Vignettes of the World
My Travel Journal
Known endearingly as the Pen, the Peninsula Manila stands for much more than just a luxury hotel. Its history was inexplicably interwoven with that of Manila and the Philippines. My Rendezvous with the Peninsula Manila Here’s my confession: I was a squatter at the Pen …
I had a fabulous first trip to the Philippines. In fact, the experience was in the ranks of being miraculous, even as measured against my years of experience as a travel writer. “Hey, do you want to join me in Manila?” My friend was attending …
At the Skyline Hotel, there are a few staff that take turns doing different shifts in the day. The ladies bring their child with them to work sometimes. And I try to talk to the children, in whatever simple Vietnamese that I am able to …
Phu Quoc is a beautiful island with countless beaches. Its tourism revolves around the beach towns that it builds to attract foreign tourists. Of course, for the sake of a holiday I could just stay in the “nice” parts of Phu Quoc and be wilfully …
One reason why I love traveling to Vietnam is that I love Vietnamese food. Every region of Vietnam has its own uniqueness being part of the full repertoire of Vietnamese delicacy. In Phu Quoc, seafood is the star of the show and I had one …
I was waiting for the driver to pick me up at the Dinh Cau Temple. In the open area outside the Dinh Cau Temple, I saw some snack vendors and I was curious. Besides that they were apparently sweet snacks, I had no idea what …
It is no surprise that the Goddess of the Sea is the long-revered deity for the people of Phu Quoc. That is certainly the commonest worship in the coastal regions of southern China as well. I wanted to visit heritage and religious sites in the …
There is never enough ocean time for me and I was very excited about the visit at the Starfish Beach. I was done at the Pepper Farm and Rach Vem was next. At around noon hour, my driver took me to the Rach Vem Fishing …
Being an island, Phu Quoc’s economy was heavily dependent on fishing before the people realized that the pristine waters by the creamy beaches bore enormous potential for tourism. Besides fishing, Phu Quoc was known for agriculture and pearl culture as well. I managed to visit …
One of the most looked-forward to tour in this trip was Island Hopping in the southern waters of Phu Quoc. From the scenery to the activities to the food, this one-day shuttling between the open sea and beautiful islets served every purpose for which I …