Tag: opens

Sri Lanka opens doors to luxury tourism a decade after Civil War

Loknath Das

In 2004 businessman Malik Fernando bought Castlereagh, a decrepit bungalow in the terraced, emerald hills of Sri Lanka’s sprawling tea country. The structure had no roof. “It was in absolute shambles,” he recalls. “There were cattle roaming through the whole house.” But it had one irresistible asset: “It was what was available,” he says, shrugging and welcoming me to the neat, gingerbread-style mansion on a clear, 80F winter day. That was enough to make it the perfect place for the area’s first luxury hotel. When Fernando closed 13 years ago…

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Saint Helena, one of the most inaccessible islands where Napoleon was exiled, opens to tourism

Loknath Das

Made famous by French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who was exiled there from 1815 until his death in 1821, the island of Saint Helena has long been too remote to be affected by tourism. But this may be about to change. From October 14, the South African company Airlink will begin weekly flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg. Flight time will be about six hours with a stopover in Namibia. Until now, the tiny British territory was only accessible by boat. Located in the South Atlantic to the West of the…

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New York opens a ‘temple’ for gay liberation icon Oscar Wilde. It’ll be open for wedding ceremonies

Loknath Das

A secular temple devoted to Oscar Wilde opened in the basement of a New York church Tuesday, crammed with devotional style religious art to honour a trailblazer of gay rights.Those involved in the project said it had been 20 years in the making but with transgender rights under threat from President Donald Trump’s administration and gays feeling more discrimination, it was more timely than ever. Conceived by artists David McDermott and Peter McGough at The Church of the Village, the space will be open to members of the public five days a…

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Switzerland opens the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge. See pics

Loknath Das

It took Swiss work crews just 10 weeks to complete the bridge which now forms part of the Europaweg, known as one of the most scenic two-day hikes in the Alps for offering panoramic views of the Matterhorn — the most iconic Swiss mountain peak — along with Weisshorn and the Bernese Alps. The bridge is situated on the Europaweg, that connects the villages of Zermatt and Graechen. (AP) The trail runs between 1,600 m and 2,200 m above sea level. The bridge replaces an older bridge that was closed…

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Google opens Expeditions VR education app to the public

Loknath Das

Google has long sold its Cardboard VR format as a super accessible platform for getting people into virtual reality. One of their major initiatives for it has been in education markets through its Google Expeditions program, which allows students to get in the center of 360 photos and 3D scenes with historical importance. The program has enabled trips to the TaJ Mahal, Colosseum and behind the scenes of Alexander Hamilton’s life. Today, the company announced it is opening the educational VR tours to the public through a new Expeditions App. All you need…

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Amazon Opens First Brick and Mortar New York Bookshop

Loknath Das

Online retail giant Amazon on Thursday opened its first brick and mortar bookstore in New York, selling a limited range of its highest-rated books and letting customers browse products as in times gone by. Amazon, which launched as an online bookseller in 1995 but which now sells everything from designer clothes to groceries, bided its time before venturing into the US cultural capital. It launched brick and mortar bookstores in six other cities first, starting in its hometown Seattle in 2015. “You don’t run a marathon before you run a…

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Srinagar’s Siraj Bagh, Asia’s largest tulip garden, opens for tourists

Loknath Das

Tourists at Asia’s largest Tulip garden on the foothills of Zabarwan range overlooking the world-famous Dal Lake in Srinagar. (PTI) With 20 lakh tulips of 46 varieties in its lap, Asia’s largest Tulip garden overlooking the world famous Dal Lake in Srinagar was thrown open to visitors on Saturday, marking the beginning of new tourism season in the Valley. The mega 15-day Tulip festival, part of Bahaar-e-Kashmir (spring in Kashmir) event, kick-started with the opening of the Tulip garden as authorities focus on revival of tourism which was badly affected…

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Liden & Denz opens Russian school in Siberia

subhadip

The new school, Liden & Denz Irkutsk, will open this year and will offer Russian language classes. It will consist of six classrooms, and will host a total of 60 students at capacity. “Opening in Irkutsk adds Siberia, a very attractive tourist region, to our portfolio of destinations” Individual classes will be offered from April, while group classes will run in the summer period between the start of June and mid-September. The centre will be run by Swiss national, Félix Baumann, who has 15 years of experience teaching foreign languages.…

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US opens research into Tesla after fatal crash

subhadip

US authorities are investigating the first loss of life potentially caused by self-driving generation. The driving force of a Tesla car died in Florida in Might also after colliding with a lorry. Beneath scrutiny is Tesla’s Autopilot characteristic, which mechanically modifications lanes and reacts to traffic. In a announcement, Tesla stated it regarded the Model S car changed into not able to realise “the white aspect of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky” that had pushed across the car‘s path. The organisation said the crash changed into a…

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Radisson opens hotel in Tucson

subhadip

Radisson is opening the Radisson Hotel Tucson Airport. The 166-room hotel and 14,000 square feet of flexible conference and event space. “We are focused on expanding the Radisson brand across the Americas and we are pleased to welcome this hotel in Tucson,” said Javier Rosenberg, chief operating officer, Americas, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. “We look forward to providing guests of this hotel with our Yes I Can!SM service philosophy which strives for the complete satisfaction of all guests.” The hotel features on-site amenities including La Fresita Restaurant, offering a menu…

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