As you know, the 5-star luxury hotel Asia Gardens is a temple of peace and well-being for us. It is in fact in Asia, where people look after their health and looks the most.

In Japan, is where it is more evident that people look after themselves, they have always cared for their skin and have done their best to stay looking young.

One of the most outstanding characteristics of the ideal of beauty in Japan is having a pale and perfect complexion, which is quite difficult to achieve as their skin has more melanin than the skin of western people and they actually get tanned more easily.

Pale skin has always been associated with aristocrats and people of higher social classes who did not have to work the fields daily exposed to the sun.

This search for aesthetic perfection and caring for their skin has caused many women to use parasols and umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun. Thus, this accessory has become a true ally for women and an essential element in their lives and in Asian fashion.

In the past, the “kasa”, Asian parasol or umbrella used to be made of colour silk or resistant paper, but nowadays they are made of stronger materials like plastic or nylon.

Asian umbrellas are normally handmade by a craftsman, they consist of 5 parts: the top, the handle, the “ribs”, the decorated paper (silk, plastic and nylon among others), and other ornaments.

Currently, the use of Asian style umbrellas is seen all over the world, and it does not seem strange to see many of them in fashion magazines or being used by celebrities, as this item is becoming a “must have”.

Many important labels have already included it to their collections as an indispensable item. Its success is such, that the “Billionaire Couture’s London boutique” has made the most expensive umbrella in the world, its price circa $50,000 (around €38,000).

As we can see, this Asian tradition has become, like many times before, a trend for many manufacturers.

If you want to be in with the latest fashion, Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa is also a trend that inspires. Come and enjoy the Asian beauty that surrounds our resort. Our “kasas” are at your disposal.

The Asia Gardens hotel is not only a magnificent 5-star luxury Hotel & Thai Spa, for us it is also a palace where you can find peace and well-being. We like our guests to feel like true Asian emperors.

There is a place with very similar features when it comes to its impressive architecture and degree of luxury, the famous Chinese Imperial Palace in the centre of Peking, the Forbidden City which was home to several dynasties, from the Ming right up to the Qing dynasty.

The city is called the “Forbidden City” because in ancient times, ordinary people could not enter without permission, only heads of state and court staff had the right to access it. Even the emperor could not leave the city unless for very specific reasons, as the palace supposedly covered all his needs.

It consists of 980 palaces built from 1406 to 1420 and it takes up 72 hectares. It is the largest group of palaces still standing, almost intact even after many wars. It can currently be visited as it has become an Imperial Museum.

It has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1987. Only 20% of the palace is open to the public, and even so it is one of the most visited places in the world.

The Forbidden City, whose real name is “Purple Forbidden City”, without a doubt symbolizes China.

Here is some data to help you comprehend the size and grandeur of this palace: it has 9,000 rooms, the largest collection of ancient wooden structures, 340,000 pieces of china, 50,000 paintings, although a part of this collection was lost over the years, 10,000 pieces of bronze, mainly ceremonial objects, and 30,000 pieces of jade, among other objects from ancient palaces.

Also, the city has three important imperial gardens with two lakes and two sanctuaries where the emperor used to worship the spirits of his ancestors.

If you believe the experience of visiting a luxurious palace to be magical, we recommend you come to Asia Gardens, a 5-star resort where you shall be able to relax walking through the gardens and Asian surroundings. At the Asia Gardens, we do not “forbid” you to come in, we shall in fact be pleased to welcome.

One of the things we like the best at our luxury hotel Asia Gardens is that all our guests leave having made a dream come true, delighted with their experience and the services of the resort. That is why we would like to dig deeper into the bay of dreams.

Halong Bay also known as “Along Bay”, includes some 2000 islands located in the north of Vietnam, it has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1994, and since November 2011 one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

It is said that Halong Bay smells of fire, salt and wind, mesmerizing tourists who visit its peaceful waters. It is said that its beauty, magic and charm make the trip an indispensable tourist destination.

Etymologically, “Ha Long” means descending dragon, taken from a local legend.

Like in all special places, there is a story behind it that mixes dream and reality. Legend has it that many years ago, a dragon and its family answered to Emperor Jade’s calling. The Chinese invaded Vietnamese soil and the emperor wanted their help to defend his territory.

One night, when the Chinese were near Halong, 20 fabulous dragons exhaled fire on the sky. However, the Chinese being near the water, managed to defend themselves and the dragons had to find another way to attack them.

Legend has it that in order to defeat the Chinese, the dragons had to exhale jewels and jade, and those became the islands and islets which now form the bay and a great wall to keep invaders away. In doing so, they managed to keep the Chinese away and their boats sank.

In these karst rock islets, there are also beautiful caves that can be visited. The most popular one is “Hang Sung Sot” or Surprise Cave, which is lit on the inside and can be accessed through a wooden bridge over the sea.

The best way to visit Halong Bay is on a cruise. There are several boats in the country offering overnight trips, they are called: “sampán”. On these trips you can enjoy the majestic landscape and wish to stop time when you are there.

If you would also like to stop time, relax and dream, we suggest you pay us a visit. Come to the best luxury hotel Asia Gardens and enjoy an unforgettable experience.

Today, our 5-star luxury hotel Asia Gardens gets filled with lights because we love Asian traditions, especially when it comes to festivals as beautiful as the Loy Krathong.

The festival is celebrated annually in Thailand when there is a full moon on the twelfth month of the traditional lunar calendar. In the west it generally coincides with the month of November, this year it falls on 17^th to 21^st. The celebrations start a few days before and after the full moon.

The Loy Krathong festival pays tribute to “Mae Khongkha”, goddess of the water, throwing thousands of krathongs to the water. The festival also celebrates the cleansing of spirits to help get rid of anger and resentment, hence the krathongs being thrown to the air as people ask for a wish.

In addition, during the festival there are also firework displays, music and dance, fashion shows and traditional Thai food.

The term Loy Krathong, comes from “Loi” which means to float, and “Krathong” which is a small raft traditionally made out of banana tree trunk, and decorated with the leaves of the same tree, flowers, small lamps and incense.

It is said that this is a festival of lights because the cities are lit on the ground, rivers and even up in the air with thousands of small lamps holding the wishes of so many people.

The festival originates from the kingdom of Sukotai. Many historians think that the festival comes from a Hindu tradition which gives thanks for the harvest and abundant rainfall, hence the creation of this ritual to express gratitude to the spirits of the water.

However, like in all Asian traditions, there is always a legend. The legend has it that a young courtesan girl made the first krathongs in the 13^th Century and threw them in the river. The king was impressed by the beauty of the display of lights and made all his subjects pay tribute to the spirits the same way.

This tradition is so special that we wanted to share it with you at the 5-star hotel Asia Gardens. We have been celebrating the Loy Krathong for three years at our resort. Come and enjoy at our luxury hotel.

Most cities have a place that makes them special. For us that place would be our 5-star luxury hotel Asia Gardens, without a doubt, as it offers all the Asian facilities and services you could imagine.

However, if we were to travel a little further, we would come across another place famous for its temples, the city of Kamakura, in Japan, about 50 km from Tokyo.

Kotokuin Temple is one of the most popular ones because of its “Daibutsu”, an enormous Buddha Amitabha bronze statue. The statue is 13.35 metres tall, and is the second largest statue in Japan. It was initially located inside a large hall in the temple. However, the buildings were destroyed by the tsunami waves that happened at the end of the 15^th Century, and ever since then the statue was left outdoors.

Engakuji is one of the most important Zen temples in Japan, also located in the religious area of the city. According to the ancient registers, when the work in the area commenced, an issue of the “Engaku-kyo” was found, a speech of the Buddha about perfect enlightment which the temple is named after.

There is also a wooden Buddha statue in one of the halls of the temple, and a2.5-metre tall “Ogune” bell which dates back to 1301, the biggest one in all Kamakura temples, declared a National Treasure.

Kenchoji Temple, is another temple built in Kamakura and one of the first ones built in this city in 1253, in the Kencho period. The temple is made from wood, and nowadays locals say that this temple is becoming smaller over time and that the weather is taking its toll on it, although it has managed to maintain its structure.

The third of the Zen temples is Tokeiji, which eventually was turned into a convent where married women who had abandoned their husbands were given shelter. Until the end of the 19^th Century, every woman who stayed there for at least three years was considered divorced. In fact, that is what the temple is known as: “temple of the divorcees”.

In Kamakura there are also sanctuaries such as Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū which was moved in 1911 and refurbished according to instructions given by Feng Shui masters. They asked Hachiman, god of warriors, to stay there and watch over the government during his reign.

The Hase-dera Temple was built upon a legend. In the year 721, a monk found a camphor tree on the mountains near Hase, and two “Kannon” statues were made from the tree’s woods. One of the statues was worshipped in the Hase-dera temple, built for said purpose. However, the other sculpture was thrown in the Pacific Ocean and after 15 years being lost, it showed up again on the coast of Kamakura, and that is why it was on that spot where the current Hase-dera Temple was built to worship it.

The grandeur of the temples that we have seen, you shall also find at our 5-star luxury hotel Asia Gardens. Our resort is more than a temple. Come and visit our hotel.

If there is something we pride ourselves on at our 5-star hotel Asia Gardens, is our large number of rooms with their corresponding doors which lead you to a space of the Asian peace and quiet surrounding our resort.

In Asia, gates and arches have an important meaning as they reflect moving on to a different state. In Asian cultures, doors normally lead to a sacred place and that is why they are generally placed at the entrance of sanctuaries and temples.

Torii Arch has a spiritual meaning as we have already mentioned. However, the word “torii” means “bird abode” as they are structures often found outdoors opposite religious buildings where birds normally sit.

An ancient legend says that Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, was extremely annoyed with one of her siblings and she hid in a cave causing and eclipse. When people saw this they got frightened as they could no longer see the sun, and that is why they decided to build a pole for all birds and roosters in the village to come and sit there. The cocks started to cluck and the birds started to cheep making much noise. The goddess could not resist, curiosity took over her and she had to come out to see what was going on. Once she was out, a group of men closed the cave and the sun came out again.

This is how Torii became a symbol of prosperity and good luck all over Japan. Currently, they are considered talismans which keep evil spirits away and bring about good luck.

Torii is usually a traditional Japanese arch which marks the borderline between the profane and the sacred.  It consists of two pillars holding two parallel rungs, normally a shade of red.

They can also have engraved wooden or stone boards, although this is currently changing and other more resistant materials are being used instead, like stainless steel, reinforced concrete and copper in order to resist harsh weather conditions.

The Mijayima Torii is one of the most famous images in Japan, as it is located above water. The sunset from this spot is magical and evoking, for this reason many people who visit it say they feel as if they had crossed over to a different world, a world they did not think existed outside their dreams.

These gates have been immortalized in cinema too. There is a very famous scene in “Memories of a Geisha”  when the leading actress runs through a path of toriies. Do you remember?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O37B5VvaLI

If you also want to enter the world of your dreams, book one of our luxury rooms at our Asia Gardens Hotel. You shall enjoy a magical experience which can only be offered to you at a luxury resort such as ours.

Our doors are always open for you. We look forward to seeing you!

This season, at the luxury hotel resort Asia Gardens, we have started a small ritual at reception. Our caring personnel have created, with great affection, offerings for all customers upon arrival.

With this ritual, we would like to transmit peace and calm to our customers so they can fully enjoy the services we offer at the Asia Gardens Hotel, as well as help them find pleasure in the simple things to bring them closer to the environment.

This is a Tibetan natural harmony technique which works in the physical and spiritual plane. To carry out this ritual, we use Tibetan bowls filled with spring water and decorated with typically Asian flowers which are kept in our premises.

The flowers we generally use to decorate are called “Kiku”, considered the most beautiful flowers, especially for the Japanese, due to their shape and colouring. Here, these flowers are known as chrysanthemum.

The Japanese quince or “Chaenomeles Speciosa” is the most fragrant one, usually bright red and used to decorate.

In addition, the “Erythronium dens canis” or Dog’s Tooth, is also a typical small and yellow flower which grown simply and in abundance.

The peculiar mix of these colourful flowers, together with their scent enhanced by water, result in a special fragrance characteristic of our luxury resort which pleases our customers, making their Asian experience at the Asia Gardens more fulfilling.

Our intention is to help our customers reduce the negatives aspects in their life, and increase the positive qualities found in each person; respect, devotion, pleasure and a generous mind.

The sound of the water inside the Tibetan bowl, the decorated flowers and the different colours and scents, will make your experience at our 5-star luxury hotel Asia Gardens a multisensory experience.

It will be just as if you were in Asia, come and enjoy every minute.

We look forward to welcoming you.

From 5 Star Luxury Hotel Asia Gardens we would like to tell you about another important festival in India, one of the most significant ones in the country: the Diwali or Festival of Lights. Depending on the area where it is celebrated it can have different names: Divali, Deepavali or Deepawali and it is also the Indian New Year.

The Diwali is a religious festival celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jainists all around the country. Diwali means “row of lamps”, the locals place “diyas” (clay lamps) on their windows and leave them lit all night. According to this tradition, men are set free from darkness and moved towards the truth, also known as “dharma”.

As opposed to western cultures, in India they do not celebrate the 31^st of December. The New Year is celebrated on 18^th October and 26^th November, depending on the lunar calendar, it varies every year.

Like almost all other festivals in India, this one also pays tribute to several gods, more specifically goddess Lakshmi and god Ganesha. Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped because she brings prosperity and wealth. Hindus must have an altar in a special place in their homes with a picture of Lakshmi where flowers, coins and incense are placed as an offering.

Arrangements for this festival start days before the festival commences. Locals spring clean their homes as a symbol of renewal and also for a better start of the New Year. They paint and decorate their houses, buy silver coins and start using a new ledger. In doing so, they leave all negative things behind and set off to achieve their new resolutions.

As well as wearing new clothes, exchanging gifts and eating sweets, there is also a traditional folk dance called “dandiya”: People wear colourful outfits, skirts and turbans with plenty of ornaments. The choreography of the dance is complicated and consists of energetic twirls with feet and arms up in the air using sticks and instruments for a percussion beat.

As you can see, the Asian continent has always some hidden treasures that we are delighted to bring to you every week. At the Asia Gardens we enjoy showing you new things. We await you with open arms.