Cruising along the Mekong River in Style - Gorgeous Asian Chinoise Style Rooms

One of the countries I really love visiting in my travels

is Vietnam. Vietnam is still beginning to open up and

isn't to the point where it's over developed yet. It still

retains much of it's essence and unique blend of Asian

with French influences.

I think cruising is one of the loveliest ways to see a place

or country and what better way to do it than to do it in

luxury and style!

This boat is called The Jayavarman and it is run by
the Heritage Line. As you can see, the staterooms on
this little ship are completely luxurious and unlike
any staterooms I've seen before on a ship. It looks
like a high end hotel room instead of being on a
riverboat.

Each stateroom has a balcony with a table and

two chairs to lounge in while gazing at the scenery.

Even the bathroom has distinct

Chinese styled cabinets and doors.

They really did a fantastic job with blending modern

luxury with traditional Chinese and Asian aesthetics.

The wood work in the rooms are just amazing.

At dusk, the the lighting and the

scenery are romantic and peaceful.

The cruise either departs from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

and proceeds upstream to Siem Reap in Cambodia or the

other way from Siem Reap downstream to Saigon. I still

prefer the name Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City. Saigon is so

much prettier.

There were no photos of the suite but I

thought this was a gorgeous rendering.

The open deck on top looks even better with daybeds,

gorgeous coffee tables and billowing curtains.

What you saw above was the deluxe room, this is the

superior room (or what you would call a standard room.)

Even the standard room is quite gorgeous. Take a look
out the window in this photo. Amazing isn't it?

I love the panels of plants and birds used

as a headboard in these staterooms.

It's tea time.

If you plan to decorate any of your rooms in Chinoise style,

hopefully this post has given you some great ideas on how

to blend modern luxuries with a more traditional asian look.

Wouldn't I love to be cruising down the Mekong in this boat...

Photos from Heritage Line

The Traditional Chinese Dress - The Cheongsam or the Qipao

The Chinese traditional dress is what I consider to be one of the classics.

The modern day version of the dress is very sexy and feminine and can

be worn casually or formally depending on the length and the fabric used.

The mother above looks fabulous with her short and pink cotton cheongsam.

The terms of Qipao and Cheongsam mean the same thing in different dialects.

The original cheongsam was wide and loose, covering most of the woman's

body. The baggy nature of the clothing also served to conceal the figure of the

woman. With time, though, the qipao were tailored to become more form

fitting and revealing. The modern version, which is now recognized popularly

in China as the "standard" qipao, was first developed in Shanghai around

1900, after the Qing Dynasty fell. At that time, Chinese could freely wear

whatever they liked without the fear of penalty from the government (the

Qing government had strict control over their citizens' dress code down to the

way men wore their hair).

After World War I, prostitutes from overseas flocked to Shanghai,

wearing their exposing and body-hugging dresses. This brought

pressure to local prostitutes, whom were still wearing the original

baggy qipao. Thus, high-class brothels in Shanghai redesigned the

qipao to be body-hugging with side slits for their prostitutes. However,

only high-class prostitutes could wear these redesigned qipao at that

time. Slender and form-fitting with a high cut, it contrasted sharply

with the traditional qipao.

This girl looks very pretty and

demure in her modern Qipao.

A photo from the past of women hanging

out in short summer Chinese dresses.

The shortened collar represents a more

modern style of the Cheongsam.

Formal portraits were taken

in a Cheongsam as well.

Here's a vintage advertisement with a model in a short Qipao.

Many period Chinese films also make use of

the traditional garment. Maggie Cheung in

the well known film "In the Mood for Love."

The higher collar represents an earlier

time in the 20th century.

It is also a favorite of singers and performers.

And also the choice of many

Asian movie stars.

A modified version of the Cheongsam with a halter top.

It's a great example of the melding of Eastern and Western design.

Nicole Kidman looks fabulous in this

more traditional take on the dress.

And even popular dolls in Asia are garbed with it.

Here's Blythe in a Cheongsam.

Don't forget to get your submissions in for

the Material Girl's design contest sponsored

by Swank Lighting! The grand prize is a pair

of these gorgeous lamps above in any color!

This is one contest you really don't want to miss.

Either of the links above will give you information

about the contest. I will be serving as one of the guest

judges for Swank Lighting. The submission deadline is

this Saturday on November 1, 2008.

Good Luck!

All photos from Flickr, Swank Lighting

and history bits from Wikipedia.

Beauty & Design in Chinese Film ~ Curse of the Golden Flower

You should watch this film if not for the eye candy and
colors alone. Curse of the Golden Flower is directed by
acclaimed director Zhang Yi Mo. He is sort of the Chinese
version of Steven Spielberg you could say. He's made
many many films in his life time and in his last couple
of films, his style has definitely changed to become more
artistic and has put huge emphasis on color and imagery.

The film stars Gong Li and Chow Yun Fat. Two heavy
weights in the Chinese film industry. Gong Li was in fact
made famous by director Zhang Yi Mo. Gong Li may not
be the most beautiful woman to live, but she certainly
has presence like no other. Simply by entering a room,
she can command it. I love watching her films.

The whole movie is a showcase of fashion and interiors!
The photo above and the few below showcase one of the main
hallways in the film. It is a "sick" display of beautiful hand
carved panels and woodwork. I've never seen anything like it.

Through clever use of lighting, the same exact hallway

can change into different colors altogether. What was
originally the bright red hallway above is now Green.

A beautiful shade of peacock blue.

And red again. Simply amazing.

Another element that there was an obvious focus on

were the costumes. The scene here shows maids

dressing each other.

And the finished costume. I will note that in no way were

any Chinese ladies allowed to wear bare shouldered gowns

in any time period in history. However, for a modern

rendition of an old story - the colors and attention to detail

are simply amazing.

Another look at those gorgeous gowns.

I just couldn't stop staring at those colorful panels!

This is a close up of those beautifully carved panels.

I wonder how they made the panels translucent to

let in light.

Get a load of that hair do!

And this brings new meaning to the

phrase "Red Carpet Treatment."

A night time peak at the same red carpet.

At the end of the red carpet is a

staircase that leads into the palace.

A great still of a Chinese room with traditional

furnishings and architectural elements.

Her head dresses are simply amazing.

This makes the word "decadent" pale in comparison.

Especially when you realize just how large this square is

and they somehow managed to cover every square inch

of it. All I can do is look in awe. No words can describe it.

I had been preparing a post on this movie but La Vie Est Belle

has beaten me to it. Definitely stop over at her blog to see her post

because she has a different take on the movie and has shared some

really interesting pieces of Chinese history as well.

If some of you are interested in Zhang Yi Mo's other beautiful

films, I would also recommend "Hero" which is also beautifully

filmed filmed. Beautiful in Color and Beautiful in Scenery

with some of the most amazing scenes in China.

All photos from Sony Pictures and taken by Ms. Bai Xiaoyan.