A bottle of wine, perfume, etc., can be transported in checked baggage with a JetBag (Lathrup Village, MI; 248/891 8939). At 18 inches tall and 0.3 ounces, it easily holds a wine bottle. The bag, lined with absorbent fibers in the event of bottle breakage, closes with a reusable zip seal. A pack of three JetBags costs $15 plus $2.99 shipping.
In Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in central Vietnam, Thien Duong (Paradise Cave) has been opened to visitors by the Truong Thinh Group (50 Nguyen Huu Canh St., The Palace, Dong Hoi, Quang Binh City, Vietnam; phone 052 3820024, fax 052 3823859 or e-mail info@truongthinhgroup.com.vn).
The 36-kilometer-long cave, part of which is 60 meters high and 30 to 150 meters wide, contains numerous limestone formations. Guided tours along a 1.1-kilometer walkway inside the cave cost VND120,000 (near $6).
Australia Rail Plus passes allow unlimited travel during a three- or six-month period, including travel on trains like The Ghan and The Sunlander.
The AMET Majesty, the first cruise ship registered in India and flying the Indian flag, took her maiden voyage in June 2011 from Chennai, India. The 35-year-old ship was previously owned by Star Cruises and has been refurbished.
Carrying up to 1,000 passengers, AMET Majesty currently runs weekend and overnight cruises from Chennai, five-day cruises between Chennai, India, and Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, and a 10-day Chennai/Port Blair/Phuket/Chennai cruise.
In a surprise purchase, Windstar Cruises has been acquired for $39 million by the financially sound Anschutz Corporation from its former owners, Ambassadors International, which filed bankruptcy in April 2010. TAC Cruises, LLC, a unit of Anschutz Corp., will continue to operate all scheduled cruises for the three Windstar sailing yachts: Wind Star, Wind Spirit and Wind Surf.
The South East Asian Games will be held in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, and Jakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 11-22, 2011. Palembang, the main host, will welcome 6,000 athletes from the 10 countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations and Timor-Leste. Athletes will compete in 44 disciplines, including archery, diving, judo and volleyball, at various venues.
A range of vehicles with handicapped-accessible features now can be rented in the United Kingdom from Auto Europe. Among the options — a single lever to take the place of floor pedals; thumb controls on the steering wheel for turn indicators, wipers and horn, and floor pedals for people who have use of only the left leg.
• Any remaining tickets to the 2012 Olympics in London, July 25-Aug. 12, are being sold in a random-selection ballot and in “hospitality packages” from Authorized Ticket Resellers (ATRs). The ATR for the US and Canada is CoSport (Box 905, Far Hills, NJ 07931; 877/457-4647 or 908/326-2660).
The Furka Pass train route, which runs past the Rhone Glacier in Switzerland, was to be shut down with the opening of the Furka Base Tunnel in 1982, which made the route obsolete. Thanks to a private initiative, restored steam locomotives and reassembled original carriages from the early 1900s are traveling the route. The steam trains stopped running in 1968 and began again in 1999.
Leonardo da Vinci’s home for his final three years, Château du Clos Lucé (2 rue du Clos Lucé, 37400 Amboise, Val de Loire, France; phone +33 [0] 2 4757 00 73), is now a museum. It features 16 large, working models of his machines, reproductions of his drawings, audio and video presentations and a garden inspired by his botanical studies.