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Peter Walbrook

Rice queen
Victoria Hotels & Resorts' latest attraction for travellers heading to Vietnam's  Mekong Delta is a converted traditional rice barge, which is the main  draw in the company's Jewels of the Mekong package. The price of US$578 (flights not included) per person, twin share (with tax)  includes one night's accommodation  at both the  Victoria Chau Doc Hotel,  close to the Cambodian border, and the  Victoria Can Tho Resort,  downriver to the southeast. The river-borne aspect of the package involves a day aboard the  Le Jarai rice barge (above), with diversions to floating markets and fish farms, and a trip  aboard a similar vessel, the  Lady Hau. Transfers to and from Ho Chi Minh City and between the two properties are by private car.
This price, which includes daily breakfast and lunch, will be available until September. Children under five can accompany their parents free of charge while those aged from five to 12 can go for half price. For more information and reservations, visit  www.victoriahotels-asia.com and click on the Discovery Packages link.
Back in business
A Manhattan landmark for most of the 20th century, The Plaza Hotel (below), located  in New York's Central Park, is set to reopen this week following a two-year, US$400 million 'lobby to roof' renovation. (The hotel   cost a staggering US$17 million to build when it opened in 1907). The Plaza featured prominently in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest and the Beatles took over an entire wing of  it on their first US visit, in 1964.  Writer  Truman Capote hosted his  Black and White Ball, hailed, or at least hyped, as the party of the century, in its  grand ballroom in  1966. The reopening is much anticipated, with additions such as the  Champagne Bar and  Rose Club joining surviving establishments like the  Oak Room and  Oak Bar (once a men-only preserve). The hotel's 282 rooms, which boast such luxuries as the world's first 24-carat gold-plated sinks, start from US$795 per night.  Visit  www.fairmont.com/theplaza for reservations and more enticing attractions.
Between the lines
Railways have been carrying tourists to their holiday destinations since at least as far back as  1841, when Thomas Cook established his travel agency by herding a trainload of Victorian teetotallers between the English towns of Leicester and Loughborough. The highlight of their trip was a rather unromantic-sounding Temperance Society meeting but by the 1870s, Cook's itineraries included train journeys through India and China. Both countries  still offer classic rail trips,  detailed in a new book titled   First Class: Legendary Train Journeys Around the World. As well as the  Trans-Siberian and  Trans-Manchurian railways and the  Darjeeling Toy Train, this attractive volume covers  Le Train Bleu, the  California Zephyr and, of course, the Orient Express. Each chapter is supplemented with a comprehensive selection of historical and contemporary photos, maps and literary extracts. Contained in a slipcase box in the style of a steamer trunk,  the book, by  Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, is available from Amazon.com for US$23.
Into thin air
Visitors to Tokyo can now view the city from the air and at a leisurely pace from the gondola of the  Zeppelin NT, a 75-metre airship that until last month was used only as an advertising platform. About 100 flights are planned between now and the spring, when the helium-filled aircraft is expected to move to Kyoto. Ninety-minute flights, carrying eight passengers, cost 126,000/168,000 yen (HK$8,800/HK$11,700) for day/night sightseeing trips. Ask your hotel concierge or visit any tourist information centre for reservations. For views of the airship, see  www.nac-airship.com.
Deal of the week
The former  Century Hyatt (above) in Tokyo's  west Shinjuku district has been  upgraded to a Hyatt Regency  (www.hyatt.com).   Tiglion Travel is offering a package with two nights' accommodation at the hotel for HK$4,990 that includes round-trip, economy-class flights with  All Nippon Airways and daily breakfast. Lower down the scale in terms of quality and budget, the Star Hotel  (www.starhotel.co.jp) - also in Shinjuku - and the Ginza Capital Hotel  (www.ginza-capital.co.jp) across town are available for HK$4,090 and HK$4,390, respectively. The Akasaka Excel Hotel Tokyu  (www.tokyuhotelsjapan.com/en) is another option, for HK$4,590.  These rates, which are priced per person, twin-share, will be available until the end of March,  with blackout dates for Lunar New Year and Easter  from February 1 to 10 and  March 19 to 23. For further details and bookings, call Tiglion Travel on  2511 7189 or e-mail travel@tiglion.com.



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