Variety is the spice of life. I’ve spiced up mine, with this Indian lunch in Vietnam: Chicken tikka masala, DaNang style (US$5.70). Medium spice; maximum taste. For vege heads, char grilled eggplant could replace chicken. Now please excuse me, I need an arvo nap…
A serve of fried pork, off the menu. And that’s exactly what comes. Huh? No steamed rice? Nope, that’s an extra “side”. Unusual for Vietnam, where servings are generous and staff are pleasant. Oh well, this is the “tourist area”…
No 17-hour flight is fun. As a travel editor I’ve done plenty, in First/Business Class, paid by the airlines. Here’s the real story, you’re unlikely to see in Traveller, Escape or on TV…
Come on, who doesn’t want to be “Somewhere Else”? Where there’s a pub and a grill, tropical weather to relax and chill, a sandy beach and waves for a thrill – what are you doing, standing there still? If this joint failed, near Vietnam’s DaNang beach, it wasn’t because of the cool name…
I shall prudently wait a couple of days before I strip down to my boardies and strut DaNang beach. For the sake of Australia’s national pride and our good international image…
In the Digital Age we rely too much on travel review sites, such as TripAdvisor. Always be wary that the reviews can be easily manipulated. Here is a Fairfax Media report, of a court case involving Meriton Serviced Apartments:
The original disruptors, online travel agents such as Expedia, Booking.com and Wotif, were now themselves facing disruption from the likes of Tripadvisor, Google and Facebook, which were offering, or about to offer, cheaper direct booking capability
An Adina Apartment Hotel will open in Melbourne’s former Pentridge Prison in 2020
This article, by Simon Johanson, is published by Fairfax:
Online booking and travel advisory businesses were having a less disruptive impact on the hotel sector than claimed, a leading hotel manager says.
TFE Hotels chief executive Rachel Argaman said the group’s expansion plans – it will add 16 new venues globally in the next five years with another 10 in negotiation – and revenue growth in Sydney and Melbourne (5.3 and 4.2 per cent respectively) defied talk of disruption.
TFE controls Adina, Medina, Rendezvous, Vibe, Travelodge and TFE Hotels Collection brands focused in central city locations.
Ms Argaman said hotels were changing in response to digital disruption, but demand was undiminished. Travel and tourism were still a “No. 1” aspiration in both developed and developing countries.
“Airbnb operate in parallel to us with a very different product. We see them as a valuable distribution partner. We distribute all our hotels on Airbnb,” she said.
“The challenge is about retaining customers. We’re happy to pay 3 per cent commission on Airbnb to acquire a new customer.”
Across its portfolio of 70 hotels in six countries, TFE was achieving 85 per cent occupancy, Ms Argaman said.
The group was more aware of social media strategies and had shifted to create a “home away from home”, a sense of place in its venues.
“Our lobbies are transforming. They are living lobbies. Reception is tucked away in the corner. They are like a social lounge: a place to be, to eat, to drink, to dine and to socialise,” she said.
TFE will open the doors of two new Adina Apartment Hotels in Frankfurt and Nuremburg this October and November, and others in Leipzig and Hamburg in 2017, and later in Munich.
It will also add five new properties in Australia including a new Travelodge at Sydney Airport next year, an Adina Apartment Hotel in Fremantle near the port and cruise ship terminal and one in Macquarie Park at North Ryde.
Another is set to open in Melbourne’s former Pentridge Prison in 2020 with a function centre in the old prison chapel.
Travellers expectations were also changing, Ms Argaman said.
“Bleisure” travellers who blend business and leisure, taking their partner or child on a trip, were an emerging sector. As were “3G” travellers – family holidays with three generations, grandparents, their children and grandchildren.
Medical tourism, “journeying well and wellness”, was also growing, she said.
The original disruptors, online travel agents such as Expedia, Booking.com and Wotif, were now themselves facing disruption from the likes of Tripadvisor, Google and Facebook, which were offering, or about to offer, cheaper direct booking capability, Ms Argaman said.
Read the Fairfax article here: http://www.smh.com.au/business/property/digital-not-so-disruptive-for-hotel-sector-says-adina-manager-20160916-grhyyb.html
Like Bali in the 1970s, Phuket in the 1980s, and Goa in the early 2000s, Cambodia’s Sihanoukville is now THE coastal destination in Asia. It is still unspoilt by the unfortunate excesses of successful tourism; here you can enjoy the clear, warm, aquamarine sea of the Gulf of Thailand; loll about on the soft, sandy beaches; pay reasonable a price for accommodation; buy a plate of freshly cooked noodles for US$2.50 or steamed crab for US$8; a large, local, cold beer for US$1; the pesky tuk tuk drivers will smile if you merely say “not today thanks mate”; courteous, friendly staff whom you can trust to give you the correct change; did I mention cold beer for just US$1?
Sihanoukville is about a 4-hour drive from central Phnom Penh, in a VIP mini-bus for US$10; or cheaper and an hour or so longer by large coach; or 3 hours in a taxi for US$50 which is ok if shared by three people. The speed limit has been reduced to 70kmh – as the Cambodian government deals with one of Asia’s worst road tolls – so take a good book, sit back, relax, and enjoy the trip. I suggest a seat at the back, so you don’t have to watch the driver’s constant game of “who overtakes who”.
Also noticeable is the genuine effort by Sihanoukville locals to keep the place clean. Anyone who’s ever travelled in Asia knows that municipal services such as rubbish collection are an alien concept. But not so here, and in the capital Phnom Penh, where local traders use old truck tyres converted into rubbish receptacles. How’s that for recycling! On Sundays, groups of young Cambodians in blue T-shirts walk along Sihanoukville’s Serendipity Beach, picking up rubbish. I didn’t have the same impression in Siem Reap though, where every empty block of land obviously equates to a free rubbish tip for locals.
I’m not sure how the local traders, bars, restaurants etc will fare, as more Chinese tourists come in large groups. Whereas the traditional European, Australian, and New Zealand visitors tend to come individually or as couples – and Cambodians come annually to holiday as a family – the Chinese prefer the large tour groups. They arrive en masse. I enjoy the “group tour experience” – an APT Mekong River Cruise, an AAT Kings Darwin-to-Broome tour (when I broke my leg on the first day of the 11-day tour… but that’s another story), a Scenic Tours trip across Spain, are just a few examples – but Sihanoukville has not been geared to cater for such tourism. It’s appeal lies with the small, friendly bars/eateries lining the beach – each one sets up a barbecue and dining tables on the sand as they compete to attract guests – and the ad hoc guesthouse/bar/eatery options that give character to the busy Beach Road that leads down to the sea. Already, large Las Vegas-style hotels and casino resorts are being built, just a block back from the beach, to ostensibly cater for coach-loads of Chinese tourists: a destination destined for slot machines and casinos. Sihanoukville’s challenge is to successfully manage this tourism transition…
The magenta hue of sunset on Serendipity Beach, Sihanoukville
Pleasant walks along the beachfront in the cool evening breeze, Sihanoukville
Cheap and tasty beach barbecues are still part of the appeal of Sihanoukville, Cambodia
The serenity of Serendipity Beach, Sihanoukville, remains unspoilt by mass tourism. But developers are moving in, and this change needs to be managed carefully.
The future: large, resort -type casinos with slot machines to tap into the growing Chinese tourism market are replacing the traditional, quaint, ramshackle appeal of Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Up goes another large hotel to cater for the upsurge in Chinese tourists at Sihanoukville, Cambodia
It’s no secret that choosing accommodation in Asia is a bit of a lucky dip. The Angkor Mithona Guesthouse is a good find in Cambodia’s capital. Phnom Penh… for the price, the availability, the quality and the location.
It’s January, so demand is high. But I’ve taken 3 nights in the Angkor Mithona for a total of AUD$71, through Booking.com
Consider what you get for under AUD$25 a night and is decent. My first-floor, standard double room is clean, with good linen, cool tiled floor, hot water, wifi, cable TV, strong aircon, a mini refrigerator that works well, and a one-way tinted window that looks out onto busy Street 13. Dozens of bottles of water are plonked in the hallway each day for guests to grab. Security isn’t a a big deal,going by my room’s quaint, old timber door and its lock (which might be left over from the French colonial days). But valuables can be stored in a locker in the lobby, which are rented for US$1 a day.
The rooms have easy access to a shared balcony, which is the perfect vantage point to watch the locals in the street below as they eke out a living, trying to make a handful of cents each day just to survive.
Street 13 is one of the city centre’s main roads, situated one block back from the river front, and Angkor Mithona Guesthouse is at the Royal Palace end. Within walking distance are several locals’ markets – which I prefer to tourist markets – and many shops, bars and restaurants. Cambodia is the home of the cyclo, which long ago spread to neighbouring Vietnam and Thailand, and the tall, thin, weather beaten cyclo riders today still laboriously pedal their passengers through Phnom Penh’s strangled streets, despite the many tuk tuks, motorbikes and Toyota cars.
Yes, I rate Angkor Mithona Guesthouse as good value for the price in an Asian capital city. It’s nothing flash, but it’s a good option for a single or a couple.
Booking.com also did me a huge favour: I accidentally cancelled this booking online while meaning to cancel a property in Sihanoukville. To rebook the same room but now only several days from arrival, meant paying almost a third of the price more. I emailed Booking.com and explained my error. They contacted Angkor Mithona Guesthouse (I had tried to do that by phone but, to put it politely, my attempt was lost in translation), and the guesthouse reinstated my booking at the same price and with no fee. Thanks guys.
The Angkor Mithona Guesthouse is in a handy location on Street 13. Phnom Penh
A standard double room with aircon and view, in the Angkor Mithona Guesthouse. Phnom Penh
Haxtrax 