TRAVEL

Kochi beckons with SriLankan Holidays

With the re-launch of SriLankan Airlines daily frequencies to Kochi in Kerala, SriLankan Holidays the holiday arm of the airline, is offering some exciting and comprehensive packages, at very competitive rates for a quick getaway from Colombo.

Watch the kaleidoscopic beauty of Kerala unfold before your eyes, scene by scene, second by second, like out of the pages of a fabulous travelogue as you glide on the backwaters of Kerala in a houseboat in Kochi.

Kochi, better known by its colonial name Cochin, is widely celebrated as the Queen of the Arabian Sea with its fine natural harbour and ferry rides commanding breathtaking views. A visit to Kochi is totally incomplete without thrilling houseboat tours. Each houseboat or Kettuvellom or a rice barge is fully equipped to offer visitors all the comforts of a floating dream home.

These houseboats generally have one to two bedrooms, a living room area, washrooms and kitchens. The rooms are usually very well furnished, but of course in a typically Kerala style. Added to the experience is the exotic traditional Kerala food served on board.

The packages now on will be on offer until May 31st for a special rate for leisure travellers to savour the delights of Kochi.

Package 01 offers you four days and three nights in Kochi with two memorable nights in a Houseboat on full board basis with an additional night at the Fort Castle Hotel on B&B basis.

Added to this are local transfers in an air conditioned car. All this at only Rs 55,999 per person on twin sharing basis on Economy class and Rs 86,999 per person on twin sharing basis on Business class.

Package 02 offers you two nights at the Fort Castle Hotel on B&B basis with local transfers in an air conditioned car. All this at only Rs 27,999 per person on twin sharing basis on Economy class and Rs 58,999 per person on twin sharing basis on Business class.

Kochi is a indeed a delightful seaside city, bordered by the Western Ghats on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west. Its proximity to the equator, the sea and the mountains provide a rich experience of a moderate equatorial climate.

Kochi is the airline's second destination in Kerala. SriLankan airlines also flies to Kerala's capital city Trivandrum. The airline flies to seven destinations in India with 63 flights a week to the sub continent.

And when in Kochi, don't forget to catch a Kathakali performance. Kathakali is a typical and traditional dance form of Kerala. Its impressive facial expressions, hand gestures and dance moves are sure to have you spellbound.

Special flight to Mumbai for World Cup finals

SriLankan Airlines will operate an additional flight to Mumbai (Bombay) on Saturday, April 2nd to cater to cricket fans who wish to support our team in Mumbai.

The special flight will leave Bandaranaike International Airport at 7 am and arrive in Bombay at 9.25 am. The special flight will depart Mumbai on April 3rd at 5 am and arrive in Colombo at 7.20 am.

This flight to Mumbai is in additon to the Airline's regular daily frequency to Mumbai.

Australia plane crashes

Two members of a prominent Australian farming family were fighting for their lives Thursday after a light plane "fell out of the sky" and killed the other four people on board.

The six-seat, single-engine Piper Cherokee crashed in relatively good weather late Wednesday near a caravan park in northern New South Wales state. Local reports said the Boland family were well known in the area, with the clan first arriving in the district in 1889. They own cattle and wheat farms across New South Wales and Queensland.

local resident Lex Baguley told reporters, adding that there was no sign of fire on the aircraft. Another witness told Brisbane's Courier-Mail newspaper the plane might have hit a tree less than one kilometre (0.6 miles) from Moree Airport, around 600 kilometres (372 miles) from Sydney.

"It looks like they've clipped a tree because there's a tree broken and bent nearby," she said. AFP