Follow South China Morning Post - Travel & Leisure\, filter it, and define how you want to receive the news (via Email, RSS, Telegram, WhatsApp etc.) https://follow.it/scmp44 Fri, 21 Jan 2022 19:15:02 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUntAsoIx-ZJe5s0ohxaO6Yr A hotel in China is under fire over plans to offer suites looking directly into a tiger’s enclosure as part of a Chinese Year of the Tiger experience.Sendi Tribe Treehouse Hotel, inside the Nantong Forest Safari Park, in Jiangsu province, eastern China, will offer new rooms built around the tiger’s pen in the adjoining park allowing guests to see the big cat through a window and sleep next to it during their stay.The windows in the suites, dubbed “beast rooms”, will use explosion-proof glass to…]]> Fri, 21 Jan 2022 03:00:30 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUntAsoIx-ZJe5s0ohxaO6Yr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkdOtcYvUfqLaCY3L745TL_ These past few weeks Anthony Wong Man-fu has been calling his customers, reminding them to pick up their tailor-made shirts and suits at the Fleet Arcade at Fenwick Pier in Wan Chai before his shop closes on January 22.His and a handful of other businesses there have been given notice to move out by February 3. The arcade, which serviced foreign sailors for over half a century before land reclamation cut it off from Victoria Harbour, will close on February 11 when it is handed back to the Hong…]]> Thu, 20 Jan 2022 01:15:21 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkdOtcYvUfqLaCY3L745TL_ https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkZWYYsYuePquzdsCmHakzH At the southwestern tip of the Korean peninsula, South Jeolla province may not have many high-profile tourism attractions, but it does have plenty of mud.And it’s that mud which the provincial government is hoping will woo the tourists when they are again able to visit the country, reports The Korea Times.This, of course, is no ordinary mud. It is mud blessed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.In July 2021, Unesco inscribed several of South Korea’s tidal…]]> Wed, 19 Jan 2022 05:15:08 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkZWYYsYuePquzdsCmHakzH https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUm2bEqD2vHvHl1cWWor9YPv On February 26, 2002, the South China Morning Post reported that a massive HK$476.4 million “expansion of the International Wetland Park in Tin Shui Wai has been proposed by the Government to boost tourism”.On May 17, the Post reported that the planners of the park, which was set to open three years later, “believe the Hong Kong Wetland Park will represent world-class ecology, education and inspiration”.“Consultants’ documents outlining possible plans envisage [that] in the entrance area,…]]> Tue, 18 Jan 2022 05:15:10 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUm2bEqD2vHvHl1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUnUvdo5HlmObV1cWWor9YPv The Raffles Hotel, made famous by literary luminaries including Somerset Maugham and Rudyard Kipling, is the undisputed grande dame of heritage hotels in Singapore.The hotel, which opened in 1887, reopened in 2019 after a three-year restoration to great fanfare. With hindsight, the timing wasn’t perfect given the ravages inflicted by Covid-19 since, but its opening overshadowed that of the Capitol Kempinski less than a year earlier, even though the two adjoining landmarks that the latter…]]> Mon, 17 Jan 2022 06:15:20 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUnUvdo5HlmObV1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUnRnc3UiFBVVMb1naedg1wr It was no coincidence that Lonely Planet’s second ever publication was Southeast Asia on a Shoestring (1975). The region has been synonymous with independent travel since its sun-soaked charms called out to a generation following the 1960s overland hippie trail.Alex Garland’s novel The Beach (1996) revived the mystique of Southeast Asia for Generation X, before Generation Y carried the low-budget travel baton into the new millennium, pressing dirt roads into a neat circuit signposted by…]]> Sun, 16 Jan 2022 07:15:20 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUnRnc3UiFBVVMb1naedg1wr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkeu0EUoh6Yp-T5HJgy6HUf In the frigid waters of Canada’s Salish Sea, close to the mouth of Bute Inlet, a female humpback whale and her calf point their knobbly flippers skyward in perfect synchronicity, before slowly sliding below the surface.Closer to the shoreline another humpback exhales air and slaps the water with its huge tail flukes, sending a plume of spray high into the air. Here, in the coastal waters off British Columbia, a long summer of undisturbed feeding means these iconic cetaceans have more than…]]> Sun, 16 Jan 2022 01:15:11 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkeu0EUoh6Yp-T5HJgy6HUf https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUnQM-O_tAYSbezdsCmHakzH As Hong Kong marches towards its seventh quarantine cycle for returning residents (with approved hotels now numbering 44, up from 40), one quantifiable problem remains clear: the use and disposal of plastic items by hotel guests, which environmental group The Green Earth estimates has already surpassed 100 million pieces.But not all trash is plastic. While spending a recent three weeks at the Hong Kong government’s pleasure at the Ovolo Southside hotel, Wong Chuk Hang, I did what I considered…]]> Fri, 14 Jan 2022 06:45:16 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUnQM-O_tAYSbezdsCmHakzH https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUljE_2AgG0gkeT5HJgy6HUf Thailand will introduce a 300 baht (US$9) entry fee for foreign visitors from April, officials said, even as the kingdom seeks to lure travellers back and repair its tourism sector, battered by the impact of Covid-19 travel disruption.Entry rules imposed to curb the pandemic hammered Thailand’s crucial tourism industry last year, contributing to the economy’s worst performance in more than 20 years.The new charge will be incorporated into airfares, government spokesman Thanakorn…]]> Thu, 13 Jan 2022 07:15:16 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUljE_2AgG0gkeT5HJgy6HUf https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUlS16x8eKKpYiejEQ2Mq9rY When BREADstudio co-founder Benny Lee Chiu-ming adopted a cat in 2016 from theWan Chai branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), little did he realise that the process would inspire an award-winning project.Inadvertently lodged among happy memories of the occasion was the niggling question: shouldn’t humans and their new charges have more time and space to bond before going home together?Now, the architect has laid the groundwork for that to happen, perhaps…]]> Thu, 13 Jan 2022 01:15:17 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUlS16x8eKKpYiejEQ2Mq9rY https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUma8Tx2qrYZYSlmFkX7M1Jw “Victory” declared the headline on a December 23 news report posted on the Peta Asia website. “Phuket Zoo Is Finally Closing Its Doors.”Financial troubles brought about by the lack of custom during the Covid-19 pandemic has been the reason given by the owner for closing the zoo, but if the many reports of animal abuse are to be believed, it should have been shut down long ago, for ethical reasons.Even if you discount the September claim by a John S – his only apparent contribution to…]]> Wed, 12 Jan 2022 05:26:44 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUma8Tx2qrYZYSlmFkX7M1Jw https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkeCuIP4MjN1Hn9ye8UNv30 As Novak Djokovic departed Serbia for Melbourne, Australia, the tennis star casually tweeted that he had an exemption to play in the Australian Open. By the time he landed, on January 5, he’d unleashed the fury of the Australian public and was unceremoniously detained.After four days in an immigration detention hotel – complete with bugs, filth and terrible food, according to his mother – Djokovic won a court case and is free to play in the tournament, which commences on January 17, unless the…]]> Tue, 11 Jan 2022 06:38:02 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkeCuIP4MjN1Hn9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkICUEeor1raezdsCmHakzH It was love at first sight when glamorous Margaret Sweeny, the future Duchess of Argyll, set eyes on Inveraray Castle, in western Scotland. This was understandable, despite the castle’s neglected state, given the romantic-looking conical roofed turrets and glorious position in vast parkland edging Loch Fyne.Rich and spoilt Margaret, debutante of the year in 1930 and the “Mrs Sweeny” namechecked in the Cole Porter song You’re the Top (1934), is said to have become enamoured with restoring the…]]> Mon, 10 Jan 2022 10:15:09 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkICUEeor1raezdsCmHakzH https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUnkIz3Rwf3UDKCY3L745TL_ The inaugural meeting of DADS (Drones Are Despicable Society) was held well away from prying eyes at an underground location in a little-known part of Kowloon last month. The main agenda was dealt with in a matter of moments and members then proceeded to the item marked Any Other Business – namely, smashing a DJI Air 2S to smithereens with lump hammers.Not quite the sort of behaviour to be expected from a group of supposedly full-grown adults who hold down responsible day jobs? Well, you try…]]> Mon, 10 Jan 2022 06:15:13 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUnkIz3Rwf3UDKCY3L745TL_ https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUk0wIP2IppHJyejEQ2Mq9rY First the 2019 anti-government protests stymied Hong Kong’s independent tour guides. Then – mother of all double whammies – they were poleaxed by the Covid-19 pandemic. But now some are making a valiant effort to get back on their feet and cope with the new not-really-normal of the tourism industry.In 2019, Hong Kong welcomed more than 55 million visitors, providing a ready market for local residents who could earn a respectable fee from showing tourists where to eat, shop, sightsee and revel…]]> Sun, 09 Jan 2022 09:15:18 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUk0wIP2IppHJyejEQ2Mq9rY https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUmhartlqNgSWJs0ohxaO6Yr Completed in 1871, the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens offer a precious green space in one of the densest urbanities on Earth, drawing up to 9,000 visitors per day on weekends, even in the absence of international tourists due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.But the gardens’ 150th anniversary last November was marked by critics who say visitors should be experiencing native wild birds and butterflies in their natural habitats, and certainly not gawping at orangutans and squirrel…]]> Sun, 09 Jan 2022 02:30:17 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUmhartlqNgSWJs0ohxaO6Yr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUn7GGJ_oKS0VJs0ohxaO6Yr You may have missed the fanfare that accompanied the December opening of the railway line connecting the Laotian capital, Vientiane, with Boten, a town on the Chinese border, but the news sent train buffs into a frenzy, not least because the high-speed link makes it possible to now travel all the way from Portugal to Singapore, or vice versa, by rail.The 18,755km (11,654-mile) odyssey through 13 countries is believed to be the longest continuous railway link in the world.Timetable obsessives…]]> Sat, 08 Jan 2022 07:45:14 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUn7GGJ_oKS0VJs0ohxaO6Yr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUnQ9l9kjxtuTCejEQ2Mq9rY Off Malaysia’s North-South Expressway, two hours to the north of Kuala Lumpur, stands a former tin mining town that is at the centre of a half-hearted struggle between residents who would like to turn it into a tourist attraction and those who would prefer to let sleeping ghosts lie.Papan – little more than a strip of crumbling heritage houses and two parallel alleys of humbler homes – may be ignored by guidebooks to Malaysia, but those who know of the place refer to it as a ghost town fit for…]]> Fri, 07 Jan 2022 06:45:20 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUnQ9l9kjxtuTCejEQ2Mq9rY https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkM-sObtb3GzV1cWWor9YPv One year, 11 months, three weeks and a few hours – give-or-take – after Torbjorn “Thor” Pedersen first landed in Hong Kong on his plane-free, round-the-world odyssey, he has finally managed to secure a passage on a ship to the Pacific island of Palau.The 43-year-old Dane set out on his quest to visit every country in the world without flying in October 2013, but was Shanghaied in Hong Kong when Covid-19 struck, throwing global travel patterns, and his own plans, into complete disarray.“I never…]]> Thu, 06 Jan 2022 12:50:49 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkM-sObtb3GzV1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkXTlilI_6UaV1cWWor9YPv On a Wednesday morning in Janda Baik, a lush, hilly area around 40 minutes from the Malaysian capital city, Kuala Lumpur, a group of women start unloading their bicycles from their cars. They check their tyres, chains, gears and lights and don their gloves and helmets. The sun is out and the jungle surrounding them is wide awake.As usual, this Wednesday’s route was announced in the Bike in Nature group chat the day before.“We meet at 8.15am sharp and we start rolling at 8.30,” the message read…]]> Wed, 05 Jan 2022 01:15:21 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/UHsjY7aYpUkXTlilI_6UaV1cWWor9YPv