Lilit Marcus

Here's the latest • Rescue underway: Specialist cave divers on a multinational team are racing to free villagers who became trapped in a remote cave in Laos over a week ago.

This week in travel news: tourists are coping with extreme heat, one of the world's most popular vacation destinations is tripling its tourist tax, and a gold bar is up for grabs in Finland.

Benjamin Wong has found peace — at 8,530 feet. As a high school teacher in Singapore, he gets long summer breaks, but he struggles to find places to travel to that aren't as unbearably hot as where he lives.

With Asia warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe, extreme summer heat is scrambling traditional vacations, driving travelers toward high-altitude escapes and after-dark sightseeing.

Airport lounges used to be for top-tier travelers only, but they have become more accessible thanks to credit cards and loyalty programs. Not everyone is happy about it.

Beijing/Hong Kong (CNN) — In the top corner, there's a very small Star of David. On the center right side, the number 51. Near the center, a pentagon. Squint and you might notice a teeny-tiny series of music notes amid a busy grid. And, wait, is that the US Capitol missing its dome?

Busan, South Korea, is home to the world’s biggest department store. But in addition to shopping, guests can take part in a traditional spa experience called a jjimjilbang.

Busan, South Korea (CNN) — In the US, a mall is a place to get a slice of pizza from Sbarro and buy some T-shirts at the Gap.

It takes two planes, two cars and one ferry to get to Indonesia’s Bawah Reserve, but once there many guests don’t want to leave.

By Lilit Marcus, CNN Riau Islands, Indonesia (CNN) — An urgent message lit up phones around the island: it was baby sea turtle o'clock.