Tag: Asia Travel

View All Tags

/ / / / / / / / / /

The Most Visited City in the World is NOT New York

June 11, 2013 at 3:08 PM | by | Comments (0)

If you prefer to travel the 'beaten path' and visit cities that see more than their fair share of tourists, you may want to rethink your itinerary since there has been a shift in where the planet's travelers are heading. It's actually Bangkok, and not New York, that reigns as tourist capital of the world.

The figures are based on a recent survey put forth by Mastercard. The Global Destinations Cities Index lists the Thai capital as tops for foreigners coming to see the sights, eclipsing London, Paris and New York.

more ›

/ / / / /

Foreign Grocery Friday: Three Exotic Potato Chips of Thailand

Where: Thailand
May 31, 2013 at 11:48 AM | by | Comment (1)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

We can now add to our (growing) list of exotic potato chips from around the world. The latest additions come from Thailand, and this time it wasn't just one flavor that caught our eye, but we found three quintessential Southeast Asian flavors for snacking: Lobster Hot Plate, Crab Curry, and Sweet Basil.

more ›

/ / / / / /

When in Southeast Asia, Keep Some Coins Handy for the Commode

May 24, 2013 at 3:52 PM | by | Comments (0)

A pocket-full of coins isn't something we would want to have when traveling the world, but it might just get you out of some awkward situations in Southeast Asia. On a recent trip through the region we noticed plenty of public restrooms in popular areas like open-air food markets, hawker centers and public parks. This is great for when 'nature calls' and you're nowhere near your hotel or a major mall. One caveat is that these 'public' facilities are pay-per-use, at a cost of a few small denomination coins.

Most of the time we noticed that the cost was on the honor-system and sometimes, even if there was an attendant, we weren't refused entry until we paid. Before you think it's outrageous to pay to pee, let us say that the facilities were clean and fully stocked so there were never moments of asking others to 'spare a square.'

more ›

/ / / / / /

Foreign Grocery Friday: The Snack Breads of Thailand

Where: Thailand
April 19, 2013 at 2:50 PM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

We've said it before and we'll say it again, Asia has some of the intriguing snack foods—ones that make you tilt your head and say "huh?" From fish-flavored anything to seaweed sprinkled over anything else, the quick bites of this continent take the cake for most "out there."

more ›

/ / / / /

New Airline Alert: Cambodia Airlines

Where: Cambodia
April 10, 2013 at 10:40 AM | by | Comment (1)

Someone with a lot of money is getting into the airline business, as it looks like there’s going to be another carrier joining the marketplace over in Asia. The details are just coming in now, but if things go according to plan the first flights might hit the skies before the year is over.

Neak Oknha Kith Meng isn’t quite Sir Richard Branson yet, but the guy is loaded and ready to start an airline. He is teaming up Philippine Airlines for the new venture, and the new carrier will be called Cambodia Airlines. Just be sure not to confuse the new carrier with a current carrier, as Cambodia Angkor Air is already flying around the region.

more ›

/ / / / /

Ladies and Gentlemen, Meet This Year's 'Miss Tourism International'

January 2, 2013 at 10:00 AM | by | Comments (0)

Media outlets and blogs from the Philippines are reporting that Miss Philippines Rizzini Alexis Gomez was also crowned the 2012/2013 Miss Tourism International in a pageant held over New Year's Eve in Malaysia. According to reports Ms. Gomez credited her win to preparations she conducted over the course of months.

The contest, which we promise is real and not just something we made up so we could run pictures we poached from the winner's Facebook page, has been running every year since 1994 with the exception of a few here and there. It even has a webpage, which admittedly is hilariously bad and doesn't seem to have this year's results. But it's a webpage on the Internet, so you can be sure that it's real.

more ›

/ / / /

Foreign Grocery Friday: The Bird's Nest Soda of Asia

November 16, 2012 at 12:01 PM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

This series really is neverending and we've come on some really bizarre foods and snacks as well as stumbling upon some interesting twists to food we see everyday in the good ole US of A. Today we feature a canned beverage we found in Singapore, but can be bought in a handful of places in Asia such as Hong Kong and Mainland China. We present: bird's nest flavored drink

more ›

/ / / / /

New Airline Alert: Thailand's U-Airlines

Where: Thailand
November 8, 2012 at 10:28 AM | by | Comments (0)

Just like a ninja and what seems like overnight, a new airline popped up in Thailand. We now introduce your to U Airlines, flying out of Bangkok both domestically and internationally. They're specialty seems to be pumpkin colored planes and offering up cheap fares while still preserving a premium service model.

A little back-story: in April of this year, a very wealthy Thai business man, with beginnings in cable TV, branched out to fill a void in the aviation market by slashing prices and not cutting any type of service. You'll find two cabins of service aboard the bright planes, all at what the airline calls 'reasonable' fares. Honestly, it sounds a little scary because that word is subjective.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

OMG. In-Flight Bubble Tea.

Where: Malaysia
July 11, 2012 at 9:51 AM | by | Comments (0)

Remember when we recommended what to purchase on your next AirAsia flight? Well, the super budget, yet uber cheeky, budget carrier has added another item to add to the list. Bubble Tea!

If you know the magic of bubble tea, you understand our excitement. If you haven't tasted it's refreshing goodness with little surprises, let us tell you, you are missing out. You may have seen people toting clear plastic cups of tea with black 'pearls' on the bottom, usually punctuated with a brightly colored fat straw. It's flavored tea, mostly chilled, usually served over large black tapioca pearls. The sweet, balanced and exotic flavor of the tea is kind of a big deal in Asia and international cafes.

more ›

/ / / / / /

Foreign Grocery Friday: Exotic Potato Chips up the Wazoo

May 11, 2012 at 3:44 PM | by | Comment (1)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

If there's one thing we've learned during international travels far and wide, it's that potato chips are the universal snack of choice. As is to be expected, most of the creative flavors have roots in English cuisine, as the empire today is less "for queen and country" and more "for baked or ripples."

Well SmarterTravel has done their homework on this very important topic of chip domination, discovering what they name the 15 Craziest Potato Chip Flavors Around the World. Though we could easily supplant these flavors just off the top of our head (we ate Unagi Kabayaki, Salmon Sushi and Mong Kok BBQ sausage-flavor chips just last week), let's take a look:

more ›

/ / / / / / /

New Airline Alert: Smile for Thai Smile

Where: Thailand
March 15, 2012 at 10:05 AM | by | Comments (0)

Alright, Asia is now the unofficial mecca for new airlines. Not only is the region responsible for the majority of new tails showing up in airports around the world, but the continent is home to a significant number of budget carriers. It's all about the new, new, new; new carriers mean new reasons to hop on an airplane with the "new plane smell," heading off to new destinations.

Starting in July, Thailand will be the battleground for LCCs with the incarnation of THAI Smile. The cheerily named airline is a subsidiary of the national premium carrier, Thai Airways and both plan to mix up the aviation industry both domestically and, eventually, international short-haul. We talked about it last year, but now we have lots more info on the baby airline.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

Qantas' RedQ Business Class Airline Just Can't Take Off

Where: Australia
March 12, 2012 at 10:49 AM | by | Comment (1)

We have seen a number of airlines come and go—lately it's more going than coming—but some airlines don't even have the opportunity to take off. Last week, negotiations with potential partners stalled, forcing Qantas to scrap the idea of creating an ultra-premium airline based in Asia.

When we first talked about the airline, a concept named RedQ, the idea was to cater to the quickly growing Asian corporate market by being one the first to have all-business class airplanes hopping around major cities in the region. In its infancy, the new airline was to compete with flights from Singapore, with a proposed hub based in Kuala Lumpur. And then Malaysia Airlines agreed to join the Oneworld alliance.

more ›

Use of this Site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (effective 3/21/12) and Privacy Policy (effective 3/21/12). © Condé Nast. Your California Privacy Rights. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.
Ad Choices