In search of a geisha
December 2007
We seek them here, we seek them there … the mysterious geishas of Kyoto. But unlike the Scarlet Pimpernel, those geishas are everywhere. I thought that geishas and maikos (their apprentices) were as elusive as a dream on waking – disappearing into dark shadows, glimpsed momentarily through a rice paper screen.
A beautiful vision, unattainable, unfathomable, with their china-white faces, cupid’s bow lips, layers of fabric and feet clad in little, white toe socks and shod in wooden thongs. But here at Kiyomizu-dera, a collection of Buddhist and Shinto temples on a hill in eastern Kyoto, they’re everywhere.
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Go naked in the Alps
December 2007
HERE’S a travel tip for anyone heading to the Austrian Alps. You have to be naked when you go into a sauna in this neck of the woods. Same goes for the steam room. And the communal showers inside the day spa area.
Yep. Totally nude. And yes, it’s men and women together.
Now, some of you who are well travelled may already know this, and delight in the freedom of baring all among strangers. But for those who aren’t familiar with spa etiquette in Europe, listen up.
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7 health myths revealed
December 2007
Seven health myths revealed include
The need to drink eight glasses of water
Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight
Shaving makes hair grow back faster or coarser
Eating turkey makes you drowsy
We use only 10 per cent of our brains
Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death
Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals
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