Opinion | Travel deals: Tokyo to Mount Fuji by helicopter; affordable packages to Kota Kinabalu
The Mandarin Oriental Tokyo has just launched a Helicopter Flycation package, which comes with an 80-minute aerial spin between Tokyo and Mount Fuji (top), one night with breakfast and a bottle of champagne in an Oriental Suite, round-trip limousine transfers to the helipad and, for wavering guests needing one last nudge into extravagance, a "seasonal pound cake". Available until the end of next month, the package is priced for two guests from 775,000 yen (HK$50,000) plus 23 per cent in tax and service charges, or just over 950,000 yen in total. Visitors to Tokyo interested in just taking the flight can find a similar Mount Fuji-bound helicopter ride offered at www.excel-air.com/english for 530,000 yen for up to five people, including taxes.Born in Paris in 1856, Harry de Windt (above right) was one of the more eccentric and engaging travel writers of his time. His brother-in-law was Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak, and de Windt's overseas experience began in Borneo, where, at the age of 16, he became Brooke's aide-de-camp. Some years later, in April 1887, he set off with a friend to journey from China to France, via Siberia, a trip that launched his travel writing career. In the frank introduction of (1889), he described the journey as being "though somewhat original, sadly devoid of interest … I can only trust that this book may deter others from following my example". De Windt did, however, return to Siberia several times, most notably on a mostly overland journey from Paris to New York in 1901. The purpose of this trip (aside from the writing of was to study the feasibility of a rail link between the two cities, and it is said de Windt was the first person to demonstrate that such a route, crossing the Bering Strait, between Russia and Alaska, was indeed possible. His discovery was almost immediately forgotten when Russia went to war with Japan in 1904, a few months after his book was published, but both the Chinese and Russian governments have recently suggested that work might begin on such a crossing in the near future. De Windt's writing is sadly neglected today but several of his books can be downloaded free of charge in the Kindle format at amazon.com and at the iBooks store. From Pekin to Calais by Land will be reprinted later this month by Cambridge University Press.Turkey's Bodrum Peninsula has seen a number of international luxury hotel brands arriving recently. Last July, a Mandarin Oriental resort opened on the north coast, between a Hilton and an Aman resort, and next week the nearby Jumeirah Bodrum Palace will open its doors. Two weeks after that, a few kilometres to the west, the JW Marriott Bodrum is scheduled to begin offering "the Ultimate Aegean Experience". The Jumeirah Bodrum Palace was, until a few weeks ago, the Golden Savoy Resort, which itself only opened last year. Just how much of a mark Jumeirah is making on the property, beyond new signage and branded toiletries, is unclear, but the fact that it is currently recycling last year's Golden Savoy opening press images (above) suggests either little structural change or a limited publicity budget. A couple of opening offers, including the obligatory Turkish Delight package, can be found at www.jumeirah.com. The JW Marriott resort is, at the time of writing, offering no specific deals and only poor-quality, computer-generated images of its exteriors.ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51kuqKzwLOgp52jZL2wv9NmpJqfka%2B2r7GOmqmtoZOhsnB9lm9tcXFhZMGzrdWeo2aclZa5tHnTqKKyp12ivLa602adrqKZYrWmuMicpqmslad6orLFqKmdmZKhsm68wJyimp%2BVqA%3D%3D
Aldo Pusey
Update: 2024-04-16