transition - AsiaLIFE Magazine

dispatchesTravel news from around the region and beyondBaubles for BubleCanadian signer Michael Buble heads to Singapore for aconcert on March 9 followed by a concert in Hong Kong onMarch 11. Known for hits like “Cry Me a River” Buble willperform his greats along with new songs from his CrazyLove album. Tickets sell from S $98 to S $288 and HK $588to HK $1,288.contactus@sportshub.com.sg or info@hkcec.comLit Chic in Hong KongNow in its 11th year, the Man Hong Kong International LiteratureFestival will be held between March 8 and 11 and includes apromising line up. Amitva Ghosh, Emma Donoghue, Hus-MingTeo, Martin Alexander, Monica Ali, Peter Hessler, and Xu Xiu—toname just some—will be present for readings and discussions.Ticketed events included a lecture by the Guardian’s environmentcorrespondent Johnathan Watts on China’s ecological challenges, adiscussion by Steve Crawshaw of Amnesty International on smallacts of kindness. Vincent Lam will also talk about story writing andmedicine. These are just but a sample of events that will be on.Word PlayAll I-Phone users who love their apps (short forapplications for those of us not married to Macproducts, and note to Apple devotees: there arequite a few of us out there) and travel frequentlywill love Word Quest. This application has the abilityto instantly translate words into a language ofyour choice. So if you’re in Spain and see a sign andfind it takes you 10 minutes using your phrase bookto figure out what it’s saying, Word Quest eliminatesall the frustration to tell you that it’s a signfor, say, the tapas in town 20 feet away, or a warningthat the bulls are let loose between noon and 4 pm.This is a useful application for travellers, be theyon vacation or business. Rumour has it that the appwill also be available to androids and Blackberryslater this year. Download from the I-Phone site orI-Tunes.festival.org.hkHoly ColoursIndia comes alive during Holi, the festival of colours, where it isobligatory to throw dried coloured powder and water on people asa way to mark a prank played by Lord Krishna on his wife Radha.This can be a downright dirty event but it will be unforgettableand lots of fun too—especially if you are in the capital, New Delhi,where events are hosted in many locales but a noteworthy one isthe Dilli Haat. It is a fun-filled day with colour-throwing, dancingand singing and of course food, lots of it too, including sweets thatare especially made for the event. Check with your travel agentto get the exact date of Holi, which at the time of writing, wasestimated to be March 20.Groove with SantanaWatch the legendary Santana belt out classics in Singaporeon March 7 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.The Grammy winning artist—10 Grammys in CarlosSantana’s 40-year career as a musician, in which he hasplayed to an audience of 100 million fans around theworld—will be performing tunes the band is belovedfor, which combines a fusion of rock, jazz, African andLatin rhythms. An opportunity to hear Santana, whoRolling Stones named number 15 in their list of topguitarists of all time, is certainly one that should not bemissed. Tickets are priced from S $100 to S $300.sistic.com.sg12 asialife HCMC