Unique Hotel, Sao Paulo, Brasil

If you have to chance to stay at the beautiful Unique Hotel in Sao Paulo you should! This super ccol hotel made by the architect Ruy Ohtake is the meeting place of the hip and cool of Sao Paulo. It is located in the the green parts of town with the Sao Paulo skylines as a backdrop. On the top of the hotel you have they Sky restaurant that becomes a lounge bar in the evenings. Also enjoy the red pool that has a underwater sound system so you can listen to music under water.
The basement is a big room that host private parties for the rich and famous. Even if you do not stay here you should go for a drink in the skybar!
http://www.hotelunique.com.br

Antique/Flea Market in Tokyo

If you want to pick up some really nice souvenirs from Japan this is a great place to visit! Here you can get old woodblock prints, ceramics, old toys, and you have a great selection of old kimonos at really good prices. You can get a kimono from 1000 Yen = 13 US dollars.
The market is located at the Tokyo International Forum and is open every 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month. As always in Japan you need to bring cash! The station is Yurakucho on Yamanote Line.

Nishio Yatsuhashi from Kyoto, Japan

Do like every Japanese going to Kyoto and buy Yatsuhashi sweets as your gifts to bring home to everyone you know.
Yatsuhashi is a sweet make by rice flour, sugar and cinnamon. This sweet is filled with everything from traditional bean paste to cherry blossoms to chocolate. The store of Nishio at the entrance to the temple Kyomizudera in the hills of Kyoto serves you free green tea and you can walk around and try all the different kinds of Yatsuhashi before you make your purchases. Nishio started to make Yatsuhashi 1687!
There are many other good producers of Yatsuhashi and are to be find all over Kyoto and even at Tokyo and Osaka Kansai Airport. Enyoy!

Afteem Restaurant, The best Falafel in Bethlehem

Since 1948, Afteem Al-Yafawi Restaurant has been famous for its Falafel.
The family of Mr Saliba Salameh came as refugees from Jaffa after the Israeli war on Palestinians (An-Nakba) 1948 to Bethlehem. He settles there with his family and opened his small restaurant selling popular food such as Falafel, Hummos and Foul after he had to leave his bakery store Ar-Roumi in Jaffa.
He taught his 5 sons to make the food and named the restaurant after his eldest son Afteem, This restaurant is now a part of Bethlehem heritage and if you have the chance to visit Bethlehem you just have to try their Falafel. It's great!
The restaurant is located just by the small street that leads from the main square in front of the Nativity Church down the hill. It can not be better and it is the only restaurant that has been making Falafel since 1948!

Panjiayuan Flea Market in Beijing, China

I have been coming to this Flea Market since it started over 20 years ago when it was called the "dirt market". Here people used to come from the country side with antiques to sell to the people of Beijing to earn some money. The days when you could find great old things are gone but it is still a fun place to pick up things to decorate your house. The market is open every day but during weekends people still come here to sell some of their own things. Here you find a lot of copies of antiques, old books. Mao memorabilia, photos, ceramics etc. Have fun and bargain a lot! The earlier the better on Saturdays or Sundays is better. I am usually there about 05.00 in the morning!
Panjiayuan is situated by the 3rd East Ring Road in Beijing.

The Fullerton Hotel at Singapore Grand Prix Night Race

The Fullerton Hotel in Singapore is the place to stay not only during the Singapore Grand Prix Night Race! It is one of these classical high class hotels of the world but you can stay here for a much better rate then a similar hotel in Europe. This building was a bank up to some years ago when it was transformed to a hotel. The bar is great and the outside terrace is just fantastic for a late afternoon high tea. Service is superb and you are right downtown Singapore with shopping, sightseeing and the business district around you.
The hotel is one of the official hotels during the Singapore Night Race that will be in Singapore again Sept 22. 1013. This race is an annual event now and is not to be missed!

Frozen Beer at Kirin City, Japan

If you want to try the big hit of the summer you should try the Frozen Beer at Kirin City.
The beer has a foam from a Frozen Margarita Machine to top the beer. This way the beer keeps cool during the hot summer months. It also looks a bit like Mount Fuji! So far only in Japan!
You can find Kirin City bars all over Japan and they serve great beer and a lot of tapas kind of snacks with it.
A good one to try is the one in Shinjuku, Nowa Building 1st Floor, 3-37-12 Shinjuku, Tokyo

Great Wall at Jingshanling, Beijing

There are several places to visit The Great Wall of China. Badaling is the easiest to reach but there you will find the big crowds, Starbucks and McDonald's. Mutenyu is a lot nicer but still with easy access.
If you want to get away from the big crows and the tourist groups you should go to Jingshanling. It is about 120 km from Beijing and the new highway to Chengde makes it suitable for a day trip. Here you can have parts of the wall for yourself if you avoid the national holidays and weekends. When you get to the wall you can enter on one side and walk for about 10 km and then get down close to were you started. There is a skilift to get up in the middle for the ones that does not want to climb the wall, but Jingshanling is more for the people that are fit for walk.
The best way to reach Jingshanling is to hire a taxi for a day from your hotel or to take the local bus that goes to Chengde every hour and get of on the highway or to take the touristbus that leaves from Dongzhimen bus terminal every morning. Check the schedules with your hotel as they may change. Entrance is 50 Yuan.
Bring a picnic and have a great day at the Great Wall!