Myriad of Dubai hotels contribute to the economy of the country

Dubai, known as one of the fastest growing cities, has been given the epithet of ‘Pearl of the Arabian gulf’. Augmenting number of visitors and travelers to Dubai have caused economic growth and in turn, responsible for set up of several international hotels. Multitudes of hotels are found in boundaries of the city blended with modernity and history. Statistics have recorded increase in the growth of Dubai hotel industry. The increase of approximately 6.5 million guests in 2006 in Dubai has been one of the key factors for increasing number of hotels in Dubai. Establishment of Dubai hotels score the world record with highest number oft tourist and revenue in January 2007, more than the occupancy level of Sydney, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Hotels in Dubai offer superb facilities and amenities with wide variety ranging from luxurious ones to cheap hotels in Dubai. Many of the cheap hotels are spread across Bur Dubai and Deira. Dubai marina is well renowned place of tourist attraction and business connection, which has engendered the development of hotels around it. There are many 1 to 3 star hotels that offer highly concessional rates and good room services as per Dubai’s status. One can come across many budget hotels around Ibn Battuta and Mall of Emirates. It offers services like gym, kids club, aerobics, health club, and steam room etc… all these facilities can be availed in these cheap hotels in Dubai at the low rates of $43 per night stay.

Jumeirah beach hotels are luxurious hotels that possess unique traits of authencity, exceptionality and luxury. It is one of the premier life style destinations of Dubai that gives the visitors the pleasure of life. It introduced a new lifestyle that integrates all the exhilaration and excitement designed for families, couples and friends. Award winning Jumeirah beach Hotel, located on the shore of Arabian Gulf, is built in marvelous shape and has its private beach. Wild Water Park in proximity to it brings exhilaration for young people. The massive cooling plant is not intruded in the main building to avoid engineering requirement within the hotel. The most specialized feature of this 5 star hotel is Arabian style beach villa and its designing to reflect Dubai’s seafaring heritage.

There are many tourist attractions in Dubai and shopping is one of them. One can shop the article of Africa and Eastern Europe, as Dubai is an open port. Moreover it have low import duties, which resulted in low prices of brand items and hence, have attracted tourist for shopping. Dubai is therefore called the ‘Shopping capital of the Middle east’. It has many malls stuffed with high fashion clothing, gold, jewellary, carpets, electronics, sporting equipments and handicrafts.

Museum reviews: Madam Tussauds Wax Museum, Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas

Madame Tussauds is now an international business and it has come a long way since the first Madame Tussauds was opened in London. Almost a decade has now passed since the opening of Madame Tussauds Las Vegas, and it is now a member of a family of museums incorporating branches in New York, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Berlin.

The name of Madame Tussauds is world famous, and most people are aware of the waxworks that are housed in the various establishments. Waxworks on show tend to be a mixture of world leaders, sportspeople, musicians, actors and actresses, historical figures and other celebrities. As you might expect from Las Vegas though, Madame Tussauds Las Vegas does focus on famous celebrities from America.

Madame Tussauds Las Vegas was the pioneer in the Madame Tussauds group when it came to real interaction with the waxworks. Music plays a large part in the interaction and there is a chance to show just how good you are at singing, when you get the chance to audition in front of Simon Cowell for American Idol. You can also play along with the Blue Man Group. For those looking to hear their heroes rather than attempt to impress, Madame Tussauds Las Vegas also has an interactive Elvis, where with a simple touch you can hear him tell you just how he is feeling.

Sport also plays an important role at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas and those willing to give it a go can slam-dunk with Shaq, or putt with Tiger Woods. Additionally there is also a chance to interact with Hugh Heffner or to marry George Clooney. For those looking for a fright there is also an interactive Chamber of Horror, where live actors often sneak up on you when you least expect it.

Even those waxworks that are not truly interactive do make for some good photo opportunities.

At anyone time there is in excess of one hundred waxworks on display, with others in storage. For those of you who have visited Madame Tussauds New York or any other of the Madame Tussauds museum, you will find that some of the most noted individuals do have more than one waxwork; it is rare for them to be shipped from museum to museum.

Madame Tussauds Las Vegas is to be found within the very centre of the famous Las Vegas Strip, between the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and Las Vegas Boulevard itself. Las Vegas is in general a very reasonably priced city; most money is of course made from the gambling. That being said the entrance cost is not cheap, and an adult will be expected to pay in the region of USD25, with children at USD 15.

All in all Madame Tussauds Las Vegas is a very entertaining way to spend many hours, and I found it a great way to take a break from gambling or the traditional Las Vegas shows. I would say though that to my eyes some of the celebrities look different to how you would expect, and having had photos taken of many of them, I did find it difficult afterwards to name them all.

Album reviews: Tankfarm Future Sounds, by Various Artists

Tankfarm Future Sounds #27 includes:

The Wombats

Hong Kong Six

Band Of Thieves

David Vandervelde

Pop Levi

Trainwreck Riders

Poor Richards Press

The Unbecome

The Blakes

Sonicflyer

Overview

New Violators

New Cassettes

Kudu

The Hundred Days

Tankfarm Future Sounds is a renovation in the music business. It is a music promotions company led by San Franciscan DJ and band manager Larry Little whose company has been releasing compilation discs each month since March 2003. Each record features 15 newly discovered indie rock artists around the world. The company’s latest disc, Future Sounds #27 highlights the company’s recent findings in alternative pop and roadhouse rock. A handful of the bands come from Little’s hometown of San Francisco, California such as the consummate alternative country quartet Trainwreck Riders, the synth pop alternative folk mastering of Overview, and the soft synth pop smoothness of The Hundred Days. There are a few New York City based bands like the pop punk/new wave revivalists Kudo and the captivating pop/rock rhythms of Band Of Thieves, which counter the Chicago based talents of the tuneful folk rock vocals of David Vandervelde and the chic rock rhythms of The Unbecome.

There’s one band from Seattle, The Blakes whose soft pop sonorous is reminiscent of Kings Of Leon and one band from Norway, New Violators whose fluorescent synth pop frequencies have an Editors kindling. Other UK artists on the disc include New Cassettes who holster a garage rock/post grunge magnum and The Wombats whose howling vocals and stirring guitar chords shake things up with an Albert Hammond Jr. quaver. One band, Sonicflyer is originally from Serbia and relocated to London. The band’s summery folk/synth pop persuasion is reflective of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine. Then there is Pop Levi who are originally from London but relocated to Los Angeles. The band’s soft pop psychedelics are fringed by Indian accents in the rhythmic currents, sort of a folk art melody. The disc also covers bands from Orange County, California like the country folk balladeers Poor Richards Press whose flowy acoustics have a likeness to David Kilgour and the softcore punk rhythms of Hong Kong Six who have gorgeous melodic undertones and a catchy beat. Their song “Land Of The Brain Damaged” was the tune that had me coming back.

Each artist has their own lyrical style and themes. Some repeat the verses over and over like Trainwreck Riders on their tune “In And Out Of Love,” and others have a lengthy storytelling prose like Poor Richards Press’ track “Seasons.” One song whose lyrics stand out is Band Of Thieves “Woman” due to its catchy phrasings and due to the commercial success of Wolfmother’s tune “Woman,” which you can’t help but compare the two tracks to each other and feel like they came from the same place.

Overall, the music has alternative pop harmonies and roadhouse rock grooves. These are songs that would be welcomed in any pub in England or bar in the States. The songs have the right amount of melodic sensibilities to enjoy over a can of beer or just wasting time while sitting by the dock of the bay. Maybe this is why Little describes in the liner notes that Pop Levi’s song “Blue Honey” has a “Canned Heat beat that would make a great fit on a final scene in The Sopranos as someone is about to get whacked.” It is music that takes hold of your attention like the way Journey’s tune did in the final episode of The Sopranos. Tankfarm Future Sounds means to stay up to date with current bands and people’s musical tastes with the company’s monthly installments.

Your Hidden Portal to Peace

Want more peace and joy in your life? Daily stress getting to you? With terrorism, layoffs and pollution, can you feel safe and happy? Yes, you can—by tapping into a little known, and less-used, doorway to internal security. This entry is not really hidden as much as misplaced. As a culture, we’ve lost the use of this innate inner compass.

We each have our own personal portal to peace. The treasure hunt begins with an inner feeling triggered by outside circumstances. It’s a timeless game of internal guidance by external clue. For millennia, ancient civilizations and native peoples have been playing this sport for fun and good fortune.

Don’t Shrug off that Weird Feeling!

Have you ever felt a rush of recognition wash over you? Do new people or places seem vaguely familiar? Do you ever get a sense that you’ve been in this exact situation before?

This strange feeling of connection with places and people is a clue, a flag, a signal. This sense of familiarity marks a gateway to a personal gold mine of clarity and strength.

“It’s Deja-vu All Over Again!”

Yogi Bera’s famous outburst reminds us of the repeating nature of this phenomenon. The French phrase “deja-vu” literally means “already seen” or “seen before.” How? When? Where? These questions invoke the intrigue that gets us to play the gambit of a lifetime—the voyage home.

If approached as such, this feeling of familiarity can be a fortuitous opening or opportunity. This sensibility can be a portal to your intuition and inner wisdom—which, in turn, can help you make the right moves in life to bring you home to yourself safe and sound!

How Does the Game Work?

Act on the sensation of familiarity as you flow through your day. Instead of brushing aside the hazy sense of foreknowledge, follow the lead of these glints of recognition. As in a treasure hunt, one clue leads to the next until you find the prize at the end—your internal center of peace. Take my recent journey to China, for example.

A Hong Kong Homecoming

One day, “out of the blue” a metaphysical bookstore owner in Hong Kong emails me to come to China to present my workshops at her store after she likes what she reads on my website. Oddly, her name and store don’t seem as foreign as her country. My intuition screams “Yes! Go. You know her.” My rational mind moans “No!” to the notion of an expensive 19-hour plane ride halfway around the world based on a “hunch.” I can’t pin down the connection I feel to her or Hong Kong. Yet, because similar subterranean magnetism has led me to many fruitful adventures, I buy my ticket to the Far Out—I mean, the Far East.

Mystery in the Mist

Hong Kong is a funky mix of ultramodern glass and steel—and traditional mud bricks and stone. Appearing and disappearing in the swirling mist shrouding the fabled South China Sea, strangely familiar Chinese junks cruise alongside sleek ocean liners. Impressions coming and going like the boats in the fog, I see details of the inside layout of a sampan—although I’ve never laid eyes on one of these traditional Chinese vessels before!

Winding my way through narrow alleys cluttered with shacks selling everything from jade to silk, elephant tusks to exotic birds in gilded cages, I sense that I’ve walked these cobblestone streets long ago. I feel some lost connection with the bizarre goods being hocked so boisterously. At dawn, hundreds of people fill pocketsize parks with the graceful beauty of Tai Chi and Chinese Sword Dance. Goosebumps running up my arm inform me that I, too, practiced these arts in some other era.

Open-air fish tanks in front of every restaurant promise fresh, tasty morsels of eel, squid and octopus. The pungent smell of savory bird’s nest soup ricochet through my sensory memory bank. Surprisingly, it doesn’t strike me as unusual to eat the head, feet, ears, nose and testicles of rooster, pig, dog, pigeon, snake, snail, fish and insect—as the locals enjoy in this land that is not really as alien as I thought.

I wend my way between sacred stone temples dwarfed by cloud-kissing skyscrapers. Strolling through the eternal beauty and harmony of the shrine gardens, I see flickering images of myself trimming the delicate bonsai trees and tending the elegant ponds of coy and turtles graced with waterfalls and high arched footbridges.

The Gang’s All Here!

At dawn one day, my odyssey of sensory recall guides me to a train bound for a remote Buddhist shrine in the far countryside. I’m inexplicably compelled to visit this secluded site by the same mystical resonance I’m feeling with other aspects of Chinese culture.

The only way to reach this mountain retreat is to climb a steep footpath that penetrates a dense bamboo rainforest teeming with screeching, brilliantly colored tropical birds. Through a thick mantle of low-lying clouds, I encounter scores of human-sized, gold-plated statues of Buddha, situated every few feet on the ascending trail.

Each Buddha strikes a unique pose—some sitting in the traditional cross-legged position, while others laugh uproariously, or wrap their arms warmly around the shoulders of another monk. The Buddhas are young and old, male and female, Asian and Negro. Many figures are dancing and playing. A few ride an animal, such as a tiger, tortoise, elephant, bear or dragon. Baby Buddhas roost on the knees and shoulders of one large jolly fellow. Some monks are elaborately clothed, while others don only a waistcloth. Wild!

Startled, I realize I’m not using my own energy to climb. A fierce and foreboding force is catapulting me up the 500 slippery, dew-soaked steps of the hillside! At first, I zoom past each statue. Then the irresistible pull of familiarity draws me to sit and pray in front of each figure. I feel I once knew each Buddha personally—as a close friend or teacher! I flash on vivid scenes of me living tranquilly as a monk in other lives.

Rendezvous with Destiny

Yes, now I understand my attraction to these lively icons. Each Buddha radiates a unique vibration, energy or feeling. Each Buddha represents a different mood or aspect of God. As I reach out to touch each statue, I’m infused with a tangible electrical current—the vibration of that particular Buddha’s unique energy or spirit. The tingling sensation ripples through my whole body in orgasmic waves. As I connect with each successive Buddha, I dissolve more deeply into the Oneness of Being—and enter into a profound peace.

From each statue I receive a personal message, transmitted through touch and vibration. The communication from each Buddha is the same! They’re all inviting me to choose to join them in their exalted ascended state. They speak to me of the serenity, freedom and lightness of letting go of attachment to worldly affairs. The Buddhas tell me they know that I’ve read about Chinese Mountain Men in my youth and have a lifelong yearning to follow in their footsteps. They’re right on the button—I mean, Buddha! The blissful state they embody is my lifetime longing.

The time-honored tradition of the Mountain Men is that when a person has fully experienced having a family, business and worldly fame, he or she chooses to walk out of their town and up into the empty mountains to join Spirit in Oneness with Nature and God. The Buddhas whisper to me, “You know in your heart, it’s time for you to prepare yourself to walk out of your worldly adventure into the spiritual realms of the Mountain Men.” Yes, I’m shaken, scared and excited by their collective invitation! As I write this, I feel the blessing and allure of the Buddhas.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

In the Land of Oz, where does the enticing road lead the Lion, Scarecrow and Tinman? Back to themselves—that is, back to ourselves! Back to our own Courage, Brain and Heart. Follow the feelings of familiarity in your life back to your own natural clarity and joy.

Travel experiences: Hong Kong – Part 2

After 19 years, I looked forward to visiting Hong Kong again as it had always been one of my favorite liberty ports.

1989 was the last time I visited Hong Kong while in the Navy stationed onboard the USS Bunker Hill. It was a much different time with the Cold War still in full swing and the British ruling the territory. The Chinese are in control now, but not being a Tibetan monk, I wasn’t too worried about my rights potentially being violated. I don’t know what the exchange rate was back then, but now it’s seven Hong Kong dollars to one American dollar, so that made everything just a bit nicer.

With my wife Melanie working on Okinawa, Japan, and having free time, we took advantage of the opportunity to further explore the Pacific.

After arriving in June of 2007, we’d already visited Tokyo to climb Mount Fuji, something I’d always talked about doing once again since the Navy lost my hard-earned Fuji climbing stick also just about two decades previously. And then since we were so close, I dragged her to Yokosuka where the Bunker Hill was homeported all those years ago.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to remember any of Hong Kong or the places we frequented, but picking up a map at the airport I felt a rush of familiarity when I saw an ad for a pub called the Bull and the Bear.

The Bull and the Bear was a British pub my buddy Jim Vanderpoel and I had gone to all those years before, and fashion plates that we were purchased official blue polyester Bull and the Bear neckties. I wore mine out years ago and was hoping for a good lunch and a chance to pick up a replacement. I admit I was a bit disappointed once we found it. I remembered a sit-down restaurant-style establishment, but it had moved and now was just a corner pub. They didn’t have any ties for sale, but I was still able to pick up a nice shirt.

Finding the pub brought us to the seedier side of town, and I started to get a sense of dj vu. The Pussycat Club, a models’ dancing club that promoted the sale of cheap beer, didn’t fit a specific memory, but probably fit the realm of some of our past adventures. The tattoo parlor just down the street from the club did look familiar – at least the sign outside it did since we never went in. I’m pretty sure it was the same place with it’s plain white sign that simply said “Tattoo” because that was the area we always started in after getting dropped off at the pier from the ship.

Some things definitely stay the same. Years before, competition was fierce

Traveling to Hong Kong with very young kids

I brought my 3 year old girl, 2 year old boy, my mother and my maid to Hong Kong in September 2006. It was quite a challenge for me, both my kids still drank from the milk bottle, still wore diapers(when sleeping), and we had to bring 2 strollers !

I wanted to stay at the Disneyland Hotel, but they do not allow 3 adults and 2 kids in one room, we would need to take 2 rooms. I booked the Langham Place Hotel instead. They have a Kowloon quad room to accommodate all of us. The room had 2 single beds, and one double bed. I emailed the hotel directly and got a very good rate of HKD1750+++ per night, excluding breakfast.

On the first day, we arrived at Hong Kong International Airport at about 7pm. Both my kids were tired, so I was glad that I brought 2 strollers and I can let them sleep inside. I hired the hotel limousine at HKD450. It took about 30 minutes to reach the hotel.

The hotel lobby was very beautiful. Langham Place Hotel was 4 stars, but it felt like 5 stars. We checked in and went into our room very quickly. The room was nice and comfortable, but after fitting in 2 single beds, and 1 double bed, there was not much room left. The bathroom was very modern and everywhere was very clean. We didn’t feel like going out to explore, so we just ordered room service.

The next morning, since the room rate didn’t include breakfast, I went out to buy breakfast. I was pleasantly surprised that the hotel was connected to a huge shopping mall by an air-conditioned bridge, the distance was only 50 meters. I bought coffee at a coffee shop, and dim sum from a Chinese restaurant, then went back to the hotel room. I spent under HKD100 for 3 adults, a lot cheaper than taking the hotel breakfast. I also bought porridge from the restaurant for my 2 year old boy as lunch. We put it in a thermos flask to bring with us to Disneyland.

After breakfast, we brought our kids to Hong Kong Disneyland, with 2 strollers. We took a taxi from the hotel, it cost about HKD120, and took around 20 minutes. The park entrance was huge, and the distance from the taxi stand/bus station was very long. Luckily I brought 2 strollers, especially since it was a very sunny and hot day. There was a huge and very whimsical fountain of Mickey mouse at the entrance, we took some nice photos there. There were no queues, I got tickets very quickly.

We walked along the main street, and encountered a live band marching down the street. My boy was quite amused by the band. Then we walked to

Unique China

China is a vast and sprawling land home to countless groups each with its own culture and traditions. But for all its diversity, certain threads run through China’s long history – dragons, jade, silk, porcelain, to name a few. To examine the facets of China, we’ll look at 3 of its repositories of ancient tradition – Shanghai Museum, Beijing Jade Museum and the Hong Kong Heritage Museum.

Shanghai Museum is home to a fabulous collection of ancient Chinese art in its 11 galleries and 3 exhibition halls. The permanent galleries showcase artifacts representative of the major sections of Chinese art, namely, ancient bronze, ancient ceramics, paintings, calligraphy, ancient sculpture, ancient jade, coins, ming and qing furniture, seals, and minority nationalities.

A look through Shanghai Museum allows you to see the many innovations of the Chinese. For example, China was one of the first countries to use money as a medium of exchange. The Gallery of Chinese Coins contains almost 7000 exhibits of early coins.

China’s celebrated ceramics on display at the Shanghai Museum include tri-colored pieces from the Tan Dynasty and blue, white and black glazed and pointed porcelain from the Song, Jin and Liao dynasties. A visit here is a must for any connoisseur of Chinese culture.

Other quintessentially Chinese treasures you can see at Shanghai Museum include Chinese seals. The latter are stamps containing Chinese characters that were imprinted on documents, contracts, and works of art to prove identity and authenticity. The oldest ones date back 3000 years.

And now to our second museum, the Jade Museum in Beijing’s forbidden city, once the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. Since 1924, it’s housed the Palace Museum which houses an extensive collection mainly from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Jade has been central to Chinese culture for millennia. In ancient China it was referred to as “the essence of heaven and earth” and “the royal gem”. Its value surpasses event that of gold and for the Chinese it symbolises nobility, perfection, constancy, and immortality.

The jade collection at the Beijing Jade Museum is a wonderful place to admire items made from this most Chinese of materials. The display comprises around 30000 pieces, with the earliest dating from the Neolithic period.

Hong Kong is a very special part of China as from 1841 to 1997 it was administered by another country, Britain. During these 156 years of colonial rule, Hong Kong developed from a fishing village to the economic and financial powerhouse of Asia. Today’s Hong Kong still has a frantic boomtown feel but also offers oases of calm in the form of parks, temples an islands. To explore the past of this special place, visit the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in the Sha Tin disctict.

Housed in a 3-storey purpose-built structure that has the form of a Chinese ancestral hall, Hong Kong Heritage Museum features 6 six permanent exhibition galleries – New Territories Heritage Hall (with models of traditional shops and a Hakka fishing village), Children’s Discovery Gallery, Cantonese Opera Heritage Hall, T.T.Tsui Gallery of Chinese Art, displaying artifacts from the former Tsui Museum of Art, and the Chao Shao-an Gallery. There are also six thematic galleries for temporary exhibitions.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed in China and get the feeling you leave knowing less than when you arrived. But visit these great museums in China and you’ll find this great country is not so inscrutable after all. Before travelling to China, make sure that the hotel reservations are in place. Hotels in Beijing and hotels in Hong Kong can easily be booked in advance through the Internet, and then you will be able to enjoy China at the best.

Ong Ong Shoppers Aradise

Hong Kong undeniably is one of Asia’s most vibrant cities and discovering this enchanting place is an experience of a life time. Hong Kong perfectly blends East with the West and is a perfect place to experience Asia under one roof. Hong Kong is just ideal for every traveler, whether its history, culture, great attractions or buzzing nightlife, it has all!

Start you expedition from street markets like the Ladies Market known for offering affordable knockoffs of brand-name merchandise at variety of price range (depending on how good you bargain). The Goldfish Market, dotted with shops offering dry fish, the Temple Street, selling from books, gifts and souvenirs to clothing, adult toys and more. The Stanley Market is the most popular of all the street markets in Hong Kong and here one can find possibly anything and everything you can think of. From clothing, shoes, leather goods, beauty products to electronics, toys, antiques, you name it and they have it. While shopping in these exotic street markets, do bargain mercilessly.

In Hong Kong, one can find abundant of shopping malls with all your favorite brands and some even with movie theatres, ice rinks and so on. In most of the mall, you will find the same tenants offering the same stuffs, and visiting all these malls will just be a waste of your time. The city’s top malls include Festival Walk, Landmark, IFC Mall, Times Square and the APM which is open 24 hours a day. For gadget freaks, a visit to Golden Computer Arcade is a must.

No doubt, Hong Kong is a paradise for shoppers, but while shopping here bargaining is a must, no matter where you are shopping. Even in the malls, department store or high end boutique, enquire about discounts or free gifts. Do shop only in those place with QTS sign are displayed.

Travel China Guide: Fascinating Guangzhou

If the thought of going back in time to travel the ancient Silk Road thrills you, here’s a fantastic idea of how to spend your next vacation. Guangzhou might not have as many cultural attractions as Beijing, or not be the hotbed of commerce Shanghai is, but the city has its charming highlights.

Located in the middle south of Guangdong Province, near to Hong Kong and Macau, Guangzhou stands at the confluence of the East, West and North Rivers and is a historic river port.

The city’s 2,000-year history is highlighted with its giving birth to the ‘sea-route’ Silk Road trail, where merchants transported silk and luxuries to the West. Guangzhou was also the first Chinese port which welcomed Western traders in the 19th century.

Sun Yat-Sen, who overthrew the Manchus in the 1911 Revolution, was born a few miles north of the Macau border. He is memorialized today in Guangzhou’s famed Yatsen Memorial Hall.

Today, Guangzhou is a big center of southern China’s political, economic, educational, and cultural life. High-rise blocks and new highways stand side-by-side the city’s many historical monuments.

Also known as the Southern Gate of China, Guangzhou is filled with scenic spots and attractions, from temples and mountains to shopping streets and karaoke bars. Visitors shouldn’t miss the Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family, the White Cloud Mountain (Baiyun Shan), the Bright Filial Piety Temple, Yuexiu Park, and the Teem Plaza. You can find bars to suit any taste along the famous bar streets Binjiang Lu, Huanshi Lu, and Bai’e Tan.

Located in China’s subtropical area, Guangzhou has a lovely climate year-round with almost no winter. Annual average temperature is 21.8 degrees. Spring is humid and rainy; summer is a little hot with occasional typhoons. Autumn, from October to December, is very moderate, cool and windy, and is the best travel time. Like right now. Winter is a little chilly but very short.

Guangzhou: Travel Facts and Information
• It’s China’s 3th largest city with a population of over 10 million.
• Thanks to glorious summers and almost no winter, it’s always in bloom and is known as Flower City.
• It’s home to Cantonese Opera, popular throughout South East Asia.
• In ancient times, Guangzhou was the capital city for three Chinese dynasties: the Nan Yue, the Nan Han and the Nan Ming .
• Guangzhou folks like to travel. It boasts the largest population of overseas Chinese.
• Hualin Jadeware Street can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), when it was already famous for its Jadeware Fair.
• Guangzhou is the communications hub of the Guangdong Province, with railways and highways radiating in all directions and convenient river, coastal and deep ocean transport.
• People say “pearl sea and white cloud” to describe the natural beauty of Guangzhou.

Enter the Dragon: The Life of Bruce Lee

Though Seattle is most famous for its influence on the grunge scene, its sports teams and being the home of corporations like Microsoft and Starbucks, one of Seattle’s most famous residents was martial arts legend Bruce Lee.

Born to a Chinese father and a mother of Chinese and German ancestry in San Francisco in 1940, Lee moved with his parents to Hong Kong when he was only three months old. Lee’s father was a famous Cantonese Opera star, and was encouraged to follow in his footsteps. However, after getting into trouble with the police following a streetfight when he was 18, Lee’s parents decided to send him to the US to live with a friend of his father’s.

After living in San Francisco, Lee moved to Seattle, where he completed his high school education and received a diploma from Edison Technical School. He would go on to enrol at the University of Washington as a drama major and also took philosophy classes. During his studies he would go on to meet Linda Emery, his future wife, with whom he had two children, Brandon and Shannon.

Upon his arrival in the United States, he decided to abandon thoughts of a film career and pursue one in martial arts instead. However, after an impressive show at the 1964 Long Beach Karate Tournament, he gained the attention of important figures in the entertainment industry, which would land him the role of Kato alongside Van Williams in the TV series The Green Hornet. Though the show only lasted one season, it was massively popular in Hong Kong, where it was billed as the Kato Show. He would reprise his role of Kato on the Batman TV show starring Adam West, and gained further media attention thanks to a role in the 1969 neo-noir film Marlowe.

Fed up with his sidekick roles, Lee returned to Hong Kong and was given his first leading role in 1972’s The Big Boss. It was a phenomenal success in Asia and propelled him to superstardom. These were followed by Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon, both showcasing Lee’s exceptional physique, mastery of all forms of martial arts and relentless work ethic.

In 1973 Bruce starred in Enter the Dragon, giving him his big break in the US and Europe. The film was made on a budget of US$850,000 and has to date grossed over $200m worldwide. Sadly, just three weeks before its release, Lee mysteriously died in his sleep after complaining about a headache, aged just 32.

Lee was buried in Seattle, and today the hotels in Seattle receive fans from all over the world looking to make the pilgrimage to their hero’s grave at Lake View Cemetery.

Though he lived a short life, his influence on the popularity of martial arts as a sport and its incorporation into motion pictures is undeniable – three decades after his death, he is still the yardstick against which all other martial arts practitioners and films must be measured.

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