Where’s best for a stopover on my way to South Korea?

Q Next April I am working in South Korea for a month. I would like my family (including children aged six to 16) to spend some time there, and I would also like to add a tempting stopover. Where do you recommend?

James L

A The first time I travelled to South Korea I stopped off in Hong Kong – and in your position I would do the same. The big new attraction is M+ on reclaimed land in West Kowloon, which has elbowed its way smartly into the premier league of modern art venues alongside Tate Modern and the Guggenheim in Bilbao. As with those locations, it’s a rewarding location for children even if they have little interest in art. Some Sundays are designated as “family days” with plenty of activities on offer. And in the museum cafe, you can ping the image of your choice to the staff, who will superimpose it on the foam of a hot chocolate or coffee.

The two top-grade theme parks, Disneyland and Ocean Park (a local creation), are certainly worth a day each. In addition, Hong Kong has three great transport set-pieces: the Star Ferry between Kowloon on the mainland and Hong Kong Island; the “ding-ding” trams in Central Hong Kong that share some DNA with Harry Potter creations; and the Peak Tram, freshened up for 2023 and lifting you high up on Victoria Peak, with spectacular views and paths to explore at the top.

You can also escape to the great outdoors on the largest of Hong Kong’s islands, Lantau. From Tung Chung, close to the international airport, take the Ngong Ping cable car over the hills and far away to the Big Buddha – made from 250 tons of bronze. If the children have energy to burn off, it also makes an exciting semi-jungle trail from the same starting point; allow about three hours.

At the western end of Lantau island, the fishing village of Tai O provides an authentic insight into traditional life endures here: it’s an “end of the road” outpost that rewards the effort. You might even choose to stay at the former marine police station, now the Tai O Heritage Hotel.

In terms of logistics, Cathay Pacific offers reasonably good deals from London or Manchester to Seoul with a stopover in Hong Kong in one or both directions.

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Q My grandsons are supposed to be travelling from Hastings to London on 22 July, the day of a rail strike. They are due to connect with a Eurostar train from St Pancras International to Paris at 11.31am but they won’t be able to get there due to the strike. There are no coach alternatives to London available. So far the Eurostar train has not been cancelled. Is any refund or compensation possible?

Anne W

A The leadership of RMT union may draw some comfort from your assumption that there will be no trains during the next round of strikes. As part of its long and bitter dispute over pay and working arrangements, the biggest rail union has called strikes by members working for 14 train operators on Thursday 20 July and then two successive Saturdays: 22 and 29 July. But thousands of trains will run on those days.

Eurostar is not involved and, because Network Rail signallers have settled their dispute, international trains from London St Pancras will be unaffected. I cannot see any prospect of a refund.

The strike will hit both rail firms that serve Hastings: Southeastern (which runs from the East Sussex town to London Charing Cross) and Southern, which serves London Victoria and London Bridge. Both operators will run some trains; the crucial question is, will they extend to Hastings? Southern has traditionally run a regular Brighton-London service on RMT strike days and, if the train operator believes it can count on more staff working, it may be that services extend east to Eastbourne. But I don’t expect Hastings to get a link with the capital on strike days.

The rail line to Ashford International is unlikely to run but that is the direction in which I think you should look. In previous RMT strikes, Southeastern has run regular links from Ashford International to London St Pancras, and I believe they will continue. It would be inconvenient for someone (or expensive if a taxi is involved) to drive your grandsons this distance of almost 30 miles but it would be effective. Trains from the east Kent station take just 38 minutes to reach St Pancras. While the strike timetable has yet to be confirmed, I think you can be confident that one or other of the 9.16am and 9.40am will run – giving them plenty of time to spare at the London terminus.

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Q I am getting stressed ahead of my Spanish holiday at the start of August because of the passport rules. Mine is a bit long in the tooth but I know it complies with the European passport rules. However, I travel frequently to Germany for work and since Brexit my passport has filled up with stamps. I’ve read that if you run out of blank pages you need to get a new passport. I also know that you have to allow 10 weeks for a renewal. Help!

Angela M

A I had fondly imagined that by now the travel industry and media would have stopped making misleading claims about post-Brexit rules for British passport holders. I also hoped that HM Passport Office would remove the ridiculous warning to people renewing passports: “You should allow up to 10 weeks from when we receive your old passport.” I was wrong on both counts.

Both the assertions you cite are incorrect. The latest (October 2022) edition of the EU’s Practical Handbook for Border Guards deals explicitly with the case when “there are no more available pages”. It says: “In such a case, the third-country national should be recommended to apply for a new passport, so that stamps can continue to be affixed there in the future.” But as an immediate solution, “a separate sheet can be used, to which further stamps can be affixed”. The handbook says (my emphasis): “The sheet must be given to the third-country national.” So have no fear on that count.

The typical time taken for straightforward British passport renewals is between one and two weeks. We are now clear of the procession of bank holidays in April and May that extended the time, though to counteract that more people tend to apply in June: prospective travellers typically get concerned (correctly or otherwise) that their passport may not be compliant a month or so before their trip.

In your case, while I have every confidence that you would get your passport back in time, I think it would be taking an unnecessary risk. However, as you are a frequent traveller, consider applying for a second passport – which can be done, online, without fuss. In your position, I would do that now – and expect the additional document to be delivered in July.

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