A taste of the Thai life
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The News Review:
- A taste of the Thai life
- Thai times: Family adventure and fabulous food in Thailand
- Thais scramble to allay tourist fears after recent assaults
- Banyan Tree wins top International Spa Award
- Sun and spa but without the jet lag
- Gulf Times ‘” Qatar’s top-selling English daily newspaper – Philippines…
A taste of the Thai life
NEWS.com.au – Mar 23, 2008
In fact you’ll be pounding at fresh spices with all the expertise of a Thai grandmother and amazing your friends back home with your culinary expertise. Thai food is by no means unfamiliar to Australians but focus on the culinary side of Bangkok on your next visit and you’ll discover a whole new dimension to this wonderful cuisine. Thai cooking courses are becoming increasingly popular with some of the best hotels and restaurants now offering an excellent range of cookery lessons. Typically courses run throughout the morning and the results are then eaten for lunch leaving the afternoons free for sightseeing and shopping. Do some research before you sign up to one since they can differ in content and style. Some offer hands-on experience while others are of the watch-and-learn variety. Some give a broad overview of Thai ingredients and cooking principles while others focus only on producing a modest number of signature dishes.
Thai times: Family adventure and fabulous food in Thailand
CRegister – Mar 23, 2008
h why didn’t I go on a diet before I came?If I fall off I will be plunged to the rocks below fracturing my skull. And we’re at least a three-hour drive from the nearest hospital. When I said I wanted to go elephant trekking in Thailand I was thinking it would be a sedate little walk like the pictures of Queen Victoria in India. A photo opportunity at the county fair. Not this wild ride up and down a jungle waterfall. I am too busy being terrified for myself to see what has happened to my kids who are on the elephant in front of me. I guess they’re still alive or our caravan would have stopped by now to mop up the bloody remains… I went to Thailand with my two kids ages 8 and 10 along with three girlfriends. We spent three days in Bangkok shopping and getting over our jet lag riding the skytrain and taking the boats up the Chao Praya River to visit ancient canals and the Grand Palace where immense gold-covered demon statues guard the palace complex. I reluctantly stayed back at the hotel with the kids while my friends headed off to take a look at Patpong Bangkok’s famed red-light district. They found a street lit up like Las Vegas where flashing neon signs like those at Soi Cowboy attract aging paunchy white males who want to whoop it up with bar girls dressed like teenage cheerleaders. Some of them hire “girlfriends” for a week or weekend selecting beautiful Thai women or “ladyboy” transvestites. n New Year’s Eve we boarded a sleeper train south heading down to Thailand’s long geographic tail which culminates at the border with Malaysia. Though Thailand is officially a Buddhist country and has many Muslims it celebrates the new year on Jan.
Thais scramble to allay tourist fears after recent assaults
International Herald Tribune – Mar 23, 2008
After each of these blows tourism has recovered and resumed its growth. But two continuing problems have drawn travel warnings from foreign governments: a violent Muslim separatist insurgency in the southern provinces and the danger of violent crime and sexual assault. n Tuesday the State Department urged Americans to postpone travel to southern Thailand after a bomb attack on a hotel that is popular with foreigners. Two people were killed and 14 wounded. The travel warnings about assaults address themselves particularly to women. “We continue to receive reports of sexual offenses committed against foreign women and men” the British Embassy warns on its Web site. “Female travelers in particular should maintain a high state of personal awareness during their time in Thailand.
Banyan Tree wins top International Spa Award
ameinfo.com – Mar 23, 2008
‘ne of the main points highlighted by the jury for the Banyan Tree’s success is its approach of caring for the whole being. All spa therapists at the Banyan Tree are trained at the Banyan Tree Academy in Phuket Thailand. The Academy is recognized by the Thai Ministry for Education and Health and all therapists undergo a course that includes theory and practical sessions as well as an induction to the Banyan Tree values to ensure all team members match up to the high quality standards set by Banyan Tree. The Gala Spa Awards is now in its 12th year. Each year the jury receives hundreds of entries from around the world in seven different categories. The Awards dinner was attended by more than 300 people including celebrities and representatives from the spa hotel and cosmetic industry.
Sun and spa but without the jet lag
Guardian Unlimited – Mar 23, 2008
My skin is the colour of whey and I’m feeling distinctly below par. Drastic measures are called for. I scan the internet and gaze at websites of spas in Thailand and the Indian cean promising ‘rejuvenation’ with pictures of women in white linen pyjamas sitting in the lotus position. But I’ve only got a week and quite frankly I think the 11-hour flight and ensuing jet lag might be counterproductive to my quest for rejuvenation. I call Wellbeing Escapes who specialise in booking spa holidays and ask them to suggest somewhere which will deliver some sunshine and serenity without the need to travel to another hemisphere. They know just the place: the Sheraton Salobre a swish new resort which opened last year on Gran Canaria a mere four-hour flight away. It would cost me £800 to fly to the Indian cean at such short notice but I can pick up a flight to the Canaries departing the next week with BA for £80… It’s grey and blustery so we take refuge in the ‘Aloe Spa’ where I’ve booked in for a body scrub and reiki session. The spa is named after the aloe vera plants which grow all over the island and are used in several of the treatments. Unlike the rest of the hotel it’s small and intimate with low lighting trickling water features and strategically placed pebbles. The therapist arrives to show me to the treatment room. The first thing I notice is that she has a beard. The second thing I notice is that she’s a man. I can’t wear a paper thong in front of a man! But Jorge has seen it all before and as he starts to slough off the top layer of my epidermis I relax confident that I am in the hands of a pro.
Gulf Times ‘” Qatar’s top-selling English daily newspaper – Philippines…
Gulf Times – Mar 23, 2008
The MP told the Nation newspaper that he was alarmed by comments on a website sympathetic to the separatists that claimed up to 40 suicide bombers had been prepared for attacks. The Thai army has recently claimed a number of successes in tracking down suspects and cracking terrorist cells although the drum beat of killing and explosions continues. The terrorists exploded two car bombs in recent days one against a prominent local hotel favoured by the military which Thai intelligence officials said was a new tactic. Critics of the new Thai government widely believed to be backed by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra have complained that it has no fresh ideas to solve the bitter conflict. May observers blame Thaksin for throwing fuel on local grievances by encouraging the security forces to use muscle rather than subtlety in trying to pacify the region.