Shamrock Hotel, Hong Kong

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I almost stayed at the Shamrock years ago.

After eloping with my former husband, we trekked from our graduate dorm in the New Territories to the bustling density of Kowloon in search of a short honeymoon. One of the hotels we looked into was the Shamrock.

The Shamrock is an old [...]

Imperial Hotel, Hong Kong

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When I was looking into the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo for an earlier blog post, I came across the Imperial in Hong Kong. Could they be related, I wondered?

My uncle stayed at both the Hong Kong and Tokyo Imperials in the 1960s, so I was naturally interested in these hotels.

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Hot off the press–Historic Bars of Chicago

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Historic Bars of Chicago

So after I went on and on a couple days ago about how I don’t drink much, now I’m writing about Chicago bars.

You see, the same day I blogged about drinking in Havana, I received a review copy of this great new guidebook–Historic Bars of Chicago by Sean Parnell [...]

Hong Kong facelift

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Yesterday the New York Times published an article about how Hong Kong’s old walk-ups are experiencing a grand restoration. Millions of dollars are being poured into these old apartments to give them a modern, comfortable feel.

With all the demolition of old buildings and construction of sterile, glass monstrosities in Hong [...]

Drinking with Hemingway in Havana

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Drinking agua con gas in Havana, 2004

I’m not much of a drinker. In fact, it’s so low on my radar that I’ve missed out on many a cultural tradition because I haven’t ordered a drink.

I visited Singapore with my parents months before my first marriage. We rambled up to the Raffles Hotel, [...]