#China - Beijing inches closer to becoming the world's busiest airport

China is forecast to overtake the U.S. as the world’s biggest air-travel market as soon as 2022.

Beijing inched one step closer to taking the crown for the world’s busiest airport.

As the ranks of the Chinese middle class swell and more people take to the skies, passenger traffic at Beijing’s international airport rose to a new record of 95.8 million last year.

This increase at the world’s second-busiest air hub -- at least the fifth straight year of gains -- has allowed Beijing Capital International Airport to narrow the gap with top placed Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, whose passenger numbers fell in 2017.

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 China is forecast to overtake the U.S. as the world’s biggest air-travel market as soon as 2022. To cope with the surge in fliers, Beijing is building a $12.9 billion mega airport in a southern suburb that’s scheduled to open next year. It would accommodate as many as 100 million passengers annually, with the existing and new airports likely sharing 170 million travelers a year by 2025, according to official estimates. 

 The new airport has been designated by authorities as the hub for members of the SkyTeam alliance, a global group of airlines that includes China Eastern Airlines Corp. and China Southern Airlines Co. The two state-owned Chinese carriers will each be allowed to capture 40 percent of the airport’s passengers, gaining coveted time slots to Europe and the U.S. in flag carrier Air China Ltd.’s backyard.

Beijing will also be joining a select list of major cities with two or even three international airports, including London, New York, Tokyo and Paris. Unlike in Beijing, though, those airports usually take complementary roles, such as one serving international or intercontinental routes and the other focusing on domestic or regional flights.

Source - TheJakartaPost

 

Foreign tourists rescued after mountain hike goes wrong in #Vietnam

Lan Ha Bay in Hai Phong where two European tourists were lost up a mountain.

The exhausted travelers from Austria and the Czech Republic were found on an island by rescue forces.

Border guards in the northern city of Hai Phong have rescued two foreign tourists who went missing while hiking on an island on Thursday.

Macko Maschez, 36, from Austria, and Aneta Londova, 27, from the Czech Republic, rented a boat to sail to Cat Ba Island and go hiking on Thursday afternoon.

The tourism company lost contact with the pair a few hours later, and staff were unable to locate them.

Local rescue forces were scrambled and the exhausted tourists were found up a mountain above Lan Ha Bay at around 6:15 p.m., the border guard station said.

They said they had lost their way after becoming captivated by the scenery.

Early last month, Hai Phong border guards also saved a British tourist who became stuck in a mountain crevice while exploring an island.

#Laos - Luang Prabang focuses on Boosting cultural Tourism

The Luang Prabang tourism sector has been focusing on boosting cultural tourism and sustainable development to ensure socio-economic development in the province, according to a Luang Prabang tourism official.

Luang Prabang is one of the ancient cities of the Lao PDR that was established more than 1,200 years ago. It is endowed with rich, beautiful, natural scenery, historical culture, ancient temples, architecture and unique arts and crafts. Because of these unique qualities and attributes, UNESCO declared Luang Prabang a World Heritage Site in 1995.

“The tourism sector has provided a huge contribution to socio-economic development such as job creation and the improvement of livelihoods of local people, as well as to the reduction of poverty of people in rural areas,” said last week Luang Prabang Governor Khamkhan Chanthavisouk.

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“Over the past 20 years of preservation and development of the World Heritage Site, the Provincial Administration, together with Lao multi-ethnic people, businesses and entrepreneurs both domestic and foreign, as well as international organizations, have been working together to preserve and maintain the cultural values of this World Heritage Site in a sustainable manner,” said Mr Khamkhan.

As a result, lovely Luang Prabang has been a favorite tourist destination for many consecutive years, and was nominated as “Best City” in the Wanderlust Travel Awards.

Moreover, Luang Prabang has received the ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City Award and has also become a non-smoking city to promote a healthy and smoke-free environment.

“Over the past years, Luang Prabang has been selected to host meetings at various levels including provincial, national, sub-regional, and ASEAN regional meetings with great success,” Mr Khamkhan said.

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We are honoured that at this time, Luang Prabang has once again been given the honour of hosting such important ASEAN related meetings and we do hope that we will have another opportunity to host important meetings like this in the near future, he said.

Luang Prabang is very proud of its peacefulness and safety, and its many cultural and natural tourist attractions.

The National Tourism Committee has approved a plan to develop routes along the Mekong River to link to Loei and Nong Khai in the northeast with Luang Prabang and Vientiane in Laos.

At the same time, the infrastructure of the province has been developed in order to ensure that it benefits from the ASEAN Economic Community integration which took place in 2015.

Source - Laotian Times

Hin Nam No Soon to be Nominated Laos’ First Natural UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Hin Nam No National Protected Area is on its way to become Laos’ first natural UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Earlier this January in Hanoi, the Lao and Vietnamese governments signed a MOU, ensuring Vietnam’s full support of the nomination of Hin Nam No National Protected Area as a transboundary World Heritage Site together with the already established natural UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Phong Nga Ke Bang (PNKB) National Park in Quang Binh, Vietnam. The latter shares a common border with Hin Nam No National Protected Area in Khammouane, Laos.

High ranking officials including Vice Minister of Information, Tourism and Culture Buagneun Saphouvong, Vice Minister of Energy and Mines Thongphat Inthavong, and Khammouane Province Deputy Governor Khamsy Outhivong met with representatives from the respective government agencies to review and endorse the way forward.

“With Hin Nam No’s huge potential for eco-tourism, it [World Heritage status for UNESCO] will make an important contribution to national socio-economic development, especially for Khammouane people,” said Saphouvong.

“Becoming a World Heritage Site will also enhance the protection of the area, improve conservation and will facilitate better management of the natural resources in and around Hin Nam No, promote ecotourism and scientific research,” he added.

Hin Nam No NPA has been recognized as a site of global significance for the conservation of biodiversity because its variety of habitat and forest types provided by the landscape geomorphology support a high diversity of animals and plants, including a number of globally threatened species, endemic species and karst specialist species. Thus, the elevated UNESCO status will contribute substantially to the conservation of this unique ecosystem.

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 Deputy Governor Outhivong expressed that “Hin Nam No will attract both local and international tourists and thereby will generate incomes for local communities once it is nominated as a World Heritage Site. More importantly, it will also create opportunities to boost the livelihoods of the local communities who live around the area. By this means, they are also able to ensure their food security and alternative income generation.”

  Under the newly signed MoU between Laos and Vietnam, a number of points have been agreed for which both countries commit to support the nomination of Hin Nam No National Protected area as a transboundary World Heritage Site, connected to Phong Nga Ke Bang National Park in Vietnam.

The two countries will also work together to appoint their own committees at different levels to help and push for the nomination of Hin Nam No National Protected Area.
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 Hin Nam No Protected Area

Source - Read more Laotian Times

 

Crossing Siberia, from Moscow to Mongolia

In 1891, Nicholas II made a grand voyage across what was then the Russian Empire on what was called The Tsar’s Train. The potentate ventured from the imperial capital of Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok, on the frozen rim of Siberia, more than 9,000 kilometers away.

The same route, now known as the Trans-Siberia Railroad, exists today, with branch lines that allow journeys to destinations as far as China and Mongolia.

All aboard

Unlike Tsar Nicholas II, I would begin by voyage in Moscow, where I landed at Domodedovo Airport in October. First pro tip: Dress warmly: the temperature was about -3 degrees! Used to tropical weather, I was chilled, wearing only a thin jacket, winter hat and hand-knit gloves.

Two months before leaving for Russia, I had purchased my tickets, spending US$285 for an 87-hour passage from Moscow to Irkutsk on the Trans-Siberia Railway and $200 for the 22-hour journey from Irkutsk to Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital. Purchase can also be made in Moscow, or via websites such as russianrail.com or expresstorussia.com, which will deliver tickets to your hotel.

Before departing, I stopped at a supermarket. Three days on a train traveling second class meant I had to lay in a supply of food and sundries, such as instant noodles, flip flops for the shower and five cans of beer. (Second pro tip: Russian Rail officers say that you can’t bring more than five cans on the train.

 

 

 I was at Moscow Yaroslavskaya Station, which forms a rail terminus shared with Kazansky and Leningradsky Stations, about three hours before departure, as suggested. Each car of my train had from six to nine (quite clean) passenger compartments, a toilet/shower room and an officer space. 

 In my second-class compartment, towels, blankets, mattresses and pillows were neatly stacked. There was ample space for four to sleep, two on upper berths, which folded away during the daytime, and two on lower berths. We left Moscow just before midnight, starting my Siberian adventure.

READ CONTINUE


 

Vietnam - Tourists revel in rich Khmer culture

If you visit in mid-November to mid-December, the Ok Om Bok Festival, also called the Festival of Worshipping the Moon, takes place at the Ba Om Pond relic site.

Kim Ngọc Thái, deputy chairman of the province’s People’s Committee, said that the Ok Om Bok is one of the main traditional Khmer festivals in the south besides the Sene Dolta and Chol Chnam Thmay festivals.

The joyful and festive Ok Om Bok event has been recognised as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Vietnamese government.

The one-week festival includes cultural and sports events, trade fairs offering local specialties, traditional competitions such as tug-of-war and crossing of bamboo bridges, and a souvenir design contest.

But the standout activity is the exciting and colourful Ghe Ngo (Khmer boat) race on Bà Ôm Pond (which is actually as big as a lake)

Six rowing teams with nearly 400 athletes from different districts and cities in the province compete in a race that is seen as both a way to express solidarity and a traditional ritual to see off the God of Water to the ocean after the growing season.

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The Khmer believe that the Buddha blesses and protects them, so followers donate time, money and effort to build pagodas in their hamlets.

More than one million Khmer live in southern Việt Nam, which has a total of 600 Khmer pagodas. Some of them have existed for several centuries and have been recognised as national architectural relics, including the pagodas of Ang, Mẹt, Hang and Dơi.

The pagodas are always built on large areas surrounded by Dầu (Dipterocarpus alatus) trees, Palmyra palms or green cajuput forests.

A panoramic view of a typical Khmer pagoda includes a monastery, gate, fence, wall, main chamber, towers containing the ashes of dead monks, and the Sala, the place where monks and the Khmer gather to prepare for important ceremonies.
The main chamber of the Ang Pagoda, the most important part of the structure, is located in the centre and faces east. It is designed with a multi-layered roof decorated with four curved dragon’s tails on four of the roof’s corners.

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 Decorative reliefs on the pagoda’s walls include a fairy, statues of divine Krud birds, the ogress Yeak wearing armor, and the head of the Bayon with four faces, all expressing the spirit of the Khmer people. 

  The corridor outside the main chamber is decorated with Naga curving around the terrace that represent cruel forces subdued by the Buddha.

The Khmer, who account for 30 per cent of the province’s population, have enriched the local cuisine with traditional ingredients and distinctive flavours.

Bún Nước Lèo (noodle soup) is one of the most well-known. It consists of snakehead fish, roast pork and shrimp, with the essential “mắm bò hóc” (bò hóc sauce) to enrich the boldness and brackishness of the soup.
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Central: The pagoda’s main chamber, the most important part of the structure, is located in the centre of Khmer pagodas.

Source - Read Continue 
 

#Laos Golden Triangle Casino Hit with US Sanctions

The US Treasury officially placed the Kings Romans Casino based in Laos on its organised crime sanctions blacklist on Tuesday, naming it a hub for the trafficking of humans, drugs, and wildlife.

The sanctions involve a group based in Hong Kong, the Kings Romans Company, which operates casinos.

One of the sites operated by the company is a well known casino located in Laos, in its Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, on the Mekong River near Thailand and Myanmar.

“The Zhao Wei crime network engages in an array of horrendous illicit activities, including human trafficking and prostitution, drug trafficking, and wildlife trafficking,” said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Tourists who have visited the casino report a menu full of protected species at the casino’s restaurant, including bear, tiger, and pangolin.

The US Treasury named four individuals as key players:

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 Abbas “Basu” Eberahim, 29, an Australian who owns residences in Kooringal in Australia, Chiang Rai, Thailand, and the Golden Triangle Economic Zone in Laos.

Nat Rungtawankhiri, a Thai national aged 41 and resident Chiang Rai.

Guiqin Su aka Zhao Su, or Madame Su, 69, a Hong Kong resident with Chinese nationality.

Zhao Wei, 66, a dual Chinese-Macau national and husband of Madame Su.

“All assets of those designated that are under US jurisdiction are frozen, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them,” it said.

“Since 2014, Thai, Lao, and Chinese authorities have seized large narcotics shipments that have been traced to the Kings Romans Casino.”

Source - Laotian Times