Tourism Authority of Thailand promotes low-carbon Amazing Organic Trip

 The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is promoting a series of 'Amazing Organic Trip' ideas with emphasis on organic farming activities and healthy gourmet experiences as well as low-carbon footprint initiatives, in line with its ongoing direction to promote and develop high-value and sustainable tourism in Thailand.

Hangover 2: Mission Impossible - Travel in Thailand

Oh, and another thing about that movie ...

I notice the lads borrow someone's speedboat and go belting down the much-fabled Chao Phraya River in Bangkok and in about one minute of screen time are suddenly surrounded by the beautiful emerald waters of Krabi with its signature limestone upthrusts.

Attention Hollywood: that is NOT possible!

You see, the Chao Phraya feeds out below BKK into the Gulf of Thailand. A quick glance at a map tells me that is on the opposite side of Thailand's land mass from Phuket, Krabi, etc.

They would then have to go down the length of Thailand, past Hua Hin on the right, Pattaya on the left, past Koh Samui, reach Malaysia's east coast, keep going, chuck a right at the Singapore straits, cut through to Malacca and up the western side of the Malaysian peninsula.

Eventually they would go past Langkawi in north-western Malaysia before reaching again the waters of Thailand around Phuket after around 3,000km of sea travel.

By my SWAG method of estimation (Scientific Wild-Assed Guess) that would take more like 4 or 5 days at quickest, and several petrol stops, meaning the lads would have missed the wedding, jing jing.


Sorry to be so hard on an American B-movie (which I actually enjoyed a lot), but I haven't forgiven Hollywood for it's far-fetched fictional treatment of The Bridge on the River Kwai yet.

There are much quicker ways of getting to beautiful Krabi, of course. You can always fly, or take a car or bus.

And now for something completely indulgent ... a Chiang Mai Spa Tour

I've heard of kidney stones but this is ridiculous ...

Thailand has often been touted as the world’s Spa capital. After all, Thailand nearly invented the whole multi-billion dollar industry as we know it around the world today, and you can barely walk five metres without coming across a spa treatment centre of some sort, especially in Chiang Mai.

Some of the finest spas and wellness retreats are to be found in Chiang Mai, a laid back northern Thai city, and Greg Morling, Spa Indulgence Tours Co-ordinator, has the envious job of seeking them out and taking people to them. 

"Visitors to Thailand can experience a plethora of unique wellness treatments derived from ancient Thai traditions," says Greg, arguing that "the best of the best can be found in Chiang Mai, the pearl of Thailand."

And he should know. 

Greg has had a lengthy involvement with Spa and Wellness 

as a consultant, Salon and Spa owner, practitioner and writer.

"For the Spa and Wellness devotee there are just so many choices in Chiang Mai," he enthuses. "I first came here over 15 years ago and was really taken by the kindness and humility of the Thai people and their healthy, calm approach to life; mai pen rai, which means, don’t get mad, get glad! This attitude permeates everything in Chiang Mai. The serene ambience and spoiling Spa services are really just an extension of the Lanna (Northern Thailand) tradition. I have been here so many times now that Chiang Mai feels like my second home... and I love to come here to Spa!"

This guy is totally passionate, jing jing. 

And now you have the chance to join him on an eight-day Spa Indulgence tour, taking in four of his top selected spas. Talk about indulgence! It's just one spa after another ... there's barely a moment to relax. 

Visit www.spaindulgencetours.com

Fighting breaks out in Pattaya

Just shortly before he punched my lights out. 

I recently blogged about the Fairtex Hotel and Sports Club, where the whiff of liniment and thwack of gloves on body herald the fact that it would not be mistaken for The Ritz any time soon.

As a bunch of wannabes lunged and thrust and kicked and jabbed in the Muay Thai rings around me, one quiet figure stood off to the side, observing. He looked like quite a nice boy, so we got chatting.

Well, chatting's not the right word ...

I started with what I thought was an easy question: "What's your name?" Fair enough, easy right? Well, the delay that ensued before his response allowed me to go off to the men's room. He was still thinking. So I dashed off to grab a cup of coffee. Still thinking. Went for a bite to eat at the cafe. Still thinking.

Eventually, having considered his answer carefully, the answer came: "Lor." Clearly this man had been hit in the head far too many times.

It turns out I was talking with Mana 'Lor' Chaiknansuk, a good looking guy from Chaiyapum who's reached number 2 on the Muay Thai rankings. After 9 years in the sport he reached a peak and dropped off, and is now making an earnest comeback. At the age of 22. There's not an ounce of fat on him; there again he's not as muscular as I think a prizefighter out to be.

Now he's here from 7am each day, running. This is followed by a 2-hour training session from 8-10am and another each afternoon from 3-5. Gee, this guy puts in more hours than the average travel writer, I think to myself, jing jing.

Lor's knee-into-gut move.

"I want to be Thailand champion," he tells me, in a voice which is almost a soft whisper. I've got all day so I decide to ask him a couple more questions to help me get inside the head-space of a kick-ass Muay Thai boxer. I use the term 'head-space' deliberately.

So what does he, um, think, before a fight? Pause. Think. Cogs whirring. Eventually he delivers his wisdom: "Strategies to win it."

He rates his elbow strike and knee into the gut as his lethal weapons. He demonstrates a little too eagerly on me.

So why has he been successful? Clunk, clunk, whirr. Lunch order. Siesta. Set the alarm. Back to ringside to receive his answer. "Determination. Regular practice."

By now I've run out of tape on my recorder and the battery's nearly flat. I sadly have to call this incisive interview to an untimely halt, dashing my chances of a Walkley Award for investigative journalism which Lor's full story would have surely delivered me.

I just hope he doesn't read this -- he'll beat the living daylights out of me.

The only international resort style hotel in Pataya? Wow.

One of three pools: like Goldilocks, one of them's just right

Well, blow me down! When you think of Pattaya you think of ... well, I  mean, you ALSO think of resorts, resorts and more resorts catering to the sun-worshippers flocking to the beaches of its bays.

So you could've knocked me over with a feather when Khun Pat, a senior sales manager at Sheraton Pattaya Resort, fixed me in the eye and said: "We are the only international resort-style property in Pattaya." No, that can't be right ... there's ... there's ... well I guess she is right. "The others are city type."

The Sheraton occupies the headland near that old stalwart the Royal Cliff Resort (now a multi-hotel-cum-exhibition extravaganza called PEACH), so it's a little ways out of town, but shuttle buses run frequently into the guts of town if that's where you'd rather be.

But out here, the views towards Koh Laan are forever on a clear day, watching the flotilla of pleasure boats plying their way towards that island.

Can you hear the tinkle?

A massive chandelier-like wind chime tinkles in the breeze, knocking several valuable points off my blood pressure immediately. And if it needs more reduction, I can hop a golf buggy down to the Amburaya Spa where five different techniques will be applied over an hour and a half, along with English, French and Thai natural products in a super signature called Amburaya Embrace.

There are plenty of wistful touches in this 3-pool resort (like a golfer, I judge a hotel by how many 'holes' it offers, in this case swimming holes or water hazards). The bougainvillea in the receptionists' hair for instance. And the pant-skirts they wear, which look like they have three legs, but they have the grace to carry it off.

Exhibit A: solid door

Solid wooden doors are a feature throughout the resort, and shoulder injuries must be the leading cause of days off work here, as the petite lasses try to open and close guests' doors, and doors to the various outlets such as Elements, Latitude Lounge, Papaya meeting room. Thankfully Infiniti -- their Italian restaurant -- is al fresco with no wooden barricades to barge down.

As for the rooms, cool mint tones soothe like a choc-mint ice-cream on a summer's day, jing jing.


A feeling of airy spaciousness, and a balcony from which to survey the pools, the ocean, and the rest of the resort's villas, which present something half way between traditional Thai and Spanish-Mexican hacienda.

A sophisticated playground atmosphere. But if you've still got work on your plate, Link@Sheraton business centre can sort you out with free internet (or you can pay to play in your room).

So Khun Pat is absolutely right. It is international. It is a resort. And it's the only one like it in Pattaya.

Like the sound of this? Check out www.sheraton.com/pattaya for more

Unbelievable fun in Pattaya

Unbelievable: a family attraction in Pattaya!

So let's say it's raining in Pattaya and you need to kill a couple of hours. Or your sun burn has been diagnosed as blisteringly radio-active and you don't want to go near the beach again -- ever!

Well, you can always slide off to the Tahitian Queen bar as usual. However this is not recommended if it's only 11am and you have the family in tow. So ...

The pilot was later breath-tested

Head for Ripley's Believe It or Not! at Royal Garden Plaza, slap-bang in the middle of Pattaya's increasingly interesting Beach Road. You can't miss it -- it's the building with the big red DC-3 carelessly crash landed on the 3rd floor.

Ripley's is really a 5-in-1 attraction offering the Museum (where you could spend a whole day gawking at the weird and wonderful exhibits), the 4D Moving Theater (billed as 'the wildest simulator ride in the world'), the Infinity Maze (a mesmerizing series of optical mazes and illusions), Haunted Adventure (a ghoulish walk through various nightmarish scenarios with real live actors), and finally, there's Louis Tussaud's waxworks.

The dummy made more sense than the real Becks.

At the latter, you can rub shoulders with Jackie Chan, Will Smith, Posh and Becks, have a laugh with Eddie Murphy, and laugh at Paris Hilton (well, what else are you supposed to do with that bimbo?)

Ripley seemed to have a fascination with two-headed cows (no, not Posh and Becks), three-legged horses and the like. Freakish. He also introduced the western world to the Padaung women with 15" necks, which you now can see any day of the week in hill-tribe villages in Mae Hong Song, jing jing.

But Ripley's childlike fascination with the crazy, the creepy, and the colourful, makes for a very memorable and thoroughly entertaining half day for everyone in the family. And the same can't necessarily be said for Walking Street!

[cue voice-over effect] Believe It or Not ...

For more: see www.ripleysthailand.com

Amazing Thailand amazes with 13% tourism increase

The Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor, Khun Suraphon Svetasreni, amazed a roomful of international media at TTM+ in Bangkok the other day when he unveiled the January-July arrival figures tabulated by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

'Ladies and gentlemen,' he said, fixing the media with a proud smile, 'despite the recent political unrest, arrivals into Thailand have increased by 13.79%'. Jing Jing! Personally, I would've rounded it up to 14%. But still, a great result. Visitors from Australia were up 11.65% to 387, 704 in the period.

Mr Svetasreni also took the opportunity to unveil an evolution of the Amazing Thailand slogan. The new form is Amazing Thailand Always Amazes You.

Whether you're living here, have visited many times, or are a first timer in the Kingdom, that is certainly true.