Relishing what’s verboten in the Forbidden City

December 26, 2010

BEIJING, CHINA – Ever since Eve and Adam ate of the Tree of Knowledge, humankind has had a bit of a hard time following prohibitions. Slap the word “forbidden” on just about anything, and you practically guarantee people will clamor for it. So, what was up with the Ming Dynasty… (more)

Empress worthy eats at Naoki

April 14, 2011

BEJING, CHINA – The drive from the city center to the suburb of Haidian didn’t do much to boost expectations: dull tower block after dull tower block, a couple of rundown markets, and too much traffic. But then, after over an hour on the road, the dusty grey and brown… (more)

Writing Contest Finalist 2: What’s a Zhongguancun?

November 3, 2010

Note: This is the second of five posts in our writing contest finalist series. The Purple Passport’s Editorial Team has selected five finalists from the many entries we received. We will post these entries throughout the week and open voting at week’s end after all the entries have been posted.… (more)

Tempting Tuesday: Nothing Standard About It

November 2, 2010

LOS ANGELES, USA- It’s no secret that we heart The Standard Hotel, Hollywood. Just check out a snippet of our review of the place: The Standard, Hollywood not-so-subtly strives to bring in the cream of the sexy Hollywood scene with over-the-top avant-garde elements like lobby “performance art” displays of naked live… (more)

Manis go global at pretty-in-pink Dashing Diva

December 28, 2008

NEW YORK, USA – A great aspect of NYC is the walk-in nail salon – good, inexpensive manicures and pedicures on-demand. When traveling, I have often sought this New York style nail salon, with limited success. But now, Dashing Diva has arrived – a global nail salon chain that… (more)

Surfer girls get stoked with Learn to Surf LA

November 9, 2011

VENICE, USA – A recent exchange of Tweets on surfing has led me to recall my own foray into the world of surfing a few years ago. Though surfing was once dominated by men, women have been making serious waves in the surfing world in recent years with their own… (more)

Surfer girls get stoked with Learn to Surf LA

November 9, 2011

VENICE, USA – A recent exchange of Tweets on surfing has led me to recall my own foray into the world of surfing a few years ago. Though surfing was once dominated by men, women have been making serious waves in the surfing world in recent years with their own… (more)

Eat like a local in food obsessed Singapore

April 12, 2010

SINGAPORE – It could be business, the renowned shopping in the Orchard Road district or simply the need to expand your geographical horizons that brings you to Singapore. But trust me, it’s the food that will keep you coming back. Simply stated, food is a national obsession in Singapore. A… (more)

Our Readers Have Spoken: The Writing Contest Winners

November 22, 2010

THE WORLD- If you have been following our Diary, you know that we’ve had a big purple writing contest underway.  We had lots and lots of entries, which our team of travel experts narrowed down to five finalists. From there, our readers voted and determined our two winners! If you… (more)

Achieving seventh heaven at Pure Lotus

January 10, 2011

BEIJING, CHINA – Beijing is not short on opportunities to rebalance your karma: you can spend an afternoon chanting sutras with the monks at the Lama Temple, leave offerings of fresh fruit in front of the chubby Buddha in a neighborhood temple, or even kowtow like an emperor at the… (more)