Speak to anyone who has travelled around the world diving, ask them which are their favourite divespots and you will more often than not hear of exotic places like the Maldives, Micronesia (Palau etc.) and places like Irianjaya in Indonesia.
Those three areas are probably the finest dive spots in the entire world but the rest of Asia also has some amazing dive spots available for any level of diver whether experienced or a beginner.
In this section of ASIA Travel Tips.com we will be looking at what the different dive spots in Asia are really like, a little about the different PADI courses available with tips on how best to prepare, and other general tips and reviews related to making your diving experience in Asia even more enjoyable.
PADI Scuba Diving Courses - What different courses are available and what are the differences between each. Should you prepare, what do you need etc.
Diving Shops in Bangkok, Thailand - A look at what to expect from the different dive shops in Bangkok. Where are they, what do they sell, when are they open and what credit cards do they accept.
Diving in Koh Lanta, Thailand - What are the diving opportunities off the idyllic island of Koh Lanta in Southern Thailand and what are they like.
Pimalai Divers - Koh Lanta, Thailand - An excellent choice if you are uncertain which company to dive with when you travel to Koh Lanta.
Blogger Labels: Diving in Asia
Diving in Asia
Cambodia, has only recently started developing its tourism infrastructure and still has a long way to go to catch up some of its neigbours.
It does however have some amazing sights to offer tourists, and once the infrastructure and perhaps more importantly, peoples perceptions, have changed for the better, Cambodia will surely be a major tourist destination.
In this section of ASIA Travel Tips.com we give you some detailed info about Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, a little on customs and culture, full hotel reviews with an in depth look at what the best hotels in Phnom Penh have to offer and other advice that will help you plan your trip to this beautiful country.
We shall also be increasing the number of hotels that we sell in Cambodia to enable you to not only read about which hotels are the best but also reserve them with special discounted rates.
Cambodia - ASIA Travel Tips.com
Blogger Labels: Cambodia
We have a wide selection of hotel reviews for you to enjoy and benefit from. While we try to maintain all hotel reviews as up to date as possible the hotel industry is extremely fast paced and keeping up can be difficult.
We are however constantly travelling around Asia, staying in, and inspecting hotels to bring you some of the most in depth and informative hotel reviews anywhere.
When doing a hotel review we look for what you, the traveller, wants to know and not just what the hotel wants you to know!!
If you would like to make a secure hotel reservation online please select from our extensive list of Hotels in Asia where you can read about the hotels, see high resolution pictures, select rates and makes reservations etc.
See also our guide on how to best choose your Hotels and what to look out for, whether City Hotels or Pool Villas.
If you work within the travel industry then you may also be interested in our selection of Special Travel Trade Rates from around the world.
Asia Hotel Reviews - Reviews of Hotels in Asia
Blogger Labels: Airlines - Reviews and Tips
For most frequent travellers the whole ordeal of flying is often the worse part of any trip, and it is not getting any easier, especially following the implementation of the new security measures for carry on luggage and which are likely to get worse following the incident in Detroit last month.
Of course this all depends on what class of travel you are in, which airport you are flying from, and the length of the flight but for serious frequent travellers just the thought of heading back to the airport can be demoralising.
In this section of the website, we review different airlines such as Bangkok Airways, giving you an insiders look at what each airline is like and some tips on the best seats etc.
When you do travel it is often the small things that can make a difference, perhaps an electric socket, noise cancelling headphones, the right luggage - or is that baggage - a Special Meal, Tips on Getting Upgraded, an exit seat, the latest Mobile Boarding Passes, the ability to choose and then stop and start a movie at your will, or some other novelty.
You might even have the means to be able to enjoy the latest luxuries in aviation such as Singapore Airlines First Class Suites, a Hot Shower on Emirates, or Etihad’s New First Class Suites?
Not all of us can afford to charter our own plane, buy a business jet, or fly in First Class or Business Class, but sometimes an airline comes out with a great promotion which makes such luxury travel that little more affordable. One such airline is Air France, which is going to Auction 760 Seats on its Inaugural A380 Flights. The low cost airlines like AirAsia, Tiger and Jetstar also frequently come out with Free or F(r)ee Seat Promotions.
Flying can be made a little more enjoyable knowing that the airport you are passing through has all the latest technology when it comes to Airport Security, or that you have done your homework and know about Airport Lounges, using Priority Pass or Lounge Pass, the Airport Hotels or useful things such as the Frequent Traveller Card at Hong Kong Airport.
We cover airports frequently. Some of the airports we feature on a regular basis include Abu Dhabi Airport, Bangkok Airport, Denver Airport, Hong Kong Airport, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Perth Airport, Singapore’s Changi Airport and many other Airports around the world.
Of course, flying just would not be the same if you were not earning the most Miles, Points and Rewards from all the trips you are taking. We also take a look at, and cover the latest news from, the major airline alliances: oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance.
In addition to all the latest Singapore Visitor Arrivals, Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals and New Zealand Visitor Arrivals we also feature many of the latest Visa requirements and developments.
We feature most of the major airlines, including, Air Arabia, AirAsia, AirAsia X, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, Air France, American Airlines, Austrian, Bangkok Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, China Southern, Continental Airlines, Delta, EgyptAir, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Finnair, flydubai, Garuda Indonesia, Gulf Air, Jet Airways, Jetstar, Kingfisher, KLM, Korean Air, LAN Airlines, Lufthansa, Pacific Blue, Philippines Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Tiger Airways, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Blue, Viva Macau, Wataniya Airways and a few others we have surely omitted by mistake!
Of course, such a large section on airlines would not be complete if we did not also feature the latest aircraft news from manufacturers like Airbus, ATR, Boeing and Embraer. In fact, some of our most popular news is about exciting new planes such as the A380, the A350 and 787 Dreamliner etc. We also have some really up close and personal Pictures of the Airbus A380.
Whatever you are looking for from your airline we hope to provide you with some valuable tips and information that we hope will prove valuable in ensuring that your next trip is as smooth and enjoyable as possible.
We also have a whole section worth checking out that deals with a mammoth selection of other travel tips.
Monday to Friday we feature the latest news regarding airlines and the aviation industry as a whole.
Airlines - Reviews and Tips(via ASIA Travel Tips.com)
Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers attacked buildings across the heart of Kabul on Monday, triggering fierce gun battles with security forces and killing at least five people including a child.
An Afghan soldier walks near a burning public market building in Pashtunistan Square in Kabul. Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers have attacked buildings across the heart of Kabul, triggering fierce gun battles with security forces and killing at least five people including a child.
Fires raged after two shopping centres, a cinema and the only five-star hotel in the Afghan capital were targeted by heavily armed militants who set off a wave of explosions apparently targeting nearby government buildings.
Five people were killed and 71 wounded, interior minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar said, in the most dramatic strike on Kabul since Taliban militants laid siege to government buildings in February 2009, killing at least 26 people. Chronology: Attacks in Kabul
Atmar said a child and security forces personnel were among the dead, while seven militants were also killed.
"They were killed either by detonating themselves or they were shot by security forces," he told reporters of the militants.
President Hamid Karzai said the situation was "under control" after more than three hours of fighting and explosions, which came as he was swearing in new cabinet ministers inside the presidential palace.
"The enemies of the Afghan people conducted a series of attacks today, causing fear and terror among the population," Karzai said in a statement. "The president condemns these terrorist attacks." Eyewitness accounts: Terror in Kabul
The attacks began at the peak of morning rush hour, when suicide bombers stormed buildings around Pashtunistan Square, setting off explosions that sent clouds of black smoke into the sky and people fleeing in terror.
Atmar said a suicide bomber was challenged by a security agent in front of the central bank at 9.50 am (0520 GMT) and "immediately blew himself up".
By 11 am security forces had moved into key positions, defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak told the same press conference.
"At 11.17 am a suicide bomber driving an ambulance was stopped by Afghan security forces and detonated himself," he said.
The Taliban, waging an increasingly deadly insurgency against the Western-backed Kabul government and foreign troops in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility. Related article: ’Seven militants dead’ in Kabul
"Twenty of our suicide bombers have entered the area and fighting is ongoing," a man calling himself Zabihullah Mujahid, who said he was a Taliban spokesman, told AFP.
He said the presidential palace and ministries around Pashtunistan Square were the targets, but it appeared that government buildings had not been breached and civilian gathering places bore the brunt.
Smoke billowed from the Qari Sami shopping mall on the square, a five-storey building that used to be the Bamiyan Hotel and one of the buildings in the Serena Hotel, the city’s only five-star hotel.
"I saw four people wrapped up in patus (blankets) coming and the guard went forward and asked them ’what are you doing’," said local grocer Ismail, who was in his shop in one of the malls when militants stormed in.
"One of them opened his patu and showed the guard a suicide vest packed with explosives and said to him, ’get out of my way or you’ll die’."
Militants blockaded themselves inside the nearby Ariana Cinema and shot at security forces, who struggled to secure the building.
The head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate for Security (NDS), Amrullah Saleh, said militants took two children hostage but later freed them after negotiations.
Commander of the 113,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban under US and NATO command, US General Stanley McChrystal, condemned the attack while praising the actions of the Afghan security forces.
"Today’s attack by the Taliban in Kabul is yet another example of their brutality and contempt for the Afghan people," McChrystal said in a statement.
The United States condemned the attacks as a "ruthless" act by the Taliban, whose rebellion to topple the government and oust foreign troops has been gaining strength since a US-led invasion in 2001 removed them from power.
The attacks came a day after the government said Karzai was to announce a new plan aimed at forging peace with the Islamist Taliban, although the militants have repeatedly rebuffed any efforts at negotiation.
The last major attack on the capital was on December 15, when a suicide car bomber blew up his vehicle outside the homes of former senior government officials, killing eight people and wounding more than 40.
Five dead as Taliban militants strike across Kabul
Blogger Labels: Militants launch multiple attacks across Kabul
Burma’s supreme court heard final arguments on Monday against the extended house arrest of detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyer said.
Burma democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi smiling following a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell at a hotel in Rangoon in 2009. Burma’s supreme court heard final arguments on Monday against the extended house arrest of detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyer said.
The 64-year-old opposition leader was ordered in August to spend another 18 months in detention after being convicted over an incident in which a US man swam to her house. A lower court rejected an initial appeal in October.
Monday’s hearing at the top Rangoon court, where both sides gave arguments, lasted more than three hours, according to Suu Kyi’s main lawyer Kyi Win. He said a decision was expected within a month.
"We expect them to accept our arguments and after that release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," he told AFP. Daw is a term of respect in Burma.
"The law is completely on our side," he said, adding that they argued her conviction was unlawful because it was based on regulations in the country’s now-defunct 1974 constitution.
If the appeal is rejected, Suu Kyi and her legal team will write to the office of the chief justice at the supreme court, explained Nyan Win, another of her lawyers.
If this also fails, it is thought they would have to appeal directly to the military government to try to get the conviction overturned.
The Nobel peace laureate, who is detained at her lakeside mansion in Rangoon, did not attend the court and journalists were barred, although the British ambassador and another embassy official were seen going into the hearing.
Burma’s military rulers have kept Suu Kyi in detention for 14 of the past 20 years, having refused to recognise her party’s landslide victory in the country’s last democratic elections in 1990.
The extension of her detention after a prison trial sparked international outrage as it effectively keeps her off the stage for elections promised by the regime some time this year.
But in recent months the United States, followed by the European Union, has shifted towards a policy of greater engagement with Burma -- which has been under military rule since 1962 -- as sanctions have failed to bear fruit.
Suu Kyi has also changed tack after years of favouring harsh international measures against Burma, writing twice to junta chief Than Shwe since September offering her cooperation in trying to get Western sanctions lifted.
On Friday she met the ruling junta’s liaison officer, in the latest sign of dialogue between the two sides. It was the fourth meeting between the pair since the beginning of October.
She was also granted a meeting in December with three elderly senior NLD members, at which she asked for their approval to reorganise the party leadership committee.
But the junta has not yet granted her requests to meet the rest of the committee and to hold talks with Than Shwe himself.
In November the regime allowed her to make a rare appearance in front of the media after meeting US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, the highest level official from Washington to visit Burma for 14 years.
A visit by US senator Jim Webb in August secured the release of John Yettaw, the American man who swam across a lake to Suu Kyi’s home in May and sparked the case that led to her detention being prolonged.
Suu Kyi lawyers give final arguments in top Burma court
Blogger Labels: Suu Kyi lawyers give final arguments in top Burma court
Prince William charmed sick children in New Zealand’s capital Tuesday at the end of his first official visit representing his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Prince William places a single rose on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at the National War Memorial in Wellington.
The 27-year-old second in line to the throne flew out of Wellington Tuesday morning bound for Sydney for a three-day unofficial visit to Australia.
Prince William first visited the children’s wards at Wellington Hospital, saying afterwards he had enjoyed the experience.
"Seeing kids smile means a lot to me," he told reporters.
Twelve-year-old Ethan Fagaloafa-Time, in hospital with a heart condition, said the prince was good company.
"I thought he’d be a bit up himself," he said. He added that the prince’s accent was "pretty funny" and sounded "posh".
The prince proved a popular royal envoy on his visit to New Zealand, meeting All Blacks rugby players and sailing an America’s Cup yacht in Auckland Harbour after arriving on Sunday.
After William opened a new Supreme Court Building in Wellington on Monday on behalf of the Queen -- New Zealand’s head of state -- he went on a walkabout, shaking hands and chatting with some of up to 4,000 people gathered to see him.
A man working for a radio station breached security Monday night to sneak into a barbecue for William at Prime Minister John Key’s official residence in Wellington, police said.
The 19-year-old man, who said he climbed over a fence into the residence as a prank, was stopped by police and questioned about half an hour before the prince arrived at the barbecue.
Prince William charms sick children at end of NZ visit
Blogger Labels: Prince William charms sick children at end of NZ visit
