travel

  • There is a hidden secret that was discovered by a colleage a few years back right and one that I truly enjoy visiting. Thank you na ka.  It’s a little coffee shop called “Vivi The Coffee Place” located right next to the river of Kings and it is somewhere that is perfect if you want to stop by and have a…

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  • On the same day that you visit the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, I also recommend visiting the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho).  It is located right adjacent to the Grand Palace so it is within walking distance and it allows you to see some more of Bangkok.   Although…

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  • If you are visiting Bangkok or have friends visiting Bangkok, a site you cannot miss is the Grand Palace.  I always believe that to understand a city and its people you have to understand it’s past.  The Grand Palace is exactly that.  It is what the old Kingdom of Siam (Thailand before we changed our name) is…

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  • I’ve been getting a lot of questions from friends lately requesting recommendations about where they can entertain guests or friends from abroad.  We want to take them somewhere that is uniquely Thai, and see things that shouldn’t be missed on one’s trip here.  What is there to see that is local?  Where are some good restaurants that serve great food and…

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  • Vienna: Herren or Damen?

    Here’s a light story to start off the week and welcome March!  February is just saying farewell after a mere 28 days.  Don’t you love it?  For those who look forward to getting their salary, this is a great month 🙂 It comes early 🙂  The story I want to tell today is a true…

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  • I love food, I love markets, I love going grocery shopping.  The variety of produces that now abound in our supermarkets (as a result of trade) is heaven.  There is everything you could possibly want but nothing beats going to an open air market.  Europe has a culture of these markets and if you love markets, in Vienna you must…

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  • There’s a church in Vienna that is often not on the list of sights to visit for tourists who have limited time in the capital, but one I’m glad I visited.  Karlskirche.  I passed by it often on the way here and there around Vienna and one day I said, I must go.  It looks…

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  • Old Vienna: Schonbrunn Palace

    If you want to see a palace that looks like those in fairy tales where princesses and princes roam about in beautiful buildings and halls, then walk around in their fancy dress in a majestically beautiful garden, I say go to Schonbrunn Palace.  This is one of my favorite sites in Vienna.  Schonbrunn was the summer residence of…

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  • Old Vienna: The Hofburg

    Imperial Vienna is a city that is rich, very rich in both history and culture.  Just visit the Hofburg or the Imperial Palace and you will understand what I mean.  The palace is a complex comprising 10 or more buildings and is reflective of the six centuries of Austrian rule.  Now, most of it has been converted…

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  • Amidst the boxes I’m happy I finally found my box of photo CDs.  I’m delighted the DVD reader reads them well and the photographs are still there after almost a decade.  I shall have to back them up.  With digital cameras, I take more pictures but print less and then end up losing some when my…

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