Travel
Tuesday, 30 December 2008 05:12
Written by Urbanatomy

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For January get to know the latest reader discounts on trips to Vietnam (no that's pretty god damn cool), a look at new Shanghai-based travel Web site www.iloho.com, aloft's opening in Beijing and CLub Med Bali's funky new refurbishment. And guiding you through this world of travel excitement is Jade Bremner, Rosemary Zhu and Matthew Juggins... Reader discounts for Vietnam visits       
By Rosemary Zhu
During Chinese New Year holiday, Shanghai often develops “reunion syndrome,” a phenomenon that creates a chaotic panic in the city. For some reason, it also urges folks to jump on the nearest moving vehicle in order to get somewhere… anywhere will do. A sensible option is to escape to Vietnam. It’s only four hours away by air and will warm your cockles this winter. that’s Shanghai readers are exclusively offered a five percent discount on this 10-day trip from south to north. Stop-offs include five picturesque spots, starting in Saigon then on to Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue and Halong Bay. In a loose timetable, you can choose what you do when you get there. We recommend the cruise on junk boats along the breathtaking Halong Bay against a backdrop of stunning limestone karsts which rise vertically out the water. The package starts from USD1215pp - don’t forget to quote this offer when you order.
Book with www.statravel.com.cn

Iloho.com      
By Jade Bremner
This useful Shanghai-based travel website was launched by expat Richard Archer-Perkins who, like many of us, hates wasting time getting from A to B. He put this website together so that travellers across the globe can interact with each other under one roof and share up-to-date travel news, airline reviews, practical advice and photography. All the content is submitted by travellers, so information is unbiased and relevant. This February sees Iloho.com’s first anniversary, and they are celebrating over 150,000 new visitors each month, and 2,000 bloggers. Users can vote content ‘up’ or ‘down’, meaning only the most appropriate information is displayed as news on the front page. So, if you are trying to rack up air miles or need tips on how to maximize your loyalty program, there’ll be lots of helpful advice for you here. Also check out some of the lovely user-friendly functions such as the 360 degree visual-flight-search powered by a version of Google Earth (which you don’t have to download), and try the travel games such as Plane To Catch - sure to kill a few minutes of all the time you’ll have saved.
www.iloho.com
 
Kudos for Club Med Bali  
By Jade Bremner
Finally, after four months, Club Med Bali has finished an extensive refurb and, instead of a facelift, it has undergone a transplant. The altogether new interior, designed by Mark Hertrich (who graduated at Ecole Boule art school in Paris), has a bright modern design that incorporates traditional Balinese architecture. New features include the Dragon Room, decorated with lanterns and two large Nagas (otherwise known as ‘protector dragons’) Sculpted from wood, they welcome guests onto the veranda. The hotel spa also includes an alluring area called the ‘quiet pool,’ but Club Med’s real selling point remains its unbeatable location. Situated in Nusa Dua on Bali’s east coast facing the Indian Ocean, it is close to dive sites, a first class surf break and Turtle Island. The hotel now has an oval-shaped bar on the beach where guests can sit and gaze at the crystal clear waters, the Batur Volcano and the paddy fields in the distance. Total bliss. Stay before the 30 April and enjoy a 25 percent reopening discount.
To book call 1800 258 263 or visit www.clubmed.com for more info.

aloft opens in Beijing
By Matthew Juggins
Here to shake up the hotel industry is the new Beijing aloft. As a brand known for its ultra-modern design, it has a colorful cubist interior and a proud giant billboard with bold signage reading ‘aloft’ smacked across the exterior. This is the first aloft hotel to open outside North America and with it comes a new level of young and hip styling for China’s hotel business. Serious development plans are going at full throttle during the next two years and aloft will open a staggering nine hotels in Asia Pacific, and 100 further hotels around the globe by 2011. Expect all the usual gizmos in the Beijing branch, such as wireless internet access and high definition, 42-inch, flat-panel TVs as well as bathroom amenities created by Bliss® Spa. aloft Beijing is situated in China’s version of Silicone Valley - Zhongguancun Science Park, close to the Bird’s Nest Stadium and Asia-Pacific’s largest shopping arcade (the Golden Resources Shopping Mall).
Tower 2 No.25 Yuanda Road, Haidian District, Beijing, www.alofthotels.com

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