WHAT’S NEW
SEOUL
CHANGGYEONGGUNG PALACE OFFERS EVENING ADMISSION
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isitors to Changgyeonggung Palace can now enjoy evening admission. Previously, visitors were only allowed to enter during special evening admissions. The operating hours for Changgyeonggung Palace are from Tuesday to Sunday from 09:00-21:00. Last admission is at 20:00 with the palace closed every Monday. The admission for foreigners will be the same as the daytime fee of 1,000 won. For teenagers and children between the ages of 7 to 18, admission is 500 won. For children under 6 years old, seniors over 65 or visitors wearing hanbok, admission is free. Don’t miss your chance to use a Cheongsachorong, a traditional lantern, for free. Lanterns are given out to the first 200 visitors each day starting at 17:30. Enjoy cultural events such as Place Concert at Tongmyeongjeon, king’s living quarters and a party venue, as well as ‘King Jeongjo and Changgyeonggung Palace’ performance. W: cgg.cha.go.kr
IMAGE COURTESY KOREA TOURISM
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AIRASIA TO DEVELOP NEW HUB IN LOMBOK
Lombok is set to grow its tourist arrivals as AirAsia plans to develop a new hub in Indonesia’s West Nusa Tenggara province. The announcement is a welcomed boost for visitors and the tourism industry, helping to realise the Indonesian Government’s agenda to develop ‘10 New Balis’. AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said, “We are working with authorities to turn Lombok into our newest hub in Indonesia.” AirAsia’s Indonesian-affiliate will base two Airbus A320 aircraft in Lombok, with plans to double existing frequency to Kuala Lumpur as well as operate new routes to Perth, Yogyakarta and Bali by mid-2019. AirAsia currently operates seven return flights per week between Lombok and Malaysia’s capital. W: airasia.com
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HELP PROTECT MAASAI MARA
iosphere Expeditions, an award-winning, citizen science wildlife conservation NGO, has just started their third project in Africa. The new project takes people to the world-famous Maasai Mara, not just to oogle wildlife as safari tourists, but to help hands-on with its protection. Anyone can join the project for two weeks at a time and become a citizen scientist, helping professional scientists with their conservation work. All training on data collection and offroad driving is provided, and then it’s out into the Mara for the expeditioners to count animals on survey drives and walks, and at waterholes, camera trap them, and work with rangers on safeguarding biodiversity. A two-week stint is EUR 2580 excluding flights and Biosphere Expeditions guarantees that at least two-thirds goes into the project. W: biosphere-expeditions.org