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There are many ways to reach Boracay, Philippines depending on where you are coming from. I will only mention here two ways. The first one is the most convenient and the second one is what we will take.

1. If you plan to go to Boracay from international flight, it would be better if you land in Manila. It’s convenient if you are departing from Manila coz there are direct flights from Manila to Caticlan. Then from Caticlan, you can take a boat to Boracay Island.

2. In our case, we are departing from Bacolod City, so to reach Boracay from Bacolod, we have to travel by boat from Bacolod to Ilo-ilo, take a road trip from Ilo-ilo to Caticlan, and then catch a boat ride from Caticlan to Boracay Island.

A road trip from Ilo-ilo to Caticlan is about 4 hours travel. A friend in Ilo-ilo reserved a van for us thru her vehicle contact. The price would be about a 100usd. If this travel is work-related, I could have enjoyed travel reimbursements or car allowance but this is completely not the case. On the other hand, these vans could be personal vehicles used for business such as picking up passengers, vans for hire with drivers, and the likes. How are these drivers monitored and reimbursed? Continue Reading »

Do you know that Gunnedah in New South Wales, Australia is also known as the Koala Capital of the World?

koalas at Waterways Wildlife Park ©infogunnedah.com.au

For those who would like to attend the Ag-Quip Field Days event in Gunnedah and looking for more information, I hope you find this post useful.

Let me begin with the town’s attractions. There are other attractions in Gunnedah that you can visit aside from the  event. To make the most out of your trip, you can visit Lake Keepit State Park, Gunnedah Rural Museum, Water Tower Museum, Waterways Wildlife Park, play at their “A Grade” 18 hole golf course, and more.

Traveling to Gunnedah by road would take about:
from Sydney to Gunnedah - 5 hours,
from Brisbane to Gunnedah - 7.5 hours,
from Newcastle to Gunnedah - 3.5 hours,
from Dubbo to Gunnedah - 2.5 hours,
from Armidale to Gunnedah - 2 hours,
from Tamworth to Gunnedah - 45 mins

Alternately, you can travel to Gunnedah by rail via Countrylink - Daily Explorer service to and from Sydney. You may contact 13 22 32 for reservations.

For more tourism information about Gunnedah, visit Tourism Gunnedah. Here you can get information on Gunnedah attractions, accommodation, dining, conference venues, and calendar of events. If you are interested in a Town Tour, which is a self drive tour around Gunnedah, you can print a copy of the Town Tour from the website then simply follow the signs from TOUR SIGN NO: 1 to TOUR SIGN No: 36.

You can also visit Gunnedah’s Visitor Information Centre:
Address: Anzac Park, South St Gunnedah (near overhead rail bridge)
Tel: (02) 6740 2230
Fax: (02) 6740 2237
Email: tourism@infogunnedah.com.au

Hope you enjoy the serene environment of this agricultural town.

One of the places that we are going to visit during our December vacation is Boracay Island in Philippines. What attracted us to visit Boracay? Boracay is a tropical island that boasts of sugary white sand beaches and azure blue waters. It is one of Philippine’s most popular tourist destinations and it’s for us to see and experience.

As a first-timer to this place, I did some research. The White Beach is the most popular and well developed beach location in Boracay. There are lots of activities you can enjoy in this island like island hopping, riding little motorized boats and watching the beautiful sunset. You can also learn diving, play beach volleyball, ride a banana boat, and indulge in a relaxing beach massage. For sports enthusiast, there is a tennis court and golf resort in the island. But… Continue Reading »

We are going to have our most awaited family vacation this December in Philippines with few days stopover in Thailand. Thailand has been our home for more than 10 years so we are all eager to have a stopover even for a short time.

Vacation duration would be a month. No definite travel itinerary but Boracay Beach in Philippines is in our ‘must visit’ list.

This Monday we finally received our flight tickets for the whole trip, so all is set for our family vacation this December. We got worried earlier that we might not get confirmed seats coz it’s December and usually a lot of people travel during the holidays. But with our eTickets, no more unconfirmed seats to worry about.

To give you an idea, our flights/airlines as arranged by the travel agency are…

• Pori-Helsinki via Finncomm,
• Helsinki-Bangkok via Finnair (direct flight),
• Bangkok-Manila via Philippine Airlines,
• and the rest of domestic flights in Philippines via Philippine Airlines.

December will be another busy yet exciting month in terms of traveling as we hop from one country to another, then from one island to another in the Philippines before flying back to Finland.

Do you have any special place to visit this December?

Photo credits: wikipedia.org

I was browsing thru a travel application website yesterday and didn’t notice the time as I was deeply absorbed looking at the travel photos and reading travel journals of travelers who have been to places like Sweden, Rome, Morocco, Argentina, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Norway, and more.

I’d like to pick one destination from this website for this post, a country officially called the Kingdom of Morocco. It is a country in North Africa but is the only African country that is not currently a member of African Union. Interesting. It has international borders with Algeria, Spain and Mauritania so you can travel to Morocco thru these countries.

I haven’t traveled to this country yet so let’s see what’s in this travel journal. According to the travel summary, the traveler took a ferry from Tarifa, Spain to Tangier, Morocco and spent a week in this country. The trip itinerary listed 11 destinations. Can’t picture out where it is? Don’t worry coz on the right you can see an interactive map of Morocco where the 11 destinations are numbered according to the itinerary. I clicked on the 8th destination, Merzouga (see photo). It then showed on the right side a photo and the journal entry. If you want to see more photos or videos in this particular destination, just click on the tab Photos & Videos. That’s what I did after reading the journal, and saw more pictures of Merzouga: a desert area where you can ride a camel.

If you want to share your travel experiences, this site is something I would like you to try. You can post your trip summary, trip itinerary, trip journal, travel photos and videos, tips and reviews of places you have been to. Readers can also leave a comment. This site is a traveler’s complete resource for recreating that memorable trip experience, which starts from planning a trip until the trip is over. Next time you embark on a destination, try Sosauce Travel. It’s free.

What To See
Si Satchanalai Historical Park in Thailand is home to 140 documented sets of ruins including old walls, pagodas, stupas, gateways, moats, kilns and more. Some important temples you shouldn’t miss during your visit are: Wat Khao Phanom Ploeng, Wat Chang Lom, Wat Chedi Ched Thaew, Wat Suan Kaew Utayan Yai, Wat Suan Kaew Utayan Noi, Wat Nag Phraya, and Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat.

Sightseeing Modes
Visitors can hire bicycles at 30 Baht (about 1.00USD) a day. However, if you want to take a more relaxing tour, a tram service is also available at the historical park that would pass through a hilly terrains marked with ruins. Elephant rides in the vicinity are also available at 100 Baht (3.00USD) per person per 30 minutes.

Kids on bike at Si Satchanalai Historical Park

Opening Hours and Admission
The Si Satchanalai Historical Park is open daily from 8AM to 5PM but according to some websites it is open daily between 8.30AM to 4.30PM. Admission fee is 40 Baht (about 1.20USD) for foreigners and for Thais it is 10 Baht (0.30USD). For more information, you may call 055-679211 or the local TAT office on 055-252742 to 3.

Getting There
If you want to visit Si Satchanalai Historical Park by car, take Highway No.101 to Km.64, turn left and cross the bridge over the Yom River, then turn right for another 2 kms.

If you want to take the bus, the trip takes about an hour leaving from Sukhothai’s main bus terminal between 6AM and 5PM to the historical park. For current timetable details, you may contact 055-614529 (+66 country code if calling from abroad).

Related Posts:
Si Satchanalai Historical Park, Thailand
The Charm of Si Satchanalai Architecture
Must-See Temples At Si Satchanalai

Si Satchanalai Historical Park can easily be visited on a day trip from Sukhothai, Thailand. So if you are in Sukhothai province, do drop by Si Satchanalai Historical Park. Here are some of the temples (or wat) you can see upon your visit to this park:

1. Wat Chang Lom, this impressive temple is distinctly Sri Lankan in appearance. The characteristic stupa is supported by 39 laterite elephants which are already worn-out. These elephants are unlike those found at other temples.

Elephants supporting the chedi of Wat Chang Lom

2. Wat Chedi Chet Thaew or “temple with seven rows of pagodas” is located south of Wat Chang Lom. In this temple you can see the main chedi with lotus bud-shaped top and 33 subordinate chedis adorned with Buddha images and other stucco decorative images reflecting Sri Lankan, Pagan, Srivijaya, and various architectural style. This temple is believed to contain the cremated remains of the Sukhothai royal family.

Lotus bud tower (chedi) in Wat Chedi Chet Thaew

3. Wat Suan Kaeo Utthayan Yai is located near Wat Chedi Chet Thaew just across a dirt road. You can see a large image hall within this monastery. This temple is also known as Wat Kao Hong or the “nine-room temple”.

4. Wat Suan Kaeo Utthayan Noi also called Wat Sa Kaeo contains a Chedi with lotus - bud spire with a Buddha image niche on its front and a pond in the West. The architecture is unique in Si Satchanalai due to the brick building in front of the temple. The ruins consist of a whole laterite image hall with laterite roof.

5. Wat Nang Phaya, located southeast to Wat Chedi Chet Thaew, is known for the laterite blocks used to construct the chapel, the external walls are decorated with intricate stuccowork in the art style of the early Ayutthaya era. Another attractive feature of this temple is the main, Sri Lankan-style pagoda supported by a high base adorned with sculptures of elephants similar to those at Wat Chang Lom.

Stucco detail on the viharn building of Wat Nang Phaya

6. Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat Chaliang is located a couple of kilometers to the southeast of Si Satchanalai Historical Park. This large historical complex in Chaliang is one of the most impressive sites here. The decorative stucco work at the main entrance of the temple exhibits the Bayon art style of ancient Khmer. You can also see from this complex a rope footbridge where you can take great photos of the Yom River.

Gate detail at Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat Chaliang

Photo credits: vtveen, jbeaulieu, roadstars, hewy @ flickr.com (in this order)

Related Posts:
Si Satchanalai Historical Park, Thailand
The Charm of Si Satchanalai Architecture

If you are fascinated by ruins, ancient Thai architecture and history, a visit to Si Satchanalai Historical Park, Thailand may possibly charm you.

Si Satchanalai reflects a combination of Khmer, Sri Lankan and Thai styles. The architectural and sculptural structures of the Wat or temples are evidence of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism influences long before the introduction of Theravada Buddhism. Here is what one writer described it:

A journey to the old town of Si Satchanalai does not give only the pleasure of seeing old magnificent ruins. The art, the values, and the religious convictions of our ancestors have made themselves felt in everything that is left at the Si Satchanalai Historical Park. They are ancient records of the past that have a lot to tell about the glory of the Sukhothai Kingdom. (source)

There are four temples situated at the center of Si Satchanalai: Wat Chang Lom, Wat Chedi Ched Thaew, Wat Suan Kaew Utayan Yai, and Wat Nag Phraya. We will take a virtual tour to each of these temples in succeeding posts. You know, its candidate of the week in THAILAND’S TOP DESTINATIONS, so let’s learn more about it.

Related Post:
Si Satchanalai Historical Park, Thailand

THAILAND’S TOP DESTINATIONS. According to votes, candidate of the week is: Si Satchanalai Historical Park

Si Satchanalai Historical Park is located in Sukhothai province, Thailand. The park can be found on the bank of the Yom River at Tambon Muang Kao, Amphoe Si Satchanalai. Si Satchanalai is no more than 55 km. from the town of Sukhothai. Ruins of 134 monuments have been discovered in this area.

The site of an ancient community occupying over 2000 rai (320 hectares) of land was declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site (# 574) on 12 December 1991, along with the associated historic parks of Sukothai and Kamphaeng Phet, all considered as the cradle of Thai civilization.

Shown here are photos of two temples found in this historical park.

Wat Lak Mueang in Si Satchanalai Historical Park, Sukhothai province, Thailand
Photo taken by Ahoerstemeier in January 2006 at wikimedia.org.
This temple was named “Lak Mueang” coz it was believed that it might have contained the city pillar of Si Satchanalei due to its unusual shape but subsequent research shows that this is just an ordinary Buddhist temple.

Wat Chang Lom in Si Satchanalai National Historical Park, Sukhothai Province, Thailand
Originally uploaded by Oatz at wikimedia.org

If you are on a holiday in North Cyprus, do visit Salamis. Salamis is a must-see place and a great place for a day out in North Cyprus. It is the most important ancient city in Cyprus. The ruins are impressive. The site is over one kilometer long lined with a sandy beach. The site of Salamis was excavated in 1882 but was stopped in 1974 so much of the ruins are still uncovered from the sand dunes.

Salamis Ruins from air, Famagusta, North Cyprus. Photo Credits: TRNC Ministry of Tourism

From the pictures below, you will see the original Roman baths remodeled by the Byzantines and the plunge pools of the caldarium (or cold room).

Salamis Ruins from helicopter, Famagusta, North Cyprus. Photo Credits: TAK News Agency

Salamis Ruins, Famagusta, North Cyprus. Photo Credits: Ersin Taser

Tip to travelers:
1. Take a hat in the summer coz there isn’t enough trees to hide you from the sun.
2. Make sure you have plenty of time coz it might take almost 5km to trudge the entire site.
3. Bring a bottle of water this is a thirst quenching adventure.

More information about Salamis can be read from cyprus44.com.