www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Sitter man ved vinduet på venstre side av flyet når det skal lande på Aruba i Karibia, er man vitne til en av verdens kanskje aller vakreste innflygninger, skriver VG.
Den selvstyrte nederlandske øyas palmer, fantastiske strender, og turkisgrønne vann er det aller første man får øye på når flyet seiler innover Aruba, utenfor kysten av Venezuela.
Vakrere innflygning finnes knapt…
Hovedstaden Oranjestad er en populær cruisehavn.
Selskapet Private Jet deler denne oppfatningen, og har nominert Reina Beatrix Airport på Aruba til sin pågående kåring av verdens mest spektakulære innflygninger.
Blant de nominerte er også Cape Town, Gibraltar, San Sebastian i Spania, London City Airport, og Longyearbyen på Svalbard.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Å fly fra Norge til Johannesburg i Sør-Afrika er billigere enn noensinne. Billettprisen har falt med opptil 35 prosent på et år, og den har vært på konstant tur nedover de siste fire årene. Det viser den siste utgaven av Norsk Flyprisindeks fra reisesøkemotoren travelmarket.no, skriver www.boarding.no
Sør-Afrika lokker med fantastiske safariopplevelser, gode golfbaner og Afrikas sørligste punkt, Kapp Det Gode Håp, ved Cape Town, og er derfor blant nordmenns mest populære reisemål. For den som alltid har drømt om å reise til Sør-Afrika er det kanskje en god idé å slå til nå, for med tur-returbilletter til under 4.000 kroner er det historisk billig å fly dit.
Det er verdt å merke seg at flyreiser til Sør-Afrika ikke foregår med lavprisselskaper som tar seg ekstra betalt for setevalg, bagasje og annen komfort. I følge pristesten er det nemlig KLM, Qatar Airways og British Airways som flyr til Sør-Afrika fra henholdsvis Trondheim, Oslo og Bergen.
– Jeg er svært overrasket over den store nedgangen i flybillettprisene til Johannesburg, sier Ole Stouby, direktør i reisesøkemotoren travelmarket.no.
-Det er ingen tvil om at konkurransen mellom de store flyselskapene er intensivert, og det blir spennende å se om prisene vil holde seg like lave fremover eller finne tilbake til et mer normalt nivå, sier Stouby videre.
De fleste flyr til Sør-Afrika for å dra på safari. Den mest berømte safariparken der er nasjonalparken Kruger. Der kan du være heldig å få se “The Big 5”, det vil si løver, elefanter, nesehorn, leoparder og vannbøfler, i tillegg til flodhester, krokodiller og geparder.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Japan has officially opened it’s new embassy building in Serbia, in Belgrade’s Cherry Blossom Street (Ulica Tresnjin cvet)), the inserbia.info website reported.
The opening ceremony was attended by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who said that he hopes that the further strengthening of bilateral ties will be as efficient as the construction of the embassy building. He specifically pointed to the growth potential of trade between the two countries.
Vucic expressed gratitude to Japan for its support and aid to Serbia after the devastating floods in May last year.
Japanese Ambassador Masafumi Kuroki thanked the government of Serbia and the authorities in Belgrade for their cooperation in the construction of the new embassy building.
We are glad that the Embassy of Japan is located in the street called Cherry Blossom, as this is the symbol of spring in Japan, said Ambassador Kuroki, voicing hope that the opening of the new building will give a new momentum to bilateral cooperation, especially in the field of economy.
Serbia is about to open various chapters with the European Union, but I hope that new chapters will be opened with Japan as well, the ambassador said.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
The statue of former president Paul Kruger at Church Square, Pretoria. Photo credit: Thobile Mathonsi, ANN / iol.co.zw
Pretoria’s members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) will destroy statues of “all icons of apartheid” in the capital Pretoria, including the giant effigy of former president Paul Kruger (1825-1904; president of the South African Republic; Transvaal 1883-1900) at the Church Square at the city centre, the party’s Tshwane deputy chairperson Moafrika Mabongwana said on Saturday, the Independent Online – www.iol.co.zw / African News Agency, reported.
“The fact that these statues, which are symbols of white supremacy, are still found in this city is a crime against our people. We are going to remove everything that represents apartheid and white supremacy from this city”, said Mabongwana.
“We believe that those statues don’t represent the hue of our society. We are not going to seek anyone’s permission, we do not need it.”
Hundreds of people congregate at Church Square daily.
The numbers of people increases significantly on holidays and weekends.
People of different races take turns to have photographs taken at the Paul Kruger statue.
Known popularly as “Oom Paul” (“Uncle Paul”) the Paul Kruger statue is mounted metres-high on a huge pedestal guarded between giant bronze figures of sentries holding rifles.
Mabongwana said due to “lack of education” most people were unknowingly embracing the figures of people who oppressed their forefathers.
“Our people are just not educated about the statues and what they represent. How does a black person embrace such a figure. By destroying the statues, we will be educating our people.” he said.
Mabongwana said that after destroying the statues, EFF members would proceed to hand themselves over to police.
On Saturday, some tourists were taking photographs of the statue.
They were joined by several Pretoria residents.
Some were taking “selfies” while leaning on the sentries.
Sherry Ntabeni said she was not concerned about “Oom Paul’s” apartheid history because South Africans had forgiven their past oppressors.
“I do know history. Paul Kruger was one of our major oppressors, but the gospel today is that we forgive one another. Holding on to the past is not going to help anyone”, she said.
“My kids enjoy playing in this park and I can’t deny them. The efforts we are putting on statues could be spent on improving service delivery”
Ntabeni brought her two young children to play in the park.
The street leading into the Church Square is named Paul Kruger.
Davison Zwane said the Tshwane municipality should remove the statues installed during apartheid.
“I feel insulted as a black person, every time I drive along Paul Kruger Street. The EFF is right. The ANC-led municipality should have taken decisive action ages ago. I would assist in destroying the Paul Kruger statue”, he said.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Photo credit: Caribbean Journal
The British Virgin Islands government is “forging Ahead” with the territory’s cruise pier construction project, Works Minister Mark Vanterpool, has said.
Vanterpool said that the government was expecting “some challenges due to delays in the construction Project”, but that it was making every effort to ensure that the British Virgin Islands could still benefit from this year’s cruise season, the Caribeean Journal reported.
According to a new report from the BVI Ports Authority, between October and the end of April, the territory is expected to see 297 cruise ships making calls and bringing in a total of 612,372 passengers.
Of that total, 169 calls will be made to Road Town Harbour, accounting for around 450,000 passengers.
The BVI’s cruise pier project will include an expanded, widened and strengthened dock and the development of landside facilities, including shopping, restaurants and customs.
There will also be dredging performed to accommodate larger vessels.
Right now, the project is three months behind schedule, Vanterpool said, but the expectation is still to have the entire project completed by the end of 2015.
Royal Caribbean canceled five of its six calls between October and December, however, the Minister said.
“We are in contact with the Royal Caribbean Group to continue our close relationship, as they are considered a long term mutual partner in our cruise tourism industry”, Works Minister Mark Vanterpool said.
De britiske jomfruøyene er et selvstyrt, britisk oversjøisk territorium i det nordlige Karibia, med et areal på 153 km2 og et innbyggertall på ca.25000. Hovedstaden Road Town, en stor cruisedestinasjon, ligger på øya Tortola.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Vietnam Airlines flytter sine operasjoner til Heathrow, noe flyplassen håper vil styrke muligheten for en ny rullebane, skriver www.travelnews.no
Flyselskapet etablerer seg dermed med flere av de andre Skyteam-partnerne på T4-terminalen, et trekk Heathrows administrerende direktør applauderer.
– Med dette sikrer Storbritannia seg en direkte link til et viktig, voksende marked, sa John Holland-Kaye da nyheten ble kjent.
Det betyr flere flyvninger og mer frakt-kapasitet, til et land i sterk utvikling, noe Holland-Kaye mener vil få stor betydning ikke minst for britiske eksportselskaper.
Siden den britiske flyplass-kommisjon fortsatt ikke har avgjort om det blir Gatwick eller Heathrow som skal få bygge en ny rullebane håper Holland-Kaye at Vietnam Airlines’ etablering kan bidra på vektskåla i Heathrows favør.
I starten åpner Vietnam Airlines fire ukentlige flyvninger fra Heathrow, to hver til hovedstaden Hanoi og Ho Chi Minh-byen (Saigon).
Nesten sommer planlegger Vietnam Airlines en daglig flight til hjemlandet med flyselskapets nye Boeing 787-9s Dreamliner.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) plans to revamp its tourism programs to meet the needs of visitors from China, Japan and other countries, the www.koreatimes.co.kr writes.
The city government said Wednesday it would develop more programs illustrating Korea’s history, K-pop and fashion.
The SMG operates 41 programs for foreign visitors. But a recent survey showed that tourists differ from one country to another ― certain tours that are popular among Chinese tourists are not favored by Japanese visitors.
For example, Chinese visitors tend to visit the city in big groups and are interested in shopping and food, while many Japanese tourists come in smaller groups and are more inclined toward K-pop and Korean drama.
Most tourists from North America and Southeast Asia visited Korea to experience its traditional culture and festivals, the SMG said.
The city government said an increasing number of tourists wanted to learn more about Korea by visiting places such as its history museum of modern architecture.
Firstly, city administrators will develop specific programs based on culture and arts, industries and shopping, towns and alleys, nature and the environment and theme tours.
The SMG plans to add some of the city’s significant sites, including the Seoul Anglican Cathedral, Seoul City Wall and Ihwa Mural Village, to its programs.
More marketing is also in the pipeline. “We will be more active in promoting the city via local media,” an SMG official said.
In 2013, about 10.04 million foreign visitors ― a record ― travelled to Seoul, up 9.3 percent on 2012. Chinese made up the largest group.
Over the years, visitor sightseeing preferences have changed. While spots such as Namdaemun and Dongdaemun saw a drop in visitors, new tourist locations, including areas of Hongdae, Samcheong-dong and Cheong Wa Dae, have gained popularity.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
– From national pride to bus depot, office block — and very occasional football stadium. Such is the current fate of the most expensive venue Brazil built for last year’s World Cup, authorities has admitted, sports.yahoo.com / AFP, reported.
The National Stadium in the capital Brasilia, also known as the Mane Garrincha in honour of the 1958 and 1962 World Cup-winning winger, hosted seven games last year in last year’s tournament.
But since the hosts’ third place play-off loss to the Netherlands the lack of a top-flight club in the city means the 72,000-capacity, $900 million venue is marking time as a footballing white elephant.
Local authorities confirmed they were looking to transfer up to 400 local officials from three federal government secretariats to the venue, while dismissing media claims that the ground was also being used as a bus depot after UOL web news portal showed hundreds of buses lined up on the stadium forecourt.
The stadium went three times over its initial budget to become the world’s second-costliest soccer ground after London’s Wembley Stadium.
Brazilians are already poring over the country’s biggest corruption scandal with dozens of politicians facing investigation over a huge kickbacks affair dogging state oil giant Petrobras.
Before that scandal broke a year ago, the cost of staging the World Cup — around $12 billion in all — had irked the public to the extent that roughly a million people joined nationwide protests which started on the eve of the Confederations Cup in June 2013 and ran through the World Cup itself.
Officials stressed Brasilia is a “multi-use” venue, and with no sizeable local club, authorities are stretching that definition to the maximum.
“All told, monthly costs for water, lighting, staff and maintenance are around 600,000 reais ($200,000),” a spokeswoman for the local state tourist authority told AFP.
She added only 1.5 million reais had been recouped since the venue opened in May 2013 — less than 10 percent of maintenancetb costs to date.
But she insisted buses were not being garaged at the venue.
“They are not staying there overnight. It is not a station. Some city centre buses are merely using it” on their routes.
The spokeswoman said “between 350 and 400” functionaries from three federal state secretariats, including sport, were set to be accommodated in office space at the venue for an estimated annual saving of 10 million reais to state authorities.
A stadium spokesman, meanwhile, confirmed discussions were ongoing to being first division football to the ground in the new season, starting on May 10, as happened on a handful of occasions last season.
In January, Brasilia scrapped plans to host the 2019 World University Games after the city’s newly-elected governor Rodrigo Rollemberg said the city was unable to “meet its financial obligation” to host the biennial multi-sport event.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Mexico City received 440,810 foreign tourists in the first two months of 2015, the highest figure for the period in eight years and 12 percent more than in January-February 2014, the Latin American Herald Tribune – www.laht.com, reported.
The capital city’s tourism bureau said in a statement that foreigners made up 22 percent of the nearly 2 million visitors to Mexico City.
Those visitors spent $754 million, up 5 percent from the first two months of 2014 and the highest total for the period in nine years.
Hotel occupancy reached 66.6 percent rate, only 0.1 percent better than during the same period last year, but even so the best performance since 2007, the bureau said.
The capital?s tourism sector accounted for almost 1 million jobs in January and February, 4.8 percent more than in the first two months of 2014.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism, travel, transport, politics, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink.
Somalia’s Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid on Friday launched new Somalia embassy building in Doha as part of his official tour to Qatar, Radio Dalsan – radiodalsan.com, in Mogadishu, reported.
Officials from federal government, foreign diplomats and selected Somali community members living in Qatar was in attendance at the opening ceremony in Doha.
“It’s honor for me to launch this building, we know efforts being made in the last two years to achieve this and now Somalia have a beautiful embassy in here” the Prime Minister said.
He asked current Somalia ambassador to Qatar to engage good relations with the Somali Diaspora in Qatar and those who are coming Qatar for various interests.
In an interview with Al-jazeera the PM said that Somali government is giving its utmost effort to stabilize Somalia again after decades of war and now Somalia is ready for foreign business investments.
“Somalia is no longer equated with the negative aspects: piracy, terrorism. Now the country is ready for business. And we want to solicit with whoever wants to invest.” The PM said.
Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid has been holding talks with Qatar officials and both sides discussed ways of boosting current bilateral relations between the two nations.
