nomad4ever

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Our friend Anthony Bourdain is surely a unique character. He is an honest and down-to earth guy - fully respectful of other cultures or traditions - yet he speaks out his mind if something is horrible or brackish.

They don’t call him “Rogue Chef” for nothing.

And he is practically a living Nomad. He enjoys to travel around the world, trying out new foods and shooting a travel show, compared to standing in a kitchen 14 hours a day, 110 degrees, making 300 meals.

Simpatico!

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written by Chris

Asia is a melting pot of different cultures, religions and values. Ever since Marco Polo made his way to this part of the world, people had their own ideas, misconceptions or prejudices without even knowing some basic facts first hand.

Some of those prevail even today, especially about mixed relationships.

With this I mean relationships between Asian and Caucasian women or men.

Everyone heard those kind of stories of bald, old, fat foreign men flocking to Asia and soon be seen hand-in-hand with an exotic beauty. Sooner than later they will buy a house and a pickup truck for their ‘new-found family’. A bit later they are back were they were before - just stripped of their money and other belongings. Need an example?

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written by Chris

When I was going to Singapore for my bi-annual Visa Run last week, I brought my Laptop with me, because it showed occasionally some flickery display. Sometimes white colours would turn into green light shining through the LCD, pretty strange behavior. Looked like a cable inside the thing was loose or not properly installed. No problem, I thought - still warranty. Down at the Asus Service Center in ‘The Adelphi’, right next to Funan IT Mall, I unsuccessfully tried to to reproduce the Error for the Service Staff to see - when disaster stroke.

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written by Chris

Asian women inspired the fantasies of men around the world for ages. In recent times you can see more and more Asian actresses like Lucy Liu, Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh on the big screen as well; as Hollywood got aware of their obvious features and attraction to the male population of this planet.

That wasn’t always the case in the western hemisphere.

Let’s go R&R!

Before the American GI’s ‘erected’ their first R&R (Rest & Relaxation) camps in Philippines during and after WWII or in Thailand during the Vietnam war, this part of the world sparsely saw more than a few naughty Europeans or Americans. Reports during the old Colonial Times rarely mention this topic at all. This of course all changed back then and more.

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written by Chris

Awhile ago we were discussing, if it’s a wise or safe decision to fly a Budget Carrier long-haul. However your opinion is about that subject - luckily time didn’t stop and some of the usual suspects seem to follow through with the idea.

Even if you don’t like the idea to fly long-distance or intercontinental flights with a no-frills airline; it surely would mean more competition and hopefully lower prices for all of us.

So what’s the news?

It seems that there is some movement in the sector, Asian Aviation pioneer Tony Fernandes looks like he’s teaming up with creative aviation individualist Richard Branson, to really make cheaper long-distance flights possible for everyone.

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written by Chris

Things happen for a reason in Indonesia. While I didn’t trust my eyes, when reading about Jusuf Kalla’s recent statements regarding Marihuana in food; the EU’s ban of Indonesian airlines flying into Europe didn’t come as a surprise at all.

After all the recent incidents surrounding Garuda Airlines, Adam Air and others, the EU probably wanted to show a strong hand - even though currently there isn’t a single Indonesian Airlines flying into Europe. Garuda was planning to take up again their Jakarta-Amsterdam route (which they suspended after the Asian Crisis) sometime in 2008, which would be a welcome competition for the current high-price trip serviced only by foreign airlines. Currently - prepare to pay anything above Euro 750 plus taxes, if you are planning to fly return from Europe to Jakarta or Bali for instance. No budget airlines in sight for long-haul.

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written by Chris

Flying kites is as old an tradition as mankind. Wikipedia says that kites were probably first invented about 3.000 years ago in China, made from materials like bamboo and silk. It’s a popular past time and pleasure activity in most countries around the globe, although I believe, that some Asian Countries truly have an obsession for it.

Here you not only see kids doing kiting - it’s a true science, involving the whole family. The usually warm air in Asia seem to help as well.

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written by Chris