As expected, Thailand's embattled tourism industry is trying to win back tourists by casting its tried and tested lures: cheap airfares and hotel rooms.
AirAsia has launched a deal called "Mai Ben Rai, Thailand," running from now until December 11, for travel between December 5, 2011 and March 31, 2012.
Domestic one-way flights start at 790 baht (not including tax). International flights are also on sale. For example, one-way flights from Bangkok to Hong Kong are 2,590 baht.
Revered by some and reviled by others, here's how they eat the world's stinkiest fruit in Melaka
Debra Pangestu
With its formidable thorn-covered husk, sweet custard-like flesh and distinctive smell -- with descriptions ranging from the milder "rotten, mushy onions" by "Bizarre Foods" host Andrew Zimmern, to the more noxious: "Your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother," by "No Reservations" host Anthony Bourdain -- one thing is for certain:
There is no other fruit on earth quite like the durian.
High-speed rail (HSR) is China's new designer label travel -- more convenient than flying and far superior to buses -- stitching the country together with an inspirational blend of 21st-century engineering and technology.
In recent years, China has laid almost 10,000 kilometers of HSR track, investing billions of yuan in a state of the art train network.
Tokyo is one of the great modern megacities -- a boundless field of energy, vertical and horizontal, scrolling out in every direction. The downside of all its odd angles and bright lights is an excess of concrete and a lack of open space. Or is it?
Amid the network of underground malls, pedestrian arcades and public transit platforms, a visitor could travel for days without seeing evidence of the natural world.
There are, however, any number of parks, gardens and urban oases, some half-hidden behind office towers or between apartment blocks, others huge and sprawling, where you can still take refuge in greenery if you know where to look, even in winter. Fortunately, we do ...
