Despite the name, International Women’s Day is currently declared a full-fledged weekend only in the former republics of the former USSR and in some countries of Africa and Asia. And in Laos, March 8 is a day off only for women.
This year, International Women’s Day fell on the weekend, so it was possible to arrange a small vacation. One of the domestic travel planning services analyzed the reservations of its clients and found out that on March 8, most of the travelers went on trips around Russia: 60% of aircraft orders are issued within the country. Of these 60%, almost a third of the flights went to Moscow, followed by Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg and Sochi in popularity – no surprises. Among the foreign destinations, Yerevan, Minsk, Istanbul, Baku and Dubai are the most in demand.
Aeroflot has estimated that on International Women’s Day, more than 51 thousand representatives of the fair sex will travel on flights of the national carrier. Among the travelers on March 8, the most popular name is Elena – about 3 thousand.
Another of the domestic travel services has already counted all Russians – men, women, and children. And there are no surprises among the popular air routes around the country – all the same Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi and Kaliningrad. But among the foreign destinations of this service, Uzbekistan unexpectedly appeared in the first place. Then everything is standard: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey and the UAE.
Among the interesting events on the ground during these holidays, we note the traditional (not for the first year already) creativity of the Moscow Zoo, which allowed visitors to enter the leopard park for free from March 8 to 10. The guest had to wear at least two large items of clothing with a leopard pattern or one leopard costume. And on March 8, all visitors, not only women, were allowed into the Hermitage for free.
The freebie is over
From November 2023 to March 2024 inclusive, Sri Lanka has a visa-free program, i.e. free tourist visas for 30 days for Russians and citizens of six other countries. A program was launched to stimulate the tourist flow, and it bore fruit – in February, Russia became the leader in tourist flow to Sri Lanka. Over the past month, more than 30 thousand Russian tourists arrived in the country, which is 15% of the total number of guests.
Everyone was interested in whether there were prospects for extending the program, and the other day the Minister of Public Security of Sri Lanka, Tyran Alles, announced that the program would not be extended, and it would end, as planned, on March 31. Starting from April 1, you will have to pay for visas again: 50 USD for online registration and 60 USD for registration upon arrival. For children under 12 years old – free of charge.
Court cases
In one Moscow gastrobar on Arbat, waiters wear flight attendant costumes, and the design uses a patented trademark of Aeroflot. The airline claims that at first it tried to peacefully resolve the situation and asked not to use their design, but it was ignored by representatives of the bar. Then Aeroflot sued, demanding 2 million rubles – compensation for copyright infringement. As a result, the court partially satisfied the claim and decided to recover 400 thousand rubles from the company – 200 thousand of them for the illegal use of fashion design, the other 200 thousand for the use of a trademark.
And a tourist from France is demanding a full refund from Pobeda Airlines through the court for a ticket for the Kaliningrad – Moscow flight. The tourist claims that after receiving his boarding pass, he calmly waited for the flight to Moscow near the specified gate. But the exit, as it often happens, was changed, which was announced in Russian, which the foreign passenger does not know. As a result, the plane flew to Moscow without him.
Specialized lawyers believe that the Frenchman has little chance to sue for his blood money. Firstly, information about the replacement of the gate is communicated to passengers through a scoreboard and an announcement – this is additional information. Secondly, on domestic flights in Russia, airports have no obligation to notify passengers even in English, let alone French.
How can we not recall the legislative initiative of the last Moscow mayoral elections from one of the deputies of the State Duma, who proposed to ban ads in English on domestic flights. Then neither colleagues, senators, nor the Federal Air Transport Agency supported this proposal. But at the Kaliningrad airport, as it turns out now, the deputy’s proposal has “gone in”. But let’s see how this trial ends.
You do not need to fly Turkish Airlines to Argentina
Recently, there have been unusually many reports of problems at the Turkish Airlines check-in desk on flights from Istanbul to Argentina. A passenger may be refused a flight if he does not have a return ticket issued by a single booking and must be with Turkish Airlines. In addition, suspicion may be aroused by the lack of a hotel reservation for the entire duration of the trip, lack of luggage (for a long stay), a new clean passport (a passenger traveling abroad for the first time), lack of funds for accommodation.
According to the Turkish airline, all these signs indicate a discrepancy between the tourist purposes of the trip, and if the passenger is not allowed into the country, then he will have to be returned at the expense of the airline. By the way, there is no Argentina on the official website of Turkisha in the section of flight features to the countries of the New World yet (we think they will be added soon), but there are: Venezuela (CCS), Mexico (MEX and CUN), Colombia (BOG), Cuba (HAV), Brazil (GRU) and Panama (PTY).
After reviewing the official website of Turkish Airlines, we will add horror stories: transfer at the Simon Bolivar Caracas airport without entering the country is impossible, and an official invitation (notarized) is required for entry, a transit visa is required in Mexico in case of a transit flight, at Bogota El Dorado International Airport (BOG) the transit time must be less than 24 hours, and at Panama City Tocumen International Airport (PTY), transit is even less – no more than 12 hours. The most incomprehensible and suspicious requirement: “Passengers who do not have documents suitable for the stated purpose of the trip may be denied entry or transit,” is present in the rules of Mexico, Colombia and Panama. Although the same Panama has a worse condition: “Passengers who do not provide proper answers during an interview with the customs police upon arrival in Panama may be denied entry or transit.”
Well, as they say, the owner is a gentleman, but AN-Tourism knows travelers who love to fly light and rent hotel rooms in the country of rest on the spot, “at the counter. The light did not come together on Turkish Airlines, we will keep these nuances in mind when planning trips to the New World.
The reconstruction of the pyramid was abandoned
In January of this year, the reconstruction of the pyramid of Pharaoh Menkaur began – the latest and smallest of the three main pyramids of Giza. Initially (about a third of the height) it was lined with red Aswan granite, and above the cladding continued with white limestone. Over time, only seven of the 16 granite tiers remained. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt decided to restore the original appearance of the pyramid, returning to place the granite blocks that fell down and remained lying at its foot. The head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt called the reconstruction “the project of the century” and “Egypt’s gift to the world.” The work being carried out by the Egyptian-Japanese archaeological mission was planned to take three years and include photogrammetry and laser scanning.
But the reconstruction caused a wave of criticism in society: it was called absurd, akin to the “straightening of the Leaning Tower of Pisa”, violating international principles of preserving cultural and historical heritage. The Ministry of Tourism of Egypt formed a special committee for the examination of the pyramid reconstruction project, which issued a verdict: “It would be impossible to establish the exact starting position of any of the cladding blocks and, therefore, return any of them to their original place. Any re-installation of the external blocks will change the structure and appearance of the pyramid.”
The most beautiful
The editorial board of Lonely Planet, which publishes travel guides, has compiled a list of the best beaches in the world.
Some of them are open to tourists all year round and seasonal. The easiest way out of the top 20 (direct flights) Russians can get to three beaches, we will focus on them in more detail. So, the top of the best is headed by Byron Bay beach in Australia, in second place is the famous Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and in third place is Ao Maya Beach (Ao Maya or Maya Bay), Koh Phi Phi, Krabi, Thailand.
Thai beach is one of the most famous in the world. Crowds of tourists began to appear here after they saw him in the movie “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio. Otherwise, it would have remained just small and cozy – only 250 meters long and 15 meters wide. There are many people who want to visit this place, so they are allowed in portions – 375 people per hour.
Mnemba Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania, is in fourth place. Direct flights, popular after the pandemic, have not yet been restored. And in fifth place is Sarakiniko, Milos, Greece. In eighth place – Anse Source d’Argent beach, La Digue, Seychelles – there are direct flights. And in 19th place is Radhanagar Beach, Swaraj Dwip, Andaman Islands, India. There are direct flights to India, however, then you still need to get to the Andaman Islands, which are located 1400 km east of mainland India. So let this Indian beach be “conditionally accessible”, especially since after the flight to the airport of the capital of the islands of Port Blair, it takes another two hours to sail by ferry to the beach itself.
Invitation to partnership – t.me/snn1964
Источник: argumenti.ru
English 
Russian 
German 
Polish