March 1, 2009
FIRECRACKERS rained down like hail, filling the street with sulfurous billows. Young men, dressed in white, waved towels, trying to keep the explosives away from the black-faced god seated in the ornate sedan chair that some of them held aloft. There, in the center of it all, Phuket Town fell away; the formerly opulent Portuguese-Chinese mansions and rows of boxy concrete shops faded as the hot morning sun swooned before clouds of acrid smoke. (more…)
February 22, 2009
In a stylish space of cast concrete and rare woods, subdued accent lighting and elegant sightlines just off Market Street, glowing wine bottles are tended by black-clad staff. Small clusters of unpretentious wine lovers (some in pearls, some in sneakers) chat quietly. In this, Press Club summarizes the best of San Francisco’s wine scene.
LUXURY DESTINATION OF THE YEAR
January 11, 2009
I wasn’t far out from the beach — just beyond the lightly rolling breakers. My feet had left the sandy bottom, and amniotic water burbled around my shoulders. A sea eagle sailed between me and the hot afternoon sun. The starburst tops of a coconut grove delineated the beach. An arc of sugar, it stretched away to a cluster of rounded rocks and, beyond, a rise of greenery leading into the tufted mountains of a national park. (more…)
