https://www.scmp.com/rss/16147/feed Penny Watson, a trained journalist and freelance writer, has travelled the world writing feature articles for magazines and newspapers. She has researched guidebooks and last year published her first solo book Hong Kong Precincts, a curated guide to shopping, eating and drinking in the city. Penny shares her time between Hong Kong and her hometown of Melbourne, Australia, where she has recently been asked to join the review squad for The Age Good Food Guide as a Chinese cuisine expert. She is... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com I’m tiptoeing reverentially around the Borobudur temple, stopping to take in ancient stone panels and beautiful bell-shaped stupas, and to ponder the Buddha statues sitting in meditative repose. As I peer into their closed stone eyes I find myself half willing them to open, to look meaningfully in my direction so I can acknowledge the privilege and occasion of being here. But as I will soon discover, Borobudur has not been treated with all due respect by everyone who has passed its stupas and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3245438/how-worlds-largest-buddhist-temple-indonesia-has-been-reborn-new-rules-free-borobudur-curses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3245438/how-worlds-largest-buddhist-temple-indonesia-has-been-reborn-new-rules-free-borobudur-curses?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Dec 2023 23:15:09 +0000 A “retreat”, on the holiday island of Bali at least, commonly refers to extended stays dedicated to the practice of yoga, meditation, Ayurvedic healing, fitness, even surfing. But the concept is evolving, so that a retreat can be taken to mean an immersive stay around any central theme. Whether it is a gathering of people interested in cooking, writing or photography, the emphasis is on visitors creating connections through exploring a shared passion. The latest addition to this holiday concept... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3230996/do-you-need-home-design-ideas-bali-retreat-promises-inspiration-exploring-interiors-and-homewares?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3230996/do-you-need-home-design-ideas-bali-retreat-promises-inspiration-exploring-interiors-and-homewares?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Aug 2023 04:45:19 +0000 Bali has long been a healing and wellness destination, where sanctuaries, spas, retreats and resorts offer to re-energise, rejuvenate and renew those who visit. The Covid-19 pandemic has amplified this desire and travellers – weary from lockdowns and isolation – are seeking holidays that life-shift and spirit-lift. Here are five transformative experiences to add to an itinerary on the Indonesian island: Breathwork Some people talk about breathwork sessions being trippy and euphoric, others get... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3184638/5-bali-wellness-experiences-light-therapy-breathwork-put?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3184638/5-bali-wellness-experiences-light-therapy-breathwork-put?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Jul 2022 11:15:12 +0000 There always seems to be one too many temples on tours in Thailand. On this trip, I confess, we bowed out of seeing the final one, the searing heat at the end of the day being too much for even the marathon runner among us. But now I’m left wondering what I missed. Thailand’s stupas, spires, steeples and statues rise delightfully out of the urban concrete of its big cities – beacons of luminescent gold in a backdrop of grey. In the countryside, shimmering peaked rooftops and ancient crumbling... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3182895/thailands-temples-star-luxury-boat-trip-bangkok-ancient?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3182895/thailands-temples-star-luxury-boat-trip-bangkok-ancient?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jun 2022 04:45:17 +0000 Descriptions such as breathtaking, picture-postcard, earthly paradise and awe-inspiring are so overused in travel writing, they are almost meaningless. In truth, they should be saved for places like Raja Ampat, an archipelago of some 1,500 turquoise-rimmed islands scattered throughout the crystal clear waters of Indonesia’s far-flung West Papua. One of the world’s last remaining tropical paradises, its jungle-filled islands, coral-fringed cays and coconut freckled beaches are the stuff of movies... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3178528/sailing-indonesias-raja-ampat-archipelago-place-deserves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3178528/sailing-indonesias-raja-ampat-archipelago-place-deserves?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 May 2022 20:15:09 +0000 What is it? The Prince Hotel is an elegantly cool, 35-room boutique property in the edgy bayside suburb of St Kilda, in Melbourne’s southeast. The four-storey art deco building ticks all the boxes for an intimate getaway: indoor pool; Aurora Spa; atrium cafe; and modern restaurant. The rooms and suites have little balconies from where guests can glimpse the palm-striped Port Phillip Bay beachfront. The building was bought by Chinese-Australian entrepreneur Louis Li in 2015. So why is it the talk... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3034142/prince-hotel-melbourne-scores-immersive-rain-room?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3034142/prince-hotel-melbourne-scores-immersive-rain-room?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Oct 2019 06:30:13 +0000 What is it? A four-hour fine-dining experience on an Outback desert dune that overlooks the sacred Australian Indigenous landmark of Uluru and the distant domes of Kata Tjuta. Among the sheoaks and mulga trees, a maximum of 20 guests start the evening sipping and supping on cham­pagne and canapés as the setting sun washes pink, purple and yellow hues over the red sandstone monolith. When the sun disappears, the star-strewn desert sky steals the show. Where is it, exactly? The dune is near the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3027686/tali-wiru-open-air-dinner-overlooking-uluru?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3027686/tali-wiru-open-air-dinner-overlooking-uluru?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Sep 2019 07:30:11 +0000 What is it? With 193 private, free-standing villas enveloped by bushland, this resort is in a prized location, just beyond the vegetated dunes of Byron Bay’s Belongil Beach, on Australia’s New South Wales coast. What’s so special about it? Did you not read what’s written above? The setting is idyllic. The low-impact villas (or high-end beach shacks, if you prefer), spread neatly across 50 acres, have been designed to blend into bushland that is home to numerous rare and endangered species and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2168987/elements-byron-resort-australias-new-south-wales?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2168987/elements-byron-resort-australias-new-south-wales?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Oct 2018 02:30:30 +0000 What is it? A new 100-room hotel dedicated to and inspired by Chinese-Australian artist Zhong Chen, whose contemporary works fill the lobby, line the corridors and hang in bedrooms and suites. The Chen is the eighth of its kind by boutique outfit Art Series Hotels, a progressive brand that has dedicated each of its properties to an Australian contemporary artist whose work and life reflect the local neighbourhood. Box Hill, where Chen has lived and now has a studio, is a burgeoning Melbourne... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2138603/melbourne-hotel-inspired-chinese-australian-artist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2138603/melbourne-hotel-inspired-chinese-australian-artist?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Mar 2018 03:18:18 +0000 What is it? This beautifully boutique and tastefully hip hotel, with 62 rooms and suites, is the heartbeat of newly fashionable Kensington Street, in the Sydney suburb of Chippendale, a short walk from Central Station. What’s so special about it? Lots. The five-storey hotel has been fashioned from two heritage-listed buildings – the former Clare Hotel (a pub) and the offices of Carlton & United Breweries. The glass linkway that connects them is a nod to the owner’s commitment to retain as much... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2129499/iconic-sydney-brewery-and-bar-now-hip-boutique-hotel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2129499/iconic-sydney-brewery-and-bar-now-hip-boutique-hotel?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Jan 2018 05:33:58 +0000 What and where is it? Ho Chi Minh City’s latest five-star hotel is near the centre of town, in District 3, an area known for its avenues of towering plane trees, French-style villas and cross-cultural architecture, notably the Ky Dong Church, Archbishop’s Palace and Jade Emperor Pagoda. The popular War Remnants Museum and Notre Dame Cathedral are nearby. What’s so special about the hotel? It’s a charmer, with 168 rooms and suites exquisitely decorated in French-Indochine style. East-meets-West... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2097126/hotel-des-arts-saigon-luxurious-spectacularly-swanky?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2097126/hotel-des-arts-saigon-luxurious-spectacularly-swanky?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jun 2017 03:47:02 +0000 What is it? This 46-room hotel, set amid the striped paddocks of Willow Creek Vineyard, in the exclusive Red Hill region of Victoria, is the most talked about luxury accom­modation to open in Australia this year. Its sleek, bold, brutally black con­tem­porary form stands in contrast to the natural surrounds and is more than a nod to the crea­tor’s mind for aesthetically pleasing excess. What are the rooms like?Unashamedly masculine and mono­chrom­atically black, from the bedhead and thin-armed... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2096484/jackalope-most-talked-about-luxury-property-open?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2096484/jackalope-most-talked-about-luxury-property-open?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jun 2017 01:15:00 +0000 For many years, beef with black bean sauce, spring rolls and sweet and sour pork were the mainstays of Chinese cuisine in Australia. They remain takeaway staples and the local Chinese restaurant is still the venue of choice for that annual special-occasion meal for many. Australia, however, has undergone a food revolution in recent times, and Chinese cuisine is now at the forefront of a dynamic dining scene, especially in Melbourne. Here are six of the city’s best Chinese restaurants, in no... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2048577/six-best-chinese-restaurants-melbourne?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2048577/six-best-chinese-restaurants-melbourne?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Nov 2016 01:23:46 +0000 What and where is it? This 26-bedroom (excluding those in the new Manor House) boutique hotel and vineyard sits on 100 acres of fertile rolling countryside near Franschhoek, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is one of Richard Branson’s exclusive Virgin Limited Edition properties and was recommended for purchase by a good friend of the billionaire businessman, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose daughter got married here this year. The family-friendly safari, and how to sustain an... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2044508/travel-richard-bransons-south-african-winery-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2044508/travel-richard-bransons-south-african-winery-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Nov 2016 05:01:08 +0000 What and where is it? Heritage meets funky at this glam new hotel on Sydney’s Woolloomooloo Wharf (above). Its 100 guest rooms, ranging from a “suparoo” double over­look­ing the street to an “ultraroo” loft apart­ment, with city and wharf views, are all deco­rated in a style best described as cool with a side of humour. Four hotels in Sydney handy for art gallery visitors How so? Sassy quotes are lit up in neon scroll, esoterically framed prints brighten the walls, and cushions in expensive... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2021649/three-reasons-stay-ovolo-woolloomooloo-sydney-harbour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2021649/three-reasons-stay-ovolo-woolloomooloo-sydney-harbour?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Sep 2016 00:01:18 +0000 What is an agriturismo? “Agriturismo” is a combination of the Italian words for “agriculture” and “tourism”. Italy’s agriturismo owners provide farmhouse-style accommodation and are legally obliged to offer cuisine prepared from ingredients produced on the farm and in the surrounding province. They were brought into being in 1985 as a means of helping farmers earn extra income. Today there are many varieties, from budget self-contained farm cottages and guesthouses to luxurious castles, restored... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel-leisure/article/1885815/quaint-farmhouse-holiday-tuscanys-il-cipresso?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel-leisure/article/1885815/quaint-farmhouse-holiday-tuscanys-il-cipresso?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Dec 2015 14:46:01 +0000 What and where is it? A boutique guesthouse, spa and restaurant, The Lake House is a 90-minute drive from Melbourne, and located in the teeny regional Victorian spa-town of Daylesford. Its beautiful waterfront rooms and suites are set in delightful rambling grounds complete with a bountiful orchard and kitchen garden. The property over-looks a lake on which geese and ducks parade and in which a cheeky oversized Murray cod (a native fish) has proved impossible to catch, try as the chef might. Why... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1723027/boutique-hotel-lake-house-victoria-australia-stays-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1723027/boutique-hotel-lake-house-victoria-australia-stays-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Feb 2015 14:50:19 +0000 If taste were of no concern, the new Anantara Xishuangbanna Resort and Spa might have been named to reflect its Chinese and Thai influences. "Thai-na" perhaps. Or "Chi-land". Thankfully, taste does come into play. And some would argue that Xishuangbanna, a spectacularly cultural region tucked in the southern part of Yunnan province, bordering Laos and Myanmar, is only Chinese by name, not nature. They'd be half right. Xishuangbanna is a semi-autonomous region with 12 recognised ethnic... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1286290/anantara-luxury-resort-and-spa-offers-chinese-retreat-thai-touch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1286290/anantara-luxury-resort-and-spa-offers-chinese-retreat-thai-touch?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 What is it? An iconic Dutch colonial-era hotel in the city of Yogyakarta, on the Indonesian island of Java, replete with the frangipani-scented elegance of a bygone era. The Phoenix began life in 1918 as the home of Kwik Djoen Eng, a wealthy Chinese merchant. It operated as a hotel during the Great Depression and until the Japanese occupation began in 1942. After the second world war, it was used as the official residence of the Chinese consul before reverting to a hotel in 1951. The... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1185338/hot-spots-phoenix-hotel-yogyakarta?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1185338/hot-spots-phoenix-hotel-yogyakarta?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 What is it? France's oldest teahouse, founded in the nation's capital more than 150 years ago. The tea emporium/restaurant/museum sits behind a typically Parisian facade on rue du Bourg Tibourg, in Le Marais, a très chic neighbourhood known for its designer stores, perfumeries, boutiques, bars and bistros. What's so special about the place? It is truly a living museum. Behind an oversized wooden comptoir, more than 600 varieties of tea are laid out, apothecary style, in antique black canisters... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1149268/hot-spots-mariage-freres-paris?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1149268/hot-spots-mariage-freres-paris?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Yuan yang, the original cha chaan teng tea-coffee drink enjoyed by Hongkongers since the 1960s, might not be a good representation of the city's tea tradition, but the nostalgic milky concoction may have found a place in Hong Kong's relatively recent coffee story. Above Causeway Bay's busy Leighton Road, Caffe Habitu's Coffee Academy & Roasting Studio buzzes with the caffeinated energy of a new enterprise. Opened in September, the converted tong lau - a hip warehouse space filled with old... https://www.scmp.com/article/986400/brewed-awakening?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/986400/brewed-awakening?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000 What is it? A private five-hectare island surrounded by white sand and basking in ridiculously turquoise waters off the northernmost point of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. Don't let the slightly tacky name put you off; this is as exclusive as it gets, with just three decadently attired thatched bures (cottages) accommodating a maximum of eight guests in total. Who's responsible for such extravagance? Funnily enough, not Richard Branson. Until June, Dolphin Island had been the private family... https://www.scmp.com/article/982594/dolphin-island-fiji?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/982594/dolphin-island-fiji?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Twentieth-century literary heavyweights often sought-out colonial hotels as bastions of style and luxury when travelling in Asia. Many of the hotels had dramatic histories that might challenge the plotlines created by the best writers, such as Graham Greene, No?l Coward and W. Somerset Maugham. Nations and dictators rose and fell, wars were won and lost, eras came and went, but the elegant hospitality of the best colonial hotels somehow endured. Today they offer guests a slice of old-world... https://www.scmp.com/article/981103/past-pleasures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/981103/past-pleasures?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000 When philosopher Alain de Botton wrote the book The Art of Travel, he was musing about 'that ubiquitous but peculiar activity of travelling for pleasure', rather than anything artistic per se. But the title nicely articulates a global trend encapsulating travel for both pleasure and cultural appreciation- that of art hotels, wherein public areas have been transformed into gallery space. Imaginative hotel interiors have long captured the attention of globe-hoppers. Guests can wake up to the... https://www.scmp.com/article/979366/culture-club?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/979366/culture-club?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000 When Na Lan moved from Beijing to a small Australian town with a population of just 1,200, she cried a river of tears. 'My husband thought he should tie a canoe to our house just in case I got washed away,' she says. The three-hour journey from Sydney to the home of her husband, artist Reg Buckland, near Rylstone, on the western edge of the Blue Mountains, 'felt like 10 hours'. 'It was so slow, I kept telling myself, don't worry we'll be there soon ... Then, when we finally arrived in the town,... https://www.scmp.com/article/967108/diaspora-diaries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/967108/diaspora-diaries?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 May 2011 16:00:00 +0000 It's fitting that on an island renowned for its fortified wine, I'm lying in a bath filled with it, the purple liquid making islands of my knees and lapping at my chin like I'm some kind of goddess. True, these grapes - or more precisely grape skin and vine-leaf extracts - aren't the varieties found here on Madeira. They're pinotage grapes from South Africa's Stellenbosch wine region, where 'vinotherapy' was born, but it all ties in rather nicely. Whether you imbibe it or bathe in it, wine... https://www.scmp.com/article/730380/grape-escape?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/730380/grape-escape?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Nov 2010 16:00:00 +0000 The walls of the Hong Kong Bar, Penang's oldest watering hole, are plastered with 1960s and 70s memorabilia - flags, amateur sporting plaques and sepia-tinged photographs of red-faced drinkers, sleeves rolled up and fists clenching oversized glasses of beer. Despite the name of this George Town bar, the faces beaming out from the past are not Chinese or Malay - nor are they British or Indian, as you may have expected in these parts in colonial times. They're mostly Australian, a hangover... https://www.scmp.com/article/720531/better-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/720531/better-new?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:00:00 +0000 This is peak-hour traffic of a kind not found in Hong Kong. There are cars aplenty but they're bumper to bumper with motorcycles, water buffalo, hand-pulled carts, rusty bicycles and other ancient vehicles that still pass as transport in rural China. On the pavement, scrawny chickens dart about anxiously and mangy dogs scrap in mock combat. Amid plumes of sunlit dust, children chase each other through market stalls while the womenfolk huddle together, animated in conversation. Road trips might... https://www.scmp.com/article/707134/lay-land?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/707134/lay-land?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000 The province of Abruzzo is just like Tuscany,' says our heavy-set, gesticulating Italian guide, Nikki. He pauses before delivering the punchline: 'Tuscany - but without the English.' His Pavarotti-esque laugh echoes around the mountainous peaks so heartily that it jolts the Russian sitting next to me out of a jet lag-induced doze. Evidently confused, the Russian instantly takes on the role of appreciative audience, much to Nikki's delight. Soon we're all laughing. What Nikki says is true... https://www.scmp.com/article/667734/roamin-holiday?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/667734/roamin-holiday?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:00:00 +0000 The vessel taking us down the Mekong River looks like an old military patrol boat, with heavy metal gunwales and a sturdy hull built for navigating the mud and reeds of shallow waters. Standing at the helm with the wind whipping through my clothes, I feel like Captain Willard on his mission to hunt down war-maddened Colonel Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. Yet I'm not in Cambodia, but far to the north, on the border of Thailand and Laos. And my only mission is to... https://www.scmp.com/article/652910/current-affair?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/652910/current-affair?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:00:00 +0000