A Journal with 12 chapters. Last posting on Friday, March 24, 2006 by RandySingapore, Cambodia, Bangkok and Hong Kong. We start this journal in Singpore for the Virtuoso Overseas Symposium in Singapore. After the conference at the Raffles the Plaza hotel, we fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia for the Virtuoso extranganza at Ankor Wat. After Cambodia it's on to meet friends in Bangkok and Hong Kong. A chapter in the journal: Asia, March 14-27th, 2006Posted on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 by Randy tagged as airlines, asia, cathay pacific Trip Map |
After flying to LAX from Denver, we boarded our Cathay Pacific flight bound for Hong Kong at 10:20pm. We arrived in Hong Kong at 5:40am after about 15 hours in the air. It was quite surprising to watch the flight map as we progressed along the US west coast all the way to Anchorage, Alaska before setting out across the north Pacific ocean.
The flight in the coach section of the Boeing 747 wasn't the most comfortable, however the attendants were very friendly, the two meals good and the entertainment nearly constant. After a 3 hour layover in Hong Kong we boarded the 2.5 hour flight to Singapore. " Read full story >> A chapter in the journal: Asia, March 14-27th, 2006Posted on Thursday, March 16, 2006 by Randy tagged as asia, hotels, raffles hotel, singapore Raffles the Plaza, Singapore |
We arrived around 1pm at Singapore International airport. Virtuoso had
arranged a shuttle transfer so along with about 10 others attending the
symposium, we arrived at the Raffles Plaza Hotel around 3pm. The hotel is
ideally located in the city and built above a major Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)
station - City Hall. There is also a 4 story shopping mall in the
building. Our room at the Raffles is on the 11th floor overlooking the
pool with a south easterly view. The room is fairly standard for a
business hotel, two larger than twin beds, a desk, a couple Read full story >>A chapter in the journal: Asia, March 14-27th, 2006Posted on Friday, March 17, 2006 by Randy tagged as asia, virtuoso Singapore Harbour Lion |
As is normal during these trips, we started our day with laptops and coffee. The hotel's internet connection is a wired connection that we're sharing via wireless cards. After having enough coffee and email, we opted to head down to the pool area for a quick buffet breakfast. The more time we spend here, the less I'm impressed. The breakfast buffet was fairly typically British, with a couple of interesting Asian items mixed in. However, many of the selections had run out and they didn't seem anxious to replace them. While everyone is nice enough, the service levels just don't measure up. Read full story >> A chapter in the journal: Asia, March 14-27th, 2006Posted on Saturday, March 18, 2006 by Randy tagged as asia, virtuosoFull days of meetings took most of our time during the symposium. On Saturday, we were scheduled to have lunch at Clark Quay. However, the hot and humid weather cancelled this outing in favor of lunch in the hotel restaurants.
 Saturday evening we were hosted by the Luxury Collection and the Singapore Tourism Board to a Sarong Party at  Sentosa Island. On the beach at Sentosa, the band " Read full story >>
A chapter in the journal: Asia, March 14-27th, 2006Posted on Monday, March 20, 2006 by Randy tagged as asia, virtuoso Elephant Terrace, Angkor Thom |
The Virtuoso Gala event at Angkor Wat began with a cocktail reception at the foot of the Bayon, a site within the temple of Angkor Thom. After a brief presentation here, we were led down a long walkway that was lined with ice sculptures (remember it's still around 90 degrees) torches and candles before arriving at the Elephant Terrace. It was in front of this massive wall that we enjoyed dinner. Everyone was very, very impressive with the "Big Wow" that Virtuoso created here. Absolutely amazing!
Facts from the Angkor Wat Website:
Just " Read full story >> A chapter in the journal: Asia, March 14-27th, 2006Posted on Monday, March 20, 2006 by Randy tagged as asia, virtuoso Hotel de la Paix, Entry |
Virtuoso had chartered several flights to transport participants to Siem Reap. In addition, the group was using one commercial flight for "overflow" We lucked out and were confirmed on the commercial flight out of Singapore to Siem Reap instead of one of the charter flights. While the Charters allowed more time in Cambodia, they left at very early morning hours.
On Monday morning, after the big farewell dinner at Raffles, we worked a bit longer from the room, expecting that we wouldn't have Internet access from Siem Reap. The Virtuoso breakfast buffet " Read full story >> A chapter in the journal: Asia, March 14-27th, 2006Posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 by Randy tagged as asia Bangkok Golden Budda |
The Four Seasons Bangkok is well located in the embassy district of the city and very near the Sky Train system, an above ground mass transit system. Upon arrival at the hotel we were shown directly to our cabana suite overlooking the pool for private check in. Our friends, Mike and Tim, had arrived on Sunday so they had explored the neighborhood a bit. After some snacks at the Four Season's Executive Club lounge, we decided to find some dinner. We ended up at a nearby mall sharing traditional Thai food at Urban Kitchen. Read full story >> A chapter in the journal: Asia, March 14-27th, 2006Posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 by Randy tagged as asia, siem reap Angkor Wat |
The early wakeup call at 4:30AM wasn't all that pleasant, but with only a few hours left in Cambodia, we wanted to make sure we saw as much as possible. We were scheduled to join Brenda and Bill on a guided trip to Angkor Wat for sunrise. Clouds prevented a dramatic sunrise, but also keep the very warm temperatures at bay for another hour or so. After walking through much of Angkor Wat we also visited Ta Prohm (the Jungle Temple) and revisited Angkor Thom and the Elephant Terrace before returning to the hotel around 10AM. Read full story >> A chapter in the journal: Asia, March 14-27th, 2006Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 by Randy tagged as asia, bangkok, hotels Bangkok Peninsula Hotel, exterior |
While at the Virtuoso Symposium in Singapore we had met the marketing manager for the Bangkok Peninsula Hotel who invited us to come visit the hotel and have lunch today. We took a taxi to the Peninsula's boat launch on the banks of the Chao Paya River.
Situated "across the river", the Peninsula runs a private boat launch from three points along the river. From the nearest launch, it's a quick 2 minute ride across the river. We were met on the hotel's pier and escorted into the beautiful property. The building design affords all rooms (12 per floor) with " Read full story >> A chapter in the journal: Asia, March 14-27th, 2006Posted on Thursday, March 23, 2006 by Randy tagged as asia Bangkok Grand Palace |
We had planned to make today the Grand Palace tour day. We decided to take a cab from the hotel rather than mass transit. Upon learning that we wanted to go to the palace, the cab driver offered to show us other landmarks and temples around town. Wat Traimit , the Golden Budda was our first stop followed by Wat Saket, the Golden Mount. The short but breathtaking climb (in part due to the humidy and heat) proved an ideal spot to see the layout of some of the closer parts of the city and many of the other temples. From here were were off to the Grand Palace. " Read full story >> A chapter in the journal: Asia, March 14-27th, 2006Posted on Friday, March 24, 2006 by Randy tagged as asia, hong kong, hotels, peninsula hotel Hong Kong Peninsula, exterior |
Along with the manager of the Bangkok Peninsula, we had also met the manager of the Peninsula, Hong Kong while in Singapore and had been invited for a private site inspection and dinner. After a cocktail at The Bar, we toured the hotel. The rooms offer either a Kowloon view or the impressive harbour view. Some of the suites offer corner views where both Kowloon and Hong Kong island are visible.
On the 28th floor, Felix offers a truly glamorous dining experience. There is also a small bar next to Felix that has amazing views of the harbour, the island and " Read full story >> A chapter in the journal: Asia, March 14-27th, 2006Posted on Friday, March 24, 2006 by Randy tagged as asia Hong Kong Intercontinental, Exterior night |
This morning we once again enjoyed breakfast in the Executive club and then met our driver for the trip out to the airport. On arrival, we had experienced gridlocked traffic in central Bangkok, however the drive out of the city was relatively calm, and we arrived at the airport in a short 20 or 30 minutes.
Our 3 hour flight to Hong Kong was uneventful, except for our "welcoming reception" While still waiting next to our seats, we notice a flight attendant in conversation with a Cathay Pacific representative. She spots us and holds up a sign with our names on it. " Read full story >>
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