Holiday

Bangkok, City of Angels

Bangkok, one of the most amazing cities I’ve been to. Whenever I’m staying in Singapore, we like to travel for a few days to other close South Asian countries like Thailand. Bangkok has almost been a favorite destination, even while it’s a place where lots and lots of tourist come too. I like their mix of colorfulness, spicy food, culture and chaos!

Grand Palace
The Grand Palace is spectacular and nowadays a spiritual place. Inside the walls of the complex is also the temple of The Emerald Buddha. The kings and his families used to live there and the palace has been built in 1782.

Wat Prakeaw (The Emerald Buddha)
The Emerald Boeddha is made of jade and the most important symbol for the national religion in Thailand

Chao Phraya River
Cross the river by ferry or try the Bangkok Thonburi Khlongs (boats). Using the ferry is the easiest way to get to the Grand Palace and Wat Arun. The network of canals (klongs) branching out from the main Chao Phraya river has floating markets.

Hello Tuk-Tuk!

Street vendors and their icecream

Two sides of Bangkok…

Wat Arun (The Temple of Dawn)
Wat Arun is really impressive. These towering spires are beautiful and definitely a must-see

Wat Saket
The Golden Mount is a sacred pilgrimage site during an annual temple fair in November. There are 300 steps to get above. Before the climb is a cemetery covered in overgrown trees. I actually didn’t know about this when I was walking through this cemetery. At the top of the hill is a wall of bells, you will see a lot of monks and the view at the top of Bangkok is amazing. You’ll see a much more historic image of Bangkok.

Pattaya Beach
A beach resort with many tourists. So if you’re not into that, you should really avoid this place. I like beaches, crowded or not 🙂

Soi Arab
Enjoy shisha and arabic food! This area is full of contradictions and very interesting.

Chinatown
Markets where you can buy the cheapest fashion and gadgets but also many food stalls

Also don’t forget to check out Siam Square. There is a popular nightmarket for the teens of Bangkok. And ofcourse the rooftop bar at the Lebua at State Tower Hotel!

Aruba, one happy island!

Because I will celebrate my 26th birthday this week, I´m a bit excited to write about one of my best birthdays I´ve ever had, spending it on this tiny island called Aruba. Their slogan `Aruba, one happy island´ does count for me. For my 24^th birthday, my boyfriend and I decided to go somewhere hotter than the month March could offer in The Netherlands. Aruba is one of the Dutch islands in the Caribbean, also known as the Netherlands Antilles. The mean monthly temperature varies from 26 to 30 degrees and the island is blessed with white sands and crystalline turquoise waters.

Beneath some pictures of my favourite spots in Aruba:

The Palm Beach Area

The capital of Aruba, Oranjestad:

Kite shack, California Lighthouse and the famous divi divi tree

Smokey Joe’s Island Grill

At the Palm Island Waterpark, where scuba diving was a nice activity to do!

Batu Caves in Malaysia

The Batu Caves is said to be around 400 million years old and one of the best tourist attractions to visit while being in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. About the spiritual caves: Thamboosamy Pillai, an Indian trader dedicated the temple to Lord Murugan, the Hindu god of war, victory, wisdom and love. The statue in the front of the caves represent the Hindu God. To enter the cave, you must walk 272 wooden steps and finally upstairs, you will have an incredible view.

When you’re inside the caves, you will notice some little monkeys. The largest cave is called the Temple of Cathedral Cave, there are Hindu shrines inside and the cave curtains are really impressing. My favorite spot in the cave is where there is a large hole in the ceiling and the daylight shines through it. This spot reminds me of so many fantasy movies but also creeps me out, when you think about how it feels being there all alone in the night.