Euro Travel & More

I haven’t been to Beijing for many years but the friend who just came back from a study trip showed and shared this pictures with me.  This was his first time there – and lets look at Beijing from another eye.

While there were many places that I’ve been to already – there were some new ones that I haven’t seen for myself in Beijing.  But like any Asian country that is flourishing both in natural resources and the tourist industry – Beijing continue to grow and continued to build more high rises.   They retained the old but never stuck in the old – amazing these Chinese are.

One of the few temples that I haven’t been to.

More of the same temple.

Wonder what this mean – hahah!  probably saying the Chinese people are as hardworking as their animals?

As for this pink statue – seriously i still don’t know what it meant and what is the purpose of it?  I will be going to Beijing again – that’s for sure – i’m just in awe with the many changes.

I’ve worked in the hotel industry for the longest time – from the back office to the front desk and have also traveled to the West and to Europe a lot because of work.  Once a General Manager in Asia asked me how different is the service in asia as compared to the west and I cannot begin to describe what I feel about the Western hospitality.

If you have met any of the Westerners in the hotels that I’ve worked in – they are amazed at how well and respected they are treated – so much so – that they get spoiled in Asia.  Many businessmen who comes into the hotels that I’ve worked in – tells me that they don’t want to leave Asia and once upon a time I didn’t understand at all.

But after living in the West for so long and traveled around the West for so long – I can now fully understand the difference.  How different?  very!  while the receptionist in Asia tries their very best to accommodate your needs – in the West – the General Manager in a hotel – would never return your call even though you try to contact them for a reservation because the reservation department don’t answer their phones.

When you check into the hotel – there are no bell hops to help you – and when you ask for a late check out they can’t give you a straight answers.  While Asian hotels will negotiate the room rates – or long staying rates – our Western counterparts – don’t seems to care if the rooms are filled or not?   People in the hospitality industry in the West are less attentive to the needs of their customers it seems. And yes – i missed the Asian hospitality – and one can never explain to the West how they can treat their house guests better – because they don’t really care – so it seems.  What are your experiences?  care to share with me?

The happiest vacation I’ve had was a road trip around Thailand – I was a lot younger – a lot more adventurous and a lot more daring – or is it brave? Road trips are a common thing in the West but for a few friends going for a road trip on an RV – was considered rare.  It’s like going backpacking in Europe – where our parents frowned upon – not because Asians do not travel – but they see traveling in RVs or backpacking as something way too dangerous.  They forget that we are pretty capable of taking care of ourselves and if the RV broke down – there is  rv towing all over the world too.

The road trip around Thailand was most fun because – you get to zip around in tuk-tuks – very cheaply and everything was so cheap back then – some 20 yrs ago.   We didn’t go to sleazy bars or night clubs nor Patpong – but we were in Koh Samui before it was developed into a touristy place.   We experienced the nature and all the wonderful temples in Thailand – plus don’t forget the mermaid beach in Hatyai – one of my favorite places to be – and just sitting around and watching the working girls go by.   I don’t really know how expensive it would be now to take a road trip around Thailand – but when we did 20 yrs ago  – it was and experience of a lifetime and definitely cheap!

The girlfriends from Asia were invited for the soft opening in April and had shared these pictures with me.  As we all know – if it is a 5 star hotel in Singapore – it has be a  good hotel.   The Marina Bay Sand  owns by Las Vegas Sands is complete with a casino, conference/exhibition hall, business center  and shopping center in its 55 storey high hotel.  2650 room later – the hotel costing i heard $8 billion – excluding the cost of prime land.  Grander than the Westin Hotels when it opened in the 90s – if you are in Singapore – its a must see place.

The big business center/convention/exhibition hall.

Interior of the hotel

Entrance to the hotel – more about the stay at Marina Sand Bay Hotel in the next post.  Did i tell you they have a food court in this hotel too?

Going home to Asia for a vacation with the entire family may not be a real good idea for now – because of the long flight – which is about 28 hrs on the plane – not counting the lay over time and transit time.  In fact, going to the States is cheaper than going to Vancouver for us – so our other alternative are  Branson vacations or a trip to New York city to visit a long time friend or Maine, Portland – which is only a ferry away from Digby.

We have been to Maine before – and New York seems like a very long drive – and we still have to cross over with the boat in Digby – plus a family vacation – you need to take the kids to a place where they have plenty to do.  Ours is no longer young kids – so Disneyland is out – so is SeaWorld.  We want to cater to  our teenagers or bigger kids more than 10 – then family fun like Branson would be the ideal.   Rates are pretty great too – as we can see – lets hope no hidden charges eh.  But soon – we’ll head back to Asia – I promised.

Shopping in UK need not be in London alone – in fact – there are different part of UK – that one can travel and see lots of historical and cultural stuff.  I was once in Leeds, UK for a festival in the summer and found that I can come to like Leeds a lot too.

I love all the old buildings in Leeds – they make me think of the Kings and Queens in this modern world of ours.  So where is Leeds – I hear everyone asking me – when i returned from the festival – well it is in West Yorkshire, England.  So how did i get there?   We took the railway from London up to Leeds and if i remember correctly – it didn’t take too long to reach Leeds from London Kings Cross.

Look at the beautiful and majestic looking arch – i lived for old constructions like these.

More shopping if you want to.

My favorite store.

We started early in the day after breakfast – therefore you don’t see much people around – but later in the afternoon – this area was bustling with people.

Gotta love these independent shop houses.

English bears! i know of someone who has one since 1982.

The Light – plenty of shops here – from exclusive shops to the luxury – and have a cup of coffee in one of their quaint cafes if you are tired.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to the museum nor watch a sport game – which Leeds is very famous for.  Maybe the next time eh.

I kinda missed the Westin, Bali – well not only because of the rustic furniture in the outdoor restaurant – The Veranda but I love the indoor ones as well – don’t forget to check out the Teppanyaki while you are there.  Westin Bali is a great place to be with the family and those with kids – you should see the kids’ club they have to cater to family.

Love the outdoor cabanas in Bali and the ocean – the privacy is to die for – and of course the never ending flow of mai tais and whatever drinks you would like.   Don’t forget to get a massage while you are relaxing and have your kids watched over by their trained staff at the clubhouse.  The guys -  they can enjoy the golf club – if they are into golf.

The Koh SaMui that I know and missed is the old one – although it is still as pretty as ever – these days – Koh Samui is flocked with tourist and lots of local trying to earn a buck or two.   Not far from Bangkok, one can now catch a plane to Koh Samui where else when i first visited – i had to take a bus – a local one at that.  So you can see the huge change – but nevertheless – very beautiful and lots of relaxing to do when we arrived.

The beaches are beautiful and so are the resorts – all lighted up at night with led christmas lights – very festive and very bright.  I love the beaches in the morning – but at night – with all these lights – it doesn’t look scary at all.

The weather is good all year round in Koh Samui and boost is even cheaper – i love the local folks there – they are ever so nice and always selling coconut drinks along the beaches.  We did a lot of scuba diving and ate on the boat at night with bbq fishes caught from the sea.

The beach is always packed with people it seems – so it was nice to be able to go on your own private boat – a lot of para – sailing available on the island as well.  Love the sunset – and the local pubs – let down your hair and take in a massage on the beach.

Very beautiful – turquoise water.

We took a trip one year to Canada’s oldest national park but we weren’t expecting it to be that cold and wasn’t really prepared for it.  Banff National Park is in the Canadian Rockies and the view was awesome!  In the province of Alberta – the forest is quite dense and the alpine landscapes were breath-taking.

The park is open for all 4 seasons – reason being because they have the best maintained roads I’ve seen in Canada.   We reached Lake Louise which wasn’t too far away from here using Highway 1.

We did checked out the hot spring (not natural but man made) – famous i heard – while the rest went on hiking.  I didn’t take any pictures there – for fear some guest/s wouldn’t like it too much.  We headed back to the town of Banff after the spring – too crowded.  Down at Bow Falls we could have opted for white water rafting but didn’t – we decided to take a walk instead.  Then we ended up having dinner at a pub – i think it is German if i recall correctly.  More pictures in another post.

Shanghai Museum

Passageway to Museum

Entrance to gallery