Georgia rediscovers ancient culinary traditions

TBILISI (AFP) ― In the kitchen of one of the most fashionable restaurants in Tbilisi, the chef is cooking up hearty peasant food using recipes long forgotten by most of his countrymen.“Nobody cooks a bird like this these days,” said chef Malkhaz Maisashvili, raising his carving knife to sweep slices of chicken into a pot. “I discovered the recipe in a small village.”Keen to assert itself as an att

April 29, 2011

Taiwan’s new brand, goal, mission

For Taiwan Tourism Bureau, a new decade means time for change. Signboards all over the world are posting Taiwan’s new slogan, “Taiwan: The Heart of Asia.”“I want to welcome tourists to visit the heart of Asia and enjoy how comfortable and friendly Taiwan and Taiwanese people are,” said Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau Director in Seoul Sarah Chen to The Korea Herald. Logo for the new Taiwan tourism campaig

April 29, 2011

Not hungry in Hungary’s ‘Paris of the East’

BUDAPEST ― “Hey!” an almost-naked man cheerily called to me.“Um, hey, back at you,” I couldn’t help but giggle as I answered, waving with one hand, my camera in the other.“You take my picture,” he commanded in halting, Hungarian-accented English before a striking a Schwarzenegger-like Mr. Universe pose. Click. Click, click, click. Then, with once last slightly embarrassed glance, I rushed away qui

April 22, 2011

Milos: Greek island with colorful array of beaches

MILOS, Greece (AP) ― The Greek island of Milos is less well-known than some of the others in the Cyclades group of islands, such as the world-famous Santorini and Mykonos. But Milos, a volcanic, horseshoe-shaped island about 160 kilometers southwest of Athens, is a perfect beach destination, and with no major ruins of note, natural beauty is the main attraction.Otherworldly rock formations decorat

April 22, 2011

Boston science museum offering Segway tours

BOSTON (AP) ― Boston’s Museum of Science has exhibits on natural history, dinosaurs, space travel and electricity, all enclosed within four walls.Paul Fontaine, vice president of education, has for years wanted to expand beyond the bricks and mortar. He got his wish this month with the launch of the Museum of Science Segway Experience, an outdoor tour of the area around the museum using the gyrosc

April 22, 2011

Around the hotels

W Seoul-WalkerhillThe hotel’s WooBar is to offer new cocktails and martinis, presented by Diageo Korea’s cocktail specialist JJ in May. The “W Mix Night” event is to be held every Thursday in May from 8-12 p.m. and each drink will be priced at 20,000 won. The menus include Woman’s Energy Tea Caviar, Fresh Lemon Juice Foam Passion Sage, Herb Royal White Sugar Powder and Yogi Mojito Bacardi Superior

April 22, 2011

Let there be peace

Forget the past when visiting Baengnyeong IslandWaves break elegantly on rocks ias a cool breeze brings the sounds and smells of nature. Standing on a shaped boulder in front of the ocean, watching a beautiful sunset, there is a tranquility that belies the islands reputation. Welcome to Baengnyeong Island ― one of the world’s most heavily militarized islands.The first thing that strikes one about

April 15, 2011

San Francisco dining scene crackling with energy, creativity

SAN FRANCISCO ― If the restaurants I sampled on a six-day jaunt to San Francisco are any indication, the food scene there is on fire. Every meal I had was noteworthy. Either I was very lucky or there’s a whole lot of good cooking going around there ― and I got to sample only one of the newish places in the East Bay, an area that is coming into its own.What are the chances of picking six really goo

April 15, 2011

Around the hotels

Oakwood Premier Coex Center SeoulThe hotel’s Genesis Business Center on the fifth floor offers the “All-day Meeting Room” package until May 31. The package includes complimentary coffee and cookies, a beam projector and the Internet. There are three meeting places at the Genesis Business Center. Meeting Room 1 is available for up to six people, Meeting Room 2, up to 18 people, and the Boardroom, u

April 15, 2011

Silla’s millennium story unfolds at Gyeongju World Culture Expo

During the summer and autumn, North Gyeongsang Province and Gyeongju city will host an international cultural event to tell the story of Silla Kingdom (B.C. 57-A.D. 935), one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.Under the theme “The Story of Millennium ― Love, Light and Nature,” the 6th Gyeongju World Culture Expo will be held for 60 days from Aug. 12 to Oct. 10 at the Gyeongju World Culture Expo Park a

April 14, 2011

Booming times for Czech monastery even as faith wanes

ZELIV, Czech Republic (AFP) ― Religious belief may be on a sharp decline in the Czech Republic but the Zeliv monastery has found a new role as a spiritual refuge while it recovers from its own decades of turmoil.Today’s pilgrims to the monastery tucked in a picturesque valley outside Prague include businessmen, managers and artists ― even a 1970s pop star ― who come to follow the steady rhythm of

April 13, 2011

When to visit disaster-struck lands

What is the line between being a ghoul and a do-gooder when it comes to visiting a recent disaster area? It’s a question to be asked again when the crisis in Japan finally abates.But what is an appropriate waiting period to visit a country hit by a magnitude 9 earthquake and 20-foot-high tsunami that killed thousands of people in northeastern Japan and created a nuclear radiation crisis?In natural

April 8, 2011

Around the hotels

JW Marriott SeoulOn April 22 and 23, DJ e_qnx will throw a “Shaky Night” party at Bar Rouge in the hotel from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. His live DJing will mix trance, progressive house and synthesized 70s and 80s retro from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. A b-boy team performance and lucky draw for restaurant certificates will lead into midnight, and a hip-hop and electronic DJ mix will power the dance floor from 12

April 8, 2011

Climbers on Everest trash-clearing expedition

KATMANDU (AP) ― A team of mountaineers led by a veteran Sherpa guide flew Wednesday to Mount Everest on an expedition to clear away tons of trash left on the world’s highest peak.Since Everest was first conquered in 1953, thousands of people have climbed it, leaving behind the empty oxygen bottles, ropes, tents and other garbage that made their journey possible.Nepal’s government has since imposed

April 6, 2011

Serengeti: Tanzania’s food chain up close and personal

IN THE SERENGETI, Tanzania ― The lion isn’t sleeping tonight, and neither are most of the people around him.The eerie calls of male lions echo throughout the Serengeti at night.In a tent, even a luxury one, it is an unsettling sound, but the workers at the comfortable Kirawira Lodge in the western Serengeti smile reassuringly and insist that lions can’t work the zippers on the tent flaps. But even

March 25, 2011

Explore beautiful stretch of desert on trip to L.A.

Every Friday, Los Angelenos make a mass exodus to Las Vegas, traveling through the desert on an easy 400-kilometer drive up Interstate 15. Come Sunday, the caravan reverses, and they head home from a weekend at the casinos.If you’re visiting Las Vegas, why not follow their lead and include a road trip to Los Angeles in your vacation? Better yet, spend a day or more on the drive and explore the lan

March 18, 2011

Around the hotels

The Ritz-Carlton, SeoulThe hotel offers a special honeymoon package. The package includes a night stay at a Superior Deluxe room with a nice view, a bottle of sparkling wine, chocolates and complementary use of the fitness club and swimming pool the next day. The package, coming at the price of 250,000 won, is available until Dec. 30. For more information or reservations call (02) 3451-8114.JW Mar

March 18, 2011