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Asia travel

Proof that there’s more to a Singapore visit than shopping on Orchard Road

From a museum of Peranakan culture, to street art and a Michelin-star restaurant’s homage to hawker centres, Singaporeans remind each other, and visitors, there’s a lot to appreciate about their home.

A fancy restaurant with a hawker centre vibe, murals, a jingle based on folk song – Singaporeans offer visitors insights about their home

27 Jul 2024 - 7:45AM

Editorial | Still some way to go as Hong Kong tourism recovers

27 Jul 2024 - 6:00AM

From Hong Kong to Zhongshan: how to get there, things to do and what to eat

26 Jul 2024 - 7:43AM

6 podcasts about gap years to stir your wanderlust

A professional cricketer and candidates for Mensa and a Mars mission offer entertaining perspectives, while elsewhere there is more cogent advice for those tempted to do it themselves

26 Jul 2024 - 6:00AM

How would you spend a gap year? Draw inspiration from these 6 travel podcasts. Photo: Shutterstock

Inside Hong Kong’s hassle-free serviced apartments and co-living spaces

For new arrivals to the city, serviced apartments and co-living spaces such as those from Xin Management, Skyla and Weave take the stress out of setting up a home

24 Jul 2024 - 4:00PM

Thailand’s hazy stance on cannabis triggers another legal U-turn

Thailand will work towards legislating marijuana for medical use, signalling a U-turn on plans to re-criminalise the plant and another change in the government’s position on cannabis.

23 Jul 2024 - 5:17PMvideocam

Singapore named safest city for travellers. Manila, 1 of the riskiest

Asia is home to four of the safest cities in the world – and four of the most dangerous for travellers, according to a new ranking.

24 Jul 2024 - 5:19PMvideocam

The least risky city to visit in the world is Singapore, a recent Forbes Advisor study found. Photo: Shutterstock

Samurai’s footsteps: Ryoma Sakamoto’s historic escape route on Shikoku Island

Escaping his overlord to spread the imperial gospel, Sakamoto Ryoma couldn’t stop to smell the flowers … but you can, on a wilderness walking tour with Walk Japan that follows his path

22 Jul 2024 - 2:53PM

Wish you were here? Japan cuts red tape to ease airport crush as tourism soars

The Japanese government will introduce a new pre-clearance system from January, starting with tourists from Taiwan.

19 Jul 2024 - 2:03PM

Cathay staff seen throwing luggage from plane

17 Jul 2024 - 11:48AM

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Bangkok hotel horror: 6 killed with cyanide including culprit, police say

Thailand has been left reeling after six Vietnamese were found dead in a luxury hotel suite – with a seventh guest nowhere to be found.

17 Jul 2024 - 6:24PMvideocam

Thai police secure the area around the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel in Bangkok, where six people were found dead on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Discovering Thailand’s ‘Lost Kingdom’ in the suburbs of Chiang Mai

At Wiang Kum Kam in Chiang Mai is a cluster of less visited Buddhist temples, ancient statues and remains of a former royal capital city that long lay buried, in an otherwise modern Thai suburb.

16 Jul 2024 - 4:19PM

How 4 Hong Kong hotels help guests venture beneath city’s skin

The Park Lane, Ovolo, Mandarin Oriental and Heritage Lodge are among Hong Kong hotels offering activities like heritage tours to help visitors discover the city’s culture, history and stories.

15 Jul 2024 - 2:59PM

Profile | He stays at Asia’s most luxurious small hotels – it’s his job

As Asia-Pacific senior vice-president of hotel chain Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Mark Wong stays at some of the finest, and tiniest, properties in the region. He tells us what makes them special.

14 Jul 2024 - 1:15PM

Mark Wong at Art Paradiso, a Small Luxury Hotels of the World property in Incheon, South Korea. Photo: Small Luxury Hotels of the World

Thailand expands visa-free scheme to 93 countries to boost tourism

The kingdom will also allow visiting students who earn a bachelor’s degree or higher in Thailand to stay for one year after graduation.

13 Jul 2024 - 10:02AM

Tourists watch a procession in honour of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s 72nd birthday in Bangkok on July 11. Photo: EPA-EFE

Review | Waldorf Astoria vs Raffles Meradhoo – which is the Maldives’ best resort?

Two luxe 5-star resorts in the Maldives offer their own approach to island life – but both have sumptuous villas, delicious food, relaxing spas, and plenty of sun, sand and surf

13 Jul 2024 - 8:45AM

Trading mushrooms for motorbikes spells change for Nepal’s remote Dolpo

Yarsagumba fungus has boasted incomes in the region and paid for Chinese motorbikes and other mod cons, but will authorities be wise enough to recognise looming potholes on the road to development?

13 Jul 2024 - 8:15AM

Singapore-Malaysia economic zone tipped for success but hurdles abound: investors

Logistical challenges must be addressed for the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone to reach its full potential, business leaders say.

12 Jul 2024 - 9:10AM

Motorists coming from Malaysia’s state of Johor form a queue as they approach the immigration checkpoint to enter Singapore in March 2023. Photo: AFP

Q&A | Meet chef Betty Fung, the Macau foodie entrepreneur balancing business and wellness

Fung finds time to focus on her well-being despite being a pivotal figure in the city’s dining culture, running restaurant LanovaB and sharing her passion on social media

11 Jul 2024 - 12:00PM

South Korea’s Jeju taps Indonesian influencer to restore tourism lustre

Anang Hermansyah’s appointment as Southeast Asian tourism ambassador comes as more Koreans shun Jeju in favour of international destinations.

10 Jul 2024 - 10:43AM

Singapore hell theme park featuring Chinese folklore dead serious about afterlife

Hell’s Museum in Singapore, with more than 1,000 statues and dioramas, showcases Asian culture, faiths and philosophy, and exhibits various religious views on the afterlife.

10 Jul 2024 - 6:00AM

Visitors walking past statues at Haw Par Villa, an Asian cultural park that features Chinese folklore, legend and mythology in Singapore. Photo: AFP

Indonesian river trip retraces voyages that inspired Joseph Conrad novels

One hundred years after Joseph Conrad’s death, the Post follows the Polish-British novelist’s journeys along a river in Indonesian Borneo that inspired Lord Jim and three of his other stories.

10 Jul 2024 - 7:46AM

The palace in Gunung Tabor on the Segai River in East Kalimantan province, Borneo, Indonesia. Photo: Oliver Raw

Yangshuo hotel in a former sugar mill first in a boutique heritage chain

A five-minute ride from Yangshuo in southwest China, Yangshuo Sugar House is the model for a new Chinese boutique heritage hotel brand, Aurua, which looks to restore and celebrate old buildings.

10 Jul 2024 - 8:53PM

Spa, seaside … secret missile test range. Welcome to Priozersk

Kazakhstan’s former secret city of Priozersk is attempting to transform into a seaside resort, with its beautiful Lake Balkhash and Golden Sands spa contrasting with reminders of its Cold War heyday.

9 Jul 2024 - 11:15AM

Australian outback town issues curfew after ‘significant harm and disturbances’

The Australian outback tourist town of Alice Springs imposed three nights of curfew after several incidents of violence, including an alleged assault on four off-duty police officers.

8 Jul 2024 - 4:15PM

Authorities in the Australian outback town of Alice Springs have issued a curfew following a series of violent incidents. Photo: X/_alicesprings_

Lombok’s best-kept secret: the Indonesian island of Gili Asahan

As peaceful as it is beautiful, Gili Asahan – off the southwest ‘tail’ end of the Indonesian island of Lombok – is a world away from the three hard-partying Gili Islands to the north.

7 Jul 2024 - 6:15PM

A couple kayaks around Gili Asahan, off Lombok, Indonesia. Photo: Josh Edwards

Heritage hotels offer a glimpse of Nepal’s ‘disappearing’ culture

Converting old houses into hotels has helped preserve traditional architecture, while offering visitors a taste of the local lifestyle.

7 Jul 2024 - 4:05PM

How to say place names most get wrong like Laos, Oaxaca, Leicester

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.

5 Jul 2024 - 6:59PM

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Asia travel

Survival guides, insider secrets, top things to do, eco-tours, independent hotel reviews, family-friendly itineraries: fire your imagination with the South China Morning Post’s travel guides and must-see lists for holiday destinations across China and the rest of Asia.