Here is my itinerary journal during my recent trip to Thailand and Cambodia. From Manila, I flew into Bangkok, Thailand first and then traveled over land to Siem Reap,Cambodia by bus via the Aranyaphratet-Poipet Border Gate. I got to visit a lot of the major sights and will be posting more of a general journal rather than a detailed day-to-day itinerary (like my Hong Kong and Macau Tour last year) since my visit was primarily a business trip and I wasn’t in control of my time. I would’ve loved to visit places outside Bangkok and Siem Reap but I guess that would just be reserved for my future visits to Thailand and Cambodia.
Monks in formation during an opening presentation for a corporate gala dinner at the East Gate of Angkor Wat
Read the rest of this entry »
Travel to Asia for FREE! If you’re a frequent traveler, then you’d want to get in on this great promotion by Air Asia, a popular low cost airlines based in Malaysia (Asia’s largest budget airline in fact). Air Asia flies to almost all major airports in South East Asia and because they’re practically giving away flight tickets for free in their latest promotion, booking your flights now will be a great way to explore Asia on a budget. The Air Asia Free Seats Promotion is ongoing from May 18 2010 - May 23 2010 only with the travel period from January 3 2011 – May 8 2011.
photo by carworld
Read the rest of this entry »
Bangkok is beautiful! It’s a shame that I only got one full day to tour this huge metropolis. I was able to take photos of the Grand Palace, former residence of the Thai Royal Family, and a few of Bangkok’s major temples like Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn), Wat Pho (Temple of the Giant Reclining Buddha), and Wat Indrawihan (Temple of the Giant Standing Buddha). I also encountered a large Red Shirts Demonstration in Lumphini Park and a lot of Thai Government Army Men stationed behind barbed wire barricades in Silom area.
Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn) just after sunset
Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s a gallery of photos I took during my recent trip to Cambodia. Most of them were taken in Siem Reap, where the famed Angkor Temples can be found. Due to the nature of my visit, covering a corporate event, I was able to visit a few high-end hotels and see some sights the usual tourist might not be able to experience like this picture below of an Australian string trio performing for a gala dinner with the Angkor Wat, illuminated by gigawatts of lights, as its backdrop.
Read the rest of this entry »
Just as I thought I would be going back home to get a long rest and start blogging about my trip to Thailand and Cambodia, Aliwan Fiesta 2010, and Banaue, a sudden turn of events came my way and a day after my flight from Manila to Iloilo, I was back on the road again, this time to spend a week in Boracay Island. I was so pumped to visit Boracay again during the summer or peak season. Last time I went there was October last year and although it was also a great trip, visiting Boracay during the summertime is still, in my opinion, the best way to experience this tropical paradise.
Station 1 in White Beach at Noontime
Read the rest of this entry »
The Banaue Rice Terraces should never be missed when traveling in the Philippines since it’s definitely one of the most famous icons of the Philippines. Thailand or Vietnam might be the first place that most people associate with sprawling rice paddies but there isn’t any other place in the world where you can see them built on entire mountainsides forming grand terraces at a scale like the Banaue Rice Terraces. At first, I was quite concerned about visiting Banaue during the dry season due to fears of possibly seeing the damaging results of the worst El Nino the Philippines had ever had especially after discovering the rice terraces being in-scripted into the List of UNESCO World Heritage sites in danger. I was thinking of documenting how badly the terraces for my trip but as my wish of visiting the Banaue came true, my fears quickly died down. My trip was so worth it and I’m so happy that, despite the negative pressures, the rice terraces of Banaue is still a sight to behold and the people of the town has done a great job at preserving its beauty and allure.
Elder Igorot Native watching over the Rice Terraces in Banaue
Read the rest of this entry »
Every April, a couple of festivals representing provinces and cities from all over the Philippines gather at the nation’s capital to perform their local dances during the Aliwan Fiesta. In my opinion, there aren’t any other time where one can witness a more diverse sense of Philippine culture than the Aliwan Fiesta so I’ve always made it one of my biggest agendas in my travel calendar. It’s now my second time experiencing the Aliwan Fiesta and, sans the almost unbearable summer heat, it was so worth the airfare!
Halamang Dilaw Festival of Bulacan
Read the rest of this entry »
My trip to Thailand and Cambodia is finally over and I’m now back at home skimming through the photos and reminiscing wonderful experiences I’ve had during my stay there. My purpose of travel was primarily for work, hired by a friend as an assistant photographer for a big corporate event in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I only had limited time to see the different sights as a DIY tourist so I won’t be doing a comprehensive guide like my Hong Kong and Macau Tour. Rest Assured, I have a lot of useful info to share about traveling in Thailand and Cambodia that will slowly fill this blog in the coming weeks.
Locals buying fresh flowers for the Khmer New Year in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Read the rest of this entry »
It’s day 3 of my Thailand – Cambodia trip. I actually arrived in Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi International Airport) on a super late night trip last April 12 like 11:35pm via Cebu Pacific but its was 12:00ish (technically the next day) when I got out of the immigration counters and everything. I then had to go to Silom in Bangkok City Center to meet with two friends (for the first time) and then go to Cambodia overland by bus by 5:00am. It’s actually great to avoid Bangkok at this time since the red shirt riots have gotten really bad the past week.
Read the rest of this entry »
Want to view Google Maps in your native iPhone or iPod Touch map app even if you’re online? Here’s how I did it!
So why is it important for me to have access to offline Google Maps? For one, If I’m traveling to some unfamiliar place, Google Maps are extremely helpful to explore the area and get from point A to point B. The iPhone/iPod Touch has a built-in maps application but can only be used if there’s WiFi internet around. Even if you do get connected online, once you close the maps app, all stored (chached) maps are cleared and if you open the app again, only a small portion of the map will be available for viewing. If you’re an iPhone user, you can always connect to the internet through your wireless carrier but you will still be depending on whether there’s a cellphone signal or not.
photo by stevegarfield
I’ll try to explain the steps to viewing maps offline in a simpler way but this initial guide is more targeted for power users (should know what “jailbreaking” and SSH are) and also iPod touch users since I don’t own an iPhone.
Read the rest of this entry »
