Oregon State University

Idyllic landscape in PyeongChang reveals hints of autumn

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- This summer seems to be going on forever. It seems like the country has become subtropical. From one corner of the peninsular, however, autumn is slowly sneaking up on us.

Over 60 percent of PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, is higher than 700 meters above sea level, which is part of the reason that the city was a strong candidate to host the two upcoming Winter Olympic Games. Well, there will be no Winter Olympic Games in the city, at least until 2018, but it doesn't affect the amount of fun people can have at this idyllic location, often dubbed "Korean Alps."

Last Sunday, the morning air around the Villa Condo at the YongPyong Resort (033-335-5757) was cool, crisp and clean. Although most of the country was sweltering in a heat wave last week, the place opened in 1975 for winter sports enthusiasts seemed to be a perfect haven for those escaping the summer heat.

The sun was powerful during the middle of the day, but under the trees it was a totally different world, with sweet mountain breezes seemingly blowing from nowhere. Along the hilly road connecting the condo to other facilities of the resort were cosmos flowers blooming in three different colors, white, pink and violet, heralding that autumn is on its way.

Encompassing the resort is Mount Balwang, a 1,458-meter-tall mountain that is the 13th highest in the country. Located on top of the mountain, the Dragon Peak Restaurant commands a panoramic view of the surrounding area, including the East Sea and the nearby Gangneung area.
You can hike for three to four hours on a moderately tough trail to reach the top. Otherwise, you should ride a gondola, which costs 12,000 won for a round trip (8,000 won for children).

Less than a 30 minute drive from the resort is a unique place to appreciate the green wonders of nature: a vast sheep ranch named "Yangtte Mokjang" (033-333-1966). During weekends, thousands of people visit the place to feed sheep and take photos in the postcard-perfect exotic backgrounds with their friends and family. One has to buy a bag of dried hay to get into the ranch, which is 3,000 won.

Located not very far from the sheep ranch is Samyang Ranch (033-335-5044), which is 7.5 times larger than Yeouido Island in Seoul. It takes about two hours to traverse the ranch by shuttle bus, making stops at major attractions including the observatory overlooking the East Sea.
With the unique scenic beauty of its green hills and pastures, the ranch has become the hottest location spot for movies and soap operas in the last few years. Best known among them is Korea Broadcasting System's popular 2000 TV series "Gaeuldonghwa" (Autumn Tales), which made actress Song Hye-kyo and actor Song Seung-hun stars not only here but also in other Asian countries.

The two trees near the entrance of the ranch, respectively named "Jun-seo (Song Seung-hun)'s tree" and "Eun-seo (Song Hye-kyo)'s tree" are still the most popular tourist attractions here. A tree located on top of a hill on the ranch also became popular among local movie fans, as the three main characters played by Cha Tae-hyun, Son Ye-jin and Lee Eun-joo in the film "Lover's Concerto" (2002) sat under the tree to get out of the rain.

Fierce battle scenes from "Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War" (2004) and some action scenes of "Fighter in the Wind" (2004) were also shot here.

Another attraction of the area are the some 500 species of wildflowers blooming here and there on the ranch from spring through autumn. Admission is 7,000 won. PyeongChang is also well known as the birthplace of the late novelist Lee Hyo-seok (1907-1942), who is praised for his unique aestheticism based on realism.

Every September, the town of Bongpyeong in PyeongChang attracts a large number of tourists who come to see his birth house and the clusters of white buckwheat flowers blooming in stark contrast with the cobalt-blue sky, which looks exactly like "sprinkled salt" as Lee said in his novel "When Buckwheat Flowers Are in Bloom."

From Sept. 7 to 16, there will be the annual Bongpyeong Buckwheat Festival, which combines cultural events and a food festival, in which one can taste various kinds of dishes such as pancakes, bibimbap and noodles, all made with buckwheat. For more information about the festival, call (033) 330-2762.

High-grade beef is another food specialty of the city. Daekwallryong Sutbul Hoekwan (033-335-0020), located in the downtown area, is popular for its saeng dungshim (grilled sirloin, 39,000 won per 150g).

When driving your own car, you should take the Yongdong Expressway to Hoenggye Interchange. From there make a right turn and drive for six to eight more minutes to get to YongPyong Resort, where you can get plenty of travel information for the nearby attractions.

Sunrise - Mount Matterhorn

The Peak Collection - Zermatt, Switzerland

"The Peak Collection", the highest art exhibition in the world, at Rothorn restaurant, helps guests to appreciate Zermatt's mountain landscape in a very unique way. Alpine enthusiasts can learn all about the mountains around Zermatt and their unmistakable history.

Vast new casino raises the stakes in Macau

A gondola is moored indoors at "St Marks Square" at the Venetian Resort in Macau. The Venetian Macao, the world's biggest casino by gaming tables, opens to the public on Tuesday. - AFP

The outside of the Venetian Resort in Macau.

MACAU : The Venetian Macao, the world's biggest casino by gaming tables, opens to the public on Tuesday in an attempt to trump its rivals not only as a gambling paradise but an entertainment centre.

The 2.4 billion-dollar resort, built entirely on a reclaimed land called the Cotai Strip, mirrors the Venetian casino complex in Las Vegas -- complete with replicas of Venice's famous canals and romantic architecture.

The ambitious project boasts a fleet of gondolas and includes a copy of Venice's Bridge of Sighs and of St Mark's Square, which has a ceiling of a fake blue sky with white clouds.

The mega resort will feature 850 gaming tables and 4,100 slot machines on floors as big as three football pitches.

With 3,000 hotel rooms, a theatre, a 15,000-seat stadium and 350 shops, the complex aims to turn the tiny territory of 520,000 people from a purely gambling venue to a true entertainment destination.

"It cannot help but be a success," Sheldon Adelson, chief executive of Las Vegas Sands, operator of the Venetian Macao, told AFP in an interview Monday.

"We run a hotel at Las Vegas at 100 percent occupancy, we know why it works, why we have the best employees and we are copying the business model of the most successful hotel in history.

"There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever," he said. After Macau liberalised its monopolistic gaming market once dominated by local tycoon Stanley Ho, Sands opened the first major US casino in the southern Chinese territory in 2004 and paid for its investment in 12 months.

Now, Adelson said he hopes to make back the 2.4 billion-dollar investment in the Venetian, the second-largest building in the world, within five years.

Analysts said Adelson's bet on the cut-throat gaming competition could pay off, although they believe the Venetian may not draw all the customers away in a market that VIP baccarat accounts for two-thirds of the gaming revenues.

"Some casinos have been here for ages and they have their own loyal VIP customers. They won't switch because of a new casino," said Fong Ka-chio, director of the Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming in Macau.

"Operators will find a way to retain their customers. It's very unlikely that the Venetian will take away all the business," he said.

But Adelson has his tricks to lure visitors to stay longer than the average stay of 1.2 days -- by offering them convention facilities and getting them to watch shows, and to shop and enjoy fine-dining, rather than just gambling.

The Venetian aims to become a world-leading convention destination with its huge exhibition space and has already booked 44 events at the centre over the next two years.

Like Las Vegas, the resort will also host shows to draw more customers with its 1,800-seat theatre, which will be home to the renowned Cirque de Soleil.

The Venetian also hopes its shops, to be occupied by luxury brands like Tiffany and Versace, will attract wealthy Chinese, among whom analysts expect demand for luxury goods to grow 20 percent per year.

"Macau is such a small place. There's a limit on how many tourists we can take. If you have limited capacity, would they want to attract people who would spend 1,000 dollars or 100 dollars?" Fong said. "I believe they aim to attract more rich people who will be willing to spend not just on gambling but on shows and shops. I think that would be a trend," he added. - AFP/ir

Mount Matterhorn - Switzerland

The beauty of Mount Matterhorn.

Mount Fuji - Japan

In mountainous Japan, most of the mountains are part of mountain ranges. Mt. Fuji, however, soars into the sky alone. Located almost in the center of the country (on the prefectural border between Shizuoka and Yamanashi), this well-proportioned cone-shaped mountain has been worshiped by the Japanese people since ancient times, and is a well-known symbol of Japan in other countries. The highest peak in Japan (3,776 meters (12,385 feet)), Mt. Fuji is a relatively young volcano. The mountain is said to have reached its present shape about 5,000 years ago, but even since then, it has repeatedly erupted, and those eruptions since the dawn of history can be found on record. The last gigantic eruption occurred in 1707. For almost 300 years since then, Mt. Fuji has been quiet and retained its rarely noble figure, but some experts say that it will surely awake again.

Angkor Wat's lost city

THE Angkor Wat in Cambodia is the centre of a much bigger community than once thought.

The mediaeval Khmer city of Angkor was the largest pre-industrial metropolis in the world, with a population of nearly one million and an urban sprawl that stretched over an area similar to modern-day Los Angeles, researchers reported on Monday.

Now obscured by vegetation and low-lying clouds, the ruins surrounding the temple were once thousands of houses, roads, man-made ponds and canals, according to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Archaeologist Damian Evans of the University of Sydney, lead author of the paper, said: "We now know that instead of being just temples, Angkor was actually a continuous and interconnected network of temples and small-scale residential features like small village ponds."

The city's spread was made possible by a sophisticated technology for managing and harvesting water for use during the dry season, including diverting a major river through the heart of the city.

But that reliance on water led to the city's collapse in the 1500s as overpopulation and deforestation filled the canals with sediment, overwhelming the city's ability to maintain the system.

During the six centuries that the city thrived, it was unparalleled, particularly because it was one of the few civilisations that sprang up in a tropical setting.

"The scale is truly unparalleled," said archaeologist William A. Saturno of Boston University, who was not involved in the study.

"Forest environments are not good ones for civilisations... because they require intensively manipulating the environment. Angkor is the epitome of this, and it is going to be the model for how tropical civilisations are interpreted." The new data comes from an unusual agglomeration of both old and new technologies.

The core data came from a synthetic aperture radar unit flown on the space shuttle in 2000 and managed by Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada-Flintridge, California.

The radar pierced low-lying clouds and vegetation to give an accurate picture of soil density, local structures and moisture in soil, which reflects growing conditions.

The images clearly revealed, for example, the characteristic moat-enclosed local temples and artificial ponds used for water storage and irrigation.

This data was supplemented with photographs taken from ultralight aircraft flown over the city at low speeds and altitudes.

Finally, the researchers used motor scooters to traverse the city and closely examine sites revealed on the radar images. But so many sites have been revealed, Evans said, that researchers are only part way through the process.

The group, collectively called the Greater Angkor Project, released a partial map three years ago.

The new one released on Monday contains, among other things, an additional 1,000 sq km of urban area, at least 74 long-lost temples and more than 1,000 newly recognised artificial ponds.

Angkor was the capital of the Khmer empire, which got its start in AD 802 when the god-king Jayavarman II declared the region's independence from Java. At its height, the empire ruled not only Cambodia but also parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

It is perhaps best known for the magnificent temple Angkor Wat, built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century.
AP, LAT-WP, REUTERS

Where shall we go for holiday ?

If you are in good health, there is an endless choice of places to go on holiday.

But don't forget that you are used to your own climate, and a sudden change for a short while may not be too good for you.

This is especially true if you have any health problems.

Take a few precautions to ensure you are fit enough to enjoy your holiday to the fullest.

* Pay special attention to personal hygiene.
* Always check that food is fresh and edible and that water is fit to drink.
* Even if you love getting a tan, never go out in the sun without protection or long sunbathe.
* Take the right clothes and footwear for the weather and the countryside of the country you are visiting.
* You may like sport, but do not underestimate the difference in climate or overestimate your own strength.

Holidays forever !

Regular holidays, that everyone is entitled to take, are now a matter of course in the developed countries of the world.

In these countries, all workers have the opportunity of doing whatever they like for a few weeks in the year. They may like just to stay at home and enjoy one of their hobbies. They may want to travel abroad, especially if they have friends and relatives in other countries.

When on holiday, we can give the body and mind a chance to recharge their energy levels, spend time with family and friends, practise some sport, read write, draw, paint and, of course, relax.

Holidays are meant to refresh both the body and mind. We leave our everyday world behind and can get to know new people and widen our horizons.

Common interests bring people together and everyone returns home with many happy memories.