By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net

THAILAND is known for its beautiful beaches like Phuket and Ko Samui. Most tourists tend to stay near the country’s fine shores instead of the countryside. In comparison, there are wonderful places in Thailand not often seen by visitors but are worthy of praise as the country’s beaches. Seven hundred kilometers north of Bangkok is a land-locked city known as Chiang Mai. After visiting a couple of Thailand’s beaches in the past, I got the chance to go to Chiang Mai recently. It takes about one hour by plane to reach the city or about a day’s travel by bus. Lucky for me, I took the shorter and more comfortable way.

My trip to Chiang Mai was part of an IT conference organized by IBM. I stayed at the wonderful Chiang Mai Shangri-La Hotel where most of IBM’s partners and clients also stayed. The walk around the hotel alone was superb. The entire structure had been designed with historic Northern Thailand architecture in mind but with many modern touches. The path leading to the main entrance had four elephant sculptures that welcomed visitors. The façade had three tiered gazebos with wood shingles and designed to look like traditional temples. [Read the rest of this entry »]

By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — An endangered species of crocodiles have joined other aquatic attractions at the Manila Ocean Park.

Crocodylus mindorensis, otherwise known as the Philippine crocodile, were given a special pond at the giant oceanarium as part of a major conservation effort started by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

All of the five crocodiles are female and would primarily serve as conservation attractions. The juvenile crocodiles are about one meter long but can reach a length of 2.5 meters (7 feet) when fully grown.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net

THERE are lots of places to eat in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. In fact, almost every corner of the semi-rural atmosphere has one food stall or restaurant ranging from the familiar fastfood joints to the small local restaurants and the occasional coffee shops and bars. But if there is one place in Puerto Princesa that is worth every penny to go to, it’s KaLui.

Ask every tricycle driver in Puerto Princesa to take you to KaLui and they’ll gladly give you a little history of the famed restaurant. As it is, KaLui is already 20 years old and is one of the city’s oldest icons. It is only matched by another famed bistro, the Badjao Seafront.

However, KaLui is more accessible, located along Rizal Avenue, which is a major thoroughfare traversing the entire length of the city. Many tricycles and jeeps go through here. Drivers will willingly drop you off close to the KaLui with a simple request.

KaLui itself does not look striking at all; there are no large parking lots for cars and the walls are actually made up of wooden fences. The entrance, with a hanging signage of KaLui, is also made of light wooden panels. The restaurant looks like a large Bahay Kubo (thatched house) with extended roofed terrace where diners will be sitting. Upon entering the small “lobby,” guests are requested to remove their shoes, socks and sandals; as everyone eats barefoot.
[Read the rest of this entry »]

CATCH several teams from the Philippine Daily Inquirer and INQUIRER.net race in Day 1 of the Rush Hour Commute.

The objective of the race is to determine the fastest and cheapest commute in three routes in Metro Manila during a rush hour.

“Rush Hour Commute” is a project of the Philippine Daily Inquirer with the help of sister company INQUIRER.net. The idea behind the project was brought about by the recent hike in fares instituted by the government, according to Juan Sarmiento Jr., PDI senior desk editor and the project’s leader.