Urban Life in Downtown LA

Veering away from the Hollywood hype, Downtown Los Angeles cast its own cinematic urban life filled with its flourishing art scene, endless musical events and a budding fashion district. More so, there’s always something to discover around town, you just need to look deeper.

“New York-like in its density and mishmash, the long-blighted center has become an accessible, pedestrian-friendly destination in recent years; Angelenos walk around en masse, using their actual legs. The immense L.A. Live entertainment complex is largely responsible for this comeback, but the studiously vintage bars and imaginative restaurants that seem to open every other day are also part of the revival. Skid Row and the drifts of homeless camps haven’t vanished altogether, and the grittiness still varies by block. But this part of town is alive again, in ways that make sense even to an outsider.”

Read More from the NY Times

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A Tour of Istanbul’s Street Food

Istanbul is one of the key tourism spots in Turkey. There are thousands of hotels and other tourist oriented industries in the city, accommodating both vacationers and visiting professionals. But the highlight of them all for food trippers is Istanbul’s street food. Istanbul can be considered bliss for  anyone who loves street food. The varieties are not only numerous, but show considerable change from region to region. There is a very important culture turning around street food in Istanbul, and all this food is also separated by those that are eaten by day and those by night.

“If you’re like me, when you travel, you like to plan your trip around food. Seeing the sights is important, I know, but having an authentic food experience gives you insights into the local culture that no amount of church- and museum-going can provide. (And mind you, I started out life as an architectural historian.)

Today, with a bit of research on the Internet anyone can scope out the best restaurants, markets, and food sources. At least up to a certain point. What about the places that fall through the cracks? The place where the guys who sell fish take their coffee break. Or where spice vendors stop mid-morning for a bowl of lentil soup.“

Read More From The Atlantic

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Discover Hong Kong by Night

Hong Kong is a recognized global centre of trade and calls itself an “entertainment hub”. As of 2009, Hong Kong is the fifth most expensive city for expatriates, behind Tokyo, Osaka, Moscow, and Geneva. Despite its luxurious traits, foreign people are still enticed of the grand night scenery and experience.

“Cultural customs- Before you start sniggering, let me tell you that in Sydney, New York or London, choosing a cocktail because of a dream might be considered frivolous. But it is perfectly reasonable in superstitious Hong Kong, where numbers can make or break a business (four is shunned; three, eight and nine are lucky), where people wear red for luck and not a brick is laid without consulting a feng shui master.

I’m constantly amazed at how ancient customs run strong within a city that enthusiastically embraces cutting-edge technology. The smell of incense wafts from a temple positioned next to a skyscraper. Traditional Chinese herbalists are as popular as electronic stores stocked with the latest gadgets.

There are few places in the world where you’d walk into a no-frills soup house to find a businessman in a Zegna suit tapping on an iPhone while ingesting a bowl of snake soup to increase blood circulation, cure aches and keep away winter chills.”

Read More From www.adelaidenow.com

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Kuala Lumpur: 10 Things to Do in 24 Hours

Kuala Lumpur is the fifth most visited city in the world, with 8.94 million tourist arrivals in 2008. As a relatively young city compared with other Southeast Asian capitals such as Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila, most of Kuala Lumpur’s colonial buildings were built toward the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The structural design of Kuala Lumpur is a merge of old colonial influences, Asian traditions, Malay Islamic inspirations, modern, and postmodern architecture mix. These key traveler spots are the reasons why expatriates visit and even live in this seat of the Parliament of Malaysia.

“By design or lack of populace, Kuala Lumpur is Asia’s green capital, where monkeys scamper close to skyscrapers and the occasional boa constrictor slithers across six-lane traffic. Centered around a colonial inheritance of ordered landscaping and dominated by palm-lined freeways, K.L. offers room to breathe and to contemplate the meeting of cultures. And meet they do, with Malays, Chinese and Tamils augmented by an annual Arabian and Iranian invasion drawn by shopping and the Islam-lite atmosphere. The automotive merry-go-round can feel too suburban and downtown can seem sterile, but turn a corner and streets burst into exoticism and a riot of night markets. A restive art scene, driven by Malaysians’ ongoing quest for shared identity, gives K.L. further heft.”

Read More From www.time.com

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Phuket, World’s Best of the Best for Expat Living

There’s a lot more to Phuket than just sea, sand and sunshine. Although expensive transport is said to be one of the little disadvantages of staying in the area, it pales in comparison to thee relaxing and entertaining vibes visitors get from staying on the largest Island of Thailand.

“PHUKET expats can pat themselves squarely on the back. So for that matter can all of Phuket’s residents.

A report on the esteemed Wall Street Journal’s site, quoting the highly-regarded HSBC bank Expat Explorer annual survey, rates Thailand as the best place in the world for expats to live.

And as the expats on Phuket know, despite a few grumbles about expensive tuk-tuk transport, the moods of the beaches and the monsoon weather, Phuket is the best place to live in the best country in the world for expats to live.”

Read More From www.phuketwan.com

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Singapore Top Five Night Spots

As expected of a tourist hot spot like Singapore,the nightlife is just as booming as any other major city, with something for everyone.

Clubs and dance floors may have been all the rage the last few years, but the lion city roars with much more than just dance moves.

Zouk, Butter Factory and Zirca Mega Club are the mainstays when it comes to hitting the dance floors and partying the night away.

But those seeking more than just club life can also stop by Timbre @ The Substation to find the best music talents in town and No. 5 in Emerald Hill for the perfect place for laid back drinks with friends to drown out the city noise.

“Timbre @ The Substation, Singapore’s first bar to support and showcase local music talents. Its rustic, no-frills decor and food created a strong identity for its music-loving audience.

A walk down Emerald Hill can bring back many fond memories from the good old days of the 1990s. No. 5 still remains in its 1910 Peranakan shop house, just as colonial as when it first opened with its wood-craft décor. And throwing peanut shells on the floors is still an age-defying concept of fun.”

Read More From CNNGo

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Cities oozing with sex appeal

These days, a city is just more than tourist trails and tacky attractions. There’s the so called ‘vibe’, the cultural aspect, the lifestyle and the charming people that a city should possess to be included in the  list of Sexiest Cities in the World.

So take your pick: San Francisco, Paris, Warsaw, Seoul, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv, Caracas and Barcelona. And jump into the pool of the city vibrant nightlife.

“A city’s sex appeal can be put down to plenty of things – the setting, the nightlife, the “vibe”, if there is such a thing – but mostly, it’s down to the people.

Some have it; some don’t. If you’re looking for sex appeal on your next overseas trip, this is where you should be heading…”

Read More From The Sydney Morning Herald

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What To Do in Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley has come a long way from just being known as makers of silicon chips.

These days, Silicon Valley is the Olympus of tech giants: Google, Apple, Facebook, HP, Intel, Cisco, eBay, Adobe and Yahoo, among others.

More so, Silicon Valley is becoming a cultural haven with its fine list of restaurants and bars, although if you have the means and connections, you can certainly also spend the evening browsing through some more high-tech digs.  However, most visitors will be satisfied with the tourist views, including a ride aboard an airship over the area if you so choose.

“Situated just south of San Francisco Bay, the valley was once an agricultural cradle, home to orchards and vineyards. These days, of course, it bears fruit of a different sort, as the home of tech giants like Apple, Google and Intel. Buoyed by the resilience of tech companies, the valley’s dozen or so cities, which include Mountain View and Palo Alto, have managed to sidestep the recession, continuing their shift from corporate strip malls to urban hubs. The valley now buzzes with cultural spaces, lively restaurants and a hyper-educated workforce that has no problem keeping up.”

Read More From NY Times

Stargazing, the newest nightlife attraction in Chile

For those who like to mix their adventurous experiences with scientific observation, Chile is the place to be. While the traditional dinner and dancing are still the nightlife mainstays, stargazing is set to take the limelight as the country’s newest attraction.

Elaine Glusac recounts her experience, “After the nearest star had set one evening last August, I peered through the Meade 16-inch telescope in the 15-foot observatory of the Hotel de Larache in San Pedro de Atacama to see the main attraction: the doppelgänger Alpha Centauri stars that, without the benefit of magnification, look like one; the misty, yellow Swan Nebula; and the Scorpio Constellation’s bi-winged Butterfly Cluster….Stargazing has increasingly become an alternative to traditional after-sundown dining and drinking at hotels and resorts. Call it night life for nerds.”

Read More From The NY Times

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Singapore may be tiny, but the sky is the limit when it comes to rooftop bars and sky lounges.  After all, where else is there to go but up?  The best and brightest of Singapore’s exploding Rooftop Bars include The Club on the Sands, 1-Altitude, Lantern, fabrika by Chivas 18 and Ying Yang. As quoted by DJ Godwin Pereira, “Whatever the reason, the boom in Singapore rooftop bars has recently had us elevator hopping to put together this list of the best of the new lot.”

Read More From CNNGo

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Ask us questions, Contact us today!Photo From e-Clubbing.com