If you’ve been to HongKong, you’d definitely know the distinct experience it offers to tourists, businessmen and long-term vacationeers.  Culture is the main offering that this open city offers its visitors.  A mix really of several south east Asian cultures such as Indian, Vietnamese, Filipino, Singapore/Malaysian and Thai.  While the Chinese culture overwhelms it somehow balances out as the city government has zoned them quite well.

Let’s talk about food:  

 

The food is not salty or greasy and seafoods are prepared especially well, usually served with steamed rice. Specialities include Dim Sum (savoury snacks, usually steamed and served in bamboo baskets on trolleys). These include Cha siu bao (barbecue pork bun), Har gau (steamed shrimp dumplings) and Shiu mai (steamed and minced pork with shrimp). The emphasis in Northern food is on bread and noodles, deep-frying and spicy sauces.

Specialities include Peking duck and hotpot dishes. Shanghainese food is diced or shredded, stewed in soya or fried in sesame oil with pots of peppers and garlic. Chiu Chow is served with rich sauces and Hakka food is generally simple in style with baked chicken in salt among the best dishes.

 

Let’s talk about the nightlife:

 

There are many nightclubs, discotheques, hostess clubs, theatres and cinemas. Cultural concerts, plays and exhibitions can be seen at Hong Kong`s City Hall which also has a dining room, ballroom and cocktail lounge.

The Hong Kong Cultural Centre, including a 2100-seat Concert Hall, 1750-seat Grand Theatre, a studio theatre with 300-500 seats and restaurants, bars and other facilities, has become the major venue for cultural concerts, plays and operas.

Hong Kong Art Centre in Wan Chai supplements the City Hall`s entertainment with culture in the form of Chinese opera, puppet shows, recitals and concerts. American, European, Chinese and Japanese films with subtitles are shown at a number of good air-conditioned cinemas.

 

Now about the best thing HongKong is known for… Shopping! :

 

Whether one is shopping in modern air-conditioned arcades or more traditional street markets, the range of goods available in Hong Kong is vast. Many famous-name shops have opened in Hong Kong, bringing the latest styles in great variety. Places that display the HKTA sign (Hong Kong Tourist Association) are the best guarantee of satisfaction. Bargaining is practised in the smaller shops and side stalls only.

There are excellent markets in Stanley on Hong Kong Island, which is in a beautiful setting in a small village on the coast, and in Temple Street, Kowloon, which is a night market. Tailoring is first class. Except for a few items such as liquor and perfume, Hong Kong is a duty-free port.

Tired of the same old routine when you travel? Feel like doing something totally different from what you normally do? Then why not check out the world’s weirdest hotels! Either you’ll have the time of your life, or you’ll be wanting to stick to the same old stuff.

Propeller Island City Lodge, Berlin
This lodge has 30 rooms in all, each of which is designed in the most unique – and weird – way possible. You can choose to stay in a room where furniture in bolted up in the ceiling, a room with a coffin for a bed, or a prison cell (ironically called Freedom Room!).

Hotel De Vrouwe Van Stavoren, The Netherlands
If you love wine, then this hotel is for you – your room is actually a giant wine cask! There are two narrow beds inside, and a tiny sitting area out where you can drink wine to your heart’s content; that is, if you don’t mind being cramped up inside the cask at night.

Jules’ Undersea Lodge, Key Largo
This used to be a marine lab and is totally submerged – 21 feet to be exact. So what else is weird about this lodge? To get to your quarters, you have to scuba dive. If you are certified, good for you. Otherwise, you’d have to take a course first. Oh yeah, and leave your gadgets behind, will ya?

Grand Daddy Hotel, Cape Town
You can take the girl out of the trailer park, but you can’t take the trailer park out of the girl…what has that got to do with this hotel? Oh, the penthouse is composed of seven Airstream trailers. Each room accommodates two people and is decorated with its own “playful” theme.

So what do you say, interested in doing something different? I think I’ll try wine cask room. You can’t go wrong with wine. 😉

I grew up with all sorts of pets around the house. We had dogs – lots of them, we had birds, we had chickens, we had pigeons, even sheep and those big wild lizards! Oh yeah, don’t forget the turkey. I mean, our house was practically a menagerie.

Those of you who love pets as much as my family does, you might have problems when it comes to traveling. Road trips surely make things a bit easier but if you are to fly, then the problems are compounded. Airlines apply excessive fees to pets on board. Even worse, the health of our pets may not really benefit from a flight – long or short.

That is exactly what Alysa Binder and Dan Wiesel were thinking when they started up Pet Airways, the first ever all-pet airline. This project has been four years in the making. The couple has focused their energies and expertise on the business. The result is a fleet of five planes which are specially designed to meet the needs of your four-legged family members.

How much will this cost you? Well, get ready to shell out about $250 for a one-way trip. If you are thinking that it is expensive, that is true BUT it is less than how much you would have to pay if you were to take your plane on board a commercial airline. You even have more advantages if you fly your pet through Pet Airways – everything has been customized for pets and all their needs are catered to.

Ready for your next trip?

Did you know that there are hundreds and hundreds of different phobias? Some are afraid of chickens, some are afraid of ants, and others are afraid of air! Of the phobias, I don’t really know which one is the most common but I do know that I have met so many people with acrophobia – the fear of heights. In my circle, at least, this seems to be the most common phobia.

There’s a saying that you have to look fear in the face to overcome it; and what better place to conquer your fear of heights than the new glass balconies at the Sears Tower?

The glass balconies were recently launched and are gaining a huge following. Suspended 1,353 feet in the air, these balconies jut out of the Skykdeck, which is on the 103rd floor. Oh and yeah, the balconies extended four feet from the outer walls, earning the nickname The Ledge. They are made of sturdy transparent glass – all 1.5 inches of it – and can h old up to 5 tons.

People who have been brave enough to step out on The Ledge say that it is like walking on ice, except that you can see the whole city below you. One of the owners of the building, John Huston, admits to having been quite queasy when he first stepped onto The Ledge. After 30 or 40 trips, though, he says that he has gotten the hang of it.

While I would like to conquer my fear of heights, I am not sure I can hack a floor of glass suspended on the 103rd floor. Can you?