Congratulations! + a Happy Video
Great work deserves recognition, so step forward Sammy K, Craig and Linda Martin, SoulTravelers3 and Sheila Beal! Congrats on your winning the Lonely Planet Travel Blog Awards 2009. Great job guys! Looking forward to participating next year and hopefully having a shot at the awards 
I also want to share about Far West China, a blog created by Josh Summers showcasing Xinjiang, the province located at far west China. Josh has kindly contributed an article showcasing the eerie Ghost City in Xinjiang, do check it out! And if you’re as intrigued as I am as to what other creepiness you can find in Xinjiang, go visit his blog!
Once again, we’re accepting submissions! Email me at nik(at)unearthingasia(dot)com.
From the Blog
For PhotoFriday goodness we go to Seoul, South Korea, and showcases the world’s longest and steepest wooden roller coaster, the T-Express.
Josh Summers from Far West China explored the eerie Ghost City at northern Xinjiang, a place that’s more than meets the eye!
Michelle continues her exploration of Saigon, this time towards the Mekong Delta, where she enjoyed the colorful floating market and a local specialty, the elephant ears fish!
From the Web
In comparison to these Mega and Giga Monster Coasters, the T-Express ride in Seoul pales in comparison.
Remember The Best Job in the World? It’s coming to a close soon. Congrats Clare Wang on winning the Wild-Card vote!
And finally, Matt goes around the world and does his funny little dance with people from all over the world! Such a happy video, and I absolutely LOVE the music!
It’s Not Over Till It’s Over
Despite risking the divided attention of my few readers, I can’t help but point to the recent happenings in the world of the EPL. You can say it’s a little personal. But hey! There is a lesson to be learned here, which applies to philosophy, which in turn applies to culture, and then to travel (Oh how I try!). That lesson? It’s not over till it’s over!
Well that’s that then, on to business. I’m very very pleased to share with you our newest contributor to the site, Andrew Hayes. That’s a beautiful site there Andy, and a great read as well. Welcome! We’ll be looking forward to your stories and musings!
I’ll take this chance as well to invite anybody who are interested in contributing, especially in regards to the Middle East, India, Nepal, Tibet, etc. We’re a little lacking in that area at the moment. Contact me at nik(at)unearthingasia(dot)com with your writing samples, compensation packages and short bio.
A debacle has been brewing in the blogosphere, one involving the Royal Caribbeans. It started small, but has drawn more and more momentum through the coming weeks. For the full coverage, check out these articles on Jaunted (twice), MSNBC (also twice), Tripso and many other blogs. This is the same Royal Caribbean that banned a passenger for life for complaining too much (even tho their complaints seemed very legitimate to me). A right royal mess it’s all becoming!
From the Blog
Our last week’s Photo Friday entry proved popular with the visitors, so we’ve decided to showcase another series of photos from New Zealand. Here are other highlights from that Port Hills Drive through scenic Christchurch.
Michelle has recently finished a quick 4 day trip through Saigon, and she shares her experiences during the first two days here and here. There will be more coming in the week, so look out for that!
From the Web
Christopher Elliott has been called one of the world’s leading travel experts. I don’t know and couldn’t care less about that, but I do enjoy his straight to-the-point talking in his blog.
Spotted by Locals is a blog where local netizens share their favorite hang-out places and the likes. Excellent idea! I shall propose an Asian section to that site.
And finally, some inspirational photography, less all this business talk and heavy reading makes us forget our aim – to inspire you to travel! Gorgeous!
A Personal Post
A slight apology now. I’ll be sharing an out-of-topic news that has been a source of great celebration for me personally. Here you go. Ah yes, all is good in the world now with bragging rights secured until the coming season. One week you’re up, one week you’re down. Such is the ways of the Premier League – which has a huge following in Asia, just to share.
Onward to travel-related tidbits. Travel and airline staffs can be abusive at times with the power and authority that they wield on the plane. Marilyn Parver was one such victim. I wish her well on her quest to right this injustice. Unfortunately, no news on how things went for her after she filed to sue for compensation. Anybody in the know?
I’d like to share some future plans for Unearthing Asia as well. We have several new contributors lined up, these are travel bloggers themselves and we’re sure you’ll enjoy what they have to say. Nothing final yet however, so no details just yet.
From the Blog
Other than eating out in Chinatown, there are also a host of other things to do in Singapore. One of which would be: Partying in Clarke Quay.
I just realized that there is a Number 11 to this Hong Kong list that I have unbelieveably missed out. Desserts at Hui Lao Shan!
For the musically adventurous, I invite you to sample a recent post. This small tasting of Asian music will fit just nicely into your road-tripping playlist!
From the Web
Our favorite Podcaster, Craig and Linda has published our first ever guest-post: It’s Makan Time in Singapore! We’re honored! And hungry as well. Yumm.
Notes from the Road - one of the most beautifully designed Travel site out there. The site feels very personal, and rightly so, all writings, photographs, and layout designs were done by one Erik Gauger. Hats off to you Mr. Gauger.
You Really Should
The word in Travel this week is that “you really should!“. Go Travel that is. Traveling is cheaper now! Really, more than ever before, even in this tough economic times. There are more and more discounted prices on hotels and cheap airline fares than ever before.
RyanAir continues to confound the public with its image fiasco. After calling one of its potential customer a “lunatic” and “an idiot”, they went on to decide that, hey your really shouldn’t be given a free pass at the loo. Watch out everybody, the man is serious.
A recent happening close to home touched a raw personal nerve. The newly opened Tsunami Museum has drawn its fair share of supporters and detractors. Count me in the latter part.
More points for consideration from a local Indonesian, albeit one based in Jakarta:
1. More than 700 victim families are still living in barracks in Banda Aceh.
2. The bill is already at $4.6 million. What’s the actual cost? Knowing how things work in Indonesia there’s bound to be a substantial amount of the fund filtered into the pockets of powerful people.
3. By the end of it, the museum would have cost $6.7 million. A point of comparison: a cheap street-side meal here costs about $0.50, it costs about $3,000 for a 40 square metre house (that’s in Jakarta, the cost in Aceh should be cheaper). Do your own math!
What do you feel about the Tsunami Museum? Leave a comment and let us know!
From the Blog
There is more to do in Hong Kong than the frenzied shopping of Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui. Here are Ten Suggestions for your consideration!
On our trip to Mount Cook, New Zealand this past January we had to settle for ice instead of snow. We booked ourselves a tour exploring the Tazman Glacier Lake, the largest glacier lake in the Mount Cook vicinity. Different, but still very much as fun!
From the Web
This one link is worth a lot more than that. To be exact, it’s worth 50 Links! Enjoy!
NaTraWriMo: The National Travel Writing Month: The twice yearly event that challenge travel writers to send out 30 pitches in 30 days. The challenge begins 1st April 2009 (No, it’s not an April’s Fool prank, honest!) Are you up to it?
Love is in the Air
The smell of romance fills the warm spring air like no other. Tis’ the time of year where couples delight in displaying their affections in celebration of love. Mahigita. Je t’aime. Cinta. Seni seviyorum. A few of the many sweet nothings that will be whispered all over the world come Saturday. How will you be spending your Valentine, and where? (Yes, this is a cue for you to comment. Share with us your V-Day’s plan~!)
Here at Unearthing Asia, we are very proud to be ushering in the festival of love for the first time ever in our very young web-life. In the coming weeks, we’ll be focusing on publishing contents with a theme of love. Come back often to find out more, but in the mean time, do enjoy the following travel-related content we have scoured for your perusal:
Craig and Linda has got a great podcast site going at Indie Travel Podcast, check out their Kuala Lumpur podcast for a great overview of how tourists would find Kuala Lumpur.
