1 . The Travel Trends Report for 2024 suggests that engaging in “enrichment travel’ can profoundly impact personal growth and wellbeing by immersing oneself in newt cultures, environments and experiences. The following destinations allow you to explore transformative travel opportunities to rejuvenate body and soul.

Nambin Yoga in Chile

The fascinating Nambin Yoga retreat is in the mountain town of San Pedro de Atacama in Northeast Chile, where it invites guests to experience a seven-day journey including yoga sessions under the sparkling heavens, enlightening stargazing tours, and thoughtfully crafted vegetarian and vegan cuisine.

Rejuvenating in Nevada

Nevada has more hot springs than any other state in the country, with more’ than 300 occurring naturally. For an authentic wilderness experience, venture to Fish Lake Valley; where bathers can soak’ amidst breathtaking views of the mountains in Boundary Peak and enjoy some dark sky stargazing.

Rebooting at Miraval Arizona

Sat within the Sonoran Desert, Miraval offers immersive, technology-free retreats tailored to each guest’s individual needs for a true wellness journey. With innovative program and experts, Miraval empowers guests to design personalized schedule in line; with their wellness intentions, Visitors can gain hands-on experiences like beekeeping and farm work to foster a deeper connection with nature.

Yoga at Aspen Shakti

From June to September the seasoned team at Aspen Shakti hosts open-air Hatha yoga sessions on a picturesque deck, offering something for yoga lovers of all levels. Priced at approximately £. 15 per class, sessions are held from Monday to Friday at 10: 30am, with a portion of earnings dedicated to supporting the Caring for Community Fund mental health program.

2 . Vietnam Quality Tour

This tour is the perfect introduction to Vietnam, with cultural activities and plenty of opportunities to interact with the locals. Learn more about the history of Saigon, and explore Hue for a glimpse(一睹) of the grand past of this ancient country. Hoi An will impress you with its stone streets and scenic riverside setting, while the capital city Hanoi features timeless streets full of local life, wonderful colonial(殖民的) architecture and a splendid history. The tour finishes as it started, with a showstopper—Halong Bay, where you’ll take an overnight journey by sea out onto the calm waters and wind your way through the breathtaking karst(喀斯特) scenery.

When booking this tour with The Times Travel Offers, you will get a high-quality free pre-tour extension, which includes an extra hotel night with breakfast and dinner, as well as a half-day cooking class which is of great value-make sure to quote TIMES-ON when booking.

It took six hours for Liu Yi to get to Tianshui, Northwest China’s Gansu province by train. He     1     (spend) another two hours waiting in a queue and finally got his hands on a bowl of local malatang — a mix of foods     2     (boil) in hot, spicy broth. While choosing the     3     (ingredient) he wanted, Liu picked wide, thin rice noodles and a lot of chillis, along     4     the usual vegetables and meat. Spicy food is a must for Liu, a native of Southwest China’s Sichuan province. “The malatang did not disappoint me. It has a kind of rich     5     (fragrant),” Liu said, after wiping his bowl clean.

The popularity of the dish is     6     (sudden) increasing. Thousands of diners like Liu have been making their way to the little-known northwestern city     7     (try) malatang, overwhelming local restaurant owners and contributing to local wealth. Since early March, videos and photos of Tianshui malatang     8     (go) viral on social media platforms. It all started when a netizen released a seven-second video on Feb 13 that gained millions of views. More vloggers followed suit, and then the tourists began to arrive in groups.

Within a month, bookings for hotel rooms in Tianshui had increased year-on-year, according to Ctrip,     9     online travel platform. Qinzhou district,     10     most malatang restaurants and attractions are located, received more than 770,000 tourists, local authorities said.

6 . When floods completely destroyed Bangkok more than a decade ago, Thai landscape architect, Kotchakorn Voraakhom became determined to help her sinking hometown fight this deadly climate threat. “The floods changed my life,” said Voraakhom, who studied at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. “It was the turning point, when I started using the tools of landscape architecture to cope with climate change.”

Voraakhom’s fantastic projects in Bangkok include a park that can hold up to one million gallons of water, Asia’s largest rooftop farm, an elevated walkway installed on a bridge and a lush (草木繁茂的) canal park in the city center.

One of Voraakhom’s most innovative designs is Centenary Park in Chulalongkorn University. The park stores large amounts of rainwater and prevents the surrounding streets from flooding. Built on an incline (斜坡), it directs runoff water through inclined gardens and artificial wetlands. From there, water flows into a retention pond (澄清的) with a capacity of nearly 480,000 gallons. Beneath the soil is an additional water tank which can hold nearly 160,000 gallons. The entire park can store up to one million gallons of water.

Voraakhom also created Asia’s largest rooftop farm, Siam Green Sky, transforming 22,400 square meters (241,000 square feet) into a lush field. The farm, which recycles food waste from restaurants in the building below and uses it as plant fertilizer (肥料), also slows down, soaks up and stores large amounts of rainwater. It is then used to grow vegetables, herbs and fruit, as well as rice.

The architect said she integrates nature and water into her designs to create landscapes that help alleviate flooding and add greenery to densely populated cities. The central question sinking cities like Bangkok need to focus on is: “how are we going to live with the water, without fear?” said Voraakhom. This idea of “living with the water” lies at the heart of her design approach.

7 . English businessman Richard Branson made history on July 11, 2021 as he and three other crewmates became the world’s first space tourists. The flight was made by a spacecraft named VSS Unity that was built by Branson’s company, Virgin Galactic. The flight lasted slightly more than an hour, and took Branson and crew to an altitude (海拔) of 53.5miles above the Earth, just a little above the boundary (边界) of space which lies 50 miles above the Earth.

At that height, the atmosphere turns into the black of outer space and the Earth becomes a bent ball of blue. Travelers also exhibit weightlessness as there is no gravity, the force that keeps our bodies walking on the Earth’s surface. Therefore, Branson and his fellows were able to float around in VSS Unity while enjoying the views. They were able to do that for three minutes before the spacecraft began its downward journey. It landed back at Virgin Galactic’s space port in New Mexico, United States, which is the same place from where it had taken off 90 minutes before.

On landing back, Branson said, “I have dreamt of this moment since I was a kid but honestly, nothing could prepare you for the view of the Earth from space. It was just magical. I’m just taking it all in, and it’s unreal.”

July 11’s flight is the start of space tourism for one and all. In early 2022, customers who can afford a ticket for a quarter of a million dollars can line up for a seat on a trip to space. And guess what — they will have a choice of spacecraft. Jeff Bezos, who owns a famous company, is all set to launch himself into space on July 20 on board a spacecraft built by his new branch company Blue Origin. Blue Origin will also carry tourists to space.