Travel Attractions in Dapitan City

Dapitan is one of the most visited travel attractions in the Philippines particularly in Mindanao. Since this is a place where Rizal was built his home when Spaniards try to capture him, there are still stuff and things here that you can see until now that used by him.

Tourism made it as tourist spot because Rizal is the most famous hero’s up to now. He was a greatest person who actually fights Spaniards people for the freedom of the Philippines from slavery. That is why; Philippines are now free from Spaniards terrible and dreadful treatments.

There are lots of tourist’s attractions in dapitan aside from Rizal shrine. Dapitan had beautiful beaches like Dakak beach resort. Dakak is one of the most beautiful and stunning place to visit here in dapitan.

This is known all over the country and people from other countries usually love to stay here because of its scenic beauties and mountainous natural views. The services and accommodations that offer Dakak beach resort is satisfying as it operate by the owner very well.

They provides Fantasyland which for adults and young ones or even children. All the rides here are amazing and enjoyable. Once you pay the entrance fee you can ride all you can then.

If after your enjoyment agendas, you might look for foods and you don’t have to worry about it because it has numbers of restaurants which are affordable and delicious.

So, if you are planning to visit Mindanao, do not forget to have some fun at Dapitan city and enjoy their spots offered.

Bangkok in Brief

Welcome to Bangkok : The city of culture.

Welcome to the metropolis of Bangkok, one of Asia's most thriving commercial centres. Many first-time visitors to Bangkok have little idea of what they'll actually encounter, Bangkok metropolis, accommodating around 8,000,000 residents, is a sophisticated, fast-growing and occasionally traffic-jammed city.

 

 

Referred to today as the City of Angels (Krung Thep in Thai), Bangkok was once called the Vanice of the East because of its many canals. Although many canals have been filled-in, taking away some of the city's old-world charm, it's still one of the most intriguing places worth visiting in Asia. Numerous visitors keep coming back to the city, some for vacations, some for business and some even to settle down here. Without doubt, modern-day Bangkok is a tourist destination of the East offering a greater variety of things to see and do than any other city in Asia.

Established in 1782 as Thailand's capital, the official full name of the city is probably the longest in the world:

Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udom Ratchaniwet Maha Sathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathatthiya Witsanukam Prasit.

Bangkok (City of Angels) offers an abundance of sites and attractions for tourists and is famous for its Buddhist Temples (Wats) including the famous Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaeo), adjacent to the Grand Palace. This temple and other beautiful examples of carefully-preserved Thai architecture are referred to in more details in the following section. Bangkok, located in the center of the country, is also an excellent stepping-off point for visiting other parts of Thailand. Although the measured pace of old Siam is now a thing of the past, the country's rich cultural and natural heritage still survives.

Accommodation in the city covers a variety of price ranges, but all offer high standard of service presented by friendly staffs. The city probably has the highest concentration of luxurious hotels in the world.

Currently, hotels and shopping venues offer amazing bargains, following the depreciation of the Thai baht currency in 1997. And for those in search of bargains, Bangkok has excellent examples of Thai handicrafts, Thai antiques, paintings, T-shirts in-fashion accessories, high-grade Thai silks and high quality jewellery.

 

The city also boasts a cornucopia of inexpensive restaurants featuring mouth-watering dishes from all regions of Thailand and international cuisine from just almost everywhere in the world. Many gourmets of Thai food, now rated No. 5 in the world's culinary top ten, considering Bangkok to be on a par with Hong Kong for gastronomic experiences.

 

The city offers a broad variety of restaurants, ranging from simple noodle stands to the most elegant dining rooms. Visitors from Europe and North America who consider themselves connoisseurs of Thai food will find Bangkok a gastronomic paradise. Despite the country's economic downturn, Thai people continue to be outwardly friendly, greeting visitors with their usual gracious hospitality and sincere expressions of friendship-traits which have earned Thailand the title of "Land of Smile". 

 

And that is no gimmick as you will discover by the time you have to leave Thailand. When the time comes, we hope you will leave the city of Bangkok feeling a deep warmth for its many charms and find it fascinating enough to enable us to welcome you back again and again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bangkok Geography:
Located in the center of the country, quite close to the Gulf of Thailand, the greater Bangkok Metropolis (including the former capital of Thonburi on the other side of the Chao Phraya River) covers an area of 1600 km2.

The city is situated right in the middle of the rice bowl of Asia, also known as Chao Phraya River Delta.

Bangkok Weather:
If you like the hot weather, Bangkok is the place for you. Average temp. rarely dip below 25 degree Celsius during the city’s 3 seasons. Between Nov. and Feb. the weather is warm and dry with temp. from 19 – 33 degree Celsius.; Mar – May is hot with temp rising to as high as 42 degrees, and from Jun – Oct (rainy season) it is warm and sometimes wet, but never cold. Even the rain is warm.

Travel to Myanmar

Planning to visit Myanmar is a great destination for any vacation. The place is rich of historical areas and culture. Aside from the beauties and spots that they have, this place is also rich in festive every year. Throughout the year, Myanmar is celebrating many festivals that keep people around the world visiting Myanmar every month. To know more about the list of festivals that Myanmar have, here are some of festivals that they celebrate.

Ananda Pagoda Festival. This festival is something to do with lunar calendar. This is done every January. Ananda pagoda is famous from the country itself. Monks people are offering alms in the form of bowls and crisps.

Htamane Festival. Htamane festival or what they usually called sticky rice festival. It is celebrated during the months of February until March. The festival is all about harvesting of sticky rice and sesame seeds. During this festival, people around the area will cook the sticky rice dishes. However, sticky rice is found mostly at Southeast Asia, but, Myanmar is the main country who is originally celebrating sticky rice.

Water festival. For Myanmar, it is the most enjoyable and vivacious festival that they celebrating every month of April 12th to 17th days. This is a non-working days for employees since all of them are going to celebrate those days.

Skywatch - A visit to Fatehpur Sikri

 

We were in Fatehpur Sikri on a hot summer afternoon. Needless to say I was sun burnt. The old town built by Mughal emperor Akbar stood in dramatic colours - the fiery red sandstone standing out against a dull blue sky .

For more dramatic skies visit Skywatch

Nilgiris - Why the Queen of Hills should be on your itinerary

So you have been there, done that - ticked off Ooty in your list of sightseeing places and cribbed about how it has become polluted, noisy and touristy,  rather than a picture perfect , quiet hill station. And then , you have told yourself, after seeing the traffic and the milling crowds, that you are done with the place for now. Well , if that is what you have been thinking, then its time to revisit your decision and the destination. And I will tell you why, but before that , a little bit of flashback .

Ooty and the Blue Mountains were always on my annual list of holidays ever since I was two years old . Dad being an old Lawrencian would never look at any other hill station besides Ooty (it took me 17 years to visit Kodaikanal) and when I was probably 4 - 5 years old , he even wanted to settle down here . I still remember a quaint wooden house  with a colourful garden blooming with roses, dahlias and gladioli where we stayed briefly . My last family holiday to Ooty was almost 20 years ago when I was finishing school .

I had hoped to join my folks last month as my father headed to his alma mater, Lawrence School at Lovedale for the 50th anniversary of his batch, but I had to cancel my plans. However  I had recently visited the Nilgiris and realized that I had rediscovered the hill station all over again. I now understand why my father is rather passionate about it .There is more to Ooty Tourism than just a few scenic views.

1. The Biodiversity . Much has been written about the Nilgiri biosphere , so I am not going to get into a naturalist mode. Just that the forests, the mountains, the lakes , dams  and some of the hidden spots in these regions are reasons enough to get here . I am not just referring to Mudhumalai or Singara or Masinagudi here. While some of the reserve forests may need permissions to enter, you can just drive down the path or just walk around them.  I have seen some pristine shola forests recently and I have told myself that I must make an annual visit every year, just to discover a new stretch of forest and hidden paths .

2. The birds -  There are so many endemic birds out here and sometimes, just a walk in the Botanical garden in Ooty or the Sims park in Coonoor is enough to sight them . Sometimes the birds will just be sitting on the pathway and or a rock near you .I almost sighted close to 75 species of birds and I was not even birding seriously . Some of them were the nilgiri flycatcher, the fan tail, the chestnut headed bee eater, Tickells blue flycatcher, the Eurasian  black bird among several others..

3.The wildlife - So,you are not into birds  , but the wildlife may definitely tempt. I got lost while trying to get to Long wood shola and entered through one of the forest paths which eventually was closed to public.  Barring a few private houses, we were driving through a dense shola forest and then we started walking ramdomly. My driver shuddered on a seeing a snake glide into the shrubbery , while I was trying to get a better look at it.  A little while later, a local walked by , telling me to be careful, as they had spotted a family of tigers here with cubs. In another instance, I was birding in this dense private forest that belonged to a friend beyond Mettupalayam, when we heard such loud grunts of sloth bears that I actually shuddered . The gaurs are everywhere and locals say that these usual shy creatures have become a bit aggressive of late. Elephants in Masinagudi are of course a regular sighting and if you are lucky, there is the Nilgiri tahr.

4. The flowers - So, you are not into birds or the beasts.  But you just cannot ignore the flowers here . Almost everywhere you see them bloom . the colours are so vivid that you can just get lost into them..There are so many parks and gardens here that you can easily get lost here.

5. The quaint hill stations - Forget Ooty , just go beyond it and see some quaint hill station. Some of the popular ones are Kotagiri and Coonoor,but there are many quaint ones that lure you as well

6.The mountain railway. - As a kid, the toy train was a great favourite of mine and even today, I would love to explore Nilgiris by rail . It might be a full day affair , but its well worth the slow and long journey . I was in Lovedale station , where I  saw the locals painting the board - the pride they took in their little station is a strong contrast to the way we treat our own stations in the city .

7.The culture  - Colonialism is almost everywhere - in the clubs, churches, bungalows, homestays, plantations, railways, the schools  - the British have left their legacy behind .Its ok to have a bit of a colonial hangover here. Just look at this beautiful pipe organ in an old church in Coonoor - it still plays by the way

8.The Tribal culture - Nilgiris is home to several tribes, including the Todas .  The Toda mund for instance in the Ooty Botanical garden  is a must visit to understand their lifestyle,  beliefs and even to buy a few of their famous embroidered shawls. The weather in Ooty can get rather cold sometimes, even though its usually very pleasant, so looking cool in these shawls may just help you make a fashion statement as well.

9.The little chai stops on the mountain roads - There is tea everywhere . Yes, its sad that forests have given way to tea plantations , but some of these plantations are centuries old and are handed down by the British . there was coffee here as well at one time  , but now its usually tea plantations that have carpeted the slopes of the hills ..Sometimes you see meadows as well and wish you could just roll on them  . So, if you are tired and need to refresh yourself, just stop and drink a hot cup of tea and buy some eucalyptus oil for your aching limbs

.

10. Home made chocolates - Now, this is something that I will never leave Ooty without ..who wouldnt ?

Cities in Thailand to Savour

The tourist in Thailand can probably trip a carillion of famous Thai cities off their tongues although their claims to fame may well be more notorious than famous and remembered for reasons that may well be better forgotten. Clearly Bangkok, being the capital city, holds its own claim to fame. Chang Mai, being the ancient Siam capital, also holds a claim to fame. Thailand's peninsula offers names to travellers to Thailand that many know by heart, whether they have visited Thailand or not: Phuket, Pattaya, and Koh Samui.



Udon Thani, to the north-east of Thailand, amidst the Isaan countryside, is really only a town but it has a couple of claims that ought to bring it to the attention of the traveller to Thailand. Hua Hin, Krabi, Khon Khan and Surat Thani are all cities in Thailand and known to a greater or lesser extent. Other famous cities in Thailand include Koh Phangan, Koh Phi Phi, Kanchanaburi, Ayutthaya, Nakhon Ratchasima although these are lesser known to the international world outside of Thailand.

City of Angels and Rose of the North
The city of Bangkok, is the capital city of modern Thailand, colloquially known as the City of Angels. Meanwhile, Ayutthaya and Chang Mai each share historical claims to being capital cities from ancient Siam. Rose of the North is the title given to the ancient city of Chiang Mai. As with any capital city Bangkok reveals a cosmopolitan diversity, five star hotels rubbing shoulders with dilapidated roadside food-stalls.
This diversity is further exhibited in Bangkok's wide range of excellent hotels and restaurants offering a truly international range of cuisine. Shopping offers the tourist a truly absorbing pastime, especially as Bangkok lays claim to some of the biggest shopping malls in Asia. If shopping malls seem rather tame, you can always visit Chatuchak, a particularly large outdoor market held at weekends, or other outdoor markets with similar characteristics.

The famous Thai city of Chiang Mai lies along the Ping River. It has long spread its suburbs out from around its original 700 year old limits. Apart from being the old capital city of Thailand, Chiang Mai is particularly noted for its innumerable Buddhist temples, each one surpassing the previous one in exquisite decor. The oldest of Thailand's temples, Wat Chiang Man, is located here. Another 'must-see' for any visitor to Chiang Mai is the lake, Huay Tung Tao, nestling amongst a mountain-bound terrain. There is also a zoo which cares for the welfare of more than 7,000 animals.

Pearl of the Andaman Sea and other Coastal Cities
Phuket has the honour to be known as the Pearl of the Andaman Sea. Other coastal cities include Hua Hin, Krabi, Pattaya Beach, Patong Beach, Rayong, Chumphon: in fact, with Thailand having 3,219km of coastline there are far more cities than could possibly be included here. Much of Thailand's coastline could be designated as areas of outstanding beauty, especially Hua Hin and Krabi. Many beaches cater for the family; there are some areas where young people party all night and sleep all day, however.

 

Different Cities Reflect Diversity of Provinces
Thailand has many different provinces, each one different from the next. Some of this difference can be due to a range in temperatures, some due to specific handicrafts being traditional to that village or province: there are silk villages where silk material is produced and woven and other villages where this silk is tailored into beautiful garments. The temperature in Chiang Mai is vastly different to the temperatures experienced in the beach resorts to the south of Thailand so naturally this would be reflected in how different the cities in the north are to those in the south.

Nevertheless, regardless where tourists to Thailand go, they cannot fail to be moved by the beauty and history each of Thailand's famous cities evokes. Busy these cities might be, but the evocative aura experienced as travellers visit each city is something that will always remain in their memories: these cities will provide the traveller to Thailand with a lifetime of never-to-be-forgotten reminiscences to savour in the future.

 by Soophott Lert

New Layout, New Destionations and More!

 Summer Vacations 2011 are finally here!

Isn't it a great occasion to introduce a few changes on my blog? As you have probably already noticed, the website has undergone a major redecoration. I hope you will like the new layout as well as new navigation and search options.

Additionally, several new articles appeared in the Asia section, as it is one of the most popular travel destinations. I'm sure you will find something just for you among all the new resources. Don't be surprised if it inspires you to plan new trips!



Remember, any feedback is welcome. If you have any suggestions, do not hesistate to write.

Oh, and one more thing... happy reading!

Travel in Palawan

FOREMOST of the travel destinations in Palawan is the Underground River but there are still many places in this awesome mini-archipelago that you may want to see. So let’s read here for about five minutes and absorb about the beauty of Palawan.

For hotels and resorts alone, you don’t have to be worried because there are a lot of them – from five-star ones to those which are catering to backpackers who I’m pretty sure are looking for some bargains.

In the Roxas area, you can visit CocoLoco Island Resort. In Port Barton, there’s the Summer Homes Beach and Bungalows. In Cuyo, there’s Amanpulo. 

In the Busuanga/Coron area, you can find:

• Club Paradise
• Coral Bay
• Coron Gateway Hotel
• Darayonon Lodge
• Discovery Divers
• Dive Link
• El Rio Y Mar
• Evergreen Dive Resort
• Kaniki Beach Resort
• KokosNuss
• Kubo sa Dagat
• Puerto del Sol Resort
• Sanagat Island Reserve
• Two Seasons Coron

In the Central Palawan area, there’s:

• Crystal Paradise Resort
• Dos Palmas Arreceffi
• Marina de Bay 

In El Nido, there’s:

• Dolarog Beach Resort
• El Nido Resorts and Lally
• Abet Beach Cottages

In Puerto Princesa, there’s:

• Asturias Hotel
• Casa Fuerte Bed and Breakfast
• Casa Linda Inn
• Hotel Fleuris
• Microtel Inns and Suites
• Payuyo Pension
• Puerto Pension
• Puerto Pension and Skylight Apartelle 

Vote for Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park to be included in the New 7 wonders of Nature.

Travel to Korea

Korea has long been a leader in global economics and continues to be one of the wealthiest countries in Asia. Modern architecture and ancient dynasty landmarks provide tourists with numerous destinations to visit and the friendly people and traditions of South Korea enthrall and captivate travelers from around the world.

The tourism industry in South Korea is an emerging industry and the country is fast becoming one of the hottest destinations to visit in the world. The Korean culture is gaining popularity in the United States and people are also exploring options to visit the country.

People on Korea travel most frequently visit the capital city, Seoul, the largest of the Korean metropolis and the tenth largest city in the world. There are many soaring skyscrapers in this seething city, ringed by mountains.

It also offers myriad of attractions and thus, several experiences with vibrant nightlife and memorable dining. Travel to Korea and enjoy all these along with some below mentioned places of interest for the tourists.

Karaoke is huge in South Korea. The country has plenty of private karaoke bars where you and your friends can exercise the vocal chords and sing to your hearts content without the risk of annoying the other customers!

Known as Nore Bangs, meaning singing room, the bars are hugely popular with locals and tourists alike.

Skywatch - River Bhadra and her moods

For more beautiful skies around the world, visit Skywatch

Asia through my eyes - Drummers in India and Puppets in Bali

Posted on May 2, in my 365 project as a part of India through my eyes - Drummers on a beat

India is filled with Gods, temples , festivals and legends . Here is a temple festival which happens on my street every year in Bangalore . The local performers were waiting for the temple festival to begin as they were practicing their beat .. 

Posted today in my 365project as part of Asia through my eyes series


Colour and Asia go hand in hand - whether it is India or Indonesia, the colours attract people . In a small market in Bali, these puppets were for sale . Being a sucker for souvenirs , I was tempted to pick a pair, but I finally decided to take this photograph and retain this as my souvenir. 

Asia through my eyes - Lanterns in Hong Kong

I have been doing the 365 project since February 2011  and trying hard to organise and showcase some of the photographs that I had taken from around the world. I had a theme in May called India through my eyes and in June, I decided to look at Asia through my eyes . Do let me know what you think about my perspective

I am always fascinated by Chinese Lanterns ever since I visited Singapore in 2000 during the Lantern Festival . So , when I was in Hong Kong recently, I found them extremely fascinating . Loved the way these depicted people and their walks of life too..The sheer colour and workmanship is amazing too