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Tim Pile
Tim Pile
Tim Pile has written more than 300 travel articles for the South China Morning Post. He has been to over 100 countries and has a Master’s degree in Tourism Environment and Development.

From Saint-Tropez and Ibiza to adventurous New Zealand and exotic Parrot Bay, these are the places where you’ll find the world’s most famous catwalk queens and cover stars chilling in style

Think you can pronounce these hard-to-say countries, cities and other places? Try your hand at Phuket, New Orleans, Leicester, Reykjavík, Kaohsiung, Laos, Yosemite, Oaxaca, Edinburgh and more.

Khao Yai in Thailand offers a national park where wild elephants roam, wineries, golf courses and the Bill Bensley-designed InterContinental Khao Yai Resort, inspired by the golden age of train travel.

French island has a lot to offer – jagged mountains, beaches, quaint villages, the house where Napoleon grew up – and renting a car is a good way to see it if you don’t mind hairy roads and aggressive drivers.

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A five-hour train ride through south central Vietnam in the Vietage by Anantara carriage is luxury on wheels, with free-flow drinks, cocktails, caviar and afternoon tea.

Negative online reviews of sightseeing attractions tend to follow a pattern. Some are meant to be humorous, others are unintentionally funny. Those who write them certainly don’t mince their words.

Underground tourist attractions include the Paris Catacombs, which store the remains of 6 million people, the site of the amazing rescue of that Thai youth football team, and the world’s largest cave.

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Russ Cook’s epic run across the length of Africa inspired Post Magazine to try devising the world’s longest walk. Here’s the result, including what to see on the way and countries to avoid.

Public nudity is generally taboo in Asia, but for those who wish to sunbathe in their birthday suit, here are 8 of the world’s best nudist beaches, from Haulover Beach, Miami to Mar Bella, Barcelona.

From an abandoned diamond mining town in Namibia to a Hong Kong village where ghost ‘sightings’ have been reported, to a town in Ukraine emptied by nuclear disaster, 9 ghost towns to see.

From the summer Olympics in Paris and the Euro 2024 football tournament, to natural wonders such as China’s largest waterfall and Norway’s midnight sun, eight things to do and see in summer 2024.

What clothes to pack, where to eat, who to avoid, where to get currency, renting motorbikes – an experienced dad gives his beginner son tips on backpacking in Southeast Asia.

The Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, has attractive old buildings, and some unfinished new ones, eye-catching snacks, but also a crime problem and harrowing reminders of Khmer Rouge genocide.

To curb overtourism and foster more environmentally friendly travel, destinations from Venice to Kyoto are taxing visitors or restricting access. We look at tourism control measures around the world.

A road trip along Pakistan’s 1,300km-long Karakoram Highway promises mind-bending mountain scenery and warm hospitality. But there’s instability here, and not just of the kind that leads to falling rocks.

Nyepi Day, the Balinese New Year – falling on March 11 in 2024 – will see 24 hours of silence, restaurants and public transport shut down, and nobody leaving their homes. It’s Bali at its most peaceful.

A holiday spot for celebrities from Taylor Swift to Tom Cruise to Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Maldives has plenty to love about it – though Indians might presently disagree.

Some travellers can’t live without their comfort foods, from instant noodles and beef jerky to soy sauce, fish sauce and chilli flakes, favoured by Asians to liven up food they think of as bland.

A guide to some of the world’s biggest celebrations – the Rio Carnival, Oktoberfest – and some more eclectic events, including a mud festival in South Korea and a sardine festival in Portugal.

From Europe’s highest football pitch to a Unesco heritage site in Italy and the world’s longest golf course, in China, these sporting venues boast scenery that matches the action they host.

India’s largest city, Mumbai is home to Bollywood and the country’s second most-photographed building after the Taj Mahal. But there are downsides, including bad traffic, dirty streets and crowded trains.

In Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, a no-frills massage room in a temple is attracting Thais and foreigners alike with its cheap and excellent massages, performed by experienced therapists.

Set-jetting will be a trend in 2024, reckons Expedia – Thailand may draw White Lotus 3 fans, for example. Lonely Planet wants sustainable travel to be a theme; places to avoid the crowds are a thing too.

Go to the places where they make Parmesan cheese, Bordeaux wine, or Pu’er tea, and what’s there to do apart from eating or drinking their wares? Our sightseeing tips for 10 food and drink capitals.

Isaan in northeast Thailand isn’t on most tourists’ itineraries, but is worth a visit for its ancient Khmer temples, dinosaur fossils, Mekong River towns and festivals.

In the United States, fireworks and hot dogs mark July 4 – and so does the launching of cars off a cliff. Which country invites its entire population to a royal garden party on its national day? Find out.

From this year’s Greek wildfires to the 2010 Icelandic volcano eruption and 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, these eight natural disasters left their mark on tourists.

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From the famous Route 66 and Avenue Champs-Élysées to Israel’s Dead Sea Highway, the lowest road, and one higher than Everest Base Camp, we survey the world’s record-setting roads.

Sumatra, Indonesia, is famous for wild orangutans and tigers, rainforests, surfing, volcanoes and its amazing biodiversity. If you can bear the bad roads and terrible public transport, the island is well worth a visit.

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