Shanghai Mansion - The most magnificent oasis we have ever encountered!

Our family of 7 was travelling in luxury. 5 star cruise ship, 5 star tour guides, and a number of 5 star+ hotels during our three week vacation.

The Shanghai Mansion boutique hotel in ChinaTown, Bangkok was without a doubt the most startlingly beautiful, luxurious, comfortable and just plain pampering of them all.

An absolute highlight of our trip, from the moment we ascended the escalator to the 1st floor lobby, the Shanghai Mansion did not fail in any way to impress.

The service was exemplary. The rooms were massive, and featured every luxury you could hope for. The beds were huge, the baths deep and very quick to fill. Complimentary mini bar was a nice touch (no alcohol), and the gorgeous lounge areas scattered outside the wood paneled doors of the private rooms were just lovely.

The food, both dinner and breakfast (we didn't want to leave the hotel to eat elsewhere!!) was wonderful, and I definitely recommend a meal at Cotton Restaurant if you are staying here.

If we hadn't needed to catch our cruise ship, I would very very happily have extended our stay in Bangkok purely so that we could have enjoyed another night at the Shanghai Mansion. I truly cannot rave enough about it.

Obviously... very highly recommended!

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Best Hotel - Holiday Inn Downtown Dubai

The staff and in particular the manager was very friendly indeed and helpful. Good location and value for money. After a long sleepless night flight, on arrival at the hotel, the manager allocated me a room (early check-in with breakfast). The water spray in the bathroom started leaking, flooded the bathroom floor. The A/C was not working. It was repaired promptly. Towels definitely need an "upgraded", they looked worn out and small. My "standard" room (4th floor) and its carpet both looked "tired and worn out".

The horror story began at night when I went to bed just when loud music started playing. I thought it might be a party which would end soon. At around midnight I went looking for the source of this extreme loud music. To my surprise found there were 3 joints/night clubs one at each floor (01st/02nd and 3rd floor). I asked them when the music will stop - "Sir, we close at 3 am". Nothing I could do, so went to the room to try get some sleep. I wasn't able fall asleep till about 3.30 am. Next day I complained about this, as nowhere was it mentioned about these three night clubs within the hotel when booking this hotel on hotels.com. The manager apologized and transferred my room to the 7th floor(club room) and offered free WiFi.

Fortunately he transferred my room onto the 07th floor and that too on the other side of the hotel, where I found the room to be fresher comparatively and did not hear the noise at night.

The hotel needs modernization to bring it in good standard with many of the holiday inn's in many other cities. The night clubs definitely need to go.

Room Tip: Check with hotel about the room being allocated before booking. The noise will not let you sleep!

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Dal Bhat - Best Food in Nepal

Considered the national dish of Nepal, dal bhat fills the bellies of nearly everyone in the country at least once per day. Often, people think that dal bhat refers to a single dish, but it’s actually a set meal that normally includes rice complemented with soup, vegetables, and occasionally a meat-based curry. Pull back a curtain to enter a local restaurant in Nepal, ask for dal bhat, and you’ll be given a filling home-cooked meal that’s very satisfying.

In literal terms, dal is a soup made from lentils or other legumes, cooked with onions, tomatoes, and garlic. Compared to an Indian dal, which has the consistency of gravy, Nepali dal is usually thinner and more soup-like. Bhat normally means steamed rice, though it can occasionally refer to other staple starches such as maize, millet, or wheat, boiled with water and thickened into a lump called dhido. Together the combination of dal and bhat makes up the most basic form of a Nepali staple meal.

While dal and bhat is the minimum combination, nearly everyone adds a few extra dishes to make the meal more substantial. Tarkari is a Nepali dish that can mean any assortment of vegetables - sometimes it’s stir fried greens, other times it’s fried potatoes or cauliflower cooked with masala spices and onions. Usually, whatever vegetable or combination of vegetables that are available in the market on that particular day will be stir fried or curried to accompany a portion of dal bhat.

Often a spoonful of achar is added to a serving of dal bhat, a very broad term that can be anything from a tomato based hot sauce to a roasted green chili sauce, or even a sauce made from fermented fruit. Whatever variation of achar the cook happens to prepare, you can bet it will be flavorful, a little spicy, and you’ll want to smother your food in it. Along with achar, though not mandatory, some restaurants will serve a side dish of curd (like plain yogurt) to garnish and refresh.

While many local Nepalese eat vegetarian dal bhat out of either religious or financial reasons, chicken, fish, or buffalo are also widely available and ready to be served alongside. You’ll usually be served the full vegetarian course first followed by the extra sides of meat. Masu, any kind of meat curry, normally consists of bite-sized pieces of meat stewed in a medley of jeera, turmeric, coriander, and other spices. Sukuti, dry meat stir fried with spices and onions, is another great protein addition to a dal bhat meal.

Just like an Indian thali, a Nepali dal bhat is normally served on a big metal plate that appears more like a platter. The rice and vegetable dishes are piled onto the plate and a side of dal soup is served separately in a small bowl. If you happen to order extra dishes like chicken curry, they will also be served in a side bowl. Sometimes the dal bhat plates are thin silver platters, while other times they use heavy bronze colored plates. While cutlery is frequently available, the traditional way to eat dal bhat is with your fingers. To eat you simply add a splash of dal to your rice, mix in a bite of chicken curry and a dab of achar chili sauce, and dig in. Lightly mushing the food on the tips of your fingers, you push the food into your mouth and start preparing the next bite.

Despite being the standard staple in Nepal, dal bhat makes a well-rounded delicious feast. A big pile of steamed rice, dal, vegetables, and a side of meat curry, all cooked by a motherly Nepali women, is a meal that’s not only guaranteed to fill your stomach, but is a great way to experience one of the best parts of Nepal’s rich culture.

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Cambodian Food is A Bit of A Mystery

Cambodian food is a bit of a mystery. After the Khmer Rouge wiped out much of the country’s historical records – including cook books – what remains are recipes passed down through generations of families. Influences come from India, China and, later, France. And, like much of Southeast Asia, noodles and noodle soups are ubiquitous, as are coconut-derived ingredients and fish sauce. You’ll see root dishes, ancestors, of popular Thai and Malay foods, and some very local delicacies you’re unlikely to find elsewhere in the world – and for good reason in the case of fried tarantula.

Cambodia is still rebuilding itself as a tourist destination and while cosmopolitan upscale dining venues are present, they’re the exception. International foods – Italian, Mexican, Indian and Pacific Rim – also abound, but for some dishes that represent contemporary Cambodian cuisine and provide a glimpse Khmer culture and history, here’s a quick list of culinary must-tries.

In general, chili isn’t that widely used in Cambodia as it is in Thailand or Malaysia, so you can be less afraid of curries. And while freshwater fish are the main source of local protein, there are plenty of unconventional street vendor treats if you’re inclined to go all Man vs Wild.

Somewhere at the top of the list of adored regional foods is amok, a delicious cupcake-sized fish mousse served in a banana leaf – an early rendition of Thailand’s hor mok. Aromatic, creamy and lightly spiced, amok is available across all price points – from your “authentic” upscale restaurant to your local mom and pop store. In the latter, expect something more like a curry than a cake, with all the requisite flavors infused by a well-worn mortar and pestle.

Obviously noodles are a must in Cambodia as they are anywhere in Asia. We’re talking nom ban chok – rice noodles with broth, raw greens, mint and basil – typically served for breakfast. The noodles are made upcountry and brought fresh into the cities. Nom ban chok is a staple in Cambodian cuisine and even features in Khmer folklore, with claims of having been a precursor to noodles in China. There are regional varieties, so your Siem Reap nom ban chok will be different to your Kampot nom ban chok.

If you’re south of Sihanoukville in Kep, you might notice the local obsession with crab – a giveaway is the giant crab statue by the waterfront. This is also the home of Kampot pepper, an international hit and a big deal in Cambodian cooking. You can have both ingredients together in a plate of kdam cha – fried crab, green pepper, garlic and scallions. Truly transcendent.

Spiders are probably the most challenging of local snacks for those more used to running and screaming from them rather than sticking them in their mouth. The stuff of nightmares for arachnophobes, if you’re game the pay-off for eating a friend tarantula is a nutty, crunchy sensation – kind of like fried cricket. Dialing back the cringe-factor a little is snake stew – an age-old Cambodian dish that was reinvigorated in 2005 by chef Joannès Riviere at Hotel de la Paix’s Meric restaurant. Riviere has since moved to Cuisine Wat Damnak (cuisinewatdamnak.com) in Siem Reap, an enterprise that sources local produce to create Cambodian tasting menus. Wat Damnak’s cuisine changes according to season – they support the local women’s co-op and use produce they supply. You can expect fish from the Tonlé Sap (like puffer fish or fermented sanday fish), Cambodian fruits and fire ants, another local delicacy.

In a similar vein, Le Café Mith Samlan and Romdeng in Phnom Penh cook up classic Cambodian meals. They’re part of a group of restaurants that send proceeds back into the community and provide jobs and training for local disadvantaged youth. You can find fried tarantulas at Romdeng, and according to some reports, meet a live one.

Outside of Laos and Vietnam there is virtually no bread culture worth investigating in Southeast Asia, so finally, check out Cambodia’s baguette scene. The local way of eating a baguette in Cambodia (nom pang) is with scallions, cucumber, shredded salad and a few different forms of pork - minced and processed – all sweetened with lashings of coconut jam (kaya). In Kampot you can finish up with an ice cream baguette – probably not the healthiest snack, but if you tired of the tempura tarantula, you’ve probably earned it.

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The Chengdu Panda Base

Take a look at the adorable panda shots adorning the Chengdu Panda Base website (www.panda.org.cn). Like bush babies and koalas, pandas are super cute.

Thank those big dark eyes, those tiny ears and fluffy, tubby stomach. Unlike other endangered species such as sharks, pandas spark our “parenting mechanisms”. Cue the urge to coo and cuddle the bear-like black-and-white darlings native to Chinese bamboo forests.

Cue the growth of Chengdu Panda Base. Set near Chengdu – the capital of spicy food hub Sichuan province in western central China – the base resembles a panda empire, sprawling over countless acres.

Chengdu Panda Base opened in 1987, with six giant pandas rescued from the wild. Now, its captive population is edging toward 100.

The conservationists who run the base, which perches on a mist-capped mountain, boast that they have avoided taking giant pandas from the wild for 20 years.

Helped by the fact that the panda is one of the few animals whose parts are shunned by traditional Chinese medicine, Chengdu Panda Base 'works'. In fact, the base is so successful that it has the wiggle room to give pandas away to good homes. The base just shipped two to Scotland’s Edinburgh Zoo [www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8932942/Giant-pandas-begin-their-5000-mile-journey-to-Edinburgh-zoo.html], which wants to boost its star power.

To put you in the mood for a Chengdu Panda Base visit, adoption or donation [www.panda.org.cn/english/us/2.htm] here are some winningly weird facts about pandas: eccentric animals by any standards.

Panda facts

1. An adult panda weighs about 100 kilos: hefty. But a newborn panda cub is tiny – 1/900th the size of its mother, about the length of a stick of butter – another cute coup for the species.
2. A panda’s paw has six digits – five fingers and an opposable pseudo-thumb – actually an enlarged wrist bone. A panda uses the bizarre bone to hold bamboo while eating – its main pursuit besides looking cute.
3. Female pandas ovulate once a year and stay fertile for just three days at most. So, despite the picture that Chengdu’s thriving colony presents, it is hard to breed pandas.
4. Ninety nine per cent of a panda’s diet, which consists of bamboo leaves and shoots, has little or no nutritional value due to another weird panda fact: the creature’s digestive system is built to tackle meat, not bamboo. 
5. Because bamboo gives a panda so little energy, it must daily munch through an awful lot of it – over 10 kilos. 
6. Because of its dud diet, the panda must live a koala-like, low-energy, sedentary lifestyle that enhances its alluring air of harmless vulnerability. The panda could hardly less resemble a grizzly bear.
7. The WWF’s panda logo was inspired by Chi-Chi, a giant panda brought to London Zoo in 1961, when the WWF [www.wwf.org] was a fledgling enterprise. 
8. WWF co-founder Sir Peter Scott wanted to highlight a beautiful animal that is threatened and loved around the world. Sir Peter, who sketched the first logo, also wanted an animal that cut a dash in black and white for a pragmatic reason: to cut printing costs. Trivial Pursuit fans take note.

More info: Chengdu has an international airport that connects to most major Asian cities. The Panda Base is located just outside the city center, with feeding time between 9.30-10am. The pandas are most active in the morning.

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Best Illawarra Top Spots

Australia often gets ribbed for having indecipherable slang, an impenetrably twangy dialect and silly-sounding place names. Nothing could be more true of the Illawarra region – an hour's drive south of Sydney – where the main city of Wollongong is referred to almost exclusively by locals as 'The Gong' and townships are called things like Bulli, Windang and Fairy Meadow.

Easily accessible by road or rail from Sydney, the Illawarra is a string of suburbs flanked by long sandy beaches on one side and thick, mountainous bushland on the other. This is 'real' suburban Australia, where hamburgers have beetroot on them, every service station sells meat pies and hot chips are seasoned with chicken salt.

It's also a place with long-standing indigenous history, and it's this aboriginal heritage to which the Illawarra owes many of its unique place names.  Indigenous tribes inhabited the area for millennia – archeological evidence suggests 20,000 years of inhabitance – and many place names and walking trails can be attributed to the Thurawal and Wadi Wadi tribes.

For travelers seeking a relaxed Aussie beach experience, free of crowds and pretense and with affordable accommodation, a self-drive holiday 'down the Illawarra' is a great option. Here are some of the best spots to visit in the Illawarra.

Illawarra Top Spots

- Stanwell Park/Bald Hill 
If you're coming from Sydney through the National Park on the scenic Lawrence Hargrave Drive (highly recommended), you'll pass Bald Hill. This is one of the best spots to enjoy a panoramic view of the region and is the area's main hang gliding base (www.hanggliding.com.au). Inexperienced gliders can buy a 30-minute tandem flight.

- Austinmer beach 
Part of the historic township of Austinmer, this wide patrolled beach has two rock pools and a grassy shaded strip for picnics. Framed by Norfolk Pines and with toilets and change facilities and cafés nearby, it's popular with day-visitors from Sydney.

- Wollongong Harbor and beaches
Wollongong is the region's largest city, but its allure is out of the city center, along the coastline. There are two main beaches here: North Beach and South Beach, the former more popular with bathers and volleyball players, the latter more of a surfing spot.

- Botanic Garden
West of Wollongong, adjacent to the university, this peaceful spot includes duck ponds, rainforest trails, a rose garden, glass house, Japanese tea house and various native plant species.

- Port Kembla beach
Of the Illawarra's dozens of beaches, Port Kembla beach has to be in the top 3. Repeat winner of the Clean Beach Challenge award for NSW, this long sandy beach has been meticulously maintained by locals, and boasts a free saltwater pool, a kiosk, a lifeguard club, signs in multiple languages and a picturesque promenade. At 6.6 kilometers, there's plenty of space for everyone.

- Nan Tien Temple 
The biggest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere attracts both local and international tourists. The venue is a popular meditation and monastic retreat, with T'ai Chi classes, vegetarian cooking classes and courses in Chinese culture, but many just come to appreciate the architecture.  (nantien.org.au)

- Wollongong City Gallery
Indigenous, Asian and contemporary art, plus local and international exhibitions are on display in this small city center gallery.

- Bushrangers Bay 
A protected cove close to the city of Shellharbour, this is a popular local diving and snorkeling spot. The two sections of the bay offer intertidal rock pools with kelp forests and smaller sea creatures such as nudibranchs and anemones, while the deep end of the bay houses an abundant array of fish species.

- The Blowhole and Kiama Historic Township
A rock formation along the rocky shoreline of Kiama, the Blowhole earned its name for shooting plumes of sea foam into the air and onto spectators. Though erosion has lessened the Blowhole's frequency, it still erupts several times per day. Kiama is a pleasant town to visit in its own right, with boutique arts and crafts stores, restaurants and cafés, pretty parks and nine beaches.

- Minnamurra Falls
For a glimpse of Australian rainforest, Minnamurra rainforest offers a walking track through national parkland to the two-tiered Minnamurra Falls waterfall. A visitor center and picnic area make it a complete day for families and nature lovers.

- Jamberoo Recreation Park
Families with children will appreciate this water theme park with various waterslides, an artificial beach and wave pool, a bobsled, a kiddie pool, mini golf, go karts and a variety of souvenir shops and food outlets.

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Airfares to Some of the Most Popular U.S. and International Destinations

Airfares to some of the most popular U.S. and international destinations rose by 25 percent or more last year, and June was the most expensive month to travel, according to Kayak.com.

The costs of flights from North America to Lima soared 33 percent, London fares were up 30 percent and tickets to New Orleans, Madrid, Munich and Sydney jumped 28 percent.

Data compiled by the website, which compares hundreds of travel sites at once, showed a ticket to Paris, Beijing, Key West, Fla., and Hong Kong was 25 percent more last year than in 2011, while the airfare to Toronto slumped 3 percent.

"We found that overall airfare increased 17 percent across the board from 2011 to 2012," said Maria Katime, a Kayak spokeswoman. "Toronto, of all the popular destinations that we looked at, was the only one where the airfare decreased."

Kayak did not analyze the reasons for the price increases.

Gambling mecca Las Vegas topped New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and San Francisco as the most popular U.S. city to visit.

Destinations that increased in popularity in 2012 but did not have hefty increases in airfare included Punta Cana and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, Tokyo, Mumbai and Nashville.

Kayak found that the cheapest flights were in January, February, September and October for domestic flights, and February and March for international fares. January was the least busy month to travel.

The cheapest average airfares for domestic trips of up to one week are for flights leaving on Saturday and returning on Monday. For longer stays, leaving on Tuesday and returning on a Wednesday can lower airfares by an average of 10 percent.

The website found the opposite for international trips. Prices were 21 percent lower than average for passengers on short trip of up to a week if they left on Tuesday and returned on a Wednesday, and 9 percent lower for longer stays with a Saturday departure and a Sunday return.

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