YOU’D BE forgiven while strolling along the shores of Italy’s Lake Como for thinking you’d just walked onto a “Star Wars” set. There are no X-wing fighters or death stars, but there is the unsurpassed beauty and romanticism of the garden at Villa del Balbianello.

This is where Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker picnicked in “Attack of the Clones”, in which locales around the picturesque lake became Naboo in a galaxy far, far away.

This is where he trembled over the “kiss you should have never have given me”. She was trembling too. “I think our lives are about to be destroyed,” she said.

The spectacular view across Lake Como from Menaggio continues to mesmerise visitors of all backgrounds, just as it enchanted so many famous personages of the past.

Just a couple of kilometres away is the equally elegant Villa Belmonte in the charming town of Giulino di Mezzegra, where real lives were destroyed. There, Benito Mussolini’s mistress, Claretta Petacci, insisted on dying with him when fate arrived armed with clubs and pitchforks. They tried to flee across the nearby Swiss border, but the partisans were hunting for them.

The dictator often asked Petacci if she thought he was as good a leader as Napoleon. She assured him he was. Napoleon made an imperial victory lap of the area in the early 1800s and once stayed at the stately Villa Pliniana across the lake.

Lago di Como simultaneously stimulates and soothes like few other landscapes with built-in drama that’s been attracting visitors for millennia. Shaped like an upside-down “Y”, it nestles under gorgeous mountains in Italy’s pretty, more posh north.

Eyes are drawn to pristine peaks along the Swiss frontier and then to some of Europe’s deepest waters, powerful emotions reflected in their countless shades of blue. It’s certainly an ideal place to take a permanent holiday.

The visual symphony inspired the virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt. “When you write the story of two happy lovers,” he said, “let the story be set on the banks of Lake Como.”

Winston Churchill, after overseeing victory in Europe in 1945 and suffering a shock election defeat just two months later, retreated to a lakeside villa in Moltrasio to discover “a landscape which exudes absolute tranquillity”.

Having led Britain through its darkest hour, Churchill found that, in addition to blood, sweat and tears, he had plenty of oil as well – oil paints – and took to depicting gathering storms and other aerial phenomena by the moody lake carved out by glaciers.

“When I get to Heaven, I mean to spend a considerable portion of my first million years in painting, and so get to the bottom of the subject,” he said. “I know of nothing which, without exhausting the body, more entirely absorbs the mind.”

The wondrous Villa del Balbianello is where James Bond wooed Vesper Lynd in the 2006 film “Casino Royale”.

For hours at a stretch, Churchill created bucolic scenes along the shore where Mussolini had been killed just weeks before. (Yes, there are related conspiracy theories.)

While he found more than a quantum of solace at Villa le Rose in countryside he noticed was “unravaged by war”, back at Villa del Balbianello, a compatriot also in service to the British crown – at least in the imagination – underwent experiences even more cathartic.

In the 2006 franchise reboot “Casino Royale”, James Bond’s |love affair with Vesper Lynd |plays out in crucial scenes, lakeside, in ways fully expressing how 007 |is sometimes known – particularly in Italy – as “Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”.

In the original novel, Bond channels the intensity of love, life and loss whenever he hears the airy “La Vie en Rose”. The embrace of life here in its fullest, in regards to his thoughts for her, also inspired his signature drink, the vodka martini, and its preparation technique – shaken, not stirred.

On the grounds of the villa common to the two most iconic movie franchises of the late 20th century – it was a Franciscan monastery in medieval times and the bell tower still stands – a sign reminds film fans, “The true and undisputed protagonist is the lake.”

All villages and countless villas on Lake Como offer various accommodation options. Non-members of the jet set can consider homestays above pizzerias. There are friendly interactions with simpatico locals, impeccable cuisine and, of course, views to die for.

Winston Churchill, licking his wounds after being ejected from office in 1945, retreated to a lakeside villa in “a landscape which exudes absolute tranquillity”.

George Clooney owns a villa in Laglio, where scenes for his film “Ocean’s Twelve” were shot. Menaggio, a former hangout of prominent fascists who fled to the lake country to avoid Allied bombs falling on Milan, offers hillside strolling opportunities.

Bellagio is perfectly positioned at the intersection of the lake’s arms. Arriving by ferry is particularly enchanting.

Chic Milan, the ideal entranceway to the lake and a classic destination in itself, is a pleasant hour away by train – or by car on roadways tracing Mussolini’s springtime ride in 1945. The route is bursting with azaleas come summertime.

Beyond the escapism of history and fiction, the lake offers even deeper discoveries.

Ferries that are rarely crowded and private boat tours are ready to take visitors off to drink in the beauty. Out there, timeless themes of war and justice, forbidden love and making the galaxy great again dissolve on alpine breezes.

On the open water between destinations, the indelible blueness of Lake Como cultivates spaces of the mind, allowing new canvases to be filled with thoughts flowing like cirrus clouds, whipped into longer, ethereal gelato drifts, above tragedies real or imagined, where latent dreams sweeter and more evocative may surface.

As part of its endeavours to offer enhanced visa services and solutions for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide, the industry pioneer’s MVAC is a modern, customised mobile facility, equipped with end-to-end technology to enrol biometrics and accept visa applications remotely from any location for individual or group submissions.

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Applicants can fill the online application form and book appointments at http://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa, choose Bangkok as the location then select Mobile VAC- Crystal Design Centre on Praditmanutham Road or Mobile VAC – Thanya Park on Srinakarin Road in the appointment category.

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THREE HOURS from Seoul, South Korea’s biggest ski resort Yongpyong in Kangwon province is crowded with Thais. It’s the Songkran festival back home but hundreds have headed here, not to splash each other with water but to enjoy the last moments of winter at the April Snow Festival. Held annually from April 13 to 15, it’s designed for Thai tourists and offers them not just a chance to escape the heat but also to have fun in the snow and take part in sled competitions.

Spring has come to Yongpyong and the air temperature is a relatively balmy 14 degrees Celsius, but as we approach the resort, we can see the white slopes surrounded by trees. This is the sixth edition of the festival initiated by Korean Tourism Organisation in cooperation with Yong Pyong Resort and this trip has drawn 700 Thais to, quite literally, chill.

Thai tourists take part in the sledding competition at Yong Pyong Resort in Kangwon Province, South Korea. The event was organised as part of the April Snow Festival held for Thai tourists only.

Joung Jin Su, director of the KTO’s Theme Tourism Product Development Team, says the project actually dates back to 1998 when the Fun Ski Festival was introduced to attract tourists from Taiwan and Hong Kong. At that time, the festival was held during the winter when the entire area is blanketed by snow. Back then, the programme featured a three-night, four-day stay complete with skiing lessons and competitions and a farewell dinner party.

Six years ago, the KTO decided to doff its cap to Thai tourists with an April Snow festival.

“Every year, we would see Koreans escape the winter chill by flying to Thailand, so I thought why not bring Thais here during the hot summer to enjoy playing in the snow,” he says.

The KTO chose Yongpyong Resort, which is known to Thais for its appearances in such popular Korean dramas as “Winter Love Song”. At first, the resort was worried that there wouldn’t be enough snow but resolved the problem by “re-mining” – bringing in snow from higher-altitude slopes and building a 1.2 metre-high sledding slope in time for April 13 to 15.

“I know Thai tourists go to Japan to ski. I wanted them to come here too,” he says.

Most Thais come with their families so the sledding competition is categorised by gender and age. That means all members of the family from kids up to grandparents can enjoy the competition, which sees them sledding down the slope and controlling the sled sufficiently well to pick up the item placed at the finishing line.

The timing is good too as it falls right in the middle of Thailand’s long summer school break.

Here for the first time, the Wanitlertthanasan family from Chiang Mai is surprised to see only Thais taking part in the competition. Their youngest son has a go and comes back with a prize.

The staff reminds young contestants to hold the sled tightly before heading down the slope.

“This is great fun. It’s nice for the kids to be able to play in the snow. Usually, we can only go to ski resorts during the New Year holidays,” says mother Sirikorn.

The Fudkal family from Nakhon Pathom is in South Korea for the first time. The mother wins the first place in the female adult competition and her little boy takes second place in his category.

They too are surprised to find only fellow Thais at the resort but think it’s a great idea. The family often goes to the Kiroro Resort in Hokkaido to ski but says they are thoroughly enjoying the sledding at the April Snow festival, not least because it allows them to mix with other people.

“It’s fun. I wouldn’t be able to chat with other competitors if the race was open to everyone,” says young Ratchanon.

“But I won’t know what the reward until this evening at the farewell party,” he adds.

After the competition in the afternoon, they walk back to the hotel for a rest before gathering at the farewell party. This includes a kimbab-making competition where families help each other to perfect the Korean rice roll, with the best winning a reward, and a performance by the well-known “Jump” show.

Joining the April Snow festival means buying a package tour in Thailand as the event is not open to individual travellers.

“We’ve had emails from individual travellers wanting to book but we don’t accept direct reservations, If they want to join, they should contact the tour agent in Thailand,” says Lee Sung Jae, a member of the resort’s sales and marketing team.

“The package makes sense as it includes a lot of activities as well as the details of where and how to take part. Individual travellers don’t have access to that information,” he explains.

After the sledding competition, Thai visitors gather at the farewell party where they take part in making kimbap. 

Song Yong Kwan from TNT Korea Travel who is the escort for the Thai media trip explains further, saying that travellers coming with a local tour agent like TNT benefit from transport to and from the resort.

The April Snow package includes breakfast, a one-night stay, the competition and the party. Optional activities are also provided at extra cost including riding the gondola lift to the ski slopes on the mountain or playing in the indoor water theme park.

Six years ago, the festival attracted 1,300 Thais and this year attracted some 10 per cent more.

KTO’s Joung adds that he hopes to add a snowman experience next year in the hope that it can attract more Thai people to visit the festival.

“Last year it rained, so they were disappointed not to be able to play in the snow,” he laments.

The resort’s Lee Sung Jae adds that the resort can handle around 400 tourists for the competition but points out that it would be hard to extend the festival beyond three days. Joung nods his agreement but says they can split the competition into morning and afternoon sessions to serve more tourists.

And potential punters can rest assured that it will remain a purely Thai affair.

Around 20 minutes from the Yongpyong resort is the Daekwanryeong Lamb Farm where visitors can have fun feeding the lambs. 

“It’s the low season here. Korean schools start in March and we can’t expand the festival to other Southeast Asian countries because they don’t have long holidays in this period. In any case, it would be hard to handle if we had more than one country.”

The first day of the April Snow Festival on April 13 ends with glee and the tourists are ready to leave for the next destination in the morning. The next batch of 240 Thais who arrive on April 14 aren’t quite so lucky. Rain starts falling in the morning and continues throughout the day. Unable to sled, they are offered a ride in the gondola lift to the top of the mountain or can play in the water theme park for free. They can also visit other nearby attractions nearby like the Daekwanryeong Lamb Farm. A 20-minute trip from the resort, the farm allows visitors to feed the lambs with grass and take a tour to many of the familiar locations of such films and TV series as “Saimdang, Memoir of Colours” and Welcome to Dongmakgol”.

Under the new policy, group and individual tourists from 59 countries, including Russia, Britain, France, Germany, and the USA, can visit Hainan visa-free and stay there for up to 30 days when booking a tour through a travel agency.

The seaside city has offered a 15-day visa-free stay for tourist groups from 21 countries since 2000, and added another five countries to the list in 2010.

“The government aims to attract more international tourists, nurture the tourism industry and meet the needs of foreign individuals,” said the administration’s vice head Qu Yunhai.

The eased visa-free access to Hainan is part of China’s effort to build the province into a free trade port with Chinese characteristics.

The island has become a famous tropical resort for overseas tourists in recent years, with the number of overseas tourists exceeding 1.1 million in 2017, up nearly 50 per cent over the previous year. Last year, Hainan drew nearly 320,000 tourists from the 26 countries with visa-free access, 3.5 times the number recorded in 2016. Tourists from Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Russia accounted for more than 90 per cent of the total.

“The policy will inject vitality into Hainan and bring us closer to our goal of becoming a world-class destination,” said Sun Ying, director of Hainan Tourism Development Commission.

More direct flights are planned to countries with visa-free access. Hainan already has 57 international flights to countries including Germany, Malaysia and Thailand, with plans for at least 16 new overseas routes this year. It aims to have at least 100 overseas routes by 2020.