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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.

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.

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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.

Taking a scenic route from Romania to Albania shows how far some European countries, their medieval highlights intact or painstakingly restored, have moved on from devastating wars, even as one rages nearby.

From Italy’s Lake Como, where Hollywood stars including George Clooney have villas, to monster hunters’ favourite Loch Ness, and Dal Lake, in India’s Himalayas, we survey 9 of the world’s most beautiful lakes.

From Georgia to China and Uruguay, we visit 7 below-the-radar destinations for wine lovers, find out what there is to see on a wine tour, and some of their other attractions for tourists.

From London’s Eel Pie Island with its rock music history to Manhattan and the ‘birthplace of Paris’, Île de la Cité, seven of the best river islands to visit.

If a tourist destination features on a nation’s currency, it’s probably worth a visit. We look at some of the best, from natural wonders to man-made marvels, as seen on bills and notes around the world.

The people at Guinness love distance-related achievements. From quirky travel using unconventional means of transport to inspiring feats of endurance, here are some world records that may leave you gasping.

Thailand’s Songkran marks the Thai New Year and has become famous for its mass water fights. The celebrations have their dark side, from dirty water causing illness, to groping, to drink driving deaths.

Manchester is known for football and culture. Here are three attractions for tourists to experience the city at its best – Manchester United’s home, one of Europe’s biggest Chinatowns, and a world-class music festival.

Athens is home to many museums, but here are three of the best to visit for ancient artefacts that shaped Greece, cutting-edge multimedia installations, and the world’s finest collection of Greek antiquities.

Asia’s zip lines offer incredible views of cities, rainforest and mountains. Here are 8 of the most thrilling, including Macau’s new ZipCity and rides in Singapore, the Philippines and Nepal.

Barcelona is Spain’s pickpocketing capital, Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue sees muggings at gunpoint, Hollywood is full of drug addicts – there’s lots the travel industry doesn’t tell us.

Got that morning after feeling? Hangover cures differ in every country, from hair of the dog to soup or pickles, a sheep’s eye and the divisive Marmite on toast in the UK.