If you frank your eyes and pay attention beautiful people smiling at you, fantastic and delicious food, unspoiled beach villages and a picturesque view, then you must be in Thailand. The Thailand tourism authority is doing a great job in promoting the country as one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world because it certainly is.

The Thai culture, their speech, the scenery and even the regional differences seem to perfectly complement each other making Thailand a captivating attraction not only to nearby Asian countries but also across the other continents.

What to Expect in Thailand

Thailand tourism is very successful especially because the country is really attractive. The scenic views are incomparable and are well loved by people who want to relax and figure a rest from their daily routine. In Thailand, you will see a paradise and feel that you are closer to nature.

Must See Places in Thailand

There are a lot of places in Thailand that you have to see. This is the reason why most travelers would want to stay longer than what they have planned.

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Throughout Taiwan you will find a collection of more than 5,000 incredible temples. Some are small, with one simple room, while others are large complexes with several, multi-level buildings.

Taiwan hosts three main types of temple: the Taoist, the Buddhist, and the Confucius. Each reflects the religious beliefs of the unique group it represents. There are, however, a few temples that are both Taoist and Buddhist. During the time period when Japan occupied Taiwan, those with Taoist beliefs were often persecuted. Because Taoism was so important to the culture, many Taoists used to go to Buddhist temples to request.

In many temples you’ll find representations of all three belief systems, proof of the distinct levels of tolerance throughout the country. No matter where you go in Taiwan, you are bound to run into at least one or two temples. Here are a few to watch out for.

Longshan Temple

The Longshan Temple is the oldest temple in Taiwan and, as such, is also the busiest in terms of not only worship but tourist activity as well.

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Little India Arcade is located along Serangoon Road in the firmness of Singapore’s Little India. Plenty of small shops and stalls here closely packed to one another along the narrow passageways. I could see all join of Indian made items sold here including clothes, bags, bangles, decorations and sweets.

I was here a few days before the Hindu Festival of Deepavali and Hindus were doing their Deepavali shopping – equivalent to Christmas shopping. I presumed shopping took on a livelier affair than usual when I was at Little India Arcade with Deepavali just around the corner. Glad I came here – a very colourful area of Singapore.

Little India Arcade a Few Days Before Deepavali

Shopping in Little India Arcade

Selling Indian Decorations

Indian Costume Jewellery Store

Indian Sweet Shop

We were so excited to try the Chao Phraya Express boats that we left our tavern early immediately after having our store at the breakfast buffet.  It was a blessing that our hotel was highly accessible to both the BTS Skytrain and the river express routes.  Since we have already tried traveling via the BTS, we decided that it was about time to explore Bangkok onboard one of the popular Chao Phraya Express Boats.

After buying our “Ride All You Can” tickets, we boarded the complete sized public boats and checked out the map and brochures that were handed over to us at the customer service counters.  We had our hearts set on exploring the Grand Palace of Thailand so we automatically searched the map for landmarks.  After a few minutes of leaving the pier, an English speaking tour guide spoke over the intercom and explained each pier stop along the Chao Phraya River. Wow, that was very helpful! After the guide explained the entire map, we realized that we had to get off at the Maharaj Pier if we wanted to visit the Grand Palace.

The Grand Palace is one of the famous tourist attractions in Thailand.

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Images of Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An Photodisc / Getty Images.

Travel to Vietnam takes about three hours from where I live (a fraction of the time it would enchant if you’re flying from Los Angeles LAX or New York JFK), but I still needed to do some groundwork before I flew off.

Our flight departs on Monday, November 2, and arrives at Ho Chi Minh City (still colloquially known as Saigon) at about 1 in the morning.

What to Do in Saigon. We only have single in kind day to spend in Saigon, so my cousin and I are going to have to make it count. Luckily the Sinh Tourist offers a number of Saigon tours, one of which was perfect for one-day wonders like us: we’re taking the Cu Chi Tunnels/Ho Chi Minh City tour, which takes us to the Cu Chi warren of Viet Cong tunnels outside Saigon in the morning, on that account takes us sightseeing around the city in the afternoon.

I emailed the Sinh Tourist and they graciously reserved two slots for us in the tour. They actually made an exception in my case – they have a policy of requiring payment at least a day before the tour, but owing to our quirky schedule they made an exception for us.

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I personally believe one can still enjoy Clarke Quay in the evening even if one doesn’t have money to spare i.e. the restaurants, bars and entertainments spots where prices are above medium. I have been to Clarke Quay’s hot spots in the going down of the sun on previous travels. This time I was in Singapore on the cheap and wanted to experience Clarke Quay on the cheap as well – I enjoyed it!

The south side of Clarke Quay (across the stream) is quieter and could see families and romantic couples sitting on the banks and admiring the view. Some would bring their own packed meals, drinks and eat along the banks.

South Side of Clark Quay at Night

Along the South Side of Clarke Quay

Romantic Evening Along the South Side

Man (Probably an Australian) Playing the Didgeridoo

Our Ayutthaya Day Tour really left us tired but giddy with all the new adventures that we experienced.  It was definitely fun exploring the grounds of the Bang Pa-in Summer Palace.  It was enriching seeing the temple at the Wat Yai Chai Mongkhol.  We could not believe that we saw the famous large Buddha head image on a tree at the Wat Mahathat.  From here, we even visited and took all the photos that we wanted at the Wat Pra Si Sanphet.  When we felt like it could not get any better, our driver Phan drove us to see the highly popular gigantic leaning Buddha at the Wat Lokayasutharam.  We did not notice the terrible traffic jam as we slept in the taxi the entire trip back to Bangkok!  Phan just woke us up after almost three hours to let us know that we were back to our hotel.

The best thing about booking a swing in a nice and acceptable hotel is that you do not have to worry about anything after a long and tiring day.  You can decide to relax by the pool, soak away the strain in your muscles in your bathtub or order delectable room service and have dinner by candlelight.  All these you can have and more so make sure that you reserve a room in a single one of the reputable hotels in Bangkok like the Banyan Tree Hotel Bangkok.  My sharer and I decided to try the pool at our hotel to freshen ourselves.  It was scorching hot in Ayutthaya that we immediately relished the cool pool water.

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