Rome wasn’t built in a day – and Villa Mahabhirom is a great example of that. It took three design-savvy friends seven years to build this hidden luxury retreat in one of Chiang Mai’s lesser-visited neighborhoods. In contrast with most luxury hotels in Northern Thailand, you won’t find much Lanna architecture at ’The Villa of…
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Chiang Mai’s quirkiest breakfast — Uncle Neng’s Pa Thong Ko
Deep-fried crullers, also known as pa thong ko (ปาท่องโก๋) in Thai or youtiao (油條) in Chinese are a common sight at streetside food carts all over Asia. Usually served as a breakfast dish alongside hot soy milk or porridge, these crispy yet soft sticks of dough make a perfect morning treat. One crafty vendor in Chiang…
Read MoreUnderstated luxury at Park Hyatt Bangkok
Ever since its long overdue (soft) opening in May 2017, the Park Hyatt Bangkok has been luring us for a stay. It might have been the iconic architecture or the seriously chic brand campaigns of its mothership Central Embassy, but something made us long for a staycation. From the moment we entered the airy lobby it was clear: Hyatt…
Read MoreCheap and Cheerful — Thailand’s Mom & Pop Shop Souvenirs
Cheap, cheerful and a touch of Isaan-chic. These trinkets just scream ‘Thailand’, and make a colorful touch to even the dreariest of interiors (or, you know, you could also use them for their intended purpose). At less than a 100 baht a piece, it’s hard to not pick up a few to bring back home.…
Read MoreLaptops & Lattes — Best cafes to work from in Bangkok
We are blessed with jobs that give us the freedom to work from wherever we want, so when we’re not at work at our home office, we frequently hit up some work-friendly cafes in Bangkok to flip open our laptops. Over the years, we’ve worked at tens of different spots around the city – some…
Read More10 Thailand souvenirs that don’t suck
Let’s be honest: did you really like that tiny tuk-tuk, paper umbrella or tacky buddha statue your friends brought you as a souvenir from their Thailand trip? Probably not. That’s why we’ve selected 10 unique gifts, so you don’t have to be *that* friend. Most of these items are locally made and exclusively available in…
Read MoreWat Pariwat — A cure for temple fatigue
Confession: We don’t recall ever spending more than 20 minutes in one of Thailand’s temples. Despite the sheer beauty and displays of amazing craftsmanship, temple-fatigue sets in quite quickly as, in our humble opinion, so many temples simply look… the same. That was until we discovered Wat Pariwat, a temple along Bangkok’s Chao Phraya river…
Read MoreSouvenir shopping in Iran (for design-savvy travelers)
Before arriving in Iran, we told ourselves to not bring anything but a small keepsake home. Little did we know that Iran’s mesmerizing bazaars, quirky antique stores, and carpet shops would make this an absolutely impossible promise to keep… This is what we ended up lugging back home: Best places for souvenir shopping in Iran…
Read MoreHow to survive a visit to Chatuchak Market
Let’s face it: the Chatuchak Weekend Market just sucks. It’s unbearably hot, there are a million sweaty tourists slumping around and about 90% of the stalls are filled with useless crap. Luckily, there’s a few stalls and sections that stand out from this cesspool of mediocracy – making the suffering somewhat worth it.
Read MoreLucky Number Eight — Ba Hao in Bangkok
With gentrification sweeping through Bangkok’s Chinatown and Instagram-appropriate cocktail bars popping up like mushrooms, the opening of Ba Hao could’ve easily been dismissed as yet another one. However, there is something about this transformed shophouse on Soi Nana (the other Soi Nana, that is), that makes me believe it’s worth the hype. Founded by a…
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