SORREL DOWNER . . . WORDS & PICTURES

Vancouver

anordinaryfly — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:42:00 +0000

‘We are going to win everything!’ says the reporter from CTV, who’s also a local skiing champion. We’re having breakfast in Vancouver’s Shangri-La hotel, discussing the run-up to the Olympic Winter Games while I wolf down the best eggs Benedict I’ve ever had.

Outside, the air is ice-fresh, the snowy mountains glorious, the high-rise city centre all neat lines of glinting glass, Canadian flags fluttering against an azure sky. There’s no false modesty here — about their city or their chances. Indeed there’s a definite whiff of all-round Vancouverite victory.
For full article see: http://bahighlife.com/Destinations/Viva-Vancouver.html

Macau: Food & Drink

anordinaryfly — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:38:30 +0000

Budget
Pork chop bun, the Chinese hotpot, ta pin nou, dim sum (including the well-loved steamed buns stuffed with pork, char siu pau), galinha Portuguesa and bacalhao (oven-cooked chicken and salt cod respectively). There’s good food-hunting to be had along the Rua do Almirante and roads off it, as well as Rua do Cunho, in Taipa village (queue at Dom Galo for Macanese food in a colourful setting).

In Coloane, try the Portuguese Sunday buffet at Pousada de Coloane above Cheoc Van beach, and pasteis de nata from Lord Stow’s Bakery. The Venetian food court offers a gastronomic journey from Morton’s of Chicago to Maxim’s de Paris, via India, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Argentina, while the Food Colosseum at City of Dreams is the place for ramen, sushi and tempura. For splashing out, and more see the article at:http://bahighlife.com/Food-And-Drink/China-Macau-hotels-and-restaurants.html

Macau

anordinaryfly — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:11:51 +0000

Perched on a volcano at night, I’m watching helicopters crisscross the Pearl River Delta and reflecting on a day which involved haggling in Chinese street markets, studying the work of Jesuit priests, entering a hotel room to find a mechanical bull and walking through the streets of Venice, from the Ponte di Rialto to St Mark’s Square via the food court. There’s no doubt about it, Macau offers a fresh twist on the mysterious East.

http://bahighlife.com/Destinations/China-Macau.html

Panama’s Pacific Coast Designer Communities

anordinaryfly — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:56:04 +0000

The steamy glamour of Panama, and that air of infinite possibility is not exclusive to the capital, Panama City. High end residential developments up the Pacific coast and on the islands scattered off it, promise to deliver . . . more> (Sorrel Downer, FT, 2008)

Costa Rica Feels the Heat of Investment

anordinaryfly — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:50:00 +0000

Ask any foreigner who has lived in Costa Rica over ten years why they bought property here, and they’ll say they came on holiday and fell in love with the place. Ask anyone who has bought here in the past year and they’ll tell you it’s cheaper than Hawaii and more of an assured investment than Nicaragua . . . more> (Sorrel Downer, FT, 2007)

Counterfeit Drugs & Self-Prescription

anordinaryfly — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:38:02 +0000

It took me three minutes to drop 180 Xanax, 180 Ambien, 90 Zocor and 160 Soma into my shopping basket and proceed to checkout. I didn’t need a prescription. I didn’t even need to be over 16. . . more>(Sorrel Downer, FT, 2007)

Wildfitness

anordinaryfly — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:30:22 +0000

Wildfitness takes an ostensibly simple and sensible approach to fitness training: drop people into a natural environment and give them the tools to get active. . . more> (Sorrel Downer, The Times, 2006) www.wildfitness.com

Secret Life of Desks (part 2)

anordinaryfly — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:15:33 +0000

When you have a pen, a phone and a keyboard, it can be difficult deciding what goes where on your desk. Thanks to Lean a national campaign to reduce clutter and improve efficiency devised at a cost of £7.4 million by logistics consultants Unipart, the dilemma is over. . . more> (Sorrel Downer, Business Life, 2007)

The Secret Life of Desks (part 1)

anordinaryfly — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:03:46 +0000

Years of service used to be rewarded by being granted the largest desk and the window position, a promotion by getting a corner office, a meteoric rise by being moved upstairs. It was all very clear. Now not so. . . more> (Sorrel Downer, 2007, Business Life)

Watching the Workers

anordinaryfly — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:42:27 +0000

Fifty years ago a manager knew when his team clocked on and off. Now employers are using hidden cameras, GPS and RFID tags, keystroke logging and emergent technology to monitor productivity, phone calls, emails, online browsing, instant messaging, blogging, where you go for lunch and what you eat. Well, possibly not what you eat. Yet. . . more> (Sorrel Downer, Business Life, 2008)