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Shanghai clerk goes to work in 'Iron Man' suit
Transparent plane of the future: Airbus reveals 2050 prediction
Hong Kong travelers prefer eating to having sex in hotel beds
China turns to England for its tea
David McNeill: Who's telling the truth on the Fukushima meltdown?
12 rules for expat life in Mumbai
The great shakedown: Sydney's top 5 margaritas
Love, honor and obey: Obedient Wives Club to set up in Singapore
Hong Kong's underground venue Hidden Agenda refuses to close
mrbrown: Manly enough for Sydney?
10 great, epic train journeys

Shanghai clerk goes to work in 'Iron Man' suit

Posted: 15 Jun 2011 12:10 AM PDT

A Sina video clip showing Shanghai designer Wang Kang walking around in his homemade Iron Man suit.
(If video does not play, please try changing your browser.)

Transparent plane of the future: Airbus reveals 2050 prediction

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 08:05 PM PDT

Airbus recently unveiled its vision for air travel in 40 years' time, and should their predictions ring true, those with vertigo can forget about flying by 2050.

Planes in 2050 will feature see-through plane cabins, holographic pop-up gaming displays and seats that change in size and shape to fit each passenger, according to the company.

The concept design was unveiled in London this week and takes similar flight forecasts, made this time last year, several steps further.

Click here for Airbus' 2010 predictions about commercial flight

Hong Kong travelers prefer eating to having sex in hotel beds

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 06:59 PM PDT

Hongkongers, more than any other nationality, love to eat in hotel beds.

That's one of the findings from hotel booking website Hotels.com, which ran a survey on the bedtime habits of travelers from around the world.

Conducted amongst 1,000 travelers worldwide in April and May 2011, the survey found that most Hong Kong travelers like to watch TV or read in bed when they are not sleeping in it.

However, 45 percent of Hong Kong travelers also like to use their hotel beds for eating, which is considerably higher than the global average of 17 percent.

China turns to England for its tea

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 03:00 PM PDT

All the tea in China is not quite enough, it seems.

Chinese tea companies are starting to buy their tea from the very place that has historically bought it from them -- England, one of Europe's great tea-drinking nations.

The small island whose cuppa has been the national beverage for hundreds of years has shown, against the odds, that it's capable of growing the crop it has imported from Asia -- and in commercial quantities.

"We will exceed 10 tons this year," says Jonathon Jones, garden and commercial director of the Tregothnan Estate, which lists more than a dozen distributors in China and Japan among its clients.

David McNeill: Who's telling the truth on the Fukushima meltdown?

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 02:55 PM PDT

A string of autopsies -- political, regulatory and technological -- loom over the corpse of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The media, however, has already begun its self-examination and it's not a pretty picture.

Newsweek Japan is one of many publications that have criticized "sensationalist" foreign reporters, who "failed to accomplish their mission" during the disaster.

Newsweek says some journalists ran away and many of those who stayed massively overreacted to the threat from the crippled reactors.

12 rules for expat life in Mumbai

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 02:55 PM PDT

In Mumbai, being a "firang," as foreigners are called, can be exhausting: from the traffic and pollution to heat and the rains.

Firangis stand out worse than Aamir Khan's eyeballs, making us targets for unwanted attention.

But still, after twenty months, I've succeeded in making this grimy city my home.

Here are some lessons I've learned on how to fit in, even if I can't blend in.

1. Eat off the street

I arrived in India with orders to keep a safe distance from street food, raw vegetables and tap water.

One of my Dutch ex-flatmates even brushed her teeth with bottled water (I couldn't believe it either). This is rubbish.

The great shakedown: Sydney's top 5 margaritas

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 01:00 PM PDT

A great deal of ambiguity surrounds the margarita's original creation. But its story of dual heritage would lead to bartenders around the world, including Sydney's, coming up with varietals that would imitate its debatable roots.

The earliest claim for this classic cocktails dates back to 1836, when Mexican bartender Daniel Negrete presented a glass filled with tequila, orange liqueur, fresh lime and a crown of salt as a wedding present to his sister-in-law, Margarita.

Love, honor and obey: Obedient Wives Club to set up in Singapore

Posted: 13 Jun 2011 10:24 PM PDT

Disobedient Singaporean wives beware, the Obedient Wives Club (OWC) is setting up in the Lion City.

Rejected by nearby neighbor Johor Bahru in Malaysia, the group founded by Global Ikhwan -- which launched a Polygamy Club two years ago -- remains undeterred.

It seems Singapore has supporters who agree with the club's stance of promoting harmonious marriages by advocating wives should act like a first-class prostitute in bed.

Hong Kong's underground venue Hidden Agenda refuses to close

Posted: 13 Jun 2011 09:02 PM PDT

The government wants to close Hidden Agenda -- an underground music venue operating in a Kwun Tong factory building. Hidden Agenda's management refuses to kowtow.

Hong Kong's Lands Department issued an ultimatum two weeks ago ordering the venue to cease commercial activities by June 21, after which the government will conduct an inspection to verify compliance.

"We're booked solid through December," says manager Kimi Lam.

Lam says she's not stopping shows unless the government forces the decision.

mrbrown: Manly enough for Sydney?

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 08:41 PM PDT

I am writing this on the Manly Ferry in Sydney. I am not sure why the place I am going to is called Manly but I decided that I am manly enough to be there.

Being the typical Singaporean abroad, I could not help comparing prices. And Sydney gave me a lot to complain about.

For instance, this ferry ride was A$13.20 (S$17.20) return. Ouch. Earlier on, I found that meals were A$10 on average.

I am too used to paying S$5 a meal at our hawker centers so every visit to even the most budget Australian fast food joint was painful.

Mineral water was A$3 for a small bottle. Cough syrup was A$18 for a bottle at a late night convenience store. The same store sold some no-brand double-A batteries for close to AU$10 for two.

10 great, epic train journeys

Posted: 12 Jun 2011 03:00 PM PDT

For most of us, a train journey means a sleepy-eyed commute to work. For trainiacs, they're another notch in the little black book.

But for a lucky few, a rail journey is an expedition through cultures and across lands, providing an experience that's equaled by no other means of transport.

Here are 10 of the best.

1. Eastern and Oriental Express

Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore

Sure, you could fly between Bangkok and Singapore in a couple of hours, but you'd miss this Agatha Christie-like journey with an Oriental twist through the heart of the Malay Peninsular.