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- Foreign visitors banned from Tibet
- Boeing president deems China biggest emerging competitor
- One true love: Tokyo Tower, mon amour
- How to be a Seoul local: 10 tips on faking it
- World's 10 most loved cities
- Korean Air to launch Incheon-Nairobi route this month
- What jet lag? Reset yourself in Tokyo
| Foreign visitors banned from Tibet Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:41 PM PDT Foreign tourists are understood to have been banned from the Tibet Autonomous Region following a series of self-immolations by Tibetans protesting against Chinese rule. Several tour operators in China received notice to cancel group tours to Tibet with foreign visitors. The CEO of Tibet Travel Expert -- who only provided her surname, Wang -- said the government stopped approving applications of foreign tourists on May 28. Wang's understanding of the ban is it only applies to group tours that involve foreigners of different nationalities. "This affected our business seriously," said Wang. "We will have to compensate more than 200 tourists who have already applied for the trip." read more     |
| Boeing president deems China biggest emerging competitor Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:19 PM PDT by CNNGo staff Here are five letters all aviation aficionados should remember from now on: Comac, because the word is likely to share the limelight with Airbus or Boeing in the future. Short for Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (中国商用飞机有限责任公司), the Chinese state-owned aerospace manufacturer has been deemed "the biggest threat to Boeing and Airbus" by Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, reported Aviation Daily. Albaugh made his remarks recently during a speech to the Aviation Club in London. From "AB" duopoly to "ABC" matchupAlbaugh said Boeing and Airbus face competition from Canada, Brazil and China, but he didn't think they would all succeed. If [Comac C919] is going to be the airplane or not, I don't know, but eventually, [China] will get it right. read more    |
| One true love: Tokyo Tower, mon amour Posted: 07 Jun 2012 02:55 PM PDT
With nuclear meltdowns, a dilapidated economy and the unstoppable rise of "pop group" AKB48, the national mood is understandably bleak. Now, just when it seemed the locals had enough to contend with, along comes a new affliction: Tokyo Skytree fatigue. Most of us assumed that the hype surrounding the tower's debut would subside after the grand opening on May 22. Boy, were we wrong. During the past two weeks, Fuji TV has aired reports on Skytree-inspired nail art and Skytree-shaped sponge cakes. read more    |
| How to be a Seoul local: 10 tips on faking it Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:36 AM PDT by Violet Kim , Frances Cha With an insatiable desire to be the best at everything in the most wired city in the world, Seoulites don't have time to mess around. Neither do you. You could invest a significant chunk of your life slowly assimilating into the culture, but we'd rather push you off the deep end. 10. How to communicate The stuff that real relationships are made of. First thing to do when you get to Korea: get a smartphone. Then download the Internet chat application KakaoTalk -- it's pretty much the only line of communication here nowadays. So much so that the name most frequently used as a verb. "Katalk me," means "I like you! Let's be friends and talk with emoticons for hours." If you actually call someone right away, they'll freak out and not answer because your number isn't entered into their phone. Don't be a dork and suggest something like "iMessage" or "WhatsApp." Also on CNNGo: 12 reasons to visit Korea in 2012 The most important part? The KakaoTalk profile picture: it's the Korean equivalent of a Facebook profile -- and updated much more frequently. Also, when you compose your messages, even if you can't quite bring yourself to smile (^^), use the tilde liberally. Otherwise you just sound cold~ 9. How to avoid running into people
When using public transportation, walk like you drive -- always, always on the right. On escalators, stick to the right if you want to stand, and if you're in a hurry, switch to the left lane, where people glide up and down like Dementors on a mission. While subway stations often post signs begging pedestrians to stand still on the escalators, obey them at your own peril. The locals will be hemming and hawing behind you, with death stares burning into your back. 8. How to walk up subway stairs
Most Korean food is communal. Some might say even communist. Everyone orders together and shares equally. Don't be surprised if your meal buddy's chopsticks find their way onto your plate at some point -- and yes, you'll be dipping your spoon into the same stew pot as your companions. Squeamish about double-dipping? Go ahead and say so, but just know you'll be judged as being a stuck-up prude ... and worse. Good thing you don't speak Korean. Also on CNNGo: 10 best Korean restaurants Table manners are dictated by hierarchy according to age or position. If the silverware hasn't been laid out before your arrival, the youngest of your party needs to get out the napkins, spoons and chopsticks from boxes on the table. The youngest also brings in the water. With meat, the youngest grills. Finally, never take the last piece of food on the plate. All your arguments -- you're hungry, children in other countries are starving or the meat is sizzling to a black crisp on the grill -- will fly out the window once you've popped it into your mouth and feel the chill of disapproval descending from the others around the table. 6. How to pay
If the above entry made it sound as though Korea's a tough deal for youngsters -- it's not. Because when the check dance comes around, guess who leads? The oldest. Nonchalantly saying, "So, how much was my dish?" is the equivalent of social suicide -- especially if you're one of the older people in your party. If you're among the youngest, you'll sound cute, so feel free to offer up the hollow offer to pay. This also explains why your age is one of the first things Koreans will ask about, often quite abruptly. 5. How to drink
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| Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:01 AM PDT by Jordan Rane San Francisco has its Tenderloin, food snobs and bridge tolls. Cape Town has its great white sharks and 17-hour commutes from New York City (which has its own issues). Montreal has an underperforming hockey team and ridiculously cold winters. And let's not even get started about Tokyo. Bottom line: travelers love places in spite of all their imperfections. Or perhaps because of them. read more    |
| Korean Air to launch Incheon-Nairobi route this month Posted: 06 Jun 2012 09:40 PM PDT by Frances Cha Good news for wealthy boarding school kids searching for their spring break do-gooder trip, or celebs looking for a new location to shoot a sexy pictorial (the only two reasons why Koreans go to Africa, really) -- no more exhausting trips that take 30 hours door-to-door. Beginning June 21, Korean Air is launching the country's first nonstop route to Kenya, which also marks the first nonstop flight from Northeast Asia to East Africa. The airline predicts that travelers from China and Japan will also be utilizing this route to get to Nairobi. The only other African route served by Korean Air is to Cairo, Egypt. Emirates and Ethihad offer the only other flights from Korea to Nairobi via layovers in Dubai and Bangkok. read more    |
| What jet lag? Reset yourself in Tokyo Posted: 06 Jun 2012 02:55 PM PDT Kenro Miyazaki is doing his best to make me feel like I'm not just another pretty face. The 29-year-old is standing above me in his pinstripe suit and thick-framed glasses, carefully prepping me for a shave. A blast of steam loosens up my whiskers. A series of serums firms and moisturizes my skin. Searing-hot towels round out the routine. To my right, three sharp blades sit on standby. I'm stretched out on a reclining chair at The Barber, a wood-and-leather-filled man cave in Tokyo run by attendants in dark suits armed with razors, clippers and strong hands. read more    |
According to a recent Cabinet Office survey, more than two-thirds of Japanese people say they feel "uneasy or troubled" in their daily life. And who can blame them?
It may not be rush hour, but these two have been conditioned the right way. 
Korean fanny pack.
When eating from a public bowl, make sure you're handy with the chopsticks. Communal eating can be a cold war when everyone is hungry.
The Check Dance. 
From left to right: A typical evening of drinking in Seoul. You start out happy and end up passed out. | 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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