At least 10 climbers have died and several more are missing in mountains north of Iran’s capital Tehran after heavy snowfall, state media reported on Saturday, and the seven crew members of a ship are also missing after storms in the Gulf. Heavy snow and winds in several parts of Iran in the past few days have closed many roads and disrupted transport. FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the Tochal ski resort, in north of Tehran, Iran. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo Several climbers remain unaccounted for since Friday when two deaths were reported, while the number reported as missing has increased as concerned families contact the authorities, state television said. Nine people had been killed on the mountain and one died in hospital after...
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travel articles and news about Asian countries
Staying overnight at an airport isn’t unheard of, especially if you miss a flight. But choosing to spend your holidays there in a tent is something entirely different. With the coronavirus pandemic severely limiting trips abroad, some in Singapore this holiday season are going “glamping”, or glamourous camping, staying overnight in luxury tents at the retail and leisure wing of the city-state’s Changi Airport. Unusual sight and setting for this particular sleepover is the airport’s new retail complex called the ‘Jewel’, which opened in 2019. Here, guests can use the bed in Jewel’s Shiseido Forest Valley, which is an indoor garden having five storeys — or the Cloud9 Piazza, located on the top floor. “Usually we go out of the country every holiday but since we can’t travel much...
Read MoreSanta Claus and his elves have been busy at work turning a Christmas village in northern China into a winter wonderland for visitors. In a two-storey wooden house with about 100 Father Christmas dolls, the white-bearded figure in a red suit writes down seasonal wishes with a quill and poses with tourists at the theme park on the outskirts of Mohe, China’s northernmost city. Visitors line up for a photo-taking session with Santa, played by Ville Haapassallo, 35, from Finland, inside the Santa Claus House at a Christmas theme park on the outskirts of Mohe, China's northernmost city in Heilongjiang province December 20, 2020. REUTERS/Xihao Jiang “If they want postcards, I write down my wishes and guests can send these cards to their friends or parents,” said Ville Haapassallo, 35, f...
Read MoreSingapore’s tradition of communal dining at hawker centres, open air food courts popularised by celebrity chefs and hit films such as ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, has been recognised by UNESCO for its cultural significance. The United Nations’ cultural agency announced late Wednesday it had added the city-state’s “hawker culture” to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, nearly two years after Singapore submitted a bid to be included in the list. FILE PHOTO: Hawker Leong Yuet Meng, 90, of Nam Seng Noodle House, presents a bowl of wonton noodle soup at her shop in Singapore. REUTERS/Edgar Su Singapore’s hawker centres were set up to house former street vendors, or “hawkers” in an effort to clean up the island in the 1970s and serve a variety of cheap, no-...
Read MoreThailand on Thursday eased travel restrictions for citizens from 56 countries in a bid to boost the country’s pandemic-hit tourism industry, though visitors will be required to undergo a mandatory two-week hotel quarantine. Tourists from countries including Australia, France and the United States can travel without visas, but would need a certificate to show they were free of COVID-19 72 hours before travel and a place at a quarantine hotel, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for Thailand’s COVID-19 taskforce said. Visitors would then be subject to a two-week quarantine period after arriving, he said, adding that the normal 30-day visa would be extended to 45 days. While in quarantine, arrivals would undergo three COVID-19 tests, up from two required previously, Taweesin said...
Read MoreSingapore is to allow a limited number of business, official and other “high economic value” travellers from around the world under a “bubble” arrangement that offers a glimpse into what visitors for this year’s relocated Davos summit might expect. The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) will make its debut in Asia in May after being moved from its usual home in the Swiss ski resort of Davos over coronavirus safety concerns. FILE PHOTO: A view of a cordoned off area at the Merlion Park is seen amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo Singapore’s borders have been largely shut for most of 2020 as part of strict rules to keep out a virus still raging across the globe, and it faces challenges hosting an event that usually attracts thou...
Read MoreCustomers are lining up at a Jerusalem bakery-cafe for the “Abu Dhabi” doughnut, a date-flavoured confectionery inspired by Israel’s new relations with the United Arab Emirates. Doughnuts, called “sufganiyot” in Hebrew, are a popular fare in Israel during the current holiday of Hanukkah, in which Jews traditionally eat deep-fried delicacies. Customers take photos of "Abu Dhabi" doughnuts at a patisserie in Jerusalem December 13, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen This year, pastry chefs Itzik and Keren Kadosh put a new twist on the treat. At their Cafe Kadosh, they devised the Abu Dhabi doughnut, filled with cream made from dates shipped by the UAE’s Jewish community, with a nougat crown topped with an edible gold leaf. It sells for 22 shekels ($6.76), compared with 18 shekels ($5.50) f...
Read MoreSri Lanka is ready to receive foreign tourists from January 2021. But all travelers will have to be in quarantine for 14 days. The Sri Lankan government has also proposed to issue six-month visas for tourists instead of the current one-month visas when the country re-opens its international airports for travelers next year. A proposed travel bubble to reopen Sri Lanka for foreign tourists has received the green-light from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. However, actual date for allowing international tourists is yet to be fixed. Sri Lankan authorities are currently considering introducing new rules in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said. A new set of guidelines had been prepared by the COVID-19 Clinical Management Expert Committee of the Ministry o...
Read MoreJapan’s government may stop travel subsidies meant to boost regional economies and help hotels and airlines as concern grows that the tourism campaign may spread the coronavirus amid a fresh wave of infections, Nippon TV’s NEWS24 reported. Any decisions to halt the “Go To Travel” campaign would represent a U-turn by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who until now has defended the subsidies as necessary to boost an economy hurt by a pandemic that has kept people at home. Wary of growing public concern, Suga’s administration is considering stopping the campaign for two months at year end and into the New Year, NEWS24 reported, citing unidentified sources. Japan was among the first nations to provide incentive for domestic travel saying it was needed to stop many small businesses i...
Read MoreIndian citizens who wish to travel to Oman can stay in the country for up to 10 days without the need for an entry visa. India is one of 103 countries whose citizens have been exempted from visas to enter the Sultanate, in a move to support tourism and shore up its struggling economy. Other Asian countries included on this list are Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Lebanon, Bhutan, Jordan, Tajikistan, Macau, Iran and Brunei. Visitors must have a confirmed hotel reservation, health insurance and a return ticket, Royal Oman Police said on its Twitter account. “Nationals of 103 counties are exempted from entry visas into the Sultanate for a period of ten days,” it said. !function(e,t,c,a){if(!e.fwn&&(a="fwn_script",n=e.fwn=function(){ n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n...
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