Thursday, February 28, 2008

Like a railway to heaven, the highest train in the world cuts a stunning path from Beijing to Tibet—but the ride can be bumpy, as Allison Rupp discovers. Farmers with weather-beaten faces keep watch over bulging bags of produce stored in the overhead racks while young men smoke cigarettes and play cards. read more

Slide Show: Beijing Olympics Uncut Video: Beijing's Streets Revealed Big Hotel Brands Open in China Forgotten Kingdom: Lijiang My Shanghai Is Better Than Yours

Where to Hug a Panda in China Hong Kong Gets Green Explosive Chinese Artist Cai Guo-Qiang Dream Trips: Great Wall of China China's Yosemite: Jiuzhaigou Reserve

A new subsidized program at Princeton University will allow incoming students to spend a year doing social work abroad. Do you think 18-year-olds are ready for the experience, or would they be better off taking the year off after college? What advice would you give your kids, and what would you do if you could take a year off? POST A COMMENT NOW

Two brothers want to learn more about San Francisco's culinary offerings and its history, from the Spanish era to the present. Read our advice, and then find out how the brothers' trip went! read more

• Five Hotels: San Francisco
• Growing Up in San Francisco Was a Treat, But Visiting Is Better
• City Glam! A Girlfriend Getaway to San Francisco
• Secret Hotels of California Wine Country

10 Celebrity-Trashed Hotel Rooms There are so many creative ways to trash a perfectly good hotel room—it's come naturally to celebs like Amy Winehouse, Keith Richards, and Johnny Depp for decades…. Best Travel Innovation of the Past 10 Years? Vote for the innovation that has made travel more enjoyable, and check the results so far (they may surprise you!)…. Video: Ancient Petra is a narrated, awe-inspiring look at wonders found in the Jordanian desert.

Round-trip airfare, meals, and a week of guided sightseeing tours in vibrant Santiago, set high in the Andes Mountains, and Easter Island, the remote home of ancient and intriguing stone statues, from $2,230.
why it's a deal

• Dream Trips: Easter Island
• Trip Coach Transcript: Chile Advice

In a sure sign of spring, flower shows, garden weeks, and festivals celebrating everything from cherry blossoms to dogwoods are popping up across the U.S.—with special lodging packages from $129. why it's a deal

• America's 10 Grandest Mansions
• What's New in Washington, D.C.
• 25 Reasons We Love Charleston

Discover this South Pacific isle of lush hills and thatched huts, immortalized by painter Paul Gaugin, with this package that combines round-trip airfare and three nights at a resort by a lagoon with a white-sand beach, from $999. why it's a deal

• Dream Trips: Overwater Bungalows
• Tahiti Unplugged: Romantic and Affordable Inns

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