Life Style

You might assume that people who seek a sex therapist’s support are in relationships that are on the rocks.It is usually the opposite, says Mary Foxworth in Hong Kong, who describes herself as an “inclusive intimacy educator”.“Even if couples feel they are coming to me because they are unhappy with the quality of their intimacy,” she says, “I always reinforce the message that the fact they are showing up is a really positive sign of their commitment and desire for personal and relationship growth.”Dr Kristin Zeising, a clinical psychologist and certified sex therapist in Hong Kong with 20 years of experience, agrees.Mary Foxworth describes herself as an “inclusive intimacy educator”. Photo: Mary FoxworthZeising chose her speciality when she realised “so many people carry silent pain and sh...

Surfers all over the world hail Portugal’s Atlantic coast as one of the most exhilarating places to ride the waves. So a combined surfing and hiking holiday on Portugal’s southern coastline in the Alentejo region would seem like an obvious choice.However, hikers quickly forget about surfing as they are wowed by the views along the Trilho dos Pescadores, or Fisherman’s Trail.The long sandy São Torpes beach beckons at the south of the coastal town of Sines. Some may be inclined to stop for a while and sunbathe at this trail head at the start of the route. Others do not succumb and heave their rucksack onto their back, lace up their boots and go hiking.The route has lots of beauty spots to reward you for the effort.A view of Praia do Barranco di Martinho from Portugal’s coastal Fisherman’s Tr...

After decades spent pruning thorny bushes and working arduous harvests, Khalaf Allah al-Talhi has perfected the art of capturing the fragrant aroma of the desert rose in a bottle.“I love roses and take care of them more than I care for my own children,” the 80-year-old says from his flower farm in Taif, in western Saudi Arabia, known as “the city of roses”.Some 800 flower farms in the hills of Taif produce around 300 million of the area’s signature pink roses annually. By his own estimates, Talhi grows around five to six million of those.The arrival of spring’s mild climate is met with the blooming of roses that carpet the vast, rolling desert landscapes with vibrant shades of pink.Khalaf Allah al-Talhi picks flowers alongside his workers on his plantation, where he says he cares for his r...

One of the most revered writers of Korean dramas prepares her return, while young stars line up for a range of tantalising new fantasy projects in our latest round of Korean casting announcements.1. Honey Jar ProjectLast seen in The Impossible Heir, Lee Jae-wook is reportedly set to lead the coming eight-part Netflix series Honey Jar Project.The show is described as a horror fantasy about a thirty-something man who starts a part-time job that leads him into unexpected situations.Lee Jae-wook (left) and Go Youn-jung in a still from Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow. Photo: tvNKnown for Alchemy of Souls, Lee is already teaming up with Netflix in the period drama Dear Hongrang, which is scheduled to launch in May. He is also due to appear in the series Last Summer alongside Choi Sung-eun.Hon...

We are living in unsettling times. Many are predicting that the existing world order, with which we are so familiar, will soon be a thing of the past, to be replaced by might-is-right belligerence, extreme nationalism and economic protectionism.If we feel anxious about the tremors rattling an 80-year-old global order that only began after the end of World War II in 1945, imagine how the Chinese people felt when the world they had known for 800 years was upended before their eyes.In 221BC, the Qin dynasty unified China. But what was so significant about this event that occurred over 2,200 years ago? After all, the Chinese nation splintered and reunified multiple times during its history; dynasties rose and fell by the dozens.What the Qin did that was so staggering in scale and imagination w...

The grainy, 19-second YouTube video that started it all hardly had the makings of a viral sensation.Shot at the San Diego Zoo in the US state of California, the primitive video clip showed Jawed Karim, the platform’s co-founder, complimenting the elephants in the frame behind him. “The cool thing about these guys is they have really, really, really long trunks,” Karim said.The clip, titled “Me at the zoo”, was the first video uploaded onto YouTube 20 years ago, opening the door to a new medium.From those modest beginnings, the site opened the gates for users from around the world to post funny, viral videos that could take the internet by storm, racking up millions of views and earning some of them millions of US dollars.Popular music artists such as Justin Bieber rose to fame on YouTube, ...

This is the 49th instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades.Hong Kong users of the social media platform Threads recently might have encountered a certain Choi San-keung, a sleep-deprived, middle-aged taxi driver who regularly engages with other internet users and shares his nightmares with them.Choi, who has been active since March, has also been spotted on in the Hong Kong subway on an MTR train, on the streets and in cinemas.This eccentric influencer is the alter ego of veteran actor and filmmaker Nick Cheung Ka-fai, who plays Choi in new horror thriller film Peg O’ My Heart, which he directed and co-wrote. It is the fourth movie Cheung has directed.Nick Cheung as Choi San-keung in a still from the film Peg O’ My Heart, which he also ...

The hotel that inspired Stephen King to write his bestseller The Shining is getting a sweeping overhaul in a bid to cement its status in the film industry, particularly among horror-movie aficionados.The new owners of the Stanley Hotel, in Estes Park, Colorado, roughly 64km (40 miles) from Boulder, plan to borrow nearly US$300 million to expand its facilities.The project, which includes a new events centre, is the result of a decade of planning by the US state and the hotel owner along with cultural and film organisations around how to attract more regional tourism. Part of the goal is to tap into the Sundance Film Festival’s planned move to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027 from Utah.The Stanley is a 196-room independent hotel that opened in 1909 and is listed on the National Register of Histori...

Among the five best things we have found to do in Hong Kong this weekend is sampling Japanese ice cream and getting a taste of the city’s underground music scene.1. Japan’s Harlow Ice Cream and Beyond Coffee Roasters at Snack BabyWith the warmer weather this week, there is no better time to treat yourself to a scoop or two of ice cream. While Hong Kong’s Central neighbourhood has an abundance of ice cream parlours, this weekend you’ll want to head to Snack Baby on Hollywood Road to sample Japan’s Harlow Ice Cream and Beyond Coffee Roasters.Launched in 2017 and inspired by American ice cream shops, Harlow Ice Cream has a following in the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Kobe thanks to its high-quality ice cream, made with cream from Hokkaido served in freshly made cones, and its baked goods. It...

Star anise is a striking spice, both in appearance and taste. In Cantonese, it is called bat gok (eight angles, or corners), although it sometimes has more or fewer than eight points making up the “star”.Its flavour is similar to that of aniseed, but star anise is much stronger; often, recipes will call for a certain number of star anise points, rather than a whole one, because too much will overwhelm the other ingredients.Each of the points contains a shiny seed, which I usually discard when using whole pieces of the spice. People may know to avoid biting into a star anise point, but they might overlook the seed and eat it. It is not harmful to consume, but the flavour is extremely strong.Ground star anise is one of the ingredients in five-spice powder. It is also an essential ingredient ...