Indian Railways celebrates its 160th anniversary this year, although the government-owned train company's connections to that first 57-minute trip, from Bombay to Thane, in 1853, are rather vague. Originally due to be published in time to coincide with the anniversary, Trailblazer guides' much-needed
Indian Rail Handbook has sadly been held back until the end of next year, leaving a gap in the market for comprehensive and reliable information on how to get around on India's massive and still very cheap rail network. For now, the best place to find information is the India section of Mark Smith's website, The Man in Seat Sixty-One (
www.seat61.com). One book that has made it to the publisher in time is
Around India in 80 Trains, by Monisha Rajesh, which documents her travels across the country on, yes, 80 trains. It has received glowing praise from reviewers as diverse as William Dalrymple and Irvine Welsh, and seems likely to inspire readers to attempt similar feats. A three-month Indrail Pass for unlimited travel on Indian trains costs US$1,060 for an air-conditioned carriage, and just US$235 for a non-air-conditioned sleeper. These can be purchased through Indian Railways, which has at least two websites: a relatively modern one at
www.indianrailways.gov.in and a 1990s-style site (optimised for 1999's Internet Explorer 5, presumably for the benefit of remote rural communities and such) at
www.indianrail.gov.in/. But you'll find it easier to simply do a Google search for "Indrail".
There's been some movement in the upper echelons of Parisian hotels recently, not least with the reopening last month of the Prince de Galles hotel after a two-year renovation by Starwood Hotels & Resorts. This fairly grand old property, located on Avenue George V, was opened in 1928, supposedly to accommodate the Prince of Wales, for whom it was also named, and is one of several old European hotels being spruced up by Starwood for its Luxury Collection. The Plaza Athenee, meanwhile, will be curtailing its centenary celebrations early and closing down in October for a six- month renovation. It joins the Ritz and Hotel de Crillon, which are also both undergoing refurbishment. The Royal Monceau (which was clumsily rebranded as Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris in 2010) has just been awarded official Palace Hotel status by the French government. The "Palace" denomination caused uproar when it was launched two years ago, as it left out several unofficially long-recognised "Palace" hotels, including the now-closed Ritz and Le Crillon. Finally, the Shangri-La Paris has just unveiled a 20-room Garden Wing and private garden (right), which has pleasant views of the Eiffel Tower.
Local adventure travel specialist Whistling Arrow has announced a new trek to northern Yunnan province, in the region known (at least since a nifty official name-change in 2002) as Shangri-La (pictured top). The circular trekking route will, according to the company, "follow an ancient pilgrimage path over six high altitude passes, through lush valleys dotted with wild flowers and yak herders' huts, to witness crystal clear, glacier-fed lakes and mountain views that simply take your breath away". The trip lasts for 12 days, from September 11 to 22, and is priced at US$3,200 per person, excluding flights. For more information, visit
www.whistlingarrow.com or contact
[email protected].
