Travel Cruncher

Fri May 11, 2012 10:04am EDT

(Reuters) – While most travellers know that Copenhagen and Amsterdam are ideal for exploring by bicycle, the rise of bike-sharing and bike tours in other cities is making discovering other destinations by bicycle easier than ever.

That’s why the members and editors of travel website VirtualTourist.com (www.virtualtourist.com) have compiled a list of the “Top 10 Spots to Explore by Bicycle.” Reuters has not endorsed this list:

1. Montréal, Québec, Canada

While Montréal’s most famous paths may lie underground, it’s most intriguing routes in the upcoming warmer months lie amongst its 2,400 miles of bike trails and paths. The first North American city to adopt a bicycle-sharing program, Montréal has a few popular rides, including along the Lachine Canal, the quays of the Old Port, and Rue McGill. In addition to paths within the city, Montréal lies in the centre of the Route Verte, a series of bikeways throughout Quebec modelled after Denmark’s national cycle routes and the Danube and Rhine bikeways. The route, which starts further west at Fort-Coulogne, also connects Montréal with Québec City to the north.

2. Paris, France

Though the first bike-sharing program in France originated in Lyon, it is Paris which gets most of the credit for spurring the bike-sharing craze around Europe. Paris’ bike-sharing program, called Vélib’, is now as synonymous with a Parisian experience as the Louvre and steak frites. Over the past few years, Vélib’ has grown to over 20,000 bikes with sharing stations every 300 meters. The initial benefits were aimed at commuters and residents, but it’s become a popular tourist activity as well. Easy routes to explore include the quais and ponts along

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Vanilla Ice and Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas Participate in Opening Event

Click here to view the Six Flags St. Louis press release.

ARLINGTON, Texas — May 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast was introduced at Six Flags Over Texas today with the ultimate cool dude, Vanilla Ice, performing in concert to officially celebrate the ride’s grand opening. After his performance, Vanilla Ice grabbed a front row seat on the park’s newest twist on one of its most popular thrill rides. Members of Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas were also on hand to enjoy the inaugural ride. Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast sends riders backwards through a 190-foot tunnel, into a 180-degree inversion then climbing more than 200-feet in the air where they will find themselves suspended, dangling in the air, before repeating the entire chilling experience.

“I am an adrenaline junkie. As a kid I always loved jumping on the biggest and fastest ride at Six Flags Over Texas,” said Vanilla Ice. “I was really excited to perform and then ride Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast. The backwards launch and going up the tower facing straight down is a real rush.”

Thrill seekers will notice additional ride enhancements including new logos on the cars, an updated entrance and new graphics on the tunnel.

Six Flags is delivering this new and innovative twist on an already popular roller coaster in two of its parks. Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast opened to the public at Six Flags St. Louis on May 5.

Both rides continue to feature the original MR. FREEZE theme, patterned after Batman’s cold-hearted nemesis in the DC Comics Batman series. As guests take the chilling walk through “Snowy’s Cones,” an old abandoned ice cream warehouse that secretly doubles as the favorite

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MANILA, Philippines — There are several ways of reaching an exotic island destination – by plane, train, bus, ferryboat, or by helicopter.  I eagerly went all five ways.

Our team who went for a three-day city tour in Malaysia was split in half, and I was sent off with the second group to Langkawi, the farthest of three destinations.  Although there are direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi via SilkAir, our group headed for a road adventure —probably inspired by the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix we just witnessed—and that was boarding a train for an overnight bunker ride to Penang, where the first group dropped off, and my group continued on for the next few hours to Kedah.

From there, a bus took us to the jetty where we boarded the ferry to our island destination.  The minute I saw the cluster of islets scattered like emerald gems in the Andaman Sea, this romantic getaway swept me off my feet.

Langkawi is a remarkable paradise which comprises 99 islands (104 at low tide) each with beautiful sandy shores, surrounded by pristine waters and lush rainforest, lying off the northwestern coast of Peninsular Malaysia in the Straits of Melaka, near the border of Thailand.

These mysterious islands are part of the state of Kedah (tagged as “Jewel of Kedah”), with the main island referred to as Pulau Langkawi.  Soaked in fascinating legends and intriguing folklores, the archipelago has been cited as a UNESCO Geopark in recognition of its amazing and significant geological history (fossils dating back millions of years ago!) and areas that cradle untouched paradise of age old forests teeming with undisturbed wildlife.  The park covers mountainous peaks of sandstone and limestone formations, karst topography, mystical caves, enchanting lakes,

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Tags: manila, Philippines, travel, world

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, May 11, 2012 –(PR.com)– The new man in the Square One Kitchen at Park Hyatt Saigon:

Park Hyatt Saigon is pleased to announce the appointment of Soren Lascelles, the new Chef de Cuisine for the signature restaurant, Square One.

Born in Australia, Soren started his culinary career in 1997 as an apprentice at Left Bank Café, moving his way up to Chef de Partie. He made his mark by lending his talents to the success of restaurants such as Armstrongs, voted “Best New Restaurant” by Courier Mail Brisbane 1999, and The Banc, achieving the highest rating in the Sydney Morning Herald’s “Good Food Guide” (Three Chef’s Hats), and ranked “Best Restaurant Australia” by Gourmet Traveller magazine in 2000.

In 2004, he relocated to London to start a new chapter in his career, working in various Michelin-starred restaurants, such as The Nahm and The Ledbury. He found his way back to Sydney as head chef at Warren Turnbull’s Assiette in Sydney’s Surry Hills for the past four years, where he was the 2010 winner of the Electrolux Appetite for Excellence Young Chef Award.

Soren is excited to start his Asian culinary journey as Chef de Cuisine at Square One, preparing Vietnamese and Western dishes. “After spending most of my career in London and Sydney, I thought it was time for a new experience. When the position became available at Park Hyatt Saigon, the opportunity to be immersed in a whole new culture while joining a world class establishment was very appealing,” says Soren.

Classically French-trained, Soren’s style of cooking is very global, encompassing many different flavors and techniques from Europe. “It will be exciting to pass on as much information to my new brigade but also to learn the Vietnamese cuisine,” says

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MANILA, Philippines — One visit and you will fall in love with this capital city of the historic province of Leyte. Tacloban, the largest city and regional center of Eastern Visayas, is the center of commerce, tourism, education, culture and government in the region.

“You can go island hopping in the white sand islands especially in Southern Leyte. There is Calanggaman Island, Canigao Island in Matalom and the Quatro Islas in Inopacan, Leyte. You can try the zipline in Agas Agas. You can visit San Juanico Bridge, the longest bridge in Asia. You can also check out the bars and restaurants in Tacloban City,” says actress-turned-public servant Cristina Gonzalez-Romualdez, a two-term councilor of the city.

Sparkling jet-black sandy beaches, a warm climate and even warmer people – these are the pride of Tacloban as stated in its official website. Some of the country’s most relaxing and beautiful beaches are here. The historical Red Beach is where General Douglas MacArthur made his famous return in 1944. It offers water activities like windsurfing. The Blue Beach in Dulag, where the Yellow, Orange and Violet beaches also are, have pure sands and pristine waters that have made them major tourist attractions. They were named as such by the

Allied Forces to mark the spots where they could make their landing. The most well-known of the color-coded beaches is the White Beach with its numerous resorts and hotels, facilities and beach houses.

The beaches at Digyo, Amihan Woodlands and Apid are also clean, well-preserved and beautiful. Digyo is one of the best diving/beach sites in Tacloban and Leyte, while Amihan Woodlands is the nature lover’s paradise with its coconut trees, acacia, mangroves and amazing coastline. Apid is an ideal swimming place

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FRANKFURT |
Thu May 10, 2012 8:49am EDT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Anyone wishing to travel to Baku for the Eurovision Song Contest later this month may get a shock when they look for a hotel room, with prices shooting up as rooms become scarce in the Azeri capital.

According to German travel search engine Swoodoo, some hotels have increased prices six-fold, while Eurovision fans can expect to pay on average 144 percent more for a hotel room there during the contest than usual.

Azerbaijan, with just 9 million inhabitants and an economy dependent on oil, won the right to host the contest by winning the event last year in Germany with love song “Running Scared”.

The country has come under fire, however, for its human rights record and with reports that homes have been razed near the new Crystal Hall arena as part of a wider redesign of the city.

In a country not known for its tourism facilities, the lack of available hotel rooms is what is driving prices up, said Swoodoo.

“The hotel infrastructure in Baku is not comparable with that with western and central Europe,” said Christian Saller, CEO of Swoodoo. “Although they’ve invested a lot, they just haven’t been able to get some hotels finished in time.”

Swoodoo said that hotel rooms were available at an average price of 341 euros a night for the period between May 22 and 27.

That compares with an average of 140 euros for the weeks either side of the contest, said Swoodoo, which looked at prices from 100 operators.

The Eurovision final will take place on May 26, with two semi

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TEMPE, Ariz.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Institute for Supply Management^™ (ISM) today announced that
it is not planning to make any changes to the way the Report On
Business^® is currently disseminated. ISM will
continue to release both the Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing ISM Report
On Business^® via Business Wire at 10:00 a.m. ET on
the first and third business days of each month, respectively.

“The manufacturing data contained in ‘the
Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI’ is based solely on Markit’s own
survey responses, and is entirely separate from the responses ISM
receives from its Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing Business Survey
Committee respondents throughout the U.S.”

In addition, data contained in ISM’s monthly Manufacturing and
Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business^® will not
be included in the series of advanced, “Flash” estimate reports recently
announced by Markit Economics. “The manufacturing data contained in ‘the
Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI’ is based solely on Markit’s own
survey responses, and is entirely separate from the responses ISM
receives from its Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing Business Survey
Committee respondents throughout the U.S.,” says ISM CEO Paul Novak,

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