Traveler's Advisory

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Asia
Shanghai
Under Kublai Khan, grandson of the fearsome Genghis, the Mongols conquered China in 1279. Four centuries later, the Chinese turned the tables, overthrowing the Yuan dynasty and later annexing Mongolia, whose eastern, "inner" region remains part of China to this day. In tracing the story of Mongolia's herdsmen- warriors from Neolithic times to the 13th century, "Treasures of the Grasslands," at the Shanghai Museum, emphasizes the creative interplay between Mongolian and Chinese culture. Highlights include a 5,000-year-old jade dragon, the jewelry of an 11th century princess, and a Chinese-style funerary urn in the shape of a Mongolian tent. Many of the 200 objects are on show for the first time. Until Nov. 30.

North America
Palm Springs
Having a battery of medical tests isn't everyone's dream vacation. But for some people there's no pampering like the kind an efficient nurse can give. As well as enjoying spa baths, massages and seaweed wraps, guests at California's luxurious La Quinta resort can now lie back and be scanned, probed and measured on every health parameter from blood-sugar levels and bone density to cardiac stress and cancer risk. The resort's new WellMax preventive medicine clinic offers à la carte CT and ultrasound scans, blood tests, and sleep and memory checks; results are used to formulate an individual "anti-aging strategy." A five-day "comprehensive physical" costs about $8,000. See www.wellmax.com.

World
Wonders
Except for the pyramids of Egypt, all the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (as chosen by the engineer Philo of Byzantium) have disappeared. So what are their worthy successors? You can have your say in a global poll sponsored by unesco, at www.new7wonders.com. Most popular with the 1.5 million people who've voted so far are the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, and the Mayan ruins at Chichén-Itzá, in Mexico. Also likely to make the final list are the Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul, the Roman Colosseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower, and the temples of Angkor Wat. The poll closes Dec. 31.

Europe
Beaulieu
How he can afford them on a spy's salary is never explained, but James Bond always drives the sleekest, fastest cars available. An enviable selection of "Bond Cars"-including an Aston Martin DB5 (Goldfinger and GoldenEye), a Lotus Esprit submarine car (The Spy Who Loved Me), a BMW Z8 sports car (The World Is Not Enough), and the spectacularly armored BMW 750iL (Tomorrow Never Dies)-is on show at the National Motor Museum in Hampshire until April 2001.