Hong Kong French Art Festival
This is the biggest French Art Festival in the Asia Pacific region. It encourages a collaboration between French and local arts in exhibitions, operas, classical music, stage performances, dance shows, films and food. Highlights include electronic face off Nouvelle Vague Meets High Tone (May 9), Louis Vuitton: A Passion for Creation exhibition (May 22-Aug 9), The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957 (May 30-Sep 28) and the Opera Gala Concert featuring the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (May 8, 10). Tickets available at www.urbtix.com, more details at www.frenchmay.com.

Scented Samui
With high walls and tall doors, this grey building set on the quiet Bangrak beach is like a forbidden palace. Newly-opened, Karmakamet Hotel (58 Moo 4, Bo Phut, Samui, 077-962-198, www.karmakamethotel.com) rolls out a pan-Asian décor through its 15 rooms surrounding a swimming pool and a beachfront restaurant, Charoen. Its current snorkeling packages start at S$575 per couple. You get a three-night stay with breakfast and a snorkeling trip to the National Marine Park. And as Karmakamet is also a scent brand, you can expect the resort to smell wonderful.

Stretch It
If these gloomy times have you thinking about how to regain balance in life, you might want to invest in one of Anatara Si Kao’s (198-199 Moo 5, Had Pak Meng-Changlang Rd., Changlang Beach, Maifad, Sikao, Trang; +66- 0- 7520-5888) yoga retreats. Located on Krabi, this five-star resort regularly runs wellness retreats with guest leaders from around the world. Running from May 11-June 8, this batch of retreats are week long and comprise daily meditation and yoga, Pilates sessions, contemporary dance classes and cooking classes as well as consultations with an osteopath, an aryuvedic doctor and an optional weight-loss program. Leading the retreat are experts in these fields, and in between all the hard work you can chill out at the resort’s luxurious spa or serene beach. Packages start at S$5,330. For full retreat details visit http://sikao.anantara.com.

Be a Free Agent
This is the one of latest data storage devices to hit the market and we like it because it looks cute too. Produced by Seagate, the FreeAgent Go drives are pocket size, lightweight and slim—and come in fun colors of blue, red, green, pink, black and silver, so you can get one to match your laptop. Available in 320GB (S$139) or 500GB (S$199), these little things can store up to a mega 160,000 photos, 120,000 mp3 files or 500 hours of video. That’s years’ worth of holidays. Available at major electronics retailers in Singapore.

Hotel Openings
Even as the luxury travel markets flounders, the mid-range sector remains active and hotels targeting this group of travelers are continuing to open properties across the region. In Bali, Holiday Inn (Jalan Wana Segara 33, Tuban, Bali; +62-361-755-577) just opened its new Baruna Resort in Tuban, near the busy Kuta strip. It’s very much an all-in-one resort, catering to families, couples and corporate groups alike. In a further flung corner of Indonesia, Manado, is the newly launched Novotel (Jl Sam Ratulangi 22, Manado; +62-43-1855-555). While the idea of staying in a business chain doesn’t quite gel with exotic, dive-centered Manado, it can be the right place for you to start or end your adventure stay there. Over in Tianjin, China, the upscale chain of business hotels Radission recently opened a property (66 Xin Kai Rd., Hedong District, Tianjin; +86-22-2457-8888). Located in the heart of the city’s new financial district, its presence looks set to take hospitality in Tianjin up a notch with its chic, modern design and five-star facilities. And opening really soon, in June, is a Mercure hotel in Sapporo (Minami 4-jo Nishi 2-chome Chuo-ku, Sapporo, +81-11-5131-100). Smack in the nightlife, entertainment and business area, and linked to a shopping mall, this property is convenient for both business and leisure travelers.