Lamma Dragon Boat Festival 2010 (Hong Kong)

The Lamma Dragons and Thirsty Horse have outdone themselves again as they hosted the 4th Annual Lamma 500 – International Dragon Boat Festival at Tai Wan To Beach, Lamma Island, on Sunday, May 16th 2010. The Lamma Dragon Boat Festival has always been a popular attraction in the vibrant city of Hong Kong. This year, SOU-TV was the official media sponsor for the festival and we are happy to tell you that we have captured the most exciting highlights of the races right here!


Watch an HD video of the exciting races and festival exclusively on our SOUTV youtube page!

http://www.youtube.com/user/soutv#p/a/u/0/T3zZwtsJfRo
















Open Champions--Wai Luen Development Ltd South Eagles. Photographed by Kevin Bishop (Hong Kong)


First staged in 2007, this is the fourth year the amazing Lamma Dragonboat Festival has been hosted. The festival has quickly become one of the most anticipated events of the summer. This year, 40 Men’s, Women’s and mixed teams joined to compete over the full international 500-metre length courses.


After the races & awards ceremony, the teams were joined by the locals for an amazing beach party!


Some of the dragon boat are keep at the Tai Wan To beach after the event, you may take a look there if you’re interested while you visit Lamma Island. Hope to see you guys next year!

靚女夏日護膚大法(一)

靚女夏日護膚大法(一)

凍左咁耐,呢個禮拜終於都feel到夏天o既氣息喇! 又係時候同陽光玩遊戲!
不過玩還玩，鐘意戶外活動o既你又準備好點樣好好保護你o既肌膚未?


香港夏天氣候潮濕、紫外線/空氣污染指數偏高再加上空氣入面o既塵埃再混合埋汗水，容易令面部水份流失、油脂分泌增加仲會有色班/雀班，大大影響皮膚質素。我塊面本身比較油，如果我唔用o的好o既護膚品，一到夏天油脂分泌失控就好易出暗瘡。正所謂一分錢一分貨，大部份效果好o既護膚品一般價錢都幾貴..不過我最近就發現o左幾隻product非常有效之餘價錢亦好大眾化，o岩晒年輕o既OL們!

想知點先可以令你o既肌膚o係猛烈陽光下仍能保持最fit狀態? 等我介紹三種由內到外又有效的控油方法俾大家啦!

控油篇:
相信好多人都有用面油紙o既習慣，但其實過度使用面油紙係會損害皮膚、令皮膚失去水份同埋應有o既油脂保護。
不如試下以下o既方法啦!

1, H2O+ 海洋控油淨化潔面泡沫











海洋控油系列係特別為亞洲人而研製，以天然成份橄欖葉樹汁精華配合多方面o既控油方法，又可以維持肌膚所需o既水分，有效從肌膚底層調節皮脂分泌，減少面油出現。H2O+向來都係我最鐘意o既護膚品牌，用料天然，唔怕皮膚敏感。

2, Bioderma sebium mat
















Bioderma呢隻面霜可以吸走多餘油脂，減低油光形成機會亦能有效去除死皮，改善皮膚粗糙，同時預防暗瘡出現 。敷完之後感覺都幾爽，不過吸收度就好似慢o左少少。

3, 華洋經絡美肌療法


















近年都好興中藥美容, 而天然中藥成份安全得o賴又好適合亞洲人肌膚。華洋坊o既經絡美肌療法先以激光, 電滲手法去打通面部穴道再用獨創的經絡膏為客人按摩面部穴位，進一步暢通經絡，促進氣血運行，同時讓皮膚吸收經絡膏多種中藥成份，幫你由內部著手改善皮膚素質從而減少油脂分泌。

H2O+: 銅鑼灣世貿中心1樓P125舖 2504 3688
Bioderma: 銅鑼灣皇室堡1樓120號舖 2577 3808
Angus's Beauty Concept: 銅鑼灣謝斐道482號信諾環球保險中心23 樓 2186 6111 http://bit.ly/angusbc_website

夏日極速美白 ???

夏日極速美白 ???


( 香港， 5月19日)


由於工作關係要成日暴露o係陽光之下, 雖然有用美白同防曬產品但係面同身都係兩截色..o黎緊夏天仲要去沙灘同遊船河點唔知點算!



朋友介紹我去做近年都好hit o既激光美白, 話快見效又keep得耐. 其實都心郁郁想試下, 不過我又細膽, 似終係激光喎..之前睇過o的報導話有風險, 有o的美容院又貴到嚇死人, 於是我就上網search o左好耐, 搵到間叫華洋坊o既醫學美容中心. 講真, 初頭只係俾佢個promotion吸引, 半價試做喎! 但睇o左佢個網頁介紹之後發現佢o地o既美容師都係經過註冊, 部份療程更由執業醫生操刀 , 心諗都應該有保證, 所以上個禮拜我就去o左試佢個激光美白療程喇!


開始療程之前美容師先同我詳細講解成個過程, 又同我分析皮膚性質話可以因應我o既皮膚性質同問題選擇唔同激光, 感覺都幾細心! 終於開始做療程喇..真係有o的緊張, 先做深層清潔, 美容師話清乾淨皮膚同毛孔長期積落o黎o既污垢令效果更好. 因為做激光過程都會有少少刺痛, 所以美容師就幫我搽麻醉藥膏, 之後就由專業醫生進行激光美白, 唔知係個醫生手勢好定個儀器先進呢? 開頭諗要搽麻醉藥膏都可能會幾痛, 點知又唔係喎, 成個過程個感覺只係吉吉o地痕痕o地咁! 最後美容師再幫我搽返舒緩液去relax返o的皮膚.




(無傷口的換膚)



上網都睇過o的人做完激光之後多數都會有紅腫問題, 腫我就冇, 不過塊面就好紅, 有o的擔心於是我就打返去華洋坊問啦, 個醫生好好人好有耐性話紅腫情況大約會維持3-5日, 人個別皮膚性質而又唔同! 個醫生仲叫我記得做足防曬同保濕去保護返皮膚, 因為做完激光皮膚會變得敏感喎!



做完個療程成個禮拜, 退晒紅之餘仲見到成效, 記得醫生講過話做激光美白最好連續做大約3-5次每次最好相隔一個月, 俾時間o的皮膚舒緩返先再做就可以keep到最佳效果!



如果你都想試下安全又可靠o既激光美白, 去華洋坊試下啦!

Touchmedia presents: A closer look at Shanghai Expo 2010

Touchmedia presents: A closer look at Shanghai Expo 2010

Shanghai, China. The biggest buzz in modern Shanghai in May is without a doubt the 2010 World Expo. A few months ago a little over half of surveyed Shanghai residents intended to go, but in recent weeks this has risen dramatically to more than 83 %!!



Touchmedia, the largest in-taxi interactive media in China, today unveiled the results of the interactive Expo survey just completed on 9000 taxi screens in Shanghai. A staggering 1,673,101 e-questionnaires were collected in 4 weeks, as audited by CTR. 83.02% of the passengers stated that they were definitely or likely to visit the Expo. The areas of most interest to them were the Asian and European pavilions. There was also a lot of interest in unique new features such as the “On-line Expo” and “Mobile Tickets.”



New Technology Catches People’s Eyes



As part of its goal to “Make the Expo wonderful, interactive and innovative,” for the first time in history the 2010 Expo will create an On-line Expo. Even before the official starts, this looks like it will be a huge success: 80% of the passengers intend to try it. Another innovation, Mobile Tickets (customers mobile phones will act as an E-wallet), was also well received: 72 % intend to try.



For tickets, 78% of passengers have already either got their ticket or are about to buy and 43% intend to do so by the increasingly popular Online mode. Single Day tickets, Designated Day tickets and Three Day passes were the 3 most popular types.



In-Taxi Interactive Media One of the “4 Main Sources” of Expo Information



TV, the internet, and Touchmedia’s in-taxi interactive screens and newspapers have been the 4 main sources of Expo information, according to the votes.



“In the beginning I knew little about the Expo. After I watched the TV commercials and looked at the interactive flash program in the taxis I had a much better idea about the Green concept and the Expo. I can even be a guide for my friends coming from outside Shanghai.” This comment from one passenger is apparently widely shared. Over 70 % of passengers feel they have learnt about the Expo through Touchmedia and a similar number say that media publicity in general has been important.






Changing Public Behavior: Smile Politely and No Jumping Red Lights

People recognize that their behavior will contribute to the success of the event, a tribute to the government education program. When asked how they will contribute, “To be well dressed and smile politely” was the most common offer. “To obey traffic rules and not jump red lights” was chosen by half the passengers and “To walk left and stand right on busy escalators” also received a lot of votes.

Even the level of participation of passengers in the Touchmedia survey, over 1.6 million in just a few weeks, reflects the public enthusiasm. Micky Fung, the Founder and Chairman of Touchmedia commented, “We were delighted that a record-breaking number of passengers were interested in our Expo survey and are proud of all those who promised their contribution to the Expo’s success. We are committed to playing our part with them.”





About Touchmedia

Touchmedia was founded in 2003, by its Chairman, Micky Fung, with Asian business leaders such as Katherine Yip Geicke as investors and board members. It is the largest in-taxi interactive media company, delivering innovative digital media solutions for clients and the out-of-home advertising industry in China, at a time when reaching affluent consumers on traditional media is increasingly challenging.

Bollywood comes to Planet Yoga Hong Kong?

Yoga is known to promote a balanced between the body and the mind while Bollywood Dance is a fusion of classical Indian style dances with Arabic, Latin and street dance styles. Both are now offered at Planet Yoga in Hong Kong.

Just how glamorous is the Bollywood Dance? Have you ever watch a Bollywood movie? Most of these Bollywood movies are musicals with songs and dances inserted within scenes. The dances within the movies signify the characters’ feelings, thoughts and foretell events.

On Jessica Simpson’s show The Price of Beauty, you can see in one of its episodes the glamorous world of Bollywood . The dancers had this intricate detailed dresses and beautiful faces that are proportional to the way they move. It was breathtaking. The episode was quite fun to watch because Jessica and her team also learned some basic steps on Bollywood dancing. TO watch on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkg6ypRfyq4 The feature was short though, so if you want to learn the gracious dance you better drop by Planet Yoga. Visit http://www.facebook.com/planetyoga.hk for more information on Bollywood Dance with eMaster Ram and Master Rajesh.

母親節：靚靚媽媽做瑜珈

母親節：靚靚媽媽做瑜珈

懷孕對女性的身體來說絕對是個很大的變化，應當非常謹慎地採取適當的協調。當然你會有很多的傳統或醫學性的選擇，但如果你想嘗試一些新的方法，瑜珈會是你一個不錯的選擇。練習瑜伽對懷孕其實是非常有用，因為它是少數能對交感神經系統有直接影響，獨特性有別於一般運動。此外還提高了身體的靈活性和增強免疫系統。

以下面是一些建議的產前瑜伽：

- Tadasana，山式瑜伽姿態促進了身體的力量，放鬆能力，和穩定性。
- Warrior Pose，武士姿態舒展，並加強了胳膊和腿，增加耐力，改善平衡和集力，也可以減輕懷孕帶來的背痛。
- Bidalasana，貓式瑜伽姿態協助你從身體中心開始運動，並協調你的動作和呼吸。

此外還許多不同的方式進行產前瑜伽。雖然懷孕期間會有一定的禁忌，但如能適當地運用，必言會為你帶來好處。如果你決定練習瑜伽，最好先徵求訓練有素及有經驗的瑜伽教練的意見，他們絕對能夠引導你正確的方向。

想在懷孕期間為你自己保持體態同時為將出生的寶寶健康著想及與一班準媽媽分享心得? Planet Yoga的專業瑜珈教練Vanessa特別為孕婦設計的產前瑜珈課程，亦另有親子瑜珈班替產後媽媽回復體態之餘亦能作親子活動，從小培養小朋友學習瑜珈強身健體。Vanessa曾修讀亞洲運動及體適能專業學院的產前產後體適能訓練課程及由著名的瑜珈大師Sara Avant Stover所教授的孕婦瑜珈課程，對Ashtanga, Flow及陰陽色瑜珈最為擅長。

還在考慮? 快到Planet Yoga的facebook頁 http://bit.ly/month_promo

或致電: 2525-8288(中環會所), 3615-8080(尖沙咀會所), 2525-8277(銅鑼灣會所)查詢吧!

以上文章由Prosperity Research Ltd提供, 電郵查詢: info@prosperity-research.com

VinaCapital: Vietnam remains attractive destination to foreign investors

Rebuilding trust pays positive dividends - VinaCapital’s CEO Don Lam talks about how his company has performed and what it plans for the future

The Asia Asset Management “Best of the Best” fund management awards are in its seventh year. There are a wide range of categories, including the “best fund house” award for each country in the region. I don’t know what other fund managers applied for the awards, but we are very happy to receive the recognition as it puts our brand alongside other winners from world-renowned companies like JP Morgan Asset Management, HSBC Asset Management, and Franklin Templeton, as well as country-level fund managers like Mirae from South Korea and Singapore’s UOB.

My understanding is that the award for “best fund house” has a number of criteria, from overall market share and net assets raised, to the depth of the investment team and client servicing. For VinaCapital, in addition to demonstrating the rapid growth of our net asset base and our investment results, we were able to demonstrate the important role VinaCapital has taken in educating private and institutional investors around the world on the opportunities available in the Vietnamese market. Our slogan is “taking Vietnam to the world” and this helps define our approach to working with investors.

I believe we have a very good track record of investor relations, including updating our fund shareholders and reaching out to other potential investors. Our participation in the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, for example, is evidence of this approach. We were the first Vietnam-based company to join the WEF and we lobbied extensively for the WEF regional meeting that will be held in Ho Chi Minh City this year.

We are happy to be involved in this effort, and I believe Asia Asset Management did consider this broader approach to business growth when selecting its country-level winners.

How about VinaCapital’s performance last year and its plans in 2010?

VinaCapital like all asset managers over the last 12 months faced the important challenge of rebuilding investor trust following the global financial market crisis of 2008. It’s not a pleasant number to bring up, but during the financial crisis of 2008 VinaCapital’s asset under management declined by about 25 per cent.

This was actually a strong performance compared to many fund managers, but for 2009 our goal was to demonstrate to our shareholders that we remain in a position to make good investments and to grow their money. We announced several deals over the past year – such as the Masan equity sale and the Hilton Hanoi hotel sale – that helped demonstrate to our investors that our funds were still holding high-value assets.

For 2009, VinaCapital was able to increase the combined net asset value of its funds by 6.6 per cent, which is an acceptable result given the difficult investment environment.

For 2010, our main objective is to increase the share prices of our funds, as they are still trading at a discount to the underlying net asset values. The issue here is essentially investor confidence in the market. When a fund trades at a discount, the market is essentially expressing doubt over the published value of the fund’s holdings.

Fund managers can respond in many ways – by selling assets as needed to generate income, and possible issue a dividend or buy back shares to lift the share price. We are currently reviewing all options available to our funds and will update our shareholders as soon as possible.

In terms of investing strategy, nothing has changed – we aim to buy into good companies and projects, help improve their operations or develop the assets, then exit in a manner that will generate a return for both our Vietnamese partners and our shareholders.

How do you foresee the investment opportunities in Vietnam in the years to come and does VinaCapital have any plans for raising new funds?

The domestic economy is growing at a healthy rate in 2010 and we expect to see deals across a range of sectors. In real estate, we have several important initiatives to bring a new quality standard to the residential market. We recently announced the VinaProjects joint venture to manage the development and construction of our real estate projects, and other interesting announcements in this area will follow soon.

In equities, there are a broad range of sectors that we are interested in, including health care, financial services, education and certain types of agribusiness.

As for new funds, we intend to raise a new unlisted real estate fund this year, which will target institutional investors that do not invest in listed companies, such as our current real estate fund VinaLand Limited. As an unlisted fund, the new offering will attract a different type of investor from our existing funds, which are listed.

Some institutional investors do not invest in listed funds, so we are just creating an opportunity for investors who otherwise would have few options to invest in Vietnam.

"VinaCapital Group is one of the largest foreign investor in Vietnam's real estate market, with considerable local knowledge and experience. The VinaCapital conference which was held on Oct. 25 -27, 2009 in Hanoi attracted more than 200 foreign investors and business leaders who wanted to know about Vietnam market and the investment opportunities in the coming up years. Attending the conference also was Mrs. Katherine Yip Geicke who is one of Asia's leading business women and is a Founding Partner and Advisor to the Board of VinaCapital; Professor Kenneth Courtis - former vice-president Goldman Sachs; Mr. Marc Townsend - CEO of CB Richard Ellis Vietnam; and VinaCapital Group leaders"

VinaCapital引領越南房地產市場

HO CHI MINH CITY, VinaCapital Group, Vietnam's leading asset management and real estate development firm, and inProjects Group, Asia's leading independent project management company, are pleased to announce the launch of VinaProjects, a joint venture company.
VinaProjects is a real estate services company offering project and construction management, urban planning, and facilities management services to the Vietnamese market. VinaProjects aims to provide a world-class standard of service for real estate investors and developers in Vietnam, including VinaCapital Group.



VinaProjects was established in January 2010 and has already begun the delivery of landmark urban development projects valued at over USD500 million in cities across Vietnam, including Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City. VinaProjects has three divisions - project management, urban planning, and facilities management - staffed by highly skilled professionals with substantial international and domestic experience.
VinaCapital is one of the largest foreign investor in Vietnam's real estate market, with considerable local knowledge and experience. The VinaCapital conference which was held on Oct. 25 -27, 2009 in Hanoi attracted more than 200 foreign investors and business leaders who wanted to know about Vietnam market and the investment opportunities in the coming up years. Attending the conference also was Mrs. Katherine Yip Geicke who is one of Asia's leading business women and is a Founding Partner and Advisor to the Board of VinaCapital, former vice-president Goldman Sachs, the Deutsches Bank manager - Mr. Marc Townsend, and VinaCapital Group leaders.



Don Lam, VinaCapital CEO, comments: “VinaCapital has a significant number of major real estate projects located across Vietnam, and we must ensure all of these projects are delivered with world-class results. We want the next generation of urban and resort developments in Vietnam to be at the same standard as see in cities across Asia and the world. We look forward to working with the inProjects team to help raise the standard of project delivery in Vietnam.”

Guinness World Record Holder teaches Yoga at Planet Yoga Hong Kong

If you haven't attended a class with Yogaraj C.P of Planet Yoga yet, other members will gladly tell you what you have been missing! Just try to walk in to his Hot Yoga class on a weeknight and you will see about 50 people lining up to go into the steamy room. Yes he is that good, and here is a glimpse why.

Hello Yogaraj! What is this we hear about you being in the Guinness World Records?
Yes, I am very honored to have represented my country and achieved the longest yoga marathon in the Guinness World Records. Essentially, it was a yoga marathon that lasted for 28 hours. I performed a total of 1,019 asanas positions!!

WOW, and here we thought your 90 minute Hot Yoga class was LONG. We were also told that you just came back form a Yoga Competition not too long ago?
Yes. I just came back from the 17^th International Yoga Festival actually. I represented Planet Yoga in the competition. (see photos below). I performed Agro Yoga, participated in a Group demonstration and won 1^st place in the competition! I am so honoured and humbled to be featured in top newspapers including Dinamani, Dinamalar and Tamil Murusu and Daily Thanthi in Puducherry, India.

How long have you been participating in competitions?
Well, I started to practice Yoga at a very young age. It started with my father demonstrating the walking Lotus to me--it is a very fun and entertaining pose and I do this with my students a lot now as a warm up. But then my father passed away when I was still young and I stopped practicing for a while. As I got older , i remembered that my father practiced Yoga a lot in order to stay fit during his service in the Army. He was stationed in a very cold part of India, up by the Himalayas. I picked up the practice of Yoga again when I was about 12 years old. I won my first award--- Best Demonstrator Award at the 5th International Yoga festival when I was 14.

It must be so exciting to travel around the world to participate in yoga competitions!
I truly love traveling the world and seeing how different people can embrace Yoga into their lives. I loved teaching yoga in China and Taiwan because for a yoga teacher, it is so rewarding to introduce the practice to places where people don't know as much about it and where it is still quite a new hobby and sport.

There is no question that you are a very experienced Yogi. What are you looking to accomplish in the upcoming future?
I think I am most interested in teaching yoga to kids and youth. I received my first yoga lesson (apart from demonstrations by my father) when I was about 12 years old. I still remember very clearly how great I felt when I was able to do the walking handstand my teacher taught me. I think that Yoga is an excellent way to inspire confidence and built postive self esteem. There is a great sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with being able to perform different Yoga poses and I think that it is something very important and valuable to instill in youth today.

Finally, What does Real Yoga mean to you?
Real Yoga, to me, means introducing traditional yoga to people. Whether it is the postures and practice itself or the philosophy behind it.

Thank you so much Master Yogaraj C.P for speaking to us. Namaste.

Planet Yoga: New Blog!!! Meet Yogi Moises of Planet Yoga Hong Kong!!

So, how did you become a yogi?

My grandma was a yoga teacher in Mexico; she was very into vegetarianism and spirituality--she actually went to learn yoga India in 1971! I grew up seeing her teach private classes in our home.

Also,my mother ran a detox clinic where she helped people with alcohol and drug addictions by giving them treatment.

I saw daily how people transformed and got healthier through meditation and exercise. I was especially surprised about the physical difference I witnessed in them.

That is very interesting. Did you knew when you were very young that you wanted to help people by becoming a yogi?

Not immediately no. I did a lot of soul searching first. I went to a Jewish school in Mexico--where I come from; and after I graduated high school I went to live and work in Israel for 8 months. I worked as a farmer!

I think that experience gave me the time to really think about what I wanted to do and how I wanted to live my life. I think that is when I knew I wanted to become a yoga teacher.
Also, it really helped to keep me grounded as a person. From working on the farm and cooking for myself, I also became very interested in eating healthy and wholesome foods.

Can you give us some simple fitness tips?

Actually when I was younger I was very into body building and contemporary dance! Especially in dance, we did a lot of yoga moves to work on our flexibility and help us warm up before a routine.

I did find that I got quite stiff from lifting weights and you build a different kind of muscle. Bodybuilding builds stiff and bulky muscles, while yoga is good for leaner muscles.

My advice is to do activities that you find fun, whether it is Power Yoga or Bollywood Dancing! It is important to enjoy the activity because that is the only way you would be motivated to continue.

Very true, do a lot of your students prefer classes at Planet Yoga because they get bored at the gym?

That is a common reason many members prefer taking classes here--there is a good variety of classes from more aerobic intensive styles like Ashtanga to Hatha Flow where the poses are dynamic but not as challenging. They are never bored because there are so many classes they can try out!

Also, yoga trains us to stay present and gain awareness--that is why the focus on breathing is always emphasized. So many people go to the gym only to distract themselves with videos, music or even their phone! When practicing yoga, I always remind my students to pay attention to how their body and muscles feel.

We heard that you have a strict diet where you ate mostly raw and vegan food. What are some foods we should add or limit so we could stay healthy?

I would suggest eating less sugar, processed food, red meat and fried food. Some great foods to add to your diet are raw green leaves in salads, fresh juices, almonds and dates. People in Hong Kong are very busy---dried fruit and nuts are a very convinent snack that is also extremely good for your body!

Finally, what does real yoga mean to you?Real yoga is a place where everyone can become aware of who we are as a being. Where we can be unafraid of opening our heart, our mind and our body.

Namaste