The good folks at Urbanatomy have recently put unitedly a great list featuring many of Shanghai’s bath houses. What’s great about the think fit is that it includes not only reviews but also some etiquette pointers (see “Manners in the Mist”) as well as average visit price for a visit. I’ve touted Xiao Nan Guo as one of the greatest pampering experiences ever but Urbanantomy’s list gives you the scoop on numerous company more.

Now that it’s officially winter, get yourself out to one of these steamy sections of paradise and enjoy. It’s a good remedy for any cold.

Read More:

• My review of Xiao Nan Guo Spa
• Urbanatomy’s Bath Houses in Shanghai Full Article

Photo: Xiao Nan Guo’s lobby. Photo property of XNG group. All rights reserved.

In various Temples and Wats throughout Thailand, Burma and Laos it is not uncommon to stumble across a series of paintings somewhere inside, usually on the inner wall near the entrance, which depict the innumerable punishments that are baffled out in the Buddhist afterlife for those who have been a tad bit naughty.

Many delightful options are available: having one’s tongue torn out with pincers, hot oil poured down one’s throat, being forced to climb a thorn tree while being chased by spear-throwing demons, assuming the form of an denizen of the deep and being sawed in half and having your guts eaten by vultures, or, how about something a little more traditional like being thrown into a large cauldron of burning oil? Click HERE for a series of tantalising photos of these paintings.

Well, reader responses are in and 80% of you know that the World Expo is happening in Shanghai next year. 63% of you have been to an Expo and might even travel for one. (Only 1 person admitted to not knowing what Expo is.) So that’s a much higher understanding rate than I would have imagined. Although if you’re reading my blog, you’re interested in China, so that makes you (not only really very cool) nevertheless also in the know.

One commenter mentioned how much he’s not looking forward to benefice in Shanghai and living through all the security checks, traffic and other hassles that are sure to follow. While I see his point, those of us living here are even now suffering constant construction and seemingly endless renovations, so I have to say I’m looking forward to seeing it all finished. But yes, random security checks on the subway, increased surveillance and all that is tiresome. But till now, it’ll be nice to hear the sound of silent drills. (Or is that just wishful thinking on my part?)

More to come hither about the Shangai Expo that’s on from May-October 2010.

Read more…

I was thrilled to read last week in the Shanghai Daily about a government-sanctioned gay bar set to open in Dali, Yunnan Province, a tourist / backpacker town near Lijiang, the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was hard for me to believe since unfortunately, acceptance of gay culture is not very advanced here. Shanghai’session own Gay Pride Week last spring, while low-key, had single events shut down or canceled by authorities in this relatively cosmopolitan city.

So I wasn’t surprised when three days later, the paper reported that the bar was forced to close. While supposedly supported by the local government, local discrimination against the gay community and volunteers at the bar have constrained the bar to shut its doors before it was even really open.

Happily, there are some outwardly gay-friendly places in China. Our Gay & Lesbian Travel Guide has them outlined here in his directory of Gay Travel in China.

That’s right, your Beijing Duck might not even be entirely digested from last Thursday’s Thanksgiving, China-style, but the Christmas decorations are going up with full force. Christmas markets are starting – the first being this weekend at Shanghai’s Paulaner. Get your fill of gluewein, shopping and Santa at the German-themed Christmas Market and check out what besides is happening over the holidays.

Read more:

• Christmas in Pictures
• Guide to Christmas in China

Photo: Christmas in Shanghai, 2008 Sara Naumann, licensed to About.com.

A reader recently asked how and where to eat Halal food during a business trip to Shanghai. China has a large population of Muslim peoples who are part of ten ethnic groups. The largest cluster is the Uigher minority from Xinjiang Province in China’s far west. These folks have brought their palatable cuisine east and you can find their restaurants from large venues to tiny dives all over Chinese cities. So in essence, it is relatively easy to find Muslim restaurants in China.

But if you don’t have time to wander and your hotel concierge is scratching his head, IslamChina.com have a great web site on the history and culture of Islamic peoples in China and also list restaurants for various Islamic ethnic cuisines by city, e.g. Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen.

Definitely add Islamic foods such in the manner that Xinjiang or Hui cuisine to your culinary itinerary while in China. The spices and flavors are utterly different from the foods you’ll find from other locations and you’ll in likelihood find yourself craving lamb kebabs after your first experience. I do.

Image Mike Aquino, licensed to About.com.

That’s my PC at the dresser in my hotel room at Victory Hotel, Hue, Vietnam. I liked where I ended up – as my first choice couldn’t accommodate my change of schedule, I switched over to the indirect of Victory – and got more than my money’s worth.

For more on my Hue tavern experience, read my review: Victory Hotel, Hue, Vietnam.