RSS

World's first Bats monitoring in Deer Cave, Sarawak


Prince Albert II of Monaco, who is on a three-day visit to Sarawak, the other Malaysian state on Borneo Island, today launched the world’s first digital remote-controlled bats monitoring system at Deer Cave, one of the many caves within the Mulu national park.


The RM800,000 (US$254,000) system, also known as the Mulu BatCam, utilises five remote controlled television cameras and infra-red lighting inside the cave. The system will be able to show spectacular details of the bat colonies inside. The system is developed by an Australian company and enables visitors to observe the bats regardless of the weather conditions.


The Deer Cave has the largest cave passage in the world and is the only known place in the world to have 12 different species of bats. The Mulu national park, which has the largest cave system in the world, is one of two World Heritage Sites in Malaysia.

Read More …

Seoul Youth Hostel

I have never stayed personally here but when I was looking around for another alternative budget place to stay around Myeongdong area; Seoul Youth Hostel sprung directly right in front of me eyes after a few Google searches. It is just the right option for a shoe string budget traveler like me. ^^




Pictures courtesy of Seoul Youth Hostel

Official website: http://www.seoulyh.go.kr/english/info_1.php

Booking: Must be done through http://www.hihostels.com/dba/hostel034080.en.htm

Membership Rate: Youth :15,000 won / Adult: 17,000 won
Non-Membership Rate: Youth :17,000 won / Adult: 19,000 won

Available rooms: 6 beds per room / 8 beds per room / 10 beds per room


Hours of Operation: Rooms Check-in- 1 p.m./Check-out- 10 a.m.


Restaurants: Breakfast: 7a.m.-9a.m./ Lunch: 12 p.m.-2p.m./Dinner: 6p.m.-9p.m./ Beverages- 10 a.m.-10p.m.


Address: 4-5, San, Yejang Dong, Jung gu, Seoul, Korea


Telephone No: +82-2-319-1318

E-MAIL: seoulyh@seoulyh.go.kr

Note: Please leave a message at their discussion board to check for available room before booking via HiHostels.

My opinion: Judging by the available rooms offered; if you are coming to Korea with a group of 6/8/10 people then Seoul Youth Hostel would be the best, clean, safe and accommodating place for budget travelers. The only problem is that the place is fully booked most of the time so you have to book real early.


How to become a Youth Hostel member? 
I will explain it in another post. ^^

Read More …

Pai Mae, Thailand - Peacefull

Pai district is situated about halfway between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Sorn, the misty town on the Burmese border. At about 600 meters above sea level, surrounded by high mountains. Pai offers one of the most fertile and beautiful nature in the North of Thailand, clean air and no pollution. People from many different tribes live here peacefully together and still maintain their traditional way of living.

The serene Pai river runs from the northern border with Burma through Pai town and along virgin jungle to Mae Hong Sorn. Hardy adventurers use this route for exciting rafting.

How to get to Pai?
Start from the main tourist hub: From Chiang Mai on route 1095 towards Pai it is 132 kilometer. The bus from Chiang Mai Arcade bus station takes about 4 hours.
Buses from Chiang Mai to Pai:
7.00, 8.30, 10.30, 12.30, 16.00
Buses from Pai to Chiang Mai:
7.00, 8.30, 11.00, 12.30, 16.30
From Mae Hong Sorn town: Along this route pine trees and wild vegetation line both sides of the gently rising road passing nice scenery along the way. In Mae Hong Sorn are motorbikes and jeep available for rent.
Population of Pai
Mainly Thai Yai (from Burmas Shane state) and hill tribes (Lisu, Lahu, Karen). In town mainly Thai, Thai-Chinese, some Thai-Muslim and some foreign residents.
Occupation in Pai
Agriculture - mainly garlic, rice, fruits, lychee, cotton
Climate in Pai
Cool season: 12? C - 28? C from November - March
Hot season: 24? C - 35? C from April - June
Rainy season: 24? C - 32? C from July - September
Tourist Attractions in Pai and around
Old temples:
* Wat Nam Hu
* Wat Phra That Mae Yen (mountain temple)
* Wat Klang and Wat Luang (temples where Thai Yai / Burmese architecture is preserved)
Wonders of nature:
* Ta Pai hot spring
* Pong Duad hot spring
* Mo Paeng waterfall (near Lahu village)
* Mae Yen waterfall
* Lod caves (these are beautiful and ancient caves on a large area where graves of prehistoric civilization was found. The area is a national park with lots of different birds.

Activities in Pai
* padelling rubber boat along Pai river
* adventure rafting and canoe along Pai river
* explore caves or go mountain trekking
* elephant riding through jungle
* mountain bike cycling or motorbike-trekking (Nop's bike shop offers 2 - 3 - 4 days motorbike trekking with 250 ccm trail bikes around northern part of Mae Hong Sorn province. Guide available or on your own. Also available Honda Dream, good maps and other information.)
* jungle-treks: Pai is well known as a base camp for trekks to hill tribes. Walk through green jungle and spend the night in a hill tribe village to experience their traditional way of life. In Pai there are local or hill tribe guides and porters available.
* Herbal Sauna and Thai Traditional Massage as well as herbal medicine or Burmese Massage
* Reading (Nop's book shop)
* Thai cooking course at Peter's and Wandee's Hut in Mae Yen

Culture in Pai
Both local Thais and hilltribes still keep their traditions alive by their traditional dressing, house style, food and entertainment.
Here are some of the highlight festivals:
* Loy Kratong (full moon night in November)
* fireworks competition at Wat Luang (beginning of November)
* Kin Wo (hill tribes New Year, February)
* Thai New Year (13 - 15 April)
* bamboo throwing festival (to ask for rain, May)

Facilities in Pai
Pai is a small town but can offer enough facilities such as a post office, hospital, long distance call and fax service. Accommodations and food are good and cheap. Most of the guest houses are in town and the scenic most beautiful ones are along the river. Local restaurants and western style restaurants are available (e. g. Chez Swan Restaurant, Thai Yai Restaurant) with home made brown bread.



Read More …

Iconic Attractions and Destinations on Thailand Tours



Welcome to the ‘land of Smile' a beautiful island nation which is amazingly beautiful
and dotted with scintillating tourist attractions. Stunning beaches, exotic wildlife, throbbing
nightlife's and the rich heritage and culture truly entice the visitors from the entire globe.
The attractions in this country are really captivating and very unique. This is truly the
destinations which offers and has bit of something for every one. One of the most enticing
parts in this country is the convenience of traveling from and even a remote location in this
country is easily accessible with transportation making your visits more worth.

Some superb ancient monuments and temples to the some sky wrappers buildings truly
are very enticing and the visitors from every nook and corner of the world comes to see
this wonders. Some of the attractions which are mind-blowing and must see attractions
on your Thailand tours with any Thailand package tours offered by a leading travel
management are listed below:

Ayuthaya This city has very exciting and the most interesting history. During the earlier
days the city was marked as the trading capital of Asia as this had the ideal locations
between China, India and the Malaya. Latter on the Burmese army destroyed this city.
But the splendid ancient palaces, temples which were made up of stones exist till today
and truly are marvelous wonder to visit and explore. The gardens of Ayuthaya are truly
lush green wonders speckled with exotic flora.

Ko Chang This is one of the most beautiful islands and a must see attractions on your
Thailand Tours. This island is located near the border with Cambodia and is also one of
the second largest islands in Thailand. The attractions which tempt the visitors to visit
Ko Chang are the several cascading waterfalls, incredible coral reefs, rainforests and the
long stretches of white sandy beaches. It's also home to many wildlife's, birds, snakes,
deer and numerous elephants. The hotels in this region are very beautiful which offer the
 visitors a luxurious stay with mouth watering cuisines.

Bangkok Located on the gorgeous banks of the River Chao Phraya is the capital city of
Thailand namely Bangkok. This is one of the largest city in the country which consisting
50 districts. The captivating attractions on your tour to Bangkok are the Grand Palace,
Floating Market, Siam Ocean World, magnificent temples and shrines and the religious
buildings are very captivating to your eyes.

Phuket This is the most popular destination in the country with its beautiful and ideal
white sands and blue water beach coasts. This city in Thailand is lovingly called as the
 ‘Pearl of the South' and is also referred as the crowning Glory of tourism to this beautiful
island nation. Splendid rural temples, Muslims fishing villages, glistering beaches, insect
world and butterfly gardens will truly takes the visitor's heads in the clouds as they visit
 to Phuket with any Thailand Tour Packages.
So don't give your mind the second thought contact a tour operator which offers you a
well designed packages to this stunning Thailand and offer you some more wonders to
 than above mentioned.
"Thailand is truly a Day Dream Destinations of The visitors from the entire world".
(ArticlesBase SC #4530539)


Read More …