Ha Long Bay Cruise, Vietnam

Karavansara Retreat and Residences

Siem Reap, Cambodia

15 July 2011

As many people come to both Cambodia and Vietnam I thought that they might enjoy learning a bit about our experience in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.  Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO world heritage site located in Northern Vietnam.

After years of waiting I finally had a chance to take a Ha Long Bay cruise. I have to say that I was expecting something overrun and cheesy but much to my surprise it was great. First the cliffs are spectacular. The voyage of the ship thru the cliffs is like moving through a living classical Chinese painting…the misty it got and the more the receding cliffs disappeared into the distance the more scenic it became.  The cliffs seem to appear from nowhere and jut vertically and dramatically out of the water freezing in form the violence of some  catastrophic geological event. Next, we were lucky to have been invited onto one of the private ships of the Tuan Chau group who run the Paradise Cruise line. The ship, the food, the service, everything was amazing and very well done. Most importantly, the company was superb. On the ship was an English property developer with 20 years of experience in Asia and two female architects from Brazil who brought their own music!

The first meal we had on the ship was a never ending BBQ of shrimp, crabs, squids, chicken, fish with all the fixings….one of those food coma meals where you can’t quite get away from the table. Dinner was another spectacular effort. I brought two bottles of Ginjo Junmai sake from Kyoto so we were well feed and our thirsts were properly quenched. Breakfast the next morning was equally impressive.

What did we do?

Eating. Drinking.

Swimming. But you must be a bit careful. There are jellyfish in the water and one of the girls got mildly stung on the back.

Splunking. There is an interesting and very large cave located on one of the islands. It seems to be a popular spot that everyone visits.

Sleeping. The beds on the boat very so comfortable and the light movements of the boat put me out quickly and soundly.

Laughing. A lot.

To get to Ha Long Bay I flew into Hai Phong airport. From there is was about a 1 ½ hour drive to Tuan Chau Island. On the way back to HCMC I flew threw Hanoi which is a long 3 hours drive from Ha Long on a very crowded and nerve racking Vietnamese highway.

The Karavarsara Retreat and Residence is perfect for that romantic weekend away or a cultural trip with the family.  We offer both classic hotel rooms and a full service apartments to meet your vacation needs.

Arashiyama Swim, Kyoto

Karavansara Gosho Machiya
Kyoto, Japan

24 July 2011

Hot. Hot. Hot.

It has been ridiculously hot and humid the last week so the kids and I decided to make a wild dash to Arashiyama to swim in the Hozu River about 500m north of Togetsu-kyo Bridge. We have been to this spot a few times to go swimming and it is a beautiful location to float in the river and take in the surround flora and fauna.

On this day were we treated to a performance by a woman practicing a traditional Japanese flute just next to us on the riverbank.  It was like slipping in and out of a Kurosawa movies alternatively surreally beautiful and shockingly shrill. Too good!

On the way home we stopped by our favorite soft-serve ice cream shop which is located inside the entrance to the Arashiyama train terminal. At this shop they have super delicious White Peach and Mango flavors. The kids talked me into letting them try a soda flavored Ramune (ラメネ) cone…but it was terribly sweet and not good….stick to the classics.

The Karavansara Gosho Machiya is a traditional Japanese house directly adjacent to the Imperial Palace in central Kyoto.  It is available for vacation rentals and short term rentals.  Please contact us for further information

Siem Reap Cooking Classes

Karavansara Retreat and Residences

Siem Reap, Cambodia

23 July 2011

At the Karavansara Retreat and Residences many of our guests would like to try the hand at Khmer cooking. Below is a small introduction and blog from our Executive Chef Bunna.

Some guide books say that Cambodia's cuisine is nothing to write home about and a poorer cousin to Thai and Vietnamese cuisines. Whoever wrote this has obviously never eaten traditional Khmer cuisine. A thousand years ago the Khmer Kingdom, which centered on Angkor, ruled an empire that included most of south-east Asia. Hence, many of the Thai and other regional dishes have their roots in Khmer cooking from that time.

While there are similarities, Cambodian cuisine should be taken in its own right. Khmer recipes go back to the days before the introduction of the chili, so are consequently much milder than most Asian food.

In our cooking lesson the guests learn how to prepare traditional, delicious Khmer dishes under the guidance of expert chef Bunna who is friendly and experienced English speaking chef with global experience.

He will take you to the market, explain everything about Cambodian vegetables, herbs, spices and other ingredients and teach you the art of Khmer Cuisine.

Moreover, he has a good sense of humor and will make your day of cooking a fun experience!

Hands-on

Hands-on action in our cooking school.  You will explore traditional methods of food preparation, particularly the use of mortar and pestle to pound and grind herbs and spices to enhance their flavors and nutrition.

You'll make everything from scratch with the freshest ingredients.

Every participated can practice by own while after Chef demonstrates and troubleshoots.

Not only will you prepare delicious meals, but you'll have a great time as well. Have fun, learn, relax and enjoy eating your owned cooking dishes.

The Karavarsara Retreat and Residence is perfect for that romantic weekend away or a cultural trip with the family.  We offer both classic hotel rooms and a full service apartments to meet your vacation needs.

Karavansara Gosho Machiya
Kyoto, Japan

7 July 2011


My friend David and I just got back from climbing Mt. Fuji. Wow. It was a lot more difficult that we had expected.


We decided to climb from the Gotemba 5th Station as it was the longest normal trail and started from the lowest elevation. The trail head is at 1440m and the summit is list at 3,712m. The trail is measured at 10.5km each direction. And, it probably would be 10.5km each direction is we were not walking on a giant volcanic sand dune. The entire bottom of the mountain is made up of tiny volcanic rubble that is almost impossible to walk in.

view to top of Fuji...and lots of volcanic rubble

By about mid-mountain the terrain gets slightly better but not by much. As we had decided to make it up and back in one day we were totally focused on just keeping our feet moving. To add complications to the trek, the window was howling to the point where we were almost being blow over...and constantly being bombarded with small, flying volcanic projectile. Fun!

me at mid-mountain before the wind storm

Seven hours after we started we arrived at the summit.  We sat there just long enough to take the pictures and started the decent down. I am primarily a cyclist so I was a bit concerned about my knees on the decent and wanted enough time to take it at a leisurely pace. That worked out well and it took us about 4 hours to descent. So, according to my garmin gps the daily statistics:


Total Distance: 21.1km
Total Ascent/Descent: 2,657m
Total Time: 11:02

view of crater

We had decided to take this hike as a training day for a 100km 3 day trek in Nepal in October. Here are the things we learned:


1. Carry more water. We each had about 4 liters. It was not enough.
2. Eat more. Nuts, hi-tech snacks and energy drinks won't cut it. We needed real FOOD!
3. We need to train more if we intend to make back to back 40km days.


It is now three days after the hike and I feel fine....had a nice gentle 65km bike ride this morning to stretch out the calf muscles....what's next??


The Karavansara Gosho Machiya is a traditional Japanese house directly adjacent to the Imperial Palace in central Kyoto.  It is available for vacation rentals and short term rentals.  Please contact us for further information.

Karavansara Retreat and Residences

Siem Reap, Cambodia

12 June 2011

Weekend Retreat in Siem Reap

I had a great weekend meeting with some old friends in the hotel industry and testing out some new restaurants in town. We invited a friend of ours who manages one of the South East Asia's largest hotel groups to come and visit the Karavansara Retreat and Residences as a 'mystery guest'. The purpose of the trip was to secretly audit all our hotel operations, food and beverage services, and tours.


The findings were very exciting and we are as optimistic as ever about our new hotel.  While the service apartments have been in operations for almost three years, the hotel is only eight months old. The main comment from our invited expert was that our place is actually better than it appears on the on-line page. The expert really loved to hear and about the history and environmental construction technique used in the two properties. Now all we need to do is get out and:


TELL THE STORY!


Our background is in design and we are not marketing specialist. ....I suppose that we will have to get better at this.

 Reception and Restaurant

 View towards Reception from the Garden

A new shrine within the garden

 great new italian restaurant near Pub Street.

The Karavarsara Retreat and Residence is perfect for that romantic weekend away or a cultural trip with the family.  We offer both classic hotel rooms and a full service apartments to meet your vacation needs.

Karavansara Gosho Machiya
Kyoto, Japan


19 June 2011


Father's Day at the Asahi Oyamazaki Museum

On Father's Day we went to the Asahi Oyamazaki Museum (asahibeer-oyamazaki.com) located in the Southwestern section of Kyoto. The had an exhibition of chairs by modern furniture makers in the Kansai region. There were several styles of chairs on display from the hyper-modern to the traditional. One of the highlights of the exhibit was that the museum guests are allowed to sit in all the different chairs.


The two main permanent features of the museum are a collection of Monet's water lily paintings and a building addition designed by the architect Tadao Ando. Both the paintings and the building are worth the 15 minute train ride from Kyoto Station.


We didn't have a chance this trip but it seems that there are also a series of other historical sites  in the vicinity of the museum as well as a walking path that climbs through the mountains.

View across traditional garden towards Ando building

Detail of Ando building and flying children

Flowing pond separating the Ando building and Existing Tudor inspired home

Small fence made out of the heads of brooms

View from balcony of Tudor Home

Children flying everywhere!

The Karavansara Gosho Machiya is a traditional Japanese house directly adjacent to the Imperial Palace in central Kyoto.  It is available for vacation rentals and short term rentals.  Please contact us for further information.

Hike along Kamogawa in Northern Kyoto

Karavansara Gosho Machiya Kyoto

21 June 2011

Today I took a walk from Kitayama in nothern Kyoto along the banks of the Kamogawa (Kamo River) towards Kumogahata. This is a road that I often take on my road bike, but, I have decided to train for a climb of Fuji-san next month and a 100km trek in Nepal in October.

It rained all morning and was overcast when I set out from the house. The damp weather and heavy fog really brings out the depth of the green colors in the trees of the canyon.  it is a very picturesque road,  easy to find and the incline is very slight (about 300m over 10km from our house). 

 I am expecting the Yokai to come out anytime now

  These mirrors are very useful when on the bike...and fun when walking, too

 View to moutains enroute

Rice Fields in Kumogahata

The Karavansara Kyoto Machiya is a traditional Japanese house directly adjacent to the Imperial Palace in central Kyoto.  It is available for vacation rentals and short term rentals.  Please contact us for further information.

Kyoto- Shugakuin Imperial Retreat

Karavansara Machiya Kyoto

In April we all went the Shugakuin Imperial Retreat with Justin. It was fun.

Test

This is a test of a posting to look at the design. We are preparing to open the Karavansara Kyoto Machiya on 20 March 2011. The property is a traditional Japanese house in the middle of Kyoto across the street from the Imperial Palace Gosho.

One of three private gardens

the Upstairs Suite rooms

My red chair

I will also try to add some photos as well to see how this works.