Nothing says Switzerland more than Zermatt…..

As classically Swiss as it gets, the delightfully car free village of Zermatt is located in the idyllic upper Valais, a couple of hours by train from either Geneva or Zurich.

With the few vehicles allowed in the town center either electric or pulled by horses, visitors also have the choice to explore the town on foot or by bike. Either method is perfect to discover the beauty of this compact village that has gone to great lengths to preserve it’s fascinating past.

Split by the River Vispa, the surrounding alpine countryside is home to some of Europe’s tallest mountains, including the Monte Rosa and the iconic Matterhorn, one of the most recognizable peaks in the world. In fact, mountain climbing is one of the main reasons people visit Zermatt, attracted by the challenging terrain, sweeping views of central Switzerland and bragging rights to have conquered one of the world’s most difficult summits.

But mountaineering is not the only reason to visit: hiking, whether for several hours or spread over several days is possible in the countryside around the town, linked by well maintained paths and trails that hikers can reach by train or cable car. Swimming in crystal clear alpine lakes is a great way for hikers to relax, admiring the sparkling glaciers that cling to the steep ravines on these rocky mountains.

With some of the priciest accommodation in Europe, self catering options in Zermatt from trusted tour operators like Inghams can help bring a visit here within budget; a range of apartments and pensions at all budget levels are available, perfect for families or couples wishing to preserve comfort with the ability to cook for themselves.

Browse a selection of these options here from Inghams. 

As the spring days grow longer and the air warmer, the high season for travel within Europe is just around the corner – and nothing says summer in Switzerland like Zermatt! 

The Tokyo Sky Tree Opens

The world's largest tower, the Tokyo Sky Tree has opened - dwarfing the original Tokyo Tower by several hundred meters, two observation decks, at 350 and 450 meters respectively will offer sweeping views of the entire Tokyo metro area, including Mount Fuji and the Pacific Ocean. 

Even the curvature of the earth will be visible from the top. 

www.tokyo-skytree.jp

Frying High: Qantas joins Biofuel Movement

An Airbus 330 from the Australian airline Qantas operated a flight with biofuels - made from Mcdonalds fat that was harvested in Louisiana - that touched down in Adelaide after a 2 hour flight from Sydney.

It was the longest flight ever conducted using non jet fuel. 60% of the carbon footprint from airlines would be eliminated if all switched to the ecofriendly fuel. 

www.qantas.com

Well, This Just Steams My Cookies: Frontier Drops the Chip!

In a move that happened light years ago among its competitors, Frontier Airlines (now the owner of Midwest Express) is dropping freshly baked on board cookies on all its flights. 

Starting from the 1st of May only Barnum and Bailey's Animal crackers or Pepperidge Farm gold fish will be served on board; free to its premium passengers, $1 to everyone else.

www.frontierairlines.com

Y+ To Return to World's Longest Flight

Singapore Airlines, operator of the world's longest flight (Singapore New York) will soon bring back the Economy Plus product that was removed in 2008.

Currently flying an all Business Class cabin, high fuel prices and weak demand has forced the airline to rethink their strategy. No word yet on whether the previous seats will be re introduced or if an entirely new product will be developed to attract the coveted 'Business Class -' crowd seeking comfort at a discount. 

www.singaporeair.com

Just Peachy Thanks: Japan's First Low Cost Carrier Launches

Japan's first low cost carrier, Peach, launched with flights to Sapporo, Tokyo Haneda and Kagoshima. 

Prices as low as $60, fares are as low as a quarter of that of train services.

www.flypeach.com

Fire Up The Night: Solar Storms Set Northern Lights Ablaze

2012's solar storms have set the Northern Lights ablaze, visible as far south as Ireland. Over the next few days displays are set to explode over Alaska, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Canada and Russia. 

After several years of quiet, these events are entering whats known as a solar maximum, with a peak predicted in 2013. 

Will the Future of Travel Be Sifted from Your Digital Breadcrumbs?

Will your fingerprint be your boarding pass? And will your digital 'breadcrumbs' - the sites and topics you surf on the web - determine where you will go on your next holiday, fed to you by the internet's suggestions?

BBC's Fast Track estimated 100,000,000 Chinese tourists will be unleashed on the world in the next 10 years, much of how we travel - two weeks at the seaside, Grand Tour of Europe, that sort of thing - hasnt changed much in the last 200 years. 

What we do know is that in the next five years or less, expect the digitilization of travel to explode, transforming everything from how you board planes to how you go through security to even how you interact with locals. 

You can watch the Fast Track video here. 

www.bbc.com

www.bbc.com/fasttrack

The Diva Becomes LUX* Maldives

Formerly known as Ari Beach, then White Sands, then Diva Maldives, this 1.8 kilometer long island known to Maldivians as Diddhifinolu has certainly seen resorts both basic and luxury come and go.

Now part of the LUX* chain with sister properties in Reunion and Mauritius, the LUX* Maldives resort is focused on bringing guests into contact with the local cultures through design and experiences. 

In a destination saturated with luxury resorts that rush to out do each other with underwater spas and restaurants built beneath the sea, LUX* Maldives is a breath of fresh air - do we really need another air conditioned over water villa equipped with every convenience to really enjoy ourselves?

And the local culture isnt the only reason to come to this isolated part of the Indian Ocean - whale sharks cruise this part of the South Ari atoll, and divers can often see half a dozen of these creatures on a single dive. 

Check out a video of a stunning school of mobulas (A relative of the manta ray) near LUX* Maldives.

www.luxislandresorts.com

www.visitmaldives.com

Help Protect Australia's Coral Sea

The Coral Sea is Australia's greatest marine environment, and that is saying a lot for a nation surrounded on all sides by oceans warm and cold. This tropical zone is home to whales, manta rays and a huge array of reef species fund nowhere else.

While oil and gas exploration have been banned here, the reef - the worlds largest - needs more legislation to protect it for future generations. 

Click here to send Australian Environment Minister Tony Burke a letter urging action.

One of the supporter's is marine videographer, Valerie Taylor; you may remember Taylor's experimental shark suit that was bitten by blue sharks to test the chain mail's ability to ward off a shark bite. 

You can watch the video of Valerie's shark suit here.

Here are a few denizens of the Coral Sea:

Song Saa - 'Luxury That Treads Lightly' in Cambodia

$800 will buy you a lot in Cambodia (tables covered in happy pizzas, copious sticks of deep fried tarantulas, or simply, mounds of hash, for those in the know)

It wasn't that long ago that all that remained of the the country's luxury resorts were burned out shells left behind by the Khmer Rouge (remember them?) but these days the country is speeding full steam towards the boutique clogged tourist centers that have given new meaning to the flashpackers who frequent them. 

$800 will now get you a slice of jaw dropping luxury on the country's southeast coast at the recently opened Song Saa Resort.

But this is not your average boutique resort - offshore from Sihanoukville, the Song Saa Resort sits atop its own private island in the Gulf of Thailand, complete with 27 rooms, some in the rainforest, some over water and others right on the beach. 

With sunrise yoga, stargazing, seakayaking through mangroves and a restaurant run by a chef experienced in 6 star resorts, you may find it hard to pry your fingers off the speedboat as it takes you to connect to your connecting flight.  

Two more resorts with the same environmental and design themes will be opened in Cambodia over the next two to three years. 

www.songsaa.com

 

Maldives Resorts Defy Spa Ban

The Maldives opposition Adhalaath Party has launched accusations that spas in the country promote 'sex tourism' and the government has responded by ordering they be immediately shut down. 

The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) has sued to over turn the ban, stating the rights of investors were being infringed upon. 

Virtually all resorts, however, ignored the ban and are continuing to operate as normal. 

A couple of Swiss tourists last year got more than they paid for when their wedding vows included insults in Dhivehi to the tune of 'you are swine and infidels' for more on that story, click here. 

www.visitmaldives.com

www.adhaalath.org.mv

www.tourism.gov.my

Leapfrogging Over December 30th: Samoa Switches Sides

Samoa and Tokelau have jumped over the international date line by completely jumping over December 30th - when the clock struck midnight on December 29th, it immediately became December 31st. 

The move was an attempt to join their largest trading partners, Australia and New Zealand, by making the time zone less of an issue for contact and communications. 

It's not the first time Samoa has jumped time zones - 119 years ago the island nation jumped to be closer to its former trading partner, the USA.

www.govt.ws

www.americansamoa.gov

Transsexuals Take Off: Thailand's PC Air Launches

The world's first transsexual cabin crew were aboard PC Air's 24th of December inaugural flight to Vientiene, Laos from Bangkok, Thailand. 

Utilizing Airbus A310 aircraft, PC Air serves Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul and has sights set on serving China in the future. 

Watch the first flight here. 

www.pcairline.com

7 Years On, Light Up Phuket Remembers the Indian Ocean Tsunami

Seven years after a devastating tsunami that washed across the shores of 12 countries, the Thai island of Phuket paused to remember the disaster by placing hundreds of candles in the sand to honor the victims.

Sold! OneUp Raises Stakes in the Upgrade Game

Air New Zealand will start auctioning empty premium class seats in an effort to reduce them flying empty.

The OneUp programme will only be valid on long haul flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Beijing, Shanghai and Vancouver. 

A few days before each flight, passengers will be emailed to bid on remaining empty seats and the highest bidder will be granted an upgrade. Hoping to protect the premuim-ness of it's most comfy, coveted seats, Air New Zealand has vowed to never allow the seats to go for a song, though bargain hungry passengers will surely try to snag them for close to an Ebay steal price as they can. 

Only passengers directly booked with the airline or it's holiday arm can bid, and then, only for one jump in class of service. (Air New Zealand no longer has First Class on its fleet) 

Does this mean the ingratiating groveling/ear to ear grin/heavy flirting at the check in counter to swing an upgrade will go the way of the dodo?

Only time will tell. 

Air New Zealand's Premium Economy

www.airnewzealand.com

No County of Prudes: West Florida seeks European Nudists

Pasco County in West Florida is taking a 'crack' at some pretty bare niche marketing - it has just agreed to spend around $4,000 in print advertisements to lure European nudists to the America's un-official nudist capital.

Aimed at Germans and British nudists, tourism officials in Pandabare (representing 16 resorts in a lightly populated area north of Tampa) hope to attract some of the world's most traveled people - 

Being naked travelers these days has its advantages; at least they won't have to worry about paying for excess luggage on their flight to lug all their clothes. 

www.sffb.com

ET Joins Star Alliance

One of Africa's best carriers has just joined Star Alliance.

Ethiopian Airlines, which serves such far flung destinations as Washington DC and Beijing from its hub in Addis Ababa, will soon be flying 787's too. 

www.ethiopianairlines.com

No More Looking at Things: Team America's Kim Jung Il Dies

Everyones favorite character from 2004's Team America died of a heart attack Saturday. Aka Kim Jung Il, the 69 year old North Korean 'dear' leader who took power after his father's death in 1994 passed away while on a train (he was notoriously afraid to fly, taking a train to Russia rather than risk his skin in a plane). 

With despots thin on the ground these days (what with Saddam Hussein and Qadaffi dead, ironically at age 69 too...) Kim Jung Il was a popular target for comedy sketches.

This is ABC's thoughts on how people views the leader depicted in Team America.

Heres a Margaret Cho's North Korean weather report for 30 Rock.

And Kim Jung Il's success of Eharmony. 

And your very own insult generator.

And a rockin' 'tourism' video for North Korea.

And a spoof of a Sprite commercial. 

Below is a selection of pictures from the hilarious Tumblr blog, Kim Jung Il Looking at Things:

Looking at sausages

Looking at cheese

 

Looking at cotton

looking at pigs

http://kimjongillookingatthings.tumblr.com/

http://kimjongilnolongerlookingatthings.tumblr.com/

http://kimjongildroppingthebass.tumblr.com/

http://www.margaretcho.com/

www.korea-dpr.com 

The End of Eden: A Saigon Landmark Comes Down

The Aeroflot office was on one corner, the Givral bakery, the haunt of writer Graham Greene, on another. The petulant magazine guy who sold pilfered magazines off of arriving airplanes had his stall here, and the best moneychanger was right over there, next to the mini post office that accepted dollars, euros or Japanese yen.

Up above were some of central Saigon's best apartments, though shabby and run down, you couldn't beat the view over the square and the canary yellow Opera House. Air Vietnam used to have an office here, along with the top French perfumeries in the 1950's. 

It was the Eden Building - and it is now history, torn down to make way for yet another soulless high rise in central Saigon. Visitors to Vietnam's pulsing economic capital may not have known the building's history, but it was central to Saigon's growth in the 1940's.