My partner and I surely had a fun time exploring the Vimanmek Mansion, which was very accessible to a lot of hotels in Thailand like the Convenient Park Hotel Bangkok.To start with, Thais claim that the Vimanmek Mansion is the world’s biggest golden teakwood mansion.  It is also sometimes referred to as the Vimanmek Palace.  It took us more than an hour to go through the huge exhibition rooms which were filled with various memorabilia from King Rama V’s reign.  The English Speaking guide, who was assigned to tour us during that hour, showed us the different rooms, décor, collection of photographs, silver, ceramic items, porcelain, jade, and items that were made of glistening gold.  But of course, we had to pay attention to whatever time we had left on our hands.  Our guide told us that we have to hurry so that we can make it in time to our next destination.

It was a comfortable and short ride from the Vimanmek Mansion to the next item in our itinerary.  Our guide said that we will be thrilled with what we were about to see.  True enough, our hearts leaped when we found out that we will be visiting Wat Po which was home to the magnificent golden reclining Buddha image.

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Posted in Attractions, Thailand

General Santos City, located south of Manila, has long been known as the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines” due to its bountiful fishing industry, which contributes more than 50% to the city’s economy. However, it is becoming better known worldwide as the hometown of boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, the unprecedented holder of 7 title belts in 7 different weight divisions. Pacquiao has made it to the cover of Time Magazine and maybe declared Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. What kind of city can produce the best boxer in the entire world?

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Posted in Asia, Attractions

It’s not uncommon to visit an Asian country and find that the people have carved a niche of some sort for themselves. In Korea, especially, you’ll find that different cities or provinces attach themselves to specific cultural habits. Some have special festivals while others boast intense cuisines. In the end, despite each area having much to offer, they’ll only become well-known for one or two.

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Posted in Korea

The folks over at HotelClub.com have recently released a fun, new flash game to take your mind off work and test those pillow fighting skills you’ve developed over the years! Not only that, but by playing the game (and possibly finger smashing your keyboard at the same time), you are in the running to win amazing prizes in the form of free accommodation in any hotel of your choice! Awesome!

So what are you waiting for? Play “Pillow Fight Club” NOW!

Posted in Fun

Riding one of the Chao Phraya Express Boats was definitely worthwhile for us.  My partner and I decided to see another side of Bangkok using a different mode of transportation.  From the time we got off at the Maharaj Pier, we proceeded to explore the Grand Palace and asked our guide tons of questions about the magnificent architecture.  From the palace, we moved on to pay our respects to the Emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Kaew.  We even got to make a few wishes using the blessed water at the temple.  After having our fill of these glorious attractions, our guide told us that we can go to another interesting tourist spot.  He was referring to none other than the Vimanmek Mansion.

The Vimanmek Mansion is also popularly known as the Vimanmek Teak Mansion or the Vimanmek Palace.  It is specifically located within the Dusit Palace complex near the Dusit Zoo in Dusit district. The Vimanmek is considered the world’s largest golden teakwood mansion.

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Posted in Attractions, Thailand

While you’ll find a myriad of incredible tea brews in countries all around the world, some of the most notable come from the island of Sri Lanka.

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Posted in Sri Lanka

Taishan (Mount Tai) is one of China’s 5 sacred mountains, a set of Taoism’s holy places that includes Huashan. A symbol of sunrise and renewal, Taishan is foremost among the five mountains and is considered a deity in itself, a son of the Jade Emperor in heaven who acts as a channel between gods and men. In ancient times, the first thing a newly-crowned emperor would do is climb up Taishan and pray to heaven (at the peak), earth (at the base) and his ancestors. A total of 72 emperors have ascended this mountain, as well as numerous poets and literary scholars; the various monuments, temples and stone tablets throughout the slopes bear witness to these visits with poetic inscriptions. The first Chinese emperor, Shih Huang, left an inscription on the mountain; Confucius has also written poems about it, as well. “The Pride of Shandong Province” is located at the center of the region, and is visited by six million people every year. These visitors can explore the 22 ancient temples, 1,800 carved stones and all the ruins, pavilions, bridges and pine trees in between.

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Posted in Attractions, China

We would have to say that our trip to Thailand was just getting better and better.  One day we were exploring the ancient temples of Ayutthaya.  The next day, we found ourselves riding on one of the famous Chao Phraya Express Boats to visit the attractions at the different pier stops.  First, we decided to visit the popular Grand Palace of Thailand.  We were amazed at the intricate carvings and proud structures.  The great thing about visiting the Grand Palace is that visitors are treated to not only one but two major tourist attractions.  Located right within reach of the palace is Wat Phra Kaew or what is also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

Yes, both the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha can be found within the same compound.  One can easily get lost within the vast grounds and lose track of time.  The entire compound was packed with tourists from all over the world that it took us a while before we finally mastered the art of avoiding people and have our photos taken decently even in highly populated spots.

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Posted in Attractions, Thailand

Throughout Taiwan you will find a collection of more than 5,000 incredible temples. Some are small, with one simple room, while others are large complexes with several, multi-level buildings.

Taiwan hosts three main types of temple: the Taoist, the Buddhist, and the Confucius. Each reflects the religious beliefs of the unique group it represents. There are, however, a few temples that are both Taoist and Buddhist. During the time period when Japan occupied Taiwan, those with Taoist beliefs were often persecuted. Because Taoism was so important to the culture, many Taoists used to go to Buddhist temples to pray. read the rest of Discovering Taiwan’s Temples

Posted in Asia

Bunkaru is the common name for Ningyo Jururi, or traditional Japanese puppet theater, where ningyo is Japanese for “puppet” while jururi is a Japanese term for a chanted play. Bunkaru was used to refer only to a specific theater in Osaka, but the term eventually applied to all ningyo jururi. This ain’t your kid’s puppetry: bunkaru is the most developed puppet theatre in the world, and commonly deals with mature themes like  conflict, loss and death by suicide. Like Kabuki, Bunkaru is the layman’s Noh, as the latter is reserved for the aristocracy.

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