Fuzzy Bus

Bermuda is an unusual place with an unusual history. Most of the visitors will likely come and go without looking too deeply into its past and present, but there is a treasure trove of events and people that have left a deep influence on the world at large. It’s politically part of the Caribbean, although it isn’t geographically so, and its weather is a legendary attraction to visitors at the luxury hotels Bermuda offers. This makes it a particularly lovely spot for any vacation, and the island lifestyle is appealing to anyone looking to get away. It’s also been a place that attracts writers, but the literary history is rather short compared to other islands in the region.

There are perhaps several reasons for this, and they do seem connected to the history of the place. However, this year, with the passing of Brian Burland , it’s certainly time to re-visit his influence on the literary world. His creative output was impressive, but he was constantly struggling with book sales. Although his novels have been widely acclaimed, he doesn’t have a large readership on the island itself. It’s enough to have put him entirely out of print, but this year seems to have changed that for the better. Now his voice can be recognized, and the insider’s view of Bermuda might be known locally, and once again to the rest of the world.

Where on this planet can you find a place that brings together two passions at once — art and shopping?  Singapore provides the answer to this question in the form of Vivocity in the Harbourfront Precinct.  Travelers in the hotels of Singapore will discover a building designed by world renowned architect Toyo Ito, in his first major project outside of Japan.  Vivocity’s design is meant to evoke the idea of sea waves, and its home to entertainment and shopping businesses, providing an excellent environment in which to relax.  As the largest retail center in Singapore, the shopping practically takes care of itself, but what about the art?  There are six major works by international artists at Vivocity for its patrons to enjoy.

On the Harbourfront boardwalk, you’ll find a twenty foot tall sphere of flowers by Korea’s Choi Jeong-Hwa.  Set among the Promenade’s trees, it brings a great deal of color to its setting.  The Flower Tree causes people to stop and almost literally smell the flowers.  From the Netherlands, Marc Ruygrok has created Gogo, a thirty-three foot tall rocket, colored a brilliant red, that greets patrons as they enter the parking area of Vivocity.  It resembles a rocketship one might find in a science fiction B-movie from the 1950s.  Then there’s an elongated Snowman, another tall work at forty-three feet, also on the Promenade, rising high above the second story terrace and looking into the third story Sky Park.  Inges Idee from Germany has provided Vivocity with gigantic Snowflakes, each about three feet wide, sitting atop the Sky Park.  Combining this art work with that of the Snowman, there’s a curious comment on nature, snowflakes and snowmen sitting in the tropics, the man-made version of these items lasting even in the warm 80 degree heat of Singapore.

If you’re of a more romantic frame of mind, you’ll discover Aphrodite’s Roses, a series of four giant rose blooms that serve as seating for the patrons, designed by Hiroshi Yoshimiza from Japan.  The sculpture, There, by Netherland’s Henk Visch, depicts a gymnast going through a work out on a horizontal bar some twenty feet above the water.   Finally, you have Vivo Punch, work created by Hong Kong’s Michael Cheung, also known as Punchman.  His human-like figures are playful and colorful and add an extra level of energy to the Sky Park.  For those engaged in the eternal struggle between art and commerce, they may find a merger of the two at Vivocity.

Clothes for a Summer Hotel continues its short run at the Hudson Guild in New York. It’s a hot item and popular with many tourists, as well as residents, so guests staying in some of Manhattan’s best hotels should try and get their tickets as soon as possible. Also, remember that there are some great theatre packages available in New York for accommodations, dinners and a show so make sure and check out all of your available options. New York is known for having the best theatre, the best dining options and hotel accommodations, to there is no way to lose when making plans to visit the city and enjoy its diverse features.

Clothes for a Summer Hotel was written by Tennessee Williams who is well known for his great, and sometimes cryptic dialogue and well formed female characters. In fact he has created some of the most famous characters from women on the American Stage. This is the case with this play, though interestingly one of the main female characters is based on real life famous personality, Zelda Fitzgerald. The play is one of Williams’ ghost plays and deals with the restless spirits of another literary great F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda. The two were known in real life for their extremely passionate and somewhat unconventional relationship and this continues in their afterlife.

The script takes strong liberties with concepts such as timelines, dates and chronological associations, which is frequently the case when created great drama from dramatic life contexts. In addition, the play deals with the ghosts of these characters so that is already extending the typical suspension of disbelieve which is a traditional theatrical convention. The past and present fuse into a stream of experiences and the story features an appearance from lively characters such as Ernest Hemingway. It is only schedule to run through the 21st of this month, so get your tickets fast.

One of the most famous museums in the world today, began as a simple building to house a collection of porcelain items and pottery.  The University Art Museum of Princeton now has a Picasso sculpture adorning the entrance way, and is filled with more than sixty thousand pieces of rare and famous art works, artifacts and samples of history from around the world, through a range of all the different time periods from Classical, to pre-Colombian to modern art.

All media is represented as well, from drawings of the old masters, beautiful works in stained glass, bronze sculptures and photography.  The formation of the art department for Princeton University was begun in 1882, when the president of the university, James McCosh put two men in charge…General George McClellan and William C. Prime.  Both men had very strong convictions to developing a department which valued works of art throughout history.

At first the museum was referred to as the Museum of Historic Art and contained in the collection predominantly archaeological artifacts.  Slowly, paintings began to be included in the collection, which is most likely due to the addition to the staff, of Frank Jewett Mather, who was hired to teach courses on Renaissance Art.  It was during this time that an expansion to the original museum became necessary, for storage space and for exhibition wall space.

Now it is one of the most outstanding and impressive university museums where classes are held and where visitors can witness the changes through time, and the influence art has had on those changes for many societies of the world.  A walk through this museum is like a walk through many museums…a walk through the history of not only different societies, but through the minds of those people living in those societies through time.  To find a hotel conveniently located close to the museum, click here. Any visit to this region of New Jersey would not be complete without experiencing all that the Princeton University Art Museum has to offer, to the mind and to the soul, of what it means to be human and to create.

We have your Hong Kong hotel. We have carefully selected our hotels based on a consistently high level of service, design, and comfort. Combining the best of old world niceties, like hospitality, charm, and taste, with the best of contemporary technology and sensibility, your stay here will be a unique metropolitan experience that will provide a lovely introduction to Hong Kong. We recommend taking in a fantastic meal, served by top chefs who are schooled in the best methods for preparing international cuisine, enjoying a perfectly decadent bath, and then a fantastic night’s sleep in our gorgeous and sumptuous rooms, and then set out to explore the city.

Hong Kong is one of the most bustling and exciting metropolises in the world, and has a well-deserved reputation as a world-class center. There are tons of activities here for visitors of all ages, and plenty of offerings to choose from any day of the week. There are excellent museums and galleries, fantastic theaters and opera houses with some of the most interesting live art in Asia, and an increasingly steady supply of alternative spaces presenting edgy and experimental work for local and international audiences. There is certainly an eclectic mix of offerings as well as artists. Bahouki is one excellent example of this.

There may be very few Celtic bands as exciting as Bahouki. The three-piece ensemble from Scotland and Ireland play a broad range of traditional folk from the Celtic regions, and have an unusual energy and enthusiasm which is both gratifying and infectious. It is even more exciting that they are based in Hong Kong, offering another cultural influence into the musical landscape. They play in Hong Kong as well as on mainland China, with occasional gigs to Thailand and Malaysia. Bahouki presents old sounds with a new edge, adding a good dose of humor into the mix. This is an excellent way to spend an evening in Hong Kong, enjoying the local culture with an infusion of Celtic sounds, with fiddles and flutes and all the rest to make for hours of great fun and entertainment.

The Suffolk region of England is full of nature beauty and scenic wonders. It has an interesting history and many important figures have had their origins in this area. While this is beautiful and peaceful region, it was also home to one of England’s most famous witch hunters, Mathew Hopkins. This aspect of history is now regulated to lore and legend, though it was once a fundamental aspect of the social belief system in England as well as throughout Europe. The Suffolk hotels are not likely to have witches and warlocks hiding in secret rooms, though haunted hotels are a very popular tourist attraction throughout the world.

It is believed that Hopkins held the title of Witch Finder General in his career that was most active during the English Civil War. He conducted his searches throughout Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex. One of the interesting aspects of the witch trials and prosecutions that distinguished England from the rest of Europe is the fact that they did not burn accused witches, but only hung them. The height of his career lasted from 1645 to 1647 and while England did not legally allow torture to be used as a means of investigation, Hopkins was well known for his own special tactics used for confession.

One of the most famous aspects of his career is the book he wrote regarding witch hunting. The Discovery of Witches is believed to have been written in 1647 and quickly became a guiding tool for identifying both witches and their familiars. One of the methods he used for determining a witch was to cut a woman’s arm. He would use a blunt knife to make the rough incision and if the suspected woman didn’t bleed than it was taken as proof that she was a witch. Witches were also detected by finding what was known as the devil’s mark on her body. This would be any form of boil and sometimes moles and warts were included.

I’m a cricket fan. I’m an Aussie who lives in London. I love food. So, when I read that Cardiff had a festival which combined the two, cricket and food, I just had to go. I made reservations at a Cardiff Hotel and drove as fast as I could away from London and on over to Wales.

The two events Cricket and Food are actually two separate events, but for me that didn’t matter. I’ll be able to feast on the sporting excellence of a Cricket game and also sample culinary excellence at the Food and Drink Festival after the game. Seems like pure heaven to me. When I arrived, checked in and headed off to the Cricket Match where I got to see the npower Ashes Test in Sohphia Gardens, it was easy for me to obtain information about where to go for the food and drink festival after the game. I was able to hop onto a water taxi from the Swalec Stadium and dropped back off at Cardiff Bay. Right where the Food and Drink festival was happening. I felt right at home with an array of Aussie wines, foods and ingredients. See, there was a special Aussie Zone in a restaurant located in the Wales Millennium Center. Of course there were delicious foods from Wales to sample, and from around the world. Have about three full hours of sampling my way through the festival, I had a chance to chill out with a cool drink with views over the water.

The next day, I treated myself to other events which the festival offered. There was a craft market and a farmer’s market which were very nice, I even got to create my own dish using local produce from the farmers market, but what I really enjoyed was taking a workshop to learn how to make artisan ice-cream and a master wine class. By the time I got back to my hotel room that evening, I was satiated, happy and floating in memories of Cricket and fine cuisine.

John Goodman is currently starring in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. He is an American actor, most known for his movie roles, though he is also an accomplished stage actor. Many film actors have their roots and training in theatre, though they have migrated to film because there is usually better pay. For these actors, the theatre seems to remain in their blood and after achieving commercial and financial success in film, they often return to their true passion, which is the stage. Tourists often visit New York to see a Broadway or Off-Broadway production and major film stars add to the excitement of any show. Guests at the many 4 star hotels New York are often there specifically to catch the latest hit Broadway play.

Goodman was born on June 20, 1952 in Affton, Missouri. He received a full scholarship for football to what is now Missouri State University though while he was there he received a major injury that quickly ended his football career. After this happened he decided to follow his other passion, acting. He left Missouri in 1975 and headed for New York. He tried to get work in the theatre and took a job as a bartender and food server to pay his bills. He performed in dinner theatres Off-Broadway and was able to find nominal work in commercials and voice-overs. In the 1980s he started to get work in films, and this launched an entire new direction in his career.

Goodman is most known for his role on the television series Roseanne, where he played her husband Dan Conner. The program aired for nine years from 1988 to 1997. Prior to this he had appeared in films such as Eddie Macon’s Run, the Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou and Raising Arizona. He has also been a regular guest on nighttime talk shows and has been featured as a guest performer in many television series. He had a recurring role as the fictional Speaker of the House in the popular series West Wing. In 2007 he played an ornery judge in the series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip for which he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor.

Mumbai is the city of indulgence, you get everything here, only in super size and extra super size. So, don’t just stop with the perk-me-up breakfast served in the Hotels Mumbai India , or an ‘no-time-to-eat’ lunch in Dadar . Get out and explore the taste of Mumbai after the moon rises and bathes the city in promises of culinary delights. Mumbai offers impeccable taste in an exquisite manner. It has a plethora of cool late night spots for the restless and sleepless. Below are just but a few listings to get you started. Some of which Bollywoods stars frequent.

Cloud Nine Cafe , Get a sensational view when eating on the Romeo and Juliet balcony perched on the ninth floor of a hotel. Mumbai will shimmer below the night sky with a relaxed glamour and a sublime energy. Just around the corner is the Cyrus House, a large blue and yellow ground floor restaurant which serves a fast friendly meal through out the day and also serves a ‘rise and shine breakfast’, that is at a very reasonable rate.

Shamiana is a 5 start, 24 hour coffee shop. Don’t go if you are in the mood for fine dinning. Shamiana is, after all, a coffee shop. The ambiance is causal and relaxing. The Char Grilled Salmon is considered the best in Mumbai. For another casual coffee-shop, try Sidewalk, serving a pleasant combination of ala carte and buffets. The fondue’s are to die for. The orange and yellow interior is cheery and soothing.

Now, for a really late, late night hunger go to The Bay View . The Bay View offers a ‘midnight buffet’. Live music and themed dinners are the other highlights of the coffee shop. When there, do try the Fish Koliwada. For an Sunday morning early early breakfast, check out Trattoria, Trats is popularly known to continuously serve pasta and pizzas along side a delightful Capriccio.

And finally, easily the most picturesque locale is the Waterfall Cafe . Soups, desserts are routinely served all day and night. There is also a regular continental and Indian menu to choose from. Their specialty is seafood. They serve the catch-of-the-day well beyond midnight. Alcohol is available until 1 am and beer is served until 4 am. So, whether your suffering from jet-lag or just can’t sleep, Mumbai is open to take care of your restlessness and hunger.

Four years ago, many of the black citizens in Cape Town were asked about a big white building that stands in the middle of the city. Many answered that it is a courthouse. The building in question is actually the one that houses the National Gallery of South Africa. This speaks tremendously about the past regime of Apartheid, and the effects still noticeable in the city. For many years, whites only were allowed in some of the top Cape Town hotels, restaurants, galleries and museums. Apartheid ended sixteen years ago, but they inequality of the time, and the evidence of the segregation still remains. In many countries, the world of art is sometimes, sadly the realm of the wealthy and the privileged. The Biennial Art Festival organizers are trying to change that.

In response to the economy, and some criticisms of past festivals becoming too commercialized, the festival this year focused on the local artists of Africa, as opposed to the previous years of bringing in famous artists from around the world in order to boost sales and commerce. This was an attempt to attract a new, fresh audience, and to involve the people of Cape Town who had been excluded in previous years. One event was the Young Curators Program, which put five black curators in charge of curating the shows. They were moved to Cape Town for the year and studied under the tutelage of a curator from Cape Town. Educational systems for blacks in South Africa is still lacking, and many of the curators and gallery owners are still mainly white South Africans.

This not only provided these five with the opportunity to fulfill their dreams, but guaranteed the focus of the festival, that of the art of the locals, living and working and celebrating in Cape Town today. The projects are located all around the city, and are more participatory and performance oriented than ever before. Actors and dancers perform throughout various venues. One theater staged a show in which the stage was filled with kids in Obama and Mandela masks. And murals are on the walls of the city’s buildings commemorating the heroes of the country. This is a wonderful time to visit Cape Town and to witness the art of the country.

Bali is a large arts and ritual performance based community. All of the arts are essential to the lifestyle on the island, and the Wayang Kulit, shadow puppet, is an extremely popular traditional performance. It is also the most ancient puppet theatre in existence throughout the world today. While Bali attracts many tourists and for various reasons, attending a performance of Wayang Kulit is definitely the highlight for most. Many people rank it higher than the dance and music scene, and even the beauty of the beaches with all the accompanying water sports. A vacationer staying in a hotel in Bali Indonesia can get lost in all of the possibilities for scenic adventures and entertainment, though they are highly recommended to make the time for a shadow puppet performance. They may also want to visit the courtroom in Klungkung where the characters are depicted in a large mural on the courtroom’s ceiling. They were also a common subject in traditional Balinese paintings, and remain so even today.

The word Wayang is the term used for theatre, though its actually translation is shadow. Wayang used by itself includes all forms of traditional and contemporary theatre. Kulit translates as skin and refers to the leather from which the characters are carved. They are intricately chiseled from specialized tools and then are supported by buffalo horn handles and rods. The Wayang Kulit came into existence with Islam’s major incorporation into the culture. When this happened, the depiction of God or Gods in human form became illegal. This put an end to the traditional puppet theatre, and that style of painting. It was after a request made by King Raden Patah of Demak, Java to see the puppets was denied by Muslim religious leaders, that the shadow puppet was designed as an alternative. These puppets were created out of leather and only their shadow was presented during a performance. This form of puppet theatre was acceptable and brought the birth of Wayang Kulit.

The tradition of hand knot carpets began in India roughly two thousands years ago. During the fifteenth century the carpets became well known throughout the travelers and traders. Later on, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the fine art of weaving the rugs flourished under the rule of the emperors of Mughal. Most of the carpets throughout India, and the city of Kashmir specifically, were created using wool, but silk has also been a popular material for the quality of the weft and the warp. To check for the quality of a carpet, the number of knots and the quality of those knots can be distinguished by looking at the underside of the rug. The more knots there are in a square inch indicates a carpet of higher quality and durability. Many travel to the cities of India during the winter season, staying in Kashmir and Delhi five star hotels, in order to take advantage of the winter sales. The vendors load up their vehicles, bicycles or motor-cycles and sell the rugs on the street corners if necessary.

Many of the cities of Northern India host these open air markets, and buyers from countries such as Germany, the United States and Australia travel to the cities during this time, often in search of the older rugs, which just as with fine wine–get better with age. When the weather becomes too cold for tourists, the vendors go door to door. Sometimes if necessary, they use their knowledge to clean the carpets of those who don’t want to purchase new ones. The cleaning of the carpets is a delicate procedure and often only those well known for the expertise are hired for the job. During these times, the vendors often take advantage of those who do not have a clear understanding of the value of carpets, often trading the ‘old’ carpets for brand new carpets. In this way the cleaning of the carpets becomes a much more profitable venture.

Kuo Pao Kun was a prominent playwright and director in Singapore. He was also well known for his arts activism and seminars and workshops. His legacy includes many dramas as well as his contributions to the arts scene and education. His dramatic style was highly politicized and progress oriented. His work has been staged internationally and is recognized for its use multicultural themes and metaphors.

Kuo Pao Kun was born in the Hebei Province in 1939. His mother took him to Beijing until when he was ten his father sent for him and he moved to Singapore. At the age of 14 he joined Rediffusion’s Mandarin Radio play and quickly fell in love with performing and writing Chinese Xiangsheng and radio dramas. After his graduation from high school he gained employment with Radio Australia in Melbourne, partly because of his broadcasting experience and partly due to his being bilingual. He worked there for over three years before attending the National Institute of Dramatic Arts. His studies at the NIDA gave him a solid foundation in Western theatre traditions including classical Western theatre such as the Greeks. He met dancer choreographer Goh Lay Kuan while at school and they became engaged. They moved back to Singapore in 1965 and together they founded the Practice Performing Arts School, which included lessons in drama and dance. The school was established near some of the best Singapore hotels, where out of town visitors would notice take note of the new program.

Kun’s students joined him in 1972 in an effort that became known as the “Go into Life Campaign.” The intention behind this was to demonstrate that art was a product of the life lived and they went into the laboring work forces of Singapore for experience. They believed that an artist could not write well on a subject they were not personally experienced in. This movement produced a number of original works based on the real life stories of working people. The Fishing Village is one of the better-known examples of this.

One hotel in New York city has many stories. “If walls could talk”, and in this case they kind of did. The Round Table group of writers started having their daily meetings at the hotel in the summer of 1919. The famous group of writers included of Dorothy Parker, James Benchley and Alexander Woollcott to name just a few. Some of which became known as the Vicious Circle. The meetings were held in this Manhattan accommodation every day, for just close to ten years. Actors, journalists and publicists were all part of the round table meeting. This became not only a tradition for the group, but for those not invited to the table, who would sit at a table as close as they could get, just to over-hear the conversations and the banter of the witty and often sardonic comments. Hence the name of the ‘Vicious Circle’.

One other tradition of the hotel began in 1930. The owner at that time was Frank Case. One night he let in a stray cat. Apparently, on the suggestion of John Barrymore, the famous actor was staying at the hotel at the time, he named the cat Hamlet. Case decided that the hotel would from then on, have a cat living in the hotel, with the complete freedom to wander anywhere throughout. And the name stuck, for over the years although there were many different cats, the males were always named Hamlet, and the females would always be named Matilda. The current cat in residence today, is a Matilda. Matilda is often seen in the lobby of the hotel in her own private lounge chair, and she even receives emails, that are answered by the hotel manager.

Lunch for struggling writers is also a tradition started by Case, for back in the Round Table days, he would send over food to the starving artists. He would offer rooms to the writers in exchange for a signed copy of their books. No longer can one exchange a night’s stay at the hotel for their work, but the offer still stands for lunch. Although the lunches are no longer free, they are offered at discount prices to those making their way in today’s literary world of Manhattan.

Nan Yang is a style and school of art that blends Classical Chinese traditions with aspects of the West. It is a fusion of styles that makes it diverse and a rich part of South East Asian style. There are considered to be four primary founders of this style and Cheong Soo Pieng is one of them. He was born and raised in China, one of seven children. He was perhaps born with a destiny. Without the encouragement of his parents or family Pieng knew from a very young age that we wanted to be an artist. He began his education at the Xiamen Academy when he was sixteen and his self-discipline and determination led him to graduate in three years. He then moved to Hong Kong to continue his education. The Sino-Chinese war broke out while he was there and the school was destroyed, so Pieng returned home and became a teacher at the same school he had attended as a child. He enjoyed teaching and was highly respected, though it was his own work that drove him. He was an inspiration to his students and had his first exhibition at the school in 1942.

Pieng moved to Singapore where he continued to teach. He started working with oil paint while he was there and also started to work with sculpture. He was an instructor at the esteemed Nan Yang Academy for more than 20 years. In his late forties, he retired from teaching and focused all his time and energy on his own work. He has an eclectic style with various influences based on Egyptian techniques. His work was abstract and his most influential pieces are of women. He would distort them slightly, and they would often have elongated limbs. A trip he had taken to Bali remained a strong source of inspiration to him. His work was presented at the National Museum Gallery in Singapore, located centrally in 5 star Singapore district. Pieng died of heart failure four months before the opening of the exhibit. He is remembered for his art, and his quiet and thoughtful manner of teaching. His legacy includes being one of the founders for the Nanyang style of painting.

The human body has been the focus of fine artists throughout history. In Singapore however nudity is an uncomfortable topic, for discussion as well as literally. Figure drawing classes have been a staple in art schools, and is one of the most important classes or focuses of study for all artists. But the accepting of that has been difficult, even for the city that has desired to become one of the world’s thriving artistic hubs. In a figure drawing class, the most important aspect is the model. And in Singapore society, that does not constitute proper behavior and is considered an immoral job choice, or sometimes the model is considered as having no other option that to resort to making their living by taking off their clothes. More often than not however, models are often in art school or artists themselves. Perhaps that it is the case that many cultures, not just that of Singapore, but many societies hold to the idea that nudity constitutes sexuality. Which could not be further from the case in an art class.

In order to learn to draw anything, most artist would agree that the human form must be studied. For once an artist can accomplish such a difficult undertaking as the anatomy and movement of the body, capturing anything else on paper or canvas is easy. One artist living and studying in Singapore, Alice Mendoza, has herself been a model. It is her belief that due to the years of strict government control, via censorship and regulations concerning proper behavior and guidelines constructing what is or is not ethical has perhaps made it hard for the people living there under all that pressure for so long. It isn’t just the physical classes that make many uncomfortable either. Paintings have been removed from gallery walls, deemed improper due to the fact that the subjects in the paintings are nude. Artists selling their work along the sidewalks or having showings in cafes or some of the boutique hotels in Singapore, have restrained from displaying their works of the nude for fear of punishment, even jail time. It is a sad state at the moment, but one that may change as more and more fine art festivals and shows open, and more galleries showing works of the body are accepted. In many cultures, the body is considered beautiful and exotic, however the perception of the human form has been, in Singapore is that it is obscene. Artists such as Cheong Soo Pieng may help to bridge the cultural gap, as he is considered to be a fine artist and well respected, and he paints mainly the nude female form. So times have indicated a want and a desire, to be more accepting and appreciative in the world of art for the people of Singapore.

There is a very close connection between the Chinese Opera and the Chinese Temple celebrations. The opera, known by the term Wayang, which is a Malay word that simply means ‘performance’, began many hundreds of years ago and was brought to Singapore by the Chinese immigrants. Most performances then, were done upon temporary stages set up and brightly lit on the sides of streets. During this time all actors were male, and young boys played the female roles. There was no price to attend these shows. Then, as well as today, the shows are often funded by the temples and coincide with various festivals and religious celebrations. Even the ones that are mainly for entertainment purposes now, started out in this fashion. Some festivals are similar to Halloween or Day of the Dead Festivals that occur in other parts of the world, such as the Hungry Ghost Festival. In these cases the dead are remembered, honored and appeased with dancing, feasts, sacrifices, and performances.

Today there are over thirty professional companies performing Wayang Opera. Should one be visiting Singapore and not know where to find a performance, the concierge at some of the best hotels in Singapore will have that information. These performances have a long cultural history and should not be missed. This is an art form based in traditional rituals and are very religious in context, over ninety five percent of them being performed on such occasions. This form of expression disappeared however, for almost 70 years. But with the growth of the country, there seemed to be something missing. The older generation has come together with the younger, as Singapore’s youth becomes more interested in the history of their city and their heritage, and many of the older generation remember the days when all performances were done on the street corners, before fancy opera houses were built and when the price of a ticket was simply the desire to be there.

Mallorca is an island off the southern coast of Spain. It is a popular holiday vacation for people from the north of Europe. The island has a fantastic selection of museums and art galleries. These include some amazing collections of interesting works of art. There are many exhibitions in held throughout the year in Mallorca museums range from extravagant to more modest. As well as local exhibitions there are also international exhibitions coming in from foreign countries. Many of these are located in the cultural buildings located in the heart of the island of Mallorca near to a multitude of 4 star hotels Mallorca.

Mallorca has an impressive array of art galleries which house some wonderful collections of art. This includes artwork by many famous internationally known artists along with works by local artists. This features work that incorporates traditional and modern styles.

The Mallorca Museum is one of the most famous museums in the Balearic Islands. It is located in a building near the Mallorca Cathedral in the Palau Ayamans, which is a residence built around four hundred years ago. The building was developed into a museum in 1968.

The Mallorca Museum has many collections on display including thousands exhibits. These exhibits include many prehistoric items that were discovered during archaeological digs, as well as priceless Moorish ceramics, Baroque and medieval paintings and important pieces of ancient monuments ands buildings that no longer exist.

Hong Kong manages to meld Eastern traditions with customs and aesthetics from the West into an incredibly intoxicating experience for the modern visitor. The modern skyscrapers, financial centers, and shopping districts are but one side of this Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic. Colonial architecture, traditional temples, mosques, and churches, and the spirit and energy of music, arts, and culture of Hong Kong’s people are another part of the equation.

This mixture of East/West and Old/New is evidenced in the variety of festivals and celebrations held in Hong Kong every year. Visitors planning to attend any of these events will find a variety of accomodations available in the region, including some fine 5 star Hong Kong hotels.

While there are some secular events, most are related to religion and cultures of the population. Arts festivals include the Man Literary Festival, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, and the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

While many people may consider the Chinese New Year the best time to party in Hong Kong, its important to note that many restaurants and shops are closed for this event. There are some establishments that remain open, though perhaps with shortened hours. Planning ahead will make it easier to enjoy this festive season.

Some of the other exciting Chinese festivals celebrated in Hong Kong include the Spring Lantern Festival, the Cheung Chau Bun Festival, the Ching Ming Festival, and the Tuen Ng Festival. The Hungry Ghost Festival isn’t a public festival, but does provide the opportunity to attend special performances of traditional arts, such as Chinese opera.

Western celebrations that have been adopted by Hong Kong include Halloween and Christmas. However, it is New Year’s Eve that has really been embraced by the people. Hundreds of thousands of people celebrate in the streets and gather to watch fireworks in the Harbour.