By Maryann Haggerty Special to The Washington Post We did laundry in Honolulu, Hong Kong and Madrid. Oh, and in a bathtub in Bali. This summer, my husband and I, both well past backpacker age, travelled around the world in 29 days. That’s an average of less than four days in each of the eight [...]

DENPASAR ~ Bali-based adventurers who like to get behind the wheel of a car and discover natural wonders and culinary pleasures have a wealth of treasures to uncover in Western Australia’s geographically spectacular southwest wine and gourmet districts. Only three hours from Perth – around the same as a drive from south Bali to Lovina [...]

By Susan Spano Los Angeles Times APT, France ~ Some people say it served Peter Mayle right when a fan tracked him down in Provence and walked into his sitting room uninvited. The English writer’s books – A Year in Provence (1991), Toujours Provence (1992), Encore Provence (2000) and Provence A-Z (2006) – turned the [...]

SANTIAGO ~ A protest by Easter Island locals against excessive hordes of tourists and residence-seekers eased this week when officials negotiated the reopening of the Pacific Island’s only airport after two days of disturbances. “The airport is fully operational,” a senior interior ministry official, Patricio Rosende, told reporters in the Chilean capital Santiago on Monday. [...]

VATICAN CITY ~ The Vatican Museums, whose treasures include Michelangelo’s prized frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, will stay open late on Fridays in September and October, arts chiefs said. The collections will be on view from 7 to 11pm by reservation only at the Vatican website, http://mv.vatican.va. Since the circuit through the vast collections takes [...]

BEIJING ~ A total of 1.2 million tourists visited Tibet last month – a record for July – state media said, as travellers returned to the Himalayan region 17 months after deadly unrest there. The domestic and foreign tourists generated revenue of 1.1 billion yuan (US$160 million) in the month, nearly double the amount for [...]

By Susan Spano Los Angeles Times COPENHAGEN, Denmark ~ It seems as though everybody bikes in Copenhagen: moms pushing kids in three-wheeled bike carts, chain smokers, mail deliverers, homeless people and beautiful women in low-cut frocks, as well as Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard, who ran for office on a pro-cycling platform. The Danish capital has 1.15 [...]

By William J. Furney The Bali Times LEGIAN, Bali ~ Retracing the conquering footsteps of 12th Century emperor Kublai Khan, a travel firm in Singapore plans to launch next month what it bills as “the most luxurious trip in the world,” a cosseted expedition through Mongolia and China with private jets and butlers on hand. [...]

By Susan Carpenter Los Angeles Times ISLE OF MAN ~ If I had been able to sleep on the 10-hour overnight flight, it might have been a good plan. But I didn’t, which left me riding a motorcycle on the wrong side of the road in the rain while jet-lagged with no idea where I [...]

By Susan Spano Los Angeles Times NEW YORK ~ You gotta love New York. As soon as the financial bubble burst and the suits started packing their lunches, a host of restaurants have fought back by offering affordable prix-fixe menus and perks to keep their tables full during tough times. On top of Restaurant Week [...]

SYDNEY ~ Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has spoken out against plans to stop people climbing tourist hotspot Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, as debate rages about the ban. Rudd said it would be “very sad” if visitors couldn’t climb the giant red rock, one of Australia’s most recognisable landmarks along with Sydney’s Opera [...]

DADSWELLS BRIDGE ~ Long dismissed as tourist kitsch, Australia’s Big Things – giant models of everything from koalas to pineapples – are now being heritage-listed and recognised as works of folk art. The gaudy structures, commissioned since the 1960s by rural towns keen to put themselves on the map, have gathered such a following they [...]