Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon. I know I am in good company when I am staying at a hotel that hosted the former US Secretary of State. I spent three great and relaxing nights at the Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon. The Chatrium is nestled in a private area next to Kandawgyi Lake. The updated room [...]
Visiting Hong Kong. Hong Kong should be on everyone’s list of top cities to visit. It is a spectacular amalgam of Chinese and British colonial influences bursting at the seams of this city-state. Seven million people are packed into this city that sits on the South China Sea. Hong Kong was a British colony from 1842 [...]
Sak Yant Tattoo Festival - Day One. It is a smagorsbord. One part carnival, one part tattoo marathon, one part madhouse, and a final part of a supercharged religious awakening. The Sak Yant Wai Kru Festival takes place every March at the Wat Bang Pra temple outside of Bangkok. https://youtu.be/u3KdhmCako4 Each year 10,000 people descend [...]
Havana Decrepit Elegance. Havana is a dynamic and living Caribbean city of two million souls. Havana was a thriving city during the first half of the 20th century. There were very close ties between the United States and Cuba which resulted in a strong economy and frequent visits of US citizens to what became a Caribbean [...]
Trinidad - A Must-See. Rolling green hills are gently kissed by azure skies. Trinidad, a UNESCO site, sits on the southern coast of Cuba. Trinidad, a town of 75,000, was founded by Spanish conquistador, Velázquez de Cuéllar, in 1514. And it is only a four hour ride from Havana. The heart of Trinidad may be found [...]
White Temple – A Must-See. Wat Rong Khun also known by its nickname the White Temple is a contemporary and outlandish temple located in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The White Temple is a sparkly alabaster that sometimes glitters in the sun and shimmers in the surrounding pond. The White Temple only began construction in 1997 and is [...]
Chan Chan - Cuban Music. Cuba has a well-earned tradition for fantastic and ubiquitous music. Musicians magically appear, it seemed everywhere. On the street corner, on a park bench, in a café, or the hotel lobby. They appeared solo or in large groups. And throughout my stay in Cuba, I was tenaciously followed by Chan Chan. [...]
Cienfuegos Warm Hospitality. The Pearl of the South is a five hour bus drive from the capital of Havana, and located on the southern coast of Cuba. Cienfuegos translates to 100 fires. Cienfuegos was originally inhabited by indigenous people of Cuba, but then settled by French immigrants from Bordeaux and Louisiana. Don Louis de Clouet, their [...]
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