Smart Travel Asia
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An exclusive collection of the best Asian hotels, resorts and spas

Best in Travel Poll 2024 - Smart Travel Asia Magazine

 

Which new Bali green resorts stand out from the crowd?

Bali resorts review - new green sustainable escapes: Bambu Indah (left) and no-walls Buahan (right)

Bambu Indah, near Ubud (left), is a copper-bamboo fantasy while Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape (right) offers a no-walls "naked experience". How do these compare with other luxe Bali stays/ photos: Vijay Verghese


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FAMILY FUN

A Bali fun guide for all reasons

Think rafting, golf, horses, black sand and great bites.

Problem with paid awards — editor's rant Chiang Rai fun guide - dawn over Mae Salong, a former opium drug lord's stronghold

Sunrise over Doi Mae Salong, the wild frontier town a short drive from Chiang Rai that once achieved notoriety as an opium drug lord's stronghold. Now, instead of poppy fields, the hills are carpeted with coffee plantations and tea estates worked by Akha hill tribe women.

EDITOR'S RANT

Why do folk buy awards and not earn them?

Author - Vijay VergheseEvery year we ask readers to sift through class and crass to tell us their favourite travel brands. But with the torrent of cheap clickbait offers how do you tell the difference between a one night stand and a relationship? Why hoteliers run when they hear, "Award".

Taipei fun guide to night markets and more, Ning Xia food stalls and crowds

Taipei's Ning Xia Night Market starts hopping at dusk and by 7pm there may be standing room only as office workers and tourists throng the tiny 'lane' in between the food stalls that take over the street/ photos: Vijay Verghese


Jim Thompson silk, Thai icon

MGM COTAI Centara Hotels & Resorts JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok Regent Taipei MGM Macau Raffles Sentosa Hotel Indigo Bangkok