Let’s Visit Asia

Halloween, I believe is still a largely western festivity, but it’s slowly finding its way to Asian cultures as well. As this is the 31st of October, let me set the Halloween mood by featuring this scary (presumably) true-to-life story featured at the Korean newspaper, Digital Chonsunibo:
…Last January, aboard a flight from Sydney to Incheon, a 36 year old housewife who suffered from depression hanged herself in one of the bathrooms at the rear of the plane. The crew quickly discovered the body and did everything they could to avoid any commotion or disturbance among the other passengers.
But two months …read more

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As if poverty and the recent earthquakes are not enough, terrorist have to add to the woes of the common citizens in South Asia. Bombings in Delhi today killed about 48 and left about 80 people injured, at least 10 in critical condition. The series of blasts took place in the shopping areas in central and south Delhi.
BBC runs a story based on accounts of witnesses to the blasts.
Arun Gupta told the BBC News website he was only 45 metres (150ft) from the site of the explosion in the central neighbourhood of Paharganj, an area popular with Western …read more

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Are you an Asian? The Asia News Network needs your opinion! Help the ANN understand the ASEAN identity by participating in their poll. Don’t worry, there are just 18 questions and it won’t take more than a couple of minutes!

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When I browse blogs and travel pages on the web, it strikes me that some of the most insightful stories about places come from expats. Sure, there are no better sources of information than the locals themselves. Fellow tourists’ stays are fleeting but may be helpful and provide more concrete ideas on the must-do’s and must-see’s in a particular destination. But the expat stories are what I love best. They see things and notice stuff that the locals don’t, or no longer do. And they’ve stayed in the place longer than most tourists, which make for more substantial, deeper …read more

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Especially since Katrina hit New Orleans, the price of fuel have been steadily increasing. We’ve all been feeling the imapct and have been complaining endlessly about it. But I really must have missed a lot in my geography and economics lessons back in school, because I can’t understand why on earth a small country such as Burma, would raise the price of petrol nine-fold (!), from 180 kyat ($0.15) per gallon to 1,500 kyat ($1.22).Whooa, a whoopping 900% increase! Almost unbelievable, isn’t it? Except that it is indeed happening. The increase were effective since yesterday, so expect increase cab fares …read more

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I don’t have the statistics, but I think it’s fairly safe to claim that among Asians, the Japanese are the most internationally travelled. In any popular tourist destination in Asia, the Japanese comprise a large fraction of the visitors. So when JAL decided to reduce flight frequency to Indonesia following the Bali bombings, that could mean serious damage to Bali tourism.
From October 30 to December 22, JAL will continue to service Denpasar (Bali) and Jakarta by consolidating its flights to a Narita-Jakarta-Denpasar-Narita routing instead of flying separate routes to both of Indonesian cities. Likewise, the Osaka-Denpasar service …read more

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Love handicrafts? If you’re in Thon Buri, Thailand, and like me, have always wanted to learn knitting, or if you want crafting activities for your children, don’t miss the Roi Rieng Kiang Silp Fair, at the Tang Hua Seng department store ongoing ’til October 24th at the promotion centre on the 5th floor.
This year’s fair’s highlight are the knitting lessons by Meroni Elisabetta, an Italian knitting specialist, but will also include lessons on other handicrafts such as quilting, bead stringing, painting for children, candle-making, and more. Go and wake up the suzy homemaker in you!

Source: Bangkok Post

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Forbes magazine ranks Vietnam’s China Beach, more locally known as Danang Beach, as one of the most luxurious beach destinations in the world.
“China Beach is enjoying a resurgence in tourist travel. The Danang People’s Committee has launched a concerted effort to rid the area of panhandlers and today the beach is one of Asia’s prettiest – and most historic.”
If you plan to see it for yourself, there’s more in store for you in the region than just the sand and sea. China Beach is also near four World Heritage Sites:
the ancient port of “Hoi An”,

the spiritual centre of the Champa …read more

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Singapore Airlines will be the first airline in the world to introduce the A380 into commercial service in 2006. As part of the A380 flight test campaign, the double-decker aircraft will test its long-range flight capability in a non-stop journey to Singapore next month. I saw the monstrosity of an airplane on TV as it cruised above Hamburg earlier this year and there’s just one word for it: AWESOME. If you’re in Singapore, there’s a very little chance you’ll miss it, but if have the chance, go to Changi Airport and see the 555-seater airplane up close!
Want to be the …read more

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So you arrive at your destination and have booked a rental car to go about. If you’re not new in the city, then that’s ok; you’ll probably reach your hotel before jetlag take a hold of you. But, if you’ve just arrived and everything’s unfamiliar, are you up to the horrors of driving on foreign territory? Sure, you can rent a car equipped with GPS system, but that will up your rental fees. Now, there’s a cheaper solution. In fact if you own an iPOD, the rest is FREE!

Yahoo Maps and the popular iPod Photo portable MP3 player are used …read more

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