The plane facts: Cathay Pacific has launched an 'I Can Fly' programme in which, over the coming year, 1,000 youngsters (aged 13 to 18) will get an opportunity to learn about basic aviation, take part in one of seven charity events, and visit Cathay City (Cathay Pacific's corporate headquarters), the facilities of the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company and Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals, the Government Flying Service base and Air Traffic Control. About 500 who perform exceptionally well will then be able to try their hand at model plane flying, orienteering training and flight simulators, as well as visit an aircraft plant in France or the United States, or a flying school in Australia. Details are available from icanfly.cathaypacific.com.
Boutique B&B: ONE3TWO is the first boutique bed & breakfast hotel (above and right) in York, in northern England. Set in a Georgian property five minutes from the city centre, the five individually designed rooms feature marble bathrooms, Indonesian teak beds, Egyptian linen and cost between #45 and #65 (HK$560-$810) per person a night. Call (44 1904) 600060 or visit
www.one3two.co.uk for more details.
Cooking up a storm: The Regent Cooking School, which opened at the Regent Chiang Mai Resort & Spa last month, is offering an eight-day/seven-night Culinary Package featuring an intensive interactive cooking course. Priced at $11,213 per person (based on twin share, April 1 to September 30), the package includes six Northern Thai-style cooking modules (9am to 2.30pm daily: salads; soups and noodles; sticky and Jasmine rice dishes; curries; Thai hors d'oeuvres; vegetarian cuisine), a tour of the herb and spice garden, a class on traditional Khantoke dining, a local market excursion, and a fruit and vegetable-carving lesson. Also included in the price is seven nights' accommodation in a Garden View Pavilion Suite, private round-trip airport transfers, daily American breakfast, a two-hour Herbal Aromatic Retreat per person at the Lanna Spa, one Thai set dinner in your suite's open-air Sala, one Thai home-style dinner off-resort, daily fresh fruit and newspaper, and complimentary use of the tennis courts, sauna, whirlpool, 20-metre pool, rice paddy plunge pool, mountain bikes and shuttle bus to the city centre. A five-day/four-night package is also available on request, call [66 53] 298181 or toll free on 800 96 8384 for details (
www.fourseasons.com).
Sybaritic spas: The World's Best Hotel Spas as voted by readers of Travel + Leisure magazine
1 The Oriental (Bangkok, Thailand)
2 Regent Chiang Mai Resort Lanna Spa (Thailand)
3 Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay (Indonesia)