Travel: Top 5 Favorite Hotels From My Traveling Years

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Haggling at a market in Baños, Equador

Luna Runtun (Ecuador)

Located at the entrance to the Amazon. The rooms are on a bluff seemingly floating in the cloud banks. Waking up to the sounds of Toucans and parrots in misty rainforest surroundings. After a 10-hour bus ride from Quito, this is a real treat.

Gorgeous view from the top

In Le Princess (Myanmar)

The magical serene surrounding here is one that you must be present to fully experience the charm and beauty of this place.  With magnificent views of the blue mountain ranges, stunning swathes of floating vegetation and awakening up to the sound of fish fluttering was not a bad place to spend my 40th birthday.

Hotel Maya (Malaysia)

The best breakfast ever! It simply blew me away.  The buffet selection had Eastern and Western treats; offering most of my favorite snacks such as mini curry puffs, pancake rolls with coconut palm filings and kayan with Pandan layer cakes.  They were all bite-sized so I can still watch my girlie figure.  The hotel spa’s hydrotherapy pools with water jets were a blessing after 22-hour flight.  The rooms were great and comfortable with views over looking the Petronas Towers and the vibrant skyline of the city.

Lush welcoming at the Hotel Maya

Uma by COMO Hotel (Paro, Bhutan)

No wonder they call Bhutan “The Small Kingdom Country”.  It is the Switzerland if the east with impeccable service that you wouldn’t want to leave.  The private villas offer spectacular breathtaking 360-degree views of the Himalayas.  The villas themselves are built with handmade wooden carving and textiles from local artisans mix in the traditional with the modern.

Taktsang Monastery (Tiger’s Nest) — Taktsang Trail, Paro, Bhutan

Mas de Torrent (Costa Brava, Spain)

A leisurely drive from the Northeast of Barcelona; Girona is one of most gastronomical city in the Catalan region; tastings of wild guinea fowl with chestnut and bacon to morsels of local mushrooms with garlic octopus, marinated sardines with olive oil and fresh anchovy montaditos. Mas de Torrent is a fully restored 18th century property with spacious room over looking the gorgeous beautiful gardens.

Holiday: Water Festival, Biggest Water Fight of the Year!

Did you know that every year around April, there’s a different New Year’s celebration known as The Water Festival?  Southeast Asian countries such as Burma, Cambodia, Laos, India, Thailand as well as Yunnan, China celebrate this multi-day holiday.  In Burma, (where I’m from) the New Year’s celebration is called Thingyan; for Thailand, Songkran; for Cambodia, Chaul Chnam Thmey.  Depending on which country they’re from the festival dates vary, but they all have one thing in common-The Water Festival.

  Irene Being Doused with Water in Her Home Town

Everyone take part in the festivities with traditional water-throwing activities; going to pagodas or temples for worship and blessings; and sharing communal meals. Water is a symbol of not only cleanliness but also auspiciousness.  A belief that the celebration of the
water festival will wash away evils and sins accumulated in the old one and prepare for the new one, bringing the people into a happy and peaceful new year.

   Water Festival - Yangon, Myanmar

No one is safe from a good drenching since this occurs during one of the hottest time of the year!  In their celebratory moods, strangers will splash or pour water at each other.  Also, during this time of the year, one of the activities will be the cooking of vast amounts of sticky rice with roasted coconut and toasted sesame over an open fire.  It is a strenuous task where the sticky rice must be soaked over night and the ingredients has to be stirred continuously.  It is a community affair; where all the people in the village will get pitch in and make offerings to monks and visitors alike.