PART THREE:

Distrito Capital, Mexico City

Distrito Capital is the latest venture from the team behind two of Mexico City’s hottest hotels, Habita and Condesa DF. The 30-room hotel takes its inspiration from the Park Hyatt Tokyo and other hotels that float above their cities: Rooms occupy the top four floors of an office building, with reception, restaurant, and gym at the bottom. And like the Park Hyatt, Distrito has an international, cosmopolitan swagger.

While some may not associate Mexico City with jet-setting soirees, the country’s capital is in fact home to a handful of cutting-edge design hotels with Diddy-worthy party scenes.

Opened in February 2009, Distrito Capital, the latest from high-design Habita hotel group, is the city’s hot-spot party place-to-be.

Located in the Santa Fe quarter (a growing business hub and shopping district), the stylish 30-room hotel towers above the city in a 28-story high-rise (the mixed-use building is also home to restaurants and residential condos) and features interiors by French designer Joseph Dirand (think tailored minimalism in a palette of muted greys, vintage furnishings and artwork, modern touches like mounted flat-screen TVs and retro accents like old-school rotary phones).

But the hotel’s forte is its public spaces, located on the fifth floor, which encourage social interaction and, consequently, partying. The open-air pool lounge is home to a sexy 65-foot pool, and is the venue for DJ-driven weekend pool parties that commence at noon and wind down at dusk, with the unofficial after party at the 31st-floor Suite Royal, which wows with fabulous city views, its own bar and gym.

Next to the pool lounge, separated by a sliding glass wall, is the hotel’s five star restaurant serving artful Mexican fare courtesy of celebrity chef Enrique Olvera. Weekend rates start from $170/night for a double room.

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PART TWO:

Buddha Bar Hotel, Prague

This legendary outlet is located in the heart of the brand new Boutique Hotel concept bearing its name; a unique urban resort designed to redefine Lifestyle within the Hospitality Industry. With luxury rooms and exquisite suites, the first Buddha-Bar Hotel embodies the essence of contemporary modern Asian interior design with French colonial influence and is located in the heart of Prague, in a historical building just a few steps away from the Old Town Square.

The ever-so-stylish Buddha Bar Restaurant and Lounge chain dominates the world’s top party cities (London, Paris, and Sao Paolo all claim Buddha Bar outposts) with a reputation for attracting party animals prepped for all-night revelry, so it’s no wonder that the hot-spot brand now offers hotel rooms in equally groovy environs.

The chain opened its first Buddha Bar Hotel in January 2009 in the old town of Prague, a city previously known for boisterous beer-swilling. But the Buddha Bar changed all of that: decked out with statement-making reds, golds, and exotic prints, each of the 39 rooms also comes outfitted with rain showers, in-bathroom televisions, and high-def TVs that can play the music mixed by the DJs in the mezzanine-level bar.

The party vibe continues downstairs where DJs spin nightly at the property’s namesake lounge, while the Buddha Bar Restaurant dishes inventive Asian-Pacific Rim fusion cuisine and the more casual Siddharta Café offers international eats in what is dubbed a “Pop Art Eatmosphere” environment (think an Andy Warhol-inspired colour palette with funky, semi-psychedelic décor). Rates start at approximately $494/night.

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Essential Medical Information When Travelling Abroad

If you become seriously ill or injured abroad, your country’s consular officer can assist in locating appropriate medical services and informing family or friends.

If necessary, a consular officer can also assist in the transfer of funds from your home country. However, payment of hospital and other expenses is the responsibility of the traveller.

Before going abroad, learn what medical services your health insurance will cover overseas. If your health insurance policy provides coverage outside your country, REMEMBER to carry both your insurance policy identity card as proof of such insurance and a claim form.

Although many health insurance companies will pay “customary and reasonable” hospital costs abroad, very few will pay for your medical evacuation back home. Medical evacuation can easily cost $10,000 and up, depending on your location and medical condition.

To facilitate identification in case of an accident, complete the information page on the inside of your passport providing the name, address and telephone number of someone to be contacted in an emergency.

A traveller going abroad with any pre-existing medical problems should carry a letter from the attending physician, describing the medical condition and any prescription medications, including the generic name of prescribed drugs.

Any medications being carried overseas should be left in their original containers and be clearly labelled. Travelers should check with the foreign embassy of the country they are visiting to make sure any required medications are not considered to be illegal narcotics.

For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad, consult the World Health Organization’s (WHO) web site at http://www.who.int/en. The WHO also provides travel health information at http://www.who.int/ith.

U.S. embassies and consulates abroad maintain lists of hospitals and physicians.

You can visit U.S. Embassy and Consulate web sites around the world at http://usembassy.state.gov/.

Top Ten Things To Do In Hong Kong: PART 4

6. Visit Tsim Sha Tsui

Shopping malls, designer stores, restaurants, bars and cafes vie for attention in this district of Hong Kong which is extremely popular with locals and tourists. If you are on a tight schedule, make sure you go to Tsim Sha Tsui, because as well as entertainment, there are also a number of cultural attractions located in this district.

The first of these is the Museum of Art which has a collection of more than 14,000 exhibits. Its focus is on preserving the artistic heritage of the Chinese people and the collection includes many works of art from ancient China. It also has an extensive calligraphy section.

The excellent Space Museum is just next door, as is the Cultural Center, where you can take in a dance performance or classical music concert.

7. Trip to Oceanpark and Waterworld

Located in the southwest of Hong Kong island, not far from the harbor is a massive theme park and entertainment center. Amusement rides, a butterfly park, an aviary and marine shows are some of the highlights of Oceanpark. Particularly interesting is the Middle Kingdom walk-through exhibition, which features recreated street scenes and palaces from long ago. It’s a fun way to learn about China’s past. Waterworld has slides, a wave pool, manmade rapids and other child-friendly activities.

8. Shop at Stanley Market

Everyone who visits Hong Kong goes to Stanley Market. This popular tourist destination is the place to go to haggle over everything from antiques to electronics. Some good buys here are embroidered household linens, cheap children’s clothes and all kinds of fun little trinkets and artifacts.

9. Ride up Victoria Peak

Named after the British monarch Queen Victoria, this hilly landmark is visited by every tourist to Hong Kong. A cable-pulled train (funicular) takes visitors from Hong Kong Park to the peak. You can travel up the peak by bus too, but the funicular is more exciting. The views of the city from the peak are breathtaking.

10. Go hiking

It may be hard to believe when you’re scrambling around downtown, but Hong Kong is a great place to go on a long nature walk! Over two-thirds of Hong Kong is forest or farmland and much of that is conservation land.

There are trails and walks to suit all abilities. Aberdeen Country Park, for example, is a good place for a leisurely walk with children. It has an information centre detailing the flora and fauna that can be found in its grounds. Pat Sing Leng Park in the New Territories, has much more challenging walks that take you through a mountain range fringing the city. For information on these walks and many more, get in touch with the Hong Kong Tourism Board on arrival, or take a look at their website.

Disabled Travel. PART 08

TIP 12: Tips from the experts: Many of your seasoned disabled travelers may find these tips obvious and not as helpful as they could be. For those of you who need more information before your next trip, try reading a copy of Barrier-Free Travel: A Nuts and Bolts Guide for Wheelers and Slow Walkers by Candy Harrington. This book has received much praise and commendation from other disabled travelers.

The book will provide you with helpful tips that can make your travel much easier. For example, if you are using a wheel chair and are concerned about taking a cruise, you no longer have to worry as you can request a wheelchair friendly cabin from your travel agent. And in the US hotels that provide free airport transport to their guests, also have to provide an accessible option with no added cost.

This book also contains useful information about how to find and book a wheelchair accessible room, how to work with and more importantly locate a suitable travel agent, cruises, ground transportation, overseas travel, advocacy, disability law and rights, air travel, protecting your wheelchair when you travel, and resources around the world which I believe is exactly what most disabled travelers require.