February 2012
3 posts
9 tags
Culture Week ‘Settimana dei Bene Culturali’
This year 14-22 April 2012 is when Italy throws open its doors to some of its greatest museums, palaces and archaeological sites for free, as well as hosting special events, concerts, talks and exhibitions. It’s the 14 year of Culture Week ‘Settimana dei Bene Culturali’ and the cities of Florence, Venice, Rome and Milan are all headlining this year.
Known amongst Florentines as the event that...
12 tags
Sligo - great food, contemporary art and stunning...
Soaking up the lush greenness of the fields as the road cuts through farmland from Knock Airport we pass stone clad walls, cattle, lochs and plenty of hills in the distance on our way to Sligo. While the trees are naked of leaves and the grey sky broods under the weight of threatening rain the ‘wild, wet, west of Ireland’, as our guide describes it, rolls before us striking a stunning backdrop.
...
10 tags
Dublin - awash with culture, history and cool...
Dublin, Ireland’s capital city, is awash with culture, history and cool hang-outs for the discerning traveller. It’s perfect for bookish types and boozers alike. Grab yourself a Guinness and a few local guides for a great city trip that has all the ingredients of a thoroughly cosmopolitan break.
Some of the world’s finest paintings hang within the National Gallery of Ireland...
January 2012
3 posts
10 tags
Snowbombing 2012
Can’t wait until the summer festival season? Well each year Snowbombing have that all wrapped up as soon as April when they bring their mix of music and snowboarding for the ultimate in Apres Ski fun.
The line-up is huge and although Snoop Dogg has pulled out there are plenty of other artists and DJ’s to keep you entertained. The list includes DJ Shadow, Example, Groove Armada,...
16 tags
Hip Trips: Singapore
It’s clean, bright and shiny in Singapore. It’s an international city where English is spoken far and wide and the plugs are the same 3-pins as back at home. In fact orientating the centre of this tiny country is about as easy to cope with as any city in the UK – and probably a lot easier with its impressive transport infrastructure. Get past the gloss of the flashy buildings and the serious...
December 2011
2 posts
6 tags
RE KÁ TA Beach Club on Kata Beach Phuket opens
Phuket’s new RE KÁ TA Club on the Beach had its ‘soft-opening’ last week and if this view is anything to go by we definitely want to be there.
RE KÁ TA promises a new beachfront destination for Phuket to eat, drink, swim spa, shop and chill out to great tunes from morning to midnight (and beyond). Designed by Fredo Taffin who is the renowned Bali based architect and landscape...
7 tags
BARCELONA – THE MAGIC OF MIRO
Three hundred and three thousand art lovers took time to visit the acclaimed exhibition ‘Joan Miro: The Ladder of Escape‘ at the Tate Modern this year. But now you have a chance to see that exhibition in Barcelona, Catalonia, the Eastern coastal region of Spain where Miro lived, and loved. Where he convalesced from a dark depression and rallied against dictator Francisco Franco during and...
November 2011
1 post
4 tags
137 Pillars House, Chiang Mai
Offering guests modern luxury and elegance the 30 Suite 137 Pillars House, Chiang Mai opens on the 1st January, 2012.
Set in a prime location in a tropical enclave near the Ping River; adjacent to the famous Wat Gate Khar Rham Temple.
Four stunning suite types range from 70 square meters up to 135 square meters, each named after a famous Colonial settler. Architectural historians and...
October 2011
15 posts
6 tags
Infinity Dining at Paresa, Phuket
When you get the opportunity to have dinner overlooking the sea as the sun is setting it would be rude not to take up the offer so it was a very easy decision to make when visiting Paresa Resort in Thailand’s Phuket.
We made our dinner choices over breakfast. There are 5 choices from each of the 3 courses and had made our reservation for 6pm on the advice of our ‘Angel’ - the...
4 tags
Hip Trips: Thailand - Paresa Resort
From the hustle and bustle of Phuket Arrivals Terminal, with taxi drivers vying for business, to getting picked up in a pre-ordered car to whisk you away is a nice touch.
Having had slight reservations about Phuket as our destination, mainly due to its often tacky, party ‘its lost its authenticity’ comments from just about everyone we mention it to, we were confident on seeing our...
4 tags
Hip Trips: Hong Kong - on the hunt for food and...
Hitting the streets of Hong Kong unprepared is not all that advisable; although it does make for a potentially interesting time as we found out. Armed with a small guide, a not very good idea of what we were doing, or where we wanted to go, but with food at the centre of our exploration we tentatively hit the streets of Hong Kong to find dinner.
We’d read there was a nice market at...
3 tags
Bangkok: Chinatown Photo Diary
4 tags
Bangkok: Patpong Photo Diary
The bright lights of Bangkok’s infamous Patpong area is not just about the sex industry - although it does seem that way as people continually try to lure you in to see the delights of what some of the ladies can do with a ping pong.
The bright neon and signs are just as much an attraction as the scantily clad girls and vest-topped boys that showcase their wares. Well that is our story...
4 tags
Hip Trips: Bangkok - photo diary
A room in boutique hotel Hansar Bangkok with its own indoor garden wall.
Bar signs on Khaosan Road.
Khaosan Road market.
Birds by a shrine waiting to be set free.
Prayer time with singing/dancing beautiful ladies.
Bangkok traffic.
Lunch at Tum Tum. Don’t have the Yellow Curry with Shrimp - it’s really boring! But the graphics on the wall were nice to look...
3 tags
Hip Trips: The Art of Shopping Cicada Market, Hua...
Night markets in Thailand are so part of its culture it is hard to walk around towns and cities without seeing someone sell something on the street.
From tee-shirts, jewellery and fake designer handbags there is plenty to see and choose from. The problem is after a while the stalls or start to blur in to one so it makes a refreshing change to find a market that sells something a little...
2 tags
Hip Trips: Hua Hin Photo Diary
Thailand’s gnomes are cuter than ours.
Hot Hot Hot - chillies at the Fresh Food market.
Hua Hin’s very pretty train station.
One of the many decorated and colourfully adorned shrines.
Hau Hin’s bars at night.
4 tags
Hip Trip: Photo Diary - Patong Beach, Phuket
Patong Beach, Phuket.
View from Amara Coral Beach
5 tags
Hip Trips: Singapore Photo Diary
We do HEART Singapore - it’s polite, serious, clean and now with a gambling addiction
The view from the Harbour
Peek - a very cute camera shop selling retro, new, film, digital and all camera related paraphernalia. Includes a mini photography gallery too
The all new and shiney Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Home to hotels, nightclubs, restaurants and, what is proving to be VERY...
6 tags
Hip Trips: Kuala Lumpur Photo Diary
Petronas Towers in reflection.
Chinatown
A great outdoor Hakka restaurant - huge portions and really fresh
Chinatown KL - great for a Tiger Beer but the dodgy toilets mean stay clear of the food
Very cute shop with nice accessories just around the corner of Petaling Street, Chinatown
The famous KL Petronas Towers
7 tags
Hip Trips: Singapore - Haji Lane
Hang out with Singapore’s cool kids on Haji Lane where independent boutiques line the entire stretch of this skinny road in the Arab Quarter.
From beautifully made bikes in grass green, sky blue and orange with brown leather trims and, most importantly, shiny white tyres at Tokyo Bike to reasonably priced bags, accessories and uber-cute clothes from the lovely Blog Shop there is a...
6 tags
Hip Trips: Singapore - Hotel Fort Canning
Set within the tranquil surroundings of Fort Canning Park (which hosts the occasional concert - on the night we arrived it was ‘retro night’ with Human League) Hotel Fort Canning opened in November 2010 after an extensive two and a half year refurbishment (costing SGD$70m) from its former use as a club house.
The hotel was originally built in 1926 and used for the British Far East...
5 tags
Far East Day 01 - Little India, Singapore
We headed to the city from the UK on Friday night and arrived at 18.55 local time yesterday evening. The sun may have gone down but the air was hot with humidity and after a 12+ hour flight we were glad to get checked in to our first night’s accommodation at Hotel Fort Canning.
Just time to freshen up and try to look presentable it was time to seek out some food.
Heading to the closest MRT...
3 tags
HIP TRIPS October travels around the Far East
Our next set of posts come direct from our travels around the Far East during October - while we are here. Updates, photo’s, stories, adventures (we hope) and wonderfully Hip finds will be posted up on as regular a basis as we can find a wifi hotspot.
Expect tales from: Singapore, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur & Penang), Thailand (Phuket, Bangkok & Hua Hin), Hong Kong and Bali.
If you have...
September 2011
10 posts
5 tags
Maastricht
Amsterdam is amazing. I love it. What is there not to like? Beautiful scenery? Check. Buzzing city and night life? Check. Does it live up to its extremely fun and sordid reputation? Check. Good place to go with your parents? Um… half a check. When your parents summon you over to a sex shop window, point to a bizarre rubber contraption with spikes shooting out of it and expect you to explain...
4 tags
Hansar Bangkok - Romance Package
You might not think of heading for a ‘romantic’ trip to an urban bustling city but Hansar Bangkok has put together a package to change all of that.
A member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World Hansar offers a boutique experience with 94 extremely spacious accommodations.
Their Urban Suites feature a unique interior garden wall of greenery at the entrance, bringing a touch of the...
4 tags
Kiridara, Luang Prabang (Laos)
What a beautiful setting for a 24-room boutique hotel, Kiridara. Opened in June you can hire the entire hotel for you and your guests.
Kiridara is an elegant, contemporary boutique hotel located in the mystical city of Luang Prabang; just five minutes drive from Luang Prabang International Airport and two minutes from central Luang Prabang, with easy access to the popular surrounding tourist...
9 tags
Brussels: Pre-planning
On Friday we are heading to Brussels on EUROSTAR from St Pancras for a weekend to take in Design September (pictured above) by the invitation of Visit Flanders for our next HIP TRIPS series.
Creative, functional and aesthetic: design, initially an industrial art, is a whole combination of very appealing qualities.
Fifty or so events are organised around this discipline, which is applied to ...
4 tags
Ireland
Everyone has a happy place they escape to when the going gets tough. Some head to the well-stocked Ben & Jerry’s freezer, brandishing a shovel-sized spoon in one hand and a pre-emptive bib for the dribbles in the other. There are those who find solace at the bottom of a highly alcoholic concoction whilst dancing in Ibiza. For me, salvation is found in the back end of nowhere in the South...
Amsterdam: Get a history lesson
Het Grachtenhuis (The Canal House) covers 400 years of the cities canal history in 40 minutes. A fascinating and fun multi-media experience all housed in a beautiful 17th century canal house (of course).
The perfect introduction to the fascinating cityscape of the Netherlands capital city and perfect to whet your appetite before you embark on a trip along one of its many many canals. The scaled...
5 tags
Amsterdam: Eat
Brasserie Harkema is a hip and updated version of the classic Parisian brasserie with a contemporary modern edge. The decor and menu are both minimally and excellently executed with an open kitchen, open-plan dining and cosmopolitan atmosphere all going together to offer a casual-dining loft experience. A large wine selection is displayed on shelves along one wall from floor to ceiling...
4 tags
Amsterdam: Sleep
The Mint Hotel is Amsterdam’s newest kid on the block offering distinctive design inside and out and is conveniently located in the centre and only a few short minutes walk from Central Station. The rooms ooze stylish-minimalism with splashes of colour offered through the soft furnishings. There’s a super-sexy imac in every room that channels TV, radio and free internet access.
If that’s...
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is one of Europe’s most beautiful and vibrant cities famous for it’s tolerance and picturesque canals. It is also overflowing with achingly trendy and stylish hangouts, subcultures and creative types and… 2 Unlimited, but the less said about them the better.
Museums, art galleries, bike rides and uber-stylish eateries are a far cry from stag weekends, sex shows and spliffs and...