The Magical Fairy Tale Town of Alberobello, Italy

When I first saw the pictures of Alberobello over the internet a couple of years back, I thought it was a fairy tale theme park somewhere in the world. After reading up more, then I realized that Alberobello in fact is a heritage town in the south of Italy, not far from the city of Bari. Since then, I have told myself that I must visit this magical place one day. And it doesn't take long for my dream to come true, I made it this year's spring during my trip around the southern Italy.

About Alberobello
Alberobello is a little town situated in the southern region of Puglia, which is famous for its fairytale-like trulli, traditional dry stone huts with cone-shaped roofs dating back as early as the 14th century. The story behind these unique architectural structures has two sides; some believe that these buildings are constructed because of its geographical conditions and the abundant limestone materials, and some believe that it is constructed for easy dismantling and assembling to avoid paying taxes to the Kingdom of Naples. Today, some of the trulli are converted into souvenir shops, museums, restaurants and lodgings, but there are many still populated with the local residents. In 1996, the town of Alberobello with a great collection of more than 1500 beautifully preserved trulli in the region was designated a UNESCO world heritage site.

iuDia On The River: Experience The Tranquillity Of Old Siam (Thailand)

After years of procrastination, finally I have landed myself in the historic city of Ayutthaya, an ancient capital in the Central region of Thailand. Today, known as the Ayutthaya Historical Park, which was listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, is one of the most remarkable ruined cities in Southeast Asia. Although Ayutthaya is only one hour drive from Bangkok and most of the main attractions can be covered within a day, we chose to stay in this beautiful city for 3 days, so that we can slowly explore the ruined temples and experience the city fully without rushing.

When come to choosing an accommodation, I always find it interesting to look at the boutique hotels, because I like to admire how a boutique hotel is uniquely set up and usually come with a theme and awe-inspiring style. When we were in Ayutthaya, we stayed with iuDia On The River, a cultured, refined and elegantly furnished boutique hotel located in the heart of the ancient Ayutthaya ruins.