Pattaya 2011 – Centara Grand Resort

Centara Grand Resort is one of those resorts that thinks of itself as a theme park. The Sun City in South Africa was one of the earliest models which has been copied all over – including countless casino hotels in Las Vegas and Macau. Our own Sunway Lagoon Hotel in Kuala Lumpur is cast from the same mould. A whole fantasy environment is created around an invented back-story or legend, providing the fictional background for the design. Here at Centara Grand, the theme seems to be centred around elephants.

The resort is basically 2 hotel blocks connected by a common lobby. The pool facing the ocean is the main attraction, and no expenses have been spared to create an impressive spectacle for the guests.

The entrance lobby uses a lot of bamboo and recycled timber.

The large and impressive pool area.

The Centara Grand Resort is not really my cup of tea, but if you are on a holiday with kids I am sure they will be thrilled staying at a place like this – and you wouldn’t even need to leave the resort !

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Happy New 2011 Year from Kosciuszko National Park!

Returned from Kosciuszko National Park yesterday, where I spent a few days and nights backpacking. For a New Years Eve celebration, we stayed near Blue Lake, one of the five glacier lakes in the park, 1997 meters above the sea level, under billions of stars. Photograph above was shot soon after we finished celebrating New Year with Ilya Genkin.

Happy New Year!

© Yegor Korzh :: Travel Photography, 2011. Permalink No comments

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Free Desktop Wallpaper Calendar: April 2010

March is one of the best months to go out and shoot seascapes in Sydney. You can get lucky to have some great skies and you don’t need to get up very early to catch 7am sunrise.

Download Bungan Head Rocks wallpaper for free for your screen size here: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1600×1200, 1920×1200, 1920×1440

© Yegor Korzh :: Travel Photography, 2010. Permalink 2 comments

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Pattaya 2011 – Dinner at Pattaya Hilton

As usual I have saved the best for last. My last post on Pattaya is on the dinner I had at Pattaya Hilton – at the Edge Restaurant. This is the all-day dining venue at the hotel. The design is simply stunning. It would be disappointing if the food doesn’t live up to the design – but I am happy to report that the food here is great ! I had the dinner buffet, and it was one of the best I’ve had at a five star hotel. Everything was beautifully cooked and presented, and the desserts were also top notch.

The passage way leading to the restaurant.

The beautiful restaurant interiors.

There is an outdoor deck that overlooks Pattaya Beach.

The food.

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The *Star* of Singapore Botanical Gardens

Location: Bandstand, Singapore Botanical Garden (1°19’18″N 103°48’59″E)
Date: 8 October 2011; 9.50am
Camera: Canon 400D with Sigma 17-70/f2.8-4.5

Singapore Botanical Garden is one of the main attractions of Singapore. Quite often when one lives in a place, one easily overlook the local attractions that tourists from far afield come to visit. The Botanical Gardens is just one of those- I lives in Singapore but never pay much attention or visit the place unless I have visitors. However it is apparently a favourite of tourists especially the new force-to-be-reckon-with tourists from China and India. These tourists are no doubt attracted by the immaculately maintained gardens and its vast collection of tropical trees, flowers and plants. For locals, one of the favourite spot of the Gardens is the white octagonal shaped pavilion named the Bandstand which was erected in 1930. The Bandstand used to host military band performances in the past- now it is a popular spot for newly-weds to have their photos taken with their full regalia of wedding gowns.

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