Afaranwide took part in a trial run at the refurbished Hong Kong Museum of Art yesterday, testing out everything from the bag lockers to the lifts, and the flow of the displays. It should reopen next month, after being shut for four years and a HK$930 million (US$119 million) renovation. We only saw the first and fifth floors, and we were knocked out by the exhibits.

From beautiful watercolours to intricate bamboo displays, fun porcelain to gorgeous sketches, this is going to be a very special venue for Hongkongers and visitors alike. Sue will be writing more about this Kowloon gem soon.

A chance to spend the night in David Beckham’s hotel suite will be on offer from next summer. The ex-footballer turned business mogul, pictured in a promo video, has helped to design the interiors of suites on the top two floors of a London-themed hotel.

The Londoner Hotel is being developed in the Asian gambling hub of Macao, and is due to open next July. It’s part of a larger project called the Londoner Macao, which will look like the UK’s Houses of Parliament complete with clock tower when it’s finished in 2021. As Brits who lived and worked in London for many years, we’ll be following this development with interest.

Thirty years ago today, the gates of the Berlin Wall were thrown open, and thousands of East Germans flooded into the west of the city. The fall of the wall on November 9, 1989, came two years after US President Ronald Reagan, in a speech at the Brandenburg Gate, made his famous appeal to the Soviet Union’s president: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” A section of the wall (above) stands at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. It’s one of many historic items that were preserved two weeks ago when the library was saved from a wildfire. Bizarrely, a herd of goats has been credited with helping to rescue the building. Look out for our post about the library.

Someone has decided that what Hong Kong really needs in these challenging times is another upmarket shopping mall. The K11 Musea is like all the other top end malls in Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, Causeway Bay etc. and has all the usual luxury brands, only it’s even more lavish and the shops look like they’re on steroids. One thing that sets it apart is a rooftop urban farm and a supposed commitment to sustainability. We weren’t convinced when we checked it out, and the word “greenwashing” sprang to mind. READ MORE

We rounded off our look at how the Hong Kong protests were affecting popular tourist spots with a list of five things we learned. One tourism sector that has suffered is MICE – meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions – with some events being cancelled, postponed or relocated. Colin went along to the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair on Thursday and asked exhibitors what effect they were noticing. There was a general feeling that fewer people were at the trade event than in previous years.

According to the organisers, the number of exhibitors is similar to last year, though the number of countries taking part is down by a third. One wine importer we spoke to said that while some overseas companies would usually bring their entire staff, this year they have brought only one or two. The fair at the convention and exhibition centre is open to the public today, its final day. Meanwhile, still on the subject of mice, the South China Morning Post has reported that the civil unrest will have cost Hong Kong's Disneyland resort US$135 million in income by the end of the year. READ MORE

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