Angkor Eye: Siem Reap gets Ferris wheel to ‘help promote Khmer culture to tourists’

Raffles Grand Hotel D’Angkor closed for renovations in April but is due to reopen on October 1, and is now accepting reservations from that date. First opened in the early 1930s and now considered something of a grand dame, the hotel was originally seen as rather incongruous by some, sitting, as it did, so close to the divine ruins of Angkor.

In her well-received book Cambodian glory: The Mystery of the Deserted Khmer Cities and Their Vanished Splendour (1936), writer H.W. Ponder described it as an “immense and dazzling white concrete palace that would look more at home on the Côte d’Azur than in its present setting in the middle of the Cambodian plains”. Were she still with us, Ponder would likely be even less approving of a new Ferris wheel that is reported to be under construction just up the road, near the Anantara Angkor Resort & Spa.

The Khmer Times newspaper quotes Meng Heang, the chairman of Angkor Eye, as saying that “this world-class Ferris wheel will enhance the province’s tourism offer, for both national and local tourists”. Siem Reap’s governor, Tea Seyha, claims in the same article that the wheel will “help promote Khmer culture to tourists from around the world who visit Siem Reap”. Standing at 85 metres, it will be 25 metres taller than the Hong Kong Observation Wheel.

Air China to launch route between Beijing and Nice

Next month, Air China will launch a new service linking Beijing with Nice, which will become only the second city in France to receive scheduled commercial flights from a mainland Chinese airline. This comes just a few months after a visit to the French Riviera and Monaco by President Xi Jinping, who impressed local media by reportedly checking-in with not only his wife, but also his own bed when he took two floors at Nice’s Le Negresco – one of the more opulent hotels on the Côte d’Azur. (Sadly, its long-time owner, the flamboyant hotelier Madame Jeanne Augier, had died at the age of 95 just a few weeks earlier.)

The first national carrier of the People’s Republic of China, CAAC Airlines began flying from Beijing to Paris via Karachi in October 1974, with a Boeing 707 , making the French capital its first Western European destination. CAAC Airlines was broken up into several smaller carriers in 1988, the largest of which was Air China, and Chinese media are claiming this year as the 45th anniversary of Air China opening the Beijing-Paris route.

Nice Côte d’Azur Airport has already created a Chinese-language version of its website, put up Chinese signage and installed interactive kiosks to help Chinese visitors. China reportedly ranks only 15th in tourist numbers to the Côte d’Azur, but that is likely to soon change. Air China flight CA851 will fly from Beijing to Nice every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from August 2. The flight time for the Airbus A330 is scheduled for 11 hours and 15 minutes.

Walk Japan’s Kunisaki Retreat takes travellers around remote peninsula

Starting off in Fukuoka, Walk Japan’s Kunisaki Retreat is a seven-day romp around the remote Kunisaki Peninsula, on the island of Kyushu. Following rural paths re­opened as part of Walk Japan’s Community Project, the walking looks fairly light at about 5km a day, and includes “meditation, gentle exercise, relaxation and learning first-hand some of the traditions that make the beau­tiful peninsula of Kunisaki so special”.

Accommodation is in traditional Japanese inns, and most meals, yoga, meditation, massages, craft activities and transfers are included in the package price, which starts from 358,000 yen (US$3,310) per person, flights not included. The next tour starts on September 22, and you can find more about this and other hikes around Kunisaki, and beyond, at walkjapan.com.

Deal of the week – two nights in Kuching, Malaysia

Lotus Tours’ two-night package to Kuching, in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, starts from HK$2,499 per person, twin share. Entry-level accom­mo­dation is at The LimeTree Hotel, but from only HK$300 or HK$400 more you can stay at the Hilton or Pullman hotels, respectively.

Singapore Airlines will get you to and from the Lion City, with connecting flights in and out of Kuching. For more details, go to the Lotus Tours website.