Bangkok to party King-style until December!

by Abha Malpani on

The biggest party I’ve experienced was when Sydney turned into an open air lounge during the 2000 Olympics. With biggest, I mean number of people. Such celebrations are overwhelming, exciting, and frustrating at the same time — just because of the hoards of people.

But the scale of celebrations planned for Thai King Bhumibol Aduladej’s (or Rama IX) 80th birthday on December 5, seem to take things to a different level.

Festivities will start early November, and will include royal cavalcades, elephant parades, the raising of candles nationwide to cheer the King, and firework displays.

Born in Cambridge, the King seems to be a modern cool dude who used to jam with the late Jazz king Louis Armstrong, so you can also expect to see many music concerts around the country at this time.

25 million commemorative coins will be minted, and the royal flag will be posted on the top of Mount Everest in the country’s first attempt to the peak of the world’s highest mountain. Effigies will start parading the streets, and the whole city will be decorated with lights.

The ‘Royal Barge Procession’ on November 5th is a major highlight where the King will present robes to the monks; if you get there before the 5th you can see a rehearsal.

So since the whole city will be rocking in celebration of their much adored King’s birthday until December 5, if you were thinking of where to travel — this might be a good option.

Yes I know, Thailand is poor, and lot’s of money will be spent for this celebration. But it truly seems like a fest done primarily for the locals by the locals — as opposed to some publicity stunt to attract tourism and rip off locals; it is therefore valid. Oh, and if you want to live this celebration like a local — wear a yellow shirt!

Birthday Vacations: Let Your Horoscope Guide You

by Jamie Rhein on

My husband used to take his birthday off from work to head to Laguna Pueblo’s Feast Day when he lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Last year, a friend of mine went to Las Vegas with a group of women friends to celebrate hers.

Today’s my birthday and I’m taking my son to school for his first day of kindergarten, meeting a friend at Borders for coffee, (and yes, I’ll browse the travel books and magazine sections), write some Gadling posts, and after picking my son up from kindergarten will get head to my daughter’s soccer game. They are playing out of town in Groveport, Ohio so perhaps there will be a neat eatery worth a stop. Since this is certainly not a birthday itinerary with a WOW!!! factor, kind of sweet for sure, but not WOW, I searched for travel I might do today if I had another life —not that I want another life, I’m just saying.

I found this article which presents a darned clever idea. When looking to plan a birthday trip, let your zodiac sign be your guide.

Actually, the idea is to plan a romantic getaway for your love or like interest based on his or her horoscope. That’s nice and all, but why not plan for your own? The zodiac signs are listed along with a brief description of personality traits and a suggested trip for each.

Here are the highlights from Susan Breslow Sardone’s article. Whether you go along with horoscope stuff or not, I think these are fun reads. If you go to each link, you’ll find more links to specific suggestions. And, yes, I know these are not in order of when they show up during the year.

  1. Aries: a volunteer vacation. The world’s the limit.
  2. Aquarius: Las Vegas
  3. Cancer: Cooperstown or Disney World
  4. Capricorn: A luxury hotel
  5. Gemini: A great city
  6. Leo: London, England
  7. Libra: A romantic hotel
  8. Pices: Hawaii
  9. Sagittarius: An adventure vacation
  10. Taurus: A cruise
  11. Scorpio: The Caribbean
  12. Virgo: (and that would be me) An award-winning resort. Hmmm. I think I’d rather take the London trip, but I could look for the resort while I’m there.

The Best Fourth of July Celebrations, According to Forbes

by Martha Edwards on

Happy Fourth of July to all you Americans out there! I hope you’re celebrating your nation’s independence with plenty of food, beer, friends and laughter. No matter where you are in the states, there’s bound to be a celebration of some sort to mark this historic day. In fact Forbes has put together a list of the best Fourth of July celebrations. Not surprisingly, the festivities at the nation’s capital top the list, but there are a few other places renowned for their talent for putting on a good Independence Day show, including:

  • Philadelphia, where the celebration goes on for a full week and includes celebrity performances and a carnival. This years special guest is Chaka Khan
  • Houston, where a mind-blowing fireworks display lights up the sky and event-goers are dazzled by a star-studded country music line-up.

To see the Fourth of July celebrations in pictures, click here.

Plans for New Year’s Eve

by Adrienne Wilson on

Like many I am still searching for the perfect way to spend New Year’s Eve. I’ve never been huge NYE celebrating type of person so it’s no biggie if I don’t find some spectacular fireworks display, but at the same time it’s always kind of nice. Last year I stayed nestled inside my apartment and the previous year I believe I was sitting on a beach in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica wishing I were somewhere else (long story). Well the Miami Herald offers a small sampling of what’s available across the states and even as far down and out as Australia, Italy and Costa Rica. Go figure. Nothing listed for Chicago so I’ll be moving onto the next list, but for those partying domestically in Key West, NYC, ATL or even Alabama check out their notes.