But you can combine the two and make a holiday an engagement to remember. You’ve bought the ring, you’ve practised proposing in the mirror, now all you have to figure out is where to ask. Booking.com has delved into its over 1 million properties to source destinations across the globe to suggest a list of seriously romantic places with a unique twist to make the proposal an occasion to remember.

Chiang Mai never fails to impress you with its unique charm. With the weather still cool and no smog to cloud the sky at night, you and your beloved will have the most romantic time ever. Stay in quaint guesthouse Green Tiger Vegetarian House, a calm a relaxing hideaway in the heart of Chiang Mai to be closer than ever with your love one.

Or go to Verona, Italy and stay at The Lady Capulet apartments which are only a 5minute stroll from Juliet’s house and offer luxury accommodation in the heart of this romantic city. Shakspeare’s Romeo and Juliet might not have enjoyed the happilyeverafter they were hoping for but that doesn’t mean you can’t – head to Juliet’s balcony and ask ‘where for art thou, Romeo?’ before asking the even bigger question.

Back to Bagan in Myanmar where you might try a hot air balloon ride over the beautiful pagodas and landscape of Bagan to pop the question. After the adrenaline rush, retreat to Bagan Lodge for some pampering at the spa and pool and celebrate your engagement with traditional cuisine at Tiffin Box.

In South America, Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni is one of the most incredible sights in the world. It’s the world’s largest salt flat, holding 10 billion tonnes of salt set against an epic backdrop where you may even see pink flamingos – it’s picture perfect for when you pop the question. Hotel Palacio de Sal is another must as it’s built out of salt bricks and even features salt furniture.

Snow lovers can go to Norway and be spoilt for choice with a number of beautiful places to propose – perhaps after an exhilarating husky ride, underneath nature’s twinkling background of the Northern Lights or even in your very own snow hotel. The romantic Kirkenes Snowhotel offers picturesque mountain views, arcticthemed snow suites, intricate snow sculptures and thermal bedspreads to keep you and your beloved cosy.

SINGAPORE’S most famous shopping precinct, Orchard Road, has long been lined with the stores and boutiques of the world’s leading brands. Today it is also home to the brightest and best of local creations thanks to the opening last month of the two-and-a-half-storey building known as Design Orchard.

Design Orchard is a new retail showcase of designed-in-Singapore brands and also features a co-working/studio space for designers. (courtesy of Design Orchard)

A retail space dedicated to showcasing local talent through 61 home-grown brands covering fashion, beauty and lifestyle, stationery and souvenirs, the new mall – a joint development of the JTC Corporation, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Enterprise Singapore and standing at the junction of Cairnhill and Orchard Roads – will become both a one-stop shopping destination for Singapore products and a workshop centre to groom emerging local designers.

“You can shop for items that you can’t find outside Singapore and indeed several of our brands don’t have physical stores. Tourists today want authenticity and uniqueness and Design Orchard will definitely add to the retail diversity to Orchard Road,” says Ranita Sundra, STB’s director of retail and dining.

The ground floor is a retail space for 61 home-grown brands.

The building, designed by Singapore-based firm WOHA, boasts a minimalist design and a clean and modern look thanks to the predominant use of concrete and glass. The porthole concrete structural walls don’t only soften the hardness but also provide inviting openings of the shop displays and ventilation through the building structure.

The 836-square-metre ground floor is a retail space operated by home-grown retailer Naiise that will also regularly organise events to create more enduring and non-conventional retail experiences for shoppers.

 The interactive mirror gives information about the product with a simple touch.

“We offer retail technology with self-checkout stations and interactive mirrors, allowing visitors to enjoy shopping on their own. Visitors can show the products they like to the interactive mirror and it will provide the brand story and product information including choice of colours, sizes, prices and similar products,” says Dennis Tay, chief executive officer of Naiise.

 An animal-themed series of products by The Animal Project

Different beasts drawn in black-and-white in a naive-style by autistic artists of The Animal Project (TAP), a social enterprise that celebrates, showcases and supports the abilities of persons with special needs, are featured on a collection of mugs, tumblers, pouches and totes.

TAP is known for its curatorship of artists with special needs who are exceptional in illustrating animals, and their animal-themed products are also available at Singapore Zoo. These artists earn royalties from the sale of products and the TAP Collective is currently made up of five autistic students. Half of the profits go to a charity of TAP’s choosing.

A collection of Peranakan capsule necklaces by Eden+Elie

Eden+Elie, the socially conscious jewellery brand that focuses on developing individuals from communities in need into skilled artisans, offers attractive collections of handmade jewellery inspired by intricate heritage beaded designs.

A selection of products by  Onlewo

Home furnishing brand Onlewo – the name means “happy nest” in Mandarin – offers a line of whimsical patterned fabrics used for upholstery, wallpaper and soft furnishings. Founder/designer Mike Tay draws the inspiration from his background in Peranakan culture as well as his interest in Singapore’s cultural diversity.

Peranakan motifs, the vintage elements he found in Little India and Chinatown, cultural buildings as well as Singapore’s iconic landmarks Merlion and Gardens by the Bay are reinterpreted into patterned fabrics and wallpapers, ceramic pieces, accessories and stationery.

Valley Arora, a self-taught photographer, loves to explore her city on foot with a camera in her hand. Her favourite images are old elements and motifs of cultural buildings and heritage row houses that encapsulate the diverse cultures and history of this island-state. The photographs are rendered in highly vivid tones and transferred to cushion covers, laptop sleeves, clutches, scarves, serving trays and coasters.

Products by Valley Arora

The 930sqm second floor slated to open in March will be operated by the Textile and Fashion Federation Singapore (Taff). Called the Cocoon Space, it is set to become an incubation space for fashion designers and will feature co-working spaces and resources such as a Makers Studio equipped with professional sewing equipment and a Fabric Library offering a wide selection of textiles.

Taff will also run an incubation programme focused on sustainability, innovation and technology for fashion start-ups from both Singapore and around the region.

The sloping green rooftop is a public space set against the backdrop of Orchard Road.

“The Cocoon Space provides aspiring Singapore designers with shared facilities under one roof, enabling them to testbed and prototype their ideas, and hone their business skills more quickly. Most importantly, we want to work with them to create products that are aligned to industry trends and consumer needs. This is why Taff’s incubation programme will focus on fashion technology and sustainability,” says Alan Yeo, director of retail and design at Enterprise Singapore.

The building’s sloping rooftop with greenery, timber benches and pebble-shaped seats is designed as a multi-function public space surrounded by trees wand with bustling Orchard Road as the backdrop.

GOING NATIVE

Design Orchard at the junction of Orchard and Cairnhill Roads is open daily from 10.30am to 9.30pm.

Visit http://www.DesignOrchard.sg.

Organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and the Tourism Commission, the new light art installations are designed on the theme Love and Romance and showcase 15 works created by local and overseas artists.

Among the new light art installations are “Bunch of Tulips” from Hungary that greets visitors with a colourful bunch of giant LED flowers, and the interactive “Birds Fly Around With You” from Japan that illuminates more bird sculptures as people step into the magic circle.

Alongside are stunning installations by four local artists including “Geometry of Love” inspired by colourful stained glass church windows and reflecting geometric heartshaped patterns on the ground, and “Hello, Stranger”, which when looked at activates 60 seconds of interactive LED lighting and music.

At the Tamar Park in Admiralty, the 50-metre Light Tunnel will be dressed in pink to echo the theme of Love and Romance and display multiple heart shapes to grab the attention of lovers. On top of the new installations, eight popular existing installations, which have been on display from the very beginning of the Festival in November last year, including “Angels of Freedom”, “Talking Heads” and “Tapping”, remain on view.

Part of the “Hong Kong Pulse Light Festival” at the Central and Western District Promenade (Central Section), the installations are lit up every evening from 5 to 11.

Find out details at http://www.DiscoverHongKong.com.

The special airfares are available for customers who purchase tickets from today until February 24 and are valid for outbound travel from Bangkok and Phuket until November 30.

The special return fares for Hong Kong cost Bt6,185 for economy class and Bt13,555 for business; for Vienna, Bt22,880 and Bt90,255, for New York, Bt29,510 and Bt128,935, and for Cairo, Bt25,325 and Bt81,415.

Onboard the spacious A380, Business Class passengers can enjoy flatbed seats, 23-inch HD LCD screens and access to the Onboard Lounge, where passengers can sip cocktails and munch canapes with their travel companions. Economy Class passengers can also enjoy extra legroom, HD touchscreen and inseat power in the custom lit cabin aboard the A380.

In addition, passengers across in all cabins can sit back, relax and enjoy Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment that features up to 3,500 channels of on-demand movies and games. Passengers can also browse through social media and keep uptodate with the latest happenings via the aircraft’s preloaded 20MB of free Wi-Fi data.

For those making a short stopover in Dubai, Emirates passengers travelling through Dubai until March 31 can benefit from My Emirates Pass privileges across participating retail and leisure outlets simply by presenting their boarding pass and a valid form of identification. The offer allows customers to take advantage of fantastic discounts and benefits in more than 500 locations across the UAE, including retail outlets and various leisure activities, spa treatments, fine dining, and more.

The airline has an extensive global network of over 150 destinations across six continents, in 86 countries and territories. Travellers from Thailand can conveniently connect from Bangkok to Emirates’ global destinations via Dubai, using a mix of B777 and A380 aircraft. Currently, Emirates operates 49 weekly flights from Suvarnabhumi Airport, and two daily flights from Phuket to Dubai with a range of schedules available throughout the day. Four of its seven daily flights from Bangkok to Dubai are operated on the iconic A380.

To book flight tickets, visit http://www.Emirates.com/th.