Shanghai Disney Resort

5 July 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

Main entrance © Baycrest/cc-by-sa-2.5

Main entrance © Baycrest/cc-by-sa-2.5

Shanghai Disneyland Park is a theme park located in Pudong, Shanghai, China, that is part of the Shanghai Disney Resort. The park is operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products and Shanghai Shendi Group, through a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Shendi. Construction began on April 8, 2011. The park opened on June 16, 2016. The park operated in its first half-year with a visitor attendance of 5.6 million guests.   read more…

Theme Week Myanmar – Naypyidaw

29 June 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

Parliament of Myanmar © panoramio.com - mohigan/cc-by-sa-3.0

Parliament of Myanmar © panoramio.com – mohigan/cc-by-sa-3.0

Naypyidaw, officially spelled Nay Pyi Taw, is the capital city of Myanmar and seat of the government of Myanmar. It is administered as the Naypyidaw Union Territory, as per the Constitution. It is unusual among Myanmar’s cities, being an entirely planned city outside of any state or region, similar to Canberra in Australia, Brasília in Brazil, Washington, D.C. in the United States and Islamabad in Pakistan.   read more…

Theme Week Myanmar – Yangon

28 June 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  15 minutes

Karaweik Palace on Kandawgyi Lake © Ralf-André Lettau

Karaweik Palace on Kandawgyi Lake © Ralf-André Lettau

Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and commercial capital of Myanmar (Burma). Yangon served as the administrative capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government relocated the administrative functions to the purpose-built city of Naypyidaw in central Myanmar. With over 7 million people, Yangon is Myanmar’s largest city and its most important commercial centre.   read more…

Theme Week Myanmar – Mandalay

27 June 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Mandalay Hill © Stefan Fussan/cc-by-sa-3.0

Mandalay Hill © Stefan Fussan/cc-by-sa-3.0

Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Myanmar (Burma). Located 716 km (445 mi) north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of 1,225,553. Mandalay is the economic centre of Upper Burma and considered the centre of Burmese culture. A continuing influx of Chinese immigrants, mostly from Yunnan, in the past 20 years, has reshaped the city’s ethnic makeup and increased commerce with China. Despite Naypyidaw‘s recent rise, Mandalay remains Upper Burma’s main commercial, educational and health center.   read more…

Theme Week Myanmar – Bago

26 June 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

Monk examinations © flickr.com - magical-world/cc-by-sa-2.0

Monk examinations © flickr.com – magical-world/cc-by-sa-2.0

Bago (formerly spelt Pegu, formerly known as Hanthawaddy (meaning “She Who Has Swans“), is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located 91 kilometres (57 mi) north-east of Yangon. Places of interest are Shwethalyaung Buddha (Reclining Buddha), Shwemawdaw Pagoda, Kyaikpun Buddha, Kanbawzathadi Palace site and museum, Kalyani Ordination Hall, Mahazedi Pagoda, Shwegugyi Pagoda, Shwegugale Pagoda, and the Bago Sittaung Canal.   read more…

Theme Week Myanmar – Mawlamyine

25 June 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

© panoramio.com - mohigan/cc-by-sa-3.0

© panoramio.com – mohigan/cc-by-sa-3.0

Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing, formerly Moulmein, is the fourth largest city of Myanmar (Burma), 300 km south east of Yangon and 70 km south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin (Salween) River. The city is the capital and largest city of Mon State and the main trading center and seaport in south eastern Myanmar. Mawlamyine is in the Salween River delta, where the mouth of the Salween is sheltered by Bilugyun Island as it enters the Gulf of Martaban and the Andaman Sea. It is flanked by low hills dotted with ancient pagodas to the east and west.   read more…

Theme Week Myanmar

24 June 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  12 minutes

Pathein © panoramio.com - oikk/cc-by-3.0

Pathein © panoramio.com – oikk/cc-by-3.0

Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a country in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its west, Thailand and Laos to its east and China to its north and northeast. To its south, about one third of Myanmar’s total perimeter of 5,876 km (3,651 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline of 1,930 km (1,200 mi) along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. As of 2017, the population is about 54 million. Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometres (261,228 square miles) in size. Myanmar has been a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1997. The largest cities are Yangon, Mandalay, Naypyidaw (capital city), Bago, Hpa-An, Taunggyi, Monywa, Myitkyina, Mawlamyine and Magway (List of cities in Myanmar).   read more…

Canton Tower in Guangzhou

19 June 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

© panoramio.com - jiang-wen-jie/cc-by-sa-3.0

© panoramio.com – jiang-wen-jie/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Canton Tower is a 604 metres (1,982 ft) tall multi-purpose observation tower in the Haizhu District of the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton). The tower was topped out in 2009 and it became operational on 29 September 2010 for the 2010 Asian Games. The tower briefly held the title of tallest tower in the world, replacing the CN Tower, before being surpassed by the Tokyo Skytree. It was the tallest structure in China prior to the topping out of Shanghai Tower on 3 August 2013. It is now the second tallest tower and the fourth-tallest freestanding structure in the world.   read more…

Causeway Bay in Hong Kong

12 June 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Shopping Reading Time:  9 minutes

© WiNG/cc-by-3.0

© WiNG/cc-by-3.0

Causeway Bay is a heavily built-up area of Hong Kong, located on Hong Kong Island, and covering parts of Wan Chai District. The Cantonese name is also romanised as Tung Lo Wan as in Tung Lo Wan Road. The rent in the shopping areas of Causeway Bay was ranked as the world’s most expensive for the second year in a row, after overtaking New York City’s Fifth Avenue in 2012. Causeway Bay borders the Eastern District. Causeway Bay includes Tsing Fung Street, Causeway Bay market, the Victoria Park, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, Jardine’s Noonday Gun, the Police Officers Club, Queen’s College and the Hong Kong Central Library. The western border of Causeway Bay is considered to be marked by Canal Road, which separates it from the Wan Chai area.   read more…

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