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Showing posts from 2011

Tailor-made in Hoi An

No holiday to Hoi An is complete without a trip to one of the town’s renowned tailors. Armed with magazine tear-sheets from the latest catwalks, Joanna Peios hits the tailor shops of Hoi An in search of a fashion fix. You could be forgiven for thinking the streets of Hoi An are paved with silk: the Unesco World Heritage listed town boasts more than 400 tailors who can whip up a made-to-measure outfit quicker than you can say airline baggage allowance.  Inside the showrooms, satisfied customers swirl elegantly before mirrors while others pour over catalogues and browse walls seemingly built from coloured bolts of fabric. Some have come prepared, armed with magazine cut-outs of celebrities parading the perfect dress. Tape measure wielding assistants wander the floors like fairy godmothers, ready to turn dreams into reality. Whether you’re after a trip down the red carpet, out to snare that promotion, or just in need of a fashion fix, Hoi An is a great place to indulge fashio

A feast for the eyes

Foodies are heading 50 minutes north of Chiang Mai to dine at small boutique mini-resort, Chiang Dao Nest. Joanna Peios discovers its not just the food drawing the crowds. Chiang Dao Nest, or The Nest as its affectionately known by regulars, is a popular remote mini-resort for trekking and birdwatching, and is fast becoming a foodie destination in its own right. One well known food bible recently named it: ‘The best restaurant between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai’ and it certainly lived up to its accolade. If you are looking for a place to get away from the bustling urban jungle, Chiang Dao Nest is a back-to-nature experience that’s hard to beat. With car rental cost at around 1000 Baht a day, my husband and I decided to make a weekend of it and explore the surrounding area. We took Highway 107 north from Chiang Mai towards Fang and Tha Ton and drove 72km to Chiang Dao town. The scenic drive was easy and you really felt like you were getting away from the city as we weaved our way

Getting up to speed.

I started blogging in 2006 as I was travelling quite a bit and needed somewhere to share my stories and photos with my friends, family and publishing contacts. Back then Blogger was the only decent blog publishing tool and limited bandwidth in places like Vietnam was a continuous struggle. Frequent power cuts and software glitches meant I’d often reel off paragraphs of text in some overpriced, hot and hectic internet cafe only to see it disappear as quickly as I’d typed it. With the birth of my first child in 2007 I dropped off the blogosphere and now with her finally starting school and as the workload/travels pick up again I find myself attempting to pick up where I left off. It’s amazing the range of social media tools out there now and simply choosing which publishing tool is frankly baffling. At least internet speeds have improved. And I've become quite addicted to Twitter. On a recent trip to Vietnam I was delighted to be able to pick up wifi in most places and the majority o