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Ultimate guide to Suzhou, China's 'paradise on earth'
10 endangered sites around the world
India constructing larger replica of Angkor Wat
Asiana Airlines' cabin crews say 'no' to skirts
Singapore’s dirty accolade: Asia-Pacific’s biggest carbon footprint
Momo madness: Your all-purpose guide to the versatile Himalayan dumpling

Ultimate guide to Suzhou, China's 'paradise on earth'

Posted: 06 Mar 2012 08:57 AM PST

Suzhou guide -- main Suzhou is often dubbed the "Venice of the East" for the city's crisscrossing canals.
A quick nap away from Shanghai's soaring skyline aboard the high-speed train (the fastest takes about 25 minutes), Suzhou (苏州) is a historical city that's greatly admired for its winding canals and classical gardens.

If Shanghai represents the future of China, Suzhou is where one can experience the nation's past and present between sipping green tea and munching on rice cakes.

The waterside city's history dates back 2,500 years to the Spring and Autumn Period and was dubbed (perhaps with only a slight exaggeration) "paradise on earth" -- together with Hangzhou -- in Chinese history for its pleasant scenery, fertile soil and prosperous commerce.

More on CNNGo: The 5-minute Hangzhou guide

This mini-guide provides all essential information for visitors to navigate the 8,488-square-meter city.

10 endangered sites around the world

Posted: 06 Mar 2012 08:08 AM PST

by Elizabeth Eun

If something's been around for centuries, it's probably going to be around for centuries yet, right? Well, not exactly.

Climate change, excessive tourism and general neglect mean many of the world's features we can happily travel to now may not be available to future generations.

1. Machu Picchu, Peru

endangered sites Six hundred years is not a bad innings. Those Inca architects knew what they were doing.
Since American explorer Hiram Bingham revealed it to the world in 1911, Machu Picchu has become one of the top travel destinations, and also one of the most endangered, with tourists running rampant on and off its specially designed footpaths.

The most popular sightseeing spots include the Intihuatana, a carved rock that still baffles historians, and the control gate, from which visitors can see a near-panoramic view of the city.

A 112-kilometer railway line from San Pedro in Cusco to the highest point of the Picchu mountain, El Arco, makes for easy access, and is regarded as a major contributor to the environmental degradation.

India constructing larger replica of Angkor Wat

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 09:30 PM PST

by Zoe Li, Hong Kong Editor

Imitation might be the the sincerest form of flattery, but in the global tourism racket replication is the sincerest form of poaching on someone else's turf.

There's the "Eiffel Tower" in Las Vegas, and, of course, the entire Austrian village currently being cloned by a Chinese company.

None of these "if you can't beat 'em, copy 'em" projects, however, are as audacious as the one now underway in India, where a larger version of Cambodia's UNESCO World Heritage Site Angkor Wat is being built on the banks of the Ganges in the state of Bihar.

A foundation-laying ceremony for the temple took place on March 5 at the 16-hectare site near Hajipur, about 25 kilometers north of Bihar's capital Patna.

The Mahavir Mandir Trust will undertake the US$20 million project that will take an estimated 10 years to complete. The trust has built a number of hospitals and temples in Bihar, mainly funded by donations.

Asiana Airlines' cabin crews say 'no' to skirts

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 07:55 PM PST

by Rachel Sang-hee Han

Asiana Airlines is famous for its impeccable cabin staff service. In fact, it won the World's Best Cabin Staff Award at the 2011 World Airline Awards.

However, at least some of the female cabin staff are not happy about one thing -- the uniform.

The Asiana flight attendants' union is looking into filing a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission for outdated restrictions regarding uniforms and appearances.

Some of the rules -- for women -- include:

No pants. Only skirts. No glasses when wearing a uniform. No more than two bobby pins. Manicured nails at all times.

"There are many cases when we have to stand up and sit down in front of our passengers which makes it not only uncomfortable, but sometimes dangerous," an Asiana flight attendant, who declined to reveal her name, told CNNGo.

Singapore’s dirty accolade: Asia-Pacific’s biggest carbon footprint

Posted: 05 Mar 2012 07:01 PM PST

by CNNGo staff

When most travelers think of Singapore, glittering new casinos, delicious hawker food, pricey luxury hotels, sanitized streets and a world-renowned airport spring to mind.

Well, now they can add "giant carbon footprint" to that list.

According to media reports citing the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Singapore had the largest carbon footprint per head in the Asia-Pacific region in 2010.

A hot and heavy corporate sector fuelling the city-state's construction industry –- including all those shiny new "eco-friendly" resorts and hotels -- is to blame for the dubious honor. That, and residents' excessive consumption habits.

Quoted by numerous media, WWF president Yolanda Kakabadse said Singapore "is a society that maybe is one of the best examples of what we should not do.