Entertainment
View of Himalayan peaks and cedar forests adds to sparkle of this resort (Travelogue)
By Jaideep Sarin
Kufri (Himachal Pradesh), Dec 5 (IANS) If you are looking for a wedding-setting or a holiday that gives you a 180-degree view of the snow-capped Himalayan peaks with cedar forests thrown in, you may look at Kufri’s Royal Tulip resort as a destination.
Situated along National Highway 22 on the Shimla-Kufri-Narkanda route, the Royal Tulip offers views from the Rohtang Pass (near Manali) on one side and the Kinner Kailash (in Himachal’s Kinnaur district, close to the India-China border) on the other.
All the rooms in the resort have a view of the Himalayas. Moreover, even the lobby area, the glass elevator, waiting areas on each floor or the restaurants, allow you to gaze at the mighty Himalayas, to marvel at its peaks ranging from 17,000 feet to over 20,000 feet. The resort is located at a height of around 8,600 feet (or about 2,600 metres).
“At the break of dawn, it is a spectacular view. The peaks, simmering in the first light of the day, give the impression of an ECG chart. When the first rays of sunlight fall on the peaks, the snow looks golden and breath-taking,” Pooja, a guest at the hotel, told this visiting IANS journalist.
The resort has an all-weather, heated swimming pool in a glass-house structure, an open terrace and a club to engage guests in various activities.
Not too far are a couple of places offering outdoor adventure activities like riding all-terrain vehicles, go-karting, rock-climbing and hiking. A 45-km drive to the ski-resort of Narkanda, which can be done in around 90 minutes on the highway, takes you deeper into the Himalayas, away from the bustle of “touristy” hill towns like Shimla, 20 km from here. Other places to visit from the resort are the picturesque gold course at Naldhera (around 22 km) and the hot springs at Tattapani (around 40 km). Some guests may find riding a Yak or horse an added attraction.
Listed as an international 5-star hotel, Royal Tulip has several dining options, including the Peak, a roof-top restaurant, again offering meals and views. The hotel also has banquet facilities to accommodate 1,000 guests for destination weddings, social functions and corporate off-sites.
“We have the biggest pillar-less banquet hall in the area,” said Randhir Sharma, general manager of the resort, adding that there was adequate parking for guests — not an easy thing to find in hill station towns or resorts.
(Jaideep Sarin was in Kufri at the invitation of the Golden Tulip Hotels and Resorts. He can be contacted at [email protected])
–IANS
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Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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