Hong Kong Locals on Where to Eat, Drink and Play During Art Basel

HONG KONG — It’s hungry business, walking around art fairs and gallery hopping. But the locals know where to find the tastiest morsels and where to kick back and relax. The chef Olivier Elzer, the Young Soy Gallery founder Shivang Jhunjhnuwala and the artist Tang Kwok Hin are all longtime Hong Kongers; here are their … Read more

An Independent Barbados

One sunny Saturday in the middle of the island of Barbados, in the eastern Caribbean, among former sugar cane plantations, I found myself eating fried sea cat in the yard of a rum shop called De Thirsty Lizard in the village of Bridgefield. Remixed versions of Rihanna songs and reggae bounced across the gravel courtyard … Read more

Following a Folk Tale Through the Himalayas

In a high hamlet, a two-hour trek up a verdant slope beneath ice-clad Himalayan peaks, an argument erupted over a folk tale. Two brothers, Pralad Singh Dariyal, 60, and Hira Singh Dariyal, 77, heatedly debated which nearby village in the Johar Valley was once the home of the story’s heroine. Eventually agreeing on a few … Read more

Peanut Butter Stirs an Old Debate: To the T.S.A., What’s a Liquid?

The Transportation Security Administration thought it had settled a dispute over peanut butter some time ago: unless it is 3.4 fluid ounces or less, it has to be checked. However, the question of what the T.S.A. considers a liquid continues to confuse passengers. It bubbled up again last week when a writer and podcaster tried … Read more

The Ski Season That Just Won’t Quit

It was snowing steadily when I arrived at Stowe Mountain Resort last Tuesday. I was surprised by the absence of lift lines as I walked onto the bright red gondola. I was even more surprised when I dropped into a favorite ski run and snow boiled up around my thighs and a cold spray of … Read more

George Town, Malaysia: A Jewel Box Packed With Color and Spice

“Try this way,” says Zainal Abidin, an affable manager at the Prestige in George Town, Malaysia, cocking his head to one side. Mr. Zainal is showing me around the hotel, which is named after the 2006 Christopher Nolan film about two rival magicians. I’m supposed to see an illusion in which the corridor entrance transforms … Read more