I remember hearing the NYT’s Matt Gross a/k/a “The Frugal Traveler” a/k/a Moby’s traveling doppelganger mention this ridiculously amazing travel advice during a talk last Fall: if you like being nailed $5 for every cash withdrawal you make abroad and paying exorbitant special interest rates for international purchases, don’t change your bank. But if you want to pay zip each time you hit the ATM or when you pay with plastic, then switch over to Capital One, the only major bank in the world that has this deal. Man, there are some smart people over at the Times.

In what may be a glaring relic of the Gilded Age the world is quickly putting behind itself, or in what may be just the natural progression in the evolution of air travel, the new A380’s up and running, allowing passengers to partake in that oh-so-rare in-flight shower and the ability to kick back a few at a fully stocked high-altitude bar.

Finding a flight where you can take advantage of these amenities may be a little difficult to find: only 13 are in use right now (Emirates, Quantas and Singapore Airlines). So the likelihood is that for now, you’ll unfortunately have to keep up with those annoying pre-flight showers.

By Lizzie Simon

On my last night in the Yunnan Province in rural Southwest China, I encountered three handsome, blond horses lingering at the entrance of my reconstructed Tibetan lodge. They had wandered in from one of the neighboring Naxi tribe’s wheat farms. I had spent the entire week making contact with exotica, and that night, like every night, I approached bedtime with equal parts exhaustion and excitement. Earlier, at dusk, I had spied these same horses mingling with the yaks, pigs and sheep across the gently babbling brook that just barely separates the resort and the local Chinese Tibetans going about the daily rituals they’ve enacted for centuries. And now they were at my door, perhaps filled with the same curiosity with which I had viewed them. In the Yunnan Province, the seamlessness between one’s visit, the astounding natural beauty and the ancient authentic culture is exquisite. And it is this rare seamlessness that makes the Yunnan Province such a spectacular destination for adventure.

A longtime favorite for Asian tourists who revel in its culture-rich villages and extraordinary natural environments, China’s rural Yunnan Province now lures travelers from all over the world who want to be inspired and intoxicated by its spectacular terrain, unique cuisine and welcoming people. Of all of the provinces and autonomous regions in China, the Yunnan Province has the highest number of ethnic groups, which creates enormous culinary, religious and linguistic diversity. Spring is an ideal time to visit the area, when the crisp mountain air is temperate. Winter months can be harsh, and it’s best to avoid the rainy season in July and August. (more…)