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SCMP Reporter

One of our most popular travel stories of 2024 looked at how more trekkers are flocking to the Himalayas of Nepal, facilitated by companies out to make a quick buck.
Mountaineers and guides, however, have voiced concerns about the safety risks that underprepared trekkers pose, and the growing amounts of waste left on mountain slopes.
Readers were also shocked by the story in March of a Brazilian-Spanish influencer who was gang-raped in India while camping during a motorbike trip.
Here’s the top-five list:

1. How overcrowding on peaks like Everest leads to danger
Federico Porci No, 30, grew up in Tirano, a small city in the Alps, in northern Italy. Living in the mountains, trekking was a way of life for him.
However, when he visited Nepal for the first time, in 2018, to attempt the Annapurna Circuit, he found it enormously challenging both physically and mentally.
“Trekking there is a vastly different experience compared to other parts of the world.” Nevertheless, “I just fell in love with Nepal,” he says.
The number of travellers to the Himalayas has increased in recent years. The Nepal Tourism Board reported that 128,167 tourists arrived in Nepal by air in March, representing a 28.9 per cent year-on-year increase.
This poses challenges for trekkers and authorities alike. Read more here

2. Travel influencer couple on horror India gang rape
In India, a rape takes place every 15 minutes, according to government figures. It is so common that many cases go unreported and few make the news.
But when a Brazilian-Spanish influencer was gang-raped in India in March while camping during a motorbike trip, it ignited public outrage and debate on social media not seen on the subcontinent since the New Delhi bus gang-rape of 2012, and made headlines around the world.
Indian police – known for their inaction over, and even involvement in, sexual crimes – in this instance acted fast to quell the negative publicity.
The attack took place while the influencer and her husband were camping in Dumka district, an area of hills and exotic forest famed for its temples and hill resorts not far from the Bangladeshi border, in northeast India. Read more here

3. Cap on rental properties divides a city
Two years ago, YouTube star Luan Palomera paid US$1.5 million for a chic holiday home in Palm Springs in the US state of California. Today, he would be lucky to get US$1 million for it.
As cities around the world continue to crack down on Airbnb, officials can turn towards the Californian desert for an example – perhaps a cautionary tale – of the potential side effects of curbing the short-term rental market.
In Palm Springs, a cap on short-term rentals in specific high-demand neighbourhoods all but froze the market in those communities. Sales were down. Homes languished on the market for months. Investors who bought Palm Springs properties during the Covid-19 pandemic were facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses. Read more here

4. Exploring Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown
For years, Kuala Lumpur’s run-down Chinatown was defined by its prime attraction, Jalan Petaling, the seething main street piled high with every counterfeit imaginable, from fake Lacoste T-shirts and Hermès handbags to Rolex watches and Ray Ban shades.
Heritage Chinese shophouses were left to crumble or had been converted into scruffy backpacker hostels, gambling dens and secretive mahjong clubs.
Not today, though. In just a few years, the neighbourhood has been transformed into arguably the most innovative part of the Malaysian capital.
Walking through Chinatown’s maze of narrow streets, the shophouses may still look half abandoned – paint peeling, facades overrun by tropical vegetation – but it is a different story inside, where stripped-back industrial interiors have been turned into cutting-edge spaces for coffee bars, speakeasies, restaurants and boutique hotels. Read more here

5. Riding an overnight train in China
After decades of decline, overnight trains are making a comeback in Europe and the United States as a more sustainable way to travel than flying. But in China, they never went out of vogue.
The country has the second largest (after the United States) and busiest railway network in the world, offering a safer, more scenic and comfortable alternative to its highways. But what is it like spending a night or two on a train in China? Are they clean? Is it easy to get tickets? Is it doable for tourists who cannot speak Mandarin?
During a recent trip to China, a travel writer decided to find out on a 36-hour, 3,070km (1,900-mile) train ride from the Tibetan capital Lhasa to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. Read more here


SCMP Plus year in review

Travel stories you read most in 2024, about a horror gang rape, trains in China and more

Paris Olympics, Lionel Messi fail: Hong Kong’s best and worst sporting moments from 2024

Fashion and beauty stories you read most in 2024, about Lunar New Year, Hermès and more

Year in Review

Mountaineers climb a slope during their ascent of Mount Everest in Nepal in 2021. A story about overcrowding on peaks like this one was one of the top five travel stories of the year. Photo: AFP

Climbers crossing the Khumbu Icefall on Mount Everest. Photo: AFP

Travel influencers Fernanda and Vicente in Konya, Turkey. Photo: Instagram/vueltaalmundoenmoto

California’s Palm Springs has capped the number of rental properties, causing house prices and sales to drop in the area. Photo: TNS

Hong Kee, which specialises in sticky claypot rice, in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown. The neighbourhood in the Malaysian capital has been reborn in recent years. Photo: John Brunton

Passengers on a Chinese overnight train travelling from Lhasa, in Tibet, to Chengdu, in Sichuan province. Photo: Ian Neubauer

Gadget stories you read most in 2024, about the iPhone 16, an ear surgery device and more

The Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max can record videos at 4K/120fps. Photo: Ben Sin

Lynne Lim demonstrating how to use the Clikx device on a patient. Our story about the Singaporean doctor’s invention was one of our most-read stories about gadgets in 2024. Photo: Cartier

Despite its sleekness, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 4 is not lacking in power or components. Photo: Ben Sin

The Pura 70 Ultra is the latest of Huawei’s P series smartphones. Photo: Ben Sin

The Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max can record videos at 4K/120fps, which can then be slowed down after the shot for smooth slow motion videos. Photo: Ben Sin

Oppo invented the periscope zoom lens in 2017. With the Find X7 Ultra, the company is back to show that it is the zoom lens king. 

Hong Kong 2025 travel trends include longevity retreats, 3 generations on holiday together

Multigeneration holidays will be a trend among Hong Kong families in 2025, travel website Booking.com says. Photo: Shutterstock 

Regina Chan (centre) of Booking.com presents the findings of its survey of travellers’ intentions in 2025 in Hong Kong. More than 1,000 people from the city took part. Photo: Handout

The brilliant Milky Way Galaxy and a starry night sky arch over the historic chapel of Mont Saint-Joseph in the Parc National du Mont-Mégantic, Québec, Canada. Dark-sky tourism interests Hong Kong travellers more than most. Photo: Shutterstock

Why for travellers in Japan’s Hokkaido region ski towns Niseko and Rusutsu still reign

A view of Niseko, a popular skiing destination in Japan that’s constantly renewing itself and drawing more international visitors to its slopes and après-ski facilities. Photo: Shutterstock

Niseko in northern Hokkaido continues to draw visitors in their millions. Photo: Shutterstock

Intuition Niseko’s onsen offers a respite after a long day on the slopes. Photo: Intuition Niseko

Sushi Hanayoshi is a beloved local institution run by Niseko-born chef Ryohei Yoshioka. Photo: Sushi Hanayoshi

Azabujuban’s irreverent cocktail bar Tokyo Confidential has a giant inflatable maneki-neko (lucky cat) at its doorstep. Photo: Instagram/@nisekoconfidential

Niseko Distillery is nestled in the forests of Niseko Annupuri. Photo: Niseko distillery

A hand-churned strawberry ice cream made at Takahashi Farm Milk Kobo’s workshop. Photo: Charmaine Mok

Visitors to Hokkaidian Homestead can expect to learn more about the northern Japanese region’s best local produce and how to prepare it. Photo: Hokkaidian Homestead

We recommend booking a snowmobile tour with Rusutsu Resort Snow Activity Land to enjoy the winter landscapes. Photo: Charmaine Mok

What Norway’s naked mega-spa is like to visit: a prudish Brit strips off for a ‘hugely liberating’ experience

A couple unwinds in the Turkish hammam at The Well in Norway, which has Scandinavia’s largest spa and one where being naked in the saunas and steam rooms is expected. Photo: The Well

Sauna-goers slap each other with birch-branch whisks at The Well. Photo: The Well

The Well is located in the forests of Sofiemyr, outside Oslo. Photo: The Well

While the space is enormous, the areas feel intimate and safe. Photo: The Well

The Well’s sculpture forest features captivating artworks by renowned Norwegian and international artists. Photo: The Well

An Aufgussmeister leads a traditional Aufguss wellness ritual in a 90-degree-Celsius sauna. Photo: The Well

It’s perfectly acceptable to go for lunch or dinner in your bathrobe (and nothing more) to The Well’s brasserie, and most guests do. Photo: The Well

Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

Lists

We look back at some of the top stories in travel for 2024, from a shocking gang rape in India to the revamp of Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown


We look back at some of the top stories in travel for 2024, from a shocking gang rape in India to the revamp of Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown.
