https://www.scmp.com/rss/321721/feed Trending destinations, local’s guides and new travel experiences for your radar en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Thomas Bird Thomas Bird Travellers rolling north through Metro Manila along the Skyway are treated to an elevated perspective of the Philippine capital. The land is pancake flat but the buildings – from bric-a-brac slums to gilded high-rises – reach for the heavens. My partner and I, too, are headed higher. Our aim is simple – to escape the city heat and exchange the pervasive congestion for nights that aren’t polluted by light, and days by smog. The most obvious solution would be to take a ferry to some exotic isle –... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3367827/escape-manilas-heat-northern-luzons-pine-scented-hills-hanging-coffins-and-other-hidden-wonders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3367827/escape-manilas-heat-northern-luzons-pine-scented-hills-hanging-coffins-and-other-hidden-wonders?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 00:00:07 +0000 Marissa Carruthers Marissa Carruthers Under the cloak of darkness, runners gather in their hundreds at the entrance to the Angkor Wat temple complex, in Cambodia’s Siem Reap. They wait in groups, stretching muscles to pumping house music while a little way off, apsara dancers and traditional Khmer musicians help lift the early-morning energy. Volunteers, many of whom have been at the site since 2am, hand out bottles of water to a crowd of runners and spectators that started arriving at 3.30am, ahead of the staggered starts of the... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3365857/angkor-wat-marathon-6500-runners-race-through-cambodias-ancient-khmer-empire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3365857/angkor-wat-marathon-6500-runners-race-through-cambodias-ancient-khmer-empire?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:10 +0000 Peter Neville-Hadley Peter Neville-Hadley It would be odd to visit the Netherlands without spending time in Amsterdam, the canal-laced city of slender, leaning houses in patterned brick with their toothy stepped gables, famous for its Rembrandts and Van Goghs, and for action-movie speedboat chases along its waterways and under narrow humpbacked bridges. Some visitors are attracted less by this culture than by the city’s cheerful open-mindedness; sex workers on display in windows among everyday shopping in a central red-light district... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3364656/beyond-amsterdam-amersfoorts-15th-century-charm-lies-its-canals-cafes-and-tourist-free-calm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3364656/beyond-amsterdam-amersfoorts-15th-century-charm-lies-its-canals-cafes-and-tourist-free-calm?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:07 +0000 Peter Neville-Hadley Peter Neville-Hadley From Tenerife to Thessaloniki, demonstrators’ chants and roadside graffiti alike say, “Tourists go home”, although sometimes in rather stronger language. Around the world, the residents of “must-see” destinations can no longer see each other for the crowds, and increasingly view tourists less as benefactors and more as a bane. Local authorities are responding ever more robustly to their complaints. To drink alcohol in certain Amsterdam streets now attracts a fine of €95 (US$110), while in the... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3364773/how-be-good-tourist-guide-modern-traveller?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3364773/how-be-good-tourist-guide-modern-traveller?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:10 +0000 Annemarie Evans Annemarie Evans I WAS BORN in Perth, in Western Australia, in 1945. During the second world war, my father was with the military in an administrative position and left Australia in 1940 on the first troop-ship that departed. This was the Empress of Japan, a converted Canadian Pacific liner. I have one brother, Ross, who’s two years younger. We moved to Melbourne a few years later, and my mother and I flew down on one of the first commercial passenger flights. My brother and I went to Canterbury Primary School... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3364387/perth-pyramids-hong-kongs-graham-elsom-lifetime-travel-and-adventure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3364387/perth-pyramids-hong-kongs-graham-elsom-lifetime-travel-and-adventure?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:15 +0000 Thomas Bird Thomas Bird “Peking wore the green lace of spring, its thousands of willows and imperial cypresses making the Forbidden City a place of wonder and enchantment,” American journalist Edgar Snow wrote of Beijing in 1936. Ninety years later, strolling before the vermillion ramparts of the Forbidden City, it’s clear that Beijing’s mass conversion to electric vehicles has rendered the city not only cleaner than it has been of late, but also quieter – allowing Zhongshan Park to bloom much as Snow described. Snow’s... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3364251/high-speed-journey-through-chinas-past-and-present?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3364251/high-speed-journey-through-chinas-past-and-present?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:11 +0000 Cameron Dueck Cameron Dueck Dawn is still several hours away when we arrive at Ogi Port, on Sado Island’s southeast corner. The town is dark and silent as we cast our lines ashore and secure the boat. As soon as the lines are made, we fall into our bunks, exhausted after a three-day voyage north through the Sea of Japan, or East Sea. We plan to rest for 24 hours and then carry on towards Hokkaido, Japan’s main northern island, to escape the summer heat and typhoons of the country’s southern waters. After several hours of... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3363876/sado-islands-cultural-renaissance-japanese-journey-exile-artistic-haven?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3363876/sado-islands-cultural-renaissance-japanese-journey-exile-artistic-haven?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:11 +0000 David Burden David Burden A reverent hush falls over the already tranquil stupas as the sky turns turquoise, orange, then deep pink – the silence amplified somehow by the herringbone clouds stretching off over dusky mountains. Orange-robed monks pad quietly to and fro while sticks of incense smoulder in huge pots, wafting scented clouds upwards and turning the warm air above the Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery sweet. An entrancing mantra starts up over the PA and everyone freezes to appreciate this deeply spiritual... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3362897/three-wheeling-through-sri-lanka-family-tuk-tuk-adventure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3362897/three-wheeling-through-sri-lanka-family-tuk-tuk-adventure?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:08 +0000 Kissa Castañeda Kissa Castañeda A single white ball rests on a wooden plate, looking like a quail egg and feeling almost as hard as a marble when poked with a fork. “Can you guess what it is,” asks our server, Josefina Escobar, at Hacienda Sarapampa, a family-owned estate in Peru’s Sacred Valley, the spiritual, agricultural and economic heartland of the Inca Empire (1438-1532). The estate’s farm-to-table restaurant stands in a 100-acre corn plantation close to the Urubamba river, surrounded by golden fields, mature trees and... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3362886/revealed-ancient-andean-secrets-behind-perus-vibrant-potato-varieties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3362886/revealed-ancient-andean-secrets-behind-perus-vibrant-potato-varieties?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:14 +0000 Reem Khokhar Reem Khokhar An inky darkness blankets the road as I step out of the car. I blink to get my bearings, the silhouettes of trees slowly forming beneath a startling canopy of stars. “Sorry to make you walk in the dark, but this is a shortcut,” says Rashidullah Khan, our companion and guide for the evening. He leads the way up through the trees, our phone torches illuminating pebbled, muddy slopes. After 10 minutes, we reach a narrow lane flanked by stone walls punctuated with wooden doors. A sculpture of a... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3361324/discover-indias-last-village-hub-balti-culture-pakistan-border?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3361324/discover-indias-last-village-hub-balti-culture-pakistan-border?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:08 +0000 Lu-Ann Ong Lu-Ann Ong I visited China after the pandemic. The thing that struck me was how different it sounded, and then, once I started paying attention, how different it moved. Every Didi I called in Shanghai was a different make. A BYD, then a Zeekr, then an Avatr I had never heard of. I started waiting for the app to reveal its hand, a small thrill each time, and got a quiet burst of joy whenever it was a Hongqi. The variety of electric vehicle (EV) brands is in every first-tier Chinese city, but Shanghai is... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3359619/rail-and-road-benefits-chinas-full-system-transport-makeovers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3359619/rail-and-road-benefits-chinas-full-system-transport-makeovers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jul 2026 05:00:05 +0000 Troy Nahumko Troy Nahumko “Just remember, the sharks can touch you, but you can’t touch them,” warns João, raising his hand with the tip of his middle finger curled away, a mock amputation delivered with such casual theatre that, for a moment, I believe the island really did claim it. He produces a pair of Crocs bleached thin by salt and sun and adds, “Oh, and no open blisters on your feet, either. That tends to excite them, too.” João is part of a quiet reversal happening across Cabo Verde, an archipelagic country off... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3359415/cabo-verdes-sal-makes-comeback-tide-turning-its-diaspora-returns-island?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3359415/cabo-verdes-sal-makes-comeback-tide-turning-its-diaspora-returns-island?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jul 2026 13:00:14 +0000 Mark Footer Mark Footer Happy birthday to the US of A! As the United States turns 250 years old, it is a fitting time, perhaps, to honour the enduring spirit of American ingenuity. From native crafts to iconic vehicles, the nation’s heritage is deeply etched into its material culture. For tourists looking to experience this living history, these working factories, studios and preservation sites offer an immersion into more than two-and-a-half centuries of craftsmanship. Indigenous Arts and Cultural Demonstration... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3359306/journey-through-landmarks-us-craftsmanship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3359306/journey-through-landmarks-us-craftsmanship?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:07 +0000 Mark Footer Mark Footer By their very nature, museums, heritage sites and other tourist favourites tend to be backwards-looking, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t global attractions that flip the script to imagine what lies ahead – or what could exist in alternate universes. From interactive museums to cities built on tomorrow’s green tech and imagination-firing immersive-art zones, the following destinations offer a passport to innovative worlds, be they future or imaginary ones. Shenzhen Science & Technology... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3357922/global-attractions-ooze-innovation-and-imagination?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3357922/global-attractions-ooze-innovation-and-imagination?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:08 +0000 Ian Lloyd Neubauer Ian Lloyd Neubauer As I rev the accelerator, the liquid-cooled twin-cylinder four-stroke engine on the Honda CBR250RR roars like a caged tiger, aching to break free and run like the wind. Born and bred in Indonesia with throttle-by-wire technology derived from the RC213V, the fastest motorbike ever made by Honda’s racing division in Japan, it is a fitting chariot on which to negotiate the hair-raising twists and turns of the Mandalika International Street Circuit, on Lombok, Bali’s lesser-visited sister... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3357909/ride-champion-superbike-spin-around-lomboks-mandalika-circuit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3357909/ride-champion-superbike-spin-around-lomboks-mandalika-circuit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:07 +0000 Gavin Yeung Gavin Yeung Negros Occidental is also known as the “Land of Sweet Surprises” and that much is apparent as soon as we touch down in the provincial capital of Bacolod after a 90-minute flight from Manila on a balmy October afternoon. The air is treacly with tropical humidity and golden sunlight bathes the fields of sugar cane from which the Filipino island province derives its nickname, with a sun-shower-induced rainbow hovering over a cone volcano in the distance. The region packs some serious credentials... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3356320/discover-negros-occidental-philippines-organic-slow-food-paradise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3356320/discover-negros-occidental-philippines-organic-slow-food-paradise?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:07 +0000 David Ho David Ho In late April, the Singapore Yachting Festival drew 14,280 visitors and saw 211 marine brands moored in the salt-rimmed, tropical heat of One°15 Marina Sentosa Cove. Bobbing on the emerald waters were luxurious yachts aplenty to see, explore and experience. But as much as they impress at the docks, these sleek vessels are meant for life on the waves. So, where is one to take one’s superyacht? We ask the best in the business, from dealers and builders to captains and marina operators, for their... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3356401/variety-top-yachting-destinations-hong-kong-mediterranean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3356401/variety-top-yachting-destinations-hong-kong-mediterranean?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:10 +0000 John Brunton John Brunton Experiencing ancient rainforest in Malaysia usually means planning a lengthy excursion from the capital, Kuala Lumpur: be it a drive to the Taman Negara national park, in the centre of the peninsular, or a flight to Langkawi or to the states of Sarawak and Sabah, on the island of Borneo. But on a recent visit, I am let in on a secret: Janda Baik, an eco-destination surrounded by tropical rainforest and less than an hour’s drive from the skyscrapers of downtown KL. It takes a cool head and the... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3356397/discover-janda-baik-rainforest-retreat-near-malaysian-capital?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3356397/discover-janda-baik-rainforest-retreat-near-malaysian-capital?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:07 +0000 Thomas Bird Thomas Bird There was once a province called Jiangnan. Although no longer marked on maps, it exists in everyday parlance as a cultural region – somewhere rich, fertile and evocative of the fabled Song dynasty (AD960-1279). Sometimes referred to as the Yangtze River Basin, Jiangnan is associated by many with Shanghai and the industrial cities of the lower valley of that waterway. Yet, while Jiangnan does boast an unequal share of China’s top-tier cities, swathes of the region – from the lower half of Jiangsu... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3354787/jiangnans-rural-retreats-offer-escape-city-hustle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3354787/jiangnans-rural-retreats-offer-escape-city-hustle?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:06 +0000 Mark Footer Mark Footer Familiar names in unfamiliar territory, modern takes on time-worn tradition, buildings repurposed for the discerning traveller: the post-Covid rush of new hotels throwing open their doors in Asia has continued apace in the past few months. Here are some of the most interesting: Imperial Hotel Kyoto (Japan) In the heart of the upscale Gion district, the latest and fourth member of the Imperial chain occupies the 1936 Yasaka Kaikan building, its 55 rooms, eight with tatami flooring (a first for... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3353406/asias-newest-luxury-hotels-blend-tradition-and-modernity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3353406/asias-newest-luxury-hotels-blend-tradition-and-modernity?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:09 +0000 Ron Emmons Ron Emmons I WAS BORN in Bangkok in 1971, and grew up in a family where roles were clearly defined but influence was not always where it appeared to be. My father, who ran a real-estate development business, was seen as the strategist while my mother quietly ran the engine of the family: managing finances, raising us and ensuring everything functioned seamlessly. That dynamic shaped my understanding of leadership early on; that true control often sits behind the scenes and that execution is as powerful as... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3353391/meet-anchalika-kijkanakorn-thai-hotelier-redefining-luxury-resorts-through-wellness-and-meaningful?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3353391/meet-anchalika-kijkanakorn-thai-hotelier-redefining-luxury-resorts-through-wellness-and-meaningful?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:08 +0000 Cameron Dueck Cameron Dueck The voices come from a distance, indirect and indecipherable. Unfamiliar voices speaking in a foreign language. They weave in and out of range, in and out of my drowsy dream. A child’s shout is followed by the tinkle of laughter. Slowly my mind climbs out of the warm burrow of sleep to see what all the fuss is about. It takes me a moment more to realise the voices are German. I’m still dancing between dreams and reality, enjoying the gauzy confusion. Why German and not English or Cantonese? I... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3353659/mastering-art-tourist-nap-richer-travel-experience?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3353659/mastering-art-tourist-nap-richer-travel-experience?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 May 2026 00:00:09 +0000 Gavin Yeung Gavin Yeung With powder-caked hands, Shri Rajesh Vaishnav gingerly lays a centuries-old paper stencil, passed down through generations, onto the canvas. In another motion, he rubs his finger back and forth into a spoonful of coloured dust held in a fine gauze pouch, pushing the light-blue pigment out. The pigment gently drifts onto the stencil, settling in a diaphanous layer. Satisfied, Vaishnav lifts the stencil in a swift, decisive motion, revealing an image of the major deity Krishna as a flute-playing... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3353387/udaipurs-jal-sanjhi-jaipurs-city-palace-rajasthans-living-art-thrives?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3353387/udaipurs-jal-sanjhi-jaipurs-city-palace-rajasthans-living-art-thrives?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:06 +0000 Peter Neville-Hadley Peter Neville-Hadley Fifty years ago, on a Black Sea beach near Trabzon, in Turkey’s far northeast, the fire from a hastily assembled pile of driftwood blazed cheerfully in the dark, warming a panful of locally bought vegetables mixed with tinned beans from the stock in the back of our Land Rover, along with the remains of several suicidal moths that had been attracted to our dinner by the light. Extra protein, we joked, four boys fresh out of school, opening bottles of Turkish beer to wash down the resulting mess.... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3352884/rediscovering-turkeys-northeast-journey-trabzon-erzurum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3352884/rediscovering-turkeys-northeast-journey-trabzon-erzurum?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 May 2026 05:00:13 +0000 Oliver Raw Oliver Raw According to a well-travelled friend, Songkhla is an attractive city filled with Sino-European architecture, set between the South China Sea and a coastal lagoon. So it comes as a surprise to discover few of Thailand’s 35 million international arrivals make it this far south, except to visit the paradisal island of Koh Lipe, on the opposite coast. Most guidebooks skim Songkhla, or omit it completely. Given its apparent charms along with its array of cultures (Thai, Malay, Chinese), this feels... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3352770/songkhlas-hidden-charm-town-poised-put-southern-thailand-tourist-map?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3352770/songkhlas-hidden-charm-town-poised-put-southern-thailand-tourist-map?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:11 +0000 Ronan O'Connell Ronan O'Connell Singapore had 16.9 million international visitors in 2025, a hefty number for a city that is only 745 sq km (288 square miles) in size, but many headed primarily for Orchard Road, Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay, leaving plenty of other attractions to discover for those visiting for a second, third or fourth time. Rainforest growth Despite its futuristic cityscape, Singapore is one of the world’s most verdant cities, with more than 40 per cent of its land area covered in greenery. And... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3351854/discover-singapores-hidden-gems-beyond-marina-bay-sands-and-orchard-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3351854/discover-singapores-hidden-gems-beyond-marina-bay-sands-and-orchard-road?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 May 2026 00:00:11 +0000 Peter Neville-Hadley Peter Neville-Hadley The duck-like beak of the sleek AVE high-speed train points the way south out of Madrid as it trundles sedately along a tangle of tracks before picking up speed and turning east towards Valencia, on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. First class consists of great armchairs – single seats on either side of the aisle with vast amounts of leg room. My tray table is down to hold a novel, and to receive a snack and a coffee in due course. But despite the carriage’s pleasantly woody interior, the adequate... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3351831/discover-europe-affordable-first-class-eurail-adventures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3351831/discover-europe-affordable-first-class-eurail-adventures?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 May 2026 00:00:09 +0000 John Brunton John Brunton A global spotlight will soon be illuminating the largest metropolis in North America, with Mexico City set to host the inaugural game of the 2026 Fifa World Cup in its Azteca Stadium. On June 11, the home nation – nicknamed El Tri from the country’s tricolour flag – will kick off the tournament by taking on South Africa. The teeming, vibrant Mexican capital already offered the traveller pre-Columbian ruins, opulent Baroque churches, world-renowned museums, cutting-edge modern architecture,... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3351806/what-do-mexico-city-between-fifa-world-cup-games?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3351806/what-do-mexico-city-between-fifa-world-cup-games?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:12 +0000 David Frazier David Frazier Doi Chiang Dao is one of Thailand’s most stunning mountains, a 2,175-metre limestone peak that rises like a behemoth from flat farmland. Every February, it becomes the backdrop to a 10-day festival called Shambhala in Your Heart. Organised by a group of silver-haired, 1960s purist Japanese hippies, the event is set in an Edenic campsite in northern Thailand, where shade trees flank a cool running stream and open-air hot springs are just a 10-minute walk away. In recent years, Shambhala has... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3349356/chinese-youths-find-freedom-thailands-shambhala-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3349356/chinese-youths-find-freedom-thailands-shambhala-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 07:15:40 +0000 Peter Neville-Hadley Peter Neville-Hadley It seems odd that one of the earliest depictions of a kiss in the history of Western painting should be found in a church. But after a half-hour train ride inland from Venice, and a gentle stroll through historic Padua’s winding streets, there it is, inside the heavily painted interior of the early 14th century Scrovegni Chapel. In a fresco called Meeting at the Golden Gate (circa 1305), by Giotto di Bondone, two ageing figures greet each other with a public display of affection that seems to... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3348137/padua-italys-painted-city-best-shows-are-frescoes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3348137/padua-italys-painted-city-best-shows-are-frescoes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Mar 2026 22:00:08 +0000 Mavis Teo Mavis Teo Despite the high crime rates that dogged Johor Bahru from the 1980s to the 2000s, the closest Malaysian city kept luring Singaporeans with its cheap seafood and groceries – and even petrol. The crowds still descend, but these days the capital of Johor state draws visitors for a variety of other reasons. Even in-the-know foreign tourists to Singapore slip across the 1km-long causeway for a change of scene – undeterred by the traffic jams. The five-minute ride on the KTM Shuttle Tebrau train,... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3347037/insiders-guide-johor-bahru-malaysia-hipster-fashion-desserts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3347037/insiders-guide-johor-bahru-malaysia-hipster-fashion-desserts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 10:00:37 +0000 Cameron Dueck Cameron Dueck We approach from the east, leaving the main islands of Japan behind. The late afternoon sun bounces off the sea in a blinding glare as our anchor chain rattles out of its locker and slides into a small bay off Tairajima Island. All is still as our sailing boat, the Teng Hoi, gracefully pirouettes in the currents, searching for her point of balance, where she’ll rest for the night. Below the sinking sun stretch the Goto Islands, or Goto Retto, literally “five-island chain”, an archipelago of 140... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3345546/remote-villages-surprise-cocktail-bars-and-hilltop-churches-nagasakis-goto-islands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3345546/remote-villages-surprise-cocktail-bars-and-hilltop-churches-nagasakis-goto-islands?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 03:00:07 +0000 Christopher St. Cavish Christopher St. Cavish The records are clear and complete: about 300 years ago, a Huang clan from just across the Tan River got the idea to start their own village here, tucked into one of the river’s curves with Baizu mountain at its back. Hiring a feng shui master from Jiangxi province to lay it out, they built grey brick houses in a tight grid, with dragon-back or phoenix-crest ridges, surrounded by dense bamboo groves. Acres of fruit orchards were planted outside the village and a fish pond dug in front. A few... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3342496/how-taishan-learned-absorb-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3342496/how-taishan-learned-absorb-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 03:00:09 +0000 Charukesi Ramadurai Charukesi Ramadurai It’s been more than an hour since we drove away from Sumba’s tiny Tambolaka airport and so far, it’s been mostly empty stretches of narrow road, with only the occasional group of cheeky schoolchildren waving and hooting to break the monotony. All of a sudden, a procession of bare-chested, barefoot men approaches on the other side of the road, their red turbans gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. Our driver pulls over, pats his pockets and takes out … a packet of cigarettes, which he proffers to... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3342466/not-bali-indonesian-island-learning-welcome-strangers-while-sharing-benefits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3342466/not-bali-indonesian-island-learning-welcome-strangers-while-sharing-benefits?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:00:10 +0000 Mark Footer Mark Footer The Year of the Fire Horse is associated with intense energy, bold movement and pioneering spirit, making it, perhaps, a fitting time for a transformative travel experience. And what better way to channel a steed’s spirit of adventure than through some of the world’s most memorable equestrian experiences, from the Sandalwood ponies of Sumba, Indonesia, to the thoroughbreds that “dare to confront fire” in Marrakech, Morocco. Mongolia and the Naadam Festival “A Mongol without a horse is like a... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3342612/world-seen-saddle-6-equestrian-adventures-mark-year-horse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3342612/world-seen-saddle-6-equestrian-adventures-mark-year-horse?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2026 03:00:10 +0000 Jason Wordie Jason Wordie How does one even begin to describe a permanent yet intermittent love affair between a person and a place that has stretched on for decades? And do places cherished, somehow, in their own way, love one back? I think they do. Macau has been a much-loved constant in my life since my initial visit, aged not quite 22, back in 1988. From the very first day, I was strangely, mesmerisingly hooked by the place. That first night – spent at the gently crumbling Bela Vista Hotel – epitomised that... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3341645/rediscovering-macau-timeless-love-affair-city-hidden-charms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3341645/rediscovering-macau-timeless-love-affair-city-hidden-charms?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Feb 2026 06:01:40 +0000 Ronan O'Connell Ronan O'Connell Beyond the most prominent Unesco World Heritage sites in Asia, such as the Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat, there are many others deserving of attention. There may be fewer foreign visitors at India’s 1,500-year-old cave temple complex, in Japan’s demon-riddled sacred forest and around Macau’s historic centre, yet each has its own charms. Here are five of Asia’s most underappreciated Unesco wonders. Historic Centre of Macao Many of the United Nations agency’s World Heritage “sites” are not a single... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3341012/5-asias-overlooked-unesco-wonders-macau-bali-south-korea-india-and-japan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3341012/5-asias-overlooked-unesco-wonders-macau-bali-south-korea-india-and-japan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Jan 2026 03:00:09 +0000 Zinara Rathnayake Zinara Rathnayake Bengaluru, the capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka, is an adopted home that food stylist and photographer Sanskriti Bist never tires of. Bist, whose recent projects have included learning the techniques of hand-pulled noodles in northwestern China and documenting the kitchens of Berlin, Germany, says her favourite aspect of Bengaluru is the city’s embrace. “People are so welcoming,” says Bist, who moved from Raipur, in central India, to Bengaluru – formerly known as Bangalore –... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3339535/insiders-guide-bengaluru-city-welcomes-you?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3339535/insiders-guide-bengaluru-city-welcomes-you?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 09:00:15 +0000 Tara Loader Wilkinson Tara Loader Wilkinson If you’re looking for a lengthy debate about the merits of authentic cuisine, ask a Bahamian about their grandmother’s recipe for guava duff. The national dessert of the Bahamas, the duff is a steamed, doughy dumpling furrowed with fresh mashed guava (canned fruit is not acceptable, we are told), served piping hot and swimming in rum-spiked butter sauce. After listening to our waitress wax lyrical, we had to order one at Daddy Joe’s, more a living room than a restaurant in North Eleuthera, on... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3339196/eleuthera-and-harbour-island-bahamas-taylor-swift-slips-away?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3339196/eleuthera-and-harbour-island-bahamas-taylor-swift-slips-away?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:11 +0000 Carolyn Beasley Carolyn Beasley Sandwiched between rusty desert and the cobalt Indian Ocean, Perth, in Western Australia, sprawls along 100km of coastline. With its economy linked to natural resources, the city has weathered the booms and busts, but this is not just a frontier mining town. Despite being one of the most remote conurbations in the world, Perth has matured into a vibrant destination, with sunny beaches, diverse suburbs and a sophisticated food and wine scene. “The suburbs are where Perth is,” says Max Veenhuyzen,... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3337574/insiders-guide-perth-sun-kissed-beaches-and-local-wines-indigenous-art?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3337574/insiders-guide-perth-sun-kissed-beaches-and-local-wines-indigenous-art?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Dec 2025 02:15:08 +0000 Gillian Rhys Gillian Rhys In a peaceful valley among gentle rolling hills in Hampshire is a field much like any other in this part of southeast England. Seen through the hedgerow from a narrow country lane there’s nothing to signify it was the birthplace of one of the world’s most famous novelists. But 250 years ago, on a frosty December 16, Jane Austen was born in Steventon rectory, which stood on this site, and lived here until she was 25, more than half her 41-year life. The city of Bath is the location most... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3336072/search-jane-austens-england-quiet-rectories-grand-estates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3336072/search-jane-austens-england-quiet-rectories-grand-estates?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 01:00:16 +0000 Mark Footer Mark Footer Singapore Unlike many other places in Asia, Christmas Day is an official public holiday in the city state. Not that the festivities will be limited to December 25. Returning for a 42nd year is Christmas on a Great Street, the “great street” in question being Orchard Road. Highlights of the event, which runs until January 1, include a Christmas Village at the Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza that features a 14-metre-tall tree and nightly snowfall shows. Over at Gardens by the Bay, the second annual... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3336238/guide-christmas-celebrations-singapore-taiwan-and-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3336238/guide-christmas-celebrations-singapore-taiwan-and-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Dec 2025 03:00:29 +0000 Mark Footer Mark Footer Asked what he foresaw as the next significant travel trend, CNN International anchor Richard Quest, guest speaker at the TravMedia Summit in Singapore last month, identified shoulder-season adventures. It’s a trend being taken up especially fervently by Gen Z, who are choosing just-off-peak times to travel to make their money go further and avoid the worst of the tourist crowds. Recent reports including Airbnb’s “2025 Fall Travel Trends” point to the fact that those born between 1997 and 2012... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3334043/travel-gen-z-and-try-these-5-shoulder-season-destinations-seoul-santorini?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3334043/travel-gen-z-and-try-these-5-shoulder-season-destinations-seoul-santorini?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 07:00:09 +0000 Kee Foong Kee Foong I was a kid living in Sydney when I first heard about the Tasmanian wilderness. It was the early 1980s, and a hydroelectricity project that would have destroyed swathes of virgin forest to dam a pristine river system had sparked national outrage. Across Australia, “No Dams” bumper stickers appeared on cars owned by people who had likely never set foot in the state yet passionately demanded preservation of its environmental treasures. News footage showed protesters chaining themselves to trees to... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3333247/tea-dark-waters-and-ancient-stone-quiet-majesty-tasmanias-port-davey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3333247/tea-dark-waters-and-ancient-stone-quiet-majesty-tasmanias-port-davey?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Nov 2025 02:00:15 +0000 Mark Footer Mark Footer The world’s largest indoor skiing facility may be only a snow­ball’s throw away from Hong Kong – Shenzhen’s Qianhai Huafa Snow World having opened in September – but we reckon the elements should play an integral part in any bona fide winter sports holiday. There’s a reason they call it “the great outdoors”, after all. Here are six destinations that embrace their surroundings yet still qualify as “up-and-coming”, and so may be worth considering for your next ski adventure. Cortina d’Ampezzo,... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3331061/6-and-coming-ski-resorts-asia-europe-us-and-even-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3331061/6-and-coming-ski-resorts-asia-europe-us-and-even-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2025 08:00:09 +0000 Mark Footer Mark Footer Collecting is almost an obsession for some. And for a few – or their champions – showing off those collections is also a must. Here are a few of the personal collections now on view for the world to see. UR-MU@Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Short for “Urban Museum”, UR-MU encompasses three properties, each housing the art collection of a prominent Malaysian, but the original, home to the most eclectic set of works, is UR-MU@Bukit Bintang. The paintings, sculptures and installations here... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3330613/8-intriguing-museums-built-obsessions-individual-collectors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3330613/8-intriguing-museums-built-obsessions-individual-collectors?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Oct 2025 14:00:13 +0000 Marco Ferrarese Marco Ferrarese The dinghy glides across the 100 metres that separate the islands of Banda Neira and Banda Api, and moors under the flanks of the cone-shaped Gunung Api, “fire mountain” in Bahasa Indonesia. My boatman, a small, scrawny fellow named Ambon, points at the beginning of the trail to the summit. The path is as clear as the morning sky, glowing after a night of non-stop rain. Back across the channel, on the southwestern corner of Banda Neira, guest house verandas line the shore by the town’s main... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3329789/volcanic-views-and-forgotten-graves-indonesias-banda-islands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3329789/volcanic-views-and-forgotten-graves-indonesias-banda-islands?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Oct 2025 09:00:08 +0000 Ian Lloyd Neubauer Ian Lloyd Neubauer It’s about the same size as neighbouring Bali, with the same lush green jungles, terraced rice paddies, palm-fringed beaches, volcanoes with lake-filled craters and rich indigenous culture. But unlike Bali, it’s not overburdened by traffic and tourists. Add islets and atolls that wouldn’t look out of place in the Maldives, reefs brimming with turtles, world-class surf breaks and an expanding selection of sophisticated places in which to eat, drink and stay, and you’ll begin to see why Lombok... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3328908/insiders-guide-indonesias-lombok-worthy-new-bali-volcanic-craters-and-horse-drawn-carts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3328908/insiders-guide-indonesias-lombok-worthy-new-bali-volcanic-craters-and-horse-drawn-carts?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 04:00:09 +0000 Ron Gluckman Ron Gluckman Once the tour buses have finished the spring trips to colourful tulip fields, dazzling in blazes of red, magenta and purple, much of the Netherlands returns to its favourite pastime, arguing over how to save Amsterdam from drunken stag parties, drugs, a surplus of souvenir shops and all the other detritus of tourism overload. This is, of course, not unique to Amsterdam. European cities from Barcelona to Venice also struggle with mass tourism, enacting tourist taxes and other means to limit... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3328387/utrecht-home-miffy-more-great-alternative-amsterdam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3328387/utrecht-home-miffy-more-great-alternative-amsterdam?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2025 04:45:08 +0000 Gillian Rhys Gillian Rhys This month, the much-anticipated Tobi Masa restaurant, by celebrated sushi chef Masayoshi (“Masa”) Takayama, will be unveiled at Rosewood’s opulent new hotel in London. Tobi means “to fly” in Japanese and the name is a nod to the gargantuan golden eagle sculpture perched on top of The Chancery Rosewood. As the all-suite hotel’s roof art suggests, it takes up the former United States embassy building on Grosvenor Square and has inherited the previous incumbent’s avian symbol, now presiding over... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3328239/5-hong-kong-owned-hotels-bringing-asian-flavours-world-class-kitchens-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3328239/5-hong-kong-owned-hotels-bringing-asian-flavours-world-class-kitchens-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 04:45:08 +0000