The Chi Lang Temple is currently being built by the lake as a spiritual
and cultural complex to cherish the historical values of Chi Lang.
.
In training for a Vangvieng Trail hike at the end
of this year, my friends and I would normally walk along the Mekong
riverbank to prepare for such an event but one recent weekend we
decided to try somewhere different.
Out of the many places we considered, we settled
upon the Tad Xai waterfall at Ban Hatkhai in Borikhamxay province,
which lies within the Phou Khaokhouay National Protected Area.
Reached by travelling on Road 13 South, it’s near
the border between Vientiane and Borikhamxay province, and is about
three hours drive from Vientiane.
We chose this place because we heard that trekking
guides are available, which we thought was a good idea because we were
by no means experienced trekkers.
I have been to Tad Xai a few times before, but
mostly just to have a picnic and enjoy the waterfall, which is one of
the most beautiful of the many that are to be found in the national
protected area. This was the first time I would be able to explore the
area more fully.
We arrived at Ban Hatkhai around 10 am where a
local tourist officer was waiting to guide us on the walk. The fee for
each of us was 45,000 kip. It was several kilometres from the village
to the park itself and some sections of the road were quite rough.
Drivers would need a vehicle with good clearance or four-wheel drive.
But we were intent on having a long walk so we went
in another direction along a small trail which passed through woods,
so the tree canopy protected us from the hot sun.
Here’s the full of the world’s 20 most beautiful countries, according to Rough Guides readers.
The reconstruction work on Beijng’s Fengtai Railway Station, the capital’s oldest, has recently begun, and it is expected to result in Asia’s largest railway station, the peoplerail.com reported on Tuesday.
Authorities have diverted the Beijing-Guangzhou railway line, which normally passes through the station, as of Monday night to facilitate the new construction.
Dating back to the year 1898, the Beijing Fengtai Railway Station, located at Zhengyang Avenue in Fengtai District of southern Beijing, used to be a small comprehensive railway station incorporating passenger trains and freight trains.
The station has been closed for passenger service since June 2010, ending a running history as long as 115 years.
According to its contractor China Railway Construction Engineering Group, the new station will have seven floors with four floors aboveground and three floors underground. Covering an area of 398,800 square kilometers, it will accommodate a maximum of 14,000 passengers. Subway lines 10 and 16 will be linked to the station to bring more convenience to travelers.
The reconstruction work is set to finish in 2020, when the railway station is expected to become the biggest in Asia and a major transportation hub. It will serve high-speed trains on the Beijing-Guangzhou, Beijing-Kowloon and Beijing-Shijiazhuang lines, and will provide suburban railway services.
The station will also help ease the capital’s traffic burden, facilitate transportation to Xiongan New Area, and better promote the integration of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
Source – TheJakartaPost
When it comes to getting around the city of Kuala Lumpur, travelers have several options of getting around. Whether it’s by train or taxi, transportation around the city is relatively hassle-free.
Here are some transport suggestions for getting around KL.
Train
With the recent completion of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), more parts of KL are now connected by rail. Apart from the MRT, other rail service include the Light Rail Transit (LRT), monorail and KTM Komuter.
The trains in the city pass through iconic attractions such as KLCC, Central Market and Muzium Negara.
If you’re on a long visit, consider purchasing the Touch ‘N’ Go card or weekly passes for cheaper fares. The card can be used on all trains, as well as RapidKL buses.
Bus
Travelling by bus in the city is a generally comfortable experience these days. Most of them are fully air conditioned and they get you to popular tourist attractions as well as quaint neighbourhoods. Look out for the free purple Go KL buses within the central business district that run along popular sites and famous shopping districts. You can also travel further on the RapidKL buses.
Go KL City Bus is a free bus service that serving the city centre of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Taxi
Taxi is probably one of the most convenient ways to travel from one place to another in KL. Always insist on using the metre – do not be duped into haggling for a price.
According to the Land Public Transport Commission, regular budget taxis (usually painted in red and white, or red and blue) charge RM3 for the first three minutes. Subsequent distance or time are charged at RM0.25 every 200m or 36 seconds.
Blue cabs (Teksi Eksekutif) and gold cabs (Teks1M) are better for large groups, but they do charge a higher fee.
Taxis queue along KL Sentral in the city. Photo: The Star
Self drive
KL is a big city and having a car would allow travellers to get to surrounding townships such as Petaling Jaya or Shah Alam in Selangor easily. There are plenty of car rental options available online or at the airport. Driving in the city is generally safe. You might want to avoid peak hours though when traffic congestion can set you back an hour on average.
Driving around KL is relatively breezy, just be sure to avoid rush hours! Photo: The Star
Ride hailing
Malaysia actually has a few ride-hailing options, with Grab being one of the more popular options among locals. Utilising the service is as easy as downloading an app. The downside is you would need mobile data or WiFi to operate the service. But that shouldn’t be an issue as more people are connected on their travels these days.
You can also book taxis, trains, and more … on some of these apps.
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While Vietnamese visitors continued to top the list of international tourist arrivals to Cambodia in 2016, their numbers dipped as the number of Chinese tourists continued to surge and looks set to take the top notch this year, according to newly released Tourism Ministry annual figures.
The data showed total tourist arrivals from Vietnam fell 3 percent to 950,000 last year, while Chinese arrivals surged 19 percent to 830,000 over the same period.
Chhay Sivlin, president of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents (CATA), expressed confidence that China would soon overtake Vietnam as the main source of the Kingdom’s tourists.
“Following the strengthening of the relationship between Cambodia and China and the government’s strategy to promote more Chinese tourist arrivals, China will soon be the leader for tourism visits in Cambodia,” she said yesterday.
Sivlin noted that the Ministry of Tourism still needs to increase the number of direct flights to the Kingdom in order to reach the country’s target of welcoming 7 million tourists by 2020, including 2 million Chinese visitors.
“Compared to neighboring countries, the number of international arrivals is still small because the shortage of direct flights is limiting international arrivals,” she said. “The government needs to speed up the process of approving direct flights to reach its tourism goals.”
According to the Ministry of Tourism, total tourist arrivals topped 5 million in 2016, from 4.8 million a year earlier, while total revenue from tourism decreased to $3 billion in 2016, from $3.5 billion in 2015.
Sivlin said one reason for the decline in tourism revenue was a failure to recognise the changes in tourist demographics. She pointed to the high number of souvenir products sold in the country imported from China, Vietnam and Thailand, which were difficult to sell when many tourists came from those same countries.
“We sell souvenir products that are not produced locally, and this is not attractive to international visitors when they know it is from their country,” she said.
Ang Kim Eang, general manager of Great Angkor Tours, said the marginal decline in Vietnamese arrivals had no significant impact on the tourism sector as most Vietnamese visitors arrive by bus and do not spend large sums of money. On the other hand, the higher number of Chinese tourists was good news for Cambodia as they tend to be more prolific spenders.
“Chinese tourism offers great potential for the local tourism sector because they like to spend a lot on entertainment services,” he said.
And with China’s outbound tourists topping 122 million last year, far more than the entire population of Vietnam, government initiatives to attract a larger share to Cambodia are hardly surprising.
“Chinese tourists are one of the main targets for promoting the Cambodian economy,” Eang said.
Source: PhnomPenhPost