Travellers' checks

A number of resorts on the island of Phuket have been built on the sites of its disused tin mines; the five Laguna Phuket resorts were built over one, as was the island's first golf course in the 1980s. Now a new resort has opened that not only covers an old mine but artfully incorporates parts of the old buildings and fittings into its design. Indigo Pearl (above) aims to 'restore the historic balance and attract discerning travellers seeking a distinctive cultural experience', with no half-measures regarding the industrial theme. Guests can dine at the Rivet Grill, the Underground Cafe or the Tin Mine, stay in the Kelly Quarters, named after mining machinery, and so on. The resort is offering special soft-opening nightly room rates of US$188 a night from December 1 to 21, US$268 from December 22 to January 10 and US$212 from January 11 to March 31. All these rates include buffet breakfast and airport transfers. For further details and reservations visit www.indigo-pearl.com. Dragonair, which suspended flights to Phuket in January last year following a tsunami-related downturn in passenger numbers, is set to recommence daily scheduled services on December 15.

Anyone with designs on being a travel-show presenter can road-test their efforts at Travelistic.com, a new video upload website where travellers can show their talents to the world. Working on the same principle as YouTube.com, this new site is searchable by place (with a Google map) and by people, so if viewers are impressed with your presentations they can easily locate the rest of your material and make comments. Travelistic also hosts some professional content (television show The Thirsty Traveler, for example) and tourist-board videos, so it's a place to seek footage of your next destination. It's handy as a host for your own page and for storing your travel video clips to show friends and family, but for inspiration for something more ambitious see Matt Harding's amazing globetrotting video at www.wherethehellismatt.com.

Adventure travel company World Expeditions has added to its portfolio a new guided cycling tour that begins in Ho Chi Minh City and ends at Angkor Wat. The 12-day trip will leave Ho Chi Minh on December 12, January 20 and on four more dates throughout next year, with 21-speed mountain bikes provided. The itinerary includes the Cu Chi Tunnels (below) and a ride across the Cambodian border to Phnom Penh, with a bus transfer to Siem Reap for three days' cycling around the region. The tour price is US$1,590, which excludes flights but includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, airport transfers, site entry fees and 'comfortable, well-located hotels'. World Expeditions is a well-established company (it began with hippie trips to India and Nepal in the 1970s) and has offices around the world. The closest to Hong Kong are in Australia, but you can book through any location and join the tour in Ho Chi Minh City. For more information see www.worldexpeditions.com.