Word Travels Forum Round-Up #31

Here's the latest from the Word Travels forum, with some great stuff this week, especially if you're looking to travel to Cuba or Ireland!

Dublin travel advice

Can Americans travel to Cuba?

Trains from China to Vietnam and Thailand

African puppy scam

If that doesn't answer your question, sign up for the travel forum today to ask for yourself! It's quick, easy and free!

Image from here.

Top 5 Biggest Shopping Malls

No matter how many economic downturns and recessions the world faces, there will always be people ready to shop. There are dozens of mega-malls scattered across the globe, with newer, bigger ones being built each year.

These may not be the biggest in terms of of square footage, but they are up among the top and definitely worth visiting if you're in the country. Here's a list of our top 5 biggest shopping malls around the world:

United States: Mall of America

The most famous mall in the US, the Mall of America in Minnesota augments more than 400 shops with an indoor amusement park, walk-through aquarium, bowling alley, movie theatres, bars and nightclubs, countless restaurants, and many other family attractions.

United Arab Emirates: Dubai Mall

Shopping in Dubai is a major activity, and the place to go is the Dubai Mall, which boasts a skating rink, water park, and more. Part of the 20-billion-dollar Burj Khalifa complex, which includes a whopping 1,200 shops. A great way to beat the heat in sunny Dubai.

Canada: West Edmonton Mall

The largest mall in Canada (and North America), the West Edmonton Mall is located in Edmonton, Alberta. With an amusement park, water park, skating rink, recreation centre, adventure golf, movie theatres, restaurants, bars, and many other attractions in addition to its 800+ shops, it's the biggest attraction in Edmonton.

China: Golden Resources Shopping Mall

China has been building mega-malls left and right, but the biggest is the Golden Resources Shopping Mall in Beijing. Nicknamed the 'Great Mall of China', the shopping centre draws millions of visitors each year with attractions like a skating rink, restaurants, and more than 1,000 shops.

South Africa: Gateway Theatre of Shopping

Few visitors to South Africa would think of Durban as a shopping destination, but Gateway and its more than 400 shops would disagree. In addition to shops, restaurants and bars, the mall offers a live theatre, IMAX cinema, skate park, indoor climbing wall, go-karts, arcade, bowling alley, small indoor amusement park, the world's tallest indoor climbing wall, and the Flo-Rider man-made surfing wave.

Photo from here.

Word Travels Forum Round-Up #19

It's Monday and we're back in the office, so here are the latest travel questions and answers from our forum to inspire thoughts of travel!

Chinese visas

Russian girlfriend travel scam

Europe winter holiday ideas

Surfing spots in the Maldives

The forum is free to use for anyone, so if you have a question about your next holiday destination, ask today and let our local experts find an answer for you!

Travel Movie: Seven Years in Tibet

Seven Years in Tibet depicts the relationship between a German mountain climber Heinrich Harrer and the young Dalai Lama, over the period when the Chinese occupation of Tibet began. The 1997 film helped to launch Brad Pitt as a movie star, and the did much to raise awareness of the occupation and what it meant for the Tibetan people.

The Chinese government predictably protested the film, which is very respectful of Tibetan culture and depicts Chinese authorities as arrogant. Pitt was banned from ever travelling to China.

The movie was widely criticised for slow pacing, and glossing over Harrer's past as a Nazi SS officer. Brad Pitt's accent was also listed as the third worst in movie history by Empire. As a travel movie though, we can only complain that most of the footage was actually shot in Argentina. Only 20 minutes of the film is actually showing Tibet. Granted, they had to do that bit secretly.

Verdict: Skip it. (and rent Kundun instead)

Impact of the Japan Earthquake on Travel

The devastating earthquake in Japan has sparked a chain reaction that shows no sign of stopping: first a tsunami, then a nuclear crisis, contaminated food exports, etc. The impact the Japan earthquake has had on the travel industry is huge as well, with shockwaves spreading throughout Asia and the Pacific Ocean. Here's the lowdown on how the earthquake has affected travel:

First there's the obvious. Travel to Japan is just not happening right now. Most governments have evacuated their citizens, and all are advising against non-essential travel to Japan at this point. It's not just about traveller safety, though; there is a scarcity of resources as more then 200,000 people have lost there homes and basic services like water and electricity are scarce. Business and leisure travel has ground to a halt, and even those who want to help are discouraged from going unless they speak Japanese and are associated with an aid organisation. Most cruise lines, including Oceania and Royal Caribbean, have cancelled port calls in Japan, and many airlines have reduced the number of flights, especially to Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

Then there are the ripples: Japanese tourists are a huge market for destinations like China, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Guam and Hawaii. Many Japanese tourists aren't going anywhere at the moment, and are cancelling planned holidays. Thailand, as an example, has seen a huge number of cancellations over April and May, when they usually rely on large numbers of Japanese tourists. Hawaii is expecting losses of tens of millions of dollars from missing tourists from Japan.

Image from News.com.au.

Composite Photos of Tourist Attractions

Switzerland-based artist Corinne Vionnet has created some very interesting images of instantly-recognisable tourist attractions by overlaying hundreds of tourist's photos, taken from the same spot. The results are haunting: busy locations like the St Basil's Cathedral, the Taj Mahal and Tiananmen Square (above) are filled with ghostly crowds of people, and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco appears to by trying to fly.

You can see the whole collection here.

Travel Movie: The Karate Kid

Granted, there are aspects of this 2010 remake that people can complain about: there's no actual karate in the film, the moves performed by the children are unrealistic, or that the whole thing is a vanity project for Will Smith's kid.

But there are some beautiful scenes in the movie that highlight the gorgeous scenery around Beijing, and interesting tidbits about Chinese culture. For me though, the real value of the film is in highlighting the disconnected existence of western expats* living in China, especially expat kids. In cliched ways, it is a great lesson for children in overcoming a fear of the unfamiliar and pushing yourself to do things you thought you couldn't.

Verdict: Rent it

* For other interesting info about expats in China, visit Expat Arrivals' China Guide.