Tuesday, April 17, 2012

No need to blush: Condoms included with every meal

BANGKOK — This city has plenty of offbeat restaurants, from a supper club with beds instead of tables to a Japanese diner where robots do the serving, but the cafe with a cause is Cabbages & Condoms. The restaurant is uniquely decorated with condoms from around the world in support of family planning.

Located off busy Sukhumvit Road, Cabbages & Condoms features garden dining under leafy trees and indoor seating in elegant, air-conditioned comfort. The menu of Thai dishes is extensive. Our group of four tucked in happily to chicken bathed in wild honey, crispy noodles and shrimp, and stir-fried grouper with young ginger. Our choices were all delicately seasoned, as we sought to avoid the fiery hot Thai spices that some palates crave.

Even without the chilies, however, we found ourselves more and more red-faced as we looked around. "Our Food Is Guaranteed Not To Cause Pregnancy," boasts the menu, while a bouquet of condoms decorates the place mats. Artwork promotes condoms for family planning and HIV protection, including a brazen poster that shows exactly which sexual practices require condoms and which don't.

Humor gets the message across at Cabbages & Condoms, but the restaurant's profits lend serious support to the Population & Community Development Association, founded in 1974 by Mechai Viravaidya to reduce Thailand's then-rapid population growth. World Bank data indicate Thai women averaged 4.72 children each in 1974 — but just 1.6 in 2009. The name "Cabbages & Condoms" sprang from the founder's belief that for family planning to be successful, birth control should be as accessible as vegetables in the market.

The nonprofit's mission now includes HIV/AIDS prevention and community development. It also sponsors AIDS testing, vasectomy clinics and "Condom Nights" in Bangkok's red-light districts.

Recovering our cool, we finished our lunch and headed for the gift shop. As we paid our bill, we made sure to pick up the restaurant's equivalent of a dinner mint: a Thai condom sealed in a festive wrapper.

Cabbages & Condoms, 6 Sukhumvit 12, near the Asok Skytrain (BTS) Station; pda.or.th/restaurant


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Belfast hopes Titanic can help refloat its waterfront

BELFAST, Northern Ireland — This city's newest tourist attraction is supposed to be about more than just a 100-year-old tragedy.

Titanic Belfast seeks to reclaim the ship as a manufacturing triumph and anchor redevelopment in a fairly barren section of waterfront.

The museum, which opened March 31, includes sections on Belfast's industrial past (linen was big) before moving on to the rise of the ship-building industry.

There are details about how Titanic was built (including more on rivets than you ever thought you'd know) and fitted (carpet samples, anyone?).

And there are re-created first-, second- and third-class cabins of the White Star ship.

But what was my children's favorite part? The footage of the wreck on the ocean floor, presented at the end.

My 8-year-old son's interest had waned a bit in the museum, but that footage ended things on a high note. My 12-year-old daughter was intrigued nearly all the way through, spending two-plus hours.

One glitch: We were told we'd wait 40 to 50 minutes for an amusement-style "ride" through a simulated shipyard.

"It's a fun experience," we were told, "but it's only six minutes."

We skipped it.

You may be surprised that this museum has no artifacts salvaged from the wreck.

You should not be surprised that there's merchandise. A stuffed bear dressed like a cabin boy, wearing a Titanic cap, was about $24. Titanic Tea costs about $4.30 for 80 bags.

This after adult admission fees of about $22; children 5-16 rates are half that; under 5 free. The museum website, titanicbelfast.com recently announced it was selling out of tickets deep into April, 100 years to the month that the luxury liner sank in the North Atlantic.

Waiting to visit may have other benefits anyway, as nearby attractions, such as the Nomadic, take shape. The only remaining White Star Line ship was used to ferry passengers to Titanic. It's expected to open in the fall.


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Titanic quiz: How much do you know about the doomed cruise?

Friday the 13th seems to be a good day to write about the Titanic-- not just because we find the number 13 creepy but because the cruise was then underway, 100 years ago, with not a hint (at least, not to the passengers) of trouble in sight. It was the most luxurious ship of its day -- a fact that it certainly didn't try to hide. Indeed, some would say the boasting about the megaship -- remember, they said it was unsinkable -- may have tempted fate. Meanwhile, we'd like to tempt you to take this quiz and find out how much you really know about this maritime nightmare. There are 15 questions and a bonus. Bon voyage.

1.What was the nickname of the Titanic?

a. Bruiser

b. Millionaire's Special

c. The Drinking Man's Ship

d. Lots of Luxe

2. The Titanic had three letters in front of its name. What were the three letters and what did they stand for?

a. RMS Titanic--Royal Majesty’s Ship

b. RMS Titanic--Royal Mail Ship

c. MV Titanic—Majesty’s Valor

c. MV Titanic—Motorized Vessel

3. Who was the captain of the Titanic?

a. Edward J. Smith

b. Edward S. Jones

c. Edward J. Smith-Jones

d. Francesco Schettino

4. The Titanic was being constructed alongside another ship, a sister ship. What was the name of that ship?

a. The Olympic

b. The Carpathia

c. The Andrea Doria


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Hawaii's Garden Isle: Hollywood roles haven't spoiled Kauai just yet

POIPU, Hawaii — The problem with loving a laid-back place so much is that you want to tell everybody about it, yet you don't want to tell anybody about it, lest it be spoiled.

So it is with Kauai, Hawaii's fourth-largest island and a vibrant, green oasis in the Pacific. Then to your horror, the island shows up in an Oscar-winning movie like "The Descendants," and you figure it's all over. It'll be overrun.

With trepidation I returned to this 33-by-25-mile Eden known as the Garden Isle to try to rediscover that sweet calm and connect with the rich vein of history referenced in the film. I hadn't been there in a decade, and I feared that its tranquil lifestyle so jealously guarded by George Clooney's movie character would be under threat.

Arriving at the main airport after a 40-minute flight from Honolulu, I picked up a rental car in Lihue for the 14-mile trip to Poipu, a resort on the south side of the island known for pristine white-sand beaches.

This was March, and upon arriving at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa in Poipu, I took a dive into island history.

Hawaii's beloved Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, a crown prince of the Kingdom of Hawaii and onetime rebel, was born in Poipu in 1871. After Hawaii's annexation as a U.S. territory, he served as territorial representative in Congress. His birthday, March 26, is a state holiday and cause for a two-week string of celebrations in Poipu.

Each March the hotel's lobby and grounds are transformed into a living-history and cultural experience. Visitors and many of the island's 67,000 residents flock to free cultural demonstrations. A highlight was the Kauai-based male hula troupe Na Kane O Keoneloa, renowned throughout the islands for its booming voices and thundering beats on hand-carved wooden drums.

Venturing out from Poipu, I headed to the rugged hills of the Na Pali Coast, where the intense green of the island meets the vivid blue Hawaiian Pacific. Ten years ago I had viewed the coast's Kalalau Valley from a 4,000-foot overlook while on a mountain hike. This time I took a leisurely alternative aboard Blue Dolphin Charters, a sailing catamaran out of Port Allen, a small port on the south side of the island.

We cruised along an expanse of sand that just wouldn't quit: Polihale Beach, at 15 miles one of the longest in the state. After passing Polihale Beach State Park, we reached the beginning of the Na Pali Coast. The view from the sea is spectacular, especially where crystalline waterfalls tumble thousands of feet to the sea. Each remote valley seems more gorgeous than the next.

So far so good. Not a hint of trouble in paradise.

After two days and three nights in Poipu, I headed to the north shore. Just as on Oahu, some 70 miles away by ocean channel, the north shore of Kauai has the island's best surfing.

This surf nirvana is about 40 miles northwest of Lihue by road. Perfect weather followed me as I drove through one scenic town after another in light traffic on mostly two-lane roads.

The north shore is home to plantation-era towns such as Hanalei and Haena, including many historic and picturesque old wooden buildings along the road. Built to supply basic goods and services to sugar plantation workers, most have morphed into quaint-looking surf shops, restaurants and boutiques.

With its crescent bay, white-sand beach and a 90-year-old concrete pier, Hanalei Bay is a must-see. Try sunset on the terrace of the luxurious St. Regis Princeville.

There, hotel butler Kaleo Guerrero told guests that the Hawaiian name of the majestic mountain peak in the distance is Makana. It's an image some people might find familiar because it starred in the movie classic "South Pacific." Many refer to it by its fictitious name, Bali Ha'i.

I later got a closer look at Makana from the adjacent Limahuli Garden and Preserve. My guide was Kawika Goodale, a grandson of garden founder Juliet Rice Wichman. He explained that Makana illustrates an unwelcome change to the island, and you can see why in the classic film.

"Look at the peak in the movie," he said of "South Pacific." "It looks completely different. It's now covered with the invasive schefflera shrub" known as the octopus tree.

While on the north shore, I wanted to experience the Na Pali Coast on foot, but I had time only for a two-mile hike along the famed Kalalau Trail. Because steep cliffs can be hazardous to those unfamiliar with the trail, I made the trek with veteran outdoorsman Nick Oliver, from Hanalei-based outfitter Kayak Kauai. A guy like Oliver is even better than Googling, stopping frequently to point out native and invasive plants while recounting Hawaiian folk tales.

I spent my last night on the island at a restored plantation cottage near the beach in the historic town of Waimea. One of more than 50 that have been moved from various locations on the island, they now are the charming and comfortable Waimea Plantation Cottages.


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Why are we still so fascinated with the Titanic?

HALIFAX, Canada — Simple, says the gravedigger. It's about the movie.

No, says the academic. It's about the money.

Absolutely not, says the model-ship builder. It's about people.

This is what happens when you ask why the sinking of the Titanic continues to fascinate us. The question has a special resonance in Halifax, a rainy, foggy port and capital of Nova Scotia that inherited perhaps the nastiest of all Titanic tasks. It was the seamen of Halifax, nearest major port to the sinking, who were sent out to collect corpses and wreckage in the days after the Titanic went down on April 15, 1912. Putting to sea with cargoes of ice, coffins and embalming fluid, they collected more than 300 bodies, buried many of them at sea, sent about 50 for burial elsewhere and buried the rest here.

"I can remember before that movie come out, there wasn't very many people coming to visit the burial sites," said John Rooke, a gravedigger and longtime Haligonian, as residents of Halifax are known. ("That movie," of course, is James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster.) As he spoke, a hard rain pounded the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, where 121 Titanic victims are buried.

People come here to see the rows of markers all with the same date of death: April 15, 1912. And the curious have other places to explore as well.

The just-opened Titanic Belfast attraction woos customers with nine exhibition galleries full of details on the ship's construction in Northern Ireland. In New York, the auction house Guernsey's has been taking written offers and hoping to reap tens of millions of dollars from the winner-take-all sale of 5,500 artifacts raised from the wreck. Temporary Titanic exhibitions have been staged in Las Vegas and San Diego. Permanent exhibitions continue in Branson, Mo., and Pigeon Forge, Tenn., where privately owned for-profit museums are devoted to the doomed ship. The 3-D version of "Titanic," which hit theaters April 4, grossed $25.7 million in its first five days.

Clearly, Titanic sells. But why exactly? Plenty of people still wrestle with that question.

One is J. Joseph Edgette, folklorist emeritus at Widener University in Chester, Pa., who has made Titanic his life's work and can tell you that 12 survivors are buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, a dozen more at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia. Edgette can tell you about Robert Douglas Spedden, the boy who survived the Titanic's sinking at age 6, only to die three years later in what might have been the first fatal auto accident in Maine.

For the last eight years, Edgette has been tracking down graves and cenotaphs (markers for those whose bodies are elsewhere) of Titanic victims and survivors, inspecting cemeteries in Halifax, New England and beyond. It's impossible, Edgette said, to deny the central role of wealth in the Titanic phenomenon.

"If you take the combined wealth of the passengers in first class on that ship, no other list of passengers even came close to that kind of wealth," Edgette said. "And probably half of the first-class passengers were Americans, and they were from the wealthiest of the wealthy of this country."

Yet upstairs at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, where volunteers John Green and Gerald Wright have been laboring for two years over a model of the ship, the big-money theory is about as welcome as a stray iceberg.

"It's all about people," said Green. For all the hundreds of hours he has spent squinting at 2-inch lifeboats and tinkering with railings with the circumference of toothpicks, Green said, he's convinced that the key to the Titanic story is "the human aspect, the reality of how individuals dealt with the tragedy…. Never mind the money. That's a crock, as far as I'm concerned."

Ah, but down at the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market, which dates to 1750, Euen Wallace sees other forces at work.

As crowds filed in on a Saturday morning, Wallace, the operations manager, looked on from an upstairs perch in the market's new building, replete with newfangled energy-saving features. Maybe the real theme of the Titanic story, Wallace said, is the limits of technology.

"As we move forward," he said, "we're constantly building new things that are newer and better and invincible, but something as simple as a block of ice can bring it all tumbling down."

After a brief boom in the aftermath of the movie's initial release, visits to Halifax's Maritime Museum and the city's Titanic cemeteries slowed from a torrent to a trickle, many Haligonians say. And in the local annals of disaster, they sometimes add, Titanic is neither the newest nor the deadliest. It's not even the only White Star ship.

In April 1873, 39 years before the launch of Titanic, the White Star Line's SS Atlantic ran aground and sank near Halifax, killing 562 of 952 aboard, one of the worst steamship accidents of the 19th century.

Five years after Titanic, in December 1917, a World War I munitions ship collided with another vessel in Halifax Harbor, touching off a vast explosion that killed about 2,000 people and injured an estimated 9,000. Massachusetts doctors were among the early emergency teams to reach the site, prompting thankful responses from throughout Nova Scotia.

In September 1998, Swissair Flight 111 crashed into the sea near Peggy's Cove, about 30 miles from Halifax, killing all 229 people aboard.

When the9/11attacks disrupted air traffic throughout North America in September 2001, Halifax Stanfield International Airport took in 40 diverted flights, and the city sheltered about 8,000 passengers for up to four days, prompting thankful responses from throughout the U.S.

In other words, Halifax has seen catastrophe from many angles. Tour guide Blair Beed — whose grandfather worked as an undertaker's assistant when the city's curling rink was converted into a makeshift Titanic morgue — likes to mention that when shepherding cemetery visitors.

And, of course, Beed, the author of "Titanic Victims in Halifax Graveyards," has his own ideas about why we're still retelling the tale of the Titanic.

Naturally, he said, movies, celebrity and "women in their gowns getting in the lifeboats and waving goodbye with their silken hankies" are part of the picture. But there were subtle factors too.

For instance, Beed said, because it took time for the ship to sink, "there were survivors who could recall what other people were doing at the time of the sinking." Moreover, he said, "it was a slow news day. There was no war, there was no famine, there were no great disasters other than the Titanic."

And a century later, the great ship's wake continues to ripple.

chris.reynolds@latimes.com


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