Asian Travel Blog

It is said that Emirates Palace was and still is the most expensive hotel ever built, and here are a few more interesting facts about Abu Dhabi’s wonderful iconic landmark, which will make you want to stay there for a few days, and enjoy some time in the United Arab Emirates:

The building has over 114 impressive domes that rise up to 60m in the air and glisten in the sun, resembling pure gold. Additionally, 35,000 square metres of thirteen different types of marble have been used from all over the world.

Talking of gold, 5kg of 24 carat edible gold is used every month on decorating Palace pastries and chocolates. This includes Delice du Palace, and 400 slices of this famous chocolate cake are consumed on average every day!

The Emirates Palace has a magnificent 1,002 Swarovski glittering crystal chandeliers, and 20,000 roses are used everyday to decorate the hotel to perfection.

Sayad is the first restaurant in Abu Dhabi to introduce Pacific Rim cuisine, that unique combination of food inspired by the techniques and flavours of the countries that make up Asia, and the other countries that border the Pacific Ocean.

“Gateway to Arabia” is the most popular spa treatment at the Anantara spa within The Emirates Palace. It is an indulgent celebration of the Moroccan hammam, and costs around £175, lasting 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Emirates Palace employs around 2,600 members of staff who are members of approximately 50 different nationalities. This means that there are around 3 members of staff per guest!

The hotel pampers its guests with a vast array of little luxuries such as ‘bath caviar’ and Prada beauty products in all suites.

See you in Abu Dhabi!

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Located along an idyllic sweep of beach looking out onto the Gulf of Thailand, Hua Hin has been a resort for well over a hundred years, and much loved by generations of Thai royalty.

Many of the old buildings from the 1920’s have been preserved, and there is a delightful antique, wooden railway station, and row upon row of white villas. The town centre has a distinctive feel all its own, because the original charm of the place has been retained. By the shore there are original wooden fishermen’s piers, which give the place a feel of almost stepping back in time.

Don’t forget to try one of the town’s most famous noodle shops, Jeak Peak, which was established more than sixty years ago. Here you can get generous bowls of seafood noodle soup and plates of delicious pork satay.

Hua Hin has an abundance of top hotels: the Hilton, the Hyatt Regency, the Marriott, and many more. Most of the hotels run spa treatments as well, offering massage, saunas, jacuzzis, and holistic health advice.

And Hua Hin is not without its festivals. Every September is the rather novel King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, with teams coming to the town from as far away as Sri Lanka and Europe. This event raises money for the National Elephant Institute, and also includes parades and other activities. In June, it’s the Hua Hin Jazz Festival which provides three nights of local and international jazz on several stages on the beach. In March the skies dramatically and beautifully fill with colourful kites at the annual Kite Festival.

With its old world charm, Hua Hin is a Thai resort not to be missed.

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Dubai has changed drastically in the past ten years, and is still changing – it is fast becoming one of the most modern and upbeat centres of Asia, attracting attention as a world business hub, and becoming an increasingly popular spot for tourists, boasting magnificent five star hotels and a cornucopia of shopping with top brands, fine products and enviable prices.

The city is also developing a reputation for vibrant nightlife and top-quality restaurants – the pinnacle of which must be Gordon Ramsay’s refined Verre, which is a delight of white china, white linen, simple silver cutlery, and some truly gastronomic refined cusine.

Warm and sunny all year round, Dubai is a great place to jet off to for a bit of sunshine if you live in parts where the winter is cold and grey. At my time of writing, in January, the temperature in Dubai is twenty degrees Celsius. Summer gets a little sweaty, and if you feel the need to cool off, then what could be better than heading off for the slopes of Ski Dubai, the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East.

The only possible problem with being in Dubai is that there is building work going on all over the place – but it’s a growing city and so inevitable. You might bear this in mind when choosing your hotel, and it is advisable to do a bit of research. One place which is currently unaffected by building work is the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, which is particularly good for families and has its own private beach. Another hotel of the same group, which is not close to any current building work, is the Madinat Jumeirah, which is cleverly constructed in the style of an ancient Arabian city, and is threaded by waterways, with cafés, restaurants and its own souk.

For the ultimate in a luxury holiday, it just has to be Dubai.

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China’s northernmost major city, Harbin is a delight for those who love to see a great range of architecture. The city was actually founded as late as 1897 as a camp for the Russian engineers who were building the Trans-Siberian Railway. The demand for workers brought in people from across Russia, Poland and from within Manchuria itself. Russian influence on the city continued due to the fact that after the 1917 Russian Revolution monarchist refugees escaped to Harbin, and the Russian influence is still clearly visible in many ways from the architecture to the food. During World War II the city was captured by the Japanese, and subsequently taken by the Chinese in 1946. Harbin has thus grown from a remote Russian outpost to the tenth largest city in China.

Harbin lies on the southern bank of the Songhua River, and has been alternately called Oriental Moscow, Oriental St Petersburg and Oriental Paris due to its unique European-influenced architecture. It is indeed one of China’s most beautiful cities.

One of the city’s most impressive streets is Zhong Yang Street, which has a fabulous array of varied European architectural styles, including Baroque and Byzantine façades, traditional Jewish architecture, small Russian cake shops and bakeries, fashionable French clothes stores, and Japanese restaurants. Nearby is the Russian Orthodox St. Sophia Cathedral, which has now been made into a museum.

Harbin has an Old Quarter near the Songhua River which is mostly made up of buildings that were constructed by the Russians at the turn of the 19th century. Most of these are built in Baroque or Byzantine style with intricate spires and cupolas, and painted in eye-catching shades of yellow, white, green, and red.

Harbin is also famous for its Russian influenced cuisine, and, unlike the rest of China, has plenty of bakeries producing a variety of differnt types of bread. Harbin is also known for its tasty European-style sausages.

Harbin has been holding an annual International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival since 1985, and this starts on January 5th and lasts one month. It is one of the world’s four largest ice and snow festivals.

So if you are looking for somewhere unusual to escape to in January, you could consider Harbin.

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It is said that it is worth visiting Bali simply in order to enjoy the food, and when you’ve tasted the lovely cuisine on offer, it isn’t hard to see why. As in much of Asia, the staple foodstuff is rice, and this comes steamed, boiled and fried. There are loads of accompaniments to go with rice, such as chillis, shallots, garlic, and ginger. Fiery sambal sauces, along with plain rice, form an intergral part of most meals. The steamed rice goes particularly well with the thick stews and rich curries that this part of the world is famous for.

If you want to try several dishes in one meal, try nasi campur or nasi rames, as both of these consist of several small meat and vegetable portions around a scoop of rice. Another way of getting to try a wide variety of Balinese food is to go for what is known as rijsttafel, which means literally “rice table”, which is a full spread of dishes – a bit like a smorgasbord - popularized by the Dutch and still found at many restaurants.

Nasi goreng appears on many menus, and is fried rice with shallots, chillies, soy sauce, and other ingredients such as meat, fish and egg. This popular dish has made its way around the world, and I once came across it in a Swedish restaurant.

You will not find alcohol in any Muslim restaurant, but you will find it otherwise readily available throughout Bali. A particular drink to look out for is the potent rice spirit known as arak, but if less strong drinks are more to your taste, then how about very nice Bali Hai beer?

All in all, there is always something new and different to try if you go to Bali.

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The Pig and Whistle in Kyoto has to be seriously one of the best expatriate hangouts in town. And it’s not just the place where the Westerners go, plenty of Japanese enjoy going there too.

You can get pints of draught beer, bottles of Sam Smiths, (you have a choice of room temperature, or straight out of the fridge), shorts and cocktails, all at reasonable sorts of prices for Japan. There are loads of different varieties of whisky, with Scottish, Irish, American and Japanese alternatives.

Not only this, but you can actually get fish and chips here too – although I think they have never quite got hold of the idea that with fish and chips there are supposed to be absolutely loads of chips. But never mind, the tartare sauce and slices of lemon more than make up for this. Their pizza is plain and simple, but filling.

If you are feeling homesick for darts, then you have come to the right place, as the pub boasts both a southern dart board, and a northern dart board, (southern and northern referring to the opposite ends of England, that is).

Brits, Irish, Aussies, Kiwis, Americans, Japanese – you can find them all here and more besides.

The Pig is especially good on St Patrick’s night, when it’s green everything and Irish music. It’s also an excellent place to go for Halloween, when people are encouraged to go in fancy dress, and there are prizes for the best costume. It’s also good on New Year’s Eve when they have been known to give out free champagne …

Many people congregate in the Pig in the early part of the evening before taking off later to the clubs, when the Pig closes at around midnight.

Well worth a visit if you happen to be in Kyoto.

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