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24 hours in...Singapore
Travel / Intrnational Travel
Written by : Christine Laskowski
Sep 1, 2008
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8:30am: The Singapore Zoo. Get an
early start, as the animals do. See the
white tigers, kangaroos, pygymy hippos
and Abyssinian baboons. From 9- 10 am
daily, the Singapore Zoo features its Jungle
Breakfast with Wildlife where you can eat
your croissants and fresh fruit with the
world's largest number of orangutans in
captivity.
11:30am: Mandai Orchid Garden. Located
within the Singapore Botanic Gardens and
home to over 200 varieties of orchids, some
of which are available for purchase, as well
as for tasting. Yes, if you want to sample
some on a plate, have lunch at Vanilla
Pod Restaurant and Bar and sample these
beautiful orchids in a range of gourmet
dishes, from crab salads to mango crème
brulee.
12:30pm: Arab District. Check out the
Sultan Mosque and roam around its pastelcolored
stucco streets, lined with palm trees.
Reminds you of a bazaar, in that superclean,
somnolent ... ... |
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My grandfather was born in Xiamen
Travel / Intrnational Travel
Written by : Jean Wong
Sep 1, 2008
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As a first generation Canadian immigrant from
the massive pre-1997 Hong Kong exodus, neither
myself nor my parents ever envisioned me returning
to China. Yet I have always felt an irresistible
draw to my homeland. Having led a rather nomadic or as
some have called it, "cosmopolitan" lifestyle, I still continue
to struggle with the question of home and identity.
Rewind a few months and you will find me at a crossroads
in my life, not knowing where to go next or what to do. So I
packed up as much as I could carry and got on a plane to
China. I decided to visit Fujian province, where my grandfather
was born- my heung ha. It seemed like a good place to
start my journey of self-discovery.
As soon as I landed in Xiamen, it felt much easier to
breathe. I had left behind the humid and polluted air of
Guangzhou and exchanged it for a crisp and slightly salty
breeze. Palm trees lined every avenue. I was almost convinced
I had ... ... |
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On Safari in the Masai Mara
Travel / Intrnational Travel
Written by : Christopher Lay
Sep 1, 2008
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As we dropped below the clouds, the plains of the
Masai Mara National Game Reserve sprang into
view. At first glance, the fields and hills appeared
barren and I wondered if the pilot had taken a
wrong turn. However, as the plane descended, visitors began
excitedly pointing out animals on the ground. As our Air
Kenya flight came to a stop, it was clear from the giraffe near
the runway that we were no longer in bustling Nairobi.
Although there are a host of hotels, resorts and camps to
choose from when visiting the Masai Mara, we stayed at the
Governors' Camp, located within the Reserve along a calm
stretch of the Mara River. Not only did this cut down driving
times to view the spectacular scenery, but the animals also
came into the camp. Each night, we were serenaded by the
snorts and hoots of the Mara River hippos as they sang to
one another. We witnessed hippos, giraffes, elephants, bush
babies, warthogs, bats and a guidebook's ... ... |
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An Indian serenade
Travel / Intrnational Travel
Written by : Elyse Singleton
May 9, 2008
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India
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| India in the summer is hot. Not just warm; we're talking 42 degrees type of hot. Hot enough that you drink whole liters of water without even noticing; hot enough that small blisters form on your skin and, at night, under the restless turning of the fan; hot enough that you can't sleep.
At 4am, we wake to take the train from Delhi to Agra, home of that famous marbled beauty, The Taj Mahal. It was a long process trying to buy tickets – we went from station to offices and on to other offices until finally they were procured. In the early morning, we trekked through the Paharganj, Delhi's backpacker area. It's seedy at the best of times, but now with the shutters down and the sleeping bodies of families strewn on cardboard in the street or on carts, it's positively eerie.
At Agra, we teased ourselves by not going to the Taj on the first day, but by visiting minor tombs, and catching glimpses of the palace from various parts of ... ... |
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The jewel of the South Pacific
Travel / Intrnational Travel
Written by : Daniel Schwarz
Apr 2, 2008
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| Palau Island is one of God's most perfect creations.
Some places need no introduction. They are so famous that merely mentioning their name is enough to provoke rapture in those who have visited, and envy in those who have not. Admittedly, Palau is not one of these places. But it should be.
Palau, a small Pacific island nation, is more likely to produce blank stares than any kind of reverence. So I set out to find more about Palau. While it certainly wouldn't have the historical glamour of Easter Island, Palau really is paradise. It is famous among Pacific travelers for its stunning variety of ocean life. While I was excited by this fact, I was still skeptical. But these nagging doubts were dispelled before we even hit the tarmac in Palau.
After hours of nothing but uninterrupted ocean panoramas, the outer reef of Palau appeared on the horizon. This thin blue line is all that separates the islands of Palau from the vastness of the Pac ... ... |
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Citizen Khan
Travel / Intrnational Travel
Written by : Citizen Khan
Mar 11, 2008
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art
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| An Inner Mongolian milk mogul builds his own Xanadu
Somewhere outside the city limits of Ordos, far from the coal piles that dot the plains of Inner Mongolia, a freshly-paved road leads the eye across the tall grass of the Gobi desert towards a faded blue sky. This is a picture postcard view of Genghis Khan's fabled frontier, a placid scene of dunes that stretches so far it's easy to see why the Mongolian conqueror kept pushing forward, first across ancient China, then into Persia, and on to the gates of Vienna.
Today, however, piles of freshly dug earth along the highway speak of an altogether different frontier. Past the dunes, the modern granite and glass façade of the 2,700 sqm Ordos Art Museum rises into view, like an unused set piece in an Orson Welles film. What makes it even more striking is that it's practically the only building visible on the windswept steppe.
But not for long. If all goes according to plan, within a decade the museum will be surrounded ... ... |
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Fasting in paradise
Travel / Intrnational Travel
Written by : Elyse Singleton
Feb 4, 2008
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travel
paradise
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| While not exactly Gandhi, a special spa in tropical Thailand is offering to purge your toxic ills.
Although the New Year has only just begun, I am sure many "dietary" resolutions have already been forgotten. I have always been very fond of my food, but after years of drinking, smoking and exercise that can only be described as sporadic, my body deserves a break. And so what better way to do it than to sign up for a fast?
I was recommended the health spa, The Sanctuary, on Koh Phangan, Thailand, by two friends who had taken different
programmes there. If I was going to stop eating for a week, at least I could do it in a beautiful location. So, in a brave move, I decided to go for the seven day fast and, in order to get the full benefit, I booked a package with fast, yoga classes and spa
treatments plus accommodation and steam room use.
Accommodation at the spa includes a range of options with the mid-range choice being a Thai-style room on st ... ... |
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Lose yourself inside Japan
Travel / Intrnational Travel
Written by : Elyse Singleton
Jan 28, 2008
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| A walk around the land of the rising sun can be a life-changing experience.
Fly into Osaka and marvel at the efficiency of Japanese life. From the man who shows you where to queue when changing money to the white-gloved attendants who mark your luggage and load it on the bus, everything runs like clockwork.
Scratch the surface a little more, however, and you will discover some oddness - from the tiny bathroom in the hotel with a singing toilet to prevent others hearing your ablutions, to the TV programme with young semi-undressed women goofing about with a couple of nerdy guys.
But if you take the train to Kyoto you will find Japan in its true traditional state. Walking is a great way to get around as it helps you to exercise off the great Japanese beers and the green tea ice cream (both impossible to resist) and it also means you can head off down forgotten side streets. The ice cream is made from powdered green tea, called match ... ... |
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