Thứ Năm, 15 tháng 11, 2012

My Hello Kitty likes and dislikes

One of two Hello Kitty-fied trams currently running

in Hong Kong courtesy of Eva Air's marketing department





My Hello Kitty in Oz beach towel that I got back in August 

and have used at more than one Hong Kong beache since :)



A while back, a friend who occasionally reads my blog told me that I should write an entry about the Hello Kitty products I like/want and those that I don't.  It
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Fodor's top 100 hotels in the world

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The deserted Japanese island that inspired a Bond villain

Nicknamed Battleship Island, this creepy spot welcomes tourists and movie badasses
CNN Travel staff
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Hashima Island, also known as Gunkanjima (meaning "Battleship Island" for its silhouette that resembles a warship) is a 60,000-square-meter cluster of concrete ruins in the sea off Nagasaki, Japan. 

It was the bustling home of thousands of coal mine workers in the 1950s and was shut down in 1974. The island has been abandoned since. 

Until pop culture and, most recently, a 007 film re-discovered it. 

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iReport: Your photos from Australia's total solar eclipse

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France is tops for tourists, Germans spend the most...

... and 2012 is set to break tourism records
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Some 705 million international tourist arrivals were recorded over the first eight months of 2012, leading to the prediction of hitting the one billion tourists benchmark for the first time ever by the end of the year.

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Thứ Tư, 14 tháng 11, 2012

Taming the piranha -- catching fish and busting myths in the Amazon

Deep in the heart of the Amazon Basin, an intrepid crew braces for a date with one of the world's most diabolical creatures
Joe Robinson
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Our small canoe pulled away from the tiny dock and made its way up the murky tributary of the Rio Negro, a couple of boat hours north of Manaus, Brazil.

In these waters, I was about to tangle with one of the legendary monsters of the not-so-deep: the finned mayhem known as the piranha.

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Red-bellied piranha face
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49 journeys you'll never forget

Camel treks, elevator rides and "the finest walk in the world" -- when going from A to B, you may as well do it in style
Jordan Rane
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What makes a great journey? A guaranteed transporting experience, first and foremost. But after that it all depends on how you define “journey.”

If your version is restricted to a paved surface, at least two wheels and an engine, with a clear point A and B (and let’s not forget the cupholders), this list may not be for you.

Or maybe it is -- if you’re flexible enough to allow an elevator shaft in Taipei or a flight of stairs on a remote island in the South Atlantic to also qualify.

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Swedish Adventure!

Luft I Luften poster by Danilo Stankovic

Last weekend, we journeyed to Sweden for the first time, where we were fortunate enough to play at the fantastic event “Luft I Luften”. This was organised by Klubb Kristallen and Get Daun and took place at Malmö’s incredible Moriska Paviljongen.

Also on the bill was our good friend the Time Attendant and the exhilarating Finnish band K-X-P, as well as Benjamin Syra & Nos and a wonderful DJ set from Death And Vanilla/Dunwich Radio‘s Anders and Marleen.

All in all, it was one of our greatest experiences as a band, and we cannot thank enough all the lovely people who made it happen!

Below are some pictures of our performance, from which you can get an idea of just how much effort and inspiration people (other than us) put into staging such a memorable event.



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Tai Po Kau hike sights (Photo-essay)

I'm not sure if many other people do this... but I don't usually decide on my hike route until one or two days before the hike -- with my choices often being dictated by the weather (cool, hot, wet, dry, humid, etc.) and visibility (i.e., great, good or less so).  Thus it was that on a day where it was predicted to be hot and not great in terms of visibility, I opted to head to the Tai Po Kau
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Sung Wong Toi Park, Ma Tau Wai

I read about this place a long time ago and have only really mustered the effort to go recently because it is fairly easy to get to from where we now live. To be honest, when I got there I was a bit disappointed to find out how small the so-called ‘park’ actually is, but [...]
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Business or pleasure? Luxury hotels offer day-only rooms

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Assignment: CNN celebrates ... Diwali

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Thứ Ba, 13 tháng 11, 2012

Lantern festival gallery: 35,000 lights, millions of people

People queue for hours for a view of downtown Seoul's dazzling display

The 2012 Seoul Lantern Festival is Korea's largest yet, with approximately 35,000 colorful lanterns set up along Cheonggyecheon, the public stream park in downtown Seoul. 

This year's lanterns are a tribute to "Seoul's Roots and the Daily Life of Our Ancestors," featuring traditional Korean customs, games and rituals, including depictions of women beating laundry by the river, men leading oxen and girls playing on traditional swings. 

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seoul lantern festival

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Qatar Airways launches Boeing 787 service

Qatar will be the first Middle East airline to fly the Dreamliner. Even the company's testy CEO can't hide his delight
Scott Hamilton
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Traveling between Doha and London? From December 1 you'll be able to fly the world’s newest airliner.

On Monday, November 12, Qatar Airways became the first Middle Eastern airline to accept delivery of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The world's best airline, according to Skytrax, will seat 252 passengers in its 787s: 22 in business, 232 in economy. Business class is configured in 1x2x1 seating and will feature lie-flat seats.

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Diwali -- Fireworks, lights and mountains of food

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Gallery: 'Acqua alta' leaves Venice under water

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Fireworks, lights and mountains of food: Your Diwali shots from around the world

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Welcome to CNN Travel. But what happened to CNNGo.com?

Same same, but different. Here’s why
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Today marks an exciting step in the evolution of Travel and CNN. 

We’ve merged the Asia-Pacific-focused travel website CNNGo.com with CNN.com International to create a new, bigger and better global digital travel channel -- CNN Travel.

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Music, magic and art in Morocco, Africa’s festival capital

Eight reasons to come to Morocco that aren't the Marrakech souks
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Morocco is Africa’s cradle of rhythm and music with internationally recognized music and art festivals showing off Arab, African and Berber influences.

In one summer, you can strutt your way through the beats of traditional Gnaoua music in Essaouira as performers enter a trance-like state, then head to Agadir to discover Berber sounds and culture.

You can headbang through metal guitar solos in Casablanca’s urban music festival then soothe your soul courtesy of Sufi master Egyptian Sheikh Yassine El Touhami at the World Sacred Music festival in Fes.

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How Spain is trying to save its tourism industry

Russians and other international travelers are responding to Spain's tourism facelift, and could lift it out of trouble
Jessica Benavides Canep
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“I saw a great sign outside a Spanish bar,” says Alex Bramwell, a resident of Las Palmas, Spain. “It said, ‘Customers needed. No experience necessary.'”

That is, for many, a joke that gets rather too close to the truth for comfort. The tourism industry has not been sheltered from Spain's economic meltdown over the last few years.

But there are signs that the country is trying once again to become a top fixture in vacationer destinations.

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Africa's amazing, unsung cities

It's not all safaris and savannah. Africa's urban hubs are just as worthy of your time and travel plans
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The great African continent has for millennia been a kaleidoscope of wildlife arenas. Desert, jungle, rivers and mountains merge together to create one of the world's most variegated regions.

But there is one modern addition missing from that traditional perspective -- its cities.

From the friendliness of Khartoum to the shopping of Maun, African cities are now worthy destinations in their own right. Don't neglect them.

 

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Swiss gold: How to see Geneva on a shoestring

United Nations of expensive? Not so much when you follow our footsteps round the great Swiss city
Savita Iyer-Ahrestani
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If you think you need to break into the underground vaults of a Swiss bank to enjoy yourself in Geneva, think again.

Sure, a city where couture-clad jet-setters tool around in luxury cars and shop in high-end boutiques, and which is consistently ranked among the most expensive in the world, might be off-putting to the less well-heeled among us.

But you don’t have to be Croesus to really get a feel for Geneva. Au contraire: simplicity is the name of the game here, and as these experiences suggest, there’s no banking secret involved.

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10 of Israel's best museums

With the highest number of museums per capita in the world, museum fatigue looms as a genuine concern for travelers. Hopefully this helps
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Israel is known for many things -- a complex history and its religious pilgrimage sites for starters.

But here's something you probably don't know: with more than 200 museums, it also has the highest number of museums per capita in the world. 

Your cultural education starts here. Just be careful to note somewhat eccentric opening hours. 

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Yad Vashem
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26 of the most stunning spots in Africa

Camera? Passport? Unbridled sense of adventure and keen to make others envious? Click on through
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With its expansive landscapes and formidable animal life, the world's second-biggest continent is arguably the best for photographers.

Throw in that sense of being in a place that hasn't changed for centuries and sometimes millennia, and you get some of the most inspiring, and inspired, spots on the planet.

 

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15 of Africa's favorite dishes

From Morocco's b'stilla to South Africa's bunny chow, don't leave Africa without sampling at least a few of these exquisite foods
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Given that the first "barbecue" might well have taken place in Africa, this is a continent that can arguably claim to have invented cooking.

But African dishes -- especially those south of the Sahara -- are still woefully under-represented on the world culinary scene.

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Bunny Chow
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50 reasons London is the world’s greatest city

The world has spoken. London is the most popular city on the planet. Here are a few reasons why
Bridget Freer
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With apologies to Elvis Presley, 16.9 million London fans can’t be wrong.

That’s how many out of towners are expected to hit the British capital in 2012, making it the most visited city in the world.

It’s not just tourists or last summer’s Olympic retinues boosting those numbers.

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7 most captivating mazes in the world

You don't need to head into the bowels of a strange city to get lost -- plenty of well maintained gardens offer that opportunity
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Getting lost doesn't have to be scary -- it can be entertaining.

Mazes have fascinated designers since Cretans and Egyptians invented the first labyrinths thousands of years ago. 

The garden maze emerged in Britain and France during the Renaissance and now modern maze-makers are creating puzzle paths out of mirrors and other hard materials as well as cutting them into cornfields and hedges.

Here’s a selection of the oldest, the newest, the loveliest and most notorious.

 

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world's best mazes
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The battle to map every African reserve

The MAPA project aims to map every one of Africa’s protected wildlife regions. Great in theory -- but on the ground it’s a huge struggle, reliant on hardy volunteers
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MAPA projectMike Eveleigh, one of MAPA's volunteers, spent several weeks mapping Ghana's reserves with his son, Mark.It’s 16 kilometers to Bongo Camp and we’re armed with two high-caliber rifles, a chainsaw and five machetes. We have enough provisions for four days.

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7 best eat-in wine shops in Paris

The rise of the cave à manger is a thirst-quenching, palate-sating delight. Here's why
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In Paris, some of the best places to buy wine are also the best places to eat. 

Going strong for several years now, the "cave à manger" (eat-in wine shops) trend in Paris shows no sign of slowing. 

Unlike traditional restaurants, which add a hefty markup to wines, these shops charge only a "droit de bouchon" (or corkage, though to be clear, this is not a BYO situation, you have to buy "their" wine).

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Cafe culture: Amsterdam's 7 coolest hangouts

Nobody does it like the Dutch: Whether it's for late-night snacks or relaxing in the afternoon, we reveal where the locals like
Katja Brokke
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If you’ve been to the capital of the Netherlands, you’ve seen those joints -- the ones we want to avoid. Overpriced big plaza cafés packed with loud tourists and travelers -- easy to find, but nothing to do with the real charm of Amsterdam.

If you want to meet “Amsterdammers” and experience the city’s café culture you have to look beyond the ubiquitous coffee shops and English pubs.

Think not miserable potheads and trustifarians; instead we’re on a quest for the city’s easygoing waterside terraces, singing bartenders (no, really) and high-class cocktail bars.

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Amsterdam's cafe culture
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10 of the best value hotels in Dubai

Five-star hotels, rooftop whirlpools, wacky décor and intriguing locations -- who would have thought value accommodations could offer so much?
Jade Bremner
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Dubai is not the right city for pinching pennies. It's the city with the world's largest mall and the first "seven-star hotel." 

Sure, you may not have the budget for the latter's US$100 teas or 24-hour butler service. But that doesn't mean you have to give up on comfort, or even luxury. 

Here are 10 of the best value hotels in the emirate. 


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Marriott hotel
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Conrad Seoul opens in Korea

For business travelers sick of competing for hotel rooms with tourists
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If you were one of the 8.9 million tourists who visited Seoul last year, you may know how difficult it is to find a hotel room during peak season.

Let alone one with a great view, high ceilings. access to the subway and comparatively close to Seoul's airports.

Conrad Hotels, the luxury brand of Hilton Worldwide, opened the Conrad Seoul in the Yeouido financial district on Monday November 12, featuring all of the above. 

This is the first hotel opening in Korea for Conrad. 

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conrad seoul
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After dark in Madrid: How to go out like a local

Sleep when the sun comes up after a packed night in Spain's electric capital
Jessica Benavides Canepa
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Madrid likes to party.

With near-mandatory siestas after lunch and sometimes after work too, who can blame the 3 million inhabitants of the great city in the center of Spain for wanting to work off all that excess energy?

Despite its cultural sophistication and flair, Madrid’s unpretentious bar scene and vibrant nightlife provide no end of opportunities to do just that.

It’s late, too. At a time when visitors from more “sensible” corners of the world might be moving on to warm cocoa and a pair of slippers, Madrileños are only getting started.

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Assignment: Solar eclipse in Australia and the southern Pacific Ocean

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First look at the Airbus A350 XWB. What's all the fuss about?

Images, the specs and the troubled history of Airbus' super lightweight plane. Can it take on Boeing and importantly, what does it mean for travelers?
Karla Cripps
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Airbus recently opened the final assembly line for its A350 XWB family of aircraft, giving aviation fanatics a closer look at the family of super efficient passenger planes designed to go head-to-head against rival Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner and 777s. 

But what exactly is this plane going to offer travelers? And why did it take Airbus so long to get it right?   

First, the specs. 

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Airbus A350
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Surviving the Sahara: Three weeks with the Tuareg

One of the most inhospitable regions on Earth can be conquered, if you're with the right people
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sahara tour with tuaregWith a camel, a head scarf and some friendly Tuareg guides, you might just make it out of the Sahara in tact.

I can see Abdelkrim’s eyes smiling through the slit in his headdress as he holds up a bag of ripe dates.

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