Ultimate Travel Experience

One of the most ideal locations to stay when I go to California is at Norwalk. Norwalk is in a central location and it’s easily accessible to other major tourist attractions in California like Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hollywood and Anaheim. Getting to Norwalk is never an issue. One can always fly to Los Angeles internal Airport (LAX), Long Beach Airport (LGB), John Wayne Airport (SNA) or Ontario Airport (ONT) and get to Norwalk by bus or cab. There are many hotels in Norwalk like Knotts Berry Farm hotels which one can stay.

Major tourists’ attractions are about 10km to 20km from Norwalk. From Norwalk, one can go sightseeing in Hollywood or even Disneyland at Anaheim to bring back the childhood in us. Hollywood is always there but bumping into a movie star will depend on your luck. You may want to find out where these movie stars hang out for their meals, shopping or even have their drinks. You may want to join the paparazzi to trail the movie stars.

Perhaps, go to Long Beach for to visit Queen Mary, the world’s most luxurious liner, go whale watching or visit the Aquarium of the Pacific. After a long day and after the sun goes down at Long Beach, there nightlife will come to life. There are many good restaurants for meals. There are many night spots to spend the evening away too. There are jazz lounges, night clubs and pubs to go to.

Tags: America · Sightseeing

When I was in Bandung with my friend from Dubai, he told us lots of nice and interesting things about his life in Dubai. Surprisingly, Dubai is the most cosmopolitan city in Middle East. He works for a local company there and lived in one of the Dubai villas within a gated community for expatriates. Besides the hot weather in Middle East, his life there is wonderful. He drives a company car which is a BMW 512 and his office is only 10 minutes from home. Strangely, in Dubai, luxurious car owners drive their own car. They don’t employ chauffeurs even though they can afford it. The thinking is that if you have a luxurious car, you should enjoy it by driving it. So, my friend is deprived of a chauffeur.

He invited us to visit him in Dubai while he is there. He offered us to stay at his place or he can also help us book us a Dubai hotel apartment. Dubai apartment comes with good facilities and it is usually furnished. So, it is very convenient for travelers. I told him that whichever place he may want to recommend me, one place I am sure I cannot afford to stay is Burj Al Arab.

My friend recommended a few activities for me to do if I visit him. First and foremost, I have to bring a few credit cards because Dubai is a shopping haven. He believes I will shop till I drop there. He recommend that I should visit the desert and stay overnight in one of the oasis to experience the night in a desert. According to him, it is very beautiful as the sky is always very clear and the stars are so bright. I should also go for a four-wheel drive safari adventure in the desert dune. His family has tried it and they really enjoyed it especially when the four-wheel vehicle slides down from the dune.

Tags: Asia · Nature · Shopping

Bandung, a city in western Java, Indonesia, is famous for many things and it’s one of the favorite vacation spots for people from Jakarta. Bandung is a highland resort which is only 3 hours by road from Jakarta. During the Dutch colonial days, Bandung used to be known as Paris van Java. Today, “Paris van Java” is a name of a modern shopping mall in Bandung.

Being colonized by Dutch in the past, has given Bandung many old and yet nice Dutch colonial houses which have been converted into factory outlets. There are hundreds of factory outlets in Bandung. My family spends 2 days shopping for branded clothes in these factory outlets and yet, I don’t think I have visted all of them. I would recommend a few outlets like Rumah Mode, Heritage, Rich & Famous, Oasis and ForMen. Most of these factory outlets are located in Jalan Dago and Jalan Riau. Most of the famous brands such as Louis Vuitton, Levis, Dockers, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani, Calvin Klein, Polo, Crocodile, Banana Republic and many more brands can be found in these factory outlets. The stocks in these outlets are seasonal and they depend on the incoming shipment. So, if you can find a particular item on one trip, you cannot be sure to find it on the next trip. Buy it if you like it. You do not have to worry about not having enough cash. They accept credit cards too.

One place you should not miss doing shopping is Cihampelas. The two rows of shops facing each other compete to attract customers by putting up gigantic cartoon characters on their sign board. You can find Rambo, Superman, Ultraman, Incredible Hulk, Tarzan, etc lined up along the street. However, the products sold on this street are mainly jeans and local t-shirts. There is a new shopping mall, Cihampelas Walk, located at the back of the main Cihampelas street, where you can find branded clothes.

Besides shopping, one of the most interesting places to visit is Tangkuban Perahu. Tangkuban Perahu in local Sundanese dialect means ‘upturned boat’. According to my guide, you can see the shape of the ‘upturned boat’ from Bandung. Tangkuban Perahu, 30 km away from Bandung,  is an active volcano where you can see fumes coming out from the crater. According to the guide, the crater at the peak is not accessible because it’s emitting poisonous fumes. We had to hike down for about 30 minutes to another crater where we are allowed to experiment with the hot water coming out from the volcano by boiling eggs or just dipping your feet in the hot water.

Since one can only dip their feet in the craters in Tangkuban Perahu, there are some hot springs around this area. One of the recommended hot springs is Ciater Hot Spring where you can swim in the sulphurized water which is known to be good for healing skin problems and rheumatism.

For meal, there are so many nice restaurants around for you to try out the local Sundanese cuisine. Among those that I have tried are Kampung Daun, Sapu Lidi, Ayam Goreng Suharti, DapurKu and The Valley. I would recommend that you go to Kampung Daun and The Valley for dinner. KampungKu serves local cuisine and its located along a stream. Guests are allocated individual cabanas for the meals. From the list of restaurants, only The Valley serves western and local cuisine.

Moving around Bandung and the surrounding areas is easy. Hire a car and a driver for the day will only cost $30 exclusive of gas, parking fee, tips and meals for the driver.

From historical perspective, Bandung is the birth place for the Non-Align Movement (NAM) in 1957. There is a street in Bandung known as Jalan Asia-Africa which is dedicated to the NAM movement. The street starts from Savoy Homann Hotel to Merdeka Building. This is the street where the leaders who started NAM in 1952 took a historic walk to commemorate the inaugural NAM meeting.

For accomodation, I stayed at Malya Hotel, formerly known as Chedi. Malya Hotel is located at Ciumbuleuit and its away from the busy street of Bandung. Malya Hotel overlooks the valley and gives you the peace and serenity for your vacation. Every room in this hotel faces the valley. Every morning, you will wake up to the sound of birds chirping and butterflies flying about in the valley.

You can go to Bandung from Jakarta by road or plane. From Kuala Lumpur, Airasia flies to Bandung twice daily.

Tags: Asia · Shopping

It is the largest and longest lying dragon in the Far East. A man-made structure designed to keep out intruders, fortified with blood, sweat and lives of countless people who built it, the Great Wall of China has been noted to be a structure visible from space. Portions of the Wall have been built and rebuilt throughout the succession of dynasties in China that there have been fluctuations in design and architecture over the years. However, it has retained its purpose of showing China as a dominant Eastern country in terms of geographical significance and military strength. Its massive mass and structure are made mostly from earth stones, wood and during the later part, bricks. They were cut in rectangular shapes to make them easier to work with and were used to line the foundations, the inner and outer brims, gateways and battlements. Watchtowers and barracks were built at regular intervals to keep communication between a million Chinese manning the Wall at any given time.

Familiar with wall building techniques in 7th century B.C., the Chinese constructed the Wall beginning in the now known Spring and Autumn period. Extensive fortifications were added from 5th century BC to 221 BC to defend the borders of Qi, Yan and Zhao from small arms such as swords and spears, strengthened by stamping moist earth and gravel to wooden board frames. After conquering all opposing states and unifying China in 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang intended to impose the centralized rule to prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, ordering the destruction of portions of the wall that divided his new empire along former state borders. His intentions to protect his new empire were shown by adding new wall fortifications connecting the northern frontier and transporting local materials for its construction. In the course of its building, peasants have died and were buried in its walls. During the Qin dynasty, due to the materials used, parts of the walls eroded over time and few sections remain standing today.

The following dynasties like Han, Sui Northern and Jin repaired, rebuilt and expanded portions of the Great Wall to defend people behind it against invasion. It was revived elaborately during the Ming dynasty after failing to gain an upper-hand battle against the Mongols. It is considerably stronger in its Beijing section as it is Ming’s capital during that time.

Towards the end of the Shun dynasty, Manchu invasions during the 1600 were unsuccessful because of the Great Wall’s existence. Manchus were finally able to cross the Great Wall in 1644 when Gen. Wu Sangui opened the gates of Shanhaiguan because of his dislike of the rulers of the Shun dynasty. They seized Beijing and established the Qing dynasty. Under it, Mongolia was annexed into China and construction was halted.

If visiting China for the first time, the North Pass or Joyungguan or Badaling to locals, is striking for its historical significance. It used to have many guards as it was guarding Beijing, Ming’s capital, and was made from stone and bricks from the region’s hills. The Great Wall has various watchtowers (67 in all) and a sight to behold as they rise 980 meters above sea level. If in the Southeast, the Mutianyu Great Wall gives the view of cragged lofty mountains connecting to Joyungguan to the west and Gubeikou to the east. Notably, Shanhaiguan known as Number One Pass under Heaven is built in the extremity of the Wall. It is where the first pass was built on. Because of its great structure, most of its section is in disrepair and needs reconstruction, thus portions are closed to the public. Prone to graffiti and vandalism, parts of the Wall in remote areas are destroyed and tourist vendors plagued those nearer developed areas.

The belief that it is visible from the moon is not true. This urban legend has persisted but has been disputed by sources like US and Chinese astronauts. It cannot be seen in space as the width of the Wall is smaller to even be seen from 200 miles (320 kms)  up in the sky unless you know where to look and is aided by high powered binoculars.

In this day and age, the Great Wall of China helped in preserving the rich Chinese culture and heritage preventing Western influences from coming in and changing the landscape. The Wall has served its purpose of preventing “invaders” from coming into China and influencing them to deviate from their beliefs and practices. More of a self-preservation idea but the nation’s identity was strengthened however arduous it must have been during that time. The Wall is significant today as it was before because its purpose of building walls to prevent invasion was also built to protect its people. Regardless of when and why it was built, the Great Wall of China instilled pride to a young nation on the brink of greatness.

Tags: Asia · Historical

Declared as a World Heritage area in 1981, the Great Barrier Reef, one of the wonders of the world, is the only living organic collective visible from space. Beginning at the south coast of Papua New Guinea near latitude 9°S and running south and east generally parallel to the Australian coast until about latitude 24°S, off southern Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef covers a chain of coral reefs and islands more than 2000 kilometers long.

Like any other place on Earth, the Great Barrier Reef must have human contact in which there is no direct evidence. It is known that the aborigines possessed a bigger part of the Australian continent for a very long time. Due to limited technology, dates concerning the Great Barrier Reef have been obtained from the deposits at Mount Mulligan. Though no physical evidence has been found, one can conclude from the episodes of glaciations through the occupancy of the aboriginal people that much of today’s Great Barrier Reef has been occupied by humans 20,000 years ago.

Cultural and Historical background
Several names were listed and noted for the discovery of the Great Barrier Reef. In about 1522, it was noted that a Portuguese expedition led by Cristovao de Mendonca first sighted the east coast of Australia. It was followed in 1606 by William Jansz who chartered the west coast of Cape York Peninsula after which Luis de Torres sailed and sighted the islands of Torres Strait. Owing to the international interest, it was hard to determine who really had a sight of the Great Barrier Reef. The French, accordingly, were the first Europeans to give evidences of sightings of the Great Barrier Reef. On June 6, 1768, Louis de Bougainville, commander of La Boudeuse and L’Etoile approached the Australian continent from the east, encountering Bougainville Reef in about the latitude of Cooktown.

Though fleeting glimpses of the Reef were noted, none of these can be considered scientific. The first scientific discovery noted, however, was of James Cook less than 2 years after Bougainville. It was in 1770 when Cook aimed to have a scientific exploration of the Reef in tradition of the Enlightenment. Several explorers, scientist, discoverers were noted to have gone to the Reef in desire to study one of the Earth’s wonders. The exploration and discovery continued until the 19th century. Since that time, everyone who has encountered it has experienced a sense of fascination.

Why the Reef?
Who would not have a keen sense of interest to discover and see the Great Barrier Reef? Who would imagine that for a thousands of years, this reef is simply constructed of corals and living organisms alone? What forms the reef are nearly 3,000 individual reefs and around 300 coral islands making it rank as the world’s largest structure made by living organisms.

Indeed, Queensland, where the reef is, highly benefits from tourism on the reef attracting about 1.6 million tourists each year. Large centers on the central and northern towns of Cairns, Port Douglas, and Townsville as well as the Whitsunday Islands are built for the reef tourism.

Tourists can enjoy lots of activities upon visiting the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Aside from the nice resorts along the Reef, hundreds of licensed tourism operators offer a range of services and activities such as diving and boating excursions. A diving holiday and a fishing adventure are perfect to spend in the reef. Fishing is allowed depending on the degrees in the marine park. People may take advantage of commercial and recreational fishing that take place in the park, including line fishing directly on the reefs.

There is also a large prawn industry in the lagoon. Tourist may also fish for a popular sport fish called barramundi and mud crabs. Even a bit of fun filled sightseeing day is perfect in this wonderful place. Where else can you find a colorful and wonderful array of marine wildlife but only in the Great Barrier Reef? 

Best Time to Visit
Located in the Tropical North Queensland, the reef has warm weather and beautiful sunshine most of the time. However, it could be warmer and possibly rainy.

If you want to spend a cooler holiday, the best time to visit would be from July to November. It is certain that you would have a wonderful and relaxing vacation.

Want to know why The Great Barrier Reef is a perfect place to spend your holidays?  It is one of the places in the world that can offer you relaxation, enjoyment, life, laughter, nature, and a breathtaking diversity of nature and fresh environments.

Tags: Australasia · Diving

Florence, or known as Firenze in Italian, is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. It is located in the romantic Tuscany region. Florence has so many interesting things to do. I prepared my list of places to visit prior to arriving at Florence. I have the Duomo and other churches, Uffizi Museum, Statue of David, Piazza Michelangelo and 14th century bridge Ponte Vecchio in my list.

The best of all is that all these places are within walking distance. There is no need to take rely on public transport or cars to move around. I joined the thousand of tourists strolling along the tiny cobblestone streets that crisscrosses Florence to visit the many churches around the Duomo like Santa Maria Novella, San Lorenzo, Santo Spirito, Santa Croche.

In one of the cobblestone street leading to Duomo was Via Ricasoli 60. On this street, there was Galleria dell’Accademia where Michelangelo’s masterpiece sculpture, David, was on display. I joined the thousands of visitors crowding around the sculpture to admire and also, to take pictures with David. This was the life time opportunity to see this masterpiece.

For lunch, I bought a piece of pizza from one of the local Italian pizza shops around Piazza Del Duomo. To save time, I ate my pizza by the road side just like one of the backpackers in Florence.

From the Duomo, I walked along the cobblestone street to Uffizi Museum. Uffizi Museum has one of the best art collection in the world. UNESCO estimate that 60% of world art collection is in Italy. 50% of it is in Florence.

From Uffizi Museum, I moved on to visit the 14th century Ponte Vecchio. Ponte Vecchio is one of the most famous landmarks in Florence. Ponte Vecchio is a medieval bridge crossing Arno River that runs through Florence.

In the evening before the sunset, I made my way to Piazza Michelangelo, where there was a giant replica of Michelangelo’s masterpiece David awaits us, to see the sun set over the city of Florence. This was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. To those who plan to visit Florence, don’t miss the sunset view from Piazza Michelangelo.

After the sunset, I made my way back to my hotel. Florence accommodation is easy to book via internet. Accommodation in Florence caters for all type of travelers depending on their budget. Luxurious or cheap accommodation is readily available in Florence.

After freshening up in the hotel, I was out to the cobblestone street of Florence again. This time was to savor the nightlife in this old renaissance city.

Tags: Accomodations · Europe · Historical · Uncategorized

On my way back from Phoenix, I decided to stop over to visit Los Angeles. Everyone has heard so much of this city but not many have the opportunity to visit Los Angeles. So, I decided I should not waste the opportunity.

Los Angeles is so well know around the world for its many offerings. The English entertainment world is center in Hollywood. Every one who watches movies knows about Hollywood and its blockbusters, movie stars and their glamorous lives at Beverly Hills. A tour of Hollywood and Universal Studio are a must to witness how movies are made.

There is Disneyland at Anaheim to bring out the kids in you. I have always wanted to be at the ‘Happiest Place On Earth’ since I was a kid. I spent the whole day trying out every ride. I didn’t mind queuing up as long as I can get to try out the rides which I have seen on television shows. The kid in me keeps me going in Disneyland. There was the Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams showcasing all the characters that we are so familiar with. In the evening, I watch the “Remember…. Dreams Come True” fireworks show. It was the most appropriate event to end the day in Disneyland.

Other places that I visited are Santa Monica beach to see the muscle builders flexing their muscles by the beach, checking out Sunset Boulevard to see if it’s the same as the musical and off course, shopping at Citadel Factory Outlet. Actually, I did not manage to spend more time shopping. There are plenty more shopping centers that I wanted to visit.

There are still so many things to do in Los Angeles and I have to come back again to see the rest.

Tags: America · Sightseeing · Uncategorized

Whistler, a town 120km north of Vancouver in British Columbia, is famous for its ski resorts. Eventhough Whistler maybe a small town compared to its southern cousin, Vancouver, she stands out on its own with its own attractions. Together they act as the eastern gateway that draws in millions of tourists into Canada.

There are many activities visitors visiting Whistler during winter seasons such as snowmobile, heli-skiing, heli-boarding, snowshoeing, sleigh riding, dog sledging, cross country skiing or even, fishing on the rivers in Whistler. All these activities can keep visitors’ adrenaline pumping as long as they stay in Whistler. These activities can cater for various level of expertise. The event organizer can provide training for beginners. The experts can go for more grueling course. The facilities for these activities are world class standard. In fact, some events for the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Whistler. Many more are being build for the Olympics and things can only get better in Whistler.

Accommodation in Whistler is easily available. There are more than 3,000 hotel rooms and 5,000 other types of accommodations available. Visitors can easily find a place to stay. They can even book their accommodation online. Whistler condos are nice and there are even some luxurious ones available to visitors. Some of these condos have heated hot tubs for the comfort of their guests. Rentals are flexible and be custom-built according to your travel itinerary and plans.

** This is a sponsored post **

Tags: Accomodations · America · Uncategorized

Vacation club or time sharing is one of the most convenient ways of going for vacation. One can sign up as a member with any of these companies and purchase vacation points. These points can be used to exchange for rooms in one of the many locations these companies offer. Among them, Buena Viva Exeter is one of the most interesting one I have seen.

Buena Viva is a vacation international points club which offers luxury vacation. They offer quality vacation and lots of value-added services like doing flights, ferry and cruises reservations. They do help members to do car rentals and airport parking anywhere in the world. When you go for a vacation, you will need travel insurance. Buena Viva does it as well.

Beuna Viva has its own accommodation in many countries around the world. To provide more accommodations to its members, it has affiliation with RCI and Infiniti.

With so many types of services and locations for accommodation, I wonder how will I ever miss a vacation in any part of the world. A vacation with Buena Viva is just a call away and everything will be done for you. Basically, it takes the trouble and worries away for you and set your mind free even before the vacation starts. I will look forward for a vacation with Buena Viva.

Tags: Travel Site Reviews · Uncategorized

Hong Kong, the Hollywood of Asia, is famous for its Cantonese movies plus movie stars like Jacky Chan, Chow Yuen Fatt, Maggie Cheung and Bond girl, Michelle Yeoh. Besides movies, Hong Kong is famous for its Chinese cuisine like tim-sum and shopping haven for tourists. For business people, Hong Kong is one of the top financial centers in Asia together with Singapore, Tokyo and Shanghai.

For me, I was a simple tourist traveling to Hong Kong to enjoy the Chinese delicacy, do plenty of shopping and sightseeing. I made my hotel reservations via internet in one of the hotels in Hong Kong. With exception to Japan, Hong Kong hotel rooms are smaller than other Asia hotels due to cost reasons. For me, I was fine as long as the room was comfortable.

My favorite shopping areas in Hong Kong were Causeway Place at Time Square and Sogo, Kowloon, Central at Landmark and Chater House, Shim Tsa Chui and Mongkok. Hong Kong had exciting night markets and shopping there was fun. Among the famous night markets were Temple Street, Jordan Street and Ladies’ Market.

For sightseeing, my all time favorite was to taking the Star Ferry from Wancbai to Kowloon to see the city scape of Hong Kong in the evening. The following evening, we took take the funicular train up to The Peak and have dinner there.

After completing shopping in Hong Kong, we proceeded to visit the Hong Kong Disneyland at Lantau island. Hong Kong Disneyland is smaller than that in Anaheim, California.

Before we knew it, five days have passed so quickly. Hong Kong gave us the ultimate travel experience we were looking for and it was time to catch a flight home.

Tags: Accomodations · Asia · Shopping · Sightseeing · Uncategorized