On the 5th day of the 5th month in the Chinese Lunar calendar, Hong Kong celebrates the Tuen Ng Festival, or the Dragon Boat Festival. These year’s dragon boat races kick off with the Stanley Dragon Boat Races on June 19, followed by the HK International Races on June 23 and 24. Aside from these, there are smaller, local races, but if you’re in Hong Kong during these period, try to catch these two events and witness how dragon boating, an exercise originally linked to the Tuen Ng Chinese festival and the fishermen of the region, has now become an international sport.

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From the thousands of travel videos uploaded in youtube, it makes it difficult to discover treasure like this. Join Tyson Sadler as he explores India and Nepal with his brother and best friend.

Great clips, great music, great annotation… 10 minutes of a real great documentary! I love it!

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As mentioned in the Newsweek article I referred to in my previous entry on boutique hotels, there are more of these types of accommodations cropping up in Shanghai, too. One of those will be exclusive The Place Hotel & Spa on Nanjing Lu West, due to open next year.

The 22-storey hotel will operate a ‘guests only’ policy in all public areas to give enhanced exclusivity and utter privacy, with a heavy emphasis on unbeatable service for which guests can expect some of the highest room rates in the city.

What makes it different from other hotels? Guests pay a fixed rate that includes extra amenities such as twenty-four hour butler service, full office and lounge facilities, wi-fi broadband access throughout and in-room breakfast, are all part of the package. A good deal, especially for business travellers.

As for luxury, rooms are generally on the large side (a standard room size is 45sqm) with three-metre-high ceilings, and equipped with those little extras that makes a big difference: personal espresso machines, a printer and deep baths with views over the park and the city. Sounds awesome, eh?

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Lately, I encounter more and more hotels describing themselves as a boutique hotel. It sounds posh, chic, something extraordinary, But what exactly is a boutique hotel?

Boutique hotel is a term originating in North America to describe intimate, usually luxurious or quirky hotel environments. Boutique hotels differentiate themselves from larger chain/branded hotels and motels by providing personalized level accommodation and services / facilities.

Typically boutique hotels are furnished in a themed, stylish and/or aspirational manner. Although usually considerably smaller than a mainstream hotel (often ranging from 3 to 100 guest rooms), boutique hotels can often have hundreds of rooms in major cities. Guest rooms and suites are fitted with telephony and Wi-Fi Internet, air-conditioning, honesty bars and often cable/pay TV. Guest services are attended to by 24 hour hotel staff. Many boutique hotels have on-site dining facilities, and the majority offer bars and lounges which may also be open to the general public.

Basically, it’s offers all the conveniences of large chain-hotels, with the personalized service typical of smaller establishments. Such type of accommodations are on the rise in Asia, too. Here are Newsweek’s top picks:

New Majestic, Singapore – serves some of the best modern Cantonese cuisine in town
Reflections, Bangkok (photo) -visitors can view and choose their own rooms on the hotel’s web site
Jia Hong, Kong -the popular restaurant Opia offers modern European cuisine and has won awards for being one of the best restos in town.

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The International Civil Aviation Organization has issued new global security guidelines regarding carrying liquids, gels and aerosols in hand luggages. These guidelines, which are already being observed in Europe, US and some Asian airports, will take effect in most international airports starting on June 1, 2007. Here are the important points to note:

1. Liquids, aerosols, and gels must be placed in a container not over 100 milliliters (or equivalent amount of measure, i.e. ounces). (It doesn’t matter if the container is just half-full, make sure its capacity is not more than 100 ml.)

2. These items must be placed in a transparent re-sealable plastic bag of a maximum capacity not exceeding 1 litre.

3. The size of the plastic bag must not exceed 20cm x 20cm (8 inches x 8 inches). (Small zip-loc bags are best.)

4. The plastic bag must be presented for visual examination at the airport security screening point. Only one transparent plastic bag per passenger will be permitted to be carried.

5. Exemptions: medication (with prescriptions/medical certificates), baby milk/food and special dietary foods

To make it as hassle free as possible, just take what you absolutely must in your hand-luggage. Larger containers should go into your checked-in luggage.

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