Thursday, October 13, 2011

CNNGo.com

CNNGo.com


Thailand flood warnings: Crocodiles, snakes and centipedes. Oh, my!

Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:13 AM PDT

Thai floods

As Thailand battles the worst floods it's seen in decades, a few new threats have emerged: snakes, crocodiles and poisonous insects. 

News reports say that more than 100 crocs have escaped from a flooded farm in Thailand's Utai Thai province, though government officials say people shouldn't worry too much as they're not as fierce as wild ones -- a suggestion many find laughable. 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Health has reported a rise in the number of snake bites since the floods began in July. 

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The world's best city is ...

Posted: 13 Oct 2011 12:30 AM PDT

world's best city

There's something about parochialism and cultural pride that makes cities always ready for comparison –- and ready to proclaim themselves as the best in the world.

Sydney –- always trying to tell the world how beautiful and exciting it is -– is no different.

As is Italy's Renaissance town, Florence, or the southern secret of Charleston in the United States. The coastal beauty and urban culture of Cape Town and San Francisco render them pretty much the same.

According to the readers of U.S. luxury travel magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, these are the world's top five cities.

The highest-ranked Asian city was Kyoto, coming in eleventh.

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Alan Morison: The trouble with Phuket, and how it can be fixed

Posted: 12 Oct 2011 11:57 PM PDT

Phuket may be a world renowned beachfront paradise, but there's a less than idyllic debate raging among island leaders right now.

The argument concerns the future of Phuket, and whether it's time Thailand's national government intervened to set the island straight. 

Early last year, in a fascinating experiment, local envoys from about 20 countries began meeting every three months with the Phuket governor and local leaders to identify the problems that tourists experience. Phuket leaders could then take steps to resolve those problems.

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20 delicious Korean drinks

Posted: 12 Oct 2011 09:00 PM PDT

bokbunja tea

Traditional Korean beverages roughly fall into two categories: alcoholic and non-alcoholic. While this may be indicative of Korea's long-standing love affair with alcohol, there are close to 200 types of traditional teas, juices, and grain drinks associated with the latter group, known as eumcheongnyu (음청류).

Winnowing that list down to 20 drinks required many tasting panels and difficult decisions, but nevertheless, here is our list of the top 20 most interesting and delicious Korean drinks. 

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Melbourne's exotic eats, 15 beautiful vineyards, Japan's toilet bike

Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:50 PM PDT

Newsletter Date: 
13 October 2011
Newsletter Contents

Toilet bike rolls out biogas-powered environmental message

Posted: 12 Oct 2011 07:41 PM PDT

Toto Toilet Bike Neo

Of all the PR-friendly ways there are to spread a message, corporate or otherwise, sending some poor sap out to ride across an entire country on a motorized toilet surely ranks high on the list of "Uh, what?" schemes we've seen.

Allow us to introduce the poop-powered Toilet Bike Neo -- a three-wheeled chopper-style motorcycle from Toto, one of Japan's largest toilet suppliers.

Farmyard powered

Contrary to what you might think (and who can blame any mind for wandering in that direction), the retro steed runs not on human "output" from the unfortunate rider, but on biogas brewed from animal dung and household wastewater.

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Dhobi Ghat: 孟買的「人肉洗衣機」

Posted: 12 Oct 2011 03:00 PM PDT

Dhobi Ghat 自去年同名寶里活大片推出後,便成為越來越受歡迎的景點。

這個露天洗衣坊隱藏於 Mahalaxmi Station 參差錯落的環境裡,是個週六早上帶著相機、玩玩皂泡的好去處。

從通往 Saat Rasta 的天橋上看,Dhobi Ghat 整齊得像俄羅斯方塊一樣,月租 Rs 300(約HK$47)的一格格洗衣間互相扣連,還有夠工人忙足一整天的一紮紮待洗衣物。

往洗衣坊鑽去,肥皂芳香撲鼻,彷彿把整個 Dhobi Ghat 收到肥皂泡裡,隔絕外面的喧鬧。

付上 Rs 100(約 HK$15)便可隨意在洗衣坊參觀,導遊對每日洗衣量、一個洗衣間政府每月收租多少等講解更不絕於耳。

Mahalaxmi 的洗衣工十分友善,攝影迷多按快門,也沒有不悅,繼續洗衣。他們拿著衣物往石頭去摔,四濺的水花皂泡此起彼落,節奏整齊。 

除了古法洗衣外,洗衣坊也設有自動洗衣器材,但是它們只是靠邊站,因為間隔裡的洗衣工才是「洗衣表演」的主角呢。

工人先把衣物浸泡,再洗擦拍打,晾乾後再摺疊好,並在黃昏前把從附近送來的每一件衣物送回其主人手上,技術專業,服務一流。 

這非一般的工作組織性強,其過程如添上潤滑油的機器一樣有效率,讓遊客讚嘆不已。

可是對孟買 Dhobi Ghat 的洗衣工來說,這只不過是每天最平凡不過的工作而已。

既可像 iReport 記者 Maya Sorabjee 自行前往,亦可跟 Reality Tours 所舉辦的 Dhobi Ghat 導覽遊。

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15 beautiful vineyard stays

Posted: 12 Oct 2011 02:58 PM PDT

Buying your wine in a supermarket is like studying history by going to a museum. It works, it's fine, but for the best results, you need context, and there's no context better than the place where it all happened. 

Don't forget your corkscrew.

 

1. Marques de Risqual, Alava, Spain


Love it or hate it, Frank Ghery's contemporary makeover of the age-old Spanish Marques de Riscal winery has catapulted the tiny village of El Ciego into the 21st century.

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