by resuming the tradition. Each year, on weekends before the Spring Festival, families cook their best dishes beside their homes to entertain visitors, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Resident Li Chunmei prepared smoked pig trotters and sausages ...
Mansi Gulati holds yoga session at Charminar
Mrs India Asia International, Mansi Gulati who is also a Yoga enthusiast on Sunday organised a yoga session at Charminar in Hyderabad.This yoga was to unite the Hindu and Muslims, says the Yoga practitioner.Mansi Gulati told ANI, "This yoga session is specially organised to unite Hindu and Muslim. We are even planning to conduct more such sessions at different monuments of the city and even country. "Meanwhile, people who had participated in the yoga session expressed their happiness on attending the session."I really enjoyed the yoga session today and I will continue practicing yoga. I will even tell my friends to do," said a visitor."Today is the first time tried yoga and I really felt refreshed. I will continue to practice it," said another visitor.Mansi has travelled across the country and taught yoga to a cross-section of people including State heads, Governors, school children, housewives, jail inmates.
Fitness not about showing off six-pack abs: Akshay Kumar
Urging Indians to put health first, Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who on Sunday became a part of the Max Bupa Walk For Health 2018 here, said fitness is more about being overall fit rather than just six-pack abs.
India aims to double foreign tourist arrivals in 3 years
The Centre aims to double the number of foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) to 20 million in the next three years, Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons today said at an investment meet here. All stakeholders must work hard to achieve the target, the minister said. "We have earned 27 billion US dollars in the last financial year but we are not happy with these figures. We want the figures to increase dramatically," Alphons said here during a session on tourism and wellness on the concluding day of Global Investors Summit-Advantage Assam. He also urged the domestic tourists to visit different parts of the country as "Indians must see India". "Last year, more than 23 million Indians went abroad and there is nothing wrong with that but at the same time, we must also adopt the policy of 'Let's see India'," the minister said. The tourism ministry is committed to create an environment that is conducive for the visitors and appoint global ambassadors for promoting tourist circuits and
Mumbai: Several trains cancelled, terminated after rail fracture
After the train services on the Western Railways (WR) line were disrupted following a rail fracture between Umroli Road and Boisar railway stations, several trains were cancelled and short terminated on Saturday.The list of trains that were affected are:Train Cancelled (Down Direction):-59039 Virar-Valsad Passenger, 93015 Churchgate - Dahanu Road EMU, 93017 Virar - Dahanu Road EMU, 93019 Virar- Dahanu Road EMU, 93021 Virar- Dahanu Road EMUTrain Cancelled (Up Direction):-93014 Dahanu Road-Virar EMU, 93016 Dahanu Road-Churchgate EMU, 93018 Dahanu Road-Virar EMU, 93024 Dahanu Road-Virar EMU, 59046 Valsad-Bandra Terminus PassengerTrains to be short terminated:-Train no 59440 Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central Passenger will be terminated at Palghar Station and will be reversed as Train no 59439 i.e.Train no 59440/39 will be remain cancelled between Palghar-Mumbai Central-Palghar.Train no 19116 Bhuj-Dadar Express will be terminated at Borivali and will be reversed as train no 19115 from ...
Neglected water body spruced up
The sprawling Kanakan lake in the neighbouring Delarshpet village, which was a neglected spot with bushes and grass, has emerged as an important tourist spot after giving a facelift. The cleaning of the lake was taken by by the PWD, Tourism Department and other link departments following instructions from Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi. Bedi dedicating the 12.04 hectare lake to the people today in the presence of the PWD Minister A Namassivayam. She suggested that a committee comprising officials and also delegates of local residents should be formed to maintain the lake and ensure that it continued to attract tourists. Boat services were also introduced in the lake.
Apps to solve your public transit woes
All metropolitan cities across the country have their streets thronged with commuters. While peak-hour traffic continues to eat our precious time, researchers have concluded that people are most likely to stop using public transportation when they experience inconvenience in the form of delays, long wait, incorrect information on schedules and highly crowded transport.Here are a few apps to solve your public transit woes:RidlrRidlr acts as a single ticketing app. The platform provides information on accurate departure times with real-time transit schedules and traffic congestion status, helping travellers to estimate their travel time. It also assists one to plan their trip using single or multiple modes of transport. The information service is available across 25 cities in India.rBusrBus is a bus aggregator, making commutation easy for every day travellers. They have buses running on 12 different routes in Mumbai, from which commuters can pick a route and timing for their ...
India's Surya Sekhar Roy Choudhury wins silver at International Young Chef Olympiad 2018
India's Surya Sekhar Roy Choudhury has won a silver at the fourth edition of the International Young Chef Olympiad (YCO) 2018, an event that brought together participants under the age of 22 from 45 nations and which its mentor, Suborno Bose says could soon travel to other countries.
Pan-India heritage walk festival kicks off
From textile trail in Ahmedabad to stories of the Partition in Amritsar and from exploring the making of Lutyens' Delhi to tracing history of theatres in Mumbai, a heritage-themed festival promises to offer diverse experiences to people this month. The India Heritage Walk Festival began today with walks in World Heritage City Ahmedabad, Delhi's Mehrauli Archaeological Park and a nature walk in Hyderabad, its organisers said. The festival spans across 20 cities, including Agra, Bengaluru, Varanasi, Chennai, Kolkata, Srinagar and Itanagar. "This is the first time we are holding a walk festival to celebrate the heritage of India. Besides walks, there will be 'baithaks' for history enthusiasts and 'instameets' for Instagram users," a representative of Sahapedia told PTI. Sahapedia, an open online resource on the arts, cultures and heritage of India, has joined hands with YES Culture of YES Bank for this multi-faceted walk festival. "One of our first events, 'Walking the ...
Growing community in India taking to culture of wine: Austrian vintner Michael Moosbrugger
Quantity-wise, most Indians might still have a penchant for hard liquor but there is a growing community that is taking to the culture of wine, says Austrian vintner Michael Moosbrugger, who for the past two decades has headed Schloss Gobelsburg, the oldest winery in the Danube area with a documented history back to the 12th century.
Say bye-bye to chapped lips with home remedies
Stock up on natural oils, green tea, papaya and beetroot juice to get rid of chapped lips through simple home remedies, suggest experts.
French envoy welcomes Indian young architects, urban planners
Alexandre Ziegler, the French envoy to India, today welcomed the first batch of Young Architects and Urban Planners Programme, launched as part of 'Bonjour India' to celebrate the bilateral ties, the French embassy said. The Bonjour India 2017-18 is a four-month-long voyage across India celebrating Indo-French partnership as well as shaping people-to-people contacts between the two countries. "Building on the positive institutional exchanges between India and France over the past few years, the Young Architects and Urban Planners Programme offers dedicated training to the private sector in the field of architecture and urban planning," the embassy said in a statement. This programme will enable five young architects and urban planners from the alumni network of the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) of Delhi and CEPT University in Ahmedabad, to undergo theoretical and professional training in renowned French architecture firms, familiarising them with best ...
Robot makes coffee at new cafe in Japan's capital
Japan has a new robot cafe where customers can enjoy coffee brewed and served by a robot barista. The robot named Sawyer debuted this week at Henna Cafe in Tokyo's downtown business and shopping district of Shibuya. The shop's name in Japanese means "strange cafe." The single-armed robot scans a ticket purchased from a vending machine and greets the customer. "Would you care for a delicious coffee?" the barista, with a screen showing a pair of cartoon eyes, asks in a flat tone. "I can make one better than human beings around here." It grinds the coffee beans, fills a filter and pours hot water over a paper cup for up to five people at once. A cup of brewed coffee costs 320 yen (USD 3) and takes a few minutes. Sawyer can also operate an automated machine for six other hot drinks including cappuccino, hot chocolate and green tea latte. Customers, many of them young men, took photos with their smartphones while they waited in line. The cafe operator, travel agency HIS ...
When Meghan Trainor threw up on fiance
Singer Meghan Trainor threw up on her fiance Daryl Sabara the day after he proposed.
Budget: 10 sites to be made 'iconic tourism' destinations
The Centre today proposed to develop 10 prominent tourist sites into "iconic tourism destinations" by following a holistic approach, besides enhancing amenities at 100 Adarsh monuments under the ASI. Presenting the Union Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also said that to preserve and revitalise the soul of heritage cities, the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) had been taken up in a "major way". "In the current year, we included, in the scope of harmonised list of infrastructure, ropeways to promote tourism, logistics parks and expanded the scope of railways infrastructure to include development of commercial land around railway stations," he said in his speech. The budget proposed to build tourism facilities by capitalising on the cultural wealth of the country. "It is proposed to develop 10 prominent tourist sites into iconic tourism destinations by following a holistic approach, involving infrastructure and skill development, ...