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Last Night I Dreamt Of China
Art+Culture / Books of the Month
Written by : Ernest White
Dec 4, 2008
Tags :
Last Night I Dreamt Of China
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| Author: W. Somerset Maugham ★★★★
Following in the footsteps
of literary giants isn't always
easy. In the case of William
S o m e r s e t Maugham and
his 1919–1920 voyage to China,
it is almost impossible, as the
Englishman's On a Chinese Screen
contains none of the specifics usually
seen in travelogues. Instead it is made
up of 58 sketches: self-contained vignettes
which deftly outline whole
lives, locations and digressions on art
and travel in just a few sentences.
In some respects, On a Chinese
Screen seems remarkably progressive
for its time. When the bamboo-clad
hills, serene pagodas and richly-garbed
Chinese figures evoked by the book's
title appear, it is with self-conscious
reference to the Western imagination's
preoccupation with such images of the
"mysterious" East. When Maugham
uses the word "inscrutable" it is generally
to undermine rather than perpetuate
Orientalist stereotypes. And ... ... |
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Spa, massage, and good food at Queen Spa
Lifestyle / Beauty & SPA
Written by : Christina Wong
Dec 4, 2008
Tags :
Spa
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If you want to treat yourself to a day of real relaxation, go to
Shenzhen's Queen Spa & Dining.
The four-year-old Hong Kong-style leisure center offers spa, massage,
hairdressing, slimming, manicure, food, Internet, TV, films, sauna,
and many, many other services, in a gigantic 40,000 sqm area. In fact
you can use it as a hotel --- it's open 24 hours a day.
Once you pay the entrance fee of RMB98, you'll be able to soak in the
3,000 sqm spa and massage pool, or relax in comfortable recliners to
watch TV or a movie, sip tea, snack on fruit, or order up any of the other
services like a pedicure, ear wax cleaning, foot massage, or full-body
massage (RMB168 for 90 minutes). Queen Spa has Chinese-style, Thaistyle,
Hong Kong-style, and aroma massages. If you have headaches,
insomnia, or shoulder and neck pain, try the physical therapy by its traditional
Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners.
If you feel tired, go down to the sleep area, where lit ... ... |
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24 Hours in...Manila
Feature / Features
Written by : Lila Jose-Baquet
Nov 6, 2008
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24 Hours in...Manila
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7 AM
Let's start from the very beginning...at
Kilometer Zero. The big flagpole here, in
front of national hero Jose Rizal's monument,
is the starting point for measuring
distances to various points in the
Philippines. The park features attractions
such as Chinese and Japanese Gardens,
Orchidarium and Butterfly Pavilion, and
the Manila Planetarium, among others.
8 AM
Buzz into Jollibee for breakfast. Dubbed
the Philippines' number one fast food
chain (claim to fame: sweet spaghetti and
cheeseburger with pineapple), this restaurant
has a branch right in Rizal Park so you
can feed your hungry self right after walking
around the park. Vegetarians, head to
Pancake House - they have all kinds of pancakes
(of course), waffles, salad and pasta.
9 AM
The famous "Walled City" of Intramuros,
will give you a glimpse of Spanish colonial
times in Manila. Tour on your own or
book a walking tour with popular guide
David Celdran. ... ... |
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Ghost Train to the Eastern Star
Art+Culture / Books of the Month
Written by : Ernest White
Nov 1, 2008
Tags :
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star
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Author: Paul Theroux ★★★★
Continuing to find new destinations and
fresh ways of describing them can be
a real problem for travel writers. However,
this is a challenge Paul Theroux tackles head
on in Ghost Train to the Eastern Star. As he
retraces the journey he made three decades
earlier for his classic The Great Railway
Bazaar, the veteran author is desperate to
avoid "the tedious reminisces of better days,
the twittering of the nostalgia bore". Thanks
to his skill as a writer, he manages to avoid
these potential pitfalls in style.
Although it follows in The Great Railway
Bazaar's tracks, Ghost Train's route is not exactly the same. Iran
and Afghanistan, for instance, have been replaced with new (and
less dangerous) possibilities such as Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
However, whether Theroux is returning to a destination or visiting it
for the first time, the world has changed, and the influences of globalization
and geopolitics cont ... ... |
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Getting married? Say cheese!
Feature / Features
Written by : Lena Gidwani
Sep 1, 2008
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Love may not cost a thing, but a wedding sure does. Just
ask one of the many couples here in China who have recently
tied the knot. After lifetimes of scrimping and saving,
they've decided that the joy of making money lies
in well, spending it. There doesn't seem to be a lack of companies
offering wedding services either. With everyone craving a piece
of the highly profitable wedding cake, shops are offering everything
from flowers and tiered cakes, to catering and honeymoon
travel. But above all, flashy photographs remain the mainstay of
the business and a must for the marriage-minded of China's nouveau
generation. The logic of course, is that while the wedding
only lasts a day, the pictures last a lifetime. And like countless
other couples in China, they aren't content to merely capture the
magic moments of matrimony spontaneously on film; they plan to
choreograph each and every one. In fact, most studios can accommodate
just ab ... ... |
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After Dark
Feature / Features
Written by : Kristina Pérez
Jul 13, 2008
Tags :
After Dark
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| The Pawn – 62 Johnston Road , Wanchai (2866 3444)
Designed by Hong Kong film director Stanley Wong, The Pawn inhabits its namesake Woo Cheong Pawn Shop building and its adjacent tenement houses. These iconic structures have been conserved and converted into a bar, restaurant and roof garden spanning three floors. For a late-night drink checkout the mixologists at The Living Room who can also offer you a menu of fine cigars.
dragon-i – 60 Wyndham Street , Central (3110 1222)
Much hyped, some might say over-hyped, dragon-i is the place to come for touring international DJs and model ogling. Having said that, the design is modishly seductive with glowing red lanterns bathing the luminescent interiors and the over-sized bird cages swinging on the outdoor patio are either a clever social critique or a terrible waste of space. The dancing really gets going around 11:30pm but happy hour from 6-9pm provides good ... ... |
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Dance with sweat
Art+Culture / Arts
Written by : by Shane Qin
Jul 7, 2008
Tags :
art
arts
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With this year's May Day holiday shrunk from a whole week to only 3 days, many events during the period have been more or less affected. Therefore, anxious audiences in Guangzhou might wonder what has happened to the long-awaited Guangdong Modern Dance Festival (GMDF).
"Without the week-long holiday, participants from other parts of China will not be able to travel to Guangzhou. So we have deliberately rescheduled the event to the beginning of the summer holidays," explains Kwong Wailap, the Program Director of GMDF.
As a result, the 5th GMDF, hosted by the Xinghai Performing Arts Development Group and co-organized by some of China's important performance units, is taking place in fervent July for the first time. Hot news for hungry artsy crowds!
Started in 2004 in Guangzhou - the cradle of modern dance in China, this annual stage event has been widely welcomed for its effort in introducing local aud ... ... |
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One Stop Shopping
Feature / Features
Written by : Kristina Pérez
Jul 7, 2008
Tags :
Shopping
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| The Landmark – 15 Queen's Road, Central ( Central MTR )
As its name implies The Landmark is an essential part of Central and houses the Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel as well as British department store Harvey Nichols. Although smaller than its counterparts in the UK , this Harvey Nicks still delivers with British designers such as Matthew Williamson and Anya Hindmarch. Just next door there's not one but two Paul Smith shops – one devoted entirely to his cheeky, stripy accessories and the other to his full line of men's and women's apparel including a good selection of shoes and luggage. Zany French designer Sonia Rykiel enamored with oversized rhinestone studded cherries, lips and knitwear also has an outpost here. The fountain in the Landmark Atrium is a standard meeting place in Hong Kong and who can window shop at Fendi, Dior, Celine and Bottega Veneta while you wait. The Landmark Café which is currently under refurbishment is a great plac ... ... |
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Paradise on the Beach
Feature / Cover Story
Written by :
Jun 5, 2008
Tags :
beach
holiday
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| Macau
by Jia Wei Tan
Best beach for black sand
Hác-Sá Beach
Just beyond Cheoc Van Beach is Hác-Sá Beach, where your eyes will be deceived by a long curving stretch of unique black-tinged sand. Hác-Sá means 'black sand', and it is indeed an intriguing colour of deep silvery grey. Longer than Cheoc Van, this beach is also Macau's most popular beach with swimmers and sunbathers.
Not only is Hác-Sá pretty long (around 1,300m), it also boasts some incredibly smooth sand, which has been well known as one of the "Eight Scenes in Macau". It's also the perfect place for stargazing at night, by the way...
Hác-Sá used to be the best natural beach in Macau, yet it has been beaten by erosion somewhat over the years. However, due to the lovely texture of the sand, you'll feel comfortable sunbathing (warning: the color of the sand means it gets extremely hot during these long hot summer day ... ... |
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24 hours around...Guangzhou's temples
Lifestyle / Local Customs
Written by : Cen Jieying
Jun 5, 2008
Tags :
travel
temples
religion
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| The hustle and bustle of the Pearl River Delta can often be
totally overwhelming. That's why we offer this little travel
page – to give you some idea about getting out of the cities
for a long weekend in order to rejuvenate your body and
mind. And, if it's spiritual healing you're after, then the tranquility and
peace of Guangzhou's many temples are a perfect place to melt into
the Great Absolute again. Here's how we did it...
9.45am
Energize yourself, Cantonese style, with a beef rice roll, preserved
egg and pork congee breakfast, together with a couple of deep-fried
twisted dough sticks at Yin Ji (519 Hui Fu East Road), one of the iconic
morning restaurants of Guangzhou.
10.45am
Now visit the Temple of Forgiving. Follow a narrow lane just beside
Yin Ji and arrive in Da Fo Si, or The Grand Buddhist Temple (21 Hui
Xin Zhong Jie, Hui Fu East Rd.) The name of the temple, of course,
indicates tolerance and forgiveness. Originally built by the ... ... |
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