This certainly will be great news, certainly for people travelling to Asia who normally travels from Shannon via Heathrow to, say, Hong Kong. So a direct route to Beijing from an Irish airport will skip that extra hop in Heathrow and other major airports.
More about this bid here.
I see ads on the television showing a Chinese mom supporting her child to study better by taking essence of chicken (which I am informed, tastes horrible). Other study aids I heard of is ginseng tea and ginkgo tablets. I know my mom made ginseng tea for me when I was studying and doing my thesis. I drank Red Bull as well to keep awake, I was not much of a coffee drinker back then though. More recently, ginkgo supplements made their mark in Hong Kong. My aunt said that a cousin of mine was under alot of stress, trying to stay at the top of the class and keep up with his other extra ciricular activities. So he decided to try out these gingko tablets, apparently it helped him to focus more on studying and retain information better. He was more alert, but he only took them when a major exam is near. Of course, he is doing well now training as a mechanic engineer, no more need for these supplements. What's worrying is that students are turning to stronger drugs like Ritalin and Modafinil. This BBC article shows the seriousness of the popularity of these tablets to help students stay on top of their game. Even the Times covered it last year. Maybe the education system is broken, it's not challenging the students, but having students learn off everything by heart for exams? I know the Maths cirriculum in Ireland will be changing due to many students dropping out of higher level. The articles asks if this is protrayed as cheating? Surely taking enhancement drugs in sports is cheating why not for students taking exams. I would be more concerned of the side-effects of these drugs.
The ritalin reminds me of a Simpson's episode of Bart being put on the drug resulting in some side-effects: The Simpsons 1102 Brother's Little Helper
Amidst all the gloominess of tax increases from the budget, there is some good news from two large airlines who are reducing the fuel surcharge to reflect the drop in prices of oil.
Lufthansa reduced its fees for domestic and European flights by 11 percent to 24 euros and long-haul flights by 5 percent to 92 euros. The reductions apply to all tickets bought starting Oct. 20 [...]
British Airways said the fee for economy passengers on long-haul flights longer than nine hours will be reduced to 96 pounds (€123) from 109 pounds as of midnight today. World Traveller Plus premium-economy customers will pay 114.50 pounds, a decline of 5.4 percent
(Source: Independent - Two big airlines reduce fuel surcharge on falling oil price)
Got this from Fusion View's tweet. It's an article called The generation facing its first recession. How will they cope? I have to say, I've grew up with hardly any toys when I was really, really young as my parents were in their early 20s and had alot of stuff to sort out in the restaurant and bills to pay. As I grew up, I noticed I was getting toys, okay, maybe some stuff I wished for never arrived on chrissie day, but I've mostly got what I wanted. I was lucky, still not as lucky as my younger brothers and cousins, and all those kids who definitely got what they want... and not just for chrissie day. Money is like loo paper I suppose for that generation. I've moved out to work in Dublin, rented in crap places, then was able to afford to move to nicer accommodations and now married to a wonderful guy who is very supportive since I gave up my work over a year ago to go back to college and now figuring what I am to do with myself. Although we are renting, which means no negative equity, and is a tremendous relief. We are looking for a place of our own, and it'll be interesting the next 6 months to a year and see what happens with the property prices. I'm on the lucky side of the recession so far. Now I'm just waiting to see what comes out of this budget tomorrow from the Minister of Finance.
I am sure the younger generation who are attending college and are living at home don't really feel the pinch (as in the article, the attitudes would probably be the same). I am certain that the kids that are living away from home are feeling the pinch though, rent, food, bills, college (not including going out). It'll be interesting to see the IBCs point of view regarding the current credit crunch.
Found two articles, one is about a guy who is overseas and bringing his wife who is not Chinese to Hong Kong, and experiencing what it's like to be in a tourist's shoes. What is wierd is that some of his experiences with family dinners, feeling of what to do because you end up being the "expert", etc. is so similar to mine (aside from going to Chungking Mansions that is).
Just check it out: Hong Kong, second-home for traveler
Another article is by an ex-pat, who's living in HK now for four years. Her experiences of finding a place to live (pricey and where many expats live), partying, looking fashionable, etc. is an interesting read. Such a different lifestyle, and interesting to read, albeit, not my cup-of-tea.
Check it out: Letter from Happy Valley, Hong Kong