Now in its tenth edition, the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival will feature an action-packed programme.

The dragon boat, a long canoe carved with a decorative dragon head and tail and painted with totems, embodies the venerable creature in Chinese mythology.

“Traditionally, dragon boats and paddles are made from teak and camphorwood and there are three different boat sizes. Today in international races, the stronger fibreglass is used and the boats are standardised in size,” says HKCDBA chairman Arnold Chung Chi Lok.

While dragon boat racing is practised throughout the world year-round nowadays, Hong Kong is the world’s first to organise invitation races, and has been hosting a major carnival since 2010 to promote the sport.

Dragon Boat Festival celebrations in Hong Kong are heated. In addition to wellknown races in Stanley, Shatin and Aberdeen on June 7, the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival will push the festivities to the summit in the weekend that follows (June 14 to 16).

One can expect to witness vigorous battles among some of the world’s strongest dragon boat teams at the threeday carnival. Previously a Hong Kong dragon boat team member and coach, Chung said that it is no easy feat to paddle in Victoria Harbour: “The deep, wavy water poses a great challenge. That said, the atmosphere is wonderful, especially when you see spectators lining the harbourfront to cheer on the teams.”

This year will surely be more exciting for Thai spectators, as the Thailand Dragon Boat Team and the CU Dragon Boat Team will be participating in the competitive races.

Conventional races aside, there will be a “Fancy Dress Competition”, while a funfilled playground with a manmade beach, a “Splash Area”, the Street Food Gala, the newly introduced Artisanal Market and more will be set up at the Central Harbourfront – and entrance is free for all.

The Dragon Boat Festival wouldn’t be complete without the festive food – glutinous rice dumplings. Theresa Mak, cook, food writer and top apprentice of Cantonese cuisine authority Pearl Kong Chen, makes dumplings at home every Dragon Boat Festival. She recalls “In the 1940s and 50s, people were eating small, almost bite-size savoury dumplings made of glutinous rice, mung beans and braised pork belly.”

Today, the bigger, leafwrapped steamed rice dumplings which contain a greater variety of ingredients, from salted egg yolk to roast duck, roast pork, dried scallops, Jinhua ham and shiitake mushrooms, can easily feed two to three people.

Another choice is the sweet lye water dumpling, made with yellow tinted sticky rice and a lotus paste filling. Visitors should also try other regional variations available in Hong Kong, such as Zhongshan’s reedwrapped rice dumplings and the famous Shanghainese rice dumplings from Jiaxing and Huzhou.

Find out more at http://www.DiscoverHongKong.com/eng/seedo/eventsfestivals/highlightevents/dragonboatcarnival.jsp.

The “2 Billion Kilometres to Safety” campaign encourages people to support refugees by championing individual acts of solidarity. These acts, when taken together, acknowledge the resilience and strength of refugees.

UNHCR traced the journeys of refugees around the world and calculated that collectively, people forced to flee travel approximately two billion kilometres every year to reach the first point of safety. In 2016, Syrian refugees travelled more than 240 kilometres to reach Turkey, South Sudanese refugees travelled more than 640 kilometres to reach Kenya, and Rohingya refugees in Myanmar travelled approximately 80 kilometres to reach Bangladesh.

The “2 Billion Kilometres to Safety” campaign invites people to act in solidarity and run, walk or cycle to achieve a cumulative total of two billion kilometres. Participants can use their fitness apps or the campaign website – http://www.Unhcr.or.th – to log the kilometres and contribute to a global total.

In Thailand, UNHCR introduces the campaign with a “2 Billion Kilometres to Safety” charity run to be held on June 16 on Rajdamnern Nok Avenue in order to commemorate World Refugee Day on June 20. The charity run is the first in a series of events organised by UNHCR’s corporate partners to accumulate the distance covered by Thai people and contribute to the campaign to show solidarity with refugees worldwide.

“Running, walking and cycling are well accepted in Thailand. This campaign will encourage Thai people to support refugees through something they are already doing,” said Giuseppe de Vincentiis, UNHCR representative in Thailand. “At a time of record high global displacement, it is vital that we remind ourselves of the real and dangerous journeys they are forced to take.”

Thailand is one of 27 countries across Africa, Asia, Central and North America, Europe and the Middle East taking part in the campaign, including individuals, celebrity supporters, refugees and UNHCR personnel.

“Refugees do not have a choice and must take dangerous journeys to seek safety for their own lives and those of their loved ones’,” says UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Praya Lundberg. “To show solidarity with refugees, I will start by running at the 2 Billion Kilometres Charity Run to step with refugees and ask all Thais to join me.”

Tickets are available at Bt550 and Bt1,000 and can be purchased at http://www.Unhcr.or.th. All proceeds will go to support refugees with registration and reception services, food and water, shelter, basic aid, healthcare and psychological support.

“The campaign is basically aimed at attracting domestic visitors this year and we have started promotional campaign drive in all seven provinces,” said Shankar Pokharel, Chief Minister of Province 5.

Bhairahawa, the gateway to Lumbini, has transformed itself into one of Nepal’s largest tourism and industrial hubs with investors and the government pouring billions into infrastructure development.

The once sleepy market town in the Tarai plains was thrust on to the international stage after becoming the gateway to the pilgrimage destination of Lumbini. Proliferating factories and a rapidly spreading transportation network have turned Bhairahawa into an economic powerhouse.

Lumbini, which attracts international pilgrims as the birthplace of the Buddha, has observed the construction of large-scale infrastructure from an international airport, industrial corridor, trade highways to a bevy of luxury hotels.

“The Visit Lumbini campaign is not only aimed at drawing domestic and foreign tourists, but to let everyone known that the area is ready to welcome investors with its world class infrastructure,” Pokhrel told the press.

A six-lane highway has already been constructed from bordering Sunauli in India to Gautam Buddha International Airport and is expected to come into operation by the end of this year.

Lila Giri, Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forests and Environment of Province 5, said that the provincial government has allocated a budget of Rs40 million (Bt11.3 million) for the campaign with key focus on attracting domestic tourists from across the country.

More than 1.55 million tourists visited Lumbini in 2017, of which 1.25 million were domestic visitors, according to the statistics of the Lumbini Development Trust. The statistics show that foreigner numbers stood at 301,240, including 155,444 Indian visitors.

Despite the growth in foreign tourist numbers, foreign tourists’ stay in the birthplace of Buddha has not increased, travel trade entrepreneurs said. Nearly 90 per cent of foreigners visiting Lumbini spend less than an hour in the area before moving on.

Foreign tourists usually stay for an average of 13 days in Nepal but most travellers visiting Lumbini barely stay for 30 minutes, according a study conducted in 2013. The survey titled “Visitors Survey and Observation” revealed that 72.6 per cent of the visitors spent only half an hour sightseeing in Lumbini.

According to Giri, the campaign objective is to increase the visitors’ length of stay and create local jobs by adding infrastructure and other facilities. “We have launched road shows and other promotional programmes in some key Indian cities also,” he said.

Lumbini is a potential worldclass tourist destination for 500 million Buddhists in Asia. It hosts the birthplace of the Buddha and over 100 related archaeological sites scattered within a 50km radius.

Offering the space of a land-based hotel, this innovation in the river cruise segment is offering breaks on the river Rhine from 2021.

With a width of 17.7 metres and a fourth deck, the ship is extremely spacious. All standard cabins are generously sized and feature a balcony, and there is a dedicated family area with a kids club and an extensive sun deck with separate adults’ and children’s pools.

“We have designed our new ship according to the wishes of our guests. Our customers appreciate the fact that they can enjoy many kinds of holiday rolled into in one with us,” reads the press release advertising the service.

“A city break, a package holiday, a cruise that takes in natural and cultural sites, a spa break – with A-Rosa, you don’t have to choose just one. You can have them all.”

WITH THE air pollution in Bangkok at its highest, I unfold my map and search for a place where I can breathe more easily. My usual refuge of Chiang Mai seems to be even more affected than the capital city, so I opt for the Philippines, picking the diving paradise of Malapascua Island for a well-earned winter break.

We land at Mactan International Airport on Cebu Island then grab a cab to take us on the three-hour drive to Maya Port. From there, it’s an easy crossing to the island on a traditional Filipino Bangca boat, a long thin vessel with a central hull and a solid, buoyant wooden outrigger made from bamboo sticking out from both sides.

The beach is dotted with colourful Bangca fishing boats in late afternoon. 

Even with the light drizzle, the emerald waters are so clear that we can clearly see the coral reefs that seem to stretch for miles. The sun comes out just as our boat drops anchor at Malapascua Island off Cebu’s northern tip, where we have booked ourselves an exclusive four-day programme of scuba diving.

Spread over two square kilometres, this idyllic island is covered with flatlands to the south while the northwest is home to a cape and small green hills. Its name translate as Bad Easter and legend has it that some Spanish sailors found themselves marooned on Lagon Island after a storm sank their ship on Christmas Day in the 15th century and, presumably because they were stuck there until at least Easter, renamed it Malapascua.

In the 1980s, the first underwater explorers discovered a gigantic submarine plateau called the Monad Shoal, which was home to a wide variety of marine creatures and coral reefs at depths from 14 to more than 100 metres, making it a world-class diving destination.

Focusing on sustainable tourism, the diving shops are careful in their management of marine tours and take good care of both the environment and the tourists who come to admire it.

A thresher shark appears to greet visitors at Monad Shoal. 

We’re up before first light and clamber aboard a boat for the 30-minute cruise to Monad Shoal. Equipped with air tanks, our group of divers jumps into the water and finds the best spot to watch the thresher sharks as they enjoy a relaxing spa session.

We hold on to a long rope that’s stretched around the underwater cliff and kneel down in the indicated positions just a few metres away from the teeming marine life. A lot of blue streak cleaner wrasses and moon wrasses are busy cleaning the thresher sharks’ mouths and getting rid of parasites and dead cells.

An ancient species, the long-tailed thresher-like sharks are considered predators. Also known as the fox shark and ninja shark in a nod to their big round eyes and sly behaviour, the threshers have been in existence for 49 million years and are found in all temperate and tropical oceans though Monad Shoal is the only place where visitors can spot the pelagic thresher sharks that can grow up to three metres in length.

We look up to the surface and spot manta rays, eagle rays, turtles and squids, while the thresher sharks wave their fins and meander behind us.

A shoal of blue streak cleaner wrasses and moon wrasses groom the thresher sharks.

Returning to Malapascua in the late morning, we have breakfast and prepare our equipment for the next dive. This is located to the far north of Malapascua and is a 45-minute boat ride away. The area is known as Gato Island – the name coming from its resemblance to a cat crouched low on its haunches.

A lofty limestone cliff towers above us as we dive through a tunnel to a mysterious sea cave, which is home to skeleton shrimps and on this occasion, three white tip reef sharks taking a nap. The seabed is blanketed with diverse corals in different colours around which schools of blue- ringed octopus, colourful frogfish and sea snakes feed and play.

Other popular dive sites in the area include Kemod Shoal where it’s possible to catch a glimpse of hammerhead sharks and devil rays and Kalangaman Island, which boasts a pristine beach popular for picnics.

A little Bobtail hunts for his dinner

Back at our resort on Malapascua Island, we rest up for the next dive, a sunset excursion to Lighthouse Reef, a 15-minute boat ride from Bounty Beach.

Under the beam of a dim red light, we observe mandarin fish mating – the females releasing some eggs and males fertilising them. We also spot a school of seahorses in yellow, red and brown floating amid hard coral reefs.

Next morning, we wake up to spectacular sunrise over the turquoise waters and hire bikes to cycle around Malapascua to admire the local life. The narrow lanes lead us to the white sand beaches and the Lighthouse, a perfect backdrop for selfies.

Standing alongside its namesake beach, Guimbitayan village is inhabited by local fishermen, who stick to the old traditions and a simple way of life. They still interweave fishhooks by hands and build and repair their own boats with traditional techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation.

A fresh market is set up in the middle of the hamlet, selling a wide range of seafood and local dishes at reasonable prices. The island might be remote but the villagers have access to public utilities and education. And with the number of tourists steadily growing, boutique resorts, guesthouse, restaurants, diving centres, schools and even a health care centre have sprung up, making this a perfect destination for families as well as backpackers.

IF YOU GO

>> Several airlines operate direct flights from Bangkok to Cebu Island. Visitors can travel to Maya Port by bus or taxi. Prices ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 pesos (Bt1,830 to Bt3,100).

>> The Maya New Port provides Bangca boat transfer to Malapascua Island. The fare starts at 100 peso (Bt60) per person.

>> Find out more details at http://www.TourismPhilippines.com.au.