Bino

Exploring the Streets of Hanoi, Pt2

August 28, 2011 by Bino Leave a Comment

ho chi minh mausoleum

On our last day in Hanoi, we again ventured to see what the city has to offer – this time focusing on the western portion. As it was a sunny day (a rarity by Hanoi’s standards as it is one very cloudy city), we started early in the morning and made our way to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Most people make the mistake of assuming that this mausoleum, by virtue of its name, is located in Ho Chi Minh City. But actually, it is in Hanoi. The building faces Ba Dinh Square, which is one of the few places one gets to see such a wide open space right at the heart of the city. Compared to the Old Quarter, this part of the city featured large squares and wide boulevards that were more in keeping with modern communist capitals. From the outside, the memorial reminds me of the Anitkabir in Ankara, Turkey. It was closed when we visited so there was no chance to go in. Not that we wanted to, since all one gets to see inside is Ho Chi Minh’s embalmed corpse.

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Exploring the Streets of Hanoi, Pt1

August 27, 2011 by Bino 2 Comments

Hanoi is one of those cities that I kept at the back of my mind for the longest time, like a page bookmarked for future reading. I had initially “bookmarked” it in 2007 when I first visited Vietnam but only had the time for Ho Chi Minh City. I was reminded about it in 2009 when a colleague from New Zealand was raving to me how great his weekend break in Hanoi was. But it was only last week that I finally got to visit this thousand year old city during a self-imposed 3-day long weekend.

emerald waters of Hoan Kiem Lake / Lake of the Returned Sword

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Memories of NZ Pt5: The French Connection

June 26, 2011 by Bino 7 Comments

Not far from Christchurch (NZ South Island’s largest city) lies Banks Peninsula, an atmospheric piece of land that juts out into the Pacific Ocean and faces the Antarctic continent. The peninsula is of volcanic origin and is about 1,150 square kilometers in area. Due to its proximity to Christchurch, it is today a well-known daytrip destination for travelers – both locals and foreigners alike. The peninsula is home to a French-inspired colonial town called Akaroa which sits at the heart of the tourist scene in the area.

view of banks peninsula from hilltop

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Seat Sale Guide: How to Get the Best Airfare Deals

June 19, 2011 by Bino 10 Comments

Seat sales by the 5 largest low cost airlines in the region (AirAsia, Jetstar, Cebu Pacific, Tiger Airways and Scoot in no particular order) can prove to be great sources for bargains and are certainly worth looking out for. I can still recall some of the good deals I got which included:

Singapore – Manila (around 3.5 hours flight per way, roundtrip for USD 20)
Kuala Lumpur – Abu Dhabi (around 8 hours flight per way, roundtrip for USD 110)
Kuala Lumpur – Christchurch (10 hours flight per way, roundtrip for USD 170)
Kuala Lumpur – Vientiane (2.5 hours per way, roundtrip for USD 60)

It is during such instances that going for the budget carrier option becomes truly justified, with prices that won’t break the bank.

At the same time however, getting these deals can prove to be equally frustrating with websites crashing and sale fares disappearing quicker than you can say buy, leaving prospective passengers with a strong sense of urgency to get the booking done. I have had my share of frustrations. Though I have not learned to overcome the latter yet, from my experience, there are a couple of things that we, as bargain hunters can do to secure that good deal and make the entire booking process much easier. Read after the jump

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Memories of NZ Pt4: Journey to Paradise

June 14, 2011 by Bino 1 Comment

New Zealand is widely known as the filming site for many a Lord of the Rings films. The films were very popular, which meant that the spectacular scenery of the country was watched by millions. Looking back, the films probably did more for New Zealand’s tourism industry than any other marketing campaign and it was a great tie up between their tourism ministry and Peter Jackson (the director of LotR) who incidentally is a Kiwi.

glorious glenorchy

From Queenstown, we hired a 4WD vehicle and took a morning drive to Glenorchy on the northern edge of Lake Wakatipu. Some of the LOtR filming sites are situated within the vicinity. It was another great day as the clouds cleared up and the sky was as blue as can be. The drive took just less than an hour and covered a distance of 45 kilometers as we traversed past stunning mountains in the horizon.

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Memories of NZ Pt3: Bad Weather in Milford Sound

June 4, 2011 by Bino 3 Comments

We spent a total of four nights in Queenstown and used it as a base to explore the many daytripping opportunities around Otago and the many national parks which are all within a few hours drive from town.

mirror lake

On our first day, we joined a day tour to Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). This tour took us past several quaint villages across the southern part of the island, and into the western coast which has a much wetter climate. Again, we went with Great Sights. The bus picked us up from the hotel at 8AM sharp for the five hour drive. It was a very scenic drive as that morning was my first opportunity to see Lake Wakatipu in the day. We drove past the majestic Remarkables mountain range, into the town of Kingston. Our driver was especially enthusiastic and gave erudite commentaries on the notable landmarks during the trip. We passed by this extremely quaint town called Garston, with a population of only 106. Its known as the most inland town in New Zealand which does not really say much given that NZ is an island nation. What really caught my attention was the small number of people who live there – 106. I suppose it’s one of those towns where everyone knows each other. Having lived in big cities my entire life (Manila, San Francisco, Singapore), I entertained for a few seconds the possibility of spending a night or two in a town where it’s impossible to remain anonymous. But it disappeared not long after we left the town limits and passed by another (larger) town.

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Memories of NZ Pt2: A Town Fit for a Queen

June 1, 2011 by Bino 1 Comment

An old story goes that Queenstown got its name after a local gold digger proclaimed the town to be fit for then Queen Victoria of Great Britain. No queens roam the town currently but it is host to possibly a million or more visitors a year. While there are doubts to the story’s veracity, for sure only a few among that million would disagree with its message. People from all over include this small lakeside community as part of most trips to NZ, making Queenstown the most heavily-visited destination in the South Island.

The town is a tiny urban center of merely 10,000 people but it feels like a much bigger place, owing largely to its popularity as a resort town. It has a compact but relatively dense downtown, a fabulous lake (Wakatipu), majestic peaks across all corners as well as extremely picturesque sites within a few minutes drive.

view of queenstown

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Memories of NZ Pt1: Scenic Turns Everywhere!

May 28, 2011 by Bino 1 Comment

New Zealand. One of the most highly rated destinations in the world, said to be the world’s “youngest country” and adrenaline capital. It is probably one of the few countries in the world that I haven’t heard anything negative about. Everyone I’ve met who’s been there only have praises for this small but progressive nation. Despite a seemingly endless list of good things, New Zealand was originally not in my priority of travel destinations. I’ve heard good reviews about the country. And yes, I may have seen a few shows on TV attesting to the majestic landscapes in the land further down under. But that was about it. In my mind, there wasn’t any mystique about this country. There wasn’t one major attraction that I associated with New Zealand so the strong desire to visit just was not there.

With this being said, I would say that my recent 8-day trip to the country changed the mental filter I initially had. I consider New Zealand to be within my Top 5 most enjoyable travel experiences so far. There are just too many things to try – and I was only able to do a sampler during my short trip. If I were to just put my experiences and general impressions of the whole thing in one word, that word would be “refreshing.”

postcard perfect

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