Destination: Asia
Mathura, India
by World Hum | 04.17.09 | 10:58 AM ET
REUTERS/K.K. Arora A rickshaw driver rides in the rain as he transports school children in the northern Indian city of Mathura.
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Yahoo! BuzzA Room Service of One’s Own
by Alexander Basek | 04.15.09 | 5:18 PM ET
After a terrible-yet-exciting day in the Malaysian town of Johor Bahru last fall, returning to my room at the Hyatt was the highlight of my visit. Malaysia’s second largest city had not treated me well. Worse, I missed dinner. It was late, and I was hungry. So why, even under duress, did I waffle about ordering room service? Don’t worry, I did—and I didn’t hesitate to remove several Tiger beers from the mini-bar while I waited—but I felt guilty about it anyway.
For years, I saw room service as a luxury for people with too much money or not enough inclination to explore the city they were visiting. Why bother to stay in when so many other options were outside the front doors of the hotel? In Johor Bahru, though, I was glad to have it. As my writing career has progressed and I’ve found myself holed up in towns where bringing a laptop outside isn’t such a bright idea, room service has come in handy. It’s never very good, but that’s the price you pay. Literally—food on a silver platter doesn’t come cheap.
So what does room service mean to you? Is it utility food or a time to splurge when getting dressed is too much to ask?
Colombo, Sri Lanka
by World Hum | 04.15.09 | 11:41 AM ET
REUTERS/Buddhika Weerasinghe A Buddhist monk blesses a ceremonial elephant at the Bellanwila Buddhist Temple as part of New Year celebrations by Sri Lanka's Sinhalese and Tamil in Colombo
Odd Jobs: Interview With the Pigeon Chaser
by David Farley | 04.15.09 | 10:09 AM ET
Photo by David Farley David Farley meets the man behind a hotel's pigeon-free zone in Jaipur, India
Chogye Temple, Seoul, South Korea
by World Hum | 04.14.09 | 11:57 AM ET
REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak A Buddhist woman reads a sacred book in front of a sermon hall as lotus lanterns with name cards hang on the wall at the Chogye temple in Seoul, ahead of May 2 celebrations in the country to commemorate Buddha's birthday.
Wine and Dumplings: An Overlooked Match?
by Julia Ross | 04.13.09 | 12:34 PM ET
When I’m out for Chinese food, I don’t think twice about my drink order: it’s almost always a Tsingtao. But cooking school owner/author Jen Lin-Liu says beer doesn’t have to be the default accompaniment every time you pick up chopsticks.
For a piece in the New York Times, she recently convened a group of Chinese tasters and found that semisweet Rieslings were the best all-around choice for spicy dishes with strong flavors, while a Pinot noir paired well with twice-cooked pork.
Chongqing Municipality, China
by World Hum | 04.13.09 | 11:38 AM ET
REUTERS/Stringer A worker carries a statue of a saint who has achieved nirvana, also known as an Arhat, for painting at the Arhat Temple in Chongqing Municipality.
Huishui County, China
by World Hum | 04.10.09 | 10:09 AM ET
REUTERS/China Daily Residents ride a motorcycle surrounded by a herd of geese blocking a road in Huishui County, Guizhou province, China.
In Tokyo’s Cafes, A Real-Life ‘Hello Kitty’
by Julia Ross | 04.09.09 | 10:59 AM ET
Looking for love in Tokyo? Why not skip the red-light district and head over to one of the city’s cat cafes, where $9 an hour will get you all the feline affection you crave. Over tea, customers can feed and play with a selection of breeds featured on “cat menus” that list name, gender and birthday. According to GlobalPost, the cafes are growing in popularity among harried urbanites, in part by marketing themselves as great date spots.
Though I’m not a cat person (I grew up with black labs and maintain a love for big dogs), I’d prefer an hour in one of Tokyo’s cat cafés over an evening at a Taiwanese toilet restaurant anytime.
In Shanghai, What Not to Wear
by Julia Ross | 04.08.09 | 3:32 PM ET
In my old stomping grounds in Shanghai’s Pudong area, I was always amazed to see grown women wandering the streets in pajamas emblazoned with teddy bears and Mickey Mouse motifs. The Chinese teachers I worked with were embarrassed by the trend—they told me they wouldn’t be caught dead outside in pajamas—but somehow it’s become as much a part of Shanghai culture as soup dumplings and hairy crabs.
Hanoi, Vietnam
by World Hum | 04.07.09 | 1:08 PM ET
REUTERS/Kham A farmer works in a rice paddy field outside Hanoi.
Around the World in Five Dates
by Terry Ward | 04.07.09 | 12:04 PM ET
iStockphoto The language of love may be universal, but the etiquette of dating is not. Terry Ward looks at courting from Tehran to Tokyo.
A Chef’s Travels in China
by Julia Ross | 04.06.09 | 12:04 PM ET
It’s hard to resist chef Martin Yan’s enthusiasm for the innovations of Chinese cuisine in this recent conversation with New York Times reporter and author Jennifer 8. Lee, taped at the Asia Society.
The voluble Yan discusses his travels into China’s far corners, doling out praise for hand-pulled noodles in Shenzhen, the spice markets of Xian and Taiwan’s night markets. In recent years, many Western-trained Chinese chefs have returned home to introduce a new fusion cuisine, he notes, including pizza-like dishes in the north, and recipes making liberal use of eggplant and tomato, ingredients not traditionally associated with Chinese cooking.
Among Yan’s favorite Chinese comfort foods: the doughnut twist (with soy milk) you can find on just about every street corner in Taipei during morning rush hour.
Hyesan, North Korea
by World Hum | 04.06.09 | 12:03 PM ET
REUTERS/Reinhard Krause A woman carries water she collected from the Yalu River in the North Korean city of Hyesan.
The Telegraph’s Top Hotels on Film
by Eva Holland | 04.03.09 | 10:16 AM ET
The Telegraph rounds up 10 real-life hotels that have taken starring turns in major films—and from where I’m sitting, it’s a very good list, with a nice mix of classics and more modern fare. My favorite? Tokyo’s Park Hyatt, which played such a crucial role in creating that bang-on sense of travel’s isolation and disconnectedness in “Lost in Translation.”