Copenhagen July 2017
My summer holidays this year started in Copenhagen which is the coolest place amongst the Nordic cities. Not only is the city beautifully set surrounded by water with cobblestone streets made up of colorful town houses, there are also countless modern design studios, industrial designed bars and shops, and gourmet restaurants serving Nordic Cuisine, the […]
Leshan Giant Buddha May 2017
The drive from Chengdu to Leshan Giant Buddha took about 2.5 hours. Leshan Giant Buddha is carved out of a cliff face during the Tang Dynasty and took 90 years to complete, from 713 to 803 AD. The seated Maitreya statue is 71 meter tall and sits on the river banks at the confluence of […]
Dujiangyan & Qingcheng May 2017
Dujiangyan irrigation system 都江堰 was first constructed in 256 BC to control floods. It is still used today to irrigate the region. Instead of building a dam to prevent floods, governor Li Bing constructed an artificial levee to redirect a portion of the water as well as cut a channel through Mount Yulei to discharge the […]
Sanxingdui & Jinsha May 2017
Sanxingdui 三星堆 is the name of the archaeological site outside Chengdu of a previously unknown Bronze Age culture. The site is believed to be a major ancient walled city on the banks of the Minjiang River dating from the 11th century BC. Archaeologists are identifying it with the ancient kingdom of Shu before the Qin conquest. […]
Chengdu May 2017
Chengdu is the capital of China’s Sichuan province and is one of the only major places that has maintained its name nearly unchanged and its location from imperial to communist eras. Chengdu served as capital to Liu Bei’s Shu during the Three Kingdoms Era (220-280 AD). Nowadays, it is famed for being the home of […]
Trinidad & Cienfuegos, Cuba April 2017
Today we leave Havana for our long drive east to Trinidad located in central Cuba. En route we stopped in Santa Clara founded in 1689 and was the last battle ground of the Cuban Revolution which toppled the Batista government in 1958. One of these guerrilla columns that attacked and captured Santa Clara was led […]
Havana, Cuba April 2017
After a two and half hour flight from Panama City, we arrived in Havana, Cuba. Cuba has forever been on my travel list and since it remained relatively closed off and preserved in a time warp, I always imagined it to be the ultimate looking glass into the the colonial past. We were told that […]
Panama City April 2017
Panama City is the most cosmopolitan city in Central America. The city has been the regional hub of trade and immigration mainly because of the Panama Canal which is one of the most important shipping routes in the world linking the North Atlantic Ocean with the North Pacific Ocean via the Caribbean Sea. Even prior […]
Madurai Feb 2017
From Tiruchirappalli, we drove about two and half hours southwest to Madurai. Madurai is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu state in South India. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, at least since 3rd century BC. We stayed at the Gateway Hotel Pasumalai run by Taj Hotels up on […]
Chola Temples & Trichy Feb 2017
From Chennai, we fly to Tiruchirappalli or Trichy, about 300 kilometers south of Chennai. Tiruchirappalli is one of the oldest inhabited cities in Tamil Nadu province being ruled by the Cholas from the 3rd century BC. It is a good base for visiting the Great Living Chola Temples. There are no international chain hotels here […]
Chennai Feb 2017
Leaving the Ajanta and Ellora Caves, we flew to Chennai as we continued our journey in South India. Chennai is perfect as a base to explore the neighboring sites namely, Kanchipuram and Mamallapuram. We stayed at the Park Hyatt Chennai for the next several days. Again, like the Four Seasons in Mumbai, the Park Hyatt […]
Phraya Nakhon Cave Dec 2016
Phraya Nakhon Cave, in Prachuap Khiri Khan province of Thailand, is by far one of the most serene and magical places I have visited. It is about a 45-minute drive south of Hua Hin inside the Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park. We were dropped off at the parking lot of Ban Pu fishing village […]
Churchill – Polar Bears Oct 2016
Churchill in northern Manitoba, Canada is also known as the “polar bear capital of the world” and was originally a Hudson Bay Company fur-trading post. This frontier community is one of the few human settlements where polar bears can be observed in the wild and we were told that no where else in the world […]
Montreal Oct 2016
While Quebec City is the soul of French-Canadian culture, Montreal is the heart of commercial activities and named a Beta + world city. It has also become somewhat of a foodie city with quite a few food tours available. Old Montreal is the city’s birthplace with buildings dating from the 17th century. Similar to Quebec […]
Quebec City Oct 2016
Quebec City is the capital of the province of Quebec in Canada. It is a little piece of Continental Europe being the oldest European settlement in North America. Its 400-year-old Old Town became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Some of the attractions here are the Citadel, Chateau Frontenac (now a Fairmont hotel), and […]