To thank monkeys for attracting tourists, over 2,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables are set out for monkeys to consume at the Monkey Buffet Festival, held on Nov. 26 every year in front of Pra Prang Sam Yot temple in Thailand’s Lopburi province, 94 miles north of Bangkok. About 600 monkeys normally arrive for the massive buffet, watched by hundreds of people.
A series of guided walks showcasing the flora, fauna and history of the Isles of Scilly will be held March 29-April 4, 2010, on St. Mary’s Island. Local experts will lead over 20 walks, with topics such as archaeology, gardens, castles, beaches and birds. Isles of Scilly Tourist Office (St. Mary’s, Isles of Scilly, TR21 0LL, U.K.; phone 01720 422536, fax 424048, www.simplyscilly.co.uk or www.walkscilly.co.uk).
The website www.skyscanner.net helps travelers find the absolute lowest airfare when travel dates are flexible. On Skyscanner, users do not have to put in a specific travel date but can browse a graph of the lowest prices for entire months, including multiple airports, to find the lowest airfare. The site searches 675,000 routes of more than 600 airlines worldwide.
If you use a mobile phone that can access the Internet, there is a Web application that bundles tools for travelers.
For travelers with allergies, SelectWisely.com (Box 289, 2 Main St., Sparta, NJ 07871; 888/396-9260, www.selectwisely.com) offers advice on their website and sells customized translation cards with warnings for food allergies (ex., shellfish or nuts), health problems (ex., diabetes or asthma) and/or special diet limitations (ex., vegan, gluten-free).
In Potsdam, Germany, Rail Europe (800/622-8600, www.raileurope.com) offers a hop-on/hop-off double-decker bus tour which stops at 12 sites of cultural interest, including Luisenplatz (for its fountains), the Film Museum (€3.50) and the palace gardens of Sanssouci Park (entry to Sanssouci Palace, €8 or €12).
A pass for one circuit, including live commentary in English, costs $21 adult and $16 senior. Tours operate 9:20 a.m.-2:20 p.m. April 8-Oct. 31, 2009.
Featuring Old Master paintings and antique ceramics, jewelry and furniture and more on sale from over 260 individual galleries, the Olympia International Art & Antiques Fair (Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London SW5 9TA, UK; phone +44 0 20 7370 8211, fax 8221, www.olympiaartsinternational.com) will be held in June 2010.
Tickets cost, on June 4 (preview day), £80 and on June 5-13, £10 single or £18 per couple in advance or £14 single or £22 per couple at the door. Open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (till 9 p.m. June 9).
Bookins.com is an online site that is trying out a “barter” model for trading used books, DVDs and more.
It determines a “point” value for each item for sale on a member’s list (five points for a paperback; 10, hardcover; 15, best-seller, etc.). Once some items have been bartered, a member can redeem points to purchase a book or DVD. Members pay a set number of points and a flat fee of $4.99 for shipping.
The national tourism organizations of Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Macau, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are promoting travel to the region with an interactive website, www.discoverasianow.com. For each destination, it offers maps; info on weather and currency; discounted travel deals, etc.
National Geographic (888/225-5647, www.completenatgeo.com) is releasing all of its issues from October 1888 through December 2008 on either a 6-disc DVD set ($69.95) or a USB hard drive ($199.95).
The set features an interactive browser that allows users to find articles by issue date or map location (map location browsing requires Internet access). Included are lists of articles on specific topics, a DVD feature on the magazine’s history, and a trivia quiz.