View of a Samabe Bali pool. Image courtesy of Samabe Bali Resort & Villas, used with permission.

Your guide very rarely ever gets to see something big happening from the ground floor, and the invitation from Yani Wongsowinoto, the Director of Sales & Marketing for the Samabe Bali Resort & Villas, seemed too good to pass up.

Yani is in charge of promoting a new five-star accommodation at the southern end of Nusa Dua on the island of Bali: an exclusive oceanfront resort that takes up about eight hectares of landscaped tropical gardens overlooking a pristine stretch of beach facing the Indian Ocean. The watchwords for the property: privacy and luxury. Read More...

Images courtesy of Far East Hospitality, used with permission.

With the Great Singapore Sale coming up at the end of May, finding a hotel in the Orchard Road shopping hotspot is more important than ever. So Far East Hospitality has come through with special offers on their Serviced Residences along Orchard Road, ideal for the mid- to long-term visitor to Singapore! (Keep in mind that the Great Singapore Sale lasts from May 25 to July 22!)

For just SGD 3,500 a week, you can kick back in luxury at a two- or three-bedroom apartment in the Orchard Parksuites (compare rates) or Orchard Scotts Residences (pictured above; compare rates).

To sweeten the deal for the duration of the Great Singapore Sale, Far East Hospitality is giving away SGD 300-400 worth of Orchard Central Shopping Vouchers if you stay at Orchard Parksuites or Orchard Scotts Residences! Read More...

Image of Sea Villas, Pangkor Laut Resort © YTL Hotels, used with permission.

If you were thinking of getting your own tropical island retreat for your summer vacation... look no further. YTL Hotels' all-inclusive Summer Holidays Specials get you what you were wishing for, just book online via the YTL Hotels Great Escape page (www.ytlhotels.com.my/summer_holiday_special.html) over the next seven days.

The special offer covers breakfasts, two-course lunches, dinners and select complimentary activities, available for a minimum two nights' stay at YTL Hotels' award-winning Malaysian beach properties, Pangkor Laut Resort and Tanjong Jara Resort. The stay can also be enhanced with chargeable meal, spa and activity upgrades. Read More...

Devotees release lanterns into the air at the end of last year's Vesak celebrations at Borobudur. Image courtesy of Getty Images.

This weekend, Borobudur in Central Java, Indonesia will come to life, as the most important day of the year for Southeast Asia's millions of Buddhists comes to pass: Vesak. The day celebrates three different points in the Buddha's life: his birth, enlightenment, and final attainment of Nirvana upon his death.

The name (and often the date) depends on where you go: this year, Waisak in Indonesia (and Visakha Puja in Thailand) culminates on May 6, while in Cambodia, Visak Bochea is celebrated officially on May 5, as it is in Singapore.

Buddhists believe that making merit on Vesak weighs far more in their favor compared to other days, so they perform merit-making activities like helping the poor or setting animals free. The latter has alarmed some quarters; in Singapore the authorities are begging devotees not to release animals into the wild.

For more information on this major Buddhist holiday, read this article: Vesak in Southeast Asia, or peruse this gallery: Images of Vesak in Southeast Asia.