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mikec@scmp.com The British can be pretty inventive when it comes to organising their leisure activities. Take Barry Kirk, who spends his weekends dressed as a baked bean. If it rains, which it often does, the gardeners can put their tools back in the shed and nip off to the Lawnmower Museum. Others have model aircraft kits, some of which can only be assembled outdoors. One enthusiast even has a full-size replica of a Spitfire fighter on his roof.

They are all listed in a book titled Eccentric Britain, in case you want to look some of them up in what would truly be an offbeat holiday. The book, by Benedict le Vay, introduces a host of British eccentrics, and tells you how to get to such places as 'the pub with no name' and the Tall Persons' Club. Check out the Web site: www.bradt-travelguides.com Japan has abolished its three per cent tourism tax. The tax has been enforced for more than 40 years on hotel rooms that cost more than US$140 (about HK$1,100) and meals of more than US$70.

Local travel agents at the recent PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) annual conference were advised to get their act together in cyberspace if they want to survive the expected revolution of online bookings. But it's tough for many dot com outfits. One in New York has found it so hard to attract Web surfers that it has hired a fleet of delivery vehicles. They have nothing to deliver except a message on the side of each vehicle: the Web site address. Keep on trucking! The Singapore Arts Festival will be held from June 1 to 25 and Thomas Cook is offering a three days/two nights package from HK$3,690. The Singapore Tourism Board boasts there will be more than 300 performances from 20 countries and regions. At the Festival Village it promises we can discover highland cultures of India, Nepel (sic) and China. For information on the packages, call 2853 9888. Tickets for events can be purchased through SISTIC. Web site: www.sistic.com.sg. For information on festival events look up the Web site: www.msn.com.sg/artsfest.asp The elegant Hotel Meurice, across from the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, will reopen its mahogany doors next month after two years of renovation aimed at restoring the building to its opulence of a century ago. During the renovations, a forgotten Art Nouveau glass dome with delicate fish-scale panels was uncovered. It now adorns the hotel's gilded Winter Garden tea salon.

A new, 670-square-metre rooftop suite, dubbed the Belle Etoile, revolutionises the idea of a room with a view. A zinc-roofed Belle Epoque folly encased in reflective glass, this US$7,000-a-night, two-bedroom suite offers panoramic views from many points. The Meurice has attracted a roster of famous guests including the Shah of Iran, who was staying there when he was overthrown, King George VI, and Salvador Dali. Web site: www.meuricehotel.com