Source: independent.co.uk The Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) has launched a campaign to win over tourists who, in the wake of the March 11 disasters, are in two minds about whether to have a holiday in the Land of the Rising Sun. The organisation has put together a list of 10 good reasons why this...

Source: Reuters For decades, the 16th century bathhouse built for the Ottoman Empire’s most infamous woman, Roxelana, languished unnoticed between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, relegated to life as a carpet showroom. Ottoman bathhouses, structures once so important they were designed by the finest architects of the realm, fell out of favour as...

by Frederic Heng Peng Hock TransAsia Airways, Taiwan’s first privately-owned civil airline, has become the third Taiwanese airline to fly between Taipei and Singapore when it launched daily flights from Taipei to Singapore on June 30. Celebrating its 60th Anniversary, TransAsia Airways operated its inaugural flight from Singapore to Taipei on the next day, July...

by Frederic Heng Peng Hock SWISS New Business Class Seat So you have just received your corporate travel card, and instructed by your boss to conduct meetings with clients in Europe. Your first big decision then would be which airline to fly with. A simple decision?  It would have been, 10 years ago. Long gone...

Here is how you can spend 48 hours in Philadelphia: Friday 6 pm ‒ For a pre-dinner beer or two, check out the Nodding Head Brewery and Restaurant at 1516 Sansom Street in Centre City. It’s one of a number of independent local breweries that is helping to restore Philadelphia’s reputation as a centre for...

Source: Reuters If you like the idea of a luxurious holiday while salving your conscience, you might be enticed by eco-chic getaways, hotels twinned with community projects or those that support shelters for children and animals. Boutique hotels expert Mr & Mrs Smith provides a list of its top 10 hotels with a heart: 1....

Bangkok…a name that conjures up images of the exotic East, of shimmering golden temples, of bustling street markets, of tuk-tuks zooming through the streets, and of sights, smells and sounds. It is a name that was immortalised in the 1980s by the song One Night in Bangkok. But Bangkok deserves much more than one night,...

Source: Reuters For more than 60 years, this French Riviera city has hosted the Cannes film festival and the movie market that takes place with it. The city, which has a history dating to the second century B.C., plays host to a variety of conventions throughout the year and is a major tourist stop on...

Source: Reuters On the eve of the American Civil War, Charleston boasted of being one of the wealthiest and most glamorous cities in the world. By the end of the bloody conflict, even Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman, who torched everything in his path, took pity on the city, according to historian Richard Rosen....

Click Here to View Photo Gallery Located in Vietnam’s remote northwest mountains, Sapa’s claim to fame in the mid-1990s was its astonishingly beautiful and rugged scenery, coupled with an eclectic mix of cultural diversity from various ethnic minority tribes. An incredibly picturesque town lying on the Hoàng Liên Sơn mountain range near the Chinese border,...

Marriott Hotels & Resorts was recognised by Conde Nast Traveler for three of the brand’s famed golf resorts in the magazine’s “Top 125 Golf Resorts in the US” poll. Thousands of Conde Nast Traveler readers voted for the properties that best marry outstanding golf with fantastic lodging, dining and service. The results appeared in the April issue. The three Marriott...

Click Here to View Photo Gallery Until Singapore Airlines started flying to Sao Paulo in late March this year, Brazil, as a destination, has been rather inaccessible to many Singaporeans. The flying time takes more than 20 hours, with a stopover at one of the European cities. For most travellers, the preferred holiday destination in...