Go Asia says Go Thailand

At the ITB travel show in Berlin recently, the travel industry cast their votes for their top picks around Asia in the Go Asia 2011 Awards.

The results [drum roll please] were as follows:

Most popular destination in Asia

1. Thailand 

Best Airline in Asia

2. Bangkok Airways 

Best Tourism Office in Germany from Asia

1. Thailand 

Best Hotel in Asia

1. Siam @ Siam Design Hotel & Spa, Bangkok (Thailand)
3. Anantara Phuket Villas, Phuket (Thailand)

I guess this means even more oversized Germans in undersized swimming costumes promenading on the Thai beaches, jing jing. 

But danke schoen anyway ...

More about Go Asia: www.goasia.de

Good news on travel to Thailand ...

The Prime Minister chose to wear his floral tie ...

Good news seems to be flowing thick and fast out of Thailand again ...

I spent today sitting in the e-ASEAN eTravel Forum and have come away with some inspiring news about tourism in the Kingdom to share:

Prime Minister Abhisit told the assembled mass of regional tourism luminaries, hoteliers, and freelance travel hacks looking to freeload another buffet lunch (hey, hold on, I resemble that remark), that Thailand tourism is kicking in 7% of the country's GDP, and -- whereas around 15 million visitors came to Thailand last year -- this year they are expecting more like 17 million. Jing Jing. Pop the champagne and tap the keg!

"With tourism we're able to bring people together in friendship," he told me over a quiet cup of tea in the corner, adding that Thailand is moving in a much 'greener' direction overall. With that, I had to excuse myself, apologising that I had many other things to cover this morning even if his schedule was rather free ...

Khun Apichai of the Tourism Technology Association built on the same positive theme: "At ITB 2011, the World Tourism Council released a research paper which ranked Thailand #5 in the world in tourism growth prospects or the next 10 years." Another body (sorry, I wasn't paying 100% attention, dear readers!) ranked Thailand #4 in global growth potential.

And Thailand hopes to make a LOT of new friends when it bids for World Expo 2020.

Etc etc. And, well, what do you know, it's lunchtime already. Sorry got to rush off and beat the buffet queue
...



Are you surprised by the bullish growth projections above? 
More on travelling to Thailand: www.thailandtourism.org

Aaaah ... a bit of romance in Pattaya

Roses are so cliched. Nothing says Valentine's Day quite like a hosepipe up the bum!
Rasayana Spa, Pattaya (photo: Stu Lloyd)

Latest health news from Thailand ...

100% orijinal. Wanna buy a vowel?   (Bangkok street market)

Forget the gym -- Smoke your way to a healthier life! It's amazing what technology can do. (Pattaya street market)

Blood, sweat and beers at Fairtex Pattaya Sport Club and Hotel.

Many hotels wish they could treat their guests like this.

You hear it long before you see it. In fact, you smell it too before you see it. The pounding of leather gloves on body or protective pads. And the astringent whiff of liniment rubbed into aching muscles.

Following your ears and your nose leads you to the Fairtex Muay Thai Boxing ring, where the morning training session is on and a motley assortment of tattooed locals and foreigners is beating the tripe out of each other. Knees rise into guts. Sweat beads fly as a head flicks back. Groans of effort. Moans of pain. Then rrrrrrrrriiinnngggg -- the digital buzzer signals four minutes is up, and the 20 or so belligerents ease up for a quick swig of a drink and draw their breath.

I must admit there are more genteel welcomes to hotels, involving iced towels, and damsels on bended knees proferring frozen lemongrass drinks, but Fairtex Hotel and Sports Camp is not your average hotel.

It was built on the back of blood, sweat and tears by Khun Jong, founder of the Fairtex sportswear label, himself a former boxing promoter-turned-squillionaire who used to get around in a massive Chicago-pimp-style gas-guzzler, which is still parked under this hotel.

It's actually a quiet place.

Pompous touches are evident everywhere, from overstuffed animal skin couches that would make Louis X1V feel inadequate, to glass banisters, and carved-glass fittings in the reception, although it's overall a mid-class family resort hotel in a faux ancient Thai-brick setting. Rooms range from barracks (10 to a dorm) to 65m deluxe suites.

If you're keen to knock yourself into shape (or be knocked into shape more likely!) Fairtex is the place. Sign up for just one day, or a month like many, and enjoy an hour of boxing each morning and afternoon, plus badminton, pool, tennis, basketball, bicycle spinning, gym and table tennis. All this from just 2400 baht per day (about $80).

This camp has produced a number of champions, including Yod Sanklai and Naruepol. Plus Mana 'Lor' Chaiknansuk, who reached number 2 (see next blog for his fighting story).

Then the buzzer rings again and it's action stations. All around, the explosive percussion of thudding leather. Rhythmically at first, then building to a rousing climax as the bell nears. Not a ripple of flab anywhere, jing jing.

And this was the moment I discovered I am a wimp. Having done several years of high-grade karate, I declined with thanks when one of the grinning instructors beckoned me to join him in the ring (the last time I was asked to join anyone in the ring was at Mardi Gras, but that's another story. For the record I declined then, too.)

An instructor getting kicked in the ring

I just couldn't see me soaking up that amount of punishment. Elbows, and kicks, and jabs, and knees. Forgeddaboutit!!! He feels my bicep and laughs. Ouch, that really hurt. The laugh I mean. Jing jing!


On balance, I think I'll settle for a game of badminton. Mind you, those feathers can hurt a bit too.


Glutton for punishment? Click on www.fairtexhotel.com

DusitD2 Baraquda Pattaya: a new wave hotel

Check out the check-in bar area. 

Every hotel boasts of their warm welcome. Here's one that prides itself on a cold welcome ...

I like a place that calls its reception area the 'check-in bar' and immediately proceeds to hand you a drinks list and invites you to choose your welcome drink. None of this namby-pamby lemongrass punch stuff -- ANYTHING you like off the bar list, sir.

Right-o, make mine a Cuba Libre. And my friend will have a Vodka Screwdriver, jing jing.


My cheeky request for a double is derisively dismissed, as it should be. Such is the easy and friendly tone of this D2 resort, part of the funky Dusit spin-off franchise.

You immediately feel as though you've got the sand between your toes here, and you're about to built a giant sand castle that no wave could ever knock over. The team is dressed in casual creams and blues, the walls are all wavy, and out there is what they call 'Thailand's sexiest swimming pool'. (OK, so the PR team's been at the Vodka Screwdrivers, too!)

The Gods must be crazy ...

Their restaurant is like an Asian tribute to Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein with huge explosions of Oriental pop-art bursting all the way up to the ceiling. As fun and fresh as their breakfast selection.

Pressing the flesh ...

The rooms are like my favourite swimsuits: one-piece. Open the door and it's all there before you -- bathroom  in a curved glass panel to the left, smart work desk ahead, big comfy bed behind that, with one wall just about all mirrors for that extra feeling of spaciousness and whatever your imagination might conjure up. Which brings us the the tempting Desires button on the telephone ...

But while many couples may well lose themselves in the room, D2's location puts you right in the throbbing heart of Pattaya. Cross the road and you'll be enjoying happy hour with the lads at Bodega Bar (never mind the facial tattoos, he's quite a nice boy, really!). Or 50 metres down, there's Dicey Reilly's Irish pub (one of at least 1000 Irish pubs and bars in Pattaya, conservatively speaking). And the beach is at the bottom of that block, oh a couple of hundred metres down. And Walking Street.

Bottom line: I would give this D2 an A1 grade (as have several renowned magazines and travel awards). And that's not just the rum talking.

Ever experienced a more fun check in somewhere?


Want more? See www.dusit.com

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