https://www.scmp.com/rss/10274/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com During World War II, Narva was contested by the Nazis and the Soviets. This northeastern Estonian town was one of the few places where the Germans halted the 1944 advance of the Red Army, delaying the Soviet victory for six months. Ninety-eight per cent of the town’s buildings were destroyed in the fighting. Today, almost 30 years after Estonian independence, 85 per cent of Narva’s population of 57,000 are ethnic Russians and more than one-third are Russian citizens. Rebuilt in the 1970s, the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3046147/explore-estonia-land-old-believers-onions-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3046147/explore-estonia-land-old-believers-onions-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jan 2020 10:00:12 +0000 There can be few travel experiences more surreal than entering an oversized, largely deserted, marble airport built in the shape of a falcon at 3am. However, it will turn out to be a fitting introduction to Turkmenistan, a country shaped by the whims of its two post-independence leaders. The Ashgabat International Airport, formerly named Saparmurat Türkmenbasy, was completed in September 2016 at a cost of US$2.3 billion and can process 17 million passengers a year, even though the number of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3040379/turkmenistan-road-trip-through-eccentric-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3040379/turkmenistan-road-trip-through-eccentric-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Dec 2019 07:00:06 +0000 The flight, via Vladivostok, has been comfortable and punctual, and as a weak early morning sun hovers over icy fields, we begin our descent into Khabarovsk. The city, in Russia’s far east, was founded in 1858 as a military outpost and, according to Lonely Planet, is the “world’s coldest city of over half a million people”. The Amur River here forms the border with China and, this being the depths of winter, is frozen, huge blocks of ice floating down­stream making strange groaning sounds as... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3002503/russian-far-east-ice-fishing-autonomous-jewish?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3002503/russian-far-east-ice-fishing-autonomous-jewish?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Mar 2019 13:00:09 +0000 The train from Romania enters Moldova as I finish breakfast in a restaurant car that looks like my grandmother’s front room: a window framed by heavy purple fluted curtains, silk flowers, a faint smell of cigarettes and orange formica tables spread with buttered white bread, instant coffee, thick slices of garishly pink salami and glasses of orange squash as fluorescent as the table on which they stand. Drab concrete outskirts and the slowing of the train to a crawl announce our immi­nent... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2187876/exploring-moldova-europes-poorest-country-and-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2187876/exploring-moldova-europes-poorest-country-and-its?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Feb 2019 07:04:33 +0000 The road to Iskander Kul is a switchback of rough stones and corrugated holes that makes the four-wheel drive judder as I make wildly swerving progress, searching for a smooth line that doesn’t exist. Shepherds and their goats occasionally block the way and rock faces rear up, making progress seemingly impossible, before the road swings left or right abruptly, searching for a weakness and plunging through a gap on its unlikely progress. Clouds mass and the windscreen freckles with spots of rain,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2176702/tajikistans-pamir-mountains-road-trip-across-roof?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2176702/tajikistans-pamir-mountains-road-trip-across-roof?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Dec 2018 02:45:30 +0000 More than most countries, Ukraine is a victim of geography; strad­dling the divide between Europe and Russia it is part of both and part of neither. The Dnieper River bisects the country, north to south, and is so wide, 19th-century writer Nikolai Gogol claimed that “birds fall down before reaching its middle”. There’s a lot to love in Lviv, Ukraine’s cultural capital Vast arable lands, Orthodox churches calling people to prayer, apple orchards, Cossack myths, Jewish cemeteries, Black Sea... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2143699/holiday-ukraine-nostalgia-trip-land-full-memorials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2143699/holiday-ukraine-nostalgia-trip-land-full-memorials?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Apr 2018 12:45:30 +0000 Colour is my first impression of Bukhara. The buildings in this Uzbek city are a warm ochre, the raven-haired women sweeping the road dressed in clashing man-made fabrics made more garish still by high-visibility vests – worn to warn off who knows what traffic, since the roads are devoid of cars. A cobalt blue sky accentuates the geometric blue tiles of the Ulugh Beg madrassa, the shiny turquoise tips of the four minarets of Chor Minor and the dark earthen permanence of the Emir’s Palace and Ark... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2133961/uzbekistan-ancient-architecture-friendly-locals-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2133961/uzbekistan-ancient-architecture-friendly-locals-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Feb 2018 10:16:18 +0000 If you think it is necessary to reach Russia from the European Union by travelling east, think again. I enter Kaliningrad from Lithuania at Sovetsk, over the Queen Louise Bridge, which straddles the broad River Neman at the spot where Napoleon and Tsar Alexander met on a raft to sign a treaty of peace in 1807. Kaliningrad and sections of northern Poland were once part of East Prussia, and then Germany, until the map of Europe was redrawn after the second world war. Joseph Stalin expelled all... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2118096/kaliningrad-remote-russian-outpost-nestled-eu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2118096/kaliningrad-remote-russian-outpost-nestled-eu?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Nov 2017 12:02:26 +0000 A small ex-Soviet republic sandwiched between Russia and Poland, if ever a country were a victim of geography then Belarus is it. Invaded by many an army on the way to somewhere else, the capital, Minsk, was shattered during the second world war, with barely a building left standing. Germany destroyed 209 of the 290 towns and cities in the republic in four years of war and 25 per cent of the nation’s population perished. However, this being a city of wide boulevards and grand Stalinist... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2111839/belarus-true-taste-soviet-life-all-mod-cons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2111839/belarus-true-taste-soviet-life-all-mod-cons?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Sep 2017 04:15:15 +0000 Dhaka is not for the faint-hearted. The Bangladeshi capital is an overcrowded, noisy, steamy assault on the senses – a riot of colour, rickshaw-driver-pick-me imprecation, the smell of dopiaza curry and balls of fried vegetable bhaji (fritters) and the roar of flame beneath giant galvanised kettles of cha. And then there’s the traffic; our hotel is in upmarket Gulshan, about 10km north of Old Dhaka. When I ask the concierge for a taxi to the old town, he says the journey will take two hours. I... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2098057/wild-encounters-bangladesh-cacophony-dhaka-chasing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2098057/wild-encounters-bangladesh-cacophony-dhaka-chasing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jun 2017 07:00:29 +0000 I am almost flattened by a charging donkey at the Sunday livestock market in Kashgar, a town in the far west of Xinjiang province. The mount is being test ridden by a Han Chinese trader at a furious pace, dust kicking up beneath whirling hooves, and if it wasn’t for the warning shout of “Boish! Boish!” I would certainly have been trampled underhoof. It would be foolish to make a purchase of something as important as a donkey without a test ride, so I can forgive the trader. Xinjiang fan Josh... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2049843/kashgar-and-beyond-xinjiang-chinas-wild-west?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2049843/kashgar-and-beyond-xinjiang-chinas-wild-west?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Nov 2016 05:00:45 +0000 There's almost always a whiff of romance around boarding an overnight train, and the 9.30pm express from Hanoi to Lao Cai, on the Vietnam-China border, is no different. Guards in prim nylon uniforms and shiny badges stand on the platform under fluorescent lamps that pierce the evening gloam as a gecko scampers across the side of a carriage, even greener than the paintwork. Whistles blow and a prodigious number of flags are waved as we scurry, like the gecko, into our four-berth compartment. As... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel-leisure/article/1955017/conquering-vietnams-mount-fansipan-indochinas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel-leisure/article/1955017/conquering-vietnams-mount-fansipan-indochinas?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 May 2016 04:36:52 +0000 My first sight of Africa's highest summit is from an aircraft window, on the short flight from Nairobi, in Kenya, across the border to Tanzania. The mountain looks imposing - a giant humpbacked whale breasting a sea of clouds - and for a moment the prospect of me standing on top seems an improbable fantasy. When the climb begins two days later, I quickly learn the word " pole", meaning "slowly". My guide's constant refrain of " pole, pole" is good advice; beetling up the rocky slopes of the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel-leisure/article/1913867/hongkonger-conquers-africas-highest-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel-leisure/article/1913867/hongkonger-conquers-africas-highest-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Feb 2016 06:15:15 +0000 "Isn't it dangerous?" is likely to be among the first questions asked of a Hong Kong traveller bound for Iran. Certainly there are a lot of rules to be observed by visitors to the Islamic Republic - holders of British or American passports must engage a guide, for example - and an Iranian visa can be complicated to obtain. But the streets are safe; the people overwhelmingly welcoming; the sites dramatic, historical and beautiful; the food delicious; the transport trustworthy and organised; and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1805118/culture-great-food-and-weather-and-warm-welcome-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1805118/culture-great-food-and-weather-and-warm-welcome-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 May 2015 14:35:43 +0000 Sacred Skin: Thailand's Spirit Taboos by Tom Vater Visionary World Ltd In Tom Vater and Aroon Thaewchatturat's Sacred Skin - a visually compelling antidote to the usual coffee-table tributes to 'amazing Thailand' - the reader is taken on a journey into an other-worldly Southeast Asia, a place of animist ritual and iconography, shamans and priest-like tattoo masters. The subject is sak yant, or sacred tattoos, designs needled painfully into the skin and believed to offer protection from... https://www.scmp.com/article/981297/sacred-skin-thailands-spirit-taboos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/981297/sacred-skin-thailands-spirit-taboos?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000 In these times, when everybody is a Skype, MSN or mobile phone text or call away, it's difficult to imagine someone simply vanishing. But, the fact is, they do, and their disappearances intrigue people for years, decades, even centuries afterwards. Take the story of D.B. Cooper, an American who hijacked a Boeing 727 in November 1971. He demanded US$200,000 in US$20 notes and four parachutes. After the plane landed - the passengers were allowed to leave - and he had received his money and... https://www.scmp.com/article/723492/there-one-day-gone-next?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/723492/there-one-day-gone-next?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Dear Travel Guru, My mother is from Taipei and every year we visit my grandparents. They have a spacious apartment just off Zhongxiao East Road, so it's close to all the shops and restaurants. I like Taipei. It is more relaxed than Hong Kong and I have learned a lot about Chinese food there. But I cannot face another 10 days stuck in the city with family. Can you recommend something different that's not too far from town? Time for a Change Thanks for your letter. I agree that Taipei is more... https://www.scmp.com/article/723415/explore-yehliu-geopark?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/723415/explore-yehliu-geopark?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Dear Travel Guru, It seems my family aren't going anywhere this year. Friends of mine have gone or are going on holidays to Phuket, Singapore and other exciting locations, but I'm stuck in Hong Kong. There are only so many days you can spend at home watching DVDs and surfing the internet, and only so many times you can wander around the nearest mall. I need a little adventure. What do you suggest? Stir Crazy Thanks for your letter, Stir Crazy. I sympathise. It's no fun spending the entire... https://www.scmp.com/article/722932/explore-scuba-diving-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/722932/explore-scuba-diving-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Dear Travel Guru, I blame it all on the World Cup. My father's got it into his head we should visit Cape Town for a holiday. I really don't know what to think - so far away and, of course, we're doing it on a tour. I have a vision of us ticking off the Table Mountain, a safari, the waterfront and so on with a large group of Hong Kong tourists - probably dining on bad Chinese food morning and night. I'm hoping we can get away and do one thing on our own that is a little different. What do you... https://www.scmp.com/article/722312/explore-hermanus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/722312/explore-hermanus?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Dear Travel Guru, It's summer holidays, and once again my parents have decided we're going to Singapore. I don't mind Singapore. It's clean and leafy and the food is great. But we've been two times before, and to me it just seems like a tropical version of Hong Kong. I'm wondering if it has anything that Hong Kong doesn't. Singapore Blues Thanks for your letter, Singapore Blues. Singapore is one of the most vibrant cities in all of Asia, and you're right about the food - whether it's seafood... https://www.scmp.com/article/721746/explore-singapore-zoo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/721746/explore-singapore-zoo?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Dear Travel Guru, This summer my family and I are going to Sydney to visit family. I can't wait. I'm really looking forward to seeing the harbour and the Sydney Opera House. I'm also excited about Australia's seafood - I hope we don't only go to Chinatown. I have a feeling, though, we'll spend almost all our time in the city, doing family things. In Hong Kong, I enjoy going hiking, and I would like to have a glimpse of the Australian Bush. What do you suggest? Bush-whacked Thanks for your... https://www.scmp.com/article/720602/wild-side-australia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/720602/wild-side-australia?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Dear Travel Guru, It seems like every time my family goes on holiday we end up in Chiang Mai, Thailand. My mother loves the shopping and my father loves the golf. I think Chiang Mai is fun, too, but I need something new and exciting to do there besides hanging out at the pool. In the market for change Thanks for your letter. Chiang Mai has a great climate, the people are friendly and the food is great. But if you're bored, enough is enough. Then again, perhaps you aren't looking hard enough.... https://www.scmp.com/article/720120/biggest-ride-your-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/720120/biggest-ride-your-life?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Dear Travel Guru, My family has decided to take a holiday in Vietnam. I don't really see what we can do there, except go to the beach - which was exactly what we did last year in Thailand. I love the beach, but this time I want to do something a little more interesting and adventurous. Adventure Seeker Thanks for your letter, Adventure Seeker. Vietnam has an incredibly long and beautiful coastline. In fact, the country has nearly 3,500 kilometres of coast, and that's a lot of beaches. But... https://www.scmp.com/article/719532/underground-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/719532/underground-war?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Not Tokyo again! Dear Travel Guru, My father has a sister in Tokyo, and we're going there on holidays - for the third time. I've seen all the sights in Tokyo, and this time I want to get out of the city and do something adventurous. Turned off by Tokyo Thanks for your letter, Turned off by Tokyo. Big cities can be fun, but when you come from a busy city like Hong Kong they are not always what the doctor ordered for your holidays. The good news is that Tokyo has such an efficient transport... https://www.scmp.com/article/718917/climb-mount-fuji?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/718917/climb-mount-fuji?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Quick facts Famous for: her opposition to racial segregation and being an inspiration to black Americans Born: February 4, 1913, Tuskegee, Alabama, US Died: October 24, 2005, Detroit, US Married: Raymond Parks Profession: Social activist The early years Find words that mean: proportion, services, people who make an undeveloped place their home, ruled, racial origin Rosa Louise McCauley was born in a small city in Alabama, a state in the southeast of the United States. Historically the state has... https://www.scmp.com/article/718470/history-makers-part-38-rosa-parks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/718470/history-makers-part-38-rosa-parks?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Famous for: establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in North Vietnam Born: May 19,1890, Haong Tru Village in northern-central Vietnam Died: September 2, 1969, Hanoi Married: Tang Tuyet Minh (Zeng Xuemin) Nickname: Uncle Ho Profession: Politician, independence leader The early years Find words that mean the opposite: in favour of, initially, allowed, a little Ho Chi Minh was born Nguyen Sinh Cung in the days when much of Vietnam was under French rule. His father was a teacher. Ho had an... https://www.scmp.com/article/717810/history-makers-part-37-ho-chi-minh?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/717810/history-makers-part-37-ho-chi-minh?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Profession: Linguist, writer, military strategist Famous for: his participation in the Arab Revolt of 1916-18 Born: August 16, 1888, Tremadog, Wales Died: May 19, 1935, Dorset, England Nickname: Lawrence of Arabia The Early Years Find words that mean: daring, became fluent in, a woman hired to take care of a child or children, military expeditions, finding a permanent place to live Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in a village in northwest Wales. His father was a wealthy landowner and his mother... https://www.scmp.com/article/716567/history-makers-part-36-lawrence-arabia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/716567/history-makers-part-36-lawrence-arabia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Quick facts Famous for: leading the British suffragette movement, which eventually won women the right to vote Born: July15, 1858, Manchester, Britain Died: June 18, 1928, London Married: Richard Pankhurst Profession: political activist Little revolutionary Find words that mean: promised, enthusiastic, an unmarried man, manners, defining moment Emmeline Pankhurst was born Emmeline Goulden. Both her parents came from politically active families. Her father, Robert, ser ved on a local town... https://www.scmp.com/article/715300/history-makers-part-34-emmeline-pankhurst?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/715300/history-makers-part-34-emmeline-pankhurst?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000 A man of principle Fill in the blanks: capitalism, establishment, advantage, Palestine, individual Einstein had strong opinions about the state of the world. He was concerned about the power of _____________________________, and worried it would take _____________________________ of many people. He also thought there would always be wars as long as there were _____________________________ countries. After the second world war, he wanted a world government to be formed so that other countries... https://www.scmp.com/article/714706/history-makers-part-33-albert-einstein?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/714706/history-makers-part-33-albert-einstein?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Although the mainland officially downgraded the severity of the drought afflicting the southwest in the first week of May, in Yunnan province relief has only come in the form of scattered showers. The worst drought in a century has devastated nature reserves and caused migratory birds to move on - raising the risk of insects ravaging crops. When the crops materialise that is. On the outskirts of Wenge village, Xuanwei county, about a four-hour drive past parched fields from Kunming , 48-year-old... https://www.scmp.com/article/714547/droughts-dry-aftermath?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/714547/droughts-dry-aftermath?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Famous for: writing novels that opposed social injustice Born: June 25, 1903, Bihar, India Died: January 21, 1950, London, Britain Married: Eileen O'Shaughnessy, Sonia Brownell Profession: journalist, novelist The life of an author Find words that mean: develop (an illness), talented, didn't pay attention to, sent somewhere for a job George Orwell was born Eric Blair in India. He changed his name when he became a writer. When he was one, his mother took him back to England. Orwell was a gifted... https://www.scmp.com/article/714082/history-makers-part-32-george-orwell?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/714082/history-makers-part-32-george-orwell?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000 British science teacher Peter Harvey's attack on a teenage student with a dumbbell - while shouting 'die, die, die' - made headlines worldwide last month. But, if the news was shocking, it also drew back the curtain on frontline teaching conditions in British schools. A little more than 20 years ago, an inquiry by the British government found that about 2 per cent of teachers had been on the receiving end of violence from students. Fast forward to 2008, and police in Britain were called on to... https://www.scmp.com/article/713994/classroom-turns-battlefield?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/713994/classroom-turns-battlefield?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000 On the condition of anonymity, one teacher in Hong Kong who has taught at three city schools spoke to the Young Post about her experiences, revealing that front-line situations are not so unusual here either. On one occasion, she says, a boy pulled a knife on her in class, and to the best of her knowledge he was not disciplined. On another occasion, she caught three students sniffing cocaine in class. She said a teachers' meeting yielded little in the way of results, and all she could was to... https://www.scmp.com/article/713992/similar-incidents-hk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/713992/similar-incidents-hk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000 News that a Christian group based in Hong Kong may have discovered the biblical Noah's Ark in Turkey is making headlines around the world. The announcement has also prompted Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism to investigate how parts of the alleged find ended up in Hong Kong. Explorers from Noah's Ark Ministries International said they had found wood and compartments that could have housed animals that were believed to have been saved from the global flood narrated in the Bible. They... https://www.scmp.com/article/713925/noahs-ark-makes-waves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/713925/noahs-ark-makes-waves?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Quick facts Profession: primatologist, anthropologist Famous for: spending 45 years studying chimpanzees Born: April 3, 1934 Married: Hugo van Lawick (1964-1974), Derek Bryceson (1975-1980) Dolittle dreamer Find words that mean: amazing, set off on, coastal, voyages When Jane Goodall was one, she was given a toy chimpanzee called Jubilee. He was just the beginning of her life-long love of animals. At 75, she still has Jubilee in her home in London. As a little girl,... https://www.scmp.com/article/713383/history-makers-part-31-jane-goodall?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/713383/history-makers-part-31-jane-goodall?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000 The three weeks it takes to get from Hong Kong to London by train (on a circuitous route) may seem like a long time - and it is a trip you'd want to do for its own sake - but one advantage the journey has over air travel is that it is not likely to be put in jeopardy by an Icelandic volcano. Travelling as a foursome forestalls the greatest inconvenience of transcontinental train travel: sharing a cabin with a stranger who might sit too close, eat cuttlefish snacks or snore. Each compartment on... https://www.scmp.com/article/713104/making-tracks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/713104/making-tracks?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 May 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Edward Knapp, CEO of the Hello! Haigeng MiniGolf Park in the suburbs of Kunming, Yunnan province , is facing a tough challenge. He is making a presentation to the principal and some 35 teachers of Xiaodong Primary School about a unique concept - bringing school work out of the classroom and into an outdoor environment with mini-golf as the medium. His problem is attempting to translate to mainland educators a concept that's groundbreaking even in Europe and the United States. But Xiaodong... https://www.scmp.com/article/712810/unique-concept-full-swing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/712810/unique-concept-full-swing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Mini-golf - sometimes called miniature golf - started because just over a century ago, golf was not considered suitable for women. People thought it was not right for a woman to be throwing her body into hitting a ball down a fairway. So, St Andrews in Scotland - one of the world's first golf courses was established there in 1754 - came up with the idea of setting up a putting course for women. The 18-hole course, known as the Himalayas, was probably the first miniature golf course in the... https://www.scmp.com/article/712809/small-beginnings-miniature-golf?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/712809/small-beginnings-miniature-golf?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Quick facts Profession: Politician, democracy activist Famous for: peacefully struggling for democracy in Myanmar Born: June 19, 1945, Rangoon (now Yangon), Burma (now Myanmar) Married: Michael Aris The early years Find words that mean: official representative, discussed and achieved, lured, certain to happen Aung San Suu Kyi was one of three children. She had an elder brother and a younger brother. Her younger brother drowned when he was just eight. Her father was killed when she was two. He... https://www.scmp.com/article/712716/history-markers-part-30-aung-san-suu-kyi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/712716/history-markers-part-30-aung-san-suu-kyi?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Profession: writer Famous for: prose written in everyday language, and for championing a new China Born: September 25, 1881, Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, China Died: October 19, 1936, Shanghai, China Married: Xu Guangping Early years Find words that mean: be distributed, centre, doubtful about, incident, got worse Lu Xun was born with the name Zhou Zhangshou to an educated, but not wealthy, family. His hometown, Shaoxing, was in a region of China known as Jiangnan. It had long been China's... https://www.scmp.com/article/711973/history-makers-part-29-lu-xun?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/711973/history-makers-part-29-lu-xun?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Quick facts Profession: Apache warrior, medicine man Famous for: opposing social injustice Born: June 26, 1829, Turkey Creek, present-day New Mexico Died: February 17, 1909, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, United States Married: to numerous women Nickname: Goyaale, meaning 'one who yawns' End of an era Find words that mean: promised, achievements, a temporary home, punishment for something someone has done to you Geronimo was born to an Apache tribe in what is now New Mexico in the United... https://www.scmp.com/article/711328/history-makers-part-28-geronimo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/711328/history-makers-part-28-geronimo?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Quick Facts Profession: pioneering scientist Famous for: a number of groundbreaking discoveries about the laws of the universe An enlightened mind Find words that mean: lived in the house of, was called for, a disease spread by the fleas of rats, unable to read Newton was born three months after his father's death. His father was an illiterate farmer. When Newton was three, his mother remarried. He did not like his stepfather. He was brought up by his grandmother. He went to King's School, about... https://www.scmp.com/article/709425/history-makers-part-27-isaac-newton?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/709425/history-makers-part-27-isaac-newton?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Compact fluorescent light bulbs use only 20 to 30 per cent of the energy required for a normal incandescent light bulb. They are more expensive, but on the plus side they last a lot longer. In ideal circumstances, a CFL can last up to 15 times longer than a normal light bulb. In reality, though, this is seldom the case. Spikes, or surges in electrical supply can affect how long they last, and turning them on and off frequently also affects their lifespan. So far so good. But, apart from the... https://www.scmp.com/article/709348/looking-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/709348/looking-future?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000 For green activists with an eye for energy issues, one of the easiest targets is light bulbs. Most of the bulbs we use in our homes are not energy efficient and that means increased carbon emissions. Greenpeace and other environmental watchdogs have been pushing hard for the Hong Kong government to follow the lead of other countries and regions, such as Australia, Chile and the European Union, and phase out traditional incandescent light bulbs to make way for their green equivalents. The... https://www.scmp.com/article/709347/critics-see-green-initiative-new-light?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/709347/critics-see-green-initiative-new-light?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Arts group Colour My World will be performing Wonka Madness, starting tonight and ending Wednesday night. The show features a cast of some 40 youngsters and will raise money for the Half the Sky Foundation, which brings love and care to orphans on the mainland. Colour My World celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Wonka Madness is based on the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which is based on the children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. The show... https://www.scmp.com/article/709270/join-wonka-mania?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/709270/join-wonka-mania?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Full name: Magaret Hilda Thatcher Nickname: The Iron Lady Profession: politican, chemist, lawyer Famous for: her transformation of Britain through embracing free trade Born: October 13, 1925, Grantham, Lincolnshire, Britain Married: Sir Denis Thatcher Humble beginnings Find words that mean: rich, someone who stands up for their belief, in the end, started Margaret Roberts was born in a small town where her father owned two grocery shops. Her was probably an influence on her. He was a principled,... https://www.scmp.com/article/708795/history-makers-part-26-margaret-thatcher?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/708795/history-makers-part-26-margaret-thatcher?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Out of Europe Jeans are a classic American invention. They have become so popular that almost every person who can afford them has at least one pair. But, in fact, the American inventor of blue jeans only made one breakthrough. A form of jeans had been worn in Europe for at least 200 years before that. No one knows for sure where people first started wearing trousers made from denim, a specially woven cotton cloth. But the word jean comes from a French word for an Italian city. Genoa is called... https://www.scmp.com/article/708614/jeans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/708614/jeans?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Who? Bo Xilai has attracted a lot of attention at this week's People's National Congress in Beijing. He is the son of Bo Yibo, one of the mainland's revolutionary elders - one of the so-called 'eight immortals'. After becoming party chief of Chongqing, he carried out a massive anti-corruption campaign. It won him kudos countrywide. The People's Daily newspaper named him 'Man of the Year' in an online poll. What? Bo's crackdown on gangs brought down a police chief and dozens of other officials,... https://www.scmp.com/article/708212/peoples-hero?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/708212/peoples-hero?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000 Full name: Cleopatra Thea Philopator, meaning a, goddess who loves her father Profession: Queen of Egypt Famous for: ruling Egypt Born: January, 69BC, Alexandria, Egypt Died: August 30, 30BC, Alexandria, Egypt Married: her brother Ptolemy XIII, her brother Ptolemy XIV, and Mark Antony Clever, scheming, tragic queen Choose the correct alternative: When she was 18 years old, Cleopatra's father died. Cleopatra and her brother-husband Ptolemy XIII became single/joint rulers of Egypt. Cleopatra and... https://www.scmp.com/article/708122/history-makers-part-24-cleopatra-last-queen-egypt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/708122/history-makers-part-24-cleopatra-last-queen-egypt?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000 The mainland's blockbuster answer to Avatar, a biopic about the Great Sage, Confucius, was a box-office flop. But the online community flocked by the thousands - and before too long, millions - to see an online movie that its makers claim was made with a budget no bigger than the electricity bill for running their computers for three months. War of Internet Addiction was released by volunteer filmmakers Oil Tiger Machinima Team on January 21. It was initially blocked. But, when it... https://www.scmp.com/article/707522/gamers-flock-satirical-no-budget-blockbuster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/707522/gamers-flock-satirical-no-budget-blockbuster?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000