It’s no secret that Hong Kong (above) is going through the wringer at the moment with months of protests seeing violence and damage escalating. The experience has prompted Sue to write about being an expat when the country you’ve moved to is going through difficult times. You may have moved abroad, but real life – the financial crash in 2008, health crises, extreme weather scares – carries on. READ MORE

This week saw the anniversary of the discovery in 1929 of the first complete skullcap of Peking Man at Zhoukoudian, near Beijing. Many people have heard of this find and know that it was a significant breakthrough in the study of early man. Less well known is the mysterious fate of the original 200 pieces of bone that were unearthed. After surviving for up to 770,000 years, they disappeared little more than 10 yezars after their discovery. In 1941, as the threat from Japan grew, it was decided to smuggle them from China to the US. They were packed into crates – and were never seen again. Theories about what happened to them vary. Some say they were abandoned before they left China, while others suggest the Japanese intercepted the consignment and loaded it onto a ship that was later sunk. The most bizarre idea is that they were ground up for use in traditional Chinese medicine.

Plaster casts remain, and some (pictured) are on show at the National Museum of China in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. The Zhoukoudian site is on UNESCO’s world heritage list. On a personal note, before their disappearance the fossils were being studied at the Peking Union Medical College. Sue, in her post about troubled times as an expat, writes about our healthcare experiences abroad. These included a stay for her at this highly regarded college’s teaching hospital.

A few weeks ago we published a post about the Hong Kong Museum of Art, which was about to reopen after a massive, four-year refurbishment. Well, last Saturday it finally swung open its doors again, and it's fantastic. It's as if a fully functioning, international-class gallery has simply been dropped into Hong Kong – it even has an ace cafe (above) on a terrace overlooking Victoria Harbour. We'll be updating the post soon, and picking out some of the must-see masterpieces on show. READ MORE

If you’re a travel professional who’s a fan of The Crown then your perfect job is up for grabs – arranging trips for the UK’s Queen Elizabeth and her family. The director of royal travel will be based at Buckingham Palace (above), and a starting salary of up to £85,000 ($110,000) is on offer for a 37.5-hour working week. The permanent post is being advertised on the royal household’s website. The description says: “This role is critical to ensuring that the royal household operates and purchases safe, efficient, cost effective and appropriate travel services for the official duties of members of the royal family and their Households.” Duties will include providing support for state visits. The closing date for applications is Dec. 20. Presumably the workload will be reduced somewhat following Prince Andrew’s withdrawal from official duties.

The Philippines has won the World Travel Awards’ title for best dive destination and best dive resort, making it a must-visit for divers all over the world. Mind you, the resort in question is the Amanpulo in Palawan, a private island accessible only by private plane, so that probably rules out 99 per cent of the divers most of us know. The country beat the Cayman Islands, Maldives, Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos Islands to get the coveted titles. And the awards ceremony was at one of Afaranwide’s favourite destinations, Muscat, Oman.

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