The Korea Herald

Tourists reach new beach frontier in Myanmar

Mar 11, 2011

Waves lap the vast sweep of pristine, palm-lined sands as a sprinkling of Westerners soak up the sun, their breezy peace punctuated only by the creaks of a passing ox-cart.Welcome to a tourist paradise, in one of the world’s most isolated nations.“I’ve been to a lot of beaches and this is just amazing,” said retired Canadian Hugh Minielly, as he and his wife Mary watched the sun set over the azure Bay of Bengal at Myanmar’s coastal resort of Ngapali.Just a dozen or so hotels are hidden amid the
Korea to promote Daegu tourism in Japan

Mar 7, 2011

The Korea Tourism Organization said it will attract Japanese tourists to Daegu through a series of promotional meetings in five major cities of Japan from March 7 to March 12.Daegu is scheduled to host the International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships from Aug. 27 to Sept. 4, and the KTO has set the year 2011 as “Visit Daegu Year” to boost tourism in the city.The KTO’s iti
Waterford: The city sparkles like its crystal

Mar 4, 2011

WATERFORD, Ireland (AP) ― Waterford Crystal is renowned for its sparkle, and lately the city it is named for lives up to that description.Still, Waterford, in Ireland’s sunny southeast (sunny being a relative concept in Ireland), has not always had it easy. The city often is passed over by tourists in favor of Dublin’s nightlife or the emerald-green seaside hills of Kerry. And two years ago, the c
Around the hotels

Mar 4, 2011

JW Marriott SeoulFrom March 4 to June 26, the hotel is offering a spring picnic package for families. The package includes a one night stay in a superior room, a picnic lunch box for two people consisting of two ham & cheese sandwiches with two bottles of vitamin water, a Seoripul Park walkway map around the hotel and free access to the swimming pool and the gym. The package is available on Friday
Click! Online gateways to Korea

Feb 27, 2011

The Korea Herald guide to the nation’s most useful websitesIf you want to do a bit of research before taking a trip in South Korea, don’t settle for the standard Google search or hastily read travel books. Here are 21 cyber destinations covering Korean travel, history, society and language, targeting both tourists and expats. Non-Korean visitors ― and possibly many Koreans, too ― could find these
Romantic moments in the world’s most exciting city

Feb 25, 2011

NEW YORK ― What’s romantic? Taking your sweetheart to New York City.The most exciting metropolis in the world packs a lot of living into every hour.Here, even hicks from the sticks feel like they’re Somebody from Somewhere.It all starts with your hotel.My advice is to cut your stay by a night ― and pay a little more for the room each night. Two of the most romantic hotels in New York are diametric
Egyptian tourism struggles to revive

Feb 21, 2011

CAIRO (AP) ― The wind-swept pyramids of Giza were virtually deserted Sunday, symbols not just of the might and culture of the pharaohs but also the damage that Egypt’s upheaval has inflicted on tourism, a pillar of the economy.Just two dozen foreign tourists were seen by midday at the wondrous monuments, where thousands flocked daily before protesters launched an uprising in late January that topp
Las Vegas wedding chapels deal with love recession

Feb 18, 2011

LAS VEGAS (AP) ― Las Vegas’ love life is in the dumps.Fewer than 92,000 couples married in or around Sin City last year. The last time the city of drive-through wedding chapels married fewer people, it was 1993.The wedding industry hoped Valentine’s Day would provide some much needed sizzle, but they weren’t betting on it with the festival falling on a weekday. The love recession is a real heartac
More than just ski slopes

Feb 18, 2011

Chilling out in Gangwon’s unique tourist spotsPYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province ― The problem with a winter holiday is that some people don’t like being stuck on the ski slopes all day. So when PyeongChang, the country’s best winter resort town, was hit by a record snowfall of 77 centimeters in one day, there was a desperate urge to get away from the slopes. Deciding on a day trip away from the city,
Hong Kong’s unexpected face: wetlands

Feb 18, 2011

Mai Po and Wetland Park, one of best bird-watching destinations in winterHONG KONG ― The air was gratifying at Mai Po Inner Deep Bay, totally different from the dry, fume-filled atmosphere of the central city. It was refreshing and moist, just to the point where your skin feels comfortable and your lungs feel detoxified, finally having taken in a satisfying amount of pure oxygen. Who could have im
Winter activities to spice up Daegwallyeong Snow Festival

Feb 11, 2011

Snow festivals in Korea heavily depend on the weather and it seems that the Daegwallyeong Snow Festival will offer a full chance to enjoy white snow before the “kkotsaem chuwi,” or a cold snap in the flowering season, comes late February.Taking place for nine days from Saturday through Feb. 20 at Hoenggye-ri in Daegwallyeong-myeon in PyeongChang County, the festival will feature a variety of winte
Old Quarter connects to past in bustling Hanoi

Feb 11, 2011

HANOI (AP) ― Close your eyes in the streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter and you will experience two sensations. The first is the earsplitting cacophony of conversation, cars, clamor and chaos. The second is the realization that closing your eyes for very long in such a crowded place can be unwise, unless you enjoy being jostled, bumped, hustled, shouted at, or maybe even knocked down.Such is the Vietna
Neon makes a comeback in Las Vegas

Feb 11, 2011

LAS VEGAS ― One of the hottest tickets in Las Vegas isn’t Cher or Celine, Blue Man Group or Cirque de Soleil. It’s a day trip to a gravel lot filled with scrap metal, miles from the Strip.There, on North Las Vegas Boulevard, surrounded by a chain-link fence, is the latest incarnation of the legendary Las Vegas neon “boneyard.” It’s the kind of place where great signs of long-gone casinos and bars,
Around the hotels

Feb 11, 2011

Grand Hyatt SeoulThe hotel kicked off a series of events titled “The Wine Club” on Feb. 10. The events offer unlimited wine and a Spanish Tapas-style dinner buffet. The second event “Shiraz around the world” is to be held on March 3, followed by “Pinot Noir at its best” on May 12, “Summer Wines” on June 2, “Made for Japan” on Sept. 1 and “Big Reds” on Nov. 2. Entrance fee is 75,000 won per person
1330 call service still soaring in popularity

Jan 30, 2011

The use of travel call service number 1330, a 24-hour help line for local and international travelers, has jumped 27 percent in 2010 from the previous year, the Korea Tourism Organization said Wednesday.According to the KTO, the number of 1330 calls dialed by both foreigners and Koreans soared to nearly 170,000 in 2010 from 133,000 in 2009, following an increase of 32 percent year-on-year growth i