Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica (Lima, Peru; phone 51 1 610 0400 or, in the US, 800/442-5042), adjacent to Tambopata National Reserve in southern Peru, has constructed a Canopy Tree House perched 90 feet above the rainforest floor to complement its 35 cabañas.
Air tours over Tokyo in helium-filled zeppelins holding 12 passengers and two crew members are offered by Nippon Airship Corp. (St. Luke’s Tower 27F, 8-1, Akashi-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0044, Japan; phone +81 3 5148 2650).
Tours range from a 40-minute tour of Tokyo for ¥63,000 (near $680) per person, daytime, or ¥68,000, night, to a two-hour tour of sprawling Yokohama at ¥168,000 ($1,814) weekdays or ¥178,000 weekends/holidays.
SunAir (P.O.B. 10250, Jerusalem 91102, Israel; phone +972 54 5818883, fax +972 2 6717775 or e-mail gilaviv@zahav.net.il) offers flights over the Dead Sea and surrounding area.
For up to three people, the flights, out of Masada Airfield at the Dead Sea, range from a 20-minute flight over Masada, the Ein Gedi oasis and the Dead Sea coastline for NIS600 (near $159) to a 75-minute flight along the Dead Sea coast and over the city of Jerusalem for NIS 2,200 ($584).
For people with food allergies, the 400-page book “Let’s Eat Out with Celiac/Coeliac & Food Allergies!” offers guidelines for eating safely anywhere, covering seven international cuisines and hundreds of menu items.
Focusing on 10 common food allergens — corn, dairy, eggs, fish, gluten, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts and wheat — it showcases common ingredients, hidden allergens and food-preparation techniques used by restaurants. $26.95 from various sources, including Amazon.com. Visit www.allergyfreepassport.com for info.
For those with long layovers at the Hong Kong International Airport, the 1,171-room Regal Airport Hotel (9 Cheong Tat Road, HKIA, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, China; phone [852] 2286 8888) has a flexible “Day Use Package.”
The Wall, an outdoor interactive panel created by the Museum of Copenhagen, has been installed at Kongens Nytorv square in the city’s center. Opened on April 24, The Wall comprises four interactive picture-window-size touch screens stretching nearly 40 feet.
Each screen features hundreds of audiovisual images and impressions of Copenhagen, past and present. Visitors set the screens in motion with a single touch. The display is ever-changing, as visitors can upload their own photos of Copenhagen or voice their opinions through a video blog created at The Wall itself or online.
Designed by I.M. Pei, the Macau Science Center (Avenida Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, Macao Science Center; phone +853 2888 0822) opened along the waterfront in January.
There is an Exhibition Center (12 permanent galleries, including hands-on exhibits), a Planetarium (135 seats with interactive controls — shows twice daily) and a Convention Center.
10-6 Mon.-Sun. (closed Thurs.). Exhibition Hall, MOP25 ($3); Planetarium, MOP35 for show with 2D images or MOP45 ($5.65) for 3D show.
Topography of Terror (Dokumentationszentrum NS-Zwangsarbeit, Britzer Straße 5, 12439 Berlin, Germany; phone 030 6390288 0), a three-story exhibition and documentation center focusing on the atrocities of World War II, opened on May 7.
Exhibits attempt to show the impact of forced labor on Germany and throughout Europe. The site, that of the former Gestapo and SS headquarters in Berlin, also includes one of the last well-preserved forced-labor camps. Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Free entry.
With locations in nine Mexico airports, TaxBack (www.taxback.com.mx) refunds travelers’ value-added tax (VAT) for purchases made in stores displaying the orange TaxBack sticker. A visitor must spend at least MXN1,200 (near $90) to get a refund, filling out a form and providing the shopping receipts.
For refunds of MXN10,000 ($740) or less, up to 50% can be given in cash, with the rest electronically transferred to a debit or credit card account after 40 days. Refunds of more than MXN10,000 are entirely electronic.
Tokyo International Airport, also known as Haneda Airport and located 30 minutes from central Tokyo by car or train, is opening some of its gates for international flights to/from the US starting in October 2010. (Narita International Airport is about an 80-minute drive from Tokyo.)
The airport will offer eight flights to and from the US per day. Carriers have yet to be announced, but five major US airlines have applied for slots.