Every trip has an obligatory stop everybody suggests you. If you visit the Mediterranean, that sop will doubtless be Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa. But if we go further, in particular to Myanmar, the obligatory stop will be U Bein Bridge.

U Bein Bridge crosses the Taungthaman Lake, near Amarapura, the ancient capital of Myanmar. It is the most ancient and longest teak bridge in the world. And it is also one of the most important tourist attractions in the country.

It features 1,086 teak pillars and it is 1,200 kilometres long. It was built in 1850 at the request of U Bein´s mayor. He decided to use the teak pillars of the abandoned royal palace of Inwa for its construction. Myanmar construction engineers used traditional methods of scaling and measuring to build U Bein Bridge. According to historic books about the bridge, Myanmar engineers made scale by counting the footsteps.

U Bein Bridge raises four metres over the lake. Through the years, some pillars have been replaced by cement piling to strengthen its structure. It is one of the main paths for local population.

The curve shape of the bridge allows it to resist the wind and gives it that twisting shape that characterizes it. U Bein is more than a wood bridge. Many people visit it to go for a walk, rest or enjoy the views. Monks usually go there to sit and rest in one of its rest areas and fishermen also go after the coveted tilapia fish, a very famous fish of the lake.

The best time to visit U Bein Bridge is either during sunrise or during twilight. The temperature is nicer and the light of the sky is perfect to appreciate the beauty of its bucolic landscape.

At the luxury hotel in Alicante Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa we also have our particular wood amulet. Have you ever seen our wood canoe? Visit us this summer and discover how much our Asian paradise in the Mediterranean can offer.

Who doesn´t want to travel and relax during summer? At the luxury hotel Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa we are experts in both. That is why we are taking you to Japan today to cool ourselves  in the wonderful lake Masyuko.

Masyuko Lake is a crater lake formed in the caldera of a potentially active volcano. It is located in Akan National Park, on the island of Hokkaido. It is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world.

The volcano was formed less than 32,000 years ago and the crater around 7,000 years ago. Masyuko Lake is surrounded by steep crater walls 200 metres high. It is one of the deepest lakes in Japan. And it is also one of the clearest lakes in the world. Although its transparency has changed through the years, many experts affirm it is the clearest lake in the world, even more than the incredible Lake Baikal in Siberia.

Despite its clearness, this lake is sometimes surrounded by mystery. In summer, the surface of Masyuko Lake is often obscured by fog. This has given the lake a reputation for mysteriousness. According to the local legend, if you visit the lake on a cloudy day, you will have bad luck for the rest of your life.

Doubtless it is worthy visiting this wonder of nature. The green and dense forest surrounding Masyuko Lake makes it even more beautiful.

Masyuko Lake´s water invite to relax, but if you are really looking for relaxing yourself, you must visit our Temple of Relax in Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa. Don´t miss the chance to sign up for our Wellness Rebirth Program. You will learn the specific Oriental techniques aimed at improving the wellbeing of the body, mind and soul.

Today at Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa we are dolling ourselves up to talk about Japanese makeup and the beauty ritual Japanese women follow to get such a perfect skin. What is their secret? This is the skin care ritual Saho.

The beauty ritual Saho is very common between Japanese women. It is inspired on the Japanese tea ceremony and it is based on the hypothesis of twice sanitisation, twice moisturising and twice application.

The first step is twice cleansing. In order to completely purify the skin of all makeup and impurities, the skin is cleaned twice. First we would use a product to clean off oily impurities, followed by using a soap to remove dead skin cells and dirt. This process acts like an exfoliation.

After purifying the skin, we continue with the twice moisturising. First we would use a moisturising lotion. This lotion hydrates the skin and gets it ready for the treatment. The next step is moisturising again the skin with an emulsion or a cream. This ritual holds these creams nourish and revitalise the skin.

The last step is twice application. This is the way we apply the products on the skin. The first application would be massaging in circular action to facilitate dispersion, in favor of enhancing the effect of lotion and emulsion. Twice application would be pressing to ensure complete absorption of the product.

Besides following this beauty ritual, Japanese women also maintain a healthy balanced diet, don´t expose themselves to the sun and practice moderate exercise.

At our luxury hotel Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa you will be able to enjoy all the Asian treatments we bring from Asia to take care of yourself on the inside and on the outside. We are looking forward to see you!

As every week, at the luxury hotel in Alicante Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa we keep travelling around the Asian continent to discover Asia´s hidden details. Today we are taking you to Hong Kong to find out about the majestic Tian Tian Buddha.

Tian Tian Buddha, also known as the Hong Kong Big Buddha, is a large bronze statue located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, in Hong Kong. It is one of the five large Buddha statues in China.

It is the major centre of Buddhism in Hong Kong and it is also one of the most famous Chinese tourist attractions. It is located next to the Po Lin Monastery and it symbolizes the harmonious relationship between men and nature and people and faith.

Tian Tian Buddha is enthroned on a lotus flower on top of a three-platform altar. Surrounding it there are six smaller bronze statues, which are known as “The Offering of the Six Devas”. They offer flowers, fruit, incense, lamps, ointment and music to the Big Buddha. And each of them symbolizes the Six Perfections of generosity, meditation, morality, patience, zeal and wisdom; everything you need for enlightenment.

The right hand of the Buddha is in “the mudra of imparting fearlessness”, indicating the compassion of the Buddha to save all sentient beings from their sufferings. While the left hand rests on the lap, with the palm turning up and fingers pointing slightly downward. This is called the mudra of “fulfilling wishes”, implying the vow to grant blessing and happiness to all. On each of the palms is a Dharmacakra (wheel of the law) signifying that the Buddha truth is eternal and will spread to the ten directions of the universe.

Tian Tian Buddha was built in 1990 and was finished on 29 December 1993, on the birthday of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. The statue was built with 202 bronze pieces. Its design was based on the 32 lakshanas, these are the “physical marks” of the Buddha as described in the sutras.

The statue is 34 metres tall and weighs over 250. It was the highest bronze monument in the world until 2007, when the Great Buddha of Thailand was built in 2008.

If you are an Asian design lover, the luxury resort Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa is your place. This summer let you captivate by our paradise in Southeast Asia in the Mediterranean.

If there is something we like at Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa that is Asian traditions. Today we go from our luxury hotel in Alicante to the world of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia.

The Royal Ballet of Cambodia, also known as Khmer Classical Dance, is a form of performing arts established in Angkor´s ancient royal courts. It is the dominant genre of dance theatre in Cambodia that features the classical dance style and Thai dance theatre.

It was exclusively developed at the royal courts for the purpose of entertainment for centuries. During French Colonial Era, royal wives, concubines, family and royal guests performed it.

Currently, it is performed during public ceremonies in Cambodia and also around the world to show people the history of Cambodia. Its repertoire includes good, evil and love performances, and traditional Cambodian stories and epic poems.

Every performance stands out for the style and delicateness of the dancers. Hand gestures are very important in Khmer Classical Dance. They are called kbach and evoke the gamut of different human emotions, from fear and rage to joy and love. They are used in numerous combinations, accompanied by legs and feet moving to transmit different ideas and concepts.

At the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, female dancers perform most roles, but other roles such as hermits and animals such as horses and mythical lions are played by men.

A pinpeat orchestra and a female chorus accompany the dance. This orchestra includes instruments such as xylophones, drums, gongs and different woodwind instruments.

If you like Asian celebrations, Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa is your place. A luxury resort in the Mediterranean where you will be able to feel Asian tradition from the very first day.

At Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa we love those places, which bring back emotions. That is why today we are travelling to a magic place in China: Huanglong Valley.

Huanglong Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area or Huanglong Valley is located in the Minshan mountain range in Songpan County, in northern Sichuan Province. Huanglong means “Yellow Dragon”, got its name for its special geographical features. It is famous all over the world for its extraordinary landscape.

According to the legend, about 4,000 years ago, during Xia dynasty, a yellow dragon helped the king Xiayu channel the floodwater in to the sea, making the Minjiang River. Due to the calcium carbonate mineral deposit patterns and the gold colour of the water, the river looks like the tail of a Yellow Dragon. In later years the valley was given its name and a temple was built in honour of this yellow dragon.

For Chinese culture, Chinese dragons are classified depending on their colours; every colour has a symbolic meaning. The yellow dragon, which is known as the “most worshipped dragon”, symbolizes the emperor and his family. Yellow symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

The main scenery covers an area of 700 square metres and it is famous for its “four wonders”: colour lakes, beautiful valleys, snowy mountains and green forests. Huanglong is made up of over 3,000 multicoloured ponds. The valley also has five waterfalls, four stalactite caves and three ancient temples.

Huanglong Valley also has a population of endangered animals, such as the giant panda and the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey.

If you also like discovering spots with oriental mysticism, we suggest you to visit Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa, where you will be able to live a 100% Asian unique experience.

At the luxury hotel in Alicante Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa we are always surprised about everything the Asian continent offers us. Today we colour our week travelling to Indonesia to discover the lakes inside Kelimutu.

Kelimutu is a volcano located in central Flores Island. It is one of the few volcanoes containing a crater lake. But what makes this volcano even more amazing is that it contains three lakes.

These three striking summit crater lakes are Lake of Young Men and Maidens (Tiwu Nuwa Muri Koo Fai), which is the biggest one and dark turquoise, Bewitched or Enchanted Lake (Tiwu Ata Polo), which is light brown, and Lake of Old People (Tiwu ata Mbupu), which is usually dark blue.

The three of them have three different colours. It is the only place on earth where this amazing colour variation takes place. It is believed that the lakes change colours as a result of chemical reactions resulting from the minerals contained in the lake. Their colours also vary depending on the season. Lake of Old People has become darker through the years; Enchanted Lake has gone from red to brown, while Lake of Young Men and Maidens has almost kept the same colour.

Kelimutu volcano, which is 1,639 metres high, had its last big eruption in 1968 and its responsible for the great amount of minerals, such as sulphur and copper, the lakes have.

The population of the island worships Kelimutu. They believe that when someone dies his spirit plunges into the water of one of the three lakes based on his character and age: parents and elder people´ spirits go to Lake of Old People, young people´ spirits plunge into Lake of Young Men and Maidens, and the spirits that belong to people who have committed any crime while they where alive go to Enchanted Lake.

At the 5 stars resort Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa we don´t have different colour lakes, but we do have 7 spectacular Asian-style design outdoor pools. We look forward to seeing you this summer at our Asian paradise in the Mediterranean.

At the 5 stars resort in Alicante Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa we keep travelling around the Asian continent to discover new spots. Today we are taking you to South Korea, in particular to Seoul, to find out about the spectacular Changdeokgung Palace.

The Changdeokgung Palace is one of the most beautiful and representative buildings in Seoul. It is considered to be the palace, which better exemplifies Korean culture details.

It was built in 1405, at the request of the Taejong of Joseon as a secondary palace of Gyeongbokgung Palace, Joseon´s Dynasty official palace. Due to its location, at the east of Gyeongbokgung, it is also known as the “East Palace”.

Both palaces were destroyed during the Japanese invasion in 1592. Changdeokgung was rebuilt in 1692, becoming the official royal residence for over 300 years.

It is considered as one of the best kept royal palaces of its century. It keeps the architectural style of 15^th century.

Currently, the Changdeokgung Palace has 13 buildings and 28 pavilions. One of the main buildings of the complex is the Injeongjeon Hall, the throne hall of the palace. All the important events of the reign such as coronations or diplomacy meetings took place here. It also stands out the Donhwamun Gate, the main gate, which is the most ancient structure in the palace.

But the most important place you can find at Changdeokgung is the Huwon or the Hidden Garden. It covers an area of 300,000 square metres with hundreds of different species of trees, which are over 300 years old. Joseon kings used the garden to relax, write poems and celebrate banquets.

If you are an Asian nature lover, let yourself captivate by the lush gardens of the luxury hotel in Alicante Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa. If you visit us this summer, don´t miss the chance to make our Botanical Tour.

If there is something we like at Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa is discovering new Asian spots. Today we have climbed the Mount Popa in Myanmar to see the famous monastery this volcano hides on the top: Taung Kalat Monastery.

Taung Kalat Monastery is located at the summit of Mount Popa, an ancient volcano in central Myanmar.

Its incredible location is one of its main attractions. It is a Buddhist pilgrimage site, where monks, the powerful Nats and many macaques live.

Buddhists worship the Taung Kalat as a sacred mountain. According to tradition, 37 Nats or spirits live in the monastery. In the past, Burmese kings visited Taung Kalat to ask Nats for advice in relation to important issues. Currently, Nats worship is very important for Burmese families.

Mount Popa has many beautiful colour flowers. That is why Burmese people also called it the Mount Olympus of Burma. In Burmese, “popa” means flower.

To access Taung Kalat Monastery people have to go up 777 steps. It is a pilgrimage site during Nayon and Nadaw, the full moon of summer and winter solstice.

Let yourself captivate this summer by the landscapes our Asian paradise in the Mediterranean offers. The luxury hotel in Alicante Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa has over 300 tropical species within approximately 370,000 square metres.

Every spot in our 5 stars resort in Alicante Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa takes us to a different place in Asia. Today we are travelling to India to discover the Lotus Temple.

The Lotus Temple, also known as the Baha’i House of Worship, is located in New Delhi. It is the most important temple for Baha’i religion. Open to everyone, it´s one of the most visited buildings in the world.

It is a place for prayer and meditation. Its construction was finished in 1986 and since then, it is considered as the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent.

Styled after a lotus flower, with 27 white-marble petals, it can be seen from different points of South Delhi. A lotus flower symbolizes peace and purity. It is India´s national flower.

The Lotus Temple is 40 metres high. It was built with white marble, cement and sand. Around the temple there are 9 pools and bridges, which symbolize the nine spiritual paths of Baha’i religion.

The Lotus Temple has 9 doors, which symbolize the diversity of the human race. Besides prayer and meditation, inside the temple Bahá’u’lláh´s sacred writings are read and people also listen to music. The only requirement to access the temple is taking off your shoes and keeping silence.

At the luxury hotel in Alicante Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa we also have our own relax temple. If you visit us this summer, don´t miss out the chance to try our Thai Spa´s exclusive Asian treatments.