Destinations

Hotel Review: My Fantastic Stay at The Sukhothai Hotel Bangkok

October 27, 2014 by Bino 3 Comments

Often regarded as one of the Thai capital’s quintessential hotels, The Sukhothai Hotel Bangkok has been charming guests for over two decades with its unique intepretation of Thai design that is at once contemporary and at the same time reminiscent of ancient Siamese capitals such as its namesake, the ancient ruins of Sukhothai in Northern Thailand.

I had the chance to experience the impeccable offerings of The Sukhothai Hotel during a short jaunt in Bangkok. Anyone who has been to this tourist mecca knows that the city has a very competitive hotel scene, with several excellent and impressive hotels at every price point. For a hotel to continually be recognized as one of the best in the city for over two decades, it practically needs to go the extra mile and during my stay there, I did come up with a few points that perhaps explains the hotel’s accolades.

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The Volcano Temple of Phanom Rung & Nearby Prasat Muangtam in Northeastern Thailand

October 25, 2014 by Bino Leave a Comment

Having seen the majestic Khmer temples at Phimai Historical Park the day before, I set out to see the dramatic volcano temple of Phanom Rung and the nearby Prasat Muangtam, another highlight of the Isaan region, in Buriram province the next day. If Phimai is considered off-the-beaten path, Phanom Rung and Prasat Muangtam are considered even more so, with its middle of nowhere and hard-to-get-to location. To visit these temples, a little bit of preparation is definitely needed.

Getting to Phanom Rung and Prasat Muangtam

I was essentially looking at two ways of getting there. Via public transport, I had to get to another town called Nang Rong, a typical town in Thailand where I could catch a songthaew or minivan that goes to the temples. As I wanted to visit two temples in a day and I was coming from Nakhon Ratchasima, I decided to hire a taxi for the 2 or so hour journey.

Temple on a Volcano – The Scene Can’t Get Any More Dramatic Than This!

the main part of the temple is up there, on an extinct volcano

While Phimai is arguably the biggest and most extensive Khmer temple ruin in Northeastern Thailand, Phanom Rung is probably the most spectacular. The temple’s got a few things going for it. First of all, its location, on top of an extinct volcano 400 meters high is enough to draw oohs and ahs. The weather here was also markedly cooler when I came at noon, even though the temple is not really high up in the mountains.

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Exploring Phimai Historical Park in Northeastern Thailand

October 22, 2014 by Bino 4 Comments

The Northeastern part of Thailand , also known as Isaan, is a rarely visited region in what is a heavily visited country. If you need a place to escape the crowds in Thailand and yet still witness some magnificent sights, this is one of the best places to visit. Deep within this off-the-beaten path locale lies Phimai Historical Park or Prasat Hin Phimai, one of Thailand’s finest ancient Khmer temple ruins. Coming here, it is easy to spot similarities with Angkor Wat, with ornate carvings made of sandstone and laterite as well as the three towers akin to its more famous counterpart in Cambodia.

making my way to the central prang of phimai

I took my nifty Casio Exilim EX-FR10 out for a spin at the temples of Phimai – all photos you see here are also taken with it. As a freestyle action camera, it comes with a wireless controller which allows me to split the camera into 2 and shoot photos remotely.

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Hallstatt & Perast: My Quest For the Most Picture Perfect Village in Europe

October 5, 2014 by Bino Leave a Comment

Europe is pretty much known for having picture-perfect small towns, the type that contain no more than a thousand or two people, and whose residents seem to be sanitized to the idea of the town’s population multiplying by 5 during the day when hordes of daytrippers make way to their local squares, churches and cafes.

my snapshot of the town of hallstatt in austria

Of the small towns of Europe that I’ve had the pleasure of visiting, none have impressed me as much as the villages of Hallstatt in Austria and Perast in Montenegro. Despite being several hundred miles apart and having vastly different origins, I couldn’t help but associate both towns together. Hallstatt may trace its identity to other alpine villages across Austria and Switzerland while Perast has this undeniable Venetian look with its monochromatic stone houses but there is something uncannily similar about the overall appearance of both towns. For one, there is the stunning lakeside location and mountains in the horizon. There’s also the ubiquitous pointy church spire that dominates the skyline of both towns that perhaps drive the similarities home.

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My First Time on a Yacht With Blue Star Yachting

September 29, 2014 by Bino Leave a Comment

Despite the growing popularity of yachting as a leisure activity in Singapore, I had never been on one before – at least not until last week. A press invitation care of Blue Star Yachting changed all that.

Setting sail from the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club, I came aboard a luxury catamaran that could accommodate as many as 37 people. It’s just the sort of boat that people hire for corporate activities, to entertain clients or simply to chill with friends. For that evening, however, I counted folks from the media as my fellow passengers as we cruised around the southern part of the Singapore coast.

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Weekend Staycation at EDSA Shangri-la Manila – All You Need to Know

September 21, 2014 by Bino 10 Comments

For over twenty years, the EDSA Shangri-la Manila has been a formidable force among Manila’s luxury hotels. Since it opened its doors in 1992 as the first Shangri-la hotel in the Philippines, this property has become an institution, and has often been cited by respected travel publications as one of Manila’s best hotels. In fact, Edsa Shangri-la traces its origins to the rise of Ortigas Center as an alternative to the Makati CBD. SM Megamall and Shangri-la Plaza had both opened for just about a year when the Ortigas Center’s first luxury hotel was completed. Personally, this hotel was my introduction to the Shangri-la brand. It was the first Shangri-la property that I stepped foot in when I was a kid attending wedding parties!

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The Most Unusual Things You Never Knew You Could Do in Singapore

September 7, 2014 by Bino 6 Comments

Branching out from my previous entry on free things to do in Singapore, I thought I’d steer from mainstream activities and attractions and focus instead on some offbeat ideas. As a tiny and highly urbanized city state, people have a certain notion of what Singapore is and what it should be that seemingly mundane things elsewhere are considered highly unusual here. But aside from this, the city state is not as predictable and sterile as most people think – you might get thrown off by the city’s state quirkier side, especially if you’re not from here! To prove my point that not everything is what it seems in this city, here is a short list of unusual things you can do the next time you find yourself in this part of the world and which you can include in your Singapore itinerary:

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Salzburg’s Old Town and Historic Centre – Beyond Mozart & The Sound of Music

August 31, 2014 by Bino Leave a Comment

There is by far no other city in Austria that has captured the public’s imagination more than the UNESCO World Heritage listed baroque town of Salzburg. Thanks to Hollywood and to classical music, this town will forever be remembered for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and for that 1965 film that starred Julie Andrews. Coming here, it’s easy to get lost into the stereotype! Men dressed in tacky 18th century attire and Sound of Music tours are just about as common as schnitzel and sausages. But Salzburg is much more than that.

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