Page 192 - Hospitality Recreation

Millennials prefer exploring internatonal destinations more: Survey

A whopping 80 percent of millennial travellers prefer exploring international destinations over domestic locations, says a survey conducted by global search engine Skyscanner.

Opt for right jacket this winter

Make your winter stylish by opting for some smart jackets that are also warm. Think of those classic biker jackets or doll hued numbers when you are going for a trek with your squad or for a regular day at work.

Sip on fine wine, gorge on authentic Chinese delicacies at China Club (Foodie Trail - Gurugram)

Head to the China Club here to savour authentic Chinese delicacies in a fine wine and dine set-up with simple and classy interiors. Dishes with duck, poultry and pork will delight the non-vegetarians and there's much to try for vegetarians too.

Adidas to exit wearable fitness device segment

German sportswear and equipment MNC Adidas announced that it will be closing down its hardware division, and therefore, will stall the production of wearable fitness devices.The announcement is one that has been doing rounds in the past as well, as Adidas had already been shifting focus from hardware development for a while now."We're not going to see a new running watch from Adidas for a while," The Verge reported while quoting Stacey Burr, the vice president of wearable sports electronics at Adidas.Adidas had, in the past, released multiple wearable fitness trackers under the name miCoach, culminating in the miCoach Smart Run smartwatch. However, the company plans to move over to the software segment, specifically, the Adidas App and Runtastic, Adidas' mobile fitness company that combines traditional fitness with mobile applications, social networking and elements of gamification, which made its comeback in 2015.However, the exit is not permanent, as Adidas has reportedly announced .

Policy to shift off-shore casinos from Mandovi in a week: CM

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today assured the Legislative Assembly that the state government would announce a policy to shift off-shore casinos from the River Mandovi within a week. "In next one week we will declare the policy to shift casinos out of the River Mandovi," he said. "We have already drafted the policy, fixing a time frame to remove casinos from the river," Parrikar said. He pointed out that it was a Congress government which allowed off-shore casinos in Goa rivers. At present there are five off-shore casinos on Mandovi. They have faced opposition for polluting the river.

Relics of '18th Century Starbucks' found at Cambridge varsity

Some 500 artefacts from an 18th Century coffee shop have been found in a disused cellar at the University of Cambridge, British media reported today. Clapham's operated in the mid-to-late 1700s on a site now owned by St John's College, and the discovery of more than 500 relics has shed light on it. Craig Cessford, of the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, called it an "18th Century Starbucks" but admitted it was more like an inn by modern standards, the BBC reported. The 500 artefacts include drinking vessels for tea, coffee and chocolate, it said. Also found were serving dishes, clay pipes, animal and fish bones and 38 teapots. Researchers said customers would have also drank ale and wine and eaten food ranging from pastry-based snacks to substantial meals involving meat and seafood. The discovery of 18 jelly glasses and a quantity of feet bones from immature cattle, led researchers to conclude that calf's foot jelly, a popular dish of that era, might well have been a house .

Medical tourism value in India to touch USD 9 bn by 2020: Govt

The government has said that the value of medical tourism in India is likely to reach a whopping USD 9 billion by 2020 as compared to the USD 3 billon in 2015. Tourism Minister KJ ALphons today informed the Lok Sabha that India has emerged as a major medical tourism destination over the years. Alphons said that according to a Ministry of Commerce report published in 2016, India is among the top six medical value travel destinations of the world which also include Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Mexico. "It is further informed that as per the report, through adequate focus and effective execution, Indian medical value travel, pegged at 3 billion USD in 2015, can be 9 billion USD opportunity by 2020", the minister said. Alphons went on to say that the ministry had recognised medical and wellness promotion tourism as niche tourism product for promotion, organised wellness and medical tourism promotion shows and also produced a film on it.

Italy bakes world's biggest Christmas cake panettone

Forget mistletoe, Christmas is not Christmas in Italy without a slice of panettone -- and festivities kicked off in Milan today with free slices of the biggest Italian candied cake in the world. Weighing in at 140 kilogrammes, the two-metre (over six foot) high marvel was sliced up into 1,200 pieces for sweet- toothed tourists and locals at the Victor Emmanuel II shopping gallery near the city's Gothic cathedral. "Panettone is the Christmas dessert par excellence. Fashions may change, but panettone remains an unshakable tradition," Angelo Bernasconi, owner of the San Gregorio patisserie behind the giant dome-shaped delight, told AFP. The Milanese factory makes the traditional cake with its candied fruits and raisins not just for Italy but around the world, with some 200 of the golden buns headed to a New York caterer alone each week. In the run-up to Christmas "we never stop," says Bernasconi's partner Savino Moretti, who is retired but comes twice a week to pass on his .

Chopper tours for Kakinada beach festival launched

Chopper tours for the Kakinada beach festival were today launched by District Collector Kartikeya Misra. Misra said the heli-tours would help the tourists to get an aerial view of Kakinada city and the sea-shore. The three-day long festival will be held from December 19 to 21 at the NTR beach, the Collector said. He said security has been beefed up in view of the festival. Officials from the district collectorate said activities like para-gliding and water sports would be held during the festival. "In addition to it, a few rock-bands would perform at the festival," they said.

Judima Festival in Assam's Dima Hasao district on Dec 28-29

A two-day culturalextravaganza is being organised in Assam's Dima Hasao hill district, where one can enjoy song and dance by local residents after savouring the amazing Dimasa delicacies along with rice brew. The 'Judima Festival' at Haflong will also showcase the scenic beauty of the hill district, home to flora and fauna and breathtaking waterfalls, on December 28-29, besides rock concert, dance performance, ballad singing, storytelling and traditional sports, the organisers said in a press release. A unity bike rally for brotherhood and peace, Barail hill night trekking, heritage trek along a 19-km strip of an abandoned metre-gauge railway track are part of the festival. The festival is named after 'Judima', the traditional rice brew of the Dimasa community, which is unique in taste, method of preparation, and is an integral part of the Dimasa social life. Apart from being a symbolic celebration of the rich cultural artefacts of the district, the festival aims to ...

Not just comics: Something for everybody at Delhi Comic Con

Always wanted to dance like a panda, but did not know the moves? Welcome, then, to a comic festival that celebrates all that is quirky in today's world. "Let's wander where the wi-fi is weak," said the message on a pair of sneakers on sale, setting the tone for a three- day comic conference that is more like a carnival than a meet. While most visitors to the seventh Delhi Comic Con love all things "super", be it heroes or villains, the annual fete seems to have something in store for everyone. Of course, the grounds are lined with shops for superhero action figures, pop culture posters and other merchandise, while young fans dressed as their favourite characters -- from Harry Potter and Jack Sparrow to Batman and the Joker -- walk among the visitors. But it is also a casual shopper's or a Sunday merry- maker's delight. With a sea of options that might seem like an unnecessary indulgence to a comic book enthusiast, the festival, which ends today, has a lot to offer ...

'TravelBrag' - a new trend among Indian travellers: Survey

Indian millennials are into 'travel bragging' on social media to invite admiration and build fame amongst their friends and followers, a survey says. Over 40 per cent respondents admit that they spend over four hours a day bragging on their mobiles while travelling, often more glued to the small screen than the beach scene, according to Hotels.com's 'Mobile Travel Tracker'. When it comes to what social media savvy travellers were bragging about on their trips, 64 per cent were food snaps, scoring high on the charts, it revealed. Travel braggers show off their 'foodporn' to those stuck at home with their roti and sabzi, posting gourmet dishes from across the globe, it added. The 'Mobile Travel Tracker' research was conducted by One Poll in November 2017, and the data is based on 9,000 respondents across 30 countries. Being a generation of filter-loving, selfie-stick addicts, around 85 per cent of 18-29 year olds admit they would rather upload a selfie than cityscape photos

Not all dull and grey: Artists push boundaries with cement

When Mexican artist Cynthia Mijares Rodriguez first visited Jaipur, she was blown away by the intricacies of the 'jaali', a perforated stone or latticed screen historically used as a purdah for women. But, the feminist in her refused to accept the regressive idea and the artist decided to give the architectural form a contemporary twist in the form of a chic clutch "the only bit of a woman that needs to be hidden", she says. And, that is not all. Cynthia has made the clutch out of cement. How she transformed the dull, grey, coarse raw material that is dumped in sacks at construction sites to build skyscrapers into a fashionable clutch, she refuses to reveal the recipe. But her collection at the Craft Beton gallery at the ongoing Serendipity Arts Festival here speaks volumes for the potential cement has as a medium of art. From table lamps and book shelves to wine racks and comfortable stools, the artist has cemented her imagination in a never-seen-before manner. She is .

Silk River Journey commemorates Indo-UK year of culture: Envoy

British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith today said the 'Silk River Journey' commemorated the Year of Culture between UK and India and created curiosity about the two rivers - Thames and Hooghly - in respective countries. The project, involving people in 20 locations along the banks in India and UK, will help build a bridge of culture over which the traffic of people can travel back and forth, over which ideas can flow back and forth, Asquith said in his address at Victoria Memorial here. "In this case two rivers become examples of links," he said. Pointing towards the 20-hand woven, hand-painted Murshidabad silk flags, created at the art workshop by UK organisation Kinetika and India's 'Silk River India Walk' and flaunted during the walk across river banks, Asquith said, "Silk is soft, pretty natural and extremely valuable and in sharp contrast to plastic which is harsh and ugly." "So by using silk flags in the Silk River project, which put together some ...

India clinch 10 gold, silver medals at Commonwealth Wrestling Championship

Tomorrow, bouts in female wrestling will be held across 10 weight categories

Kerala eyeing MICE Tourism

Kerala is eyeing to tap the immense potential in the Meetings Incentives Conferences and Exhibiting (MICE) segment for the growth of tourism, State tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran said today. Inaugurating a workshop on Road Map for MICE Tourism in Kerala, the minister said the Tourism Policy approved by the Cabinet, will help in the growth of MICE tourism. For MICE tourism to flourish, a concerted effort was needed to prepare the state for such events, Tourism secretary, Rani George said. Tourism director P Balakiran, said by 2020, the state was looking to increase international tourist arrivals by 100 per cent and domestic tourist arrivals by 50 per cent. MICE tourism in the state is impacted by the lack of proper infrastructure, Baby Mathew, President Kerala Travel Mart Society, said. A GIS-based Festival Inventory of Kerala official website which offers data on 1000 destinations and their route maps was also inaugurated by the minister.

Vikas Khanna unveils his new book POEATRY at Times Litfest

Vikas Khanna today launched his coffee table book "Poeatry" at the Times Litfest here. The book, a collection of over 100 poems related to food and life, introduces Khanna as a poet. It is conceptualised and designed by Kumar Chiplunkar and his team at Chap & Chapette, a design house based in New Delhi, which specialises in design for luxury, with bespoke invitations, coffee table books and other designs. "Poeatry has been designed as a poetic journey that transports the reader into a 'bowl of culinary experiences'. At our design house Chap & Chapette, we handcrafted each page of the book as a visual narration of Vikas's Poems. Each piece of Poeatry is an ode to farms, kitchens and cooking traditions across the globe," Kumar said. Speaking about his association with the chef, Kumar called it a "creative dialogue between poetry and design".

5epper closing prices -- Kochi

+Rates per Quintal+ Pepper Spot: Ungarbled Rs.41,500/- Garbled Rs.43,500/- === New Pepper Rs.

Coast Guard conducts free medical camp

The Coast Guard conducted a free medical camp today to mark its 41st raising day, for which week-long celebrations will be held including a motorcycle rally along the fishing belts of West Bengal and Odisha. A team of doctors from the Coast Guard (North East region), including a lady gynaecologist for women populace, provided free medical treatment and medicines during the camp at Beonta Kanthalberia Village in Rajarhat of North 24 Parganas district, a Coast Guard spokesman said here. More than 500 villagers took advantage of the medical camp, where Coast Guard (NE region) commander Inspector General Kuldip Singh Sheoran was the chief guest. The Coast Guard conducts such medical camps and community interaction programmes frequently in the fishing hamlets, but the event in a village miles away from the coasts was part of the forces appeal to the youth of the state to take up a career in the Indian Coast Guard, the spokesman said. Coast Guard will conduct a joint ...

Review meeting on new Kerala Tourism Policy held

The Kerala Tourism Department today organised a review meeting on its newly announced Tourism Policy here to find out the tourism industry's comments and opinion about it. The new policy was approved by the state cabinet recently after the proposals were discussed among the industry players in the state tourism space. With the policy in place, the meeting offered another opportunity to the industry segment to put forward their views on the proposals which include a rejig of the activities, an official statement said here. The policy aims at aiding the Kerala tourism sector leap ahead, Minister for Tourism, Kadakampally Surendran, who presided over the meeting, said. "What the tourism policy looks forward to is a comprehensive revamp, so that the tourism potential offered by Kerala is utilised fully," he said. The minister said Kerala Tourism is a globally well-known brand and contributes around 10 per cent of the states revenues as per estimates. "Kerala Tourism aims at .