Sri Lanka Holidays in April 2012

6 January 2012 by

Sri Lanka – April

For several regions of Sri Lanka, April is the ideal time to visit. A dry and moderately warm climate, April offers comfortable travel in the east coast and ancient cities region particularly. The school holidays in the UK, coupled with the decent weather and the Sri Lankan celebration of the Buddhist New Year, make April a popular month. Weather is comfortable, but steadily warmer throughout the month, as the country approaches May, which is notorious for its extreme heat.  Among the most popular tourist destinations in April are Nuwara Eliya, a colonial hill station that is popular among Europeans and Sri Lankan socialites. Because of this, hotel bookings for Nuwara Eliya in April are at their most expensive, and lodgings may be difficult to come by. It is recommended that travelers book their accommodations weeks in advance to ensure a place to stay.

In April, Sri Lankans celebrate the Buddhist New Year, a three-day-long celebration from the start of the first full moon of that month, usually around the 12-13th. Travelers can expect jubilant celebration in the form of fireworks, festival music, and delicious traditional meals shared with neighbors. One such shared meal is kiribath, a rice and coconut milk dish that is customarily shared during auspicious holidays in Sri Lanka. As is tradition for the Buddhist New Year, travelers in Sri Lanka should expect to be given rupees as gifts; in the hope the auspicious money will bring good luck. Although the general atmosphere is festive, and many places bustle with celebration, travelers who have come to shop should be forewarned that stores in Sri Lanka tend to close during the Buddhist New Year, as most people travel and visit with relatives. In fact, although the villages and small towns are usually bustling with excitement, larger cities such as Colombo tend to be deserted. In the smaller towns and villages, one can expect to find women playing drums in celebration, children and adults alike playing cricket and Guddu, villagers playing cards and singing songs, all to celebrate the New Year. Small towns such as Ella and Bandarawela are prime visiting locations for April.

Lastly, Easter is celebrated by many in Sri Lanka, particularly by Sri Lankan Catholics and Christians in the coastal region. Although a minority group, Christians in Sri Lanka celebrate Easter devoutly, oftentimes re-enacting Christ’s crucifixion, sometimes for as long as three hours. Afterward, a procession is led to the mountains of Golgotha. Small towns such as Kandana and Nagombo typically celebrate Easter with large re-enactments and processions on the Friday before Easter, known as Good Friday, or on Easter Sunday itself. Specific celebrations differ from town to town.

 

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Sunrise from the top of magical Borobudur temple, Central Java

3 January 2012 by

Borobudur temple, Central Java, IndonesiaAfter a night at Losari Coffee Plantation – a wellness retreat surrounded by 8 of central Java’s dramatic volcanoes – our exploration of Java continued with three nights in the historic province of Yogyakarta to the south. After an early morning rise for an hour long yoga session (who knew that stretching could be so tiring?) and a tour of the working coffee estate, we first made our way north to the small Hindu temple complex of Gadung Songo, some 1,300 meters above sea level. We explored the site and yet more stunning vistas on horseback, before getting drenched in a downpour. After the two hour drive south it was starting to get dark by the time we reached, tired and slightly disheveled, the luxury surroundings of Amanjiwo.
I always feel a little embarrassed turning up at such places after a day’s ‘hard work’ – I’m not renowned for my ‘luxury’ appearance at the best of times – and having both changed into our tracksuits to get warm in the car this was no exception! However, it was not long before I relaxed and was marvelling at the tranquil setting and style of the hotel. The circular lobby is designed in such a way that as you approach you are presented with a view that leads through the hotel and down to the magnificent Borobudur temple some 2.5 km away. It was not until the light of the following day that I could truly appreciate this, the four volcanoes climbing into the horizon from the flat plains below and the lush green hill that towers above the hotel from behind. That evening, with the prospect of a 4.30am wake up call so that we could climb the temple for the sunrise, I was more concerned with enjoying the luxury that the suites provided and the grilled salmon in the restaurant!
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Train Ride through Java’s volcanoes and paddy fields

30 December 2011 by

In an effort to improve and expand our Indonesian product, particularly outside of Bali and Lombok, I am spending two weeks travelling across some of the country’s 17,000 thousand islands. While it is not possible to see and cover them all, this trip to Java, Borneo, Bali, Flores and Komodo will allow us to provide a similar service and product knowledge to that currently offered in Bali, Lombok aView from train door in Central Java, Indonesiand the other countries we specialise in across Asia.

For this trip I have managed to persuade Doruk, an old school friend in between jobs, to come along for the ride. I sold him with the idea of exotic sites, top level hotels and idyllic beaches. I failed to mention that we would be moving around so much that we would not have time to fully enjoy any of these! I will be posting a series of blogs as we travel through this fascinating country, and here follows the first:

After two nights in West Java it was time to head east towards the more traditional tourist areas on the island. A night each in Jakarta and Bandung is not enough to experience what West Java has to offer but that is the downside of a research trip! The upside is that it’s a fair bit more exciting (and warmer) than being sat in the London office and of course it means you’ll all have a better experience on your future holidays to Indonesia with Experience Travel!!

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An Lam Saigon River – recent visit and review

22 December 2011 by

Ho Chi Minh City hasn’t quite captured the boutique hotel scene like the rest of Vietnam, especially Hanoi where there are some beautiful hotels right in the heart of the city. But finally a property has arrived, and although not located right in the city centre, it’s a 15 minute speed boat ride up the Mekong river to the stunning An Lam Saigon River ‘private residences’.

View from one of the balconies

 

I have to admit, I’ve seen a lot of hotels on my travels and some are memorable and others just don’t really work, but I was most intrigued about seeing An Lam Saigon River because it’s such a fantastic concept and really could fill a gaping hole in the market for those who don’t want to travel for long distances to see river life, i.e. in the Mekong Delta.

 

Typical guest room

The property itself has kept its private residence name and is a collection of 7 buildings which will eventually house 15 luxury and intimate guest rooms, all individually designed in a contemporary feel with elegant Vietnamese touches. All of the rooms have stunning views of the Saigon River and most have huge private pools (you definitely don’t need to use the word ‘plunge’ here!). You’ll also find all your mod cons, rain showers, huge bathtubs and so on that you would expect to find in a luxury hotel.

 

Outside bathroom

The property has literally only just opened and they were still adding the finishing touches as we looked around. It’s got a very relaxing feel, especially because of the river setting, but with the setting in tropical gardens and the small pleasant houses containing the rooms the property seems to suit its surroundings quite naturally already!

 

Epikurean are the management company looking after this hotel, and having already done a superb job of opening and running An Lam Ninh Van Bay, in Nha Trang close to the Six Senses Hideaway, it’s clear that this hotel will run to the same standard and you’ll find every member of staff going out of their way to make your stay most memorable.

 

This property is going to work fantastically when combined with a stay in Saigon city centre, so you may have already travelled for a couple of weeks and want some chill time before you hit the busy centre, or equally if you need somewhere to unwind straight away at the beginning of your holiday this place really is ideal. On the other hand, if you don’t like big Asian cities, District 1 of the city is only 15 minutes by speedboat, so you can use this property as a base and easily explore without actually staying there. Plus the Cu Chi tunnels are accessible from the river, and it only takes 45 minutes by boat as opposed to the 1.5 hr journey by car, so it really doesn’t feel isolated if you don’t want it to be. I have to admit as well – the speed boat ride is very cool!

 

Honestly I can say that there aren’t many properties like this Vietnam and I don’t think there is anything else like it in the south of the country. If you’ve been to Sri Lanka with us, you’ll find it very similar to the boutique hotels we use there. Check out our website for similar hotels or tours of Vietnam.

One of the pools

 

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Vietnam family holidays – an overview of where to go, when, what to do and which hotels?

13 December 2011 by

Vietnam is a fantastic place to take you next family holiday, either cultural/activity based, or relaxing on the beach, or of course, both!

In the sapa hills

Vietnam in the past hasn’t really seen the influx of families that other destinations in SE Asia do, especially the obviously countries like Thailand and Bali, but finally things are starting to fall into place and Vietnam is becoming a great family destination either over Easter or the long summer holidays. April is ideally the best time to go – it’s before the rains come, and you can tie in a beach stay in the south. August will likely see more rainfall that the rest of the year, especially in the north and south, i.e. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city, respectively, but the beautiful Hoi An, with it’s all encompassing cultural, history, scenery, shopping and beach is actually relatively dry this time of year and means each member of the family can get there fix of what’s fun for them.

Here are a few ideals below on what to do on a trip to Vietnam, and the best types of accommodation for a family stay:

 

A trip based on lots of tours and keeping you all busy, suitable any time of year:

Hanoi

Explore this hectic city on foot, or cyclo. You’ll probably need a bit of time to get over your jetlag. This is definitely a great place to introduce yourself to Vietnam and first task will be learning to cross the road! The museum of ethnology may sound boring to some (!), but it actually has a great range of traditional houses from the Sapa region in its garden.

  • Which hotel?

-Maison D’Hanoi for the boutique more traditional hotel, no pool though. Easy to explore the old quarter

-Intercontinental West lake for it’s fantastic lake spot and pools. Kids club, and large interconnecting rooms.

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