Bangkok’s buzz wins corporate visitors

Bangkok’s buzz wins corporate visitors
Terri Roamer

Corporate visitors give Bangkok entertainment scene the thumbs up.

No one really talks about it, but every week Bangkok’s top-ranked hotels play host to hundreds of corporate seminars and meetings.

Rain or shine, corporate delegates, mainly in their 20s or 30s, head for the Thai capital for presentations, sales pitches and seminars designed to motivate Asia/Pacific marketing and business development teams.
If they could cast a vote for their favourite meeting city, the bets would stack up for Bangkok to beat its competition by a considerable distance.

Corporations recognise Bangkok’s pull and when its competitive hotel prices are dropped into mix, it’s a hard act to beat.

An executive working for an international corporation in technology estimated the company organised around 10 seminars monthly and as long as Bangkok’s political environment remained stable it was the first choice ahead of Kuala Lumpur.

Hoteliers might be tempted to point to their facilities, meeting packages and their five-star service as the main reasons for success. They have a point the city’s hotels are as fine as they get and the rates a steal. But there is much more to Bangkok’s magnetism that helps to make this city one of the most popular venues for corporate meetings. It has a buzz to its lifestyle and entertainment.

For example, Bangkok scores high points in surveys that tap the opinions of expatriates on the most liveable capital cities in Asia/Pacific. They are attracted to the city’s vibrant lifestyle.

A recent Mastercard survey measuring travel trends suggested Bangkok will close this year as the third most popular city for travel after London and New York. It will top the charts of Asia Pacific cities with an estimated 12.2 million trips worth an annual spend of around US$19.3 billion.

In a word Bangkok has buzz. Corporations might demand delegates’ full attention during the seminar, but Bangkok’s versatile entertainment scene grabs their attention after the sun sets. That’s good for business and encourages a positive environment for a seminar and happy delegates.

New generation entertainment is right there at the top rather than jaded bar lands that attracted the crowds in the 80s and 90s and gave the capital’s night life a negative image.

Today, the choice is more likely to be a street of chic restaurants, spas, wine bars and late-night drinking spots with rock bands than the jaded bar strips of Patpong, Soi Cowboy and Soi Nana.

On the golden mile of Sukhumvit Road’s five-star hotels, Soi 11 is referred to the as the new entertainment hub. Like most trends in Bangkok it was not planned by city authorities, or real estate developers. It evolved, slowly hardly warranting a mention.

Once the corporate meetings close, the second phase of networking begins in wine bars and chic restaurants. There are some unusual choices – a tapas bar in Soi 11 that has a comprehensive wine list at reasonable prices. Then there is a Peruvian restaurant and bar at a location called Above 11, which reflects the trend to create roof-top bars, where you can spend the cocktail hour enjoying the view of the busy tourist district below. Another roof-top venue is the Nest on Phoenix. The soi is packed with boutique hotels, spas, garden restaurants, a few quaint open-air Thai bars and even a teak house offering home-stay accommodation.

Skytrain accessibility transformed Sukhumvit and its small lanes into one of the most vibrant entertainment and shopping districts in the city. Hop on, hop off, the Skytrain you can be at your favourite pre-dinner bar venue in minutes and with little or no fuss transfer in minutes to a classy spot for dinner that would have taken 40 minutes on traffic congested streets pre-Skytrain era.  

For most visiting young and energetic corporate visitors, Soi 11 remains the most popular place to be, or that is how it is described by gurus of the night scene.

Here are tips from those who do the ground work, live in the area and are drawn to a chic or fun entertainment scene designed for international corporate travellers.

Cheap Charley’s (cheapest beer outside of a 7-Eleven store) is a fun place to meet before going out, while the hot bar on Soi 11 these days is Oskar. Q Bar is still the reigning nightclub as it underwent a makeover about a year ago and is more popular than ever.

Bed Supper Club gains mixed reviews. It is still popular mainly on the back of media reports written during its hey-day, but it is faces plenty of competition.

That doesn't mean people don't go there, but it tends to be people who don't know where else to go or they are relying on yesterday’s recommendations. Several new clubs are under construction on Soi 11 as well, which is yet another sign that the district’s potential for partying has not tipped the brim.

Thonglor (Soi 55) district, further up Sukhumvit beyond the Emporium, has always been popular with Thais, but is now catching the attention of expatriates and corporate visitors.

Entertainment gurus tell me that “low key” people spend time at Fat Gut'z and Funky Villa, Demo and Muse all considered popular clubs. RCA is anther zone that is great for the younger (under 25) crowd with rock and heavy metal bands entertaining at a variety of locations. Route 66 comes highly recommended.

There are a few other fringe places such as Glow, but they tend to be a bit out of the way for people so they only get good attendance when there is a particularly good DJ or theme party.

BK Magazine is still the best way to keep up with what's happening. Despite an overload of web sites, Facebook pages and e-mail lists, BK tends to hit the spot with its recommendations.

There are quieter more sedate options depending on your mood.

Patravadi Theatre & Studio 9 comes highly recommended by reviewers who claim visitors will experience the best modern dance performances in Bangkok.

Established by actress Patravadi Mejudhon,  the open-air theatre and studio is credited for its fusion of Thai and Western dance styles. It’s a little pricy at US$13 a ticket, but worth it in sheer entertainment value.

Not my cup of tea, but Bangkok Opera is growing in reputation according to the popular tourist guide, Bangkok 101 magazine. It is credited with being Thailand’s first European-style opera, fusing Western styles with Thai stories. Tickets from US$16. The venue is at Baan Ruamjit, Sukhumvit Soi 22.

Definitely my first choice, the classical art of Thai puppet theatre has been mastered by the now famous Joe Louis troupe, which is about to move to a new permanent home at Asiatique, a brand new waterside entertainment complex, just beyond Ramada Riverside Hotel (former Menam). The Joe Louis Theatre will be the main cultural entertainment feature of the waterside venue late September.

Siam Opera opened in 2008 and fuses traditional Thai dance to opera with symphony and musicals. Close to the Skytrain the venue is located in the popular Siam Paragon Shopping Complex.

Following the footsteps of Mae Fah Luang

Following the footsteps of Mae Fah Luang

Terri Roamer


A fascinating historical tour traces a trail from a humble dwelling in Bangkok to a hilltop royal villa in Chiang Rai.

History inspires and Thailand’s long and colourful pageantry of events as well as its cultural evolution spanning more than 1,000 years will inspire today’s travellers.

Granted, most tourists head for popular beach resorts to chill out, but for visitors seeking the real Thailand, the journey of discovery unfolds on a variety of heritage trails that begin in the Thai capital and head and northeast of the Thai capital.

Modern history inspires me, possibly because many of the characters who play lead roles are still alive, or if they have passed on their images and impact on society remain fresh in our minds.
We have seen them, witnessed their work so the accounts of historians can be weighed and balanced with what we have experienced.

Thailand is steeped in ancient history reflected in the early adoption of Buddhism, visible in its magnificent temples. There are cities such as Sukhothai where monuments pay tribute to the first written text of the land, or the golden era that marked the first trade encounters with the west evident in the ruins of gilded palaces and temples of Ayutthaya.

But I am on the Thonburi side of the Thai capital in a small garden close to the bustling boat traffic on the Chao Phraya River intent on discovering more of an inspirational story of a mother who changed and impacted the lives of millions of Thais.

She was the mother of two Thai kings, Rama VIII and Rama IX, but born a commoner. She lived as child in a simple wooden terraced house almost in earshot of where I am standing.

Yes the life and times of the Princess Mother fascinates me. It has the trimmings of a fairy tale; the touches of romance and most significantly changed the country’s destiny in turbulent modern times.

You could say the small museum tucked away on the Thonburi side of the river is one of those hidden treasures of Thailand. It hardly gains a mention in guide books and is visited by just a few tourists.

But it can mark the start of a fascinating journey north in the footsteps of the Princess Mother who was affectionately named Mae Fah Luang by the ethnic minority groups of the far north.

The journey starts here in the gardens of the museum where visitors can study a replica of the wooden house that the Princess Mother lived in when she was a child.

The museum park, shaded by a canopy of majestic trees, is an oasis of calm just metres away from Klong San district’s busy lanes and streets.

The Princess Mother Memorial Park was built in 1993 on instructions of  HM the King who wanted to build a museum with a replica of the “old house” where his mother (Princess Srinagarindra) lived when she was young.

The actual house where she lived, in a lane just 200 metres from the museum, has long been demolished to make way for progress, leaving just a couple of wooden single story houses. We could imagine the Princess Mother dwelled in one of those simple homes, but the replica house at the museum provides a more accurate rendering of living conditions.

The museum, itself, has two distinct buildings that should be admired for their construction and use of teak wood.

The first exhibition hall concentrates on the Princess Mother’s early life including pictures and models of her residences and particularly the modest house where she resided during her childhood.

It also tells the story of the park that used to be a residence of Chao Phraya Sriphiaphat (Pae Bunnag). It was purchased by the Indian migrant trader, Ibrahim Nana, who built a family mansion that was close to his riverside godown. Later, the Nana family donated the mansion and land to His Majesty the King who converted the property into the Princess Mother Memorial Park as a museum and community centre.

The second hall illustrates the various projects initiated and nurtured by  “Som Dej Yah”  the affectionate title used by most Thais when speaking of the Princess Mother.

The hall has a sense of home rather than a museum with wooden floors and stout teak window frames and shutters.

Here most of the exhibits are household items or reflect the hobbies or interests of Princess Srinagarindra.
A pair of wooden skis she used when living in Switzerland drew my attention. Compared with the carbon sleek skis of today, there is nothing much in common, except for the general shape. Yet, they reflect a beauty of handcrafted wood and a priceless craftsmanship.

As the journey continues through the museum, you gain insights into the driving force that gave the Mahidol family its inspiration and gave this land the greatest monarch of all time.

The museum is small and unassuming but its simplicity gains our attention and gently leads us to an understanding of the life and times of a remarkable woman.

While concentrating on her life and role of royal mother, the museum introduces her tireless work improving the livelihood of ethnic minority groups in North Thailand.

They have now turned into worthy case studies for others to emulate and continue to serve communities throughout far-north Thailand.

The best known projects are the Princess Mother's Medical Volunteer Foundation and Doi Tung Development project in Chiang Rai province. But there are a host of other projects that she cared for that still brings benefits to rural communities.

Ironically, very few tourists visit the museum even though entrance is free and it is conveniently located just a short ferry ride from riverside hotels.

The park’s curator explained there are no buses parked at the gates, just a handful of mountain bikes as nearly all international visitors who bother to make the journey are on cycle tours. They follow the paths and alleys along the banks of the river and stop at the museum before boarding a boat to continue their trip further upstream.

I noticed the cycles propped against the park’s railings and a small group of Dutch cyclists sipping freshly ground coffee sold at the museum’s shop. Brewed from Doi Tung coffee beans, the aroma tempted me to order an espresso.

Sitting on a park bench under the shade of the trees I could hear the river boats speeding upstream carrying tourists on a journey that will take them to the Ayutthaya’s ancient ruins some 70 km away.

I decided on a different historical tour. I would journey much further to the northern most province of Chiang Rai, to see for myself the remarkable achievements of Mae Fah Luang.

It is simple enough. I will take the daily flight to Mae Fah Luang International Airport just 10 km north of Chiang Rai, to trace the life of this remarkable mother from a humble wooden house in Thonburi to a royal villa on the 1,000 metre high peak of Doi Tung.

It will also involve a visit to the Mae Fah Luang Arts and Cultural Park, a parkland in the heart of Chiang Rai town that was the home-base back in 1972 for royal projects that helped to educate and raise living standards for the hill tribes. Today, it serves as a beacon of Lanna, or northern Thailand heritage.

From there, my impromptu tour will take the main highway north for 60 km to a mountain road that leads to Doi Tung a project started in 1988.

Here the Princess Mother lived in a simple villa surrounded by gardens and plantations that pioneered temperate climate flower and fruit cultivation for the hill tribes. Her work ended decades of reliance on opium growing and reforested an entire mountain.

Doi Tung has all the attributes of an attractive sightseeing venue. There are panoramic views of the mountains, flowers, great coffee and a balmy temperate climate year-round, quite a remarkable change for most tourists.

But I intend to take time out from the coffee and cake and visit the Hall of Inspiration, a museum on a mountain top that pays tribute to the Mahidol family. Here I can fill in the gaps in the life and times of the Princess Mother learning from the exhibits how this remarkable woman taught her family the joy of serving and maintaining balance. By example, she sowed the seeds that inspired the Mahidol family to serve the nation laying the foundation for HM the King’s sustainable economy principles that have since shaped the nation.

History can be inspirational and travel too if it brings the pages of history alive to enlighten and broaden our understanding. We just need to step out and see for ourselves what makes Thailand truly amazing.

Amazing Thailand Grand Sale: Shopping made simple

Shop to you drop comes with a 20 to 80% bonus during the annual grand sale.

Terri Roamer

Shopping is not my forte. I flounder when shop assistants start to explain how I can gain an additional 3% discount. They take out a calculator tap in a few figures and proudly show me how much I would save if I spent considerably more than I anticipated when I entered the department store.

Alternatively, they might educate me in the complicated process of gaining an even bigger discount if I bother to trek across the department store’s floor, as far as the eye can see, to a tiny counter to redeem points. Yes, I have thousands of points and I am still wondering how to spend them.

It took me years to work out that I had amassed a small fortune in points on a Bangkok department store’s card so I should have been the most popular person to invite on a shopping expedition.

‘Wow, I didn’t realise you had so many points, you have got a small fortune” my daughter told me over coffee. “We could spend that on a host of goodies.”

Suddenly, I feel more popular, but I am wary.

The logic sails right over my head. Is there anything handed to you on a silver platter? There are no gifts just opportunities to draw you in the shopping web to spend more.

“But there’s a 20% discount on designated items, my daughter explains. “ You cannot lose. Think how much it would have cost us if we had no points at all.”

It all sounds complicated. Whatever happened to the simple clearance sales?  Everything has to go, 50% off, points or no points. When the shop was emptied, the owner pulled the shutters down for the last time.

Granted I am the world’s worst shopper, but my enthusiasm always peaks when Thailand announces the imminent arrival of its annual Amazing Grand Sale.  

Frankly, shopping should be simple and that is why, mid-June through to the end of August, I buy all my Christmas and New Year presents at the Grand Sale.

 I can get my head around signs that boldly announce a straightforward 20 to 80%, with minimum small print conditions and there is comfort in knowing Thailand’s Amazing Grand Sale has been a calendar event for 14 years.

Covering all the top tourist destinations in the country, the sale is just the ticket to clear all my New Year shopping in one swoop and minimise the fiscal stress on my wallet by half.  Yes, the promise of 80% off is tempting, but the bottom line is I am a happy shopper if I can tot up all the purchases and there is a net saving of 50%.

No, I am not the original Scrooge berating celebrations or festivals as pure humbug.  I just plan all my shopping for birthdays and New Year without waiting for malls to play the Jingle Bells ditty as a reminder there only 30 shopping days to Christmas.

Having concluded all my gift shopping during the annual Grand Sale, I turn into a retailer’s worst nightmare; a couch shopper or window gazer in the run-up to New Year.

I am not alone. There are thousands of visitors who head to Thailand with empty suitcases on the outward trip, July and August.  The suitcases quickly fill up with goodies bought at Grand Sale venues in the capital or resort destinations.  You can see the happy shoppers trying to check-in for homebound flights weighed down with slim TVs or the latest in golf clubs.

A study on the Indian travel market to Thailand released by Kasikorn Research Centre, earlier this month, noted that Indian travellers love to shop in Thailand and right at the top of their wish list are televisions, cameras and electronic gadgets.

I had never considered TVs as a shopping item when on holiday. However, fuelled by the bank’s research I read up on what is cool in the TV market and discovered all the top brands make their finest TVs right here in Thailand.

So, I put a TV on the top of my Grand Sale shopping list noting in the margin it was for me and not the mother-in-law.

True to form, the Grand Sale discounts on slim smart and desirable TVs were as good as they get at my favourite downtown department store that flags Amazing Thailand Grand Sale bargains.

There were a couple of Indian tourists eyeing a slim, sexy TV to my right so I pretended I was interested in the washing machine to put them off the scent.

As soon as they wandered off to the home theatres section, I moved in, pointed at the slim 32-inch screen and asked, “What’s the discount.”

I had to buy it although I fear the TV is far too smart and if I ever graduate from the manual to experience the wonders of internet TV, it will be a miracle.

But miracles happen in Miracle Year here in Thailand and one of them prompted me to slap down my credit card and walk away with a slim TV tucked under my arm.

It was as light as feather. Then it struck me. The bank was right after all. An Indian tourist could stick this slim-as-a-wafer gadget under their arm and walk it on to a plane as carry- on luggage.

I don’t play golf, but close friends do, which means I need to send them a set of golf balls or wad of discount coupons for Thailand’s top golf courses to ensure they pop over from Europe for their Christmas holidays.

My golf shopping always focuses on Thaniya Plaza. This little Mecca for Japanese businessmen in the heart of Bangkok’s  Silom Road district is packed with golf shops.

Actually, the shops spill over into the mall’s aisles due to the sheer volume of goods and gadgets all related to the world’s top sport.

Japanese golfers know this small stretch of Bangkok is the nearest spot on God’s good earth to paradise. They can sip a chilled beer at a Japanese bar and watch sumo wrestling on TV. It is almost compulsory to pop-by a golf shop during the advertising break to check out the bargains.  Do they ever get home, or to their hotel, without buying something to improve their game?  I doubt it.

That’s it; the attraction of shopping in Thailand is the mesmerising variety and the sheer weight of the bargains, plus the fact come July and August, the annual Amazing Thailand Grand Sale is moving  forward at full pelt at stores right on your doorstep at all resort destination in the kingdom.  

Thailand’s grand sale covers a vast range of shops, department stores and handicraft enterprises under OTOP (One Tambon One Product) in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Samui Island, Hat Yai, and Phuket. 

This year, will see the organisers the Tourism Authority of Thailand branching out into the so-called flea markets and wholesale markets such as Bangkok’s MBK and Platinum Mall previously not included in the initiative.

At participating department stores, markets, or OTOP outlets, the discounts can reach as much as 80%, while for every Bt500 spent in cash, shoppers gain a coupon (two if a VISA card is used).

The icing on the cake for foreigner tourists is the chance to win the lucky-draw of a “Miracle 30 Day in Thailand” holiday with every coupon going into the hat.

Well that is getting complicated, possibly because Grand Sale partner Visa Card’s marketing gurus need to create new layers of enticement to tempt us to shop until we drop. I can usually walk out of the shop before the fateful drop.

However, it can be challenging packed to the gills with New Year gifts with just my nose showing above a pyramid of gift-wrapped boxes.  Yes, they throw the gift-wrap service in for free even during the Grand Sale.

Green is good on the wallet
Thailand’s  green season rings in some amazing discounts

Terri Roamer

You could argue that travel marketers have been tinkering with the weather when they tell us we are heading at high speed towards the “green season.”

“What’s that,” you might ask, wondering if colour coding is in place to steer us comfortably through the seasons. Colour coding the weather might give us “amber” for Thailand’s hot season and possibly a smudging of sky blue for the cool season to encourage us to don a light jacket in the evenings.

But as much as we like to whine at the marketing savvy of travel professionals, we should recognise that renaming the rainy season green brought with it some benefits that lighten the load on the traveller’s wallet.
As long they described the damp journey through June to October as rainy it conjured up images of incessant and destructive monsoon storms, the kind that appear to have no end in sight other than to soak you to the skin and float you to the sea for good measure.

So we are entering the green season. Cynics will point to the clouds and say why bother it will rain whatever you call it and that is why the landscape is a lush deep green.

They have a point, but we are not going to worry about the ominous grey clouds. Armed with our umbrellas we will strike out into the green season to hone our golf game at remarkable discounts.
There are far more golfers than we might assume and  they head for Thailand’s shores whatever the weather, or season, but there is nothing like a down-to-earth discount to shake off even the most reluctant raindrops of doubts.

There are more discounts amassed in Thailand during the green season than you could ever imagine, but the ones related to golf are possibly the most impressive.

That’s because golf is really a year-round game, but it might take a few price incentives to tempt your average golfer to play through the so-called green season.

Rain or shine, the focus is on Thailand’s oldest beach destination, Hua Hin, which has slowly emerged, since the early1900s, into a world-class golf destination with 10 competition rated courses all within a few kilometres of beachside hotels.

World-class might sound costly, but not if you accept the invitation to tee-off during the green season when Hua Hin and neighbouring Cha-am host the annual two-month long Golf Festival.

We can chatter all we wish about green this and green that, but when the focus is on striking that little white ball as far as the eye can see, there is nothing like a fantastic deal on green fees and a discount rate at your favourite hotel to lift your game.

The annual Golf Festival targets golfers residing in Asia and based on past festivals the trend is for two to three days’ golfing, usually over long weekends. Groups of three to five golfers travel from Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan or Hong Kong to capitalize on the discounts. Informal clubs of expatriate golfers travel from Hong Kong for their annual friendly competitions.

Does it rain? Sure it does, but it hardly matters to golfers who have the protection of huge umbrellas and the comfort of golf carts to take them between the holes.

If a storm blows in from the Gulf of Thailand they repair to the nearest watering station to quaff chilled beer and flirt with the caddies. Usually by the second glass a sunny halo penetrate the clouds to signal play can resume.

The green season golf festival runs for the entire months of August to September at 10 golf courses and involves 25 participating hotels that agreed to a single rate based on their star-category. Green fees are pegged at Bt800 per round excluding caddy and golf cart fees at all the courses.

Golf is packaged with hotel rates, around 50% off peak season quotes. There are two rate categories set at Bt990 and Bt1,990 for single night’s accommodation including breakfast for two ( Sunday to Thursday).
It has to be a winning combination as 25 hotels eagerly signed up for the festival deal. Depending on their star-rating they either fall into the Bt990 or Bt1,990 category.

Check carefully as many of the Bt990 hotels offer great value at beach locations and offer service levels far beyond what you would expect for the rate.

If the family tags along some of the Bt1,990 hotels will offer more services tuned to families, perhaps a larger swimming pool and garden and the luxury of onsite spas.

There are 10 participating golf courses all offering a round at Bt800. They are: Eagle Milford Golf Club; Royal Thai Army Sports Centre Suan Son Pradipat Golf Course; Imperial Lake View Resort & Golf Club; Majestic Creek Golf & Resort; Sawang Resort & Golf Club; Kaeng Krachan Country Club & Resort; Springfield Royal Country Club; Palm Hills Golf & Residence; Banyan Golf Club and Royal Hua Hin Golf Course.

If there was no other green season bargains out there I would reckon the Golf Festival has the rates and track record to carry the season. Yet there is more to green season travel as destinations across the country including Bangkok are offering special rates.

Serious weather watchers should note that further south, Samui Island, on the Gulf of Thailand, escapes the brunt of green season rain mid-May to August, while Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea faces strong southwest winds and driving rain all the way to October when the winds shift and west coast bays are once more as tranquil as a lake.

In contrast, the rainy season on Samui starts in earnest mid-September and continues to late December, when it is possible to gain rate incentives.

Green season discounts on Phuket Island may not be as attractive as other beach destinations, but they are usually good enough to cut the cost of accommodation by Bt1,000 a night in three to four-star resorts.
There are other advantages such as the open spaces on beaches, the surplus of deck chairs, fewer people in entertainment spots and shopping malls. There is even enough sunshine in the day to top up a sun tan.
When the daily monsoon clouds drift in usually at the same time of the day, they bring a refreshing break with cooler temperatures.

Even the torrential rain storms have an appeal for some visitors mainly from dry region countries in the Middle East. The monsoon squalls sweep in from the Andaman Sea reducing visibility to just a few metres. Sheets of rain smack the surface of the water moving inland over the sand dunes, bending palm trees and rattling roof tiles on shops and beachside restaurants. As quickly as the storm sweeps across the wide bays, it moves on towards the mainland, leaving behind freshness in the air and an eerie calm.

 It is not advisable to swim in any of Phuket’s west coast bays during the green season. But there are alternatives such as joining organised treks to national parks, enjoying a round of golf or hiring a car to explore nearby mainland destinations such as Phang Nga and Krabi.

Green season discounts go beyond hotels, car rentals and domestic airfares to the mega malls and department stores that participate in the annual Amazing Thailand Grand Sale 15 June to the end of August, nationwide.

Usually the discounts on shopping vary from 50 to 80% depending on the department stores and location. The popular destinations for grand sale discounts are Bangkok, Pattaya, Hat Yai, Phuket and Chiang Mai.
In Bangkok, grand sale shopping is made easy by the convenient sky train links and the air bridges from stations to clusters of department stores and malls. It could not be easier to part with your holiday cash, while gaining some very healthy discounts on branded goodies.

An unusual green season discount that is available this year for a very special reason is linked to Chiang Rai’s 750 year anniversary.  Through to October hotels in this far-north destination, famous for its artist community and hill tribe heritage, are offering rooms at a flat Bt750 a night to mark the year-long anniversary celebrations. There are a few exceptions on the offer, but if the hotel’s management has embraced the celebration spirit, the Bt750 offer is on the counter until the peak season dawns.

Green season is prime time for at least one adventure activity, white water rafting for the very obvious reason that the country’s mountain rivers are running fast and furious.

The prime rivers venues for this exhilarating sport are in Phitsanulok, Prachinburi, Mae Hong Son and closer to Bangkok in Nakhon Nayok province.

It all goes to show there is very sound reason to take up the invitation to explore Thailand during the green season. It might be wet, but it won’t leave your wallet hung out to dry.

Thailand’s tasty tropical fruit temptations 

Pick your favourite fruits or explore Thailand’s vast array of tropical fruits seriously with a full blown orchard tour.

By Terri Roamer

If you guessed that the pineapple chunks gracing your plate in a posh London restaurant came from Thailand, you would probably be spot on.

Thailand is the world’s leading producer of pineapples, all 3 million tonnes of it, mostly canned for export and shipped to supermarket shelves around the world.

But Thailand’s success in fruit export goes far beyond canned pineapples to a wide variety of fruits that exceed an annual export value of more than Bt5.8 billion.

We tend to take it all for granted when we stroll around a typical fruit market in any of Thailand’s 76 provinces. We pick and choose from the colourful display, like veterans. We may even have the audacity to ask the vendor to peel the fruit and often they are sold with condiments a pinch of salt or a chilli dip. 

Sweet or sour we take all in our stride. If we spare a thought for its net value to the Thai economy, it will conjure up images of 10-wheel trucks packed with fruit destined for daily cargo flights to the consumer markets of Asia – Hong Kong, Japan and China’s eastern seaboard cities.

Busy minds in the tourism industry have coined the phrase agro-tourism and while we might think that involves a trek to a paddy field to plant rice, it could also point to a pit stop at one of Thailand’s fruit orchards. If there was ever a close second to wine tasting it has to be a fruit tasting tour.

This is the best time of the year to visit fruit orchards, or embark on an odyssey to fruit festivals many of them held in provinces close to coastal resorts like Pattaya.

I must admit I have never met a visitor who was in Thailand just to study or taste fruit. Slurping on a fresh tropical fruit tends to be a supporting theme. We conclude an exhausting tour of Bangkok’s temples with a chilled melon or mango smoothie without a second thought on how it made its way from tree to blender.

You would have to be very serious about your fruit to head off to far northern provinces to study the vast orchards growing longan fruit trees. A native fruit of China, the longan tree planted its roots in Thailand generations back and has prospered ever since to the point its fruit is now a major export item to its original habitat China.

Named after its sweet pink flesh, the most popular variety is the pink longan grown in Chiang Mai valley. Early in the morning, visitors head for the town’s fruit market next to the River Ping to snatch up boxes of this prized fruit for the trip back to Bangkok.  It is picked at orchards April through to July. 

The lychee (Linchi in Thai) also originated from South China and is now grown extensively in North Thailand and exported to cities around Asia. The season is April to May.

Websites that monitor Thai fruit rank the top five best sellers. The durian (thurian in Thai) leads the field possibly driven by its high-value export to Asian cities where consumers have taken a shine to the Thai varieties of this famous tropical fruit.

Other top ranked Thai fruits (by annual sale value) are the longan (lamyai), lychee (linchi), mangosteen (mangkhut) and mango (ma-muang).

You are not likely to forget your first encounter with the durian due to its pungent smell that mysteriously disappears once you are hooked on the fruit’s creamy texture and taste.

I recall a Malaysian Airlines captain refusing to fly his plane out of Hat Yai. He believed a durian had been smuggled on board and it took a 15-minute patrol up and down the aircraft aisle, before a sweet elderly lady admitted she wasn’t pregnant after all. It was durian under her sarong.

My first durian was the not-so-expensive Cha Ni. I found it easy to remember the Thai name so it was always my choice. I got to like it, favouring it over the much superior and pricy Monthong that durian lovers believe is the only choice for fruit connoisseurs.  The durian season runs from May to June.

The humble banana is an entirely different story. You might think this is a simple straightforward fruit, until you realise Thailand has a least 21 very different variations of what we thought was the common banana. When you think you have the banana business sussed, there is an even longer line-up of sub-varieties to mesmerise you for an entire holiday. But that fits the agro-tourism category an activity for the serious fruit fanatic.

The obvious banana choice for foreign visitors is the species identified in Thai as kluai hom. It’s the biggest, most robust and grows year round and is usually the choice for a hotel’s fruit baskets, delivered to room compliments of the management. 

It is always the first choice for blenders that turn out the traditional backpacker’s milk shakes, or those ice cold smoothies that freeze your brain.  But if you ask a Thai they will tell you the smaller Namwa banana is much tastier with a higher nutritional rating.

Whatever, bananas are a lifesaver for sports tourists who jog, cycle, swim and generally wreck themselves on a variety of extreme sports that runs them ragged.

The simple banana saves the day, replenishes energy and keeps them powering on to the next challenge. It can be found in every village market, at roadside stalls and if you fancy a fried version, a fritter Thai style, then check out the stalls at any of the night markets in provincial towns for this crispy snack.   

Another lifesaver for the active sports tourist, visiting Thailand, is the water melon (taeng mo). You can be parched, hot and dying for a soft drink, but the smart side of you tells you to pull off the highway at one of the stalls selling huge green watermelons. They quench the thirst and are sold everywhere year round.

Usually, the stall vendor will take a knife to the melon and cut into manageable slices. Then down to business as you sink your teeth in the red flesh slurp the fruit to reenergise for the rest of your journey.   

The first fruit I tasted in Thailand was the papaya (malako) served at breakfast with a squeeze of lime. The fruit is an import like me, but over the 200 or more years, since it was first transplanted from tropical America to Thailand, it has thrived to rank as a national staple fruit available year-round.

Eventually, every visitor discovers the pleasures of mango and sticky rice covered in sweet coconut cream. This is the all-time favourite that stands high on the dessert rankings next to strawberries and ice cream. In Thailand, the mango ( ma-muang) is eaten both ripe and unripe .The unripe version is usually covered in nampla wan sauce. The fruit is in season March to May.

The list of delightful tasty fruits in Thailand appears endless. We tend to focus our attentions on just a few mainstays that appeal to our taste buds, but for those who like to explore the country’s fruits in more detail, then head for the morning fruit markets. They are a hive of commercial activity and the fruits will differ according to the region you are visiting or the season.

Provinces on the eastern seaboard Rayong, Chantaburi and Trat have earned a reputation as the country’s top fruit growing region. Their success in exporting fruit, prompted some orchard districts to try their hand at agro-tourism. 

The first orchard tours were introduced with the support of the Tourism Authority of Thailand offices in the three provinces to broaden the scope of sightseeing tours for visitors to Pattaya and nearby resorts 

Orchards on tour

Suphattraland has both a fruit orchard and vegetable farm in Baan Khai district in Rayong province about 90 km from Pattaya resort.

Established in the 70s, it was not until the late 90s that it opened its fruit orchard to visitors. Today, it is open year-round and provides a study tour of around 25 tropical fruits so there are always some varieties that are ripening or being picked for export. The tour closes with fruit tasting, or a fruit buffet, where visitors can taste some of the fruit they helped to pick.

Oriental Garden is a community based project in Trat’s Khao Saming district, about 17 km before the provincial town. It is the site for an annual fruit festival, April to July, introduced just three years ago.

The festival’s star fruits are durian, mangosteen, southern langsat and rambutan, all grown for export by various orchards in the district. Agro-tourism has developed into is a side business based on fruit tasting at the orchards, the annual festival, home-stay options and study tours. There are several orchards that make up the Oriental Group, but at any one time the choice for study tours will usually involve possibly two or three of the members. Tours are welcomed personally by the orchard owner, who explains the various fruits and offers tips on choosing fruit for the dining table as well as how to pick the fruit off the trees. Visitors get a chance to pick fruit and taste it at a buffet spread. Facts on all the fruit picked that day are on display. Soft drinks are served and the orchard owners are great entertainers. It’s the closest you will get to a fruit orchard’s grower’s version of a wine tasting party, without having to decide who gets to drive back to the hotel after it is over.

Even if we are not agro-tourism experts, or about to embark on a thesis on tropical fruits of Southeast Asia, taking a closer look at the magnificent display of fruit at village markets or signing up for a tour of a fruit orchard adds value to the Thailand experience. It might even prompt you to buy a blender and embark on a new career creating exotic thirst quenchers.

Songkran: The great splash

Spend trends indicate Songkran holiday makers will spread the cash throughout the land.

Terri Roamer

If we didn’t know that Songkran was a major money-spinner then we can thank the Kasikorn Bank research squad for pointing it out.

The bank’s latest forecast indicates Bangkok residents alone will spend 28,500 million baht during the short four-day holiday, 13 to 16 April.

Add nation-wide celebrations and the estimated spend could treble, a clear indication that this national festival is mega for both Thais and foreign travellers visiting the kingdom this month.

Bangkok residents lead the exodus from urban communities to rural Thailand’s popular destinations, many of them in the North and Northeast of the country. The bank’s research centre has come up with some interesting data after interviewing 616 typical Bangkok residents about their Songkran perceptions and plans.

For starters, it confirms the widely held belief that this festival is about visiting your roots, getting back to your hometowns for a few important days with the family.

Of all the survey respondents, 54.9% confirmed they were travelling up-country for the festival rather than staying in the capital and 33.8% of them said they were heading to their hometowns to spend time with family. Just 15.9% said they were travelling to other provincials and a mere 5.2% confirmed they were travelling overseas for a well-earned break.

Bangkok will be busy as ever. Research showed 45.1% of those interviewed said they would celebrate the big splash in the capital.

About 80% of all festival spending will circulate in the provinces and of that total, the big slice will go on partying followed by travel and accommodation, shopping and making merit.

Interestingly, making merit figures high on the agenda of activities with respondents identifying partying and making merit as the two top holiday pursuits.

Again it indicates that despite having fun and heaving buckets of cold water at everything that moves there is an equally strong commitment to traditional values such as visiting elders at home or making merit in temples.

The spend trend underscores that festivals on the scale of Songkran share vital characteristics. They help circulate cash across the country and they encourage visitors to go beyond the traditional tourist venues to explore emerging destinations.  Songkran plays out nation-wide so you can celebrate the festival anywhere without losing the festival’s intrinsic charm.  

While Bangkok and Chiang Mai are the most famous locales to celebrate Songkran it is, good to know you can travel to a remote village in the far north where Songkran activities will match even those of the capital for jest and joy.

Villages in rural areas usually celebrate in a more traditional manner than what unfolds in popular tourist destinations.  It is less of a bun fight and this allows the traditional elements to filter through for visitors to enjoy.

The places are less crowded. Hotels offer cheaper rates and usually there is no need to book in advance.  Financially, touring further afield brings with it the rewards of lower costs in accommodation and dining.

You can weave the festival around a visit to a part of Thailand less explored, or tag it on to a sporting or lifestyle activity. Songkran certainly adds value with a spectacular splash at the start of your holiday, but being in a fresh destination that can open new horizons will add to the wealth of the travel memories when the holiday has long past.

Perhaps that is why the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s themed website on Songkran highlights the venues by region showing the festival highlights in destinations in the South, North, Northeast, central and eastern regions.  Visit http://songkran.tourismthailand.org/

Obviously, the website is making a pitch to Thailand’s vast pool of repeat visitors, offering nation-wide opportunities to enjoy the year’s top festival and explore new destinations. 

There are subtle differences in how each region celebrates Songkran depending on the region’s historical roots and variations in culture.  One clear difference is that tourist destinations on the eastern seaboard celebrate Songkran a week later than the rest of the country with Bang Saen opening the festival week on the day Bangkok’s residents drop their plastic water pistols in the waste bin to resume their busy urban lifestyles.

Pattaya, the top tourist destination on the eastern seaboard, celebrates 16 to 21 April. Over the years, the splash side of the festival escalated. We now see Pattaya revellers recruiting the local fire brigade to add to their firepower.

Powder, hydro pistols with quite a kick in them and ice-cold water by the bucket are weapons of choice.  Similar antics play out at all the resorts where tourists gather, whether in the capital, or at beach resorts.

Young travellers pack into Chiang Mai, many of them commuting north on trains and buses for the single purpose of letting their hair down for the four-day break.  This is a festival timed perfectly to cool us off during the hottest month of the year when there is very little respite from the scorching summer heat other than to throw buckets of cold water over each other.

Celebrating Songkran in Bangkok is straightforward. You will hardly be able to step out of a hotel without a drenching. Usually the water splashing starts in the afternoon and continues to sunset when time-out is declared. In recent years, revellers at the city’s tourist districts, (Silom, Sukhumvit and Khao San Road) continue with the celebrations after dark.

If your mission is to stay dry then rise early and get on with your business before the youngsters wake up and as the morning progresses the kids will be replaced by older revellers roaming the streets on pick-up trucks loaded with old oil drums brimming over with water.

Khao San Road and Sanam Luang are the two locations in the older part of Bangkok that are popular with both Thai and foreign revellers. However, there are quiet havens that offer a respite close to Sanam Luang.

Wat Po is one such oasis of calm. Here the traditional elements of Songkran Festival play out with simple and respectful ceremonies to sprinkle blessed water on the heads of elders, clean the temple cloisters and wash the Buddha images to mark the traditional Thai New Year.

In temple cloisters and homes throughout rural Thailand the meaning of Songkran is illustrated by a respectful drop of water sprinkled on elders and the audacious fun of splashing everyone in the neighbourhood.  No wonder this is Thailand most popular festival that captures everyone’s imagination. I am taking my own advice. Bought a train ticket to Northeast Thailand, packed my water pistol and ready to duck and dodge the splash.

Thailand’s summer: It’s about beating the heat.

Thailand’s summer: It’s about beating the heat.

Terri Roamer

Staying cool during Thailand’s summer can be a challenge, but there are ways to escape the heat.

It’s a scorcher. How else can you describe summer in Thailand? Temperatures soar from one day to the next with very little warning of what is in store as March marches into April.

Thailand’s seasonal changes, measured by the rise and fall of the mercury are subtle at the best of times, but residents recognise when the prevailing wind shifts dramatically swirls the weather vane to the opposite end of the compass summer is here. The balmy northeast winds, that picked up a slight chill over China, falter by late February as the humid and shirt-sticking heat of the Southwest monsoon dominates the weather patterns by early March.

Sometimes the northeast winds linger, lowering temperatures by a few degrees well into March, but there is no firm schedule for the hot season’s inevitable onslaught. Give or take a week, electricity bills in the Thai capital will hit the ceiling and stay that way until the end of April.

Not exactly the best time to be in Thailand if you are not accustomed to dealing with the double whammy of heat and humidity. If it is any consolation there are hotter places to visit at this time of the year. You might be tempted to ask where they could possibly be, especially if you are being micro-waved by the heat reflecting off the glass walls of Bangkok’s high-rise buildings.

There are travellers who in jest bet a week’s pay that they could have fried an egg on a concrete road in Northeast Thailand. But by the time April arrives we are all looking forward to the four-day soaking that comes with the Songkran Festival when the neighbour’s children lob a bucket or two of cold water our way and we say thank you.

Until the country’s popular water festival gets under way, there are a few weeks of unrelenting heat with just a slight possibility of what gardeners call mango showers to break the scorching spell for an hour or two. 

So how do you work a holiday around such a sticky scenario?  There are options, like booking a holiday that demands very little energy other than to loll in a hammock and snooze. Summers are survivable from under the shade of a huge umbrella at one of Thailand’s popular beach resorts.  Pattaya is one resort that is blessed with high-rise hotels and apartments that capture the strong breeze blowing off the sea. Take room service in your high-rise tower, admire the view of those glorious islands off Pattaya’s coastline and sink slowly into a great novel with a tall chilly drink to take you through a chapter or two.

Pattaya would be my first choice to beat the summer heat. Not that it is any cooler than Bangkok, but as the name suggests there is always a strong breeze blowing whatever the season to cool you down a mite.

It’s not too far from Bangkok and even closer to Suwarnabhumi Airport, at just 90 km on a motorway that gets you to the resort in little over an hour of exiting the airport.

There are plenty of high-rise hotels and apartments, too. If being at beach level squinting at silver heat rays reflected off the sea is too much to contemplate, then go urban and rent an apartment, 20 floors above the melting tarmac.

Pattaya is also packed with department stores and shopping malls and they are very important component in the bid to beat summer heat.

We used to dash between coffee shops in freezing Europe to avoid frost bite, so the opposite applies during Thailand’s summer. We duck in and out of Thailand’s mega malls, drink brain-freeze smoothies and browse in air-conditioned stores until our finger tips go numb with cold. That’s a good sign.

Shopping is a national hobby that crosses the gender lines in Thailand. Seniors and teens mingle in chilly mall basements that sell cheap gadgets, jewellery, gimmicky clothes and snacks.

In the food halls, there is every variation of Thai and “farang” snacks on display at incredibly cheap prices. In Pattaya, the summer crowd gravitates to Central Festival on the beach road, mainly to the food corner in the basement. The selection is as cosmopolitan as the crowd; a mix of every nationality all enjoying the chilly interval from the summer heat blast outside.  

There are more shopping malls, stores and mega marts on a square kilometre of Pattaya’s real estate than even Bangkok can muster. Having it all so close reduces the dashes in the sunlight between retail therapy sessions and in passing you can glance for a second at Pattaya’s seascape. The trick is not to jump into the sea. There is no relief from the heat there. Just admire it and head for another chilled shopping mall. You can always take a refreshing dip at sunset.

Phuket and Samui have similar advantages. Sea breezes cool you off a mite, even if the temperatures are the same as downtown Bangkok. The trick is to stay clear of the beaches mid-day.

It takes a little discipline to beat the heat. The early morning jog along the beach is really early, just as the sun pops up over a Phuket hillside or a sea cape if you happen to be in Hua Hin.  

Then you make your day busy with activities, but not the strenuous type that take you out in the sun.

You book a spa for four hours at least and when you emerge it will be time for evening cocktails on the hotel balcony to watch the sunset.

On odd days you could try a foot massage to relieve stress and on even days sign up for a Thai cooking class always in an air-conditioned kitchen except for the early morning visit to the market to learn how to choose fresh veggies and spices.

I could get used to this leisurely lifestyle and not once have to lather myself with sun factor 50 cream to avoid sun damage.

The evenings are fine. Temperatures drop and the sea breeze helps us to linger longer than we should at beach bars sipping ice cold beers or fizzy cocktails. I particularly like the ones where the bartender deliberately freezes beer glasses with a small amount of water at the bottom of the mug. He pours the beer and usually 10 minutes into the sips, the ice pops up to the surface and showers your nose in beer foam.

I asked him if he had a name for this gimmicky version of a pint of the best, and he said it was a “Snow Beer” in English. Just what the doctor ordered to beat summer heat.

My tips for summer are do as little as possible, chill out with book, browse the malls and learn how to cook a Thai meal in between the pummels and stretches of a traditional Thai massage. Before you know it the rainy season will be here massive clouds covering the sun and we can all get back to enjoying our favourite outdoor sports once more.