Price comparison: Winter Olympics tour packages

In a couple of weeks, the Winter Olympics will begin in Vancouver. Hence, the Asian Wall Street Journal’s weekly Arbitrage column has recently conducted a survey of Olympics tour packages in various cities in Asia and around the world. The survey found that prices were highest in European cities and lowest in Asian cities. However, the tour packages from Asian cities did not include a ticket to the opening ceremonies which, along with the shorter distances, contributed to the lower prices.

Price Comparison*

London	8,696 Pounds	US$13,909
Brussels	€7,870	US$10,988
Frankfurt	€6,925	US$9,688
Paris	€6,215	US$8,677
Rome	€5,472	US$7,639
Tokyo	586,830 Yen	US$6,484
Hong Kong	HK$36,808	US$4,733

* Package includes round-trip business-class ticket to Vancouver plus two nights in a four star hotel (February 11 - 13; per person, double occupancy). Prices are based upon foreign exchange rates as of February 3, 2010.

Dress codes for China

If you are traveling to China, you may be wondering how to dress appropriately and how the dress code in China compares with other countries you have visited. Hence, the Conde Nash Dress Code Guide (which is available on the Conde Nash website and is also downloadable in pdf format) offers a very handy and useful reference guide for how to dress appropriately in a number of countries around the world.

According to the guide, dress codes for meetings in China consists largely of homogenous suits and ties – no matter what the weather conditions are outside. Businesswomen will tend to go without makeup and jewelry while everyone in general tries to shy away from conspicuous consumption in order to demonstrate that they are focused on business.

On the street, the arms, chest and back should remain covered and women generally dress conservatively. However, dressing unconventionally will not offend anyone so long as one presents him or herself in the best light. Moreover, Chinese women will tend to not wear any footwear without straps as such foot wear will reveal to much of the foot and have a tendency to resemble flip flops – which are seen as cheap.

And finally, party goers should be aware that exaggerated styles and silhouettes monochromatic palettes by Comme des Garçons, Martin Margiela, and Yohji Yamamoto are now considered to be hot.

Beijing travel videos from Lonely Planet

As the capital of the most populous country in the world that is also one of the world’s oldest civilizations, Beijing has plenty of sites to offer both tourists and business travelers with extra time on their hands. In this Lonely Planet video made just before the Olympics, Eilis Quinn explores both the modern and traditional side of Beijing:

In this second video produced for Lonely Planet, the sites around Beijing are explored. This includes the Summer Palace, the Great Wall and the Lao Shan Mountain Biking Area:

In this final but very short video from Lonely Planet, Michael Kohn offers a quick snapshot of Beijing’s nightlife – including a visit to the night markets for some deep fried scorpion:

Price comparison: Glenfiddich 30-year-old Scotch-Whisky

Founded in 1886, the Glenfiddich Distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery located in Dufftown, Scotland. Glenfiddich whisky is bottled at ages of 12, 15, 18, 21 and 30 years old (but the distillery has also bottled a number of rare whiskies 40, 50 or more years old). Hence, the Asian Wall Street Journal’s weekly Arbitrage column has recently conducted a survey of prices for a 750ml bottle of Glenfiddich 30-year-old Scotch-Whisky in various cities in Asia and around the world. The survey found that prices were highest in major cities in Asia except for Tokyo where prices were actually the lowest of all cities surveyed.

Price Comparison*

Singapore	S$773	US$551
Hong Kong	HK$3,919	US$504
Shanghai	3,038 Yuan	US$445
Rome	€279	US$393
London	219 Pounds	US$353
Frankfurt	€232	US$327
New York City	US$317	US$317
Manila	14,500 Pesos	US$311
Paris	€209	US$294
Brussels	€205	US$289
Tokyo	23,183 Yen	US$260

* 750 ml bottle of Scotch-Whiskey. Prices based upon exchange rates as of January 27, 2010.

Air New Zealand unveils its economy lie-flat seats for the 787-9

Here is a great idea that we hope will be adopted by more airlines. As recently noted on Flight Blogger and starting in November of 2010 when Boeing delivers its first 777-300ER to Air New Zealand, the first 11 rows in economy will feature a new "Skycouch" that will provide a lie-flat experience. To take advantage of this, two adults must purchase two seats and a third seat at roughly half the price and the target market for the offering are couples or a small families. The airline intends to offer the service on selected Auckland to Los Angeles flights and eventually Auckland to London (Via Los Angeles) starting in April 2011.

However, there are still questions about how they will manage the revenue on this unique offering. Nevertheless and if such an experiment does end up working, the “Skycouch” will definitely provide the best long-haul flight experience on the market for economy class passengers.

Five-fingered discounts

The Luxique travel blog has recently noted that that the Australian Hotel Association (AHA) is loosing millions of dollars every year due to theft in what is apparently known in the business as “five-fingered discounts.” And its not just little items likes pens or wash cloths. In fact, items that have disappeared from Aussie hotel rooms include everything from toilet flushing mechanisms to a TV set with base and a giant metal statue of a kangaroo. Moreover, men and women are equally guilty as women are more likely to take designer toiletries and towels while men are tempted by bottle openers, shoe shine kits, glasses and mini bar items.

Meanwhile, the same blog has also noted that the former US Ambassador in London, Raymond Seitz, likes to pilfer “Do Not Disturb” signs and has now amassed a collection of 500 according to Condé Nast Traveller magazine. Apparently though, he is now alone as there is even a website dedicated to “Do Not Disturb” sign collectors that was set up by someone who has collected 6,000 of them!

 

Transportation options in Mumbai videos

Mumbai is a huge and sprawling city but luckily there are various transportation options available to both visitors and residents alike to consider. This first Geobeats video gives an overview of the various public transportation options available in Mumbai:

However and as with cities everywhere, its easy to be taken for a ride by a taxi driver in Mumbai. Hence, this second Geobeats video will give you some useful tips for dealing with local cabbies:

Price comparison: A duplicate room key

The Asian Wall Street Journal’s weekly Arbitrage column has recently conducted a survey of prices for having duplicate room key in various cities in Asia and around the world. The survey found that prices were highest in Europe and generally lowest (only a few cents) in Asia.

Price Comparison*

Frankfurt	€7	US$9.96
Brussels	€6.5	US$9.25
London	5.50 Pounds	US$8.98
Paris	€4	US$5.69
Rome	€3	US$4.27
Hong Kong	HK$22	US$2.83
Jakarta	23,333 Rupiahs	US$2.52
Bangkok	75 Baht	US$2.28
Singapore	S$3	US$2.15
New York City	US$1.70	US$1.70
Kuala Lumpur	2.50 Ringgit	US$0.75
Shanghai	5 Yuan	US$0.73
Manila	65 Pesos	US$0.30

* Prices based upon exchange rates as of January 20, 2010.

International Living’s 2010 Quality of Life Index

International Living magazine’s 30th Quality of Life Index has surveyed almost 200 countries across nine categories that include cost of living, culture/leisure, environment and safety/risk and here are the countries who topped out the list:

1. France
2. Australia
3. Switzerland
4. Germany
5. New Zealand
6. Luxembourg
7. United States
8. Belgium
9. Canada
10. Italy

France kept the top spot for the fifth year in a row while Australia jumped from fifth to second place due to the strength of its economic recovery. On the other hand, the USA dropped from third to seventh place due to the perception that the American dream is increasingly out of reach for many.

However, International Living also freely admits that they have a strong Western bias as the highest ranked Asia country (Japan) only comes in at 36th place.

Airport security humor

With the recent underwear bombing attempt on an airliner still fresh in everyone’s mind, we have an an important message from Transport Canada (A division of the US Department of Homeland Security) to repeat should you be traveling to Canada or from Canada to the USA as new “rules” are in effect:

Moreover and if you are traveling to and from the USA, just remember that the Transportation Security Administration is there working hard to make sure you enjoy a safe flight and you can count on them to do what they are trained to do: Overreact to tiny threats while ignoring the really big ones….