Old Tbilisi in Georgia

10 April 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Narikala Fortress © panoramio.com - David Holt/cc-by-sa-3.0

Narikala Fortress © panoramio.com – David Holt/cc-by-sa-3.0

Old Tbilisi was an administrative district (raioni) in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, from 2007 to 2013. Although the term “Old Tbilisi” has long been used to denote a historical part of the city, it was only in 2007 that it became a distinct administrative entity to incorporate several historical neighbourhoods formerly included in the districts of Mtatsminda-Krtsanisi, Isani-Samgori, and Didube-Chughureti. The district was abolished in 2013, with its territories allotted to several other divisions of the capital.   read more…

Theme Week Singapore – Raffles Hotel

8 April 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Huaiwei/cc-by-sa-2.5

© Huaiwei/cc-by-sa-2.5

Raffles Hotel is a colonial-style luxury hotel in Singapore. It was established by Armenian hoteliers, the Sarkies Brothers, in 1887. The hotel was named after British statesman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the British coloniser of Singapore. It is the flagship property of Raffles Hotels & Resorts, and is managed by AccorHotels after Accor acquired FRHI Hotels & Resorts. The hotel is owned by Qatar-based, government-owned Katara Hospitality. The hotel commenced Phase 3 of a three-phase restoration programme on 13 December 2017. The Raffles Hotel reopened in August 2019 following the completion of the renovation.   read more…

Theme Week Vietnam – Haiphong

28 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

Du Hang Pagoda © HoangTuanAnh/cc-by-sa-3.0

Du Hang Pagoda © HoangTuanAnh/cc-by-sa-3.0

Haiphong is a major industrial city, the second largest city in the northern part of Vietnam. Hai Phong is also the center of technology, economy, culture, medicine, education, science and trade in the northern coast of Vietnam. The city is popular as a starting point for excursions to the famous Halong Bay. Hai Phong city traces its origin to its 1887 founding as a seaport province by colonist of the French Colonial Empire. In 1888, the president of the French Third Republic Sadi Carnot promulgated a decree to establish Hai Phong city. From 1954 to 1975, Hai Phong served as the most important maritime city of North Vietnam, and it became one of direct-controlled municipalities of a reunified Vietnam with Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh city in 1976. In the 21st century, Hai Phong has emerged as a trading gateway, modern, green industrial city of Vietnam, oriented to become the third special-class city of Vietnam in 2030 or by 2050 at the latest.   read more…

Theme Week Vietnam – Vung Tau

27 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

© Hoangvantoanajc/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Hoangvantoanajc/cc-by-sa-3.0

Vũng Tàu is the largest city and former capital of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu Province in Vietnam. The city area is 140 square kilometres (54 square miles), consists of 13 urban wards and one commune of Long Son Islet. Vũng Tàu was the capital of the province until it was replaced by the much smaller Bà Rịa city on 2 May 2012. The city is also the crude oil extraction center of Vietnam.   read more…

Theme Week Vietnam – Quy Nhon

26 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên/cc-by-sa-3.0

Qui Nhơn is a coastal city in Bình Định Province in central Vietnam. It is composed of 16 wards and five communes with a total of 284 km² (110 sq mi). Quy Nhơn is the capital of Bình Định Province. Its population is at 311,000. Historically, the commercial activities of the city focused on agriculture and fishing. In recent years, however, there has been a significant shift towards service industries and tourism. There is also a substantial manufacturing sector.   read more…

Theme Week Vietnam – Can Tho

25 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

© panoramio.com - trungydang/cc-by-3.0

© panoramio.com – trungydang/cc-by-3.0

Cần Thơ is the fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city in the Mekong Delta. It is noted for its floating markets, rice paper-making village, and picturesque rural canals. It had a population of 1.2 million as of 2011, and is located on the south bank of the Hau River, a distributary of the Mekong River. In 2007, about 50 people died when the Cần Thơ Bridge collapsed, causing Vietnam’s worst engineering disaster. In 2011, Can Tho International Airport opened.   read more…

Theme Week Vietnam – Hue

24 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  13 minutes

Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Imperial City © Arabsalam/cc-by-3.0

Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Imperial City © Arabsalam/cc-by-3.0

Huế is a city in central Vietnam that was the capital of Đàng Trong Kingdom from 1738 to 1775 and of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945. A major attraction is its vast, 19th-century citadel, surrounded by a moat and thick stone walls. It encompasses the Imperial City, with palaces and shrines; the Forbidden Purple City, once the emperor’s home; and a replica of the Royal Theater. The city was also the battleground for the Battle of Hue, which was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.   read more…

Theme Week Vietnam

23 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  14 minutes

Nha Trang beach © ntt/cc-by-sa-3.0

Nha Trang beach © ntt/cc-by-sa-3.0

Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Southeast Asian Indochinese Peninsula. With an estimated 95.5 million inhabitants as of 2018, it is the 15th most populous country in the world. Vietnam shares its land borders with China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west. It shares its maritime borders with Thailand through the Gulf of Thailand, and the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia through the South China Sea. Its capital city is Hanoi, while its most populous city is Ho Chi Minh City, also known by its former name of Saigon.   read more…

Theme Week Thailand – Chiang Mai

29 February 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Tinsulanonda Library © FreeGenius

Tinsulanonda Library © FreeGenius

Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand and the capital of Chiang Mai Province. It is 700 km (435 mi) north of Bangkok near the highest mountains in the country. The provincial capital is the economic and cultural center of the north. The city is also called the Rose of the North because of its scenic beauty. Chiang Mai is the center of Thai handicrafts. Wood processing, textile production and the processing of jade jewelry in particular are important branches of the economy. In addition, tourism is an important source of income for many people. Chiang Mai hosts many Thai festivals. In early December 2017, Chiang Mai was awarded the UNESCO title of Creative City. In 2015, Chiang Mai was on the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage inscription. Chiang Mai was one of two tourist destinations in Thailand on TripAdvisor‘s 2014 list of “25 Best Destinations in the World”, where it stands at number 24.   read more…

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