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Appy Traveler: Best new apps for travelers
New trailer: ‘The Impossible’ recounts devastation of 2004 tsunami
'Facekini women': China's latest and weirdest beach sensation
Confused about Bangkok's second airport? So are we
Frequent flyer miles: Cult of the obsessed
Kashmir cribs: The houseboats on Dal Lake
Tokyo: The sweetest city in Asia

Appy Traveler: Best new apps for travelers

Posted: 21 Aug 2012 05:32 AM PDT

by CNNGo staff

We've run various articles about apps in the past. See a few here:

50 ultimate travel apps ... so far 10 best travel apps for your new iPad 10 best U.S. city travel apps

But with new ones coming out all the time, we thought it would be good to have a single reference point for the best travel apps in the market.

And here it is: the Appy Traveler blog.

Bookmark this article and check back in occasionally to see what new great apps we love, and think you should try.

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New trailer: ‘The Impossible’ recounts devastation of 2004 tsunami

Posted: 21 Aug 2012 12:50 AM PDT

by CNNGo staff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgw394ZKsis

The official trailer has been released for "The Impossible," a new film starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts that retells one family's true survival story in Thailand after the December 26, 2004 tsunami.

The scenes in the trailer alone are powerful enough to force some viewers to reach for the tissues. For those in Thailand who witnessed the tragedy first hand, its realistic depictions of the tsunami that killed 300,000 people might be downright unbearable.

"The Impossible" trailer shows a happy young family on holiday at a Thai resort, enjoying the pool before the tsunami hits. The parents and their sons are broken up and try to locate each other amidst the destruction and rushing waters, while interacting with other survivors.

Cue somber music and a poignant tag line on the power of the human spirit.

'Facekini women': China's latest and weirdest beach sensation

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:58 PM PDT

by CNNGo staff

Wanna fit in on China's beaches?

Try going for the luchadora wrestler look. Especially if you're a woman.

That's the advice in Qingdao, anyway, a seaside city of nearly 9 million in northeast China.

'Facekini' for protection. And fashion?

Qingdaonese swimmers have recently made waves on Chinese Internet sites for their bizarre swimming gear: colorful, full-face masks.

Dubbed "facekini," the fabric masks cover a swimmer's entire head and neck down to the collar bones. Holes are cut for eyes, nostrils and mouth.

Confused about Bangkok's second airport? So are we

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:00 PM PDT

by CNNGo staff

A proposal that would see 14 budget and charter airlines switch operations from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport over to the city's secondary airport, Don Muang, by October 1 is still far from solid.

So far only three airlines from the Air Asia group -- Thai AirAsia, AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia -- have committed to the move. (Thai domestic carriers Orient Thai and Nok Air already operate out of Don Muang).

According to the Bangkok Post, Airports of Thailand (AoT) is still trying to convince others to join them.

The move to Don Muang is both good and bad for travelers flying in and out of Bangkok.

On the plus side, it will ease congestion at Suvarnabhumi, which opened in 2006.

Frequent flyer miles: Cult of the obsessed

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 03:00 PM PDT

by Gabriel Leigh

A few months ago I found myself headed to a Sheraton hotel in East Rutherford, New Jersey, one of the more anonymous towns in the United States.

The purpose of my trip: Frequent Traveler University, a two-day series of seminars on getting the most out of miles and points.

Like the organizers, most of the attendees were made up of groups of friends who had met on web forums like flyertalk.com.

New glossary

At these events, you tend to get a rapid-fire guided tour of the extremes people go to for miles.

The language might sound unfamiliar to the non-enthusiast, peppered as it is with phrases unique to the flyer world.

Kashmir cribs: The houseboats on Dal Lake

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 03:00 PM PDT

by Richard S. Ehrlich

Forget hotels -- houseboats are the key accommodation when visiting the India-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The conflict-fraught region is making a tourism comeback, with the number of tourists doubling to 2 million in the past year.

Many of these tourists flock to scenic Dal Lake and the adjoining Nagin Lake in the summer capital, Srinagar.

On the water are more than 1,200 anchored wooden boats. Some of these are floating hotels, decked out to the max to attract tourists.

Looking like life-sized dollhouses, these boat hotels have an early 20th century British motif mixed with lots of Indian chintz.

Tokyo: The sweetest city in Asia

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 03:00 PM PDT

by C. James Dale

Tokyo -- home of sushi, soba and sake -- is no slouch when it comes to sweets.

Bakeries abound. Candy is plentiful. Chocolate comes in all shapes and sizes.

If the folks who put together the Michelin guide gave out stars for businesses devoted to sugar in all its glorious incarnations, Tokyo would no doubt grab a galaxy's worth.

Here are some of our favorite high-calorie hangouts.

Candy: Papabubble

Japanese desserts Lick that -- Papabubble's candy-rolling crew in action.