Okay, it may be the case that we don't fly enough, but yesterday at the Hongqiao Airport, we were really surprised to see this Virgin bookstore at the departure hall (that Richard Branson has really acted fast, hasn't he?). Does anyone know how long the store has been there? Food and beverage options appear to have widened up quite a bit too. Element Fresh has been there since last summer, located just outside the exit......

Photos from Christof Schmeisser Shanghaiist reader Christof Schmeisser was partying with his friends at Attica over the weekend and was surprised to meet Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson and his crew. They are apparently in town as part of a business delegation on UK prime minister Gordon Brown's Shanghai detour. His impression of the billionaire maverick was "very open minded and not snobbish at all". Schmeisser added:I said I like the idea of using......

Bangkok, Thailand - Backpacker blues on Khaosan Road [Asia Times] For years, Bangkok's venerable Khaosan Road has been a welcome, low-priced respite for the throngs of backpackers crisscrossing Southeast Asia. But changing times are pushing out the street vendors and budget inns in favor of upscale establishments that are also attracting another element - more of Bangkok's notorious sex trade. Ulaanbataar, Mongolia - School represents a slice of North Korea [Eurasianet] There is little that......

The Washington Post reports that the former next president of the United States, Al Gore, is going to put on some massive live shows to help persuade the world to take global warming and climate change seriously:At the news conference Thursday announcing this summer's ambitious "Live Earth" concerts -- designed as an exercise in "mass persuasion" about threats of global warming -- Al Gore described his vision: a 24-hour musical extravaganza across seven continents, featuring......