Siem Reap, Cambodia

How to best celebrate your birthday if not by spending a weekend away. That's how I celebrated my 36th birthday in April 2010, by visiting the charming Siem Reap in Cambodia, home of the world famous temple complex Angkor Wat. The first impression I had when landing in Siem Reap was to step back a few dozens years. The place, starting from its airport, is very quiet and calming. The colonial architecture reminds of charming old days and it all blends perfectly in a East meets West pot of styles and colours.

Pavillon D'Orient - Restaurant

As soon as we arrived we were welcomed by our driver, who took us straight to our accommodation, the boutique hotel Pavillon D'Orient (http://www.pavillon-orient-hotel.com/). The reason why I booked it was because I had never seen any hotel with so many consistent good reviews (click here to go to the Trip Advisor review page ). The actual service met our expectations indeed. The hotel is managed by a French-Cambodian family and I believe it's a conversion of what used to be their old family house. It is simply perfect, not too expensive at 100 USD/night including breakfast, with a nice spa, clean and stylish rooms, swimming pool and a nice little restaurant with a veranda overlooking a pond where they serve breakfast. The staff is really great and they did their best to make our stay as pleasant as possible. 

Pavillon D'Orient - Bedroom

The hotel is not right in the middle of Siem Reap, but they provided an all-day tuk-tuk service included in the price, which is the best way to travel around during the day to visit the temples and at night to go downtown. Bear in mind Siem Reap is quite small, so the tuk-tuk ride from the hotel to the main tourist area took not more than 10-15 mins. After check-in we immediately started with the temples tour. I did not expect the complex to be actually so large, so we were lucky to start soon when we arrived to avoid to kill ourselves.
After a few hours of touring the temples, we went back for a nice relaxing swim and then our tuk-tuk drove us downtown where we had a traditional Cambodian khmer cuisine for just a few dollars!
The second day we woke-up very early to enjoy what it was probably the highlight of the trip: the sunrise visit to Angkor Wat, the main and most known temple in the complex, with some amazing views of the sun rising just behind the temple.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

After that we went back to the hotel to grab breakfast, relax a bit before going back to complete the tour of the remaining temples always trusting our good tuk-tuk driver.

Tuk Tuk 

We finished off the day with a well deserved massage at the hotel spa, followed by yet another delicious meal at Siem Reap Old Market area.
Overall a great weekend to celebrate yet another birthday abroad!

Hanoi, Vietnam

Hanoi is best visited in winter, when temperature cools down to the low 20s. This visit highlight is certainly my lunch with business partners at the local food stalls serving noodles (bun) with pork or meat. After asking me whether I'd mind sitting on the floor (it was a very funny translation of sitting on a very low stool), and making sure I was comfortable with not eating at a proper restaurant, my business partner took me through a maze of little alleys leading to a small tree-shaded square where they serve only two dishes: bun with pork, bun with meat.

I learnt that pho (flat noodles in soup) are best for breakfast, while bun (thin noodles without soup) are best for lunch.

In typical Vietnamese style, my friends order both dishes as they want me to indulge.

The food was delicious, the company pleasant (we also met some former colleagues who keep going back to this place even after having moved company) and the setting very peaceful. Certainly an experience I'll try again and I'd recommend to anyone visiting Vietnam.

Hong Kong, China

Completely unplanned night in Hong Kong. I am flying from Manila to Hanoi, via Hong Kong, my flight get cancelled and I have to spend a night in Hong Kong before I take the first flight tomorrow morning...well there could be worse in life!

A very cute and kind Cathay Pacific employee escorts me through immigration and I walk straight out the airport (after 2 years on the road I have finally learnt how to pack smart and not to check luggage!).

I'd usually go straight to the Conrad, but due to the economic crisis and the tightness of my CFO I stop by the hotel reservation desk asking for a hotel within ...ehm....100-150 USD....I feel even ashamed to ask...come on this is HK! Anyhow, the lady proposes Lang Kuai Fong Hotel, around 170 USD per night, not bad.

http://www.lankwaifonghotel.com.hk/

The hotel is actually very nice, the room is small, but very clean, chinese style with lovely decor. Location is fantastic, just 8 mins walk to Lang Kwai Fong bars.

I get on with some work, move the next day meetings according to the new plan, get over with my 9.30pm conference call (!) and finally I have some time to walk around.

I'd feel like dim sum, but it's too late for that, so I just wander around without any specific goal, looking at Hong Kong little alleys, where some people are still packing their stalls after a long day of hard work. I like these alleys, they make me think for some reason of the book I once read "The World of Suzie Wong".

I take some pictures using some garbage bins as tripod and head to Lang Kwai Fong area.

After a few tours of Lang Kwai Fong bars I decide I don't really want to hang out in a crowded place with loud music full of Western expats, so I head back towards the hotel.

On the way back I bump into one of the best wine bars I have ever been...Tastings Wine Bar.

Great concept, you can either order a la carte, or you can get a tasting of 40 something wines on display (tasting portion, half glass, full glass).

The owner Charlene is very knowleadgeable and pleasant to talk to. She recommended excellent wine. The snacks are good to, I didn't risk the buffalo mozzarella (being an Italian there is a high risk of disappointment), but had prosciutto and melone and the prosciutto platter (yes I like ham!).
http://www.tastings.hk/

After a few glasses and a nice chat with the locals, I walked my 8 mins back to the hotel, happy for the pleasant unplanned night in one of my favourite cities in this world.