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TRAVEL WATCH | JANUARY 26, 1998 VOL. 151 NO. 3 |
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Last-Minute Tickets to the Winter Games By HANNAH BEECH
While seats for the powerhouse men's hockey final and the ever-popular figure-skating competitions are sold out, tickets to many of the remaining 60-plus events still are available. The recent weakening of the yen against several currencies translates into a good deal on tickets, which are significantly cheaper than those for the 1996 Atlanta Games. Prices range from $25 for standing-room spots at the bobsled and downhill courses to $400 for a heated seat at the opening ceremony. Purchase tickets through distributor Ticket Pia, which will auction off a new batch from Jan. 15-21. Contact the agency in Tokyo at 81-3-5237-9999. Nagano is only 90 minutes from Tokyo on the new Asama bullet train, and round-trip fare from the capital is a modest $130. While Western-style hotels are booked solid, the dozens of traditional inns, or ryokan, that dot Nagano prefecture are still reporting vacancies. Many of the ryokan are clustered in the picturesque ski-resort towns that encircle Nagano. Since athletes from more than 70 countries will descend on the area, lodging in these outlying villages may be a better bet. Ryokan in Hakuba and Yamanouchi--the mountainous towns where the downhill and cross-country ski events will take place--still have rooms to spare. Another plus for frostbitten spectators: most inns pipe in mineral-rich waters from the region's plentiful hot springs, and guests can relax in steamy outdoor baths ringed by white birches and, in the distance, the lofty Japanese Alps. English-speaking staff at the Hakuba Tourism Information Center at 81-261-72-2279 or the Yamanouchi Tourism Information Center at 81-269-33-2138 can suggest suitable accommodations. Beyond its ski-and-soak options, Nagano offers sightseeing opportunities for the culturally minded. The city is home to Zenkoji, a 1,400-year-old, incense-laden shrine that is visited by 7 million Japanese annually--and, lately, by Olympic organizers who came to pray for heavy snowfalls. Nagano's hardy citizens endure the long winter by slurping bowls of piping hot noodles, and the legion of soba stalls that line the city's narrow streets make a cheap and tasty introduction to Japanese food. Try buckwheat noodles topped with strips of toasted seaweed and wash it down with sips of Nagano's famous sake. It's guaranteed to keep the Olympic spirit blazing inside you.
HOT TIP Give miles, not money. This is traditionally the time of year for Asian companies to pass out bonuses and Lunar New Year's gifts. But with the region's currencies plunging, cash may not be king in 1998. Try frequent flyer miles instead. Under the United Airlines Reward Miles Program, companies can purchase 500-, 1,000- or 5,000-mile gift certificates bearing an employee's name, good for up to one year on the recipient's UA frequent flyer account. The certificates cost the giver about $1 for each 50 miles purchased. The minimum $1,200 order plus $75 processing fee buys up to 120 certificates (depending on the number of miles specified for each one), and orders require several weeks for delivery. Contact the nearest United Airlines Mileage Plus frequent flyer desk for details.
WEB@TRAVEL THE CONNECTED TRAVELER (www.travelmedia.com/connected) With a guileful, cynical edge, travel writer Russell Johnson's online magazine, The Connected Traveler, assembles anecdotes from around the globe to create a mesh of quintessential travel experiences in which seared tuna in Mill Valley, Calif. takes its place alongside that Cambodian delicacy, grilled snake on a stick. His unabashedly refined tastes emerge throughout richly detailed accounts of places ranging from Boise, Idaho to Kunming, China. PACIFIC ASIA TRAVEL ASSOCIATION (www.pata.org) Searching for the perfect Asian vacation getaway, but not sure where to start? Look no further. The PATA site is jammed with useful information, from travel advisories to airline discounts to tourist bulletins. While navigating all of this can be difficult, the site is still an ideal starting point for the savvy traveler with time to spare, where it's possible to download a sample of Cambodian folk music or read about the latest typhoon to hit Guam.
SHORT CUTS HE'S BAAAA-AACK. That's right, after a nine-month hiatus for "renovations of some facilities," the embalmed body of Great Helmsman Mao Zedong is once again ready for visitors. Some 110 million Chinese and countless foreigners have lined up for a look at China's former leader since he was laid to rest in a Beijing mausoleum in 1977, a year after he died at the age of 83. The viewing hall is open all day Monday, Wednesday and Friday (8:30 a.m.-noon and 1:30-3:30 p.m.), and half days on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Admission is free, but be prepared to wait--during peak periods, the hall gets as many as 40,000 visitors a day. The hall is situated on Tiananmen Square, the site most weekends of an entertaining spectacle as local families bring out their colorful high-flying kites. PARTY ON. When Business Traveller Asia-Pacific magazine asked readers to rank cities that have the best night life, two of the top three choices were from Asia. The envelope, please:
1) Bangkok
DETOURS Love Bali beaches, but hate all those tourists? Try Amed, a little town on the island's eastern coast that hosts beautiful sandy shores, great scuba diving and snorkeling and precious few topless German and French matrons. Though it's about 4 km from a main road--the turn-off is at a tiny town called Culik--Amed is still easy to reach, either via public or private transport (hire a motorbike at Culik, or rent a car or bemo to drive the whole way). But reserve ahead: hotels are few and usually full. With its tastefully decorated bungalows and private beach, Hidden Paradise Cottages (62-361-431-273) is a winner. Be sure to ask for the branch in Amed, not Denpasar.
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f recent reports of a shortage of snow in Nagano, Japan left
you with cold feet about whether to check out the Winter
Olympics, think again. The new year brought a long-awaited
blanket of white, and it's still not too late to pick up tickets
for the Feb. 7-22 Games.