KFC is one of the most popular fast food chains in China, with more than 2,100 locations in 450 cities. Perhaps surprisingly, McDonald’s is not nearly as successful, with only about half the number of restaurants. This is the reverse of the situation in the United States, where McDonald’s is often considered to be number one while KFC trails behind.
So why do the Chinese prefer KFC to McDonald’s? The blog The China Expat has a few possible answers. One of them is that KFC caters better to Chinese tastes than McDonald’s does. For example, KFC’s menu includes Traditional Peking Chicken Rolls, Preserved Sichuan Pickle and Shredded Pork Soup, Happy French Fry Shakes (with beef, orange and Uygur barbecue spices) and for breakfast aChinese-style porridge called congee. McDonald’s caters its menu to international tastes, but not to the same extent in China.
In addition, a slick marketing campaign from KFC has some Chinese convinced that KFC is actually healthy. “Their message is that KFC is the ‘new fast food,'” says the China Expat. (Does this mean KFC’s appalling new “Double Down” hasn’t arrived in China yet?)
Finally, and perhaps most importantly in these lean economic times, KFC has better coupons than McDonald’s. The coupons are apparently so good that Chinese KFC’s are occasionally mobbed by coupon-holders.
Go here for the full China Expat post. Any other ideas why KFC beats McDonald’s in China?
Chances are, the laptop you’re reading this article on was not made here in the U.S. It’s a well-known fact that most of the world’s consumer gadgetry, from mobile phones to laptops to gaming consoles, is created abroad, in places ranging from Japan to Europe and beyond. A visit to one of these tech-centric destinations is a great chance to pick up a one-of-a-kind tech product or grab a great bargain. But gadget travel is also about more than just buying cool stuff – it’s also chance to experience the future of technology. Wondering where you can get in touch with your inner geek on your next trip? Check out our ten picks below.
Batam, Indonesia
If you have the hankering for inexpensive Asian-made electronics, the island city of Batam in Indonesia is hard to beat. A twenty-minute ferry ride from Singapore, this city offers duty-free shopping for a variety of imported electronics. Be sure to check out Mega Mall Batam Centre located in the Batam Central Business District, as well as Nagoya Hill, the biggest shopping center in Batam. Beware of knock-offs and be willing to bargain to get the best prices here.
Stockholm, Sweden
Early adopters will drool with envy over Stockholm’s city-wide WiMax network. With WiMax’s increased connection range and high-speed bandwidth, Stockholm is surely the world’s most wired city.
Yongsan Electric Market – Seoul, North South Korea
With over twenty buildings and a bustling outside flea market full of electronic bargains, Yongsan Electric Market located at Yongsan Station is a haggler’s paradise. Shop the nearly 5,000 stores for steep discounts and a wide selection of Korean and imported gadgets.Science Museum – London, England
For the young geek or the geek young at heart, the Science Museum in London offers a dizzying array of gadgets and gizmos, along with a good dose of science. Admission is free, which is good, because the fun gadgets in the gift shop are not.
Glodok – Jakarta, Indonesia
Offering a gigantic variety of electronics, Glodok’s 500,000 square meters will require several days to shop. Well known to Indonesians, this area sells dirt-cheap Asian-made electronics and offers some of the cheapest, although not always legal, DVDs and video games. The best way to get to Glodok is by TransJakarta, a bus that stops in front of the district. Watch your bags if you go, as the area is known for pickpockets.
Tribeca Grand Hotel – New York City, USA
If you are a true Apple fanboy, the Tribeca Grand Hotel in NYC has you covered. Reserve an iStudio room and you can use your room’s G5 Mac, fully loaded with film, music and photo editing software. Don’t forget to bring your iPod for the in-room Sony Dream Machine Speaker Dock. Reserve your iStudio by calling 877 519 6600.
Consumer Electric Show – Las Vegas, USA
Gadgets so hot you can’t even buy them yet! This annual Consumer Electronics Show showcases the up and coming gadgets from around the world. While you can’t purchase these toys yet, you can certainly find one to start drooling over.
Inamo Restaurant – London, England
Even geeks have to eat, but that doesn’t mean that they have to go cold turkey on technology. Inamo, an Oriental fusion restaurant in London’s Soho district, offers a high-tech dining experience. Diners can order dinner, drinks and even set the evening’s mood lighting by interacting with their dining table. Quite an innovative experience and the food is good too.
Cafe Grumpy – New York City, USA
With over 25 coffees on the menu, Cafe Grumpy will jump start anyone’s day, but its not just the coffee that has gadget geeks drooling. Cafe Grumpy’s unique $11,000 Clover coffee machines that the gadget aficionado will fall for.
Akihabara – Tokyo, Japan
Also known as Akihabara Electric Town, Akihabara is giant shopping area a few minutes from Tokyo Station. The newest international electronics are available next to discounted used gadgets. Visit Akky International Main Store at 1-12-1 Soto-Kanda for duty-free shopping. Don’t forget to shop the smaller stores to find the best bargains.
Yesterday, Latvian airline AirBaltic launched two new routes: Riga-Madrid and Riga-Beirut.
Riga-based AirBaltic is an airline to watch. Little known in North America, the airline is notable for its low starting fares and the inclusion of most of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations on its route map. But what really sets the airline apart from the pack is its range of underserved destinations across Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and the Nordic countries.
These less well-served destinations include Baku, Tbilisi, and Yerevan in the Caucasus; Almaty, Dushanbe, and Tashkent in Central Asia; Amman, Beirut, Dubai, and Tel Aviv in the Middle East; and destinations like Kuopio, Tromsø, and Visby across Nordic Europe.
The catch is that most routes fly in and out of Riga, a beautiful city that is sadly not exactly top-of-mind among most visitors to Europe. While AirBaltic’s fabulous range of destinations can best be accessed from a starting-point in the Baltics or the Nordic countries, the airline’s fares for connecting flights from cities across Western Europe can also be quite competitive.
In anticipation, no doubt, of the summer traffic to come, AirBaltic also upgraded its site yesterday. The visual changes are minimal, but they go some way toward making the site more streamlined and enjoyable to peruse.
While Kathmandu is a unique and interesting city, it certainly isn’t a destination that draws you to Nepal. For most travelers to the region, myself included, it was simply a stop over until we could get on with our real journey, namely the trek to Everest Base Camp. After spending a day in the noisy Nepali capital city, I was more than anxious to get out of town, and get started with our hike.
The first stop for anyone traveling to Everest is Lukla, a small village located at 9380 feet (2860 meters). The town has the distinction of the only true airport in the Khumbu Valley region, and there are daily flights from Kathmandu. Named after the first two men to stand atop Everest, the Tenzing-Hillary Airport is the third highest in the world, but is best known for its unique landing strip, which runs 1729 feet (527 meters) in length, and actually goes up the side of a mountain at a 12% grade. That incline helps to slow down incoming planes at a more rapid rate, and actually assists aircraft on take off by helping them speed up more rapidly.
I set out from Kathmandu aboard a Twin Otter airplane, a utility aircraft that has been in service around the world for decades and is often employed in remote regions of the world. The plane seats 20 and is designed for short take offs and landings, perfect for getting in and out of Lukla. As luck would have it, when my trekking group scrambled aboard the plane in Kathmandu, I ended up in the very back of the plane, which gave me an excellent view into the cockpit, something that would later prove to be a bit scary as we made the approach into Tenzing-Hillary Airport.On the 45-minute flight from Kathmandu to Lukla you could practically feel the anticipation inside the cabin of the plane. We were all excited as we left the city behind and began to catch our first glimpses of the Himalaya themselves. Peering out the side windows, I caught sight of several snow capped mountains in the distance, while forests of rhododendron’s passed by on the slopes below. It was springtime in the Himalaya, and the whole region was in bloom.
Before long, we were making our final approach to Lukla, and my vantage point at the back of the plane, gave me an unobstructed view right into the cockpit, where I could watch both the pilot and copilot go about their business. This is a bit of an unusual sight, considering that most of the time when we fly, you can’t see what is happening up there, but on that small, Twin Otter, I could see exactly what the pilots saw, and in this case, that was a pretty scary sight.
Most of the flight, the view out of the cockpit window was generally what you’d expect, consisting of open sky or the occasional distant mountain. But as we came in for a landing, that view suddenly changed, and for a short time all I could see was a mountain wall looming directly in front of the aircraft. For several very long moments, that granite face blocked out all other views, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d think that we were about to fly directly into that rock face.
But the plane kept banking to one side, and slowly, ever so slowly, that gray wall of granite slid out of view, and a runway materialized, almost out of nowhere, in its place. The aircraft was in perfect position to land, and before we knew it, we were on the ground, rolling up the runway, and coming to a complete stop on the tarmac. After that, it was only a few minutes and we were out of the Twin Otter and on the ground in the Himalaya at last.
Once off the plane, there was little to do. We retrieved our backpacks almost immediately, and soon after that, we were on our way. Quite literally on our way. The stairs that lead up, and out of the airport run directly onto the trail that runs directly into the village of Lukla, and eventually the Khumbu Valley itself. The very same trail that will eventually lead to Everest Base Camp as well.
In a few weeks time, Norwegian explorers Borge Ousland and Thorleif Thorleifsson will set out on a daring expedition in an attempt to become the first people to sail around the North Pole, a feat that has only become possible in recent years thanks to global climate change. The two men will have to successfully navigate both the Northeast and Northwest Passages if they want to accomplish their goal.
Ousland is a well known polar explorer, who has visited both the North and South Pole by skis in his numerous cold weather adventures. Thorleifsson is more at home on the water, being a very experienced sailor, and will be the captain of the small sailing ship they will use on their voyage.
The plan is to set off on June 21st, and sail for the Northeast Passage, which fully opens up for navigation in August. That route runs through the ice filled waters of the Arctic Ocean north of Russia. Once they have completed that part of the journey, they’ll then take on the Northwest Passage, which runs across the northern region of Canada. At one time, both of these routes we considered unnavigable, but thanks to global warming, the ice now breaks up more fully, allowing ships to pass through.
There are a number of obstacles that Ousland and Thorleifsson will have to face on their journey. For instance, the ice flows will be very unpredictable, and they’ll need to rely on satellite imaging to help find their way. On top of that, they’re using a small ship that is quick and light, but won’t allow them to carry too many supplies with them, and although it has been retrofitted with Kevlar to help protect it against the ice, its hull is none too thick. The two men have also had to deal with Russian bureaucracy, which is never an enjoyable prospect, but a similar expedition was halted last year when the ship didn’t have the proper paperwork to pass through Russian waters.
The journey is expected to take four months to complete, and they’ll be covering roughly 10,000 miles in the process. Once they get underway, you’ll be able to follow along with their progress and adventures on Ousland’s blog, which can be found by clicking here.