Page 48 - Hospitality Recreation

4th edition of 'World on A Plate' to host chef Marco Pierre White

Famous celebrity chef Marco Pierre White will make his India debut at the upcoming 4th edition of 'World on A Plate' (WOAP). The famed British chef, besides curating master classes and dinners, will judge some of the country's top restaurants for the coveted "World On A Plate Restaurant of the Year" trophy at the food festival starting on January 19 in Mumbai. Talking about the upcoming event, White said that he will be looking forward to experiencing Indian food during his trip. "What I am most looking forward to is being mesmerized by India's food and its mlange of new and old school cooking, the country's historic culture and of course, exchanging notes on Indian cuisine with my fellow chefs. "I have been very lucky in my life to travel around the world. India is one of the very few countries I dreamt of going to and through food you can inspire people, enrich people's lives and make them dream. I believe if you have been given a talent in this life, you have a duty and a ...

Army rescues 150 tourists stranded in north Sikkim

The Indian Army has rescued 150 tourists stranded in north Sikkim due to heavy snowfall, an official said Thursday. The tourists, including 11 children and 34 women, were stuck at Lachung valley, a popular destination in North Sikkim district following heavy snowfall Wednesday. Troops of Trishakti Corps launched quick reaction teams, including medical staff, to locate the tourists who were stranded in their vehicles. Following search and rescue, the tourists were given medical care by the soldiers and brought to the nearest Army camps, the official said. All the tourists were rescued by the soldiers in just four hours, bringing a sigh of relief among the anxious travellers. The rescued tourists were provided with medical care, food and shelter at the Army camps in view of the unabated snowfall and temperatures dipping to minus 10 degrees Celsius. The tourists were in 43 vehicles, of which 23 were recovered, the official said. The Army had on December 28 rescued 3,000 tourists stranded

Huami's Amazfit Verge wearable available on Amazon from Jan 15

Xiaomi-backed fitness brand Huami is all set to make its new smart wearable Amazfit Verge available on Amazon.in from January 15.

Goa beach shack operators oppose move to cap prices

Operators of beach shacks, temporary palm-thatched shacks which offer food and refreshments on Goa's beaches, have opposed a proposed move by the Tourism Ministry to fix a cap on prices of food and beverages.

HopOn India Launches Tours of Delhi; to Participate in SATTE 2019

/ -- HopOn India, an audio tour App launched by Desiwalks Tours, is pleased to announce the launch of its Delhi tours. With the upcoming launch of Jaipur tour, HopOn India will now be present in five cities including Mumbai, Varanasi and Kolkata. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/621674/HopOn_India_Logo.jpg ) HopOn India is launching in Delhi with three walks - The Humayun Tomb walk, A Chandni Chowk food walk and an upcoming tour of Qutab Minar enclave. The Humayun Tomb walk, which is now live on the App, tells the story of the 'Unlucky Emperor', as the listener enjoys the grandeur of India's first Persian style tomb and garden beautifully restored by the Aga Khan Foundation. One even gets a chance to seek the blessings of Hazrat Nizammudin Aulia, whose shrine is nearby and part of the tour. The second tour is of Chandni Chowk. But this tour is for the gastronomes as HopOn India takes the tourist to the best vegetarian joints of the area. The listener will get to taste the ...

Drones deployed to locate missing German tourist in Australia

Police in Australia on Thursday deployed drones to help locate a missing German tourist, who disappeared two days ago.

Meghalaya adopts systematic approach to develop tourism

Meghalaya has adopted a systematic approach to develop tourism by taking an initiative to develop and package the unique selling point of a particular destination in the State, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Wednesday

Goa: Restaurant run by celebrity Australian chef catches fire

'Antares', a beach-side restaurant managed by MasterChef Australia contestant Sarah Todd at Vagator in Goa, caught fire Wednesday evening, police said. Nobody was injured in the incident though the restaurant was damaged extensively in the fire. "The flames were seen around 4.30 pm and immediately fire tenders were rushed to the spot," said inspector C L Patil of Anjuna police. The fire was doused within an hour, he said, adding that its cause was yet to be ascertained. Sources said the restaurant is owned by a Delhi-based businessman but managed by Todd, a celebrity Australian chef. The 400-seat restaurant is located atop a cliff. Todd first shot to fame in 2014 when she took part in MasterChef Australia, a competitive cooking game show.

After flood fury, Kerala's Munnar woo tourists with sub-zero

: With broken roads and landslide carved mountains, this hill station had been a mute reminder of the deadly August floods in Kerala, the worst in a century, which ravaged the state. But Kerala's Munnar, fondly called the 'Kashmir of the South' by travel buffs, has once again turned out to be a paradise for tourists, thanks to the unexpected chilly weather and snow. Located 1,600 meters above sea level, the tourist town was once the summer resort of the erstwhile British government in South India. The mercury level has plunged to minus degree Celsius in the last few days, spreading a blanket of snow across its lush greenery and tea plantations, which has wooed a large number of holidayers, both domestic as well as foreigners. The photos of snow-sprinkled grasslands and reports of the frozen climate of the place have gone viral on the social media also in no time. For the last eight days, the mercury level has gone down to below zero degree Celsius. It was -2 degree ...

HC grants permission to DMRC to buy semi-low floor buses for feeder service

The Delhi High Court Wednesday permitted DMRC to get semi-low floor mini buses for last mile connectivity from metro stations with a direction to install hydraulic lifts to make them accessible to people with disability. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao allowed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to procure the buses after it agreed to install hydraulic lifts. The application was filed in a pending PIL of Nipun Malhotra, who has been opposing induction of semi-low floor buses for public transport on the ground that they were not disabled friendly. Malhotra's counsel Jai Dehadrai initially opposed the plea as these buses are not low floor but consented later after the authorities agreed to install hydraulic lifts in these buses. DMRC had requested for the permission to get semi-low floor mini buses saying its fleet of feeder service vehicles was not in a good condition. It had said the state transport department was refusing to register such buses as they

Focus on both physical and financial fitness: Sachin Tendulkar

Legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday said that in order to live a completely healthy life, people should not only focus on physical fitness but also take note of their financial fitness."We see that most Indians who aspire to lead a healthy lifestyle tend to focus largely on physical fitness, while financial fitness is far lower on their list of priorities," the master-blaster said at the launch of #KeepMoving movement, which aims to redefine the idea of fitness for India."Through the #KeepMoving movement, we aspire to change the mindsets of Indians by redefining their idea of fitness. We hope to create awareness among them that in order to truly live the lifestyle of their choice, they need to focus on both- physical fitness and financial fitness," Tendulkar added.The campaign will launch with short films featuring the legend Tendulkar, who will encourage people to log onto #KeepMoving microsite.Once on the microsite, people can do an audit of their physical fitness and ...

Eat, drink and make merry at pocket-friendly House Of Commons (Foodie Trail - Delhi)

Youngsters who are looking for an easy-on-the-pocket place to eat, drink and groove can have it all at House of Commons (HOC), a British-inspired gastropub that offers a vast menu comprising Continental, Mediterranean and Indian cuisines, coupled with rejuvenating drinks and live music -- ideal for a fun evening.

Officials from 42 nations to attend 'Destination East 2019'

Travel and tourism industry representatives from 42 countries will attend 'Destination East 2019', a buyer-seller meet to be held on January 14 and 15, West Bengal Tourism Secretary Atri Bhattacharya has said. He said that with emphasis on USA and Europe, around 65 per cent of the 110 buyers to participate in the event, would be from there. An initiative to promote inbound tourism in West Bengal, the event is meant to help tour operators to expand their business by promoting new destinations to their customers, Bhattacharya told newspersons here Tuesday. He said that this year, there would be discussions to create new circuits beyond the border, involving the bordering and nearby countries where the state has direct connectivity. "The new circuits can be with Bhutan and Nepal, which have direct air and road connectivity with the state," Bhattacharya said. "Based on interactions, we will know the outlines of such an initiative," the tourism secretary said. The ninth ...

Sharks force closure of Sydney beaches

Two popular Australian beaches have been temporarily closed after sharks were spotted nearby, one of which was just metres from shore, within what was supposed to be a shark free area.

NFR to introduce Vistadome coaches in trains

Rail journey through the scenic areas of the northeast will soon become more interesting.

Over 1 million tourists visited Nepal in 2018, Indians visitors highest

Nepal received more than one million tourists last year with Indian visitors being the highest at 260,124, according to a media report. The Nepal Tourism Board said 1,001,930 tourists arrived in Nepal in 10 months from January to November in 2018, a cumulative increase of 17 per cent over the same period in 2017. The consistent and upward momentum continued through the peak tourist season during October and November 2018 without accounting for overland international visitors, The Himalayan Times reported. The total arrivals of Indian visitors in January-November period stood at 260,124 while Chinese arrivals reached 134,362 along with a significant rise in number of tourists from Thailand, Japan and South Korea, it said. Nepal's image as one of the most preferred tourist destinations has been reinforced as reflected in the extraordinary growth in the visitor arrivals to Nepal, said Deepak Raj Joshi, Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board. "The growth can be attributed to ...

Nepal records over 1 million tourists in 2018

Tourism in Nepal shot up by nearly 25 per cent, crossing one million tourists in 2018, according to the country's Tourism Board on Tuesday.

Motiv's fitness ring to soon allow NFC payments

Motiv's fitness ring is being upgraded to carry out one of the most mundane tasks of modern life - making NFC-based payments.The company introduced the new feature at the ongoing CES 2019 in Los Angeles. The fitness ring, which was first introduced in 2016, will soon allow mobile payments via NFC. Motiv is reportedly also adding ECG readings, TechCrunch reported.It remains to be seen how perfect these functionalities work on the fitness ring. Other promised features include biometric authentication that uses wearer's gait to unlock devices.

Vietnam's 'incense village' blazes pink ahead of lunar new year

In Vietnam's "incense village", dozens are hard at work dying, drying and whittling down bamboo bark to make the fragrant sticks ahead of the busy lunar new year holiday. It is the most frantic time of year for workers in the cottage industry in Quang Phu Cau village on the outskirts of Hanoi, where families have been making incense for more than a century -- a great source of pride for many. "It is a traditional and spiritual job making these sticks," Dang Thi Hoa told AFP, sitting amid bundles of bright pink incense sticks drying under the afternoon sun. Her village is among several dotted across Vietnam making the sticks, the scent of each batch tailored to the tastes of regions they will be sold in. Sales tick up every year ahead of and during the Tet lunar new year in February, when throngs of people crowd into temples to light incense during worship, or burn the sticks on the ancestral altar at home. Hoa's family started making the sticks more than 100 years ago and her mother ..

Three Spanish climbers, guide, perish on Peru mountain

Three Spanish mountaineers died with their Peruvian guide while climbing a snow-capped peak in the Andes, Peruvian authorities reported Monday. The five-member party was attempting to scale the 5,150 meter (16,892-foot) Nevado Mateo mountain in the Andean Cordillera Blanca range when they were swept away on Sunday, authorities in the Ancash region said. The alarm was raised by another Spanish climber, the only member of the party to survive. "Apparently it was due to weather effects, probably an ice-fall," Marcos Espinal, a prosecutor in the local town of Carhauz, told RPP radio. A mountain rescue team had been dispatched to recover the bodies of the four climbers, Espinal said. The lower reaches of the mountain give way to a glacier on the climb, which usually takes around five hours. "It is a rugged area, and risky because of the weather conditions," like fog and rain, he said. A German climber died on the mountain in 2016.