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A Family Retreat in Bali’s ‘Land of Two Angels’
From The New York Times: A Family Retreat in Bali’s ‘Land of Two Angels’
(Photo: Alex Frew McMillan)
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Forgers beware: math cracks fakes
Astronomers will gaze with greater clarity at the stars, thanks to CUHK professor Raymond Chan Hon-fu – and art forgers should be careful.
An algorithm developed by Professor Chan is the fastest way of solving Toeplitz systems, a form complex linear equations. By breaking down image and signal processing into mathematical terms, he has been able to design computer algorithms that can dramatically increase the image quality of telescopes or the verification of van Gogh paintings. Continue reading
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Building a New Life in Rural Sri Lanka
The Planter’s Bungalow, the first of three homes that are planned for Wild Buffalo Hill, a working tea and cinnamon estate in Sri Lanka. – Credit: Shehan Obeysekara
WELIGAMA, Sri Lanka (The New York Times) — It was a vacation for his 40th birthday that sold Paddy Dalton and his partner, Rob Ioannou, on Sri Lanka. Their stay at the Aman resort in the southern town of Galle was intoxicating enough that the couple returned three weeks later in search of a permanent home.
They found it on the first day, acquiring a working tea and cinnamon estate a half-hour drive into the hills behind the surf town of Weligama on the island nation’s south coast. Five years later, they have completed their first home on the estate, which comes in at 50 acres and employs about 30 people. Continue reading
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Exploring the Surf in Sri Lanka
Surfing at Arugam Bay, on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. Credit: Alex Frew McMillan
ARUGAM BAY, Sri Lanka (The New York Times) — I blame Bethany Hamilton. Repeat viewings of “Soul Surfer,” the 2011 movie about the young surfer in Hawaii who lost an arm to a tiger shark only to return to competition, have left my two young children fearless in the ocean and enthralled with the sport.
So, with air miles to spare and vacation time to burn, my wife, two offspring and I made for Sri Lanka.
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Little Room for Embellishment in Densely Packed Hong Kong
Even Hong Kong’s luxury apartment complexes are relentlessly uniform, though often more colorful than public housing. – Credit: Michael Wolf/Courtesy of Bruce Silverstein Gallery in New York
HONG KONG (The New York Times) — Hong Kong is a famously efficient city. Residents pride themselves on the flawless operation of the subway system and the airport. For 21 years in a row, the Heritage Foundation has ranked Hong Kong as the world’s freest economy.
But free markets come at a cost. Easy access to capital, years of record-low interest rates and an acute shortage of supply have made Hong Kong the most expensive place in the world to buy a home. Continue reading
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A Pair of Developers Break With Tradition in Hong Kong
The Tung Fat Building in Kennedy Town was converted to eight apartments, one per floor. The exterior was refurbished, but its corners retain the curves characteristic of Modernism. – Credit: Denice Hough
HONG KONG (The New York Times) — The Tung Fat Building has a prized waterfront position in Kennedy Town, the westernmost neighborhood on the crowded north shore of Hong Kong Island.
Its Cantonese name translates as the “Get Rich Together” building, one of many such aspirational titles for Hong Kong apartments and offices, old and new.
But for its owners, the “tong lau,” or walkup tenement, has been a decade-long cash sinkhole, although the expense should be ending now that the concrete building’s unusual renovation is all but completed. Continue reading
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Salaries for Property Professionals Decline in Asia
Malaysia has led the way in terms of salary growth for property professionals in the last year, according to a new report. But average salaries across Asia declined 3.4 percent in 2013, leaving them standing at US$96,087 per year. Continue reading
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Developer Bankruptcy Rings Alarm Bell for China Real Estate Market
The collapse of a Chinese developer has sparked a selloff in the bonds and stocks of mainland property companies as a whole, with the industry predicting more bankruptcies and defaults to come. Continue reading
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Home Sales Plunge in China and Hong Kong as Policy Makers Meet
The level of housing-sale transactions in China has slowed dramatically, and along with more muted home-price gains will be a hot topic with a major policy meeting set to get under way in China on March 5. Continue reading
