By SHIRLEY BRADY

START PLANNING NOW FOR THE PARTY OF ALL TIME

Still undecided about how to ring in the year 2000? You'd better get hustling: many top hotels have long been booked, cruises are rapidly filling and there's even a waiting list to spend the evening with Mickey Mouse and friends at Disneyworld.

To mark the start of the new millennium, tour operators are organizing everything from time-zone-hopping jaunts to over-the-top luxury experiences. A good source of info online is at www.everything2000.com. Also useful is The Millennium: A Rough Guide to the Year 2000 (Rough Guides, 272 pages), which lists both grand celebrations and some extraordinary human endeavors--from pole-to-pole treks to global cycling tours--planned around the planet.

In the South Pacific, tour operators are staging "first light" celebrations. Party-goers can greet the debut sunrise on the Kiribati islands, which legally extended its border eastward in 1995 to stake a claim as the first place to experience the new era. (One of the islands was even renamed Millennium Island in 1997.) Some celebrants plan to greet 2000 twice: by flying across the international dateline, they can mark the event in Tonga, for instance, and then again in Samoa.

New Zealand's plans include hosting a tall ships regatta in Gisborne, touted to be the first city to change millennia. Time-trippers will also be drawn 1,200 km east to Pitt Island (population 55), which also claims it will be first across this century's finish line. In Australia, Sydney is marketing itself as "the Millennium City." Officials promise the biggest fireworks display ever and a flurry of events leading up to the initial Olympics of the new era, the Sydney 2000 Games.

Big festivities are also shaping up in Greenwich, England, site of the $1.2 billion "Millennium Dome," a mammoth exhibition hypothesizing about life in the next 1,000 years. The Dome's website at www.greenwich2000.com is also a handy directory of hundreds of planned celebrations around the world.

This once-in-our-lifetime occasion is also inspiring many to set off on religious pilgrimages. An estimated 25 million visitors are expected to visit Rome to commemorate the Vatican's "Jubilee Year." In Israel, officials expect 4 million Christians will come to Jerusalem to retrace the historic last steps of Jesus Christ.

For a less-spiritual high, St. Louis-based Intrav Tours is offering a globe-trotting excursion on the Concorde, for $75,000 a person. Abercrombie & Kent has a few spots left for its packages, including a two-week Great Africa Cruise, which spends the Big Night in a hotel overlooking Victoria Falls. The Ritz-Carlton group is offering an "Ultimate Experience" couple's package: a $100,000 weekend (from Friday '99 to Sunday 2000) getaway featuring a chauffeur-driven Jaguar, his and her Bulgari watches, and other decadent delights at the Ritz of their choice.

Of course, it's tempting to opt simply for a quiet evening with loved ones. But with so many options, it would be a shame not to choose a grand way to mark this historic date. But decide quickly ...the clock is ticking.

--By Shirley Brady

HOT DEALS

For a tour with a whole lot of seoul, look into the "Super Korea 200 Plus" package being offered by the Korea National Tourism Organization until the end of August. For just $200 per person, the two-night deal features deluxe hotel accommodations (breakfast included), a full-day tour of the capital city with a stop for lunch (also included) and transfers to and from the airport. The offer also includes 10% discounts on trips taken between Aug. 11 and 31 on Korean Air and Asiana. While in town, be sure to check out the International Cartoon and Animation Festival (Aug. 9-15) and visit "Wedding Dress Alley" (a.k.a. Ahyondong Street), where a carnival from Aug. 5-16 will feature beeper decorating, dancing to rock bands and other ways to shake the pre-wedding jitters.

WEB CR@WLING

MEDIAINFO
(www.mediainfo.com)

NEWS ON THE ROAD You don't have to be in journalism to take advantage of the links found in Editor & Publisher magazine's jam-packed website. Click on the "MediaInfo Links" button on the homepage to browse the database by geographic location or by media type (choose from among magazines, newspapers, radio, television or wire services). You're then just a click away from checking your hometown daily or finding out what's happening in your present location. The site features comprehensive Asian listings and handy city guides.

INTERNET CAFE GUIDE
(www.netcafeguide.com)

HOT JAVA Cybercafes, where travelers can leisurely sip their coffee while browsing the Internet, are springing up all across Asia. For tourists who are desperate to access their e-mail accounts on the road, this website offers critical info on how to find the nearest establishment. Just click on an online map or type in the city or country name.

SHORT CUTS

CHAOS THEORY The initial delays at Hong Kong's new Chek Lap Kok airport have helped Macau International Airport, situated 65 km to the west, promote itself as an attractive alternative for travelers with a little extra time. The Portuguese colony recently waived the departure tax for visitors staying less than 24 hours and halved overnight landing fees for aircraft. The airport's customs and baggage-handling procedures have also been streamlined to speed travelers onto a Hong Kong-bound jetfoil. (First-class ExpressLink fares cost $29.75, and include baggage handling, airport check-in and bus transfers to the pier.) Passengers then collect their luggage upon arrival in Hong Kong. The territory has been quietly building up its tourism business--official carrier Air Macau posted a $10 million profit last year, and air passenger arrivals to the enclave grew 20% in the first quarter of this year--despite an increase in gangland violence during the past year.

DETOURS

The Grand Hotel has made a comeback. Taipei's famous but aging landmark recently reopened its top three floors, which were closed following a fire in 1995. The $30 million renovation has created a convention hall, two restaurants and a banquet room with a stunning view of the city. The rest of the hotel has been spruced up as well--the ill-fitting parquet floors have been replaced and the bonsai trees banished--though it retains the elements that made the Grand so distinctive: wide hallways, enormous marble bathrooms, cherry red pillars and high ceilings graced by golden, swirling dragons. Rooms start at $117 a night; call 8862-2596-5565.

Get more travel info at www.time.com/asia