Lhasa, Tibet. Getty Images)
Lhasa, Tibet. Getty Images)

This week: tours with your own private photographer, a hotel reopens in Dubai and new trips to Tibet.

Rosemary Behan

April 17, 2014

Package puts photos in professional hands

Do you worry that taking photographs distracts you from the experience of travel? Context Travel, which organises specialised walking tours in 24 cities, has created a new experience for three destinations that combines a private tour with a professional photo shoot.

Now visitors to Berlin, Prague and Amsterdam can take a guided walk and later be presented with a gallery of images by a local professional photographer through a partnership with holiday photography provider Flytographer.

Flytographer itself is a business that lets individual travellers book a photographer for some 85 cities worldwide. After a trip, the travellers are presented with a personalised gallery as a souvenir.

The Context-Flytographer package tours promise to “uncover in-depth and unexpected aspects of the destinations in the company of a local scholar”. These local experts include art historians, writers, architects and gastronomes.

The company hopes that “the unintrusive presence of a local photographer means that participants of private Context walks can focus their full attention on the city and their seminar, safe in the knowledge that their memories are being captured by a professional”.

The package is priced at €540 (Dh2,735) and is based on a three-hour private walking tour combined with a one-hour photo shoot during the walk. Participants will receive 30 high-resolution digital photographs in the form of an online gallery within five days of the tour. Prices for 30 minutes (15 photos) or two hours (60 photos) with the photographer are available on request. Groups are limited to six, excluding the photographer. For more information visit www.contexttravel.com.

Sheraton Dubai creek reopens after refurb

The Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel & Towers has reopened after a US$50 million (Dh184m) renovation which has seen a top-to-bottom refurbishment of the whole property including all 268 rooms and suites, restaurants and public areas.

The hotel, which opened in 1978, has a re-opening offer of Dh1,020 per room per night including taxes, breakfast, Wi-Fi, and, until April 30, a complimentary upgrade subject to availability. For more information visit www.starwoodhotels.com or call 04 228 1111.

Tour group offers new treks to Himalayas

Mountain Kingdoms, a specialist travel company offering trips to the Himalayas, has launched three new trips to Tibet following an easing of travel restrictions to the region.

The trips depart in August and September and are all two weeks long. They include "Cultural Highlights of Bhutan and Tibet", "Definitive Cultural Tour of Tibet" and "Lhasa and the Phenpo Valley Trek" and cost from Dh15,800 per person excluding international flight (www.mountainkingdoms.com).

* Rosemary Behan

Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5
RESULTS

5pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m

Winner Thabet Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)

5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m

Winner Blue Diamond, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi

6pm Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m

Winner Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi

6.30pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner Shoja’A Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

7pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m

Winner Heros De Lagarde, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m

Winner Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi

TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues