Indonesia Travel 02: May 2012

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Asia Travel Blog

Dual-Branded Ski Resort in China to be Opened by Starwood Hotels

Posted: 31 May 2012 06:47 AM PDT

Dual-Branded Ski Resort in China to be Opened by Starwood Hotels

CNNGo.com

Thailand Travel Mart Plus: Three days of tourism wheeling and dealing
Miyazaki chicken: The world's tastiest white meat
Sand blasters: 8 dirty desert adventures you can do right now
Gallery: What 100,000 people are lining up (in frustration) to see at Yeosu World Expo

Thailand Travel Mart Plus: Three days of tourism wheeling and dealing

Posted: 30 May 2012 08:19 PM PDT

Thailand's tourism industry is renowned for its ability to jump back after a crisis, the most recent example being last year's flood tragedy.

From January to April of this year, the number of foreign arrivals rose 7 per cent to 7.3 million year-on-year, say tourism officials.

These days, the industry is back doing what it does best: marketing the goods.

More than 1,000 tourism buyers and sellers will be in Bangkok June 6-8 for the Tourism Authority of Thailand's (TAT) annual Thailand Travel Mart Plus (TTM+), a trade fair set up to highlight the country's tourism products, experiences and attractions.

TTM+ 2012, which will take place at IMPACT Exhibition Center, is focusing on four key tourism categories: golf, ecotourism, weddings/honeymoons and health/wellness.

Miyazaki chicken: The world's tastiest white meat

Posted: 30 May 2012 02:55 PM PDT

by Jane Kitagawa

When it comes to eating chicken in Japan, most folk, whether eager visitor or seasoned resident, plump for that eternal favorite on a stick, yakitori.

Or, for those with a penchant for izakaya fare, crispy, deep-fried karaage works too -- like yakitori, it tastes great with beer, shochu or pretty much anything cold, after all.

But delve a little more deeply into Japan's cuisine du coq and there's another prize-winning poultry contender to consider in the delicious, juicy form of Miyazaki jidori free-range chicken from the southern island of Kyushu.

The chicken, one of a handful of poultry breeds indigenous to Japan, boasts a low fat-to-flesh ratio, a non-gamey smell and a springy, toothsome texture.

Created through crossbreeding and agricultural experiments in the mid-twentieth century, Miyazaki jidori are raised without hormones and antibiotics and are designed to outlive their more common cousins (six-week "meat" birds) by anywhere from 60 to 120 days.

Sand blasters: 8 dirty desert adventures you can do right now

Posted: 30 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT

by Helen Elfer

Scorching days, freezing nights, no water, dangerous reptiles for company -- and an unfortunate reputation for making travelers hallucinate.

It's no surprise deserts are among the most daunting places on earth and, for some, clearly best avoided.

For the rest of us, however, these mysterious wildernesses can make for the ultimate playground.

1. Sand sliding: Kubuqi desert, China

For sheer spectacle, there's no place like Xiangshawan (Resonant Sand Bay).

Essentially an amusement park in the heart of Inner Mongolia's desert, the site is filled with local tourists sporting wacky knee-high sand socks, riding camels and zipping over the dunes in buggies.

Gallery: What 100,000 people are lining up (in frustration) to see at Yeosu World Expo

Posted: 30 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT

by Frances Cha

Apparently, visitors to the Expo 2012 in Yeosu, Korea, are like blind dates. You pray they'll show up, but when they do, you don't really know what to do with them.

Despite being riddled with global superlatives -- of the quirky techie variety, including biggest gathering of robots in the history of expos, the world's largest dome screen, the world's tallest robot and a laser-shooting robot fish -- the ocean-themed Expo 2012 in Yeosu, Korea, has had a rickety start the past few weeks in terms of attendance and operations.

Visitor turnout

The daily number of visitors to the Yeosu Expo -- located 455 kilometers south of Seoul -- finally reached 100,000 this past Sunday, mostly due to the three-day Buddha's Birthday holiday weekend.

The local press reported that the growing number of visitors served to highlight the shortcomings of the expo, especially in regards to advance bookings and lack of parking, restrooms and accommodations.

According to Korean daily Dong-A Ilbo, more than 1,000 visitors who could not reserve admission to the eight main exhibition halls filed for refunds on Sunday, while some facility operations were stalled when annoyed patrons caused a ruckus at an aquarium.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

CNNGo.com

New York vs. London: Who has the hottest airport hologram?
How 'love hotels' are taking over the world
New York's 'mad scientist of drinks' experiments on the Tokyo scene
Video: Juicy secrets from inside a Peking duck kitchen

New York vs. London: Who has the hottest airport hologram?

Posted: 29 May 2012 11:56 PM PDT

by Zoe Li, Hong Kong Editor

"I can be whatever you want me to be." As Jimmy Kimmel asks, "How is this not a sex robot?"

What's better than real human contact? Virtual human contact, of course.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced last week that life-size digital projections of customer care representatives will start work this summer at three airports.

After the Port Authority reviewed about 10,000 comments from the public, they found that travelers want more human interaction when they are transiting airports.

Instead of training existing staff, machines that project virtual assistants have been rented for a six-month trial, costing US$180,000.

How 'love hotels' are taking over the world

Posted: 29 May 2012 11:37 PM PDT

by James Durston

They're old news in Japan, comical in Thailand and big business in Korea.

Now so-called "love hotels" are making the move out of Asia into the West.

This month Dayuse Hotels launched a London section on its website, providing amorous couples with the chance to book hotel rooms by the hour, and Thibaud d'Agrèves, 30-year-old French co-founder of Dayuse Hotels, says he's not stopping there.

"In the next five years we should expand our concept in Italy, which should be open in the next two weeks, then Germany, Russia, Spain, Brazil and Asia," he says.

Launched in November 2010, the Dayuse site already rents out rooms in around 250 hotels across the United States, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Ireland.

New York's 'mad scientist of drinks' experiments on the Tokyo scene

Posted: 29 May 2012 07:40 PM PDT

by Nicholas Coldicott

When Dave Arnold turned up in Tokyo this week for some guest bartending at the Park Hyatt, he brought his tools with him.

Not his shaker, spoons or mixing glass -- his hosts have all that. Arnold packed two carbonation rigs, a tachometer, a bag of enzymes, firing agents and a 500-watt iron poker.

Arnold, 40, is New York City's mad scientist of drinks. His usual home is Manhattan's Booker and Dax bar, where he's known for distilling his own drinks, pouring liquid nitrogen, clarifying juices and sticking that red-hot poker of his into beverages.

Dave Arnold, Booker and Dax Go ahead, punk -- try my drink.

From May 30 through Saturday, though, he'll be serving his potable science at the Park Hyatt's New York Bar in Tokyo.

Video: Juicy secrets from inside a Peking duck kitchen

Posted: 29 May 2012 03:20 PM PDT

by Nicole Pang, additional reporting by Tracy You

In the kitchen: How Peking duck is roasted at Made in China, Grand Hyatt Beijing. (Video by Nicole Pang/CNNGo)

Many travelers come to Beijing with one question in mind: where do I find good Peking duck, or kaoya (烤鸭)?

"Tourists all want to have a taste of Beijing roast duck because it's the most typical and local food," says chef Fan Jiabiao (范家标), 44, who has been roasting duck for more than two decades in Beijing.

"I like eating kaoya, too, especially the crispy skin," Fan adds. "Eating the skin can also beautify the skin of those who eat it."

The Anhui native has been the kaoya chef at Made in China, Grand Hyatt Beijing's Chinese restaurant, for the past nine years. The 126-seat restaurant is one of the best places to eat Peking duck in China's capital.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Asia Travel Blog

The Best Airport in the World? Seoul Incheon Airport Named #1

Posted: 29 May 2012 07:16 AM PDT

The Best Airport in the World? Seoul Incheon Airport Named #1

CNNGo.com

Around the world in 30 dumplings
Gallery: Vivid Sydney 2012 in full effect
Don't say we didn't warn you: Korea's 5 spiciest dishes
24 of the world's most amazing bridges
Airlines to tempt travelers with wider seats
Travel agents: Hong Kongers prefer the real thing

Around the world in 30 dumplings

Posted: 29 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT

by Hoishan Chan

A dumpling may "only" be a pocket of dough filled with some form of savory or sweet stuffing. That, at least, is how we're defining them for the purposes of this article.

But they are more than the sum of their parts, a marvel of global cuisine, both simple and complex, local and global, adaptable yet fixed in their home regions as a cheap, tasty staple to snack on.

We're pretty sure that among its various incarnations there are few travelers who will not have found at least one dumpling to their taste.

But if you happen to be among that minority, here are 30 dumplings -- or their near relatives -- from around the world that just might change your mind.

1. Xiaolongbao

Served steamed in bamboo baskets, xiaolongbao look different from other types of Chinese dumplings, as the skin is gathered and pinched at the top instead of folded in half.

Gallery: Vivid Sydney 2012 in full effect

Posted: 28 May 2012 09:37 PM PDT

It's that time of the winter again, as Vivid Sydney hits town and gets the city looking its stunning best in millions of different colors.

The annual art, music and light event is currently rocking the Opera House and its surrounds in an after-dark show that runs every day until June 11.

Best of all, the light show is entirely free -- check out the gallery above for just a taste of the visual attractions.

The Vivid Sydney lights can be seen every day of the festival from 6 p.m. to midnight. See the show for free around The Rocks and Circular Quay, as well as the Opera House, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Customs House.

Other events are listed on the official website.

Don't say we didn't warn you: Korea's 5 spiciest dishes

Posted: 28 May 2012 08:47 PM PDT

by Jiyeon Lee

My mission: find the spiciest, most lip-burning, tongue-scalding, stomach-scorching dish in Korea.

But why?

Strange as it might sound, for me and many fellow Koreans, spice is therapy.

There's something cathartic about feeling like your brain is on fire; it's a sentiment many Koreans relate to.

In a country where extreme spice is considered as basic as salt and pepper, a sensible response to "I'm so stressed out" is "let's go wolf down something terribly spicy."

24 of the world's most amazing bridges

Posted: 28 May 2012 07:17 PM PDT

by Chris Anderson

Thousands of tourists have crowded onto and around San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge to celebrate the iconic structure's 75th birthday.

Crowds partied across its three-kilometer length, boats cruised on the water below and a finale of fireworks lit up the San Franciscan sky.

It took four years to build, costing US$35 million and finally opened in 1937. It has remained one of the engineering world's most famous poster boys since.

But it's not the only bridge that merits celebration.

Here are 23 others (plus San Fran's Golden Gate) that are worth a look.

Airlines to tempt travelers with wider seats

Posted: 28 May 2012 07:06 PM PDT

by Karla Cripps

Many airlines advise larger passengers who can't comfortably fit into a single seat to buy two. The biggest complaint among air travelers used to concern legroom. As in, there was never enough of it.

Passengers cried out for more space to stretch out and recline further.

In response, airlines reconfigured their planes to offer options like premium economy, allowing travelers to pay extra for added legroom without having to upgrade to business or first class.

Now, it appears the focus has switched from length to width.

Perhaps acknowledging the global expansion of waistlines, Airbus is giving airlines purchasing its new A320 passenger jet the option of adding extra-wide seats for large passengers.

Travel agents: Hong Kongers prefer the real thing

Posted: 28 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT

by Zoe Li, Hong Kong Editor

While travel agents are trying to make a comeback after more than a decade of waning in the developed world, they never went out of fashion in Hong Kong.

The Internet was a travel industry job-killer, particularly in the United States, where the number of agency locations has halved since the high of 34,000 branches in the mid-1990s. Online flight and hotel booking services, such as Expedia, cancelled out the middleman so everyone could be their own travel agent.

But while EMarketer forecasts online travel sales in the United States to grow 11 percent to $119.2 billion in 2012, offline travel agents show signs of returning.

Nearly one in three leisure agencies in the United States is hiring, according to PhoCusWright, a travel research firm. Travel professionals can thank an improving economy, but also consumers' web-fatigue.

It turns out that online booking is not the convenient click-and-fly experience that travelers were hoping for. In one study by the IBM Institute for Business Value Studies, 20 percent of participants said it took them more than five hours of online research before making their booking.

In Hong Kong, savvy travelers learnt early on about the opportunity costs in booking vacations online. They never quite adopted Internet transactions for travel.