tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-179875982011-11-28T08:44:31.325+08:00The Open RoadThis is a journal documenting my recent experiences traveling the open road as a journalist, lecturer and casual observer. All text and photos are my own.David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.comBlogger191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-81914873147533281662010-06-16T16:06:00.001+08:002010-06-16T16:09:13.595+08:00 A KYOTO Past Revisited While backing up files from an old computer, I chanced upon an old article I wrote for a news magazine in 2001 - the year of my first visit to Kyoto. Having just come back from a trip to Kyoto last May, it's funny how so little has changed in nine years. Even as I prepare to update my previous post on Kyoto on this blog with new information on ryokans and a few other David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-64020041934338290242009-01-30T14:31:00.010+08:002010-06-16T15:29:43.402+08:00 Athens Top Picks I grew up surrounding myself with the travel brochures of European capitals that my parents would take home from their vacations overseas. For a young boy of 10, it was the closest thing to being in those great cities of Europe. This was a time before Google and the Lonely Planet guidebooks and these free brochures advertising package tours were one of the few ways to imagine David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-77714551233853984662008-11-18T12:59:00.007+08:002009-02-04T08:18:15.707+08:00Luxury Hotels in Singapore:3 Top PicksSingapore may be criticized for being (or for not being) a lot of things: a city that lacks spontaneity, for example. But the one thing the lion-city can never be accused of is a lack of luxury. Indeed, I've been following this city closely over the past 7 years and one of the most significant changes happening is in the arena of luxury.Singapore looks poisedDavid Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-47928296729519369702008-11-13T13:27:00.021+08:002008-11-18T12:40:21.329+08:00Off the beaten track in the Philippines: CAMSUR Top Picks:CamSur is shorthand for Camarines Sur. The young governor of this Southern province of Luzon in the Philippines figured the new name would be more marketable among a younger generation of travelers. Smart move. The province of Camarines Sur is in Bicol - one of the most calamity-prone and one of the poorest regions in the Southeast Asian David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-5976409399223304852008-09-29T07:31:00.007+08:002008-11-17T11:00:59.869+08:00Singapore to Penang on the Orient Express.Top Picks:There's something about traveling by train. And I don't mean modern bullet trains that zip through the countryside faster than most cars can. I mean old trains. The ones that blow whistles and move slowly over old railway lines.It must be nostalgia. Though it all seems like a blur to me now, I do recall childhood train journeys to the beach and David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-26030478294955812782008-09-15T13:55:00.016+08:002008-11-17T11:02:36.501+08:00Kuala Lumpur& Georgetown, Malaysia:Top PicksMalaysia, Truly Asia. That's how the country's tourism industry chooses to promote itself. Of course Malaysia is not truly Asia. And not because it's not Asian - it's as Asian as any other, well, Asian country. Just that no country can claim to be such. Asia, after all, is merely a convenient geopolitical construct - in fact, a rather inaccurate one (David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-76970526389473147662008-05-10T13:27:00.008+08:002008-05-25T22:09:53.328+08:00Kyoto Top PicksI'm often asked which destination I consider to be the best or the most memorable. The safe answer, of course, is that there are many. After all, the answer often depends on your current mood. But, when pushed for just one city, Kyoto in Japan almost always tops the list.Unlike the rest of the country which is constantly undergoing reconstruction, Kyoto stands the best chance of David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-69673865396574734212008-05-05T10:20:00.016+08:002008-05-07T11:03:25.879+08:00Hong Kong Top PicksAdmit it. Most of us visit Hong Kong for only two reasons: shopping and/or work. Usually its the shopping. Which is pretty much the best you'll experience in Asia. On my last trip to Hong Kong, I tried to put shopping in the background to see if the city has anything else worthwhile to offer the traveler. Well, here goes my list of top reasons to visit Hong Kong - which, no David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-15099001702483970192008-03-03T10:42:00.024+08:002008-04-22T11:02:45.690+08:00Tokyo: Top PicksTokyo is one of my all-time favorite cities. There. I said it. The city is noisy, expensive, strange, sprawling, and did I say expensive? Still, I love it. Warts and all. It must be the energy. You feel it in the streets. Not just that big city energy. Delhi or Bangkok have lots of that. No, its a creative energy. A kind of rush - a feeling that you're in a city with one foot in David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-78357992037339958022008-02-11T08:13:00.001+08:002008-11-20T08:00:40.398+08:00Riga, Latvia: Top PicksRiga has often been lumped together by guide books with the other Baltic cities of Tallinn (Estonia) and Ljubljana (Lithuania). That's unfortunate because the Latvian capital has a personality of its own, and as you'll find out, one of the most beautiful urban architectural scenes in Europe.My top picks:Art Nouveau Buildings.I can only think of one reason to visit the David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-72926866474467261452008-01-19T17:03:00.002+08:002008-11-20T08:01:42.770+08:00Vancouver Top Picks: Vancouver is cool. Not in the way hip cities like New York or Tokyo are, but cool if we take into account the emerging definition of what makes a cool place cool.In the age of global warming and 100 dollars per barrel oil, (not to mention a credit crunch in the US) current definitions of cool and hip based on consumption and luxury will soon go out of style. The new David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-30857502548031656092007-11-13T10:11:00.001+08:002008-11-20T08:03:17.645+08:00Delhi Top PicksIndia is much too large a country to cover in a couple of days - more so a week. But if that's all the time you have, I suggest visiting the Indian capital of New Delhi.Everyone will tell you that Delhi does not represent India. But what city does anyway? India is so diverse in terms of climate, religion, culture and scenery - no single region can accurately depict it. So forget David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-67139752435889611742007-11-12T23:15:00.001+08:002008-11-20T08:04:27.263+08:00Five Lower Manhattan Neighborhoods: Top PicksTop Picks. Yeah right. Impossible. Not New York. More so for lower Manhattan. This part of the city has too many to choose from. In fact, I find it's hard to think of anything or any place that has yet to be written about. New York is the epicenter of the global media and because of this no establishment or experience can escape the attention of the David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-65149059082332398842007-10-15T11:46:00.001+08:002008-11-20T08:05:41.151+08:00Costa de la Luz Top PicksThere's a reason why it's called the coast of light. The Costa de la Luz is that strip of Andalucian Spain that is blessed with glorious sunlight most times of the year. It's this quality of light - golden, but not too bright; warm, but not piercing - which makes the beaches, and sun drenched villages of Costa de la Luz a favorite escape for Europeans.Away from the David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-13035643482335367422007-10-12T10:36:00.001+08:002008-11-20T08:06:54.049+08:00Dublin Top PicksLondon lite? Perhaps, but don't say that in front of the fiercely nationalistic Irish of Dublin. New wealth and a flood of skilled workers into the city after Ireland's entry into the European Union have turned the once sleepy capital into a dynamic and creative hub. Any comparison to London today is no longer far-fetched as Dubliners are showing a sophistication that is fast David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-74055297004088970142007-10-09T15:52:00.001+08:002008-11-20T08:08:16.319+08:00Amsterdam Top PicksAmsterdam continues to reinvent itself and that explains why the city has never lost its place on the list of most visited in the world. And what's there not to like? For one, Amsterdam is notoriously liberal and this has created a vibrant atmosphere for the arts to thrive. The city is spilling over with galleries, museums, exhibitions and shops specializing in the designs of David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-26230639617664659982007-10-08T09:32:00.001+08:002008-11-20T08:09:17.139+08:00Stockholm Top PicksThe Swedish capital Stockholm is not exactly on most travelers lists of places to visit before they die. After all, the Scandinavian city is not just far from the European tourist trail, but perennial cold weather and the lack of so-called star attractions make it a travel destination afterthought.It was never that way for me. I've always promised myself a trip to the David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-28145318457019114572007-10-06T23:10:00.001+08:002008-11-20T08:11:22.774+08:00Barcelona Top PicksLike Paris or Rome, Barcelona is one of the most photographed and romanticized cities in the world. And now with the city's famously innovative design scene making waves, Barcelona is on every trendwatcher's list of cool capitals as well. So what else is there to say about Barcelona that hasn't already been mentioned?Well, here's my attempt to add to that already long list of David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17987598.post-89379492288368929442007-10-05T09:17:00.001+08:002008-11-20T08:12:36.919+08:00My Taipei Top Picks Few people visit Taipei for anything other than business. You can just tell from the number of guidebooks on display in your local bookstore. Strange, since Taiwan is only about the same travel distance from Manila to Hong Kong - or Saigon. (More on these cities sometime later). That's a pity since parts of Taipei for me are like - well, TOKYO lite. A stretch, I know, but David Celdranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10424664550550473687noreply@blogger.com0