The beach at Maya Bay, a famous swimming spot in Thailand’s Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, is scheduled to reopen on Jan. 1, 2022, after having been closed since June 1, 2018, to allow the cove’s sea life to regenerate (May ’18, pg. 4 & Oct. ’21, pg. 29). The environment had been damaged by a combination of overcrowding and bathers’ toxic sunscreen.
Boats are banned from the bay.
In southwest England’s Devon County, the Dartmoor Line (dartmoorline.com), the first line to be reinstated in the country’s “Restoring your Railway” initiative, reopened on Nov. 20, 2021, after having ceased regular passenger service back in 1972.
Marriott International (marriott.com) announced on Nov. 24 that it would begin disclosing any and all resort fees, as part of the nightly rate quoted, before a room is booked. It is the first major hotel chain to decide to reveal these fees up front.
One of the world’s largest floor mosaics was unveiled on Oct. 29 at Qasr Hisham, or Hisham’s Palace, in Jericho, West Bank Palestine, after a 5-year restoration. The more than 1,000-year-old mosaic depicts animals such as lions and gazelles as well as repeating geometric patterns.
Qasr Hisham was built during the Umayyad Caliphate as a winter lodge for caliphs. Its ruins were rediscovered in the 19th century.
The palace is open daily, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Entry costs NIS10 (near $3).
On Nov. 6 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the new Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen (Museumpark 18; phone +31 10 441 9400, www.boijmans.nl/en) became the world’s first art storage facility of its size to allow the public access to its complete collection, which comprises 151,000 pieces from medieval to contemporary, including pieces by van Gogh and Dalí.
Anyone with mobility issues visiting Tokyo, Japan, can view or download for free the 53-page “Tokyo Sightseeing Accessibility Guide 2021.” Including information about accessible transportation, as well as tips, it maps out suggested routes for visiting popular historical, natural and cultural sites.
To download the guide, visit www.gotokyo.org/book/en/list/1270.
In Zürich, Switzerland, the restaurant Haus Hiltl (Sihlstraße 28; phone +41 44 227 70 00, hiltl.ch/en) holds the the Guinness World Record for oldest continually operated vegetarian restaurant, having served only meat-free dishes since 1898.
In an onsen (hot spring) resort area two hours north of Tokyo, Japan, visitors can book a ride on the steam locomotive SL Taiju.
SL Taiju travels from Shimo-Imaichi station (accessible by train via Tokyo’s Asakusa station) 35 minutes to the Kinugawa-Onsen station, with a stop at Tobu World Square, a theme park featuring scale models of worldwide attractions. During the journey, attendants dressed in traditional Japanese clothing hand out tourist info and travel advice.
At Dollar Canyon, 45 minutes from Edinburgh in southern Scotland, visitors can take a 3-hour canyoning course with The Canyoning Company (Perthshire, Scotland, UK; phone +44 7725 813 729, thecanyoningcompany.co.uk).
For vaccinated travelers only, Royal Caribbean International (866/562-7625, www.royalcaribbean.com) is offering preboarding rapid COVID-19 antigen tests at select US ports: Miami, Canaveral and Tampa Bay in Florida as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Royal Caribbean requires a negative antigen or PCR test taken within 48 hours in order to board.)