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CNNGo TV: Rome -- beyond the Colosseum

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:37:26 +0000

The Colossuem, the Trevi Fountain, St. Peter's Basilica ... most travelers know the fundaments of this former center of the Roman Empire. Yet, Rome has a lot more to offer.

This episode of CNNGo TV takes in award-winning modern museums, traditional Italian food and that with a modern twist and of course amazing sites of historical significance.

Here are just a few of the outstanding places a team of exuberant locals took us to.

Air times are below.

Don't miss on CNNGo: What to do in Rome -- a big mini guide

Maldives mutiny sparks tourism warnings

Zoe Li, Hong Kong Editor — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:05:41 +0000

by Zoe Li, Hong Kong Editor

The president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, resigned Tuesday following weeks of protests and a revolt by police officers. The tourism industry, however, has remained mostly stable in the face of the political tumult, with only a small number of trips canceled after various governments around the world issued travel warnings.

Also on CNN: Police revolt topples Maldives president

Tourism is one of the mainstays of the economy of the Maldives, a nation of 1,192 low-lying islands of which only 200 are inhabited. The political unrest is generally confined within Malé, the capital, which is not on the tourist route.

A Hong Kong travel agent, who did not wish to be identified, said that most tourists do not visit Malé.

"We usually take the tours straight out to the atolls after transferring at Malé airport and do not arrange a Malé itinerary."

CNNGo - Banyan Tree Macau Contest

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:16:51 +0000

Banyan Tree Resorts has teamed up with CNNGo to offer a luxurious romantic getaway for two of our readers.

Fill out the form below for a chance to win two nights at Banyan Tree’s Pool Villa including dinner and spa treatments for two.

For more information about the prize, check out: http://www.banyantree.com/en/macau/

12 beautiful ways to spend Valentine's Day

Anthea Gerrie — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

by Anthea Gerrie

February 14 is the one day of the year you can spend long minutes gazing into someone's eyes, a small fortune on some plants tied together with a bit of ribbon and a big fortune on a weekend away, without making other people feel ill -- because they're doing just the same.

Here are some options for the third leg of that lovely relay.

Don't miss our special Valentine's page

1. On a houseboat under the Eiffel Tower, Paris

In this city of Mediaeval bridges, urban islands, Gothic chapels and 17th-century townhouses, all linked by the River Seine, you can wander the narrow streets of the Left Bank, marvel at the gargoyles of Notre Dame then enjoy the free light show bouncing off the Eiffel Tower every hour from dusk till 1 a.m., paying homage to lovers in a scene straight out of "Moulin Rouge."

Best of all you can sleep on the river in a houseboat. Housetrip.com features one owned by a Michelin-starred chef who will cook you dinner by the base of the Eiffel Tower. Alternatively, take your Valentine close to the top, where the Jules Verne, 120 meters up, is considered one of the finest restaurants in town.

Beijing's best shopping areas

Tom O'Malley — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:57:12 +0000

by Tom O'Malley

From fruit to fashion, hat designer Elisabeth Koch (right) knows the shopping secrets of Beijing.

Since founding a namesake hat brand in 2007, Elisabeth Koch's designs have decorated the heads of A-listers and the pages of international fashion magazines.

The Beijing-based Dutch designer is also an obsessive scourer of far-flung markets and back-street boutiques in China's capital.

After calling on various Beijing shops and markets for four years, Koch, 33, shares six of her favorite shopping areas in the spread-out city.

1. Nali Patio (那里花园)

Canberra: Australia’s undiscovered tourist gem

Bruce Holmes — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:55:39 +0000

by Bruce Holmes

For anyone who thinks that Canberra isn’t a travel destination, that it’s just for politicians and bureaucrats, think again. Australia’s capital has everything from the iconic symbols of a nation’s heart to the downright quirky and a few secret gems.

Any visit of less than three days wouldn’t even scratch the surface. Try these day-trip selections for proof there’s more to Oz than Sydney, Melbourne and the beach.

National Portrait Gallery

The NPG immortalizes the faces of famous Australians in a collection covering everything from history to politics and sport, but it’s the music and arts section that grabs my attention.

There’s the portrait of Deborah Mailman, the first Aboriginal woman to win an AFI Best Actress Award, an oil painting by Evert Ploeg that draws you in.

Other faces include a painting of Barry Humphries by Clifton Pugh, John Elliott’s photograph of Slim Dusty and David Rosetzky’s video portrait of actress Cate Blanchett, exploring aspects of her work and personality.

Cyber supper: Multi-city virtual dining comes to China

CNNGo staff — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:16:39 +0000

by CNNGo staff

Hai Di Lao (海底捞火锅), a Chinese hot pot restaurant chain famous for its kung fu noodles and iPad ordering system, has just launched a virtual dining concept.

The new hi-tech cyber supper service allows diners in Shanghai and Beijing to boil hot pot face-to-face even though they are 1,200 kilometers apart.

Multi-city groups dining

Two dining rooms, both named Zhi Zhen Jian (智真间), are equipped to deliver the service in Hai Di Lao’s Beijing Wangfujing chain and Shanghai Changshou Lu chain.

Both rooms accommodate a half-moon table and can seat a maximum of six diners.

A massive video wall, made up of three 60-inch LED screens, occupies one end of the table, allowing diners to see, talk with and propose a toast to their faraway companions.

Hello Kitty jets: Cutest airplanes ever

Hiufu Wong — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:37:03 +0000

by Hiufu Wong

Forget the YouTube videos. If you want a real dose of cute cat, book a flight with Taiwan airline EVA Air.

The carrier has recently launched three Hello Kitty-themed aircraft [Chinese language], on which everything from the fuselage to the flight attendants to the food is kitted out in the kawaii cat brand's images.

Passengers have been purring with delight, according to Anna Wong, an EVA Air public relations officer in Hong Kong.

Also on CNNGo: The dating site for mid-air lovers

"Many people specify that they want to take EVA's special Hello Kitty jet," said Wong. "The response has been excellent so far."

Fly in the world’s largest wind tunnel, then get tipsy

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:06:56 +0000

In addition to food and drinks, iFly Singapore's new SkyLoft sports an in-house DJ and live bands. Just don't drink and fly. iFly Singapore, home to world's largest skydiving wind tunnel, has just launched a swanky food and beverage outlet for anyone who wants to follow up their thrills with a few sky-high tipples.

Dubbed SkyLoft, the new Sentosa Island venue was built to give patrons views of the South China Sea and the nightly "Songs of the Sea," Sentosa's pyrotechnics show.

On the menu: strong drinks created by a resident mixologist and a well-stocked bar with top beer, Champagne, whiskey and vodka brands.

Singapore iFly says its wind tunnel is open to anyone, from first-time flyers to professional skydivers. Naturally, we had to ask iFly Singapore that all-important question: is it save to drink and fly?

“No one is allowed to fly under the influence of alcohol and this is a requirement as per iFly Singapore’s waiver form,” said a company spokesperson.

How one 'underdog' is aiming to become the world's convention destination

Frances Cha, Seoul Editor — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:00:10 +0000

by Frances Cha, Seoul Editor

If all the world is indeed a stage, Seoul is going all out this year to showcase its production values, touting the Korean capital's expertise in hosting meetings and conventions to a worldwide audience.

“People have a tendency to lump tourism and convention together, but they are very different types of industry,” says Maureen O’Crowley, vice president of the Seoul Convention Bureau.

The difference between traditional tourism and the convention business? Bigger and more far-reaching consequences, according to the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions (MICE) expert.

Despite its economic impact, many still view MICE as “soft, less serious” industry.

“People don’t realize that we go after larger numbers,” says O’Crowley, who is originally from the state of Nebraska in the United States.

Staying in the rural home of a Hong Kong eco-cook

Joyce Man — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

by Joyce Man

Amen Tsang opens his home and kitchen to share his low-carbon way of life with urbanites.

I am in a rural home in Tai Po and there is an impressive spread before me: soft sticky rice in a crispy tofu skin, a fiery green papaya salad with squid, scrambled eggs with shrimp, deep-fried tofu that's crunchy outside and succulent inside, “three-cup chicken” prepared with rice wine, vinegar and basil, as well as a banana and avocado dessert with a hint of lemon.

But more notable is the origin of each dish.

The papaya hails from a tree next to my table and the basil and lemons from the garden just meters away. The eggs and bananas come from the Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden that is half an hour’s stroll down the road.

The venue is a private kitchen called Sik Yam Sik Sik, which is paired with rural homestay Yuen Hideaway; both are located in Tai Om, a community of several hundred in Tai Po’s Lam Tsuen, which comprises 26 hamlets and dates to the Song dynasty.

Charlie's Angel-wannabes trained on Hainan beaches

CNNGo staff — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:57:03 +0000

by CNNGo staff

Hainan Island’s fair weather, sandy beaches and ample sunshine have long lured Chinese travelers. But now a bunch of trainee bodyguards have fallen under its spell.

A group of 20 swimsuit-clad ladies descended on “China’s Haiwaii” last month with one goal in mind -- to spend more time doing push-ups than sipping coconut juice.

Mostly university graduates, they were being trained by China GSA Safety Consultation (天骄特卫), a Beijing-based bodyguard agency. They were in Hainan’s to kick-start a 10-month boot camp for professional female bodyguards.

The most-promising candidate from the camp will be sent to study in The Institute of National Security Studies in Israel.

According to Chen Yongqing (陈永青), head trainer, founder and chairman of GSA, the course starts with "slow-paced" warming-up exercises on Hainan’s Coconut Island (椰子岛), which are followed by "hell-like" anti-terrorism classes in Beijing.

Andy Warhol exhibition in Asia: 15 minutes clearly isn’t enough

CNNGo staff — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:45:51 +0000

by CNNGo staff

Five cities in Asia are to be hit by pictures of canned soup, a hamburger and a colorful representation of Chairman Mao, apparently wearing lipstick, over the next two years.

The artworks are traveling as part of the “Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal” exhibition, the biggest retrospective on Warhol’s work ever to be shown in Asia.

Warhol, who died in 1987, is famous for declaring: “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”

The show will start at Singapore’s ArtScience Museum at the Marina Bay Sands hotel on March 17, 2012, and will then travel to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Tokyo before it ends some time in 2014.

Specific date and venue details for the other cities have not yet been released.

Finding Tassie on Australia's greatest boat trip

Cecilia Nguyen — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:55:57 +0000

by Cecilia Nguyen

We all know it -- the quintessential Australian trip has to feature rough terrain, horseflies and endurance-sapping drives in the hot, arid climate. Or does it?

If you’re more inclined to relax and take in the beauty of nature, rather than striving to conquer it, we suggest you look to that overlooked stretch of ocean between mainland Australia and Tasmania -- the Bass Strait.

My journey begins by boarding the Spirit of Tasmania, one of Australia’s largest ferries, at Port Melbourne. Since its first commercial crossing in 2002, the Spirit has proved a local favorite for covering the 429 kilometers between the island state and the docks of Melbourne.

If stood on its end, the 194-meter-long Spirit would dwarf the Sydney Opera House and, sitting at scale-busting 29,000 tons, it possesses the same heft as 2.9 million slabs of beer, to use an oh-so-Aussie yardstick.

In economic terms, the Spirit’s value lies in its capacity to move not just passengers, but also animals, vehicles and freight between the two states.

Best of Rome

Bija Knowles — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

by Bija Knowles

Finding the best of Rome... You want pizza, but not just any pizza.

You need a coffee, but hell, not a Starbucks coffee.

You want to discover one of humanity’s most history-endowed cities, but you have limited time and don’t want to get run down by a Vespa doing so.

We know. And we know how to do it.

From ancient monuments like the Ara Pacis to the designer shops of via Condotti; from the best places for a square of pizza as well as picking out the Italian capital’s best coffee bar (OK, we narrowed it down to two), our scroll-down guide to the best of Rome is your ticket to condensed culture.

Better than 'The Beach': Thailand's perfect island paradise

Ismail Wolff — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:57:02 +0000

by Ismail Wolff

As a frequent visitor and sometime resident in Thailand for many years, I am regularly approached for one piece of travel advice: “Which beach should I hit?”

I’ve never found it an easy question to answer. There are hundreds of beaches to choose from on dozens of islands. Each has its own particular charm (or lack of, in some cases), so it all depends on what you want in a holiday.

For instance, during a recent conversation with a French expat who runs a guesthouse on the Thai island of Koh Phayam I told him of my plans to visit Koh Lipe over the New Year.

Sitting shirtless in his fisherman pants with his dry bag tossed over his shoulder, he told me in no uncertain terms: “Koh Lipe is dead. It died three years ago.”

“Really?” I replied.

10 islands for every type of traveler

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

So many islands in the world (around 2 million at the last count), so little desire to leave the comfort of the computer screen.

Until you realize that out there somewhere there is an island that could have been designed just for you.

So who are you? Millionaire? Nudist? Family guy or celebrity stalker? Figure that out first, then get booking.

1. Millionaires: Musha Cay, Bahamas

Musha Cay is a millionaire’s playground. More specifically, David Copperfield’s playground, after he purchased the island resort from Blockbuster Video co-founder John Melk in 2006 for a reported US$56 million.

Other millionaires such as Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates reportedly vacationed here, and in 2007 Google founder Sergey Brin hosted his wedding on the island.

What does the United States think of Girls' Generation?

CNNGo staff — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:00:24 +0000

by CNNGo staff

With a perky performance on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" and a guest appearance on "LIVE! With Kelly!" earlier this week, K-Pop sensation Girls' Generation have begun barnstorming their next target audience -- the United States.

The response?

"Just saw a bunch of really really hot Asian chicks on Letterman," tweeted one viewer. "I'm not sure who those girls are on Letterman but I think I'm a fan," tweeted another.

The Korean media also made much of the fact that Harry Potter star David Radcliffe said on "LIVE! With Kelly!" that he has a Girls' Generation CD in his possession, despite the fact that he said he has not listened to it yet.

So what will the mainstream U.S. audience make of Girls' Generation? Korea Tourism Organization, for one, are banking on K-Pop to bring more visitors to Korea and have hired the girls as honorary ambassadors.