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Detour 2011 is no longer just a side event
iReport: The many faces of Chiang Mai's Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep
Garden camping -- watch the Olympics 2012 for less
Jetstar launches iPads for in-flight entertainment
The haunted Beijing walking tour
사진은 여행의 필수가 아니라 적이다
Asia: Where the ghosts of the West’s forgotten bands live on
詹姆斯·德斯顿评述：旅行中的摄影－－成也萧何，败也萧何

Detour 2011 is no longer just a side event

Posted: 23 Nov 2011 08:00 AM PST

Annual design festival Detour isn't much of a "detour" anymore -- it's more like the main attraction.

Launched three years ago as a side event to Business of Design Week (BODW), the art and design festival has quickly become one of the most exciting events on Hong Kong's cultural calendar.

"It's not just design," says art columnist Jehan Chu, who is running this year's festival with graphic designer Leo Chan. "It's a creative culture festival. We realize that everything has become interdisciplinary now and this reflects that."

iReport: The many faces of Chiang Mai's Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep

Posted: 22 Nov 2011 10:00 PM PST

On a recent visit to Thailand, a Los Angeles-based iReporter focused her lens on the Buddhist art in this famous mountain-side temple

Marie Sager

Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep is one of Chiang Mai's most famous tourist attractions. Not only is it an impressive temple, but it's also perched high on the side of a mountain -- Doi Suthep -- so it offers great views of the city of Chiang Mai below.

With origins dating back to 1386, Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep is a sacred site for many Thai Buddhists and is filled with ancient murals and sculptures. Some of these religious icons are captured in iReporter Marie Sager's photos, featured in the gallery above.

Garden camping -- watch the Olympics 2012 for less

Posted: 22 Nov 2011 08:39 PM PST

London has always been considered a "pricey" holiday destination and a vacation during the London Olympics sounds nearly unattainable with hotel rates hiked up to five times the standard.

But there is hope for travelers -- a resourceful new trend, garden camping, provides affordable accommodation, with a more authentic local feel.

Jetstar launches iPads for in-flight entertainment

Posted: 22 Nov 2011 08:24 PM PST

Jetstar hosted a flurry of freeloading journalists to sing the praises of the iPad 2 as the new in-flight entertainment system. The gambit worked. Now the airline is making iPad's available to passengers -- who, unlike the journos, will have to pay for the privilege.

Qantas' budget carrier is in the process of rolling out 3,000 iPads on its flights. By December, they'll be on all trans-Tasman A320/A321 services, as well as A330 services, which includes domestic, short-haul international and long-haul operations to and from Australia and New Zealand.

That being the case, a maximum 160 of the 330 passengers on A330 flights will get an iPad -- others will either miss out or save a buck.

The haunted Beijing walking tour

Posted: 22 Nov 2011 06:45 PM PST

In 1937, Beijing was a city on the verge of imploding.

With nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek (蒋介石) ensconced in Nanjing and a Japanese military ring tightening around the city, foreigners were fleeing for their once-privileged lives.

On the frigid morning of January 7, 1937, the mutilated corpse of an English teenager was discovered on the fringes of Beijing's disreputable quarter.

Her skull had been bashed in, her chest cut open and her heart and internal organs ripped out. Her ribs had been cracked from the inside. Was she an innocent victim, or had the Sinologist's pretty daughter been lured into an evil sex cult? The subsequent murder hunt was to transfix China, even though the entire country was embroiled by war.

사진은 여행의 필수가 아니라 적이다

Posted: 22 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PST

이 시대를 살아가는 많은 사람들의 무의식 속에 굳게 자리한 한 가지 중독에 대해 이야기하고자 한다.

은근슬쩍 사람들 사이에 껴서 주위 사람들을 실실 웃는 바보로, 혹은 연기자로 또는 광대로 만들기도 하며 우리의 정신을 쏙 빼놓는 그것. 바로 카메라이다.

따지고 보면 이렇게 간단하고 간편한 기술이 없다. 찍고, 마음에 안들면 다시 지우고 또 찍고. 마음에 들 때까지 찍고.

인식도 하기전에 벌써 300장의 사진이 저장되어 있고 이제 당신의 인생은 스마트폰 내의 카메라로 정의된다고 볼 수도 있겠다. 하지만 걱정 마시라. 당신의 친구들도 같은 상황이니까.

이제 와서 300장을 다 지운다고? 에이, 뭐 그런 귀찮은 일을...

기억의 압박

이러한 중독의 진정한 희생자는 여행객들이다.

칠레의 장대한 폭포를 영원히 간직하려는 여행객들뿐 아니라 그저 카메라폰 중독자이면서 여행을 하고 있는 사람들까지 모두 희생자이다.

술을 마셔야 행복해지는 알코올 중독자처럼 사진 찍는 사람들도 마찬가지로 속고 있는 것이다. 그들은 사진이 추억을 만든다고 생각하는데 사실은 방해를 하고 있는 것이다.

나도 그들 중 하나였다.

내가 늘 지니고 다녔던 카메라는 정말 좋은 놈이었다. A 등급, 또는 사진계의 코카인으로도 불리는 DSLR.

Asia: Where the ghosts of the West’s forgotten bands live on

Posted: 22 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PST

Asia's affinity with Western acts that are unknown or no longer appreciated back home is not as baffling as it might seem.

Love for the leftfield does exist, but is outweighed by a hankering for a catchy tune and simple lyrics that are perfect for belting out at an extended karaoke session.

One band enjoying a new lease of life in the Philippines is American prog-rock outfit Journey. A large part of that popularity, however, can be attributed to the appointment of Filipino Arnel Pineda as the band's new lead singer in 2007.

Click through the pages for a rundown of some of the more unlikely acts preserved in Asian aspic.