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Who are the world's worst tourists?
Welcome to the house of fun: China’s ultimate entertainment pit stop
50 natural wonders: The ultimate list of scenic splendor
CNNGo-DiningCity Shanghai Restaurant Week Contest
What to tip, how much and where -- Tipping guide for travelers

Posted: 01 Mar 2012 08:41 PM PST

by James Durston

Just when you thought Americans had already clanged the bell on the "most hated nationality" high striker, they start turning on themselves.

A new poll from LivingSocial, reported by USA Today, has found that now even Americans hate Americans, when they're traveling with them, anyway.

All that buddy-buddy, back-slappin' "have a nice day" conviviality counts for nothing, it seems, when you're on the road.

"We have seen the enemy and he is us," reported Jayne Clark.

Also on CNNGo: World's best tourists

Welcome to the house of fun: China’s ultimate entertainment pit stop

Posted: 01 Mar 2012 07:57 PM PST

by Gillian Bolsover

Try to find an entertainment that's not on the menu at Day Day Holiday (天天周末). With karaoke, eight-bit video games, ping-pong tables and rooftop barbecues, the Shanghai game center chain buzzes like Rio de Janeiro during Mardi Gras.

Its Xuhui outlet -- a two-story villa occupying roughly 250 square meters -- sports more than 20 different activities. Instead of trying to attract individuals, Day Day Holiday invites groups of visitors to rent homelike spaces designed solely for play.

Since its first venue opened up on Julu Lu in 2008, Day Day Holiday has grown fast.

The brand now runs three outlet in Shanghai -- in Luwan, Xuhui and Huangpu District. Each venue can house up to 100 people and operates for up to 18 hours a day.

More on CNNGo: Marvelous mahjong: 4 places to play in Shanghai

50 natural wonders: The ultimate list of scenic splendor

Posted: 01 Mar 2012 07:10 PM PST

by Bija Knowles

Water, fire and ice have combined to make some of the most spectacular scenery in the world -- from giant crystal caves to mud volcanoes and rock formations that look like works of art.

If your office and daily commute aren't a fitting reminder of the extraordinary natural diversity of planet earth, get some inspiration from these incredible scenes.

1. Pulpit Rock, Preikestolen, Norway

Pulpit Rock, Preikestolen If there are any preachers here, they'll be telling you to get back.
With a 604-meter drop from a flat plateau down to Lysefjord with no safety railings, this is not a place for vertigo sufferers.

Keep well back from the edge and you can still enjoy the fantastic scenery over Kjerag peak, which itself drops 984 meters.

Preikestolen is south of Jørpeland. From the designated car park it's a 90-minute hike to the viewpoint. www.visitnorway.com. Guided tours can be arranged through the Stavanger tourist board: info@RegionStavanger.com; +47 51 85 92 00

CNNGo-DiningCity Shanghai Restaurant Week Contest

Posted: 01 Mar 2012 04:09 PM PST

To kick-off DiningCity Shanghai Restaurant Week, we're giving one reader meal vouchers worth RMB 1,000 from Ü Chinese Restaurant at the Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai Hong Quan. Complete the contest form below and check back on March 9 to see if you're a winner.

What to tip, how much and where -- Tipping guide for travelers

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 02:00 PM PST

by Jane Leung

Tip too little and you're blacklisted, tip too much and you're a chump.

Different cultures call for different gratuity customs, so here's a comprehensive guide to the etiquette in seven different big cities. But when in doubt, remember the golden rule -- always leave 10 percent and you won't get chased down the street. Probably.

Got your tipping tips for lesser known destinations? Let us hear them in the comments

Also on CNNGo: Best places to travel to in 2012

CNNGo.com

World’s 10 best cities for foodies
24 venues open 24 hours in Seoul
Tokyo Sky Tree construction ends: World’s tallest tower prepares to open
Beautiful islands, horrible airports: Upgrades on the way for Bali, Phuket
No more flying dolphins on Hong Kong Airlines
10 best U.S. city travel apps
The best youth hostels in Seoul
Vang Vieng: Backpacker heaven or hedonistic hell?

World’s 10 best cities for foodies

Posted: 01 Mar 2012 09:17 AM PST

by Simon Farrell-Green

Increasingly, there is a particular type of person that travels to eat.

For us, monuments and museums have had their day; shopping is passé, and the hotel is all but irrelevant. The eating is everything.

After all, you have to do it three times a day anyway, so you might as well make it the center of the trip.

It takes effort. Research is done before you leave, options pored over, reviews consulted. And it can be disappointing: all cities have dud restaurants, all cities have tourist drags, most restaurants have a bad night every now and then.

But the good cities have restaurants that make the duds fade from memory.

24 venues open 24 hours in Seoul

Posted: 01 Mar 2012 08:01 AM PST

by Cin Woo Lee , Heidi Chung, Violet Kim

In Seoul, no one goes home by midnight.

In fact, many of the city's night owls emerge around then, to enjoy the nocturnal entertainments that kep this perpetually lit city humming till dawn. The unintended side effect of this city-wide insomnia is that travelers from another time zone don't have to feel alone when they wake up at 2 a.m. and crave breakfast. They can join the thousands of other Seoulites on the street, who, despite their lack of jet lag, apparently feel the same way. Because nighttime fun doesn't have to be all about partying -- although there are parties aplenty (most clubs and bars stay open until 6 a.m.). You can shop for clothes at any one of the malls in the Dongdaemun area, such as Migliore, which closes at 5:30 a.m. Nothing like a bit of shopping after a pint (or three), when your judgment is just impaired enough to make everything you try on look stunning. So for anyone prowling around the city at random hours, here are 24 places in Seoul that never close. The Medi Spa

Riverside Hotel Spa Getting a foot massage while browsing CNNGo. Better than dreaming.

The Medi Spa, run by the Riverside Hotel in Jamwon-dong, is a mecca for stressed and worn-out males who find regular spas a little too feminine -- both in decor and clientele.

Originally an all-male spa, Medi Spa occasionally accepts female clients as well. The menu is too good to limit to one gender, whether you go for the two-hour VIP massage (₩140,000), any one of three different kinds of 80-minute massages (aroma, sports, and healing, all ₩100,000), or the 40-minute or 50-minute partial massages (₩60,000).

Packages are another option if time and money permit. You can get a full body massage (either aroma, sports, healing, or VIP), a full body scrub, a glass of juice and a cup of tea for ₩125,000 (₩170,000 for VIP massage), admission fee included.

Tokyo Sky Tree construction ends: World’s tallest tower prepares to open

Posted: 01 Mar 2012 12:24 AM PST

by CNNGo staff

Hard to miss -- Tokyo Sky Tree opens for visitors in May 2012 after a mere two-month delay.Two months late and 634 meters high, Tokyo's Sky Tree, officially the world's tallest tower, was completed yesterday, February 29, 2012.

Construction was delayed after the March 2011 earthquake affected supplies to the site, according to a spokesperson talking to theage.com.au.

The new building, construction of which began in July 2008, supersedes China's Canton Tower (600 meters high) as the world's tallest tower, but is still nearly 200 meters shy of Dubai's 830-meter Burj Khalifa, the tallest manmade structure ever built.

The Tokyo Sky Tree, which cost approximately ¥65 billion (US$806 million), will provide services for digital radio and TV transmission as well as an aquarium, a theater, academic institutes and regional heating and cooling facilities.

It will also give visitors a chance to gaze across the city.

Beautiful islands, horrible airports: Upgrades on the way for Bali, Phuket

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 08:37 PM PST

by CNNGo staff

Forget images of luxurious pool villas and exotic eats. When it comes to air travel, passing through Phuket or Bali's aging international airports is no afternoon at the beach.

Don't believe us? Check out the traveler reviews of Phuket International Airport and Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport on Skytrax's Airlinequality.com.

"A dreadful airport!" commented one traveler of Phuket's aiport last month."The check-in area swamped with people and chaotic. It's a very dirty, small and extremely overused airport."

As for Bali, back in 2010 Nurah Rai was included on a list of the world's top 12 ugliest airports by Travel + Leisure.

More on CNNGo: 10 of the world's most hated airports

No more flying dolphins on Hong Kong Airlines

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 08:26 PM PST

by Zoe Li, Hong Kong Editor

Hong Kong Airlines has agreed to stop transporting live dolphins after more than 6,500 people signed an online petition demanding a ban.

"Since it is believed that transportation of this nature can result in endangering wildlife elsewhere, Hong Kong Airlines will immediately ban shipments of this kind," the carrier announced in a statement.

Also on CNNGo: Hong Kong Airlines to increase fleet, expand regional presence

Hong Kong Airlines came under pressure from the public after an internal memo was leaked, stating the carrier had transported five live dolphins from Japan to Vietnam on January 16, earning the company HK$850,000 (US$110,000) in cargo revenue.

The memo also included a photograph of the dolphins lying in shallow, narrow containers -- which China Daily dubbed "flying coffins" -- inside the Boeing 733F cargo aircraft.

10 best U.S. city travel apps

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 02:00 PM PST

by Tom Tiberio

There's a world of difference between visiting someplace where you have friends, versus a town where you don't know anyone.

Travel apps, at their best, are like companions who can serve as unofficial tour guides: they can tell you the city's ins and outs, its points of interest and its pitfalls.

With a growing list of more than 20,000 apps dedicated to travel, there are plenty to choose from.

Here, we've focused on some of the coolest, most useful U.S. city-themed ones -- all designed to make your life easier whether you're a first-time visitor or a hometown product.

1) Nashville Live Music Guide

Music City is known for being a place where you can discover the Next Big Thing in the music world on any given night, at any number of venues. This helps you find them.

The best youth hostels in Seoul

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 02:00 PM PST

by Hwajin Shin

As the last year of the Visit Korea Campaign, 2012 is looking to be a bright year for tourism in Korea: More than 10 million tourists are expected to visit Korea this year, approximately double the amount of 12 years ago. And with the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit in March, Seoul's accommodations industry is in overdrive.

Hotels are working frantically to keep up, as thousands of new rooms are being built for this influx of guests, reported the Chosun Ilbo.

But for the individual backpacker's point of view, it doesn't matter how many thousands of rooms there are. They just need one.

And while hosteling hasn't always enjoyed the best reputation (think dorms, grimy bathrooms and unsavory roommates), the following new breed of Seoul hostels are definitely not run-of-the-mill. While they are infinitely cheaper than hotels, travelers won't have to worry about checking the bed linen for tobacco stains.

For savvy backpackers and families with children seeking unique cultural exchange experiences, here are the three best youth hostels in Seoul.

Vang Vieng: Backpacker heaven or hedonistic hell?

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 09:35 AM PST

by Matthew Bennett

View over the Nam Song River in Vang Vieng, Laos. Southeast Asia's newest party spot?Magic mushroom shake? Opium pizza? Bucket of whiskey anyone?

Welcome to Vang Vieng, former traditional farming village, now hot point of drugs, booze, techno and partying and Laos' hottest backpacker haunt.

The rise -- perhaps that should be fall -- of this town sitting on the Nam Song River and surrounded by beautiful karst scenery, has been dramatic, and its notoriety has spread far.

You are more likely to see topless tourists vomiting than you are local culture and it has been written: "If teenagers ruled the world, it might resemble Vang Vieng."

It has hit the headlines most dramatically in recent months for the deaths of at least two Australian tourists while tubing on its river. Lee Hudswell and Daniel Eimutis both lost their lives while taking part in the town's most popular activity.

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