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Day Trip to Oudong – the Former Royal Capital of Cambodia

November 7, 2013 by Bino 16 Comments

A not so common fixture in the Cambodia travel scene is a quiet town which puches above its weight in the country’s history. During my short stay in Phnom Penh, I managed to sneak in a quick excursion further afield. Phnom Penh has no shortage of possibilities for day trips but I decided to venture to Oudong or spelled alternatively as Udong, which is the former royal capital of Cambodia up until it moved to Phnom Penh in the 1800s. Oudong itself is a town some 45 km north of Phnom Penh, in Kampong Speu province, but the interesting parts are concentrated in Oudong Mountain, a short drive from the town itself.

how’s this for a view? from the peak of phnom oudong

To get there, I decided to take a tuktuk. Bad choice. Although the road getting there was in relatively good shape, the dustiness of the Cambodian countryside just proved too overwhelming and it didn’t help that the ride took 2 freaking hours! By far it was the longest tuktuk ride I had ever taken.

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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.

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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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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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9 Things to See in Pyongyang – North Korea

August 25, 2013 by Bino 22 Comments

Having just arrived in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, we were met by two serious-looking “mandatory” guides who wore business suits more suitable for the secret police rather than for holiday planners. And to perhaps bring the seriousness of our trip to North Korea home, they started by giving us three rules – #1: You cannot go out without your guide; #2: You cannot fold, distort, deface or throw away any paraphernalia that contain the images of Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il and #3: You cannot take pictures of the military. And with that, our holiday to North Korea officially began.

the grand people’s study house, one of the most elaborately constructed buildings in pyongyang

The thing about visiting North Korea is that it’s not an usual destination by any sense of the word. Everything is strictly controlled. Visitors are expected to pay their respects to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il by bowing several times before their statues or embalmed bodies. Even the hotel rooms are most likely bugged. Then again, a trip to North Korea offers one a rare peek into the world’s last true communist state. It’s a country that got swept into the Cold War and never managed to get out, thanks to the country’s inflexible government.

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Hue: A City Echoing Vietnam’s Imperial Past

May 25, 2013 by Bino 6 Comments

Deep in the heart of Vietnam lies Hue, a city that’s a bit out of the way for most travelers (which may actually be a good thing) but is a treasure trove of cultural attractions. Hue was the imperial capital of Vietnam in the 1800’s, during a time when the country practiced a dynastic form of government with emperors at the helm. Imperial life then centered on the royal court, and elaborate buildings were built in and around the city’s citadel to host all the pomp and pageantry. With that undeniable Chinese influence, the Imperial city at Hue consisted of hundreds of buildings which served as government offices, residences for the emperor and his concubines and temples. Most of the Imperial City was destroyed however, during the Vietnam War, and today, barely a dozen buildings remain.

palace of supreme harmony, hue

It is perhaps the extent of the ruins which lead many to skip Hue while in the country. Truly, it would take a lot of imagination for one to recreate what court life would have looked like during the peak of Imperial Vietnam. Nevertheless, the imperial monuments in Hue were declared as a single UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. I decided to check this out during my third visit to Vietnam.

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