Fed up of over-crowded tubes and buses in London ?
Tired of being squashed ?
Tired of standing, strap-hanging ?
Too tired to pound those pavaments for hours on foot ?
Take heart – there is another way to see this amazing city.
By boat!
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Fed up of over-crowded tubes and buses in London ?
Tired of being squashed ?
Tired of standing, strap-hanging ?
Too tired to pound those pavaments for hours on foot ?
Take heart – there is another way to see this amazing city.
By boat!
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Ayutthaya is all about ancient ruins – especially from a foreign tourist’s perspective. What you may not realize is that many of the newer-looking temples in this city are just as ancient as their crumbling counterparts. The difference is that they’ve been maintained, restored and rebuilt over the centuries, and they’re still in active use today.
Now, if it’s your first time in Ayutthaya, or if you only have time for the highlights, then by all means focus on the ruins. They’re spectacular. But if you’re craving an authentic Thai experience, consider following the nine-temple pilgrimage route that Thai visitors embrace.
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Expectations were high as we flew into Varanasi's smart little airport.
Years of wanting to visit one of India's holiest cities had always been tempered with a slight fear as to how to handle the piety and religious fervour and, indeed, the spectacle of death that are an integral part of the DNA of this sacred city.
And now, at long last, here we were, barreling into town on a crowded road through suburbs which looked pretty much any suburb in any small town in India.
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Every major city in Thailand has a specific set of nine temples that are officially recommended for a mad-dash, merit-making tour. Thai people have an affinity for the number nine, and there’s a sense of accomplishment (as well as utter fatigue) waiting at the end of a daylong nine-temple marathon.
Completing one of these lists is challenging enough in a typical Thai city. In Bangkok, where traffic jams and jam-packed public transport factors in, the only way you’re going to make it is with some careful planning. Map your route the night before from the air-con comfort of your Bangkok hotel, and plan on getting an early start.
These are the nine temples listed on Bangkok’s official circuit.
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There used to be a catchy slogan promoting Dubai, back in the days when it was little more than a shopping paradise.
“Fly buy Dubai.”
Then, the idea was to break your journey from, say Europe to Asia with a stopover in Dubai, where you could shop, shop, shop to your heart’s content, and be on your way. Because, back then, there wasn’t honestly much else to do in this city-state.
Fast forward to Dubai today, a fabulous holiday destination in its own right, regardless of whether one shops or not. (Though you probably will, let’s be honest).
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An effective antidote to hotel fatigue, staying in an art hotel is a miniature journey in itself. Promoting deep engagement between guest and environment, the art hotel can reignite the spirit of discovery, inspire escapism and be culturally edifying all at the same time. Offering just as much comfort as creativity, these 10 Asian art hotels pay homage to a variety of artists and styles, many literally providing a canvas for local contemporary talent.
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As a beach escape, Penang can’t compete with the postcard coastlines and waterways of Langkawi. On the flipside, when it comes to food, the arts and architecture, Penang is your Malaysian island of the moment.
Charted by the Chinese in the 15th century and later founded by English trader Francis Light, Penang’s colonial vestiges are becoming increasingly more of a travel highlight, with ongoing restorations bringing the island’s older architecture back to life.
British heritage is only part of the picture here, as well. During the Brits’ 171-year long rule, Penang’s role as outpost for the East India Company paved the way for a variety of diasporic communities to make their architectural mark.
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How on earth do you choose the top 5 must-see places to visit in a state as fabulously picturesque as India’s Rajasthan?
With huge difficulty, is the answer.
Rajasthan is everything a visitor thinks and hopes India will be.
And then some.
It is dramatic, it is colorful, it has forts and palaces and castles, it has camels and brightly painted elephants, and the men wear the most fabulous turbans you can imagine. History, culture, amazing scenery, serious shopping…
…in other words, choosing the top of the Rajasthani pops is not easy, but here goes.
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In Thailand, the number nine is auspicious, and it permeates religious culture. Thai households often have a collection of nine pedestals on which they display their Buddha images and family heirlooms. Enormous alms-giving ceremonies may have thousands of monks, but you can be sure the advertised figure is going to be a multiple of nine. Thinking of hosting a housewarming or graduation party? Consider inviting nine monks to chant at the ceremony. The number nine is everywhere.
When Thai people want to make a day of temple-going, they visit nine temples. Every major city has its own official list of nine temples that must be included on any Thai itinerary. But you don’t have to be Thai or even Buddhist to join in. Locals are happy to see foreigners taking a respectful interest in Thailand’s temples and sacred sites.
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It's hard to believe, but up until recently wine was not a major focal point for socializing in Bangkok. These days, however, wine bars, bistros and pubs are cropping up like 7-Elevens across the city, giving travelers a grown-up alternative to buckets on Khao San Road and Kombi van cocktails.
Here's a quick list of the main wine digs in Bangkok and how to reach them.
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Yes, India is big and noisy and crowded and hectic and hot and poor and… and… and… everything else you may have heard.
Yes, there are beggars.
Yes, the food is spicy.
Yes, you will probably get Delhi Belly on your maiden trip there.
But why should you let a few little details like these put you off?
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Thai people still observe the lunar calendar, with its Western counterpart grafted on top of it, and they’ve also adapted the Chinese Zodiac symbols to their own purposes. With the Year of the Dragon freshly upon us, it’s a great time to ponder the Thai Zodiac.
What most tourists don’t realize is that every zodiac symbol has an official temple in Northern Thailand. People all over the kingdom aspire to make a pilgrimage once in their life to the temple that represents their birth year. That’s a long-haul journey for Thai people from Central or Southern Thailand, but that doesn’t stop most. Blessings of long life and prosperity are at stake.
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Australia often gets ribbed for having indecipherable slang, an impenetrably twangy dialect and silly-sounding place names. Nothing could be more true of the Illawarra region – an hour's drive south of Sydney – where the main city of Wollongong is referred to almost exclusively by locals as 'The Gong' and townships are called things like Bulli, Windang and Fairy Meadow.
Easily accessible by road or rail from Sydney, the Illawarra is a string of suburbs flanked by long sandy beaches on one side and thick, mountainous bushland on the other. This is 'real' suburban Australia, where hamburgers have beetroot on them, every service station sells meat pies and hot chips are seasoned with chicken salt.
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Take a look at the adorable panda shots adorning the Chengdu Panda Base website (www.panda.org.cn). Like bush babies and koalas, pandas are super cute.
Thank those big dark eyes, those tiny ears and fluffy, tubby stomach. Unlike other endangered species such as sharks, pandas spark our “parenting mechanisms”. Cue the urge to coo and cuddle the bear-like black-and-white darlings native to Chinese bamboo forests.
Cue the growth of Chengdu Panda Base. Set near Chengdu – the capital of spicy food hub Sichuan province in western central China – the base resembles a panda empire, sprawling over countless acres.
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Living in Thailand or one of its neighboring countries brings with it the considerable privilege of being close to a vast array of weekend destinations. Luxurious seaside resorts, island bungalows, high-rises – even remote mountain villas – dot Thailand's terrain and many of them are just a short flight from Southeast Asia's major cities.
With Valentine's Day looming, here's a quick guide to five of Thailand's most relaxing and romantic destinations for a last-minute getaway.
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For a scuba diver, Sipadan is as close as it gets to Mecca. This tiny coral atoll off the coast of Malaysian Borneo is pure scuba diving heaven.
Sipadan lies 36 kilometers off the coast, and to get there you must first go to the small town of Semporna, which is where most of the boats leave from to take you out to Sipadan. Many divers base themselves in Semporna itself and travel to and from each day by boat. Or you can opt to stay on one of the many islands that surround Sipadan – a much more relaxing option.
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It had all seemed quite straightforward during the pre-flight briefing with the pilot. After describing how balloons operate and how the flights are staffed, the pilot had said that the wind conditions appeared favorable, but that if they were too strong in the morning the flights would have to be cancelled. He reminded everyone to dress warmly, to bring cameras, and just as the meeting was closing, he added, “Don't forget to bring a hat.” For the sun, you presume.
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Japan routinely gets labeled weird and quirky. Its image may just be a cartoon cliché based on little, but there's joy in believing that the island nation is drastically different – even odder than England.
Still, few would argue that Japan serves up some extraordinary dishes that make frog’s legs look tame. Take a look at the menu. Spotlighted dishes range from a poisonous fish to feral ice cream.
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If someone says the magic word 'castle', what image springs to mind? Perhaps you think of the mystery-soaked monuments that cast their long shadows across medieval Europe. Or perhaps you think of the English king Arthur and the court of Camelot.
But Europe holds no monopoly on castles. Asia hosts scores. Here are five of Asia’s most striking and strange castles, which transcend bricks-and-mortar, and border on marvellous. Their haunting, massive presence evokes the sound of drums and thunder.
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In Kenya, the Rift Valley forms the basis of the country’s major geographical features, the string of lakes that lies like an elongated ribbon to the north-west of Nairobi.
Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria, Lake Nakuru, Lake Elementaita, Lake Naivasha and Lake Magadi in the south, have all become important focal points for wildlife, especially birdlife.
Lake Naivasha was ‘discovered' by a German naturalist called Gustav Fischer in 1883, and its name is thought to derive from a classic case of European mispronunciation. The early visitors asked their Swahili porters what the lake was called and were told 'enaiposha' which means quite simply 'the lake'. And so, with the pronunciation slightly mangled by the Europeans, Lake Naivasha it became.
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There is something undeniably glamorous about the French Riviera. Just a mention of the name brings images of sun-kissed beaches, blue skies, sleek yachts and impossibly glamorous people to mind. Much of this hype is undeniably true, but in a town like Nice the gloss and glamour are leavened by a hearty dose of natural, practical Mediterranean life. The harbor may well be filled with beautiful yachts, frequented by beautiful people, but there are also working fishing boats and ferries. The restaurants may well be three-star Michelin, but the harbor-side cafes, frequented by locals, are every bit as popular and bursting with life.
It is this mix of image and reality that make Nice such a fascinating microcosm of the French Riviera. When other pretty coastal towns and villages empty at the end of the season as the beautiful people jet off somewhere else, life in Nice continues pretty much as before. The colorful fruit and vegetable market still takes place every week in Cours Salaya, the ferries and fishing boats still leave on the evening tide, and the harbor cafes are as busy and noisy as before.
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On the sun-kissed southern coast of France sits the world’s second smallest country, Monaco. (The Vatican is the smallest, by the way). The Principality of Monaco, to use its official name, covers just 0.76 square miles, but within its small pocket-handkerchief sized boundaries, it has money and glamour and a reputation that totally outstrips its size.
A policy of reclaiming land from the sea means the country is very slowly growing in size, but it still remains the world's smallest French-speaking country. For the record, Monaco is also the world’s most densely populated sovereign country. It has been ruled by one family, the Grimaldis, since 1297, when, according to legend, François Grimaldi captured the fortress on the strategic Rock on Monaco, dressed as a Franciscan monk.
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The only problem with trying to write a 'Top sea and beach things to do in Mauritius' list is that it is simply one set of superlatives after another.
This little island in the Indian Ocean is paradise for everyone who has ever dreamed of a relaxing beach holiday. Not that you will get much lazing-around-on-the-beach time, if you work your way through this list of how to enjoy every second of those clear, lagoon-protected waters.
And that is an important point to bear in mind. The island is protected by an almost totally encircling reef, which means that the waters within it are (largely) calm and peaceful, and of the most iridescent turquoise.
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Going on a game drive in the South African bush is an unforgettable experience.
Although most wildlife in South Africa is found within the boundaries of vast National Parks, wildlife reserves and private game farms, that by no way implies they are kept in a glorified zoo.
Hundreds of kilometers of wilderness, sometimes with drivable roads, but often-times just rough dirt tracks only suitable for 4x4 vehicles, means that most of the time the animals have the upper hand in the viewing stakes. They live their lives deep in the forest, venturing out of the protective tree cover to go to the water holes, and it is a question of good luck and perseverance that we humans are able to see them at all.
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“Tashi delek. Tashi delek,” the old lady sang out cheerfully, as she raced past me. Her wrinkled face gave me a happy, toothy grin and then she was gone, heading effortlessly for the 5,630-meter Dolma La, the highest point of our pilgrimage around Mount Kailash.
If I’d had the energy, I would have had distinctly uncharitable thoughts. There we were, all togged out in hiking boots, thermal clothing and expensive down anoraks, plodding painfully along, gasping for breath, while yet more smiling Tibetans, most of them elderly, and most of them wearing nothing sturdier than gym shoes and thin jackets, rushed past us in a swirl of smiles, prayer wheels and tashi deleks.
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Anybody wondering exactly how far Japan is ahead of the West should ride the Shinkansen, the bullet train, remembering –soberingly – that it has been in operation for nearly 40 years.
Everything is, without saying, immaculate; the trains shiny white, silent and polished to a gleam. The ticketing operation is flawless, with not just easy and helpful reserved seating, but with conductors who bow, dressed in creamy beige uniforms with gold trim and matching beige shiny patent-leather shoes – the whole snazzy outfit in male and female versions. They know exactly which seats to approach after people have got on and off at the various stops along the line. No, “Tickets, please,” while lurching blindly from seat to seat as they do in the West. Nothing lurches in Japan, even at 200 miles per hour.
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Paris.
Just that one simple word and the images come rushing, pell-mell, of a beautiful, timeless city – the Champs Elysées, the Left Bank, Montmartre, the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower, which never disappoints, however often one has seen it.
Paris is a magical city to discover, for it has something to offer everyone: superb museums, wonderful shops – though some may just be for window-shopping – restaurants galore, walks along the River Seine, a cup of coffee in a pavement café... it's difficult to avoid the clichés when describing the City of Light.
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If the Philippines strike you as remote, here’s a reason to go there instead of Thailand or Laos: Puerto Princesa Subterranean River [www.puerto-undergroundriver.com]. A beguiling shade of aquamarine, the river is the main draw at the national park named after Palawan province’s capital, Puerto Princesa City, which lies 600 kilometres southwest of Manila.
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So, you have only 48 hours in London and want to see everything?
Well, not everything, obviously, but as much as is humanly possible, whilst not neglecting to sleep, eat, shop, and have a pint in a pub.
The best way to get an initial (and literal) overview of this marvelous city is to take a tour on an open-top bus. Get your bearings, see all the major sights in one go, and then, the next day of your all-too-brief two-day stay in London, you can go back and visit select places in more detail.
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Forget Giza’s famous pyramids for a second. The Nile-side Egyptian city is just one platform for the slanting structures. Pyramids also occur in China. Yes, you read that right. The nation better known for a winding wall than any fancy trapezoids has more than a smattering of pyramids.
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