Bino

Flying to North Korea: Air Koryo (Beijing to Pyongyang)

June 10, 2016 by Bino Leave a Comment

For the overwhelming majority of travelers who venture to North Korea, there are only two options. The first and quickest is to to fly to Pyongyang (FNJ), an airport serviced by just two airlines. The second option is to take the train – the more scenic route if you will – from the Chinese border.

during my university days, my college friends and i made a pledge to one day visit North Korea. when that day finally came many years later, there were just three of us who actually went

During my trip to North Korea, I opted to fly to Pyongyang. It was as much as being able to try out the services of the North Korean flag carrier, Air Koryo, as it was about the limited days I could spare for the trip. Air Koryo is notoriously known to be the only one-star airline among those rated by Skytrax – though I was to learn later that it’s not as bad as it’s made out to be. But I’ll explain more later.

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Bangkok Airways A319 Economy Class Flight Review (Singapore to Koh Samui)

June 9, 2016 by Bino 2 Comments

Although a mere 90 minute flight, Koh Samui can prove to be a tricky place to get to from Singapore. Fares are often high and with only 2 airlines just servicing this route, the schedule may sometimes not be optimal for a short jaunt there.

I took Bangkok Airways during a recent trip to Koh Samui due to its schedule which is conducive for those looking for a weekend trip to the resort island. I opted for an evening flight on Friday. This meant that I could leave the office after work at 6 and check-in for my flight with time to spare. Similarly, they have an afternoon flight on Sundays which gets me back to Singapore by early evening to prepare for the next working week.

Bangkok Airways is also an airline that has always captured my attention. It positions itself as “Asia’s Boutique Airline” and is known for clever extras such as free lounge food even for its Economy Class passengers. I have transited in quite a number of domestic airports in Thailand and recall feeling envious every time I saw the ubiquitous buffet spread reserved for Bangkok Airways while sitting there at the opposite side of the boarding area.

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Sunday Superbrunch at HEAT in EDSA Shangri-la

June 6, 2016 by Bino Leave a Comment

HEAT in Edsa Shangri-La is the latest hotel all-day dining restaurant to roll out a Sunday buffet brunch in what is increasingly becoming a popular Sunday activity for those living in Metro Manila.

Dubbed as a “Superbrunch,” the buffet combines the best of HEAT’s hugely popular Mad for Lobster Fridays and Mad for Wagyu Saturdays while still maintaining many of the restaurant’s most popular and evergreen dishes. Last week, I was invited by the hotel to check out the brunch complete with Grandi Vini wine pairing.

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10 Lviv Tourist Attractions You Have to Visit — A Travel Guide

May 30, 2016 by Bino 2 Comments

If you fancy European fairytale towns with cobblestone streets, charming city squares and Baroque architecture, Lviv in Western Ukraine should be on your list. A UNESCO World Heritage Site located near Ukraine’s border with Poland, the city has changed hands several times over the centuries. It’s also been known under the following names: Lwow, Lvov, Lemberg and Leopolis reflecting Polish, Austro-Hungarian and Russian influences over the years.

I visited some weeks back and I must say the environment reminded me of more popular destinations such as Prague or Krakow except that Lviv has a more authentic feel (think: buildings in varying states of disrepair, fewer touts and lack of people dressed up in tacky medieval costumes). If your impression of Ukraine is of a country with freezing weather year-round and gray, Soviet buildings; Lviv will surely change that.

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Kiev : Why You Should Visit the Underrated & Cool Capital of Ukraine

May 21, 2016 by Bino 26 Comments

Introduction to Kiev

Before there was Moscow or St. Petersburg, there was Kiev. As the cradle of East Slavic civilization, Kiev today serves as the capital of Ukraine and is a pleasant city with plenty of parks, golden domes as well as some cool Soviet monuments. Because of the war in the east and the recent loss of Crimea, many people make the hasty generalization that Ukraine is not safe to visit.

They couldn’t be more wrong.

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My Qatar Airways Business Class Experience on the 787 Dreamliner

May 19, 2016 by Bino 8 Comments

Last month, I flew with Qatar Airways on a trip that took me to Europe from Singapore. My main destinations for this journey were the Baltic States and Ukraine but since there’s no decent connection to these places from Asia, I headed to a couple of Scandinavian cities first. Those who have been reading this blog throughout the years would know that I have been flying with Qatar Airways almost annually for the past 5 years as they have great connections to several European gateways coupled with an admirable product at a reasonable price point. This time, I had the opportunity to experience the Business Class service on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and this review will cover this aircraft. I had previously been on the Dreamliner when I flew from Singapore to Doha in 2014. The new A350 now services this route so my Dreamliner experience this time coincided with the second leg of my flight – from Doha to Oslo.

QR’s Dreamliner is a two-class setup with Business Class and Economy Class. There are 22 seats in the Business Class section with the first twenty seats separated from the last two by a bar where passengers can find free-flowing champagne during the flight. The seats follow a reverse herringbone layout which means aisle access for all seats which are on a 1-2-1 configuration.

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6 Dazzling Attractions in Singapore to Photograph at Night

April 27, 2016 by Bino 4 Comments

A city with sleek infrastructure, tall buildings and manmade wonders; Singapore is an urbanite’s dream. By day, many of the city state’s attractions gleam in the sun but it is at night that they show their sleeker and more sophisticated side. Many of Singapore’s most iconic buildings and attractions present a whole new dimension when viewed after the sun sets. This is due mainly to the fact that the government here has invested a lot in putting in accents such as flood lights and laser shows to delight the ten million or so tourists that visit each year.

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Sunday Champagne Brunch at Edge, Pan Pacific Singapore

April 25, 2016 by Bino Leave a Comment

Edge, the all-day dining restaurant at Pan Pacific Singapore, recently revamped the country’s longest Sunday champagne brunch with a host of new items alongside their existing specialties such as the Mongolian Suckling Pig, Durian Pengat and Whole Roasted Prime Rib. The buffet stations have also been revitalized to make them more interactive, with the opportunity for diners to witness the kitchen staff preparing some of the items on the buffet. Personally, I love dining at this property especially at Hai Tien Lo or at Keyaki so I was pretty excited to try out the Sunday brunch at Edge this time around.

The first thing I noticed as I entered was this live band which serenaded us throughout the afternoon with acoustic versions of pop tunes. It provided for a modern touch to what was mostly an elegant affair.

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