Ian Samson, 28, who was born in Edinburgh, moved to Hong Kong in 2019 and works in investment management I have a pile of 20 bananas in my hotel room here in Hong Kong, a spin bike I’ve had delivered and some rapidly dying flowers that the hotel gave me on the first day as […]
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When will Boris Johnson stop giving Covid variants a sporting chance? | Marina Hyde
It’s been encouraging to hear for yonks now that this idea of quarantining overseas arrivals in hotels will finally get around to being discussed at today’s meeting of the government’s Covid-O committee. The O stands for “Oh my God, I hate Mondays, let’s sack it off till Tuesday instead”. I know none of us wishes […]
Read MoreDisney removes ‘negative depictions of native peoples’ from Jungle Cruise ride
Disney is to overhaul its Jungle Cruise theme park attraction to remove what it describes as “negative depictions of native peoples” and to “reflect and value the diversity of the world around us”. The changes were outlined in a blogpost on its Disney Parks website, which included concept art for the redesigned attraction, a simulated […]
Read MoreSaga reports surge in holiday interest as Covid vaccine rolls out
Saga, the travel and insurance company for the over-50s, has reported a rise in holiday interest as the first wave of customers who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 look to “travel in great numbers and live life to the full”. The company said that despite the pandemic, customer retention levels have been high and an […]
Read MoreCome on in! The exhilarating joy of outdoor ice-bathing
The path to the water is treacherous. The snow has covered the ice making it slippery underfoot. It is 7.45 am and dark, but my friend Vicky and I have head torches and the moon is bright. Our walk – prior to lockdown 2021 – is through the woods and down the path to the […]
Read MoreLastminute.com hasn’t given us a refund for Covid-cancelled flight
We are among the many people still struggling to get a refund for Covid-cancelled flights booked though Lastminute.com. Our son’s flight from America in May was cancelled by Austrian Airlines in April and, after very many emails, we got a reply from Lastminute.com in June, offering a refund of £517. No payment was received. In […]
Read MoreNew quarantine rules expected for travellers to UK
Boris Johnson is expected to sign off sweeping new quarantine rules for travellers in airport hotels on Tuesday as cabinet ministers rebuffed pressure from Tory MPs to set out a timetable for the easing of lockdown. In what Downing Street said was a more cautious approach since England’s third lockdown, a No 10 source said: […]
Read MoreI’ll never forget the fish tacos I had in Mexico – here’s the recipe
In early 2006 I arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, on a circuitous route from New York to Rio de Janeiro by bicycle. To the south lay the 1,000-mile-long Baja California peninsula, protruding between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez. Lugging a heavy bicycle through a desert peninsula has its moments. Searing heat, countless cactus-induced […]
Read More‘An instinct to feed’ – New British Classics by Gary Rhodes
The dust jacket is long gone and the title-embossed spine flaps free. Naturally, many of the pages are sauce-stained: honourable marks of our stove-side adventures together. New British Classics by Gary Rhodes may be more than 20 years old, but the marks of battle are clear. It remains one of my most consulted cookbooks. When […]
Read More30 UK holiday cottages to book now for summer 2021
SOUTH-WEST Deepdean the Cockerel, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire Visitors staying in this converted 17th-century barn may spot some unusual other guests in the grounds, including zebras, meerkats and alpacas. The owner runs a private animal sanctuary, and the income from the holiday lets (there are also two one-bedroom cottages) is invested in the animals. Another […]
Read MoreSummer holidays cancelled? UK faces big decision on border
Slumped on the sofa after another day of home schooling, many families will have longingly eyed adverts for getaways: sun, sandy beaches and glittering pools, a much-needed reward after a year in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic. But ministers are becoming increasingly concerned they may have to ask the British public to sacrifice their […]
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‘Best And Worst’ States Rated After Deadlier Than Expected Year On Nation’s Roads
Heavy traffic in Boston. Boston Globe via Getty Images Traffic overall has dropped across the country during the Covid-19 pandemic, but there has been a substantial rise in the fatality crash rate, thought to be the result of spikes in excessive speeding, impaired and distracted driving, and lower seat belt use. A new report, which […]
Read MoreVaccine passports essential for resumption of international travel
Vaccine passports must become essential travel documents in order to restart international tourism. The recommendation comes from the Global Tourism Crisis Committee, which met in Madrid this week to discuss measures to ensure the safe resumption of international travel. It called for international health and travel bodies to step up the coordination of a standardised […]
Read MoreNew rewilding project teaches tour guides to offer fresh look at travel
Tour guides across the world are being taught about rewilding as part of a new training programme that aims to create economic opportunities within wilder landscapes. The training is run by not-for-profit organisation Rewilding Europe, which is working to return nature to a wilder state across eight regions of Europe by removing human management and […]
Read MoreMy voyage through a world of language in just one word: snow
A few years ago I spent a winter on Upernavik, a rocky island of 1,000 inhabitants off the north-west coast of Greenland. I’d been invited to Baffin Bay as part of a programme for international writers and artists to create new work about climate at one of the most northerly museums in the world. The […]
Read MoreI miss the supermarkets the most: closed borders have me dreaming of ramen aisles | Brigid Denaley
People tell you that they travel for the culture – that they saw this great Picasso exhibition and the cathedral at Chartres was am-az-ing – and that being inside the Vatican was exciting, even after queuing for four hours and craning your neck above the crowds to see the mosaics. They’ll show you bad photos […]
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Majorca holidays may never be the same again – 40% of bars and restaurants now feared to close permanently
A HOLIDAY to Majorca may be changed for good as restaurants and bars fear permanent closure. The Spanish island has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, with the holiday destination reliant on tourism. 5 Majorca’s bars and restaurants may struggle to re-open if tourists don’t return by the summerCredit: Getty Images – […]
Read More10 songs that bring back memories of my travels: Garth Cartwright’s playlist
Song For My Father by Horace Silver I’m a Kiwi who’s lived in London since 1991 and the pandemic made me both yearn for and fear for my family, so far away. To calm my huge angst, especially when my father’s health collapsed in March, I listened to music constantly, obsessively, jazz serving as a […]
Read More10 inspiring hobbies taken up by readers during lockdown
Winning tip: ‘I could be the person I am meant to be’ This is about my autistic daughter’s hobby. She’s nine, and since last March has become an avid birdspotter and photographer. It’s been great to be outside finding nature in the city, and to see her thrive and grow, walking to and exploring local […]
Read MoreSaga requires all cruise passengers to have coronavirus vaccine
Saga has become the first UK tour operator to tell cruise and holiday customers that they must be vaccinated to travel with them this summer. The over-50s travel firm, which has reported a surge in bookings since the vaccination programme was announced, is taking reservations on condition that customers are fully inoculated, with two shots […]
Read MoreNoodle soup ties me to the coming year and my Japanese roots – plus the recipe
Every year my mother would make a bowl of Japanese New Year’s Eve noodles for my American father and me. “Just this one tradition,” she would entreat; she didn’t like American New Year, and longed for Japanese-style festivities. One year, I found one of my noodles tied in a knot, which she assured me was […]
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World’s most celebrated attractions fail to impress hard-to-please tourists on TripAdvisor
THE most iconic visitor sites in the world have been trashed in a series of hilarious TripAdvisor reviews. Most people have spent lockdown dreaming of being able to visit places such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris again. 4 One tourist complained there was ‘sand everywhere’ during his visit to the pyramids in EgyptCredit: Getty […]
Read MoreSustainable tourism key to Cumbria’s new carbon neutral plan
Across Cumbria local communities, businesses and grassroots organisations are being mobilised to map out ways that they hope will help it become the UK’s first carbon-neutral county. The county has targeted 2037 to decarbonise, an ambition initially supported by £2.5m of national lottery funding, which was awarded last August and will be drip-fed over the […]
Read MoreHavana: a virtual tour through food, music, films and books
A 1950s highway, bleached to sepia by the Caribbean sun, leads from Cuba’s Santa María beaches through palm and hibiscus. It passes close to the fishing village of Cojímar, crests a small rise and there is Havana, sweeping frontage wounded but upright against the turbulent waters of the Florida Straits. During Havana’s first centuries, its […]
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Despite Pandemic, IHG Avid Brand Continues Growth With “Just Right” Value Focus
avid hotels has more than 200 hotels in its global pipeline. IHG Hotels & Resorts Launched in 2017, the midscale “avid” brand from InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is one of the company’s newest and continues to expand including the recent groundbreaking of a property in Canada and its second hotel in Mexico. There are 25 […]
Read MoreBleary eyes and chaste kisses at Heathrow as passengers beat air corridor deadline
The glamour of international travel long ago fell victim to baggage searches and belt-removals, retail-saturated terminals, low-cost airlines and long queues at passport control. The arrival of Covid-19, mask-wearing and the fiendish paradox of social distancing on cramped airliners has only added to the generally tedious business of getting from one country to another. Now, […]
Read MoreFrom dolphins to rewilding: 11 environment-aware holidays for 2021
Rewilding centres The idea of rewilding – moving away from current forestry and agricultural techniques and allowing nature to thrive – is gaining ground. One exciting new project is Wild Ken Hill in north Norfolk, where alongside pioneering regenerative farming and traditional conservation practices, a 400-hectare (1,000-acre) area is being returned to the wild, with […]
Read More‘It tastes of somewhere else’ – two meal kit reviews | Jay Rayner
Berenjak, berenjakbazaar.com. Meal kits £25-£45 Pizarro, josenationwide.slerp.com. Tapas £3.50-£9.50; larger dishes £18-£37; desserts £4-£15 A single red onion has been delivered to me. It arrives in a brown paper bag alongside taut-skinned tomatoes, a lemon and some plastic gloves. I am instructed to slice up the onion, then dress it with the juice of half […]
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Fancy a Malta visit — here’s our guide to the tiny capital of Valletta — effectively one giant castle
THERE is no harm in planning a break for when we swap locking down for touching down. That is why we are taking a look at some of our readers’ favourite destinations – and revealing why they deserve to be your next holiday hotspot. 8 Malta’s tiny capital, Valletta, is effectively one giant castle This […]
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Head beyond Havana and discover the stunning town of Trinidad
HOLED up in a bar in the Cuban town of Trinidad, I sip a mojito and listen to a nearby church bell ring nine times. On the final peal, the salsa band waiting patiently in the square below begins to play. 5 The Cuban town of Trinidad is the perfect place to watch your worries […]
Read MoreI got cabin fever in lockdown … so built my own beach hut
It started with a chance comment from York hotelier Simon Cowton during an interview. “I was getting depressed in lockdown,” he said. “I realised I had to have a project.” Simon’s solution was to start a building project. He set about redesigning his hotel garden as a magical support bubble-friendly outdoor restaurant. When I got […]
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