Southeast Asia’s growing MICE sector — meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions — is keen to tap the lucrative Chinese market and has been offering various perks to encourage more China-based organizers and corporate executives to hold conferences and training seminars in the region.

Heritage tourism has always been Penang’s selling point. The island, off the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, is home to George Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The laid-back city, renowned for its well-preserved temples, British colonial architecture and shophouses, has long attracted travelers keen to see this quaint corner of Southeast Asia.

Region rises with world-class facilities and services that combine business and leisure

Neither a luxury traveler nor a backpacker, Prime Sarmiento considers herself a “value-for-money” traveler. She splurges on the things she loves (yoga sessions, a clean and safe room with its own bathroom, healthy eats), and she scrimps on things she can’t be bothered with (gadgets, shopping, airfare). A veteran business journalist, Prime sometimes travels for work, sometimes for leisure, and sometimes just to enjoy the gift of solitude.

I am a solo female traveler. Whether I’m traveling for leisure or for work (or a little bit of both) I often find myself on my own – loving the journey and even blogging about it. I’m not the only one doing so based on the anecdotal evidence which I gathered through comments posted on my blog, reading various blogs by other female travelers, lurking in numerous travel-related fora, interviews with other female travelers and online surveys.

Name: Prime Sarmiento Age: 37 and looking forward for my forties! Location: Manila Online homes: Blog // Twitter // Facebook Favorite Karina dress: I’d actually like to order the Daisy dress, but I think it’s not available at the moment. What are your every day, must-reads, online or off? 1. Any cozy mystery novel – as this relaxes me. I especially like the Monk series, Alexander Mccall Smith’s First Ladies Detective Agency series and Joanna Fluke’s culinary mysteries. 2. Online new

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, the Philippines, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- In this western Philippine city, being a climate-friendly city makes good business and environmental sense. From introducing electric-powered vehicles to leading the zero- carbon resorts campaign to maintaining a large forest cover, officials and the private sector of Puerto Princesa city are committed to keep its carbon emissions low while at the same time promote a more sustainable tourism industry.

JAL TAGUIBAO has a very simple way of telling just when a song can be called a hit. “When your song is being played in jeepneys,” he says, “that’s when it’s gone big time.

SINGAPORE — Twelve years ago, Francisco ‘Kiko’ Escora was already happy when a painting of his fetched P3,000 at an exhibit in Manila. But today Escora must be ecstatic; his works are being snapped up not only in his home country, where they now average P70,000 a piece, but also in places like Singapore, where Escora paintings are bought for S$4,000 each, or a cool hundred grand based on a P30:S$1 conversion.

In a workshop on “Eros and the Divine” and its significance to our writing, Jan Cornall, our writing guru, noted that the principle of eros is about “being alive and feeling alive.” Tapping into that energy, according to this Aussie playwright/poet/songwriter will help us in our writing process. Meditating, Jan said, will help us utilize that energy, adding that as a writer and as a practicing Tibetan Buddhist, “desire and longing are intrinsically linked to my meditation practice.”