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Land of culture, land of curiosities – Embracing Thailand
Thailand is an amazing place to visit. With its food, landscape and interesting cultural experiences, not to mention some nice beaches to relax on, it’s an intriguing place to explore. Full of curiosities, this is a country that blends cosmopolitan high rises with the farming community, fishing villages and Buddhist temples. How could a place like this fail to capture your attention? Then there’s the culture, which is wonderful to learn about and even better to experience. Of course, you have only one way to experience the country and that’s to head to the airport, board one of the many flights to Thailand and live it. The King The monarch…
My Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel, Singapore
Who doesn’t love cocktails? To me, cocktails scream ‘holidays’! So when I had the chance to explore the origins of the now infamous Singapore Sling at the beautiful and historic Raffles Hotel in Singapore, I couldn’t resist. The Singapore Sling Bartender Ngiam Tong Boon created the Singapore Sling, while employed in the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel in 1915. The cocktail is famed for being sweet, sharp, smooth and thirst quenching, perfect in the Singapore humidity. It was originally meant as a cocktail for ladies, hence the pink colour, and contains gin, cherry brandy, pineapple juice, lime juice, Cointreau, Dom Benedictine, grenadine and Angostura Bitters. (I’m not sure how…
Things to do in Esperance
Arriving in Esperance, in the south-east corner of Western Australia, feels like you have arrived at the end of the earth. Lying over 700 kilometres from Perth, and a two-hour drive from the next established town, Esperance sits in isolated splendour on the spectacular south coast and has several unique attractions for visitors to enjoy. Esperance Waterfront Over the past two years the foreshore by Esperance town centre has been transformed from a scrappy shoreline of grass and beach to a chic new waterfront featuring walking and cycle paths, planted areas, benches, picnic shelters, public barbecues, pieces of public art and, of course, beach access. It makes a great place…
Hue’s Impressive Imperial Citadel
Little did we know that visiting Hue’s old fortified city, known as the citadel, was going to involve so much guesswork. Tragically, not much of Vietnam’s one-time royal domain and capital city remains in tact today, but that makes it all the more interesting to explore. Home to the Nguyen dynasty, at the time of construction, Hue’s citadel would have been a city fit for a king. It covered about five square kilometers on the north bank of the Perfume River and featured an imperial enclosure and the Forbidden Purple City where only emperors, concubines and invited guests were permitted. There were also temple compounds and residences. However, what visitors…
The Tailors of Hoi An, Vietnam
It doesn’t take long in Asia for the average westerner to feel enormous. The average Asian body shape is simply more slender than the ever-growing western shape. If clothes shopping, you quickly learn that cries of “This good size for you” are not to be trusted and you need the largest size of trousers. So, what should you do if you are in desperate need of some new threads while in Asia? Definitely head to Hoi An and get yourself to a tailor! The streets of the small centre of Hoi An are lined with tailors offering to create just about any outfit imaginable. Mannequins stand in shop fronts wearing…
Highlights of Little India, Singapore
Singapore’s colourful Little India can seem like a chaotic attack on the senses with bursts of colour, noise and fragrance greeting you around each corner. This vibrancy is key to the area’s identity, making it feel like you have stepped onto a street in Delhi, and makes Little India a unique stop on any trip to Singapore. Little India Arcade The first stop for many visitors to Serangoon Road is the Little India Arcade. The shops catering mainly to Indians, sell sari fabric, fruit and vegetables, Indian confectionary, sweets and snacks, religious artifacts, garland offerings, Indian music and clothes, but also offer handicrafts and souvenirs. There are a few specialty…
How travel can enhance your career
You should never be afraid to explain a period of travel on your career history. Traditionalists might argue that travel will damage career prospects but I beg to differ. Travel puts you outside your comfort zone and exposes you to all sorts of new and foreign experiences. Here are the ways travel can enhance your CV. Time management If you’re not organised and capable of keeping to a schedule you’re not going to even catch your departure flight. Perhaps that is a bit simplistic but travel, especially a prolonged period of travel, requires you to be capable of organising and planning your time, often in complicated surroundings. Depending on your…
Why you should visit Banteay Srei
One of the less well-known temples of the ancient Angkor complex, Banteay Srei offers an interesting contrast to the typical architecture found at Angkor. The pretty little temple is a short distance further from Siem Reap than most of the other temples, but is definitely worth the extra effort. While Angkor Wat is the most famous temple of South East Asia and Angkor Thom was made famous by the Tomb Raider movies, Banteay Srei has been somewhat overlooked. How is Banteay Srei different from the other Angkor temples? Unlike most of the Angkor structures, Benteay Srei was not built by a king, but by a courtier. Constructed in the 10th…
Things to do in Cairns
Many people visit Cairns simply to access the Great Barrier Reef and spend little time exploring other nearby localities. The reef is incredible, and is a definite must-see for all visitors to Australia. However, there are also many other attractions in and around Cairns that should also not be missed in this very special part of the world. Day Trips from Cairns Visit the Great Barrier Reef Let’s start with the reef. With over 900 islands spread over more than 340,000 square kilometres, the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system. The best way to spend time exploring the reef is to spend a few days…
Angkor Thom – An Ancient city in ruins
While Angkor Wat is the most famous of the ancient ruins at Angkor, there is also an enormous historical city. Featuring a royal palace, a Buddhist temple, the terrace of elephants, four impressive gateways and incredible bas-relief carvings, Angkor Thom is not to be missed. It was our first day exploring Angkor and we started with a big day. Angkor Thom is the largest of all the areas of the ancient Angkor sites, and in many ways, the most interesting. King Jayavarman VII built Angkor Thom in the late 1100s and parts of the area were developed, rather than constructed new, indicating the historic significance of the site. Angkor Thom…
