Blogs from Asia - page 13073

Advertisement

Asia » China » Guangdong » Shenzhen March 5th 2007

One of the things I love about China is the plethora of fake and copy-cat brands and products. While there is a small corner of my brain that is offended at the flagrant copywrite and trademark abuse, most of my brain is amused by how flagrant it is and delights in the "Name this fake" game. It isn't just clothing and other products that are copied, but also restaurants - there's a chain of Chinese fast-food restaurants that uses a red and white sign with a face of an old Chinese man who looks remarkably like Colonel Sanders. And please don't get the impression that rip-offs are limited to Western brands. There is a famous Chinese hot-pot restaurant in Shenzhen called Little Sheep. (Hot-pot uses a lot of lamb.) Little Sheep is always crowded and you ... read more
A culinary delight
Sen
Hap-apa-apa-appy Year of the Pig!

Asia » Singapore March 5th 2007

Tom speaking: My turn to have a blog... I've been letting Bry get on with it as I've been busy sorting photos and stuff. So we arrived on the train from Singapore after an 8am border crossing from Malaysia - very inefficient as they pile everyone off the train, do immigration, scan bags, get everyone back on the train. I would have thought the Singaporeans of all people would have something cleaner sorted out. Maybe I'm just whingeing 'cos I wanted to stay in bed longer! So we had booked into a pretty good hotel in Singapore with really cool central Atrium which was well impressive. As it was Saturday night we headed over to Clarke Quay, which is not dissimilar from the waterfront area in Bristol (bars, restaurants, etc.) but with less pikeys and generally ... read more
Tom posing in 'Fashion Bar'
Soaking up the nightlife
Soaking up the daylife

Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Lanta March 5th 2007

A couple of days ago we travelled up the island to Long Beach, which is an amazingly long stretch of beautiful soft sand. However, we decided that the quantity of bars along the beach probably meant that this would not be the place for us at night (far too loud). Yesterday I had another massage (it seemed a shame not to use the second discount voucher). I finally got the courage to try a Thai massage, which is all about putting pressure on your 'Zen' lines and quite a lot of stretching. Given the nature of the massage, I was given a change of clothes - a top and the biggest pair of trousers ever (fortunately they could be tied at the waist). I was then escorted to the massage platform which is located in a ... read more
Long Beach
Nigel in the 'Top' Jacuzzi
Sarah in the top pool

Asia » China » Beijing March 5th 2007

You know, I checked the temperature in Beijing for about a month before we came and it was always in the 50's, so we were quite pleased. However, to our dismay and the people here, winter has shown up again with these winds that make you feel even colder. We decided to try to go to the Temple of Heaven and The Forbidden City next week when we get back to Beijing. We decided to go to the Silk Market shops again. Jim bought a heavier coat that looks like he'll be able to brave the Artic and I bought a cashmere coat. It was black and I rellay wanted a camel colored one, so I was quite ruthless in my bartering and got it for about $30 US. After the market, we took a taxi ... read more
Costumed Character
Cold Wedding Picture
Street Scene

Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Krabi March 5th 2007

Emma befriends a box fish on a fish farm in Krabi. ... read more

Asia » China » Shanghai March 5th 2007

Another long train ride and more instant noodles and we arrived in Shanghai. It was warm when we arrived but turned rainy and cold the next day so there was only a brief break in the cold weather. Shanghai is much more of a city and reminds us of Hong Kong. You can buy anything anytime in Shanghai including "copy bags, shoes, watches". At least no one’s hocking tailor-made suits anymore. I've got a bit of a cough/cold but otherwise we've been pretty healthy, despite having a range of food from all types of food vendors! We went to an acrobat show which was very impressive and ended with a “death-ball” stunt that ended up with 5 motorbikes riding around in it. The next night we went to a local restaurant and as we left ... read more
Downtown Shanghai
The Death Ball
Our cosy train trips

Asia » Hong Kong March 5th 2007

Jackie Chan wasn't there Asia » Hong Kong By Joe and RocioMarch 5th 2007Joe & Rocio St. Clair-Ford...... read more
International Financial Centre
Hong Kong Island view from I.F.C.
View from the I.F.C

Asia » China » Beijing March 4th 2007

Well, Saturday started very gloomy and drizzly and continued throughout the day. It wasn't too cold though. We thought the damp weather would dampen the plans of the tour guide, but no, she felt inspired to show us even more. We first went to the zoo to see the Pandas who seem to like dampness. They have 8 or 9 and there were four that were pretty active. The funniest time was when a feeder brought one of them some carrots and he just leaned back like in a lounging chair and happily nibbled away on them. Then, whoosh, we were off to the Summer Palace which was so unbelievable in its grandeur and just plain bigness that it boggles the mind. They have a covered walkway that is over 700m long which is about 1/2 ... read more
Summer Palace Temple Tower
At the Barber Shop
At The Acrobatics

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Udaipur March 4th 2007

Well, we originally intended to head to Mt Abu on the 4th of March (so we wouldn't be travelling on my birthday) but that turned out to be a stupid and ill-conceived plan since it coincided with the Hindu "festival of colour", Dhulandi - the second day of Holi. On day 1 of the festival, fires are burnt showing the effigy of Holika (a demoness). The significance of this event stems from religious text in which Prahlad, the son of the King of the Demons, Hiranyakashipu is protecetd by his devotion to Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu repeatedly attempted to kill is son for his defection but all attempts failed. Finally he ordered Prahlad's sister, Holika to sit on a pyre with Prahlad on her lap. Holika was protected from the fire by a shawl but as Prahlad ... read more
Holi Ladies
Blurrrr
Colourful Me

Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Bangkok March 4th 2007

Sawasdee kaaaa!! I have arrived in Thailand!! It was a long trip... I left my house at 5am on Thursday and was traveling until 10am on Friday... but I slept on the airplaneS quite well, so I don't really have any jetlag at all! The trip went well, no complaints except for the amount of hours on the plane. I flew from Vancouver to San Fran (2.5hrs), had barely any time there, and actually spent the time walking across the airport with the pilot of my next flight! I coincidentally sat next to him on the airport terminal shuttle!! no luck in being bumped to first class though... the next flight was long (12 hours i think?!), but i was ok with it because i discovered that Narita Airport was actually Tokyo's airport!! I was excited ... read more




Tot: 0.613s; Tpl: 0.007s; cc: 12; qc: 92; dbt: 0.1012s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb