The airports and roads in Asia are in crush mode today as the Chinese New Year holidays commence.

For those in urban areas, getting a good night's sleep may be difficult as the clashing of cymbals and pounding of drums from dragon dances and the like outside and in foyers of public buildings "scare" away evil spirits for the Year of the Horse.

Meanwhile my thoughts and predictions on the Year of the Horse are already published in my main column. Its a bit of a black column, but it's the year of the BLACK HORSE afterall...

But the coming of the horse seems to be bad news for many single Chinese men. It seems getting hitched in the Year of the Horse is a no-no, so there is a Chinese rush to wed before new year.

Chinese couples are stampeding to get hitched before the Year of the Horse starts next week, spooked by a cosmological sign that the coming lunar year bodes ill for newlyweds.

Well, there's always the year after the next, hun...