Destinations

Review of La Rose Boutique Hotel and Spa in Phnom Penh

November 5, 2013 by Bino 2 Comments

During my short trip to Phnom Penh the other week, I was hosted by La Rose Boutique Hotel and Spa, a relatively new place of accommodation in the city center and one of the top-rated Phnom Penh hotels.

La Rose Boutique Hotel and Spa is located in Preah Norodom Boulevard, one of the city’s main arteries. From here, the road leads directly to the stunning Independence Monument, and further on to the likes of the Royal Palace and Sisowath Quay so the location is pretty strategic. I took a tuktuk ride here and was pretty excited to see how this property ranks among Phnom Penh hotels.

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7 Things to Do in Phnom Penh – Why It’s No Longer Another Stopover to Angkor

November 3, 2013 by Bino 15 Comments

Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, counts a genocide museum and a place called the “killing fields” among its top sights. With attractions centering on the morbid, coming here was never in my list of priorities. I had been to Cambodia previously but directly skipped the capital in favor of Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat.

Armed with good recommendations from friends and colleagues, I finally made my way to Phnom Penh just last week – nearly 6 years since my last visit to Cambodia. Needless to say, I was bowled over by the laidback vibe and friendly city folk. With rapid economic growth in recent years, Phnom Penh is currently undergoing a massive change with new highrises, fancy restaurants, bars, museums and day trip possibilities. Those who arrive on transit to Siem Reap, usually from Ho Chi Minh, and check in immediately to their Phnom Penh hotel without expecting anything will be pleasantly surprised. Cambodia’s capital is now a destination in its own right with several things to keep the traveler busy. For a city that has earned a gruesome reputation due to its recent past, I found a plethora of things to see and do that were not in any way related to torture chambers or mass executions.

For a 5 to 7 day itinerary of Cambodia that runs through the essential sights, check out this combined Cambodia travel guide

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Review of Holiday Inn Express Singapore Orchard Road

November 2, 2013 by Bino Leave a Comment

A new entrant in Singapore’s mid-priced hotel category is Holiday Inn Express Singapore Orchard Road, an offshoot brand from the Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG ). The brand itself has been around for quite some time, with many similar properties in other Asian countries (and even in America, Europe, etc) that aim for the “no frills” concept. The Holiday Inn Express Singapore Orchard Road is the group’s first Holiday Inn Express branded hotel in Singapore, with another budget hotel in the works in Clarke Quay.

my room at holiday inn express singapore orchard road

The hotel hosted me for two nights during a recent weekend. Holiday Inn Express Singapore Orchard Road is located right behind Orchard Road itself, with popular shopping malls such as Paragon and Ngee Ann City only around 3 to 5 minutes walk from the hotel. I must say that staying here made me feel like a tourist all over again, with Orchard Road being oh so close. The location is definitely unbeatable!

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Review of Hotel Clover 5 Hong Kong Street, Singapore

October 17, 2013 by Bino 5 Comments

During a recent weekend, I was hosted by the freshly opened Hotel Clover 5 Hong Kong Street, located just in between Raffles Place and Clarke Quay. This strategic location is very popular among the backpacking crowd, with many hostels in the vicinity. More recently, full-fledged hotels have also moved in but so far Hotel Clover 5 Hong Kong Street is the only boutique option in the area. The Hotel Clover brand is relatively new but rapidly expanding not just in Singapore but also overseas as a chain of boutique of hotels. In fact, during the time of my stay barely 3 weeks after the hotel opened, I was told that they’re constructing a new one next door!

deluxe room at hotel clover at 5 hong kong street

Due to skyrocketing hotel prices in Singapore – where even rooms in 3-star hotels can cost upwards of US$ 200 per night – boutique hotels have become a worthwhile alternative for lodging. Hotel Clover 5 Hong Kong Street is well-placed under this category and they’re going out in a big way with many hotels opening island-wide. And in keeping with the tradition of boutique hotels, each property is set to have its distinctive motif.

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One Day Trip in Zagreb

October 14, 2013 by Bino 3 Comments

I stumbled upon Zagreb on a long train ride from Austria, past incredible alpine scenery, where the only thing that seemed to be missing were alphorns and blonde girls named Heidi yodeling from the hilltops. It was picture perfect. The train criss-crossed the snowcapped peaks of the Austrian Alps, then ran past the verdant plains of Slovenia, and stopped for a while near pristine Lake Bled. I spent one whole afternoon on the train but at the very least, the majestic views kept me entertained during the long train ride to Croatia.

zagreb’s st. mark’s church, standing beside croatia’s parliament buildings

After what must have been 6 hours, we finally left the European Union and were officially in Zagreb, Croatia. The gritty, random Soviet style apartment buildings that greeted me that evening before we stopped at the train station threw me off a bit with respect to my impression of Croatia. The azure seas, beach-side villas and medieval, fortified cities were nowhere to be found – Dalmatia, the thin strip lining the Adriatic Sea, was a hundred miles away. I was to have a one day trip in Zagreb. And I was there without any clue on things to see or do in city.

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A Peek at the North Korean Countryside

September 29, 2013 by Bino 7 Comments

A lot has been said about the quality of life in North Korea’s rural areas that it’s initially hard to tell which is real and which is fake. For sure, some of them seem too far-fetched to be true – or are they? During those rare times when we got to venture out of Pyongyang, I couldn’t help but look out of the bus window at every chance I got. Would I be able to see any evidence of the starvation, the prison camps, the nuclear facilities? Judging by what we saw by the road side, it was evident that things operated at a different rhythm here.

They say that a good way to gauge a country’s level of development is to take quick glance at its rural areas. The countryside of North Korea did afford us a few observations. For one, there were no animals to be seen. We did not see a single chicken, pig, goat or cow outside toiling the fields. Moreover, everything was done with human hand. There were barely any machines seen that could harvest the many road side plantations (likely to have been deliberately placed to show the country as self-sustaining) we saw along the way.

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The Greatest Show on Earth – Arirang Mass Games in North Korea

September 13, 2013 by Bino 10 Comments

the amazing show!

Imagine 50,000 performers in a stadium. They jump, dance and march with sheer synchronicity. Apart from this, they’re backed by another group of 50,000 performers whose job is to flash flip card propaganda mosaics using human hands. If there is ever a highlight to a trip to North Korea, the Arirang Mass Games has to be it. I go one step further and dare say that this is probably the most spectacular thing to see in the entire Korean peninsula. Watching these “games” alone already justifies a trip to the Hermit Kingdom. It has to be seen to be believed.

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Capri by Fraser Changi City Turns One!

September 2, 2013 by Bino 1 Comment

Time sure flies fast. It’s hard to believe than this month marks one year since my staycation at Capri by Fraser Changi City, the first hosted staycation I’ve ever had. While a line of staycations have come after that, the very first one remains to be one of the most unique hotel concepts I’ve experienced (I still remember the gaming consoles and exercise machines they have in the laundry rooms). And I am not alone in saying this. Today, Capri by Fraser Changi City is one of the highest rated hotels of its class, having garnered consistently top-notch reviews from travel and booking websites.

Coinciding with the one year since my most enjoyable stay in Capri by Fraser Changi City, the said hotel is likewise marking their first anniversary this same month and they have prepared an exciting line up of activities and promotions to mark this occasion.

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