The Korea Herald

Western Australia Tourism presents wild flower travel package

TravelAug 31, 2012

The Western Australia Tourism Board presents a wild flower travel package available for purchase at four travel agencies: Mode Tour, Very Good Tour, Hanjin Travel and Lotte JTB. Western Australia boasts about 15,000 flower species and a dazzling landscape with lush scents and colors from September to November, attracting tourists, photographers and flower experts every year to see the spectacular scenes. The eight-day travel package which starts at 3.2 million won includes round-trip airline tic
Conflict decimates Syria tourism: official report

TravelAug 31, 2012

DAMASCUS (AFP) ― Tourism in Syria has been decimated by more than 17 months of deadly conflict, with hotel rooms once let to foreigners now often occupied by people who are refugees in their own country, official figures show.Revenue from tourism has plummeted 75.4 percent since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule erupted, the prime minister’s office was quoted as saying by the government daily Tishrin on Wednesday.A government study showed that tourism generated just 12.8 bill
Tomato battle drenches Spanish town in red

CultureAug 31, 2012

BUNOL, Spain (AFP) ― Tens of thousands of revelers hurled 120 tons of squashed tomatoes at each other Wednesday, drenching the streets in red in a gigantic Spanish food fight known as the Tomatina.A sea of more than 40,000 alcohol-soaked men and women packed into the Plaza Mayor square of Bunol, eastern Spain, many with their shirts off and wearing swimming goggles to keep out the stinging juice.Spectators peered over the balconies of surrounding buildings, some also chucking tomatoes on chantin
San Diego’s North County more than just a pretty face

TravelAug 31, 2012

SAN DIEGO ― Maybe you’ve always suspected that there was more to San Diego’s North County than beach towns, rolling hills, expat giraffes and a walled kingdom of brightly colored plastic. But frankly, they had me at beach towns.I always figured the rest ― even the two marquee attractions, Legoland in Carlsbad and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park near Escondido ― was just gravy. Or icing on the cake. Or maybe, given San Diego’s love of beer, the chaser after the pint.But now I’ve spent several days
Chuseok hamper set at Grand Hyatt Seoul

Food&BeverageAug 31, 2012

The hotel’s delicatessen Deli presents a selection of deluxe hamper gift sets in celebration of Chuseok from Sept. 17-30. The Chuseok Special Hamper consists of a fragrant Revolution premier tea box, Italian Plenum wine, home-made marble cake and cookies. The French Gourmet Hamper has a Dammann tea, a bottle of French Chambolle-Musigny wine, Antoni Gaudi bonbons and chocolate. The Wine and Home-Made Sweets Hamper has a bottle of Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte with delicacies specially made by the ba
Seasonal delicacy at Millennium Seoul Hilton

Food&BeverageAug 31, 2012

The hotel’s Japanese restaurant Genji presents a seasonal delicacy of pine mushrooms during the month of September. The fragrant mushrooms, often called the jewel of the forest, will be showcased in a la carte dishes as well as a special eight-course menu. The seasonal ingredient is featured in special menus such as grilled pine mushrooms, pine mushroom tempura, and steamed pine mushrooms in an earthen pot. Guests may also enjoy an eight-course meal, including pine mushrooms and sushi. Prices of
25th year event at Novotel Ambassador Gangnam

Food&BeverageAug 31, 2012

Novotel Ambassador Gangnam, a French Accor chain hotel, celebrates the 25th anniversary of its partnership with Korea’s Ambassador Group with a special anniversary package during the month of September. The Anniversary Package features a one-night stay in a superior room as well as a breakfast buffet at the hotel’s restaurant SQUARE. The package also includes a bottle of anniversary wine, a DVD of “Phantom of the Opera,” and access to the Internet, sauna and fitness club. The package is priced a
Fall Package at Grand Hilton Seoul

Food&BeverageAug 31, 2012

The hotel offers a selection of packages celebrating the new fall season from Sept. 6-Nov. 30. The Fall in Coffee package includes one night in a deluxe room with free coffee for two at the Atrium Caf. The Fall in Love package includes a one-night stay at a deluxe room with a breakfast buffet and coffee at the Atrium Caf. The Fall in Beauty package consists of one night stay in the executive room with free access to the sauna as well as EFL lounge during Happy Hour. The Fall in Luxury package pr
The Westin Chosun Seoul ranked one of Asia’s top hotels

Food&BeverageAug 31, 2012

The Westin Chosun Seoul has been voted as one of Asia’s Top 25 business hotels by online travel magazine Smart Travel Asia for five consecutive years. The Westin Chosun Seoul secured the top spot among Seoul hotels at 14th place.Smart Travel Asia has 1 million readers worldwide and conducts the Best Brand online survey every year in the categories of hotels, airlines, airports, holiday destinations, shopping cities and business cities. According to this year’s travel poll, The Fullerton Hotel Si
Sujeonggwa, (cinnamon punch with dried persimmons)

Food&BeverageAug 31, 2012

Sujeonggwa is a cinnamon punch made by soaking cinnamon and ginger in water. The liquid is mixed with sugar and boiled, then garnished with dried persimmons and pine nuts. Sujeonggwa means ‘cookies in water.’ To enjoy the real sujeonggwa taste, drink it as you would sweet honey and cold ice.Ingredients● 200 g ginger, 10 cups water ● 120 g un-spilt cinnamon, 10 cups water ● 1 cup light brown sugar, 1 1/3 cups sugar ● 5 ea dried persimmons, 10 ea walnut ● 5 g pine nuts 1. Skin the ginger (160 g) a
Cookbook author bends the rules of eating raw

Food&BeverageAug 31, 2012

Amber Shea Crawley knows she is eating in a gray area.While her cookbook “Practically Raw” (Vegan Heritage Press; $19.95) extols the virtues of eating a plant-based diet, she refuses to get wrapped up in the ethical, moral or political aspects of a strict raw vegan diet.“Eating raw food is not a black-or-white decision, but rather a matter of proportions,” Crawley states in the introductory chapter. “Every raw snack, side dish, or meal you add to your day will benefit your body.” A more relaxed
Unification Church founder on life support

PeopleAug 31, 2012

Rev. Moon Sun-myung, founder of the Unification Church, has gone into critical organ failure and is on life support, the church said in a statement on Friday. Moon will be moved to a medical center operated by the church, located east of Seoul in a place the church considers sacred, as doctors say his illness is “irreversible.”Moon, 92 was hospitalized at the intensive care unit of St. Mary’s Hospital in Seoul two weeks ago with complications from pneumonia. The reverend’s condition, had appear
Whale vomit worth 72 million won found by schoolboy

TravelAug 31, 2012

English schoolboy Charlie Naysmith, 8, found a 600-gram chunk of ambergris, the official name for whale vomit, while walking along the beach near Bournemouth, England, according to news reports. Ambergris is yellowish beige, feels waxy, and exudes a sweet perfume. Years of floating and exposure to the sun and salt turns the vomit into what looks like smooth rock. Perfume makers highly sought ambergris years ago because it helps prolong the scent of perfumes. Nowadays, perfume makers substitute t
Surgery for fighting obesity

HealthAug 30, 2012

For severely obese people, gastric bypass surgery can be the surest, and the most cost-effective, way to weight loss, a new study found. Surgeries are expensive, but their long-term economic benefits, in terms of improvements in health and life quality, are greater than traditional weight-loss options such as diet, exercise and medication, the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency said in its recently released research. “They are costly, but far more effective in treating obesi
Recovery hits the road

BooksAug 30, 2012

The Revised Fundamentals of CaregivingBy Jonathan Evison (Algonquin Books)Who among us wouldn’t like to put the car in reverse, hurtling back past some long-vanished stretch where we somehow swerved from the road, forever changing life’s scenery through all the miles to come?Benjamin Benjamin, the 39-year-old narrator of Jonathan Evison’s “The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving,” knows the feeling. As Evison’s novel opens, Ben has endured two rocky years reliving an accident ― which may have bee