The
London Evening Standard newspaper called it "One of the best and oddest guidebooks to any city ever written", while writer and historian Gavin Stamp says it's "One of the finest and most evocative books ever written about a city." Next month, you can judge for yourself when
Nairn's London is republished for only the third time since it first appeared, in 1966. The second time was in 2001, when it was given an introduction by American film critic Roger Ebert, who was also responsible for the 1988 reprint. "Nairn haunts my London," he wrote, "he has been my friend even though I never met him, and the city is richer, deeper and more valuable to me because of him. I cannot walk past the Albert Memorial without saluting the elephant with 'a backside like a businessman scrambling under a restaurant table for his cheque book'." A champion and protector of English architecture, Ian Nairn wrote many books in its defence, but to the wider world he is best remembered for
Nairn's London, which has probably guided as many locals as tourists around the capital. This latest edition is a faithful reprint of the original, and it's thanks in part to Nairn, who died in 1983, that much of what is contained between its covers (railway stations, synagogues, abandoned gasworks, gardens, East End markets, churches, a Gothic cinema and 27 pubs - as well as the more familiar tourist sights) still remains.
Nairn's London is published by Penguin and is available for pre-order at
Amazon.co.uk.
Cathay Pacific's daily service to Milan, Italy, looks like being the way to go if you plan on visiting the Italian and French rivieras from mid-December. That's when Franco-Italian train operator Thello will be starting a direct Milan-to-Marseille service, calling at Genoa (alight here for Portofino), San Remo, Menton, Monaco, Nice, Cannes and some smaller stations along the way. Until now it has been easiest to fly with Air France to Paris and connect to Nice or Marseille, but this new rail route allows you to take a non-stop flight to Milan and then enjoy the scenery of the Gulf of Genoa and the Cote d'Azur rather than the inside of Charles de Gaulle Airport and a cramped Airbus A320. The Cathay flight arrives in Milan at 8.15am and the Thello train departs Milano Centrale daily at 3.10pm, arriving in Genoa at 4.40pm, Nice at 7.55pm and Marseille at 10.30pm. Tickets from Milan to Marseille cost from €30 (HK$300) to €70, and proportionally less for stations en route. Visit
www.thello.com for a full timetable and online ticket purchases.
Working out at less than HK$1,000 per day for full-board accommodation and flights, a 29-day Southeast Asia cruise offered by TLX Travel is something of a bargain, at least for those with enough free time. Holland America Line's MS Volendam (below) sets sail from Singapore on February 2, and will be putting in at Malacca, Penang, Phuket, Thilawa (for Yangon), Langkawi, Port Klang (for Kuala Lumpur), Koh Samui, Laem Chabang (for Bangkok), Sihanoukville, Da Nang and Halong Bay before steaming into Hong Kong on March 2. Prices start from HK$20,900 per person, but as this price will only get you an interior cabin, it would be best to book an ocean view room, which is priced from HK$24,800. These prices include a flight to Singapore with Singapore Airlines, but not the standard taxes and surcharges that come with a cruise, which will add about HK$7,700 to the total. For a full itinerary for the "29-day Far East & Asian Adventure Collector Fly Cruise Package" (and other regional cruises) go to
www.tlxtravel. com, and for a virtual tour of the MS Volendam, visit
www.hollandamerica.com.
Farrington American Express Travel's Sanya package offers a number of Hainan Island's better hotels and resorts with a two-night stay priced from HK$2,350. This price is for the Pullman Oceanview Sanya Bay Resort & Spa, but also within affordable reach are better properties such as the Mandarin Oriental (top; from HK$3,550) and the Conrad Sanya Haitang Bay (from HK$4,290). Prices will be available until the end of the year or next March (depending on the resort), and include flights with Dragonair. For a full list of hotels and resorts, and reservations, go to
www.amextravel.com.hk.
