A Trip News

Left hanging … a passenger who was stuck is lowered to the ground.
A power disruption left more than 100 passengers stranded above ground in the world’s biggest observation wheel for about six hours, forcing some to abseil down to safety.
A few lowered themselves in a sling-like device on a rope from one of the observation capsules before the Singapore Flyer eventually began turning again to allow other trapped passengers to get out.
Australian tourist Anna-Louise Allen, who was trapped (more…)

Reknowned for fine dining, bountiful shopping and buzzing nightlife, the financial hub and former British colony of Hong Kong is also a good place to soak up some festive sights, Asian style.
Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors make the most of a short stay in Hong Kong.
FRIDAY
6 pm - Drinks in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel’s Captain’s Bar (http://www.mandarinoriental.com). A favorite with the city’s movers and shakers, the hotel evokes the city’s British (more…)

Mark Rowe joins the Walhalla Trail, part of a mind-boggling wilderness endurance test
The cry went up: “Tiger snake!” Some animals have misleadingly fearsome names, such as the antlion, which isn’t a lion. But “tiger” and “snake” carry baggage, especially in Australia. In the time it took me to work this out, and study the undergrowth for the reptile, I noticed I was now alone. My four walking companions had taken an eighth of a second to put 50 yards between them and danger.
I clambered over (more…)

Tioman Island: it’s amazing how few people are taking advantage it.
Larissa Ham shakes off the stress of the city and falls in love with a little-known gem.
Life is a funny thing. One day you’re in the city, wedging yourself on to the same old train, with barely a patch of blue sky to be seen, let alone a horizon. And the next day, a couple of inflight movies later, you can find your white body sprawled on an island in the middle of the South China Sea.
The destination for this sun-drenched (more…)

Drink up … Wine Week in Hyde Park, Sydney. Photo: Steven Siewert
Fine foods and quality wines lure Winsor Dobbin south, west and north.
Long days, balmy evenings, fine food and affordable wines. It’s time for picnics in vineyards, picking your own fruit and vegetables or dining alfresco overlooking the beach. With next year’s vintage just around the corner, wineries are out and about showing off their wares at events such as Sydney Wine Week and the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, as well (more…)

Are we there yet? Yoga retreats for kids
Did you see that story in the news recently about kids suffering from stress at Christmas? It seems the exhausting business of present-opening can really take its toll. What better time to plan a holiday to help your little darlings destress?
Nadia Davis is thinking along the right lines: she asked me if I knew of a child-friendly yoga retreat to take her three kids to (and no, she wasn’t joking). Sadly, the thought of little ones running amok among (more…)

It’s hard to think of anywhere in the world that, mile for mile, has more luxury spas and resorts than Bali. Nor anywhere where they are more prolific than in Nusa Dua, a gated beach development on the southern tip of the island, built in the 1970s. So any new addition to such a glut would have to be pretty impressive to earn its keep.
The St Regis Bali Resort, which opened in September, is certainly impressive. As part of Starwood Hotels’ most prestigious brand – which also comprises the (more…)

For gourmet food lovers seeking somewhere different to eat, a number of secret dining clubs have popped up around the world, mixing guests and wines.
Travel + Leisure has compiled a list of the world’s 10 best secret dining clubs:
1. Supper Underground, Austin, Texas, United States
Despite demanding day jobs, Hannah Calvert and her business partner opened SUG in 2006 as a way to meet their desire to cook, entertain, and even matchmake. From a 1500-person mailing list, they select (more…)

HO CHI MINH CITY , or Saigon, as most locals still call it, is a relative newcomer. With only three centuries of history, compared with Hanoi ’s thousand years, the city has a youthful spirit and is quick to embrace change. This is not the Saigon familiar to the West in films like “Apocalypse Now”; it’s a forward-looking city, home to glittering skyscrapers, innovative fashion and a pulsing night life. As Vietnam ’s largest city, it has an energy and noise level that (more…)

ISTANBUL - A sizzling June day reluctantly cools toward evening along the waterfront at Eminonu. I stop and write in my notebook.
Smells: salty, moist sea; grilled lamb; car exhaust; sweat; hamburgers; flowering trees; cigarettes; sweet cologne.
Here, where the shimmering Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus connect at the Golden Horn, massive ferries fill to capacity with pushy commuters. They include last-minute passengers not afraid to leap across the widening gap between solid ground and the (more…)