On the Road
KIWI Holidays have teamed up with Air New Zealand and the New Zealand Tourism Board to launch a New Zealand Explorer programme offering a new range of holidays.
The 'Holiday Planner' package offers two free nights' hotel accommodation. Call 2844-9768 for details.
AFTER several of its employees in Mexico City were assaulted in taxis earlier this year, the United States Embassy has recommended that travellers use only taxis from designated stands, called sitios in Spanish.
Embassy officials say that since the recommendation was issued, there have been few reports of new incidents. The assaults earlier this year typically took place when taxi drivers took passengers to remote areas to rob them, often with the aid of others who were waiting there.
CENTURY International Hotels is offering a package from today until September 15. The hotels involved are here in Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh, Hue (Vietnam), Manila, Davao, and two properties in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The offer is open to guests staying a minimum of two nights, and the special rates include breakfast. For further details tel Hong Kong 2507-6662 or fax 2598-4850.
THE long-running battle to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over has entered a new phase.
Last month workmen poured liquid nitrogen into 178 holes around the 12th-century tower to freeze the ground, helping to prevent vibrations as they begin removing the metre-deep layer of cement and mortar under its base.
The next phase of the project calls for the removal of lead counterweights that can now be seen on the outside of the tower and the installation of a huge cement ring below ground around its foundation.
Experts supervising the restoration believe these measures will allow it to remain stable for at least another 50 years while pulling it back less than an inch from its current angle.
By early next year, the tower may be reopened to a limited number of tourists.
Originally built as the belfry for Pisa's cathedral in 1173, the tower began leaning in the 13th century as the ground below slowly gave way. It was closed to the public in 1990.
THE Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland is slowly decaying.
No major repairs have been made in 50 years. According to one study, a proper conservation and restoration effort would cost US$42 million.
On The Road copy should be faxed to 2980-3140 or mailed to Features, GPO Box 47.
