Summer sales in Hong Kong

Being a tax-free zone for all goods except alcohol and tobacco has long made Hong Kong an attractive shopping destination. To make it even more seductive to people seeking serious retail therapy, shops have traditionally banded together to offer two mega-sales periods per year: from New Year to Chinese New Year, and throughout summer. And…

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Discount packages bring Australia closer

According to the Australian Tourist Commission, increasing numbers of Thais are heading to Australia for holidays – in 2000, 74,000 made a trip there, a nearly 20 per cent increase on the year before. The reasons? Thongchai Wibulsaksakul, country manager of the ATC in Thailand, says Australia is proving popular because it’s the closest Western…

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Honeymoons in Thailand

With a weakening baht, newlyweds watching their cash would do well to recover from their wedding – and celebrate their new life together – by choosing a honeymoon destination in Thailand. There are plenty of great choices, so whether you’re a sunny beach lover or are fond of forested mountains, you don’t need to spend…

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The bettering of Bangkok

Think of Bangkok and you’ll probably think of sex tourism: the neon of Nana Plaza, the pingpong shows of Patpong, and the sleaziness of Soi Cowboy. But these are merely three modest strips in a massive city maturing as the most cosmopolitan centre of Southeast Asia, a megalopolis that’s gradually donning more of an intellectual…

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Krabi getaways for any budget

Since its airport opened in mid-1999, Krabi has been accessible to hardworking Bangkokians wanting to get away for a weekend. While the beauty of Krabi is quite indisputable, judge for yourself whether the cost of a trip away is worthwhile with this breakdown of what you’ll need to spend for a getaway in Railay, one…

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Gardens for the soul

It’s quite surreal, driving up this sweeping road in the near black of night. Every ten metres or so torches bearing large naked flames sway in the slight breeze. It seems as if a massive gothic castle should be awaiting us at the summit, with drawbridge down and armoured men standing to attention, waiting to…

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A moment to relax, Thai-style

The small wooden boat bobs around precariously as the three of us clamour aboard. The engine is revved, we each sit back on our little flat bench and we’re off, exploring the narrow khlongs of Samut Songkhram in search of the resident fireflies. It’s a full moon, so the night sky is naturally bright, and…

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A graceful sport: The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta

There really is something eternally graceful about the wind filling the sails of a yacht and carrying it along the ocean’s surface. Forget your mobile phone and the only noise you’ll hear might be the flap of a sail, the call of one crew member to another, the sound of the yacht’s hull slicing through…

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Thai me up, Thai me down

When I first arrived in Bangkok, I hated it. It was as if a black-and-white film of the post-industrial age was screening in front of my eyes and I wasn’t allowed to leave. I was overwhelmed by the traffic, the people, the noise. Slowly, I learned to see the colour. Unexpected beauty was everywhere if…

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Only the murder was missing

It was swish, smart and sumptuous. The Eastern and Oriental Express’ inaugural dinner journey from Bangkok’s Hualampong Station and back – the destination was hardly the point – was an extravagant, ostentatious affair. There was one disappointment to be had in the five hours of snaking our way through the Thai night in style: there…

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