Monday, May 14, 2012

CNNGo.com

CNNGo.com

Happy Rose Day, with love from Seoul

Posted: 13 May 2012 09:52 PM PDT

Korean florists are so greedy. 

Not content with the thousands of truckloads of carnations they sold last week for Parents Day, and more for Teachers Day tomorrow, May 14 has also unofficially been deemed a flower-giving day -- Rose Day, to be precise. 

Men and women carrying bouquets of roses can be spotted all over Korea, and "Rose Day" has been the most searched-for term on search engines in Korea all morning.

Non-florists are taking advantage of the marketing opportunity, as well. 

Piaget Korea is giving away real Yves Piaget roses (the rose peony was renamed the Yves Piaget rose in 1982) with any purchase from its jewelery brand's Rose Collection.

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China’s first capsule hotel opens in Xi’an

Posted: 13 May 2012 06:00 PM PDT

by CNNGo staff

From food to TV shows, Japanese culture is hugely popular in China. And with the opening of Xi'an Youth Capsule Hotel (西安青年太空舱宾馆), the trend recently extended to the travel industry.

Popular among young travelers

Occupying an entire floor of a commercial plaza near Xi'an Train Station, this hotel is reported to be the nation's first licensed capsule hotel. Opened on April 26, it cost RMB 1.5 million to fit out and contains 86 orange-color capsules in nine rooms.

"The hotel has gain popularity among young travelers, especially students," said Xu Meijiang (许美江), manager and one of the investors in the hotel. "Our hotel was completely full during the Labor Day holidays and maintains 50-60 percent occupancy in normal days."

Many guests are not even travelers. "They're simply curious about this Japanese lodging culture and they come to experience it," said Xu.

Each capsule is 120 centimeters wide, 210 centimeters long and 125 centimeters high and costs as little as RMB 59-65 per night. It comes with free Wi-Fi and a 15.6-inch foldable flat-screen TV set.

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Melbourne hotels give away $20k Warhol classic

Posted: 13 May 2012 02:55 PM PDT

Starting this week, guests staying at a group of Melbourne hotels will get the chance to go home with something a little better than a tiny bottle of shampoo or a scratchy white bathrobe -- a genuine $20,000 Andy Warhol print.

All visitors need do is check into any of the city's three Art Series Hotels and pick out what they think is the Real McCoy from the art hanging on the walls at the time.

Problem is, though, of the 10 "Warhols" hung between May 15 and August 3, only one will, in fact, be real.

The remainder will be expert forgeries created by art forger Tony Tetro for the "Which Warhol's Warhol's?" challenge.

Given the high probability of more than one correct answer, the winner of the classic art will be decided by the best answer given justifying the choice.

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3D artist wows travelers at Singapore's Changi Airport

Posted: 13 May 2012 11:15 AM PDT

by Aimee Chan

"That people interact with my work and it doesn't get locked up in some millionaire's villa is important to me," says 3D artist Kurt Wenner, here with "The Millioniare Life," on display until November 11, 2012, at Singapore's Changi International Airport.
You might forgive fellow travelers at Singapore's Changi International Airport for doing something this summer that rushing passengers usually shouldn't do -- stop and stare at the floor.

In fact, you might be tempted to do the same when coming upon U.S. 3D art maestro Kurt Wenner's latest work, "The Millioniare Life."

Part of the airport's "Be A Changi Millionaire" promotion, the stunning piece of optical illusion is currently spread on a digitally scanned canvas across the marble floor of the Terminal 3 Departure Hall.

While the nine-by-nine-meter image appears to have a chalk texture, travelers can actually walk on it, sit on it and take pictures with it. A photo booth allows visitors to pose with the image and have pictures e-mailed to them.

A life of illusion

Wenner's most striking work is an astounding piece of pavement art based on the biblical "Last Judgement." An early example of what Wenner calls his "anamorphic street painting," the massive composition was created in 1984 in Mantua, Italy, and blessed by Pope John Paul II as an official form of sacred art.

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Insider Guide: Best of Seoul

Posted: 13 May 2012 09:07 AM PDT

by Frances Cha, Rachel Sang-hee Han, Violet Kim

In Seoul, you can shop at brilliantly lit malls at 4 a.m., sing karaoke an hour later, then get McDonald's delivered to your doorstep for breakfast.

The best of Seoul can also brag about the world's top airport (ice rinks and movie theaters included) and a stunningly efficient public transportation system featuring high-tech details from massive touch-screen displays at subway stations to tickers at bus stops announcing which bus is coming when.

Business travelers like to drop by the centuries-old temples and palaces for a quick walk on the way to meetings in the Jung-gu financial district, while design fanatics devise their own tours of the latest skyscrapers and stadiums.

Leisure travelers revel in the nightlife of drinking in tents and clubbing until sunrise.

And foodies?

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A week with Tahiti's transexual rae-rae

Posted: 13 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT

by Ian Lloyd Neubauer

When it comes to holidaying in Tahiti, most people know what to expect: sugar-white beaches, superb resorts, beautiful French Polynesian men and women and a hyper-hospitable, well-trained staff who go out of their way to make every visit great.

But one thing that's rarely spoken of is the large number of cross-dressers and transvestites living on the islands. 

That's too bad, because they've become an integral, and treasured, aspect of the service industry here. 

Look, don't touch

My first sighting of rae-rae, as they're called in Tahitian, occurred in the capital Papeete.

Among the everyday folk that frequent the central portside district were men dressed in tight-fitting floral-print dresses that extenuated their broad shoulders, manly height and false or implanted breasts.

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World Cocktail Week: How to make sure you're not missing out

Posted: 09 May 2012 08:20 PM PDT

Grab a glass, people. It's time to celebrate what the Museum of the American Cocktail has decreed "World Cocktail Week."

According to the museum, World Cocktail Week was established to promote better understanding and appreciation of the art of the cocktail and its history. It also commemorates the first explanation of the term "Cocktail," published in "The Balance and Columbian Repository," on May 13, 1806. 

So what was in that first glass? Sugar, water, bitters, spirits. 

Drinking culture has of course come a long way since then, with top mixologists continuing to create unique new cocktails to keep the rest of us happily imbibing. 

In Bangkok, bars have taken to the week keenly. Four venues that are known for their appreciation for a well-crafted drink have teamed up to celebrate World Cocktail Week, with each bar following a different theme from May 13-20.

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at 9:22 AM