https://www.scmp.com/rss/329871/feed Tamara Hinson is a UK-based freelance writer with a soft spot for Asia, mountain biking and snowboarding. Her work has appeared in the Times, Conde Nast Traveller and Wanderlust, and her favourite places include Singapore, Osaka, in Japan, and Tamil Nadu, in India. Her pet hates are selfies and dog backpacks. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com It’s 7pm and I’m elbow-to-elbow with a fellow diner, perched on one of 10 stools surrounding a street stall. Not that I’m complaining; the chef who’s just prepared my meal has even less space at his disposal. His workplace is a yatai, a tiny food stall on wheels. A dying breed elsewhere in Japan, in Fukuoka, they’re thriving. Like many Japanese cities, Fukuoka was pummelled by American bombs during World War II. After the war, hastily erected street-food stands appeared where restaurants once... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3284333/what-fukuoka-japans-yatai-street-stall-culture-and-how-are-they-revitalising-food-scene?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3284333/what-fukuoka-japans-yatai-street-stall-culture-and-how-are-they-revitalising-food-scene?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Oct 2024 23:15:08 +0000 The hostage incident takes place three days into my stay at The Datai, a sprawling resort on the wild northwestern tip of Malaysian holiday island Langkawi. The perpetrators are a troop of primates that catapult themselves onto my balcony from a nearby branch, landing with a thud that sends me scampering inside. And now the ringleader has positioned himself by the balcony door, making it clear he’s in no rush to leave, pushing his pink fleshy face against the glass and eyeballing me with an... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3280246/how-datai-langkawi-puts-nature-first-just-be-ready-share-your-villa-monkeys-and-bats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3280246/how-datai-langkawi-puts-nature-first-just-be-ready-share-your-villa-monkeys-and-bats?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Sep 2024 23:15:07 +0000 I have never understood why tourists fly to Singapore only to trawl its designer stores and try to reserve tables at restaurants headed by superstar foreign chefs. Surely a visitor should try to get beneath the skin of a place, which is why I am in favour of the recently composed jingles that now play in the city state’s MRT metro stations as trains approach. Inspired by folk songs and nursery rhymes, they are a nod to Singapore’s heritage, for anyone who bothers to listen. I also approve of the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3271966/through-art-food-artefacts-and-mrt-jingle-singaporeans-show-other-sides-city-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3271966/through-art-food-artefacts-and-mrt-jingle-singaporeans-show-other-sides-city-state?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jul 2024 23:45:07 +0000 For many visitors, Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Malaysia’s Sabah state, is simply a base from which to begin sweaty treks through the jungles or up the mountains of Borneo, an island shared with Brunei and Indonesia. In the lobby of my hotel, I weave through gaggles of DEET-scented hikers on my way to the rooftop patio, to soak up views of Malaysia’s highest peak – Mount Kinabalu – from the infinity pool. However, ignore for a moment the draw of distant eco-lodges and orangutans, and you may... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3267803/mural-or-advert-kota-kinabalu-malaysia-its-hard-tell-street-art-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3267803/mural-or-advert-kota-kinabalu-malaysia-its-hard-tell-street-art-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jun 2024 08:30:38 +0000 I am in the tiny open kitchen of a restaurant in Hanoi, watching a chef use tweezers to place a minuscule sprig of herbs atop a wafer-thin square of noodle sheet resting on a slice of Wagyu beef. The dish in question is a modernised version of pho: rice noodles in a fragrant broth, regarded by many as Vietnam’s national dish. It is the creation of Hoang Tung, the Vietnamese head chef and co-founder of T.U.N.G Dining restaurant. Last year, Tung was asked to create a menu for the launch party of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3257922/how-pho-vietnams-national-dish-evolving-and-why-chefs-wont-take-soup-makeover-too-far-original?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3257922/how-pho-vietnams-national-dish-evolving-and-why-chefs-wont-take-soup-makeover-too-far-original?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Apr 2024 05:15:15 +0000 Manila does not look like a city designed for cyclists. It can take hours to get from one side of the Philippine capital, a conurbation known as Metro Manila, to the other, and on its busier roads, smoke-belching jeepneys – gaily painted public buses originally cobbled together from military vehicles abandoned by American soldiers after World War II – weave chaotically between trucks, buses and horse-drawn carts. But in Pasay, on the city’s seafront, rows of bicycle stands can be found outside... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3257414/churches-gardens-dungeons-cycling-tour-intramuros-manila-ride-through-philippine-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3257414/churches-gardens-dungeons-cycling-tour-intramuros-manila-ride-through-philippine-history?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Apr 2024 04:55:13 +0000 I’m looking at a seven-tiered pyramid that has more in common with Mexico’s Chichen Itza temple than it does the structures often associated with Cambodia’s Khmer kingdoms. What’s more, I’ve got the site to myself. There are no selfie-stick-wielding tourists and no children hawking dusty guidebooks. But I can’t help thinking the days of peace and quiet are numbered, partly because Koh Ker, the Khmer temple site I’m exploring, was given Unesco World Heritage status in 2023. Experts believe Koh... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3255176/how-angkor-wat-alternative-koh-ker-its-tiered-temples-and-magnificent-artefacts-gives-window-khmer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3255176/how-angkor-wat-alternative-koh-ker-its-tiered-temples-and-magnificent-artefacts-gives-window-khmer?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Mar 2024 04:45:11 +0000 There are moments during my behind-the-scenes tour of Amazon HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia, when I’m reminded of The Internship, the 2013 comedy film about interns honing their craft at Google’s headquarters; whether it’s the way employees are known as Amazonians or in-house quirks such as the dog parking area – rows of colourful kennels to one side of the open-plan offices designed for those staff members’ pets who prefer a little privacy. But Amazon’s presence – it opened its second global... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3245836/how-amazon-has-helped-make-arlington-virginia-hotspot-us-capital-region-visitors-and-destination-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3245836/how-amazon-has-helped-make-arlington-virginia-hotspot-us-capital-region-visitors-and-destination-its?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Dec 2023 10:15:20 +0000 Kanazawa takes its arts and crafts seriously. Even the city’s manhole covers – adorned with bucolic scenes of riverside temples and ancient castles – are beautiful. Then again the city, the capital of Ishikawa prefecture on Japan’s Honshu Island, has a long tradition to uphold. During the Edo period (1603 to 1867), Kanazawa was ruled by the Maeda clan, second in Japan only to the ruling Tokugawa clan, which feared a power grab. But the Tokugawas need not have worried; the Maedas wanted to secure... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3242925/tea-ceremonies-gold-leaf-work-and-pottery-making-arts-and-crafts-are-alive-kanazawa-japan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3242925/tea-ceremonies-gold-leaf-work-and-pottery-making-arts-and-crafts-are-alive-kanazawa-japan?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:15:20 +0000 Seventy-five million passengers navigate the terminals at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport each year, but most are only passing through Georgia, touching down in the world’s busiest airport – home of Delta Air Lines – before catching a connecting flight. But change is afoot. Increasingly, visitors are exploring the highlights of this American city: leafy neighbourhoods such as Inman Park; a food scene shaped by Atlanta’s diverse population; and architectural treasures into which... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3236521/how-atlanta-offers-much-more-just-worlds-busiest-airport-attracting-growing-number-tourists-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3236521/how-atlanta-offers-much-more-just-worlds-busiest-airport-attracting-growing-number-tourists-its?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Oct 2023 11:15:09 +0000 The tourist information centre in the small town of Shiraoi is not just a great spot to grab some souvenirs, it also offers an insight into how the first settlers of Japan’s Hokkaido island have secured their future. For sale alongside pottery and fabrics featuring the swirling designs beloved by the Ainu are magnets, iPhone cases and stickers featuring manga- or cartoon-style depictions of Ainu warriors and kamuy – the indigenous people’s spirit animals. Although I cannot help but wonder what... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3235313/paint-your-nails-ainu-way-make-embroidery-wear-fish-skin-shoes-stay-themed-hotel-hokkaido-japan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3235313/paint-your-nails-ainu-way-make-embroidery-wear-fish-skin-shoes-stay-themed-hotel-hokkaido-japan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Sep 2023 10:15:15 +0000 From the observatory of Taiwan’s tallest building – the 101-storey Taipei 101 tower, in the heart of the capital – it’s possible to watch hikers make their way along the footpaths that weave up the forested slopes of Xiangshan, or Elephant Mountain. Green spaces are never far away when you’re in Taipei, whether it’s Yangmingshan National Park, home to the world’s first “urban quiet park” – a scheme created to highlight places with minimal noise pollution – or, 13km (8 miles) from the city, the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3227181/hiking-taiwan-how-2-popular-trails-taipei-and-guguan-highlight-variety-options-offer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3227181/hiking-taiwan-how-2-popular-trails-taipei-and-guguan-highlight-variety-options-offer?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jul 2023 04:45:10 +0000 The problem with trapping a tarantula under a glass at Peru’s Tambopata Research Centre is that there’s not really any point. The absence of windows or fly screens above the hip-height walls of the guest accommodation means that almost anything living in the rainforest beyond has easy access. When I show Paul, my guide, the photo of the trapped tarantula, alongside my hastily scrawled note asking a member of staff to remove it from my room, he’s baffled. “But it’s a pink-toed tarantula – they’re... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3226058/eco-tourism-peru-amazon-travellers-get-close-sloths-tarantulas-capybaras-and-macaws-tambopata?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3226058/eco-tourism-peru-amazon-travellers-get-close-sloths-tarantulas-capybaras-and-macaws-tambopata?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jul 2023 11:15:09 +0000 Japanese Harry Potter fans are certainly dedicated. The searing heat on opening day (June 16) at the Warner Bros Studio Tour Tokyo, the Making of Harry Potter hasn’t deterred Tokyo’s muggles from donning some impressive costumes. There are plenty of Harrys, but lesser known characters are well represented, too; several visitors are wearing latex Dobby heads and there’s a particularly stunning Luna Lovegood, complete with trademark winged Spectrespecs glasses. While the concept here is similar to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3225355/harry-potter-studio-tour-tokyo-best-bits-including-ministry-magic-replica-set-quidditch-court-pose?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3225355/harry-potter-studio-tour-tokyo-best-bits-including-ministry-magic-replica-set-quidditch-court-pose?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jun 2023 04:52:07 +0000 Leslie Danker had a soft spot for Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. It’s one of several revelations made by Raffles Singapore’s historian and its longest-serving employee during a chat in the foyer of Singapore’s most famous hotel. Others include the fact that the sprightly 83-year-old starts every day with press-ups and that he finds the Singapore Sling, the hotel’s trademark drink, “too sweet” for his liking. Although he didn’t begin working at Raffles until March 1972, he was already familiar with... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3221790/quirky-stories-behind-raffles-singapore-hotel-told-its-historian-and-longest-serving-employee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3221790/quirky-stories-behind-raffles-singapore-hotel-told-its-historian-and-longest-serving-employee?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 May 2023 04:15:19 +0000 It is a muggy day in Florida’s capital of fun, Orlando – home to the largest of the American state’s many theme parks, as well as water parks operated by Disney World, Universal Orlando and Seaworld – and the city I first experienced as a thrill-ride-loving tween is a distant memory. Thirty years ago, my drink of choice would have been something fizzy, sticky and available in shades of neon that would probably have burned my retinas had it not been for the Mickey Mouse shades I had glued to my... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3214723/orlando-beyond-its-disney-and-universal-studios-theme-parks-food-history-and-culture-city-florida?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3214723/orlando-beyond-its-disney-and-universal-studios-theme-parks-food-history-and-culture-city-florida?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Mar 2023 20:15:17 +0000 I am filling a bag with rubbish plucked from the sand of a tiny Maldivian island. Into the sack goes a tattered plastic slipper emblazoned with the name JW Marriott and Spa, a reminder that the places that bear the brunt of plastic pollution are not necessarily the ones that create it. Milandhoo, in the remote Shaviyani Atoll, has a small population, a handful of mosques and a tiny harbour filled with bobbing fishing boats. I am here with a team of sustainability experts from the nearby Fairmont... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3213057/plastic-waste-maldives-gets-second-life-luxury-holiday-resort-turns-beach-clean-trash-useful?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3213057/plastic-waste-maldives-gets-second-life-luxury-holiday-resort-turns-beach-clean-trash-useful?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Mar 2023 23:15:09 +0000 Twenty-four hours after boarding my flight to Seoul, I’m feasting not on the mountains of kimchi I had been looking forward to, but on a hot dog. It’s not just any hot dog – it’s a thick, meaty sausage encased in batter and panko (a type of breadcrumb), filled with Mozzarella cheese and sprinkled with sugar. Heart attack, here we come. It turns out that corn dogs are one of the most popular street foods in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and are sold at the city’s food stalls, bars and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3201236/seoul-food-guide-how-eat-your-way-around-south-koreas-capital?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3201236/seoul-food-guide-how-eat-your-way-around-south-koreas-capital?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Nov 2022 10:15:10 +0000 It’s been 20 years since I first visited Phi Phi, an island in Thailand’s Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park, clambering off a speedboat under the watchful gaze of dreadlocked backpackers, some of whom looked as though they’d forgotten how to return home. Fresh from watching Leonardo DiCaprio’s star turn in The Beach (2000) and eager for some downtime after an exhausting exploration of Cambodia, my trip was a cliché-filled rite of passage – I drank towers of cheap Chang beer, watched fire poi dancers... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3198417/leonardo-dicaprios-beach-drew-visitors-who-damaged-thai-bay-where-it-was-filmed-pausing-tourism-has?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3198417/leonardo-dicaprios-beach-drew-visitors-who-damaged-thai-bay-where-it-was-filmed-pausing-tourism-has?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Nov 2022 03:15:10 +0000 For an author who fuelled the world’s wanderlust with his books, Jules Verne, who penned Around the World in Eighty Days in 1873 (it is the most translated French novel), didn’t do much travelling. After a day in Amiens, the canal-streaked Picardy town he settled in after relocating from Paris, I’m beginning to understand his reluctance to leave this tiny city, a two-hour drive north of the French capital. This year, Amiens honoured its former resident with a Jules Verne-themed walking trail –... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3192681/sci-fi-author-jules-verne-fell-love-amiens-france-when-he?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3192681/sci-fi-author-jules-verne-fell-love-amiens-france-when-he?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Sep 2022 09:15:08 +0000 From the moment I enter Bandhavgarh National Park, it’s clear the wildlife is never far away. On my first morning, Simranjit, my guide and a dedicated naturalist, spots the scarily large prints of a sloth bear. Moments later, we spy the footprints of a tiger. Bandhavgarh’s big cats are the main reason people visit this sprawling national park in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state, but the diversity of the wildlife often ensures they leave with an appreciation of species they’d never even heard... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3188083/one-best-places-see-wild-tigers-india-stay-lodge-run?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3188083/one-best-places-see-wild-tigers-india-stay-lodge-run?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Aug 2022 04:52:48 +0000 What is Bangkok’s most extravagant buffet? The one in the lobby of the Sukhothai Bangkok hotel is a worthy contender. Its chocolate selection is a tribute to cacao in all its forms. The highlight is a silver trolley loaded with tiny pots filled with chunks of chocolate from all over the world. After a short interrogation about flavours, textures and aromas, pastry chef Antonio Yang will combine any number of varieties to create a bespoke chocolate drink, whether it’s a steaming hot chocolate... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3182080/thailand-land-smiles-and-chocolate-home-grown-cacao-beans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3182080/thailand-land-smiles-and-chocolate-home-grown-cacao-beans?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jun 2022 08:15:15 +0000 An hour into my bicycle ride across Singapore and, as well as many sunshine-yellow sunbirds and even more supersized dragonflies, I’ve encountered two squirrels and a monitor lizard. But very little motor traffic. The smooth ribbon of tarmac I’m on was created for both cyclists and hikers, and is part of a route – known as the Rail Corridor – that currently stretches from Tanjong Pagar, in Singapore’s south, to Kranji, in the north. When restoration work on the last few sections is completed... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3175940/cycling-singapore-has-never-been-easier-or-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3175940/cycling-singapore-has-never-been-easier-or-more?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Apr 2022 00:15:10 +0000 Southern Utah punches above its weight – all of the American state’s national parks (Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion) are here, after all – and a growing number of its visitors are venturing off the beaten track. One of Utah’s biggest draws is Zion National Park. Its proximity to Las Vegas makes it a straightforward day trip, and it slots neatly into park-focused road trips from Sin City – Zion, Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon can be combined. But the parks become... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3036564/canyon-hopping-utahs-great-outdoors-place-stargazers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3036564/canyon-hopping-utahs-great-outdoors-place-stargazers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2019 15:30:04 +0000 I have always loved fairground rides but Loke, which sends me sky­wards, high over leafy Gothenburg, is a first. Not because it’s the fastest or the highest but because, as this pendu­lum-like ride propels thrill-seekers through the air, its powerful deceleration generates electricity, which is fed into Sweden’s national grid. And it’s not the Liseberg theme park’s only nod to sustain­ability. Six of its restaurants are MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certified. Often overshadowed by Stockholm,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3022589/gothenburg-swedens-second-city-has-some-serious?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3022589/gothenburg-swedens-second-city-has-some-serious?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Aug 2019 10:00:07 +0000 At Ho Chi Minh City’s tiny Fix It bar, day-glo tequila-based concoctions are the order of the day, along with a potent whisky-and-rum cocktail called No Pain, No Gain. But I’m here for the Bánh Mi, a gin-based tipple that resembles, at first glance, a mojito. The greenery isn’t mint, though, but cucumber, and a sprinkling of chilli gives the cocktail a fiery kick that complements the gin – even if my lips will still be tingling an hour later. A drink based on the banh mi, Vietnam’s meat-stuffed... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3012277/search-ho-chi-minh-citys-best-banh-mi-how-sandwich?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3012277/search-ho-chi-minh-citys-best-banh-mi-how-sandwich?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 May 2019 03:00:12 +0000 It’s early December, and I’m standing in Salzburg’s snow-dusted Residenzplatz, sipping mulled beer (yes, you read that correctly, and it’s actually rather good) and listening to trumpeters perform Silent Night. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the carol’s first public performance, on Christmas Eve, 1818, at a tiny church in the nearby village of Oberndorf. It’s an anniversary the Austrian city is celebrating with gusto. Joseph Mohr, who wrote the lyrics, was baptised inside Salzburg... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2178699/silent-night-austrian-city-pays-homage-200-year-old?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2178699/silent-night-austrian-city-pays-homage-200-year-old?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Dec 2018 14:00:30 +0000