Indonesia Travel 03: December 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

CNNGo.com

End of the line for historic Buenos Aires trains
Insider guide: Best of Manila
Cafe culture: Amsterdam's 7 coolest hangouts

End of the line for historic Buenos Aires trains

Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:07 PM PST

The La Brugeoise cars of Line A, the first working subway system in the southern hemisphere, are to be replaced by modern carriages

CNN Travel staff

Buenos Aires is putting the brakes on one of its most historic pieces of public transport -- the wooden "La Brugeoise" cars of the city subway system's Line A.

Opened on December 1, 1913, Buenos Airies Metro's Line A was the first subway line to operate in the southern hemisphere, featuring trains made by Belgian company La Brugeoise et Nicaise et Delcuve between 1912 and 1919.

Today, the trains are among the world's oldest still in regular commercial service.

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Insider guide: Best of Manila

Posted: 30 Dec 2012 07:03 PM PST

Eat, drink, explore and, eventually, sleep in Southeast Asia's most overlooked capital. Here's how to do it all

Cheryl Tiu

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The best of Manila is most easily found in its confluence of identities.

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Insider Guides

Cafe culture: Amsterdam's 7 coolest hangouts

Posted: 30 Dec 2012 04:29 PM PST

Nobody does it like the Dutch: Whether for late-night snacks or relaxing in the afternoon, here's where the locals chill

Katja Brokke

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If you've been to the capital of the Netherlands, you've seen those joints -- the ones we want to avoid. Overpriced big plaza cafés packed with loud customers -- easy to find, but nothing to do with the real charm of Amsterdam.

If you want to meet "Amsterdammers" and experience the city's café culture you have to look beyond the ubiquitous coffee shops and English pubs.

Think not miserable potheads and trustifarians; instead we're on a quest for the city's easygoing waterside terraces, singing bartenders (no, really) and high-class cocktail bars.

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

CNNGo.com

The joy of the towel elephant: Hospitality loves and hates

Posted: 29 Dec 2012 10:10 AM PST

Sometimes the travel industry gets it right, sometimes it leaves us with a pillow chocolate stuck to our face

Barry Neild

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In many ways our relationship with the hospitality industry is like a fledgling romance.

Sometimes, it pulls some smooth moves, everything just clicks and we walk hand in hand into the sunset.

But just as often, its fumbling advances leave us feeling cheap, embarrassed and more than a little concerned about an itchy rash.

So, in the interest of seeing this relationship through its growing pains, here are a few hints about what we'd like to see more of -- and less of -- if the hospitality industry hopes to get us past first base.

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Friday, December 28, 2012

CNNGo.com

China eyes April opening of world’s largest building
Gallery: Spectacular camel and falcon competition in Abu Dhabi showcases Bedouin culture
Beirut: Souvenir shopping just got chic

China eyes April opening of world’s largest building

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 08:45 PM PST

Chengdu's New Century Global Centre is latest symbol of China's economic might and massive ambition

CNN Travel staff

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Ready capital, cheap labor, loads of ambition.

With these magic ingredients, China is in the midst of one of the most phenomenal national construction booms in history.

The latest symbol of the country's "bigger is much, much better" ethos is the nearly completed New Century Global Centre, located in Chengdu (population 14 million), capital of Sichuan province in southwestern China.

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Gallery: Spectacular camel and falcon competition in Abu Dhabi showcases Bedouin culture

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 08:18 PM PST

Al Dhafra heritage festival draws record turnout, awards millions of dollars worth of prizes

Frances Cha

Al Dhafra Festival, December 15-29, 2012, Madinat Zayed, Al Gharbia, United Arab Emirates; aldhafrafestival.ae

More on CNN Travel: Insider Guide: Best of Abu Dhabi

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Beirut: Souvenir shopping just got chic

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 10:02 AM PST

Never mind the souks -- Lebanon's capital offers traditional shopping with upscale, contemporary twists

Lara Brunt

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If you're expecting to haggle for a bargain in Beirut's souks, think again.

"Beirut is the only city in the Middle East that doesn't have a souk," says tour guide Ronnie Chatah from BeBeirut. "In its place we built a shopping mall with a Ferrari dealership and valet parking."

While there are certainly plenty of big labels on show, Beirut has a thriving art and design scene that values individuality and craftsmanship.

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

CNNGo.com

Dutch yearn for return of mythic ice skating race: Will 2013 be the year?
No office, no boss, no boundaries -- rise of the nomadic rich
Business hotel introduces world's first smart hotel key

Dutch yearn for return of mythic ice skating race: Will 2013 be the year?

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:10 PM PST

For 15 years, it's been too warm for the Elfstedentocht ice skating marathon. But there are still places you can skate in the Netherlands

Savita Iyer-Ahrestani

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As winter deepens in the Netherlands, the Dutch keep watch on their thermometers, anxiously trying to will the temperature to drop low enough to freeze the many canals that crisscross the country.

Once that happens, they'll rush outside to take part in the country's favorite winter activity: ice skating.

But locals are particularly keen for the "Big Freeze" in the northern province of Friesland, where, when the conditions permit, an 11-city speed and leisure skating race, or Elfstedentocht, is held.

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Windmill in Dokkum in the province of Friesland

No office, no boss, no boundaries -- rise of the nomadic rich

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 10:02 AM PST

A new breed of cash-rich, entrepreneurial mavericks is taking the dream and traveling with it. But they also pay a price

Mark Manson

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It's 12:20 p.m. and I'm 19 stories high in a Bangkok hotel, settling down to the start of what was meant to be an 11 a.m. conference.

I nurse a Singha beer and look around at a motley bunch of co-attendees: mostly single men in their twenties and thirties, wearing flip-flops or Converse sneakers, blazers or tank tops.

One would never guess this was a conference for Internet entrepreneurs and business owners from around the world, most of whom earn an annual income well into six figures.

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Business hotel introduces world's first smart hotel key

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:39 AM PST

Smartphone key opens doors, surfs web and controls temperature, lights and television

Frances Cha

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This is one hotel key you don't want to lose.

A new business hotel in Seoul has started using smartphones for hotel keys that also allow guests to surf the Internet and control room lights, television and temperature.

Hotel Skypark Central in Seoul's financial district launched the smart-key service on December 26, changing the locks and room controls in 16 of its rooms.

Guests pick up the smartphone when they check in at the front desk.

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