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- Tracking down F1 stars in Shanghai
- Quakes strike off Indonesia
- Flying dragons: Private jets are new status symbol in China
- Flights rerouted as North Korea prepares to launch rocket
- Meet the world's luckiest traveler
- CNNGo TV: Kuala Lumpur -- stylish, cultural, culinary center of Malay life
- Historic Singapore: 5 Chinatown businesses that endure
- AirAsia X to give away a plane ... temporarily
- Social travel start-ups: Social media finally hits the road in style
- How a trip to Guyana became a short-listed novel
- 8 products to bring you back to life after a flight
- 10 quintessential U.S. meals and where to get them
- Sydney uncovered on urban gourmet tour
- Military tourism in Thailand: Shoot guns, ride tanks, eat bugs
- Japan's new reality show a picture-perfect trip
- 10 of the world's most beautiful cemeteries
- Insider Guide: Best of New York City
- 8 secret acupoints to cure travel ills
| Tracking down F1 stars in Shanghai Posted: 18 Apr 2012 11:18 PM PDT by Chen Zhihong The 2012 Shanghai F1 (a k a China Grand Prix) runs April 13-15. Racing fans are eagerly anticipating the chance to see their favorite drivers -- not only on the track but also around the city. Here are top five off-the-track Shanghai spots to rub shoulders with F1 drivers. Venue 1: Pudong AirportWho you are likely to see: Pretty obvious, but it is the easiest way to spot drivers from all teams and their assistants. Naturally, the airport has become the preferred gathering ground for most F1 fans in Shanghai. No race car driver can avoid passing through this gateway. A crowd of fans eagerly awaiting their arrival is enough to warm the hearts of most drivers, who will usually find it hard to reject requests for autographs and photos. read more     |
| Posted: 11 Apr 2012 03:24 AM PDT by CNNGo staff Travelers in parts of Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and other areas in Southeast Asia were put on alert after two massive earthquakes struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra Wednesday afternoon, triggering a tsunami watch for the Indian Ocean. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued the tsunami watch for "all areas of the Indian Ocean." A few hours later, the center announced the tsunami watch was canceled. "A significant tsunami was generated by this earthquake. However, sea level readings now indicate that the threat has diminished or is over for most areas," the center said Wednesday evening. Shortly after the first quake hit, the United States Embassy in Bangkok issued the following emergency message to its citizens: "An 8.5 to 8.9 magnitude earthquake has occurred off the coast of Sumatra and sparked tsunami warnings along the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand including the provinces of Phangnga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang, and Ranong. Please follow safety instructions from local authorities." For more information see CNN's story "Tsunami watch lifted after two big earthquakes." read more    |
| Flying dragons: Private jets are new status symbol in China Posted: 11 Apr 2012 12:00 AM PDT by Tracy You Until as recently as 10 years ago, a personal jet was little more than a dream for even the richest mainland Chinese. Apart from anything else, the government has only allowed individuals to own and fly private aircraft since 2003. But now, a shiny, personal fly-about is the new business card of the elite, touted abroad by established entrepreneurs such as Zhang Yue (张跃) and such influential celebrities as Jackie Chan (成龙). In less than a decade, the number of mainland-registered business jets has rocketed from zero to more than 130. Industry experts expect the market to grow nearly 10 times over the next decade; in other words, mainland tycoons will be shelling out for roughly 100 private jets a year -- with prices starting at RMB 3 million (US$475,000) -- from now till 2022. read more    |
| Flights rerouted as North Korea prepares to launch rocket Posted: 10 Apr 2012 10:16 PM PDT by Hiufu Wong More than 20 commercial airline flights will be rerouted to avoid North Korea's rocket launch expected sometime between April 12 and April 16. The North Korean launch is meant to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the country's late founder, Kim Il-Sung, according to North Korean authorities. The secretive state announced the launch in March, emphasizing that the rocket's debris will not affect neighboring countries, and saying that its accompanying satellite is intended for peaceful purposes, according to North Korea's state news agency. North Korea claims that the Kwangmyongsong-3 (Shining Star) satellite, carried by the rocket Unha-3, will be used to collect data on forests and natural resources. But the United States and other nations fear the launch may be a pretext for a ballistic missile test, which would potentially violate U.N. resolutions created after a similar launch in April 2009. read more    |
| Meet the world's luckiest traveler Posted: 10 Apr 2012 09:00 PM PDT It's a bold boast and one we'd all like to lay claim to, but what makes Briton Ben Southall the world's luckiest traveler? Try this for starters: winner of Tourism Queensland's 2009 "Best Job in the World" -- a six-month stint as caretaker of Hamilton Island that paid AU$150,000 (US$154,000) -- Southall beat 34,684 hopefuls from 200 countries to get the job of a lifetime. While that should be enough for the former charity fundraiser from Hampshire, Southall's luck just keeps on rolling in. Since completing the caretaker gig a little more than two years ago, he spent six months traveling Europe, Asia and the Americas as the face of a global sales mission for Queensland. The journey saw him eat scorpions on Taiwanese TV, visit a travel agency in Guangzhou that was plastered with his photos and hobnob with John Travolta and Greg Norman in Los Angeles. read more    |
| CNNGo TV: Kuala Lumpur -- stylish, cultural, culinary center of Malay life Posted: 10 Apr 2012 10:20 AM PDT Petronas Towers? Done. What's next? We'll show you, in this episode of CNNGo TV. From Southeast Asia's largest Islamic Art Museum to the majestic Chinese Thean Hou Temple; from a fine restaurant for authentic Malaysian food to a retro-salon in Chinatown, these are six of the places that no KL visitor would want to miss.
The Stylo Hair Dressing Saloon (we're not sure if this is an intended misspell) is hard to miss. Located in Chinatown, the retro-front door with colorful strips and check patterns is a reminder that the shop is more than 70 years old. read more    |
| Historic Singapore: 5 Chinatown businesses that endure Posted: 10 Apr 2012 03:51 AM PDT by Eddie Tee For some, Singapore's Chinatown is nothing more than a colorful tourist attraction filled with shops hawking over-priced knicknacks to clueless travelers. But it's not all about kitschy souviners. Plenty of locals have been coming to this neighborhood to shop and eat for decades. Here are five heritage businesses that have been serving generations of Singaporeans since the early 1900s. Pek Sin ChoonThe oldest tea merchant in Singapore -- they've been in business since 1925 -- is also one of the few that regularly creates new flavors adapted to local taste buds and cuisines. It started with founder Pek Kim Au, who used to import raw tea leaves from China but found the combination unsatisfying. read more    |
| AirAsia X to give away a plane ... temporarily Posted: 09 Apr 2012 10:44 PM PDT by Hiufu Wong Finally, something useful about having all those hundreds of Facebook friends. Malaysia-based budget airline AirAsia is promoting its new Kuala Lumpur-Sydney route by giving away a flight to the winner of its latest Facebook contest. The winner can take 302 Facebook friends on a four-day trip from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur. To enter, contestants must populate an Airbus aircraft with 302 Facebook friends through AirAsia Australia's Friendsy app online. In addition to the round-trip flight, the winner and friends will receive three nights' accommodation courtesy of Accor Hotels. read more    |
| Social travel start-ups: Social media finally hits the road in style Posted: 09 Apr 2012 07:45 PM PDT You wouldn't think it'd have taken so long for social media sites to start taking travel seriously. Sure, for years we've been making our sedentary friends back home jealous by posting "me tanning on deserted beach" photos on Facebook. And sites like CouchSurfing, which claims to host "the world's largest travel community," and Airbnb and Wimdu, global social networks listing accommodations provided by locals, have been helping budget travelers find lodging around the world for several years. But only recently have social media sites aimed directly at enhancing the travel experiene begun popping up. The best of the new sites go beyond Yelp reviews and Wikitravel, pushing toward a type of extremely personal travel guide based on users' social networks and experiences of like-minded travelers. read more    |
| How a trip to Guyana became a short-listed novel Posted: 09 Apr 2012 03:00 PM PDT What does it mean to "really travel" in a world where so much is connected and so little seems new? One answer may be to spend a year in a place that everybody else seems to have forgotten. And, from there, to write a novel so adventurous and beautiful that it reminds us how much of the earth there is left to see. Former cricket writer Rahul Bhattacharya does just that. The result of his year-long stint in Guyana was "The Sly Company of People Who Care" -- short-listed for this year's Man Asian Literary Prize. The debut novel follows the picaresque travels of a young Indian journalist who goes to Guyana to escape the "deadness of his life." Of mixed Bengali and Gujarati descent, Bhattacharya is no stranger to relocations. The 32-year-old author compares his childhood to that of an army cantonment kid. read more    |
| 8 products to bring you back to life after a flight Posted: 09 Apr 2012 03:00 PM PDT by Tara Donaldson Air travel brings out the ugly in everyone. While sleep and a shower would be ideal, quick post-flight fixes are more realistic. Thankfully, we live in an age of solutions: whatever the ill, there's a product to cure it. Whether the paparazzi really await your arrival in baggage claim or not, these eight products will leave you looking ready for some "welcome home, here's a camera in your face" action. 1. Mint mini-wipes
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| 10 quintessential U.S. meals and where to get them Posted: 09 Apr 2012 09:00 AM PDT by Tom Tiberio Sick of high-and-mighty travelers telling you the Big Mac is the apex of the U.S. culinary tradition? They don't know what they're missing. Do the unenlighteed rabble a favor next time they mount up their high horses, and point them in the direction of these classic eats. Better yet, get there yourself and get gorging. 1. BarbecueCan't go wrong at: Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous (Memphis, Tennessee) read more    |
| Sydney uncovered on urban gourmet tour Posted: 08 Apr 2012 10:19 PM PDT While most top-end hotels make every effort to keep paying customers happy, fed and watered on-site, the InterContinental Sydney is taking a very different approach from this month in pushing guests out the door on a food-centric tour of the city. The hotel's Sydney Gourmet Tour costs from $511 per night and includes a stay for two, breakfast at the Café Opera restaurant and the main attraction -- a choice of two tours of Sydney's finest eating and drinking spots. Expert guides from tour operator Ultimately Sydney pick up guests by limo at the hotel after breakfast and usher them round either the Asian and Mediterranean riches of the South Sydney Tour or the European accents on the Inner West Tour. Each four-hour-plus excursion promises seasoned buying and tasting guidance on bounty from Taiwanese dumplings and Lebanese snacks to handmade chocolate and local wines. Migrant heritageBack at the hotel, the InterContinental's chief concierge, David Patt, explains the appeal of the Gourmet Tour. read more    |
| Military tourism in Thailand: Shoot guns, ride tanks, eat bugs Posted: 08 Apr 2012 02:59 PM PDT by Cole Pennington Illicit military experiences have long characterized the Southeast Asia travel experience. Most expat residents and seasoned backpackers in the region know at least one person who has destroyed a small patch of jungle with a rocket launcher or popped off a few rounds from a government issue sub-machine gun by "renting" these weapons from enterprising military personnel. But since 1997, the Royal Thai Army has been working with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to develop programs that allow civilians to catch a glimpse of military life, legally. The operation is simple -- give tourists a roughneck experience they can't get anywhere else. Let them fire M16 assault rifles, put them behind the controls of a tank and teach them what insects are OK to eat when learning jungle survival techniques. Of the 300-plus armed forces bases throughout Thailand, more than 60 run programs such as simple bike rides or parachute jumping from a tower, from Phuket all the way up to Chiang Mai. To locate the nearest base, give the Royal Thai Army's Tourism Promotion Working Committee a call at +66 (0)2 297 5715-8. read more    |
| Japan's new reality show a picture-perfect trip Posted: 08 Apr 2012 02:55 PM PDT by C.B.Liddell When visiting Japan, it's worth remembering -- and stop us if you've heard this one before -- that there's more to the country than kimonos, sushi, tradition and temples. A lot more. According to those in the know, Japan is one of Asia's hot spots for contemporary modern art -- manga and anime, anyone? -- and exhibitions worth at least a half day out of your trip are thick on the ground. The Hoki Museum, about an hour's drive from Tokyo, is one of a slew of outstanding new centers that take Japan's reputation for cutting-edge art to another level. Currently, it's taking a fresh look at Realist art through one of the year's must-see exhibitions, "Beauty of Existence -- Look, Smile, Sorrow." The astounding-looking building, which opened a few months before the 2011 earthquake, is the creation of Tomohiko Yamanashi, the architect behind the stunning art venue. read more    |
| 10 of the world's most beautiful cemeteries Posted: 08 Apr 2012 10:01 AM PDT by Anthea Gerrie Not all graveyards are somber places best left to the dead. Thanks to their famous inhabitants, many heave with sightseers. Others lay silent and deserted, but are worth a visit for their overgrown beauty. Here are 10 super cemeteries worth bringing your camera to, even if you don't know anybody there. 1. Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Insider Guide: Best of New York City Posted: 08 Apr 2012 09:01 AM PDT by Jordan Burchette Trying to do the best of New York City in a few days is like announcing you plan to see Africa in a week: it minimizes just how much there is to experience while completely disregarding travel times. Our menu of the best of New York City eats, drinks, sights and photo ops ensures you don't waste a New York minute -- which Johnny Cash supposedly once defined as the time it takes for the traffic light to turn green and the guy behind you to honk his horn. Just understand you're only taking a very quick bite of the metropolis, not consuming the entire Apple. Hotels Luxury
Mandarin Oriental read more    |
| 8 secret acupoints to cure travel ills Posted: 06 Apr 2012 11:00 AM PDT After stowing the passport and busting out the phone, it's straight to the airport pharmacy for some long-haul fliers, who slam all sorts of pills, tonics and remedies to alleviate aches and ills. But there's another choice -- acupressure. Acupressure is the practice of pressing or massaging certain points on the body said to stimulate self-curative abilities. For each of the points descibed below, you may need to press or rub the point in 20- to 30-second intervals for up to 10 minutes before the effect is felt. You may also need to use it repeatedly throughout the day. Play around to find what works best. read more    |
A salon that recalls the 1940s moment when it opened.
Like baby wipes, but with a touch of minty freshness. Wipe the journey off your face with cleansing mint mini-wipes.
Designer tombs?
Don't forget to check out the rest of the city, OK?| You are subscribed to email updates from CNNGo.com To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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