Chinese New Year

Celebrating Chinese New Year with fireworks

Today is the start of the main Chinese festival, the Chinese New Year - also known as the Spring Festival. The Chinese calendar is made up of a cycle of twelve years, with each year representing a different animal. This year marks the start of the year of the Dragon, the only mythical creature in the Chinese calendar, and is looked upon as one of the luckiest of all the animals.

As the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, New Year’s Day can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February in the Gregorian calendar. Festivities begin with the new moon and last for 15 days, ending on the date of the full moon with the Lantern festival.

New Year customs and traditions vary widely throughout China and around the world, but one of the overriding themes is to remember the family and wish everyone peace and prosperity in the coming year. 

Take a look at other festivals and holiday ideas for January  

To book a tailor-made trip to China, call one of our specialists on 01993 838 220 or contact us online.

Peninsula Hotels to stop selling shark fin soup

The instantly recognisable great white shark

Shark fin soup is a delicacy in many parts of Asia but it has also become highly controversial as it’s thought to be the major cause in the dramatic decline in global shark populations. Indeed, estimates for the number of sharks culled annually for the trade, range from a staggering 35-70 million, despite the fact that 30% of shark species are threatened with extinction.

Now, however, the Peninsula Hotels Group (we use their hotels in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bejing and Bangkok) will become the first major chain to stop serving it as of January 2012.

It’s a major breakthrough for campaigners who see the practice as cruel, unnecessary and unsustainable.

Our top 10 travel apps

The ubiquitous smartphone: fast becoming the ideal companion when abroad

Today, there are literally thousands of travel apps (or applications) on the market for smartphones. I’ve picked my top 10, some of which are free to download.

Have a look and see if you agree?

Continue reading »

Pandas on their way to Edinburgh Zoo from China

Pandas head to Edinburgh Zoo from China

With all the bad news that appears in the press normally, it’s nice to come across a positive, heartwarming story once in a while, and this is exactly what I found when having a look around the BBC news site yesterday.

Two pandas, named Sunshine and Sweetie, are on their way to Edinburgh Zoo from their home in China, in the hope that they will breed. Panda reproduction is notoriously difficult as females are only fertile for one day a year and, as Wei Ming explains in the video, there also needs to be a mutual attraction!

It is costing Edinburgh Zoo a whopping £700,000 a year for each bear, plus another £70,000 to feed their bamboo habit. They will be staying in Scotland’s capital for 10 years and the zoo hopes they will prove so popular that their visitor numbers double.

Visit the BBC website to watch this video and find out more about China’s panda conservation effort.

Japan claims culinary title

Prawn and tuna sashimi in Japan

The culinary king is dead. After a constant struggle for the top spot, France has this year been toppled by the gastronomically-blessed Japan, with the country now home to the highest number of three-star Michelin restaurants in the world!

And it’s not just the country’s capital, Tokyo, where great food can be enjoyed in abundance – Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Nara have also been described as having, “exceptional cuisine worth a special journey.” Just one more reason to visit this wonderful country!

Japan will be officially recognised as the ‘culinary capital of the world’ in the 2012 edition of the Michelin Guide, which is due for release very soon.

To find out more about visiting Japan on a tailor-made holiday with Audley to try out the culinary delights for yourself, please take a look at the Japan section of our website. Alternatively, you can speak to one of our Japan specialists directly on 01993 838 210.

Audley receives wonderful feedback from Japan

Fujiya Hotel, Hakone, Japan

I’ve just received an email from our Japan Regional Manager, Laura, who passed on this encouraging feedback from an employee of the Fujiya Hotel, a property that we love in Hakone and one that we always like our clients to experience if they are in the area:

“I have worked at Fujiya Hotel in Hakone, Japan for nine years now. As the only native English speaker at the hotel I have the privilege of welcoming almost all the guests from abroad. There is something special about the guests that have used Audley Travel. In my opinion, those guests are more relaxed and enjoy their trip more because of the information you have prepared for them. When I see that black binder organised by location with all the pamphlets, directions and tickets, I know that those guests are going to enjoy their trip.

I have also met all the Japan sales specialists at Audley Travel because they stay at the hotel, complete a company inspection form and research the Hakone area. I don’t know of another company that does that so thoroughly.

I just wanted to tell you of the great service you provide for your customers. You may not see it or hear it over there, but on this side of the world I notice it with every guest from Audley Travel.

All the best for your continued success!”

It’s always nice to read such positive feedback!

If you would like more information on visiting Hakone as part of a tailor-made trip to Japan, please visit the Japan section of our website.

The Audley Food Festival 2011

Audley Food Festival 2011

Friday 23rd September 2011 was the date of the first ever Audley Food Festival and, as with anything food related at Audley, the event was tipped to be a merry affair! Continue reading »

Moscow airport first to trial ‘Sleepbox’

St Basil's, Moscow

If you’re going to be passing through Moscow airport any time soon, why not give the Sleepbox a go?

Designed to offer travellers a place to lay their head for an hour or two during long periods of waiting at the airport, this free-standing, mobile wooden box comes complete with a bed, luggage space, WiFi, electrical sockets and an LCD TV.

However, as the name suggests, the Sleepbox is only 1.4 metres wide, two metres in length and 2.3 metres in height, making it sound more like a coffin that a space in which to relax to me!

The designers of the Sleepbox plan to expand and locate these wooden boxes in train stations, expo centres and in busy offices.

Perhaps, this invention will offer a bit of respite for those who find themselves with a lengthy delay or connection, but I’m not sure it’s something I’ll be trying any time soon!

China to build world’s biggest airport

British Airways plane in flight

Beijing has recently started building what it hopes will be the biggest airport in the world, estimating that over 370,000 passengers could pass through its doors every day.

Born out of an ever-increasing demand on the city’s existing airport that handled 73 million travellers last year, the new Beijing Daxing airport could see up 120 million passengers p.a., making it the world’s busiest aviation hub.

The airport is set to open in 2015 and will be complimented by a new, high-speed train that will mean travellers can get from the airport to the city in 30 minutes. However, the new construction hasn’t impressed everyone, with environmentalists warning about the effects the higher volume of air traffic will have on the country’s pollution problems and high greenhouse gas emissions.

To find out more about tailor-made holidays to China, visit the China section of our website, or speak to a specialist directly on 01993 838 220.

Preserving Japan’s heritage

Geisha in autumn, Japan

A city in Japan is doing all it can to keep up traditional geisha culture after numbers in the area dropped significantly from 200 to five in just 30 years.

Shimoda, a small seaside city in Shizuoka prefecture, has announced it is to launch a scheme paying young women to learn the traditional ways of the geisha in a bid to save this dying art. Continue reading »