Went to Jinan, the capital city of China's Shandong Province, for a 2 day visit. Not much of a touristy city but there are some nice natural springs that one can explore. The city is the birthplace of the well-known entrepreneur Ms. Wendi Deng. I wonder what Ms. Deng would make of Jinan today!
Every afternoon the hot air rising over the hills behind Caticlan on the ‘mainland’ creates this huge thunderstorm cloud - or ‘Cb’ (CumuloNimbus) called Grace. It is there every day and never goes out in the water. When the cloud is at its peak just on sunset (as in the picture) - as the sun sinks over the curved planet its light rises up the cloud lights up the distinctive ‘anvil’. Boracay in the Philippines is renowned for its stunning sunsets. Everyday between 5.50pm and 6.20pm, the sky is full of magic....so many colours appear and change quickly, too. You just end up saying "Wow!" all the time. Those 20 minutes from around 5.50pm can put a smile back on ones face if they've had a bad day...I've seen sunsets like this in England maybe for a few days a year. There are over 360 resorts dotted along the 3 main beach stations (Stations 1, 2 and 3) on the tiny dog-bone shaped island of Boracay in the Philippines. From my experience, two of the BEST places to stay at for families with kids, couples on a honeymoon or those who want to while away their holiday quietly and in stunning surroundings are the Shangri-La Hotel Resort at Beach Station 1 or Sundown Studios Boracay at Angol Beach Front. I stayed for 5 nights at the latter, which was designed and is managed by German national and long-term Boracay resident Jurgen Schatzle, a former engineer who spent his life building tunnels around China and India. His vision and immaculate attention to detail has produced a remarkable building with only 4 sophisticated and spacious luxurious suites - 40 solar panels providing its power when the island's electricity fails. This resort was highly recommended to me by my friend, James Nixon, who is an Airbus A380 Captain for a major international 5-star airline.
Each of the 4 neat and clean rooms come complete with air-conditioning, an electric fan, high-speed Wi-Fi internet, plenty of power points, Western style toilet, spacious shower, Espresso coffee machine, luxurious bath amenities from Amber Spa, daily room-cleaning service and most importantly, are located in a QUIET location so you don't hear any noise at night (the surroundings at Angol Point are quite anyways- perfect for families). You won't hear any of the noise from the manic bars at Beach Station 2. There is also a private bar, restaurant and a dive centre. The staff are very professional and provide a truly 5-star customer service taking you more personally. Jurgen runs the business from his bar. His business partner, Peter, is an Austrian who runs the bar. He enjoyed a very successful lifelong career as an F&B manager on cruise ships before locating here. Sundown Studios Resort is slightly expensive, but you get what you pay for- peace, quietness, and luxury, the creature comforts of good food and drinks and privacy. From my experience, I found the people here very nice. Whether you are with your family and kids, or if you are on a honeymoon, or even if you are a writer who wants to relax in tranquil surroundings and enjoy ultimate luxury, then this is THE place to stay at. Unless you are into the manic noise and crowds, then I would personally avoid staying at any of the resorts at Beach Station 2 and even Station 1 (except the Shangri-La, which has its own quite private resort- you cannot even get in to the hotel if you are not staying there). Station 1 and Station 3 has some good-quality restaurants. Station 2 has some nice restaurants too, but it is all rather noisy cheap, tacky and perhaps even unclean in places. Sundown Studios Boracay is the ultimate getaway resort. Boracay Island is a tiny dog-bone shaped island located under an hour's flight from Manila with a Dash-8 aircraft (yep, they still use aircraft with propellers in some parts of the world!). The island houses a wonderful white sand beach facing west to the Sulu Sea. The eastern side - Bulabog Beach - faces the Sibuyan Sea. Voted by Conde Nast and many other travel magazines as having one of the best sunsets in the world, Boracay is a gem (though, not exactly hidden now!).
The island is a perfect getaway for families, couples on a honeymoon or those who want to escape the hustle & bustle of the city life. Getting to the island can be a bit of a hassle (Manila Airport is an experience!) but once you're there, it is a world away from it all. It is not exactly a backpackers destination, simply because it is expensive and caters for more of a middle-class crowd, and thankfully it doesn't attract any sleazy/seedy/desperado types of people that you may get in places such as Thailand or other parts of the Philippines. Boracay is definitely worth a visit. Put it on your bucket list. The BEST places to stay at, from my experience, are either the Shangri-La Boracay resort or Sundown Studios Boracay. Check them out. Only a two hour flight from Hong Kong, the capital city of the Philippines, Manila, lies in the tropics...we were welcomed by hot and humid weather. OK, the good thing about the Hong Kong Regal Airport Hotel is that it is located right next to the airport terminal, within a 2-minute walking distance. Apart from that, I can think of quite a few other good airport hotels around the world that are good or perhaps ever better (Hilton Heathrow, Marriott Heathrow among others). Though, in my experience, it is perhaps just a bit better than the Shanghai Pudong Dazhong Airport Hotel. Most importantly, I'm not complaining because it does do the job in any case of providing a peaceful sleep in a quiet room.
When I first arrived in China in 2003, Guangzhou's Garden Hotel was one of the very few 5-star hotels in the city (the others being the White Swan Hotel and the China Hotel by Marriott). It still projects an air of nostalgia and has become a choice for hosting airline crews from Emirates, Qatar Airways, Saudia - Saudi Arabian Airlines, DHL, FedEx among others. The nearby areas of Xiaobei Lu (also known as Little Middle-East because of the large number of Arabs living there), and Sanyuanli (known as "Chocolate City" by the locals because of the large African community that lives there) have turned Guangzhou into a thriving international city in recent years.
Located south of Guangzhou's Liwan district, Shamian Island is a gazetted historical area that serves as a tranquil reminder of the colonial European period, with quiet pedestrian avenues flanked by trees and lined by historical buildings in various states of upkeep.
Marco Polo described it as one of the most beautiful city's that he has visited, but in reality, these days Hangzhou is anything but the most beautiful city in the world (let along China). I was very surprised that a recent article in Oryx, the in-flight magazine for Qatar Airways, described Hangzhou as a premier honeymoon destination and compared it to Paris and Mauritius. It may be a honeymoon destination for many Chinese people, but they are giving the wrong information to the world, and to foreigners, that Hangzhou is a honeymoon destination- it is not. Hangzhou is no where close enough to the Maldives, Mauritius or Paris. The city is heavily polluted and the only decent tourist attraction is West Lake. Apart from that it is like any other city in China.
Having lived and worked in Hangzhou for a year, I can say that I only saw the sun for about a month in the whole year and only got to see a blue sky for a few days in the whole year. Other than that the sky is usually cloudy, heavily polluted (especially around Binjiang District where the Headquarters of Alibaba.com are located) and it rains a lot here too. If you are thinking of coming to live and work in Hangzhou from Europe or North America, then think very carefully before you invest in the time, money and effort because the pollution is a major factor. Even in these photos you can see that the sun is struggling to shine through the polluted sky. Apart from Lake West, Hangzhou is more of an industrial city these days. Yes, there are the Longji Tea plantations and the Xixi Wetlkand (which is rather boring, unless you just want to take a look at birds all day), however, in my opinion, even Jinji Lake in Suzhou is a much better because it is less crowded and quieter. Whirlwind visit to the HQ of China'a CCTV station for a meeting provided the opportunity to experience the capital city for a few hours. A few welcoming changes to the city's infrastructure...though the haze still looms... Back to a very different world in Shanghai-- only a 90 minute flight from Seoul. To say that Hongqiao Railway Station (pictured) is huge would be an understatement. Not only do you need to book your tickets at least 2 hours in advance but to get to the boarding gate from the ticket office can take at least 30 minutes at busy periods...and if you need a coffee, the shops are located on the 2nd floor ( that may require another 30 minutes)...who designed this horrible station?! Not user friendly at all...
The rather novel Grand Hyatt, Seoul, with 601 well-appointed luxury rooms and suites, each offering priceless views over the historic and spectacular Mount Namsan and the Han River, is a masterpiece blend of excellent architecture and perfect Feng Shui. The hotel is located in tranquil settings on a hill in the prime setting of the Itaewon shopping district, close to the city’s most happening place. There are numerous high-quality bars and restaurants within a short 10-minute taxi ride. The hotel is under 60 minutes away from Incheon International Airport, 35 minutes from Gimpo Domestic Airport, and 20 minutes from the Samsung-dong business hub, with most all of the city’s key districts within close proximity of the hotel.
If you are visiting Seoul for the first time- especially on a business trip- then most likely you may have been whisked straight from the airport to the hotel, and then straight to your meeting room or office (and vice-versa). So when you are in an international bubble like this, it is difficult to enjoy the true colors and flavor of the real Seoul city. The hotel is a favorite for business travelers, families, foreign dignitaries and also for military personnel because the Yongsan Base, the famous US Military base, is located quite close. There are numerous foreign embassies dotted around the hotel’s area. It is perhaps the safest place to be at, too. The first thing that strikes out about the rooms is that they are rather unusual compared to most other Grand Hyatt hotels around the world- perhaps only comparable to the old styled rooms because this was one of the first 5-star properties in Seoul. The bathrooms don’t have any rainforest showers, but the old fashioned bath tubs. Every inch of the building is made to full use-this includes the bridge that connects the two towers’. The suspended bridge houses the “Guanxi Lounge” which is another innovation from the designers of the hotel building. Here you can just while away the evening while sipping a glass of, say for example, fine “2 Up Shiraz” or the in house, “G Wine”. The gastronomical highlight of the Grand Hyatt Guangzhou has to be the exciting Paris Grill for European cuisine, and J.J. Mahoney’s Centre with 9 separate entertainment spaces. From the glamour of the culinary delights and the rooms décor comes the fine art of relaxing. They don;t call it grand for no reason, you know? After a long tiring day nothing beats the feeling of going to the Spa for a wind down massage. The Spa offers a variety of exquisite treatment including pedicure, manicure and professional body massage services to cool down your heels after a long day. Having a relaxing foot or back massage after a long tiring day forms part of the culture in Seoul. Evidence of this can be seen with the numerous Spa houses scattered around every city and village. The Spa and Club Olympus recreation centre offer a sanctuary of calm, with specialized and personalized spa treatments, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis and squash courts and an ice skating rink. The hotel is proud that the tennis courts are one of the best facilities offered by any hotel in the city, and are regularly used for practice by major sports stars. |
Get in Touch:LIFE MATTERSHere I share my thoughts
and experiences during my travels, and how some things have affected my life as an expat and world traveller. Travelling is about capturing that moment in life. Every word, view and opinion on this page is that of Navjot Singh - except where indicated. The most recent is at the top. Scroll down to read the archive. Or search using CTRL+F (COMMAND + F) and enter a keyword to search the page. Just some of the stories you never heard before. The NAVJOT-SINGH.COM web blog is separate to this web site....Click blog, which may not be visible in some countries due to local firewall restrictions, so in those cases this weblog may be read. The weblog also includes some of my press trip reports- most of which are not published on the official blog because of copyright issues. The weblog also contains articles that may be associated directly with a PR trip for a country, airline or a hotel. These are PR reviews done in relations with various companies. If you are an investor or a trend watcher then you may find this website useful as investing has a lot to do with personal observations and finding the ideal trend or next big thing. The average human on the street frequently knows far more about the state of the economy than politicians, university professors, subject matter experts, and financial analysts who seldom travel, or if they do so, only from one hotel to another hotel! The pulse and vibrancy of an economy is nowhere more visible than on a country's streets. All photos and words are © Navjot Singh unless stated. Photos taken by others or by agencies are appropriately copyrighted under the respective name. No photo or word/s may be taken without the prior written permission by the author (i.e. Navjot Singh). All Rights Reserved. Archives
February 2024
Categories
All
|