Archive for the 'Asia' Category
KCRW pledge drive begins; deadline for London prize is midnight tonight
August 8, 2008 8:48am
Fans of local radio station KCRW (89.9 FM in Los Angeles and Orange counties): It’s that time again. The noncommercial National Public Radio affiliate, which airs an eclectic range of music, news and other programming from its headquarters at Santa Monica College, has today begun its biannual pledge-drive fundraiser, which runs until Aug. 18, 2008.
If you’re going to support the station, which relies on its voluntary subscribers’ donations for its operations, you can maximize your chances of scoring a sweepstakes prize if you pledge by midnight tonight, which is the deadline to enter to win a trip to London (valued at $5,150). You’ll also be automatically reentered in the drawing for a Kyoto, Japan trip (valued at $3,200), with an entry deadline of Aug. 18, and one for a BMW Mini Cooper convertible ($23,200 value), which has an entry deadline of Sept. 2.
What are the odds of winning?
Solar ‘Olympics’ eclipse watched from around the world
August 1, 2008 11:43pm
Millions of people lined up in Xian, China, to watch the “Olympics Eclipse.” What used to be a bad omen for the Chinese was a welcome cause for celebration only one week before the start of the Beijing Olympics. While you could see the total eclipse only from Western China, there is a photo gallery of spectators catching a glimpse from around the world.
Cambodia: I put my paws on Angkor Wat
July 20, 2008 1:30pm
[Follow the link for a full gallery of Angkor Wat photos by Paul Watson]
We tourists have multiplied, and for the ancient Angkor temples, in Cambodia, this represents a 21st century kind of stress that is spelling trouble for some of the ruins. As reported by Los Angeles Times writer Paul Watson in “Too much adoration at Cambodia’s Angkor temples,” about 300,000 tourists per year visited the site a decade ago; Cambodia’s government hopes 2010 will bring in 3 million visitors.
That’s a lot of feet stomping on centuries-old stones, a lot of dirty hands on aged sandstone slabs.
And my paws and I are among those to blame. I spent three memorable days at the spectacular temple complex in 2002. I doubt that I purposely bumped up against the stones or finger-traced any carvings -– I’ve learned at least some environmental and cultural sensitivity over the years -– but color me guilty anyway; I’m sure that, inadvertently or not, I touched the wat (temple).
Olympics swag? Free Mandarin iPhone app from Lonely Planet
July 19, 2008 9:00am
Lonely Planet is giving away free Mandarin audio-phrasebook applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. The promotion is meant, of course, to coincide with the forthcoming Beijing Olympics, though you don’t have to prove you’ve got a ticket to China to cash in on this freebie.
But if you are making it to Beijing, this tool should help. The Audio Phrasebook includes over 600 phrases to help free up your tied-up tongue as you scoot about town. Looking for some grub? Just tap the category “Eating Out,” then find the phrase you’re seeking. Tap again to see the translation and to hear it through iPhone speakers. The audio element should prove key for most English speakers unfamiliar with the complexities of Mandarin.
Northwest Airlines adds $15 checked bag fee
July 9, 2008 11:48am
Northwest Airlines has joined the parade of carriers that will charge for checked baggage.
The airline, which has hubs in Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam, announced the $15 charge today. It takes effect for any tickets purchased starting Thursday, July 10, and applies to travel that begins Aug. 28 and thereafter.
Olympics: Chinese menus translated to English
June 19, 2008 11:57am
There are only 49 days left until the 2008 Olympics begin in Beijing. If you’re traveling to watch the Olympics and stuffing your suitcase full of Cliff bars and beef jerky, rest assured you will be able to order food off Chinese menus without wondering too heavily about what you’re about to put in your mouth. Read: China makes “kung pao chicken” official for Olympics.
Here are some fun and funky translations. I hope they keep both on the menu for our own entertainment. If you find one of these menus, please e-mail us a photo or tell us you’ve submitted it to Your Scene.
Translation Web Buzz:
“Bean curd made by a pock-marked woman” > “Mapo tofu” [The Fiji Times]
“Chicken without sexual life” > “Steamed pullet” [CNN]
'Survivor' creator and Jeffrey Katzenberg tour India
June 13, 2008 5:42pm
They didn’t eat squirmy worms or sleep under lean-tos. But Mark Burnett, the reality TV impressario behind “Survivor,” and Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., had a swell time anyway touring India together. After all, their guide was Geoffrey Kent, chairman and chief executive of Abercrombie & Kent, the luxury travel company.
How to get accommodations in Beijing for the Olympics
June 4, 2008 6:00pm
The Associated Press reports that there are still hotel rooms available in Beijing for the Olympics. However, it fails to tell us where and for how much. With only 64 days until go time, is it possible to plan a last-minute trip? Sure. Here are some quick tips for you if you’re traveling to China this summer for the games.
Olympic dates: Aug. 8-24
Location: There are several venues throughout Beijing during the 2008 Olympics, but many events will take place in an area called Olympic Green, where the National Stadium is located. Here is a map of Olympic venues on the Beijing 2008 website.
Hotels under $100/night? Good luck. I used the Mobissimo hotel search tool and found several rooms under $100, but be careful - the search results took me to a website called AsiaRooms.com where I needed to plug in my dates again and ran into a dead end of either no budget rooms or hotels with prices three to four times what I was originally looking at. Plus, there was the chore of trying to figure out where the hotel was in relation to the Olympic areas. When I checked with Orbitz, there were a variety of hotels that you could book directly through Orbitz without leaving the site. I found a four-star Holiday Inn with rooms for $237 per night (Aug. 13-20).
Hotels for the Olympics: I ran across a simple travel website that I’d never heard of before, China Hotels Reservation. It wasn’t a website that I knew and trusted, but they had an Olympic hotels section that gave me hotels right in the area I would want without having to do extra research. The website is informative and easy to use. Just look for the Olympic rings. Expect to pay more than $400 per night for four- and five-star hotels, and $150 to $400 per night for three-star hotels.
Read the rest of this entry »
Befriending beaches in need in California & beyond
May 30, 2008 5:21pm
I’m part of a local group of families that has adopted a Los Angeles beach through Heal the Bay’s Adopt-a-Beach program, and we’re heading out this weekend armed with bags and gloves for the first of three annual cleanups. Our timing is good, I think. Thanks to a Memorial Day weekend full of revelers and picnickers leaving behind foam-cup crumbles, sandwich baggies and to-go containers, the beaches up and down our California coastline could use some real TLC.
A handful of other organizations offer opportunities to get involved in beach cleanups in the region, including Surfrider Foundation and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. If you happen to have an inkling to volunteer abroad, you can be sure that beaches internationally are also in need of allies; programs exist in far-flung spots including Phuket, Thailand, and Zakynthos, Greece, to help you help out.
There’s no doubt that every effort does count. However, it must be noted that folks being careless with their litter on the beach is just one of the issues plaguing the ocean and its creatures. Read the rest of this entry »
Chinese officials send food to panda cubs
May 23, 2008 11:56am
Some pandas are leaving the quake-stricken Wolong Nature Reserve en route to Beijing. Forty-seven people around the reserve are reported to have been killed by the May 12 quake.
Quoting government sources, Reuters is reporting that eight pandas are being flown to Beijing for the Summer Olympic Games. The government is sending bamboo shoots as well as apples, soybeans, eggs and other staples that the bears need to survive, the news agency reported.
China Daily says the pandas will “entertain tourists” during the Olympics and today will fly from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding to Beijing on a charter flight.
