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Travel pros and cons

Travel pros and cons

Tim Pile assesses the good, bad and ugly sides to holiday destinations. Find out about amazing experiences, top attractions, and great services; overcrowding, rip-offs, and when not to visit; bad practices, crime hot spots and dangers.

Locals and tourists in Phra Nakhon si Ayutthaya, Thailand, celebrate Songkran, the country’s new year festival, as elephants spray water on partygoers on April 13. Photo: Getty Images

Opinion | Are we globalising ourselves out of community?

Globalisation is here to stay, but it doesn’t have to come at the expense of local identities, people's livelihoods and the environment.

27 Jul 2025 - 9:30AM

Banking & finance

Gen Z works to enjoy travel, started investing at a younger age: HSBC

28 Oct 2024 - 8:08PM

Can luxury travel ever be truly sustainable? These hotels are trying harder than most

8 Jul 2024 - 1:18PM

Why Fiji is worth visiting: clear tropical waters, kindness and kava

With its beautiful beaches, food and famously hospitable people, Fiji makes for a great tropical getaway for those willing to make the journey – even if the country does have a few bad points.

10 Jun 2024 - 4:15AM

Fiji’s clear waters and colourful coral reefs are just some of the things that make it a great tropical getaway. Photo: Getty Images

Airlines made US$33 billion from baggage fees in 2023, and could make more in 2024

Last year’s estimate is up almost 15 per cent from 2022, and it’s the first time it’s crossed US$30 billion since before the pandemic.

28 Feb 2024 - 1:22AM

Mumbai: upsides and downsides for visitors to India’s City of Dreams

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.

13 Jan 2024 - 11:15AM

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Secret remote working ‘hush trips’ are on the rise. Their pros and cons

‘Hush trips’ – secretly working remotely – are a hot travel trend. Experts explain why they’re popular, their upsides and downsides, and how to stop your boss finding out.

2 Nov 2023 - 5:00AM

“Hush trips” – secretly going to work remotely – are a hot travel trend, but there are pros and cons to them. And what if your boss finds out? Photo: Shutterstock

Isaan, Thailand: an overlooked cultural gem with some downsides

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.

28 Oct 2023 - 1:15PM

Consumer protection in Hong Kong

Hong Kong consumer watchdog warns travellers against high data roaming charges

It also finds terms and conditions for mishandled baggage across airlines to be inconsistent.

14 Sep 2023 - 4:35PM

Natural disasters that shook the tourism industry to its core

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.

14 Sep 2023 - 9:50AMvideocam

Wildfires rage in Gennadi village, on the island of Rhodes, Greece, on July 25, 2023. The Greek government is now working with the tourism sector to rescue the season after the natural disaster. Photo: AP

How to choose a child-friendly luxury resort this summer holiday

It pays to plan ahead when picking where to take the family: make sure your kids are going to have fun in a safe and stimulating environment, and you get to relax more too

7 Jul 2023 - 11:00AM

It pays to plan ahead when picking where to take the family: make sure your kids are going to have fun in a safe and stimulating environment, and you get to relax more too. Photos: Handout

Asian Swifties, should you see Taylor Swift in SG or Tokyo? Here are the facts

Buying a ticket to see Taylor Swift’s record-breaking tour in Asia isn’t as easy as it seems – so is it better to see her in Singapore or Tokyo? We do the sums and talk you through the knotty application process

6 Jul 2023 - 5:52PM

Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

Far from the madding crowd: Europeans’ post-Covid holiday criteria

Change linked to habits developed in three years of Coronavirus pandemic when going off the beaten track was a priority, travel experts say.

21 Apr 2023 - 5:02PMvideocam

Jogger killed by bear at tourist hotspot in Italy

The man’s body was found near a forest path in the Val di Sole valley, which is popular with hikers and tourists. Sightings of bears have recently increased.

8 Apr 2023 - 11:47PM

A view of the Val di Sole valley in northern Italy. Photo: Shutterstock

Explainer | Songkran, Thailand’s New Year water festival: the good and the bad

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.

5 Apr 2023 - 1:38PM

Thailand’s Songkran marks the Thai New Year, and a family ritual of pouring water over others has evolved into mass water fights on the streets of cities such as Bangkok. Photo: Shutterstock

‘Most dangerous wonder of the world’ and more things tourists don’t get told

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.

5 Jul 2023 - 11:30AM

White-sand beach, golf, fabulous food – the best of Hua Hin in Thailand

Thai seaside city Hua Hin is popular with visitors from Bangkok and overseas for its 5km beach and great street food. On the downside, the seawater isn’t the clearest, and traffic and stray dogs can be a nuisance.

29 Oct 2022 - 1:15PM

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Wow, what a view! China’s ‘digital nomads’ seek paradise while on the clock

China’s remote-working trend is in its early stages, but it’s catching on among these pioneers who dare to ditch the office – and even local governments are looking to cash in on new opportunities.

11 Jul 2022 - 6:00AMvideocam

The trend of being able to work remotely is gathering steam among China’s so-called digital nomads. Illustration: Brian Wang

Australia woos Hong Kong tourists to help restore battered tourism industry

Hong Kong was a top 10 international market before Covid-19 for Tourism Australia, which expects numbers to jump if quarantine requirements are relaxed

10 Jul 2022 - 10:00AMvideocam

I travelled for 41 hours instead of 17 to save US$1,500. Was it worth it?

A seasoned travel writer used Kiwi.com to find the cheapest flights for a budget trip from Asia to Europe. This is how his journey went.

17 Jun 2022 - 6:15PM

Destinations known | Is Sri Lanka a place to visit amid protests and power cuts? You decide

The tourism-dependent island is reeling from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic that hammered international travel and surging fuel costs amid the conflict in Ukraine. If you go, tip generously.

9 Jun 2022 - 10:09AM

The GotaGoGama protest site near Galle Face in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where protesters demanding the resignation of President Gotobaya Rajapaksa amid an economic crisis are camped out. Photo: Bloomberg

Don’t eat street food or at places with great views: travel expert’s tips

Jim Kitchen, who has visited all 193 UN-recognised countries and has been to space, offers his top travel tips and hacks, from restaurants to steer clear of to what to pack.

11 May 2022 - 5:15PM

Jim Kitchen offers his top travel tips and hacks, from how to avoid being kidnapped to what restaurants to avoid. Photo: Maris Ava Cruz

Hong Kong International Airport

Opinion | Behind the Great Wall of Hong Kong, following orders is all that matters

Being denied access to an airport lounge may not be that bad in the grand scheme of things today, but it sums up Hong Kong’s fanatical adherence to rules.

22 Feb 2022 - 12:26PM

From Times Square to Las Ramblas, tourist attractions the locals don’t see

Most New Yorkers wouldn’t be seen dead in Times Square, and ditto for Barcelona folk on Las Ramblas. Crowded and expensive, there are some tourist haunts natives avoid like the plague.

17 Oct 2021 - 6:15PM

What you’re missing out on in the world’s least visited countries

Are we holidaying in all the wrong places? Many of the world’s least visited countries are not so uninviting after all.

7 Sep 2021 - 11:40AM

Dili in East Timor has some of the most biodiverse waters in the world, but the country saw only saw 81,000 international visitors in the last pre-pandemic year of 2019. Photo: Getty Images

Responsible travel

Want to be a more responsible traveller? Follow these 9 tips

Which carbon claims can you trust? Is cruising really that bad? How about Airbnb? A new book helps travellers negotiate the world’s ethical and climate-related challenges.

6 Jul 2021 - 4:44PM

Elephant trek near Luang Prabang Laos PDR. (Photo by: Andrew Woodley/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

Suicidal teen learns world isn’t a ‘big bad place’ through travel

The teenager left Hong Kong with no idea she would travel the world. A year later she hitchhiked alone from Iran to France; then came Afghanistan, cycling solo through Central Asia, and onwards. ‘I found the world is full of kind people,’ says Jean, now 23.

12 Apr 2021 - 11:51AM

The bikini-clad women riding the wave of China’s surfing adventure

Surfing has become cool in China, particularly among young women, and Chinese tourists are flocking to the popular holiday island of Hainan to learn how to ride the waves.

18 Mar 2021 - 12:59PM

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