Travel blog entries about Indonesia selected from different Travellerspoint travel blogs. Inform yourself and be inspired or start your own free travel.
You probably can't fit all of the following adventures into a single day -- though if you did, you'd return home with the greatest one-day slide show ever -- but tackling even three or four of them will give you a very big bite of a very flavorful city.
Hong Kong is due to lose some of its best beach bars under a new government plan to restrict opening hours and replace lounge chairs with fixed metal tables.
This winter, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) plans to revamp the fast-food, snack and restaurant kiosks at Southern District beaches. For the South Bay Beach Club, Lanai Beach Café at St. Stephen's Beach and the Bauhinia Beach Club in Middle Bay, this spells an end to custom seating, decor and late-night beach parties.
Hundreds of thousands of travelers flying to the United Kingdom this week are either changing their plans or bracing for long waits at airports as immigration staff gear up for a strike on November 30.
The planned Wednesday walkout is part of industrial action by unions representing border staff and civil servants angry at government plans to increase their retirement age and pension contributions.
If the strike goes ahead, predictions are for queues of up to 12 hours to clear border controls, while incoming aircraft may be forced to wait on the apron as airports struggle to clear backlogs.
In Japan, the sumo wrestler is a sex symbol -- which is probably no less counterintuitive than the potbelly as an emblem of prosperity in India.
"More money, more food" seems to be the faulty equation.
This old logic, that measures prosperity by the size of a paunch, however, seems to be giving way to modern standards of nutrition. Obesity and tubbiness is increasingly being recognized for what they are: signs of malnourishment.
At least in urban India this is partially evident in the range of baked soya snacks available as an alternative to heaps of deep-fried batter.
When you head to certain places, you often hope to see certain things. Go to an F1 race, you might hope to see your man come in first. Either that or a pile up on the first corner.
Go to London, you might hope to spot George Michael getting arrested. You get the idea.
But there are other places with other things that really hit the right buttons. Tigers and India, pandas and China, mountain gorillas and Central Africa. Many of us travel to these places hoping like little kids to get a glimpse of the world's amazing creatures.
And Singapore has plenty of distractions to keep your young one active and ultimately exhausted.
Ride the rides at Universal Studios Singapore
Universal Studios Singapore is a no-brainer to occupy those long school holiday hours and come December 3, there's a new ride to queue for.
TRANSFORMERS The Ride debuts on December 3. Using realistic high-definition 3-D media, sophisticated visual effects, and an elaborate roaming flight simulator system, the ride transports guests into the world of Transformers as members of the Human-Autobot alliance N.E.S.T.
What would you like to see in the hotel room of the future? Speedy check-in procedures? Even speedier check-out procedures? A minibar that autofills?
The brains at Novotel think it's more about computer games, interactive mirrors and tabletops that direct you to a good restaurant.
Oh, and perfectly white, blank, decor-less walls.
According to Accor Hotels, parent company of Novotel, the "hotel room of the future" is here, it's open for business and you don't have to own a flying DeLorean to pay a visit.
Thailand's tourism industry looks set to lose approximately 16-19 billion baht (US$510-607 million) due to the flood crisis if the situation ends in December, says the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
In a report by state-run news organization MCOT, Thailand's Tourism and Sports Ministry Spokesman Watchara Kannikar said the ongoing floods have cost the country 400,000-750,000 foreign visitors.
Eating in Hong Kong can be overwhelming. Food trends are ever-morphing and the choice of things to eat is staggering, such that at any time, a "Hong Kong meal" can mean many different things.
But just like the most complex building structures in the world, Hong Kong cuisine can also be broken down to its bricks and mortar.
The following pillars of local food culture should be part of any Hong Kong itinerary.
Dim sum
Within each steaming bamboo dim sum basket, Canton's long history of culinary excellence is distilled into a mouthful of dainty dumpling, or a light-as-cloud bun.
The B787 Dreamliner is ready to take on one of the world's fastest-growing aviation and travel markets -- China.
Boeing has announced that the aircraft will embark on a six-month worldwide "Dream Tour" from next month, kicking off with a visit to China from December 4-11.
First fly to mainland China
The aircraft, which is designed to seat up to 290 passengers, will arrive at Beijing Capital Airport on December 4; then fly to Guangzhou (广州) and Haikou (海口) the following week.
I am a frequent visitor to Malaysia's west coast and Malaysian Borneo.
But a six-day drive up the east coast was a new cultural experience not only for me but also for a friend from Kuala Lumpur who learned more about his own country on our short trip than he did in school.
The much-traveled west coast of Peninsula Malaysia is a mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian culture.
But to experience pure-breed Malaysian life a trip out to the peninsula's three east coast states of Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan is a must. They host a few popular resort islands, but in general the three states are a given a wide berth by the tourist trade.
Unfortunately, Bangkok's pawn shops don't peddle kitsch. But there are still bargains to be had
Richard S. Ehrlich
In Bangkok, people are often embarrassed about taking cherished jewelry and other personal treasures to a pawn shop. They also worry whether they can pay back the loan or finance the interest payments so they don't lose their valuable possessions forever.
If their luck runs out, Bangkok's pawn shops put the ill-fated items up for sale.
But anyone seeking to buy something in the shops' somber, cramped chambers must compete with professional dealers and gold shop owners who try to snatch the best pieces first.
I got into a Shanghai taxi the other day -- that is to say that I tried to get into a taxi, but when I opened the door, I was greeted with an unholy waft of poisonous gas emitting from the driver's nose, mouth and possibly other orifices.
He was smoking -- with the windows up, no less -- as he pulled over. Never mind the three or four non-smoking signs inside the cabin. Never mind the laws passed to ensure the health and comfort of his customers, if not himself. No, he needs his drug fix.
I just slammed the door and kept walking.
A couple of minutes later I waved another cab down and, oh, look, the driver's puffing on a cigarette.
