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Founded in 2004, this exquisite Chinatown boutique sells unique jewelry pieces designed by Cindy Yokoyama. “I started as a painter and fell in love with abstraction,” she says. “Many of my pieces still reflect elements of this, including asymmetry.” She also plays with order and chaos, and mixes urban elements with natural organic ones beautifully. Expect seeds and shells mixed among metallics... and the azure hues of Hawai‘i’s sea and lush greens of its slopes. Of special note: earring sets where two teardrops complement each other, rather than matching—showcasing stones like lapis lazuli, fossilized coral, and bumble bee jasper.

They are most famed for their mouth-watering BBQ pork buns and the queues of people that congregate outside their blink-and-you’ll-miss-it canteen. Welcome to Tim Ho Wan, the one of the world’s cheapest Michelin star restaurants. This is Yum Cha heaven, so if you need your fix you have certainly come to the right place. Seated in the 17-seat canteen the fast, hectic pace of the restaurant will keep you in the fast lane: have your order ready before you come inside, eat fast, and get out or watch as you get stared down by one of the grumpier ladies. Despite this fast-paced attitude the food is worth it. A full meal to feed three to bursting point cost less than AU$20/GBP£14/US$21 – and that’s with leftovers. BBQ pork buns are notorious for being overly sweet, so biting into Tim Ho Wan’s buns I was pleasantly surprised to be met with a beautiful sweet interior filled with soft pork pieces. The chiu chow-style dumplings were also beautiful; notorious for having soggy nuts, they had steamed these to perfection, with the crunch still intact amongst the soft exterior. Top picks? The famed BBQ pork buns, vermicelli rolls, turnip cake, and the chiu chow style dumplings. Delicious! -------- Details Tim Ho Wan Tsui Yuen Mansion, 2-20 Kwong Wa St (廣華街2-20號翠園大樓2期地下8號舖) Mong Kok, Hong Kong Other branches: * Sham Shui Po G/F, 9-11 Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon * ICC Mall in Central (Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall) , Central, Hong Kong

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is more than a shopping center, it’s a place for coffee, drink and dessert. Even more, in the center of the shopping center, there is a mosaic art of bull, which is said that if you spin your heel on the ball three times, it will bring you good luck. Of course a lot of people were spinning on the ball, and there is a hole on the mosaic art.

Opened in 1890 as an unofficial state guesthouse, the country’s first Western-style property built for the aristocracy to welcome an increasing number of foreigners, the Imperial Hotel has had a momentous history. Ravaged by a fire in 1922, it was rebuilt in 1923 by Frank Lloyd Wright in Maya-Revival style, though it fell into disrepair over the decades and was demolished in 1967. The blocky current version comprises a main building and a tower that together house 931 rooms, but the interiors stick to the property’s past with leather headboards and velvet-covered furnishings. The hotel boasts the largest executive center in Japan, but more leisurely activities await in the 20th-floor swimming pool and sauna, in the fully equipped music room (complete with Steinway piano), and in 11 restaurants that range from upscale French and traditional Japanese cuisines to snack-worthy sushi and confections.

Few structures in Taiwan are as instantly recognizable as Taipei’s Grand Hotel. Set on a hill on the northern bank of the Keelung River, the Grand seems less a hotel and more an imperial sentinel keeping eternal vigil over the metropolis to the south. Among the world’s tallest classical Chinese structures, the hotel’s 285-foot red columns hold high a curvaceous burnt umber, temple-style roof topped by carved dragons. This classical Chinese motif continues inside the hotel, with dragons, lions, plum flowers, and other symbols of Imperial China woven throughout. Guestrooms are stately, though more functional than plush. All are decked out in imperial gold and red, and each offers carved teakwood chairs alongside other furnishings reminiscent of bygone dynasties. South-facing rooms all have balconies with city views so visitors can enjoy quiet meditations while looking out over the meandering river separating Taipei’s quieter north side from the more frenetic south.

Located just outside of Santa Cruz in the heart of the Colchagua Valley, Clos Apalta Residence (formerly Lapostolle Residence) is known for its premium Chilean wine. In 2005, the Marnier family opened the stunning property on a steep hillside in the micro region of Apalta. In addition to a state-of-the-art, gravity-fed winery, they built four villas, giving wine lovers a unique place to stay. Today, Clos Apalta functions as a Relais & Chateaux luxury hotel, complete with beautiful views of the valley and its surrounding mountains. Guests can relax on their private terrace, in the lodge, or by the infinity pool, sipping house wines while enjoying the vistas. They also have exclusive access to the dining room, where chefs use produce from the hotel’s own organic garden, and tours of the owners’ wine cellar during visits to the winery.

To get a feel for the real Dubai, there’s no better way than to book a tour with Frying Pan Adventures. Frying Pan was the first culinary tour outfit in Dubai, and their success is well deserved. A day with Frying Pan will get you out of the glitzy hotel scene and into Dubai’s neighborhoods, which can be hard to imagine when you’re sitting in a bar 25 stories above the city. On Arva’s Middle Eastern food tour you’ll try Syrian, Jordanian, Palestinian, Egyptian, Iranian, and Emirati cuisines. Good Emirati food is difficult to find outside of homes, so the tour is worth doing for that chance alone. You’ll get to sample delectable treats: from succulent Persian kebabs and wonderful Egyptian pastries to baklava dripping with honey and piping hot flat bread straight from the oven. Arva’s walking tours (or air-conditioned vans, in the hotter months), will take you from food trucks to tiny Egyptian kitchens, from Iranian saffron rice to Emirati date-scented desserts. Make sure to book well in advance, especially in the winter months.

Cerro Ancón, or Ancón Hill, is a patriotic symbol for all Panamanians. While the Stars and Stripes waved atop the hill throughout the period of United States control of the canal, now the proud promontory displays Panama’s colors. There’s just one footpath that leads to the top. In addition to its historical significance, it’s worth scaling the peak to visit the surrounding jungle and catch a glimpse of the area’s wildlife, all of which makes the park an oasis amid big-city bustle. Cerro Ancón’s second-generation, restored forest is home to more than 260 plant and 70 animal species. Once you hit the summit, every vantage point offers views of the Casco Viejo, the modern metropolis, the harbor, and densely populated downtown districts.

English-speaking bibliophiles love Under the Volcano for its cozy, welcoming space, where shelves stretch from floor to ceiling and wall to wall, sagging under the weight of previously read and gently used books. Those that don’t fit on shelves sit in towering stacks on the floor. Don’t expect the kind of boring pulp that tends to get left behind at hostel book exchanges. These are quality reads, including some unexpected and even rare finds.

One of St. John’s most beautiful seaside spots, Hawksnest Beach offers a beautiful and easy-to-reach locale with convenient parking, picnic tables, barbecue grills, and ample shade. That accessibility, alas, can mean crowds, so try to arrive early and find your spot on the sand. A long snorkeling reef begins a few yards from the shore.

Hang Ah Dim Sum Tea Room’s brick facade and missing letters may not be much to look at from the outside, and the interior’s low ceilings, fluorescent lights, and basic furnishings won’t win awards, either, but the inexpensive dim sum served inside makes it worth a visit. It’s too small for rolling carts, but you can order soup dumplings, barbecue pork buns, shrimp dumplings, pot stickers, and many other freshly made, shareable bites. The menu has rice, noodle, and vegetable dishes, too. Hang Ah Dim Sum, established in 1920, calls itself the oldest continually operating dim sum restaurant in the United States and has been owned that whole time by the same handful of families.

It’s a sad fact that many swaths of Johannesburg aren’t exactly walkable, but that’s not the case at Melrose Arch, a trendy complex filled with some of the city’s hottest restaurants, galleries, and shops. Guests are in the heart of the action if they book a stay at the African Pride Melrose Arch Hotel, a slick property with 118 stylish, contemporary rooms adorned with modern African art. And now that the hotel falls under the Marriott family umbrella, guests can expect all sorts of perks and upgrades associated with the brand.

It’s no coincidence that walking around Liberty feels as if you’re exploring someone’s grand home; the department store’s founder, Arthur Lasenby Liberty, wanted to create that very feel, and so in 1875 settled on a Tudor-style building that featured a jumble of interconnecting rooms. A wooden staircase at one end connects the six floors, and a paper room sells stationery in the store’s iconic floral Liberty print, fashion and beauty halls, a cafe, and multiple branded treatment rooms. Still, it’s the florist’s shop outside that seems to provide the main draw; as any passing tourist will attest, its colourful array of blooms is highly Instagrammable.

Once the center of commerce in Charleston, the City Market is now the heart of tourism. Although its location near the cruise terminal can make it feel like a kitschy open-air market in the Caribbean, the tackiness is part of its charm. Yes, you’ll find Christmas ornaments painted with Rainbow Row and enough cutely packaged pralines to give you a stomachache, but you’ll also see Gullah artisans weaving the finest examples of sweetgrass baskets available. Peak season brings 140 different merchants, and weekends include live music and food vendors. The market’s a requisite stop for any visitor and a one-stop gift shop for loved ones back home.

A lowly warehouse in Antwerp may not seem like a life-changing sort of place. However, this was the start of a completely new life for over 2 million emigrants and a lifesaver for many of them. The brand new Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp tells the story of these emigrants, who bravely travelled from Eastern Europe to North America, leaving everything they knew behind. Although the Red Star Line Museum primarily focuses on the immigrants who travelled on board RSL ships, there is also a modern side to the story. On the ground floor, the exhibit ‘Always on the Move’ deals with the current state of migration around the world. Coupled with temporary photography exhibits, this modern section of the museum reminds us that, even today, emigration isn’t always a choice for the migrants. The Red Star Line Museum tells a powerful and important story in a beautiful and moving way. It should be on the ‘must visit’ list for all expats and descendants of immigrants, so we never forget the struggle our ancestors made on our behalf. More Information: http://cheeseweb.eu/2013/10/red-star-line-immigration-museum-antwerp-belgium/