CNNGo.com

Wanted: Eye-catching logo for Hangzhou's West Lake
The Peninsula Hotels group bans shark fin from menus
Liquid bottle ban to end at Australian airports
3 exotic year-end holiday destinations
40 Korean foods we can't live without
Travel trends: Cosmetic surgery in India
Hangzhou's newest weekend retreat: Naked Stables Private Reserve
Best Japanese restaurants in Sydney

Wanted: Eye-catching logo for Hangzhou's West Lake

Posted: 22 Nov 2011 12:12 AM PST

West Lake (杭州西湖), Hangzhou's foremost tourist attraction, is teaming up with local newspaper Qianjiang Evening News to find a dazzling logo for itself.

The quest was inspired by West Lake's designation as one of the 12 new UNESCO's World Heritage Sites on June 24.

"After the designation, West Lake is in urgent need of an eye-catching, creative, and meaningful logo, which can represent the combined elements of West Lake and world heritages," reported Xinhua News Agency.

The Peninsula Hotels group bans shark fin from menus

Posted: 21 Nov 2011 09:11 PM PST

The Peninsula Hotels group will officially ban shark fin from its menus starting January 1, 2012.

Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, parent company of The Peninsula Hotels and several other properties announced yesterday it would stop serving shark fin at all of its restaurants around the world next year.

Liquid bottle ban to end at Australian airports

Posted: 21 Nov 2011 07:37 PM PST

Banning bottles containing liquids at airports around the world has caused more than a few problems: travelers can't pitch up with their favorite fragrance, and often get thirsty.

This has a lot to do with perfumes, aerosols, gels and bottles containing over 100 milliliters of liquid being confiscated on departure, under the suspicion they could contain explosives.

It means endless checks of carry-on luggage that create long queues for international travelers.

3 exotic year-end holiday destinations

Posted: 21 Nov 2011 06:55 PM PST

For many years, Singapore has been well connected by air to Western Europe, the United States, and many parts of Asia.

Now with new, expanded flight networks, previously hard-to-reach regions are now a possibility as a year-end holiday choice.

Helsinki: Appreciate design in a design capital

At first glance, Helsinki is a modest, well-kept city. Look closer and you will find creative energy, style and culture running through its Finnish veins. In May 2011, Finnair started flying direct to Helsinki from Singapore every day.

New flight time: 12 hours

40 Korean foods we can't live without

Posted: 21 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PST

1. Hangover stew (해장국)

Given Korea's dedicated drinking culture, it's not surprising that Korea's hangover-curing culture is equally as developed, from pre-drinking drinks to post-drinking drinks to a glorious array of spicy and steamy stews and soups.

Made from a beef broth, with cabbage, bean sprouts, radish and chunks of congealed ox blood, the deeply satisfying taste does wonders to kick-start your sluggish brain in the morning.

Travel trends: Cosmetic surgery in India

Posted: 21 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PST

Recently, the British government decided to impose what the Brits have dubbed as the "boob tax".

Breast enhancement in Britain will now set patients back by an additional US$1,500, jacking up the medical bill by an average 20 percent. In the Brit taxman's lexicon, it is Value Added Tax, applicable on all cosmetic surgeries in that country.

Here in India, the medical tourism business may be a growing sector but it still remains somewhat unregulated.

India is hovering between fourth and fifth place in the top five global destinations for medical tourism, cosmetic surgery being a part of this; and with taxes going up in the United Kingdom, Asian destinations are set to benefit.

Hangzhou's newest weekend retreat: Naked Stables Private Reserve

Posted: 21 Nov 2011 01:57 PM PST

Beautiful as it is, no one ever accused Hangzhou of being serene.

When you are in dire need of some peace and quiet, take off for naked Stables, which we should point out is not a naturist resort, despite the name.

The idyllic resort is the newest addition to naked Retreats, an eco-hotel brand founded by South African Grant Horsfield in Moganshan's bamboo forest in 2007.

We we first visited naked Stables last fall, when it was an expansive, muddy construction site.