Travel

SriLankan celebrates the written word

SriLankan Airlines joined the City of Galle to celebrate the written word by flying in top writers, authors and poets from Europe and Asia in support of art, culture and literary tourism in Sri Lanka.

The fourth Galle Literary Festival showcased new and acclaimed literary personalities such as historians, poets, playwrights, novelists and biographers who provoked thought, dreams, laughter and debate for five consecutive days.

Also this year, it introduced new dimensions to its usual program by presenting illustrations of Indian pulp fiction and featuring several poets.

It included a program to guide children to the world of books and the expression of writing. For the first time, Southern Provincial schools participated in seminars and workshops on writing as an extension to the outreach program conducted for local schools throughout the year.

Galle Literary Festival has certainly come of age, said its founder, Geoffrey Dobbs, and people look forward to this annual event that inspires writers and book-lovers in the region.

However, we hope to keep a small and intimate atmosphere, within the walls and vicinity of this ideal location, the Galle Fort he said.

Among the writers flown in by SriLankan Airlines were the British historian Anthony Beever, author of the best-sellers - Berlin - The Downfall and D-Day The Battle of Normandy and his wife Artemis Cooper, an author and biographer currently working on the biography of travel writer and war hero Patrick Leigh Fermor; Diran Adebayo, writer, novelist, TV documentarist, named by The Evening Standard of UK as one of London's most influential people; Gillian Slovo, London-based South African novelist; Louise Doughty, author of five novels and Judge of the Man Booker Prize, 2008, here with her latest novel 'Whatever You Love' ; Poet Jackie Kay, based in Manchester, was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) in 2006; award-winning contemporary English Poet, Wendy Cope with her latest book Two Cures for Love; British Indian novelist Rana Dasgupta, whose book Solo is the work of the most unexpected and original Indian writer of his generation affirms Salmon Rushdie; Cinamatographer and writer Monica Narula; graphic novelist, artist and film-maker, Sarnath Banerjee; Sandhya Rao, editor of high quality children's books in India; and Indian novelist, Amit Varma named by Business Week as one of India's 50 Most Powerful People.

SriLankan Airlines has been its festival carrier for four consecutive years.

The Danish Villa - Arugam Bay

The world famous windsurfing destination in the country, picturesque Arugam Bay is the home for the luxurious Danish Villa for a serene holiday in the Eastern coast.

The Danish Villa is owned and managed by Per Jergensen a Danish citizen whose intention was to offer the best for the curious guests a place where they could explore from the surf points to a deserted beach that leads to Crocodile and Elephant Rock, Okanda, Kataragama, Yala and Lahugala National Parks.

The Villa is the ideal retreat where you could slip into a world of your own in the lap of luxury.

Surrounded by a tropical garden with beautiful flower plants and fruit trees varieties of butterflies and birds could be seen all over where the guests could have a clear view of them from the terrace or the relaxing hammock.

The newly refurbished Danish Villa has been designed to show off its harmonious colours and styles and the hotel is fully geared to offer its guests a holiday experience like no other and memories that are truly immortal.

From the moment you step into the Danish Villa you are assured of a memorable holiday that only the discerning truly earn.

With five well-appointed bedrooms with all modern amenities, the Villa is a cosy place where you could relax and enjoy yourself between sightseeing, surfing and sunbathing.

For those who need a break from the monotony of life the terrace with easy chairs and the tactfully elegant decor in the living room would provide you the ideal places to spend a few hours among the pages of a book or to watch a movie. The beach beyond the main road is the ideal place to see the local fisher folk bring their perfect catch of the day.

There are no fixed meal times - just call the chef and tell what your meal preferences are and the choicest food and drinks be it hard or soft of tantalizing variety would be served within a few minutes.

Dine under the canopy of glittering stars in the meticulously appointed garden or in the privacy of your own room or terrace with the comforting sea breeze caressing your skin as the choice of place is yours and the Villa staff is fully geared to comply with your order.

The Danish Villa staff is always around you to ensure that your every need is carefully looked after and if you want to be left alone they make sure to leave you alone.

For groups the Villa could be reserved as one unit for a total privacy if not as individual units where the management of The Danish Villa will ensure the best service for a memorable lifetime occasion.

Two Koreas set to discuss resuming tourism projects

North and South Korea will hold talks next week about resuming tourism projects in the communist state if Seoul's conditions for the meeting are met, officials said Wednesday.

The tours to the Mount Kumgang resort and the historic city of Kaesong earned the sanctions-hit North tens of millions of dollars a year until they were halted in 2008 amid worsening relations.

South Korea suspended the trips after the North's army shot dead a Seoul housewife at Mount Kumgang in July that year.

She had strayed into a poorly marked closed military zone while on a stroll.

The North last month proposed talks on restarting the tours and the South's unification ministry said the two sides had agreed to meet next Monday.

But spokesman Chun Hae-Sung said the South was insisting that the North's delegation include senior officials who could give safety guarantees for visitors.

The North, which proposed sending three delegates from a lower-level body, has not yet responded to the request for a senior official.

The Mount Kumgang tours have earned about 487 million dollars in fees for the North since they began in 1998. Cross-border visitors could also previously take day trips to Kaesong city just across the heavily fortified frontier. AFP

Taiwan tourism growth tops Asia on China boom

Tourism grew in Taiwan faster than anywhere else in Asia last year on the back of an influx of Chinese visitors, a report said Saturday, quoting a top government official.

Taiwan reported a 14 percent rise in visitor numbers to 4.395 million in 2009 compared to an average two percent fall across Asia, the Commercial Times quoted tourism bureau deputy director Hsieh Wei-chun as saying.

The number of Chinese visitors increased nearly 200 percent from the previous year to just under one million people, according to the bureau, after President Ma Ying-jeou in 2008 relaxed restrictions on Chinese tourists. Ties have improved dramatically since Ma took office, although Beijing still claims the island as part of its territory.

Taiwan aims to attract 4.8 million visitors this year, generating 240 billion dollars (7.5 billion US) in revenue, the report quoted Hsieh as saying. Tourism officials were not immediately available to confirm the report. AFP

Singapore Airlines returns to profit

Singapore Airlines returned to profitability in the third quarter of the financial year with a net profit attributable to equity holders of $404 million.

This was a turnaround from losses of $307 million in the first quarter and $159 million in the second quarter. Group revenue at $3,418 million was $336 million (+10.9 percent) higher than the second quarter.

On the cost side, Group expenditure fell $169 million (-5.2 percent) from the preceding quarter. The increase in jet fuel price led to a $34 million rise in fuel cost before hedging.

However, hedging losses were $146 million lower. Savings in other areas, such as payroll costs, contributed a further $57 million.

As a result, Group operating profit for the quarter ended December 2009 was $323 million, in contrast to the operating loss of $182 million in the previous quarter.

The parent airline company recorded an operating profit of $231 million in the third quarter, against an operating loss of $157 million in the previous quarter, from a combination of higher revenue (+$335 million or +13.7 percent) on continued recovery in load factors and yields, and lower losses from fuel hedging (-$120 million).