More offbeat holidays from Concorde Travel include taking part in a cattle drive in the Aussie Outback, a six-day vintage steam train journey around South Africa's Cape province and seven-night luxury cruises under sail from Dubai.
On the doorstep, Concorde is offering 20-minute scenic helicopter flights over Victoria Harbour, Tsing Ma Bridge and the Big Buddha on Lantau from $950. For details, call 2526 3391 or fax 2845 0485.
Foliage, a new restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, has been voted Hotel Restaurant of the Year 2000 by the trade publication Hotel and Restaurant Magazine.
Foliage only opened a few months ago. The restaurant's interior has been designed to highlight the views over the park. After dark, glass panels containing 24,000 silk leaves light up to create an illusion of greenery.
Meanwhile, the Oriental in Bangkok has taken the top spot in the New York-based Institutional Investor's 20th annual World's Best Hotels survey.
Travellers can now start their vacation or business trip with a mobile phone and a personal telephone number when renting cars from Avis or Hertz. Avis Europe provides international customers with global roaming mobile phones free of charge for 21 days, though the customer must pay for calls. A phone is sent to a home or office along with personal business cards listing the phone number, plus a spare battery. Call (800) 331-1084. Until December 31, Hertz's international customers renting mobile phones for a week or more will receive the first three days free. Phone (800) 654-3001.