Issue: March 10, 2010 (Archive)

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

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In Italy, say cheese
The Italian buffalo is resistant to any change in routine and happiest lying in the pasture and poking its nose into a mound of feed. It has nothing in common with Botticelli's Primavera or Donatello's David. But, since the 12th century at least, buffaloes have given the world something arguably as good: fresh, pillow-soft, white mozzarella cheese.

London calling
This was my first trip to the city of lords and chimney sweeps. As I was raising four children, everyone else seemed to slip away to London except me. The London I finally discovered was as rumpled and comfy as old corduroy (which I like) and as stylish and smug as the sassiest fashionistas (which I don't).

Siamese summer
There's nothing like summer to bring out the travel bug in us. The online travel gurus at Zuji recommend two destinations in Thailand to satisfy those in search of exotic charm or the uncomplicated pleasure of lying on a beach.

AirAsia flights become even cheaper
Regional low-cost airline AirAsia is abolishing the administration fee from its fare structure. So you only need to fork out for the seat and the airport tax now.

Roughing it out
A cabin in the woods is never just a cabin in the woods. This I've learned over time, after years of renting cabins alone and with friends, of late-night drives up winding mountain roads, of hikes along precipitous ridges, of relationships forged and tested.

On right track
After a few days hiking, kayaking and mountain biking on New Zealand's South Island, I can say categorically that there is a better way to see the countryside than roughing it. And the Queen Charlotte Track - recommended by a Kiwi friend after I said I wanted to see in style the countryside, with its towering ferns and clear subtropical bays - is to most hiking trails what the Ritz-Carlton is to a homeless shelter.

Swine flu break
the bad news is that the swine flu virus has taken up abode in Hong Kong. The good news is that hundreds of thousands of families with young ones in childcare centers, kindergartens and primary schools have now got the makings of a holiday opportunity without the daunting prospect of peak summer prices.

Fit for an emperor
Visitors to Paris often take a day away from the city to see the nearby Chateau de Versailles, seat of kings during the French golden age in the 17th and 18th centuries. That's all well and good, except that such a side trip misses Fontainebleau, a royal chateau almost as close to town occupied by French kings for 700 years, beginning in the Middle Ages when it was a hunting lodge.

African adventure
I thought I was in Africa, but now I'm not sure where I was. South Africa is a kaleidoscope of shifting scenes and world cultures. Baboons on the road was African. Yet a short drive away, penguins strolled the shore. Antarctica?

Cheap island stays
If you're hoping to spend less than US$200 (HK$1,560) a night on Hawaii's Big Island and prefer small inns to big resorts, two likely prospects are Waimea Garden Cottage (in the northern town of Waimea, or Kamuela) and the Kilauea Lodge (in the park-adjacent southern village of Volcano).

Aloha, Kailua
Kailua, Hawaii, is one of the most underrated tourist spots. Why do people ignore it: how does a community compete with Waikiki, which is nearly a straight shot from the airport, boasts a host of glitz and glam stores and hotels and some top-drawer restaurants? It can't.

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