(Post-gazette) – Despite a still uncertain economy in the U.S. and abroad, many travelers worldwide are planning to spend more on their vacations this year than last year, with Chinese vacationers expected to be the biggest spenders of all.

Of the 5,000 travelers surveyed around the world, 70 percent said they plan to spend the same or more on vacation travel in 2012 than last year, according to a report commissioned by Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company.

In countries with burgeoning economies, more travelers are planning to surpass last year’s travel budget.

In China, for example, 58 percent of travelers surveyed said they planned to spend more this year.

When they hit the road, travelers from around the world have different spending priorities.

The survey found that U.S. and Chinese travelers plan to use the extra money they spend this year to take longer vacations. Travelers from Britain said dining was a top priority for their vacation, while Brazilian vacationers put shopping at the top of their lists.

And it seems theme parks are a universal pleasure: The survey found that 43 percent of all travelers said the vacation they aspire to take includes a visit to a theme park.

A British Airways effort to improve customer service by letting airline employees look up passenger photos and other information on the Web is ruffling feathers among privacy advocates.

Over the past year, British Airways equipped airline employees with Apple Inc. iPad tablets to search data on passengers such as previous travel arrangements, food preferences and even Google images. The airline says the Know Me program was directed primarily to better serve VIP passengers.

The online images, for example, were used to help crew members recognize passengers as they board the planes, making the service more personal, according to British Airways officials.

The struggle to float is just the first surprise in this magnificent body of water, Qin Zhongwei finds out.

Back from Israel, my friends laughed when I told them that I had almost drowned in the Dead Sea. “How come!” They asked, thinking I was only joking. “Isn’t it true that everyone can easily float on its surface?” “Yeah… well,” I replied with a bitter laugh, “I forgot one important thing: Watch your step and try not to slip.”

I was the first one of our group who was tempted to take a test float, but neglected to pay attention to the hard but slippery rocks beneath water that makes it hard to keep your balance.

I just lost control in my effort to tread water, and flipped over when I had felt so buoyant after leaving the shore.

Fortunately, I managed to stand up after struggling in the water for a while – somewhat embarrassed that I had cried out for help. Apparently people thought I might be just kidding.

If you have the same trouble I did, try to keep your mouth shut. That was the most horrible water I have ever tasted. Later, I finished two glasses of purified water plus two bottles of lemonade but my throat was still burning the whole afternoon. It was really salty!

Driving from Jerusalem, it takes about one and a half hours to get to the waterfront. The journey is not short but it’s fascinating.

The cool thing is that you go from a city that is 800 meters above sea level to a place 400 meters below the sea, the lowest known point on Earth.

Our guide told us on the way that, the Dead Sea is actually part of the 50-million-year-old East Africa Rift Valley that stretches from Syria to Mozambique, with the Dead Sea at the north portion of the valley.

Bound on the west by Israel and on the east by Jordan, it forms part of the two countries’ border. As there is no outlet for the lake and a lot of evaporation, the lake just becomes saltier and saltier.

At 20,700 square kilometers, Israel is not much bigger than Beijing (16,800), but it boasts a very dynamic landscape.

Tel Aviv is just like Sanya in Hainan with its wonderful beaches, while Jerusalem is so densely green that it is like any city in southern China.

But when we head toward the Dead Sea, the Judaean Desert stretching in front of us is just like China’s northwest. The journey is very like an adventure to Gansu’s Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, full of endless pale-yellow rocky hills and cliffs by the sides of road.

Some may find the scenery tedious. But it is just like what Tao Yuanming of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 317-420) described as a legendary fairyland called the “peach blossom valley”.

At the end of journey, a “Shangri-La” hidden from the outside world suddenly springs into view, with modern facilities and fancy hotels lining the shore and bustling crowds of tourist coming in groups to relax and have fun.

And the crowds, making up a mosaic of different colors and cultures, cannot wait to change into bathing suits and jump into the water.

Many tourists try to take a photo of themselves reading a newspaper or magazine while floating effortlessly on the water. Another must-do for tourists, particularly women, is to enjoy the natural spa offered.

Nine times saltier than the Mediterranean Sea, the mineral content of the Dead Sea is very good for the body, especially the skin. The chloride salts contain magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium, bromine and other minerals. Meanwhile, the air is said to carry five percent more oxygen than anywhere else.

The therapeutic black mud of the Dead Sea is also much valued for its ability to clean and revitalize the skin. It’s a good gift for beauty-loving female friends back home – you can buy the packaged black mud in stores nearby.

Although it is a lot fun in the Dead Sea, you cannot spend the whole day floating on the water. I recommend visiting Masada, a biblical and historical site not far from the lake.

Declared by UNESCO in 2001 as a world heritage site and a symbol of Jewish bravery, Masada is located on top of an enormous and isolated rocky plateau overlooking the Dead Sea.

Meaning “fortress” in Hebrew, the Masada complex was built by Herod the Great, King of Judaea, between 37 and 31 BC. It was later occupied by the survivors of the Great Jewish Revolt against Roman rule.

At the end of the First Jewish-Roman War, when Roman troops surrounded the mountaintop, all the surviving Jewish defenders chose to commit suicide rather than surrender.

People can now take a cable car directly to the top of the mountain. But many tourists, especially Israelis, prefer to walk along the “snake path” by foot to the top.

Some of the palace buildings have been restored from the shattered ruins, and visitors can have a close look of the ancient Roman-style palace, storehouses and even the bathhouses.

The remains of these ancient buildings also hint at achievements that still fascinate archeologists today, such as its complicated water system that collected run-off water from the scarce rain to sustain life for hundreds of people.

It is breathtaking to stand on the mountaintop that overlooks what lies beneath.

Due to the harsh climate of the southern part of Israel, the region remained pretty much like it was 2,000 years ago, except for some modern vehicles and tour buses crawling along the nearby roads.

For classical music fans, there is an opera festival held at Masada every year. Last year Verdi’s Aida was presented, and this year Carmen – probably the most popular opera of all time – took the stage in June, featuring Italian superstar tenor Andrea Bocelli.

Unfortunately, our tour ended before this grand outdoor performance started.

As we were leaving Masada I watched the setting up of the stage and lights for the festival, and tried to imagine the tenor voice ringing out here with the desert and cliff as the grand backdrop.

My friends told me to cheer up and that it was a perfect reason to come back.

And, yes, I know exactly where I want to go next year for my holidays.

Contact the writer at qinzhongwei@chinadaily.com.cn.

HONG KONG — Getting around this bustling city of more than 7 million can be a challenge, simply because of its sheer size. But during a few days there recently, I was impressed by how many workable options there are — including escalators on steep streets between tall buildings. When you have to move a lot of people around quickly, you can’t wait to sprout wings!

When it comes to public transit, Toronto visitors soon realize that Canada’s largest city has much in common with this bustling metropolis — both have subways, streetcars and regional rapid transit. There are many ways to see what until July 1, 1997, was a British colony, since then with neighbouring Macau one of two special administrative regions belonging to the People’s Republic of China.

With high-rises closely packed over 1,104 sq. km enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, this densely-populated city has ribbons of asphalt freeways that snake around Victoria Harbour and into the surrounding regions.

Traversing the busy streets is not for the faint of heart. With pedestrians and cyclists vying with almost 600,000 privately owned cars and other motor vehicles for split-second heart-in-your-hand narrow gaps between bumpers, there are better ways of getting around than driving.

Most visitors and many residents prefer walking, at street level, on pedestrian walkways between buildings, or save leg power on steep stairs between streets by using the world’s longest enclosed outdoor escalator system and on moving pavements installed 19 years ago in the Central and Western districts on Hong Kong Island.

There are also modern double-decker buses operated by the Citybus and Kowloon Motor Bus private companies, smaller public light buses, more than 18,000 taxis, harbour ferries, helicopter service with three terminals, the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system that operates trains in subway and above-ground systems covering just over 200 km and, last but not least, one of only three of the world’s remaining double-decker streetcar systems.

Hong Kong boasts of having the world’s highest percentage of daily travels, with more than 90% or 11 million annual rides made on public transit.

SUBWAY SYSTEM

Four things that impressed me most about Hong Kong’s profitable, extremely clean subway system should interest Toronto city Councillors and directors of the TTC.

n The underground trains for many years have been similar to the latest on the Yonge-University line in that they lack doors between the coaches.

n To avoid mishaps, suicides and people being pushed by crowds, tinted thick plexiglass walls are located on the edge of each platform — their doors opening only after the trains come to a stop.

n The costs of operating the subway system are offset somewhat by malls of shops in the stations, some including dry cleaners, banks, photo shops, variety stores and pharmacies.

n MTR builds residential housing units at each station, last year alone totalling $7 billion-HK (about $921 million.) Oh yes, I mentioned profitable: The subway system’s reported net profit in 2007 was $8.57 billion-HK — about $1.1 billion.

STREETCARS

Much shorter than the TTC fleet, the brightly painted trams owned by Veolia Transport operate on six major routes in the north part of Hong Kong Island between Shau Kei Wan and Kennedy Town, with a branch in Happy Valley. I say brightly painted, for during my visit this May, I saw none with the same livery.

On a system that dates back 108 years, and now costs just $2.30 HK (30¢) per ride, the 163 recently reconditioned 1950s-1980s Hong Kong Tramways cars are popular with tourists.

With almost 250,000 daily rides, they also provide a major method of transportation for local residents — who sometimes call them “Ding Ding” after the bells drivers use to warn pedestrians as they approach.

FERRIES

Created in 1888, the Star Ferry service operates ferries on four routes across Victoria Harbour.

In addition to providing transportation for 53,000 daily passengers, the double-decker ferries offer a super view of the city’s skyline, which is particularly breathtaking at night.

Other ferry operators service outlying islands, new towns, Macau, plus cities in mainland China, often vying for space with cruise ships and freighters heading in or out of the busy deepwater port.

CABLE CARS

For something totally different, try riding The Peak Tram.

Also launched in 1888, the funicular railway carries visitors and residents to the island’s upper levels between Central district and Victoria Peak in railway cars operated over 1.4 km by electrically-driven steel cables.

The lower terminus station at Garden Rd. is close to the colonial-era St. John’s Cathedral.

Fitted with wooden seats, the two-car train I rode passed homes, condos, apartments and lushly treed hills. Riders, averaging 11,000 per day or more than 4 million a year, get a breathtaking view of the city — on clear days, less-so when mist reduces visibility to a few hundred metres as it did the day I visited.

At the top, there are plenty of shops and eateries in the Peak Tower shopping and leisure complex at Victoria Gap. The Sky Terrace 428 offers a 360-degree panoramic view of Hong Kong.

En route, you can also hop off at four intermediate stations: Kennedy Rd., MacDonnell Rd, May Rd. and Barker Rd. Bus service to and from the Peak is also available.

The tram system was extensively revamped in 1989, with new tracks, computerized controls and two new two-car trams that can each carry 120 passengers. The journey takes almost five minutes one way, with the sometimes 48% steep incline and maximum six metres-per-second speed creating a G-force that kept us tightly in our seats but without the need for seatbelts.

ENJOY THE JUNK

Finally, for a relaxing ride with a difference, my group boarded the Aqua Luna, one of Hong Kong’s few old-style “red sail” Chinese junks.

The late afternoon cruise across Victoria Harbour from Central ferry Pier 9 beside the Star Ferry Piers on Hong Kong Island took 45 minutes, with fresh ocean breezes offering a welcome respite from the unusual heat that day. A glass of white wine provided by the attentive crew as passengers relaxed on wide cushioned seats also helped.

The view of towering buildings and mountains in the background was simply breathtaking, offering an unequaled panoramic view of the sprawling towers.

The three-sail, 80-passenger wooden vessel was built in 2006 for the Aqua Restaurant Group in a style that began about 1,900 years ago during the Han Dynasty in China. Used as ocean-going ships, current fleets operate throughout southeast Asia and India, but most are based in China.

“Junk,” by the way, is a term stemming from the Chinese chuan reference to a boat or ship, which was broadened into English during the 17th century through the Portuguese “junco,” which in turn evolved from the Javanese “djong.”

Aqua Luna was named after a Cheung Chau Island pirate who terrorized the South China Sea just over a century ago.

As the sky began to darken, we disembarked on the other side of the harbour at Kowloon Public Pier 4 in the Tsim Sha Tsui, then walked to our prebooked restaurant along a palm tree-lined path, past the old railroad station tower and into the old fishing market area.

Later, with umbrellas warding off the cooling showers that predictably fell, we boarded our hired coach for the trip back onto Hong Kong Island via a bridge — a quicker, but not so memorable trip.

MORE INFORMATION

Contact the Hong Kong Tourism Board in Toronto, 416-366-2389 or 1-800-563-4582 or see DiscoverHongKong.com/canada.

GETTING THERE

Cathay Pacific has 10 non-stop Toronto to Hong Kong flights. (For details and reservations, see cathaypacific.com/ca). I flew to Hong Kong in Business Class, which provides comfortable private kiosks including lie-flat seats, then returned in Premium Economy, with wide seats and footrests. Both have individual TV screens and excellent service.

TIPS

Street escalators and moving sidewalks are free. Passengers riding trains, buses, streetcars, ferries and minibuses can use the convenient Octopus card, a scannable cashless system that can be recharged at every Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station. The card can also be used at parking meters, and many stores, fast food outlets and vending machines. A tourist day pass is available.

Hong Kong has ferries linking Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the outlying Islands, plus Macau and cities in mainland China.

Aqua Luna cruise is about $25 one way. See aqua.com.hk. A ride on the Peak Tram is about $4 return, $8.50 to Sky Terrace 428; kids under 11 and seniors are about half that. See thepeak.com.hk.