Thailand Travel -Favourite Swedish tourist destination

Thailand named favourite Swedish tourist destination
BANGKOK, Dec 30 (TNA) - Thailand ranks first among Swedish travellers, as the Scabndinavian's country's favourite tourist destination, according to a recent survey by a Swedish tourism magazine, a senior Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) official reports.
Suvalai Pinpradab, director of TAT's Southern Office Region 4, responsible for tourism activities in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi provinces, said that RES monthly magazine recently conducted a survey among its readers in which Thailand was chosen as their most popular tourist destination, followed by Australia.
Thailand was also voted by the magazine's readers with having the best food and shopping, Mrs. Suvalai said.
The southern resort of Phuket remains the most popular tourist destination by chartered flight passengers, while Lanta Island in Krabi province, near Phuket, came second in the same category.
Tourism activities in Krabi and Phang Nga are now peaking as tourists, mostly Westerners, visiting the areas have led to nearly full occupancy hotel bookings, "as high as 95 per cent," she said.
The TAT is cooperating with Phuket organisations in sponsoring a gala New Year's celebration December 31-January 1 at Pa Tong Beach and many tourists are expected to participate in the party.
Read more: Thailand Destinations
Travel Variety , Hotels and Resorts , Thailand Beach
Thailand Place , Thailand Festival , Maehongson,

source : etna.mcot.net

Thailand Travel. Marina Phuket Resort

Marina Phuket Resort...Where nature and artistic culture harmonize for your pleasure...

Marina Phuket Resort is perched on a headland at southern end of Karon, among the finest of Phuket's famous west-coast beaches. The deluxe villas overlook the beach and the Andaman Sea. All guests have direct access to Karon Beach and can enjoy snorkeling right out front of the resort. Read more

Read more: Thailand Destinations
Travel Variety , Hotels and Resorts , Thailand Beach
Thailand Place , Thailand Festival , Maehongson,

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KEEPING AKHA TRADITIONS ALIVE

High on some of the most pristine and remote mountains in Northern Thailand live the Akha, a little-known, self-sufficient and culturally unique people who prefer to avoid city life in favour of a distinctly ruralidyll.

The Akha are a relatively poor tribal people living on the very top of the most inaccessible peaks. Of Tibetan origin, they are the most recent hill people to have migrated to Thailand, and they are perhaps the least conversant with Thai as a language. They are immediately distinguishable by the elaborate and beautiful headgear of the women — perhaps the most remarkable single feature of Thai hill tribes.

Today there are more than 55,000 Akha living in Thailand, practising shifting cultivation of various crops including maize, dry rice and temperate vegetables. Until quite recently the Akha were often involved in opium cultivation, though today this has been replaced by lamyai (longan) fruit, coffee and tea as the crops of choice.

Akha women are most easily distinguished by their elaborate, helmet-like head-dress, made up of silver coins, beads, feathers and fur. Clothing — characteristically a long-sleeved jacket over short skirt ending just above the knees — is of indigo-dyed cloth, often made with home-grown cotton, decorated with embroidery, buttons, cowry shells and seeds. Pendant earrings and broad neck bands of silver are highly prized, the latter worn with multiple strings of brightly coloured beads.



Few outsiders visit them in their mountain fastnesses, and when Akha visit local towns on business, they generally hurry back to their hills just as soon as time allows. But in rustic Chiang Rai it is now possible for tourists to visit an Akha village, enjoy an authentic Akha homestay, learn first-hand about Akha culture and traditions, and experience the Akha’s unique relationship with nature and the environment.



BAAN HUAI KEE LEK AKHA VILLAGE

COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM

The small, community-based Akha village of Huai Kee Lek (also spelled Huay Kee Lek) nestles atop a forested peak high above the rushing Huai Masang river some 30 kilometres north of Mae Suai in Thailand’s northernmost province of Chiang Rai. The valley below is defined by verdant rice terraces and mixed Thai and Lahu villages, but Huai Kee Lek is richly and distinctively Akha in nature and appearance.

The village was established more than forty years ago in 1965, in an auspicious spot selected by the community elders. Today Huai Kee Lek tourism is managed by a village committee while profits are used to sponsor both Akha cultural activities and local forest conservation projects.

Akha Traditions at Baan Huai Kee Lek

Baan Huai Kee Lek is a rather forward-looking ‘traditional Akha village’. Some of the villagers observe the old Akha religious customs, while others are Buddhist, and still others Christian. But the village as a whole recognizes the importance of preserving Akha cultural traditions, and great care is taken to mark off and protect spiritual sites of importance, including the spirit gate and surrounding copse, the cultural grounds used for the annual swing festival, the sacred well and the dwelling places of local tutelary spirits.

The concept of community-based tourism has also certainly helped to foster and protect traditional Akha music and cultural performances. The villagers at Huai Kee Lek are encouraged to be proud of and preserve their cultural identity, while at the same time profiting materially from the additional funds such activities bring into the community coffers.



Akha also observe at least nine formal cultural festivals year-round, the most important of which are Chon Khai Daeng in April, the Lo Ching Cha or Akha Swing ceremony held in mid-August and September, and the Top-Spinning Festival in December. Visitors to Huai Kee Lek at these times are especially welcome.

KEEPING AKHA TRADITIONS ALIVE

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Nibhana Spa A touch of Royalty

Nibhana Spa A touch of Royalty

What a better way to unleash the week-long exhaustion than to go for a spa treatment! Adorned in Classic Colonial and ‘Royal Thai’ style, Nibhana Spa hosts 10 treatment rooms, each flaunting its unique blend of Thai, Chinese and Indian decor. Also unique to the spa are massage techniques which put together the best of both the classic and the new methods. With the spa’s cherished recipes of treatment for the perfect skin, be it the body massage, facial treatment or special relaxing program such as ‘Maharajah’, ‘Empress’, and ‘Siamese Princess Treatment’, Nibhana Spa’s luxurious touches are sure to treat you likea royalty.

Nibhana Spa is located on
the 1st floor of The Natural Park building,
88 Sukhumwit Soi 49
Bangkok
Thailand

The spa is open from 1st of March.
Service hours : 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Tel. 0-2260-5112-3,

or visit : www.nibhanaspa.com.

The Sense of Spa Bangkok

The Sense of Spa Bangkok
Address
2F, 323 United Center Bldg,Silom Road,Bangrak, Bangkok
Contact
Phone : +66-(0)2-635-5488 9
E-Mail : info@senseofspa.com
Web : http://www.senseofspa.com
Opening hours
Everyday 10:00 - 22:00

The Sense of Spa Bangkok, a day spa in Bangkok Thailand, is one of the most popular bangkok spa which is designed for everyone like you. For wealthy people they already have enough choices to enjoy. But for the rest of us, nice professional day spa experience is just beyond reach. That's why we made Sense Of Spa Bangkok. Yes, there are cheaper places in Bangkok. But are you satisfied with them? We at try harder for better services at more affordable price.

For example, The Sense of Spa use only the quality products for skin care progras even though it costs much more. We don't put excessive list price and give big commisions to tour agencies. We do have tour partners, but they only small comissions much lower than other big name spas in Bangkok. We sometimes get offers from some tour agencies who wants to charge big list price and share big commision. We simply say no.

When the customers are about to leave the spa, we don't ask them forced 10% service charge and 7% VAT extra. We have seen some customers are not comfortable with the added stuffs in the bills. Also we think service charges should be voluntarily tip by the customer depending on her/his satisfaction, not some fixed amount of price added on bill.

Elite Bar & Grill

Address
Ozono Complex, 307 Sukhumvit Soi 39 (Phrompong), near BTS Phrom Phong and MRT Phetchaburi, Thailand

Contact
Phone: 02-259-5960, 02-259-7588

Opening hours
Mon-Fri 5:30pm-11:30pm, Sat-Sun 10am-2:30pm, 5pm-11:30am

This stylish, modest-sized “grill bar” has some unusual items like horse and whale on offer to please daring carnivorous diners. If you can’t afford the pricey imported Wagyu beef, local Thai-French tenderloin never fails to please. Two thumbs up for the quality of the food.








credit : lamb.exteen.com

Tapas Cafe

Tapas Cafe
Sukhumvit 11, Bangkok, Thailand
Tel : 02-651-2947

Choices of Japanese and Italian cuisines are abundant in Bangkok, but Spanish? The right answer can be found at Tapas Cafe on Sukhumwit Soi 11. First and only authentic Spanish Tapas cuisine in Thailand, Tapas Cafe reflects the love of art of its owner. The gallery restaurant offers dishes prepared by the chef who came directly from Spain. It is a rare gem you know you don’t want to miss.





credit : 247freemag.com

Indus of North

Indus of North India
Sukhumvit 26, Bangkok, Thailand
Tel : 02-258-4900

Experience the gentility of India with Indus, an Indian-contemporary restaurant where dinners can choose to enjoy their meals in the garden, in the house or at the bar. It is wonderful to sit en plein air during the breezy nights, or to feel like a maharaja and enjoy the inside ambiance. Lady chefs from India will serve you with Kebab E Malai or yogurt-marinated chicken grilled on slow heat, followed by Indus Rogah Josh (Goat curry) or Goan Fish Curry. Entrees are served with buttered toast. Vegetarian selections are also excellent.

Indus Signature :
1. Kebab E Ma lai
2. Indus Rogan Josh
3. Goan Fish Curry






credit : 247freemag.com

The Baan Thai Wellness Retreat

The Baan Thai Wellness Retreat
Hidden away down a quiet side street off Sukhumvit Road and isolated from the hustles and bustles of city life, the Baan Thai Wellness Retreat is an oasis of peace and calm.
A stay at the peaceful wellness retreat, even if only brief, enables you to experience the very finest that Thailand has to offer. Gain insights into this amazing kingdom, its mystical culture and time-honoured customs and traditions. Delightful Thai hospitality; exotic spa therapies, revitalizing holistic health therapies and treatments; Thai culinary art; ornate Thai teak architecture — each is part of the kingdom’s enchanting artistic and cultural heritage.

‘Baan Thai’ literally means Thai house. The Baan Thai Wellness Retreat consists of five authentic stand-alone Thai teak homes, some dating back over three quarters of a century. These have been lovingly restored and refurbished to showcase a way of life that few have been able to experience.

The original traditional Thai teak house was designed in a luxurious style and built by M.R. Bongsebrahama (one of King Rama IV’s grandsons) for his family well over 60 years ago. The teak house has remained in the family ever since. Through the years, each generation of the family has restored and added to the original house. In 1965 Baan Thai opened as a restaurant serving fine cuisine and entertainment in the form of traditional Thai dance performances. In the latest chapter of this evolving story, Baan Thai, the house and restaurant, has been transformed into a luxurious cultural and wellness retreat — The Baan Thai Wellness Retreat. All of the original houses have been renovated and several teak wood houses from Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Siam, have been added to the complex.

The traditional Thai teak houses form the basis of this luxurious wellness retreat developed by renowned cultural interior design expert M.L. Sudavadee Kriangkrai, one of M.R. Bongsebrahama’s two daughters. Two of the traditional teak homes have been redesigned to accommodate the spa. Each of the guests’ rooms and suites affords its own unique qualities and charm while retaining the cultural integrity of the property. Some of the decorative features date back over 200 years. While most are more recent, all are genuine.

The Baan Thai Wellness Retreat offers an extensive range of anti-aging, therapeutic or detoxifying treatments, pampering and beauty therapies delivered in the comfort and privacy of spa therapy rooms and suites. These include a range of authentic Thai treatments, such as Scrubs & Wraps, Baths, Massage, ‘Just for woman’, holistic health treatments, hand and foot care, facials, salon, haircare, as well as Ayurvedic, Asian and Tibetan therapies. Guests can also enjoy the unisex wet area available with hydrotherapy, infrared sauna and steam facilities.

Spa services are provided with the careful supervision of Horwath Spa Consulting, a specialist spa company whose directors have been involved in the development of Destination Spas in Thailand. A team of holistic health practitioners provides professional consultation in Diagnostic Reflexology, Homeopathic Consultations, Acupuncture, Chi Nei Tsang, Rebirthing Sessions and Deep Tissue Massage, while total detoxification programmes are supervised by the retreat’s own resident medical professionals.

Designed to accommodate the latest spa therapies while maintaining the nuances of cultural integration as dictated by the architectural style of the property, the warm, soothing and inviting environment promotes total relaxation and is conducive to process of change and development, and rejuvenation.

THE BAAN THAI RETREAT MENU
Dine in air-conditioned comfort, on the terrace of your room, or in the privacy of your suite. The team of dedicated Thai culinary professionals at the wellness retreat have prepared an ever changing range of menu offerings, specially designed to promote total wellness.

Great care is taken in the preparation of some of the most vivid tasting and intense culinary delights featured on the Baan Thai Retreat menu. This begins with the careful selection of the base ingredients (of which many are from certified organic farms in Thailand) through to the preparation and cooking process. The team is committed to the creation of flavourful cuisine while retaining the integrity of Thai culinary traditions. Other less traditional menu offerings and dishes from other nations also grace the menu, but the majority are native Thai.

The retreat offers a full range of other fresh fruit and vegetable juices, herbal tisanes, tonics and elixirs throughout the day. A wide range of wines and champagnes are served with dinner.

The Baan Thai restaurant has welcome guests such as royalty from Sweden, Denmark and Japan as well as Jackie Kennedy, Tiger Woods and many other celebrities.

TEAK SPLENDOUR
A Journey Back into Time
As you enter the retreat, stop and pause a while. Take in the magnificence that surrounds you — the amazing traditional artwork is very much part of the Baan Thai experience. From the intricately carved doors at the entrance of the retreat to the beautifully carved wood panels and artifacts found throughout the property, the fine collection of genuine traditional art reflects the era in which they were created — a time when skilled craftsmen carved history into wood, passing on to their children and grandchildren, great stories of a magnificent kingdom and the rich cultural heritage they have come to inherit. Even artefacts made in relatively modern times all retain their cultural integrity. None are modern reproductions.

FACILITIES
The Baan Thai Wellness Retreat offers an extensive range of facilities that have been carefully designed to meet the needs of guests so that they can maximize the benefits of their stay.

- 21 guest rooms
- 7 with their own private spa therapy area, 9 with kitchenette facilities
- 5 x single and 3 x double spa therapy rooms — 2 with private steam rooms, 2 with Jacuzzi
- Beauty salon
- 2 x Consultation rooms
- Colonic hydrotherapy room
- Infra-red sauna
- Herbal steam room
- Garden rain shower
- 2 Private swimming pools
- Free form swimming pool
- Modern gymnasium staffed with personal trainers and Stretch, Fit Ball, Yoga and Tai Chi classes
- Aerobics studio
- Meditation pavilion
- Thai spa cuisine restaurant
- Juice & elixir bar
- Open air lounge
- Library
- Mini Bar
- IDD direct dial telephone
- Cable Television
- Wireless internet connection
- Limousine transfers
- Off-street parking

This peaceful wellness retreat located right in the heart of cosmopolitan Bangkok enables you to enjoy a change of pace at your convenience. Within the resort itself, tranquility prevails. Step beyond and a short stroll away, you’ll find easy access to mass transit systems, shopping malls and other modern infrastructure.
Feel Bangkok’s pulse — the city that never sleeps.

Location
The Baan Thai Wellness Retreat is situated between the Thonglor and Phromphong BTS Skytrain station, which is also adjacent to the Emporium shopping complex and the Benjasiri Park.

The Baan Thai Wellness Retreat
7 Soi Sukhumvit 32 Sukhumvit Road
Bangkok 10110
Thailand
Tel : + 66 (0) 2258 5403, 2661 4051-3
Fax: + 66 (0) 2258 9517
Email: contact@thebaanthai.com
Website: www.thebaanthai.com

Saranrom Cultural Park Exhibition

SARANROM CULTURAL PARK
An Exhibition in Honour of His Majesty the King, Cultural Shows and
Light-and-Sound performances
Cultural Park for Tourism Project
1 January – 14 April 2007
13.00 – 21.00 hrs, daily
At Saranrom Park
Free Admission

An Exhibition in Honour of His Majesty the King
The exhibition showcases thousands of projects initiated by His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand for the benefit of the Thai people throughout his 60 years on the throne.

Cultural Shows from Five Regions
Cultural shows from the five regions include Thai traditional folk dances, Manorah performances, shadow puppet plays, northeastern-style basket dances, performances of Thai traditional masked dances or khon, and plays by artists from around the country.
Performances are staged simultaneously twice a day.
15.00 – 15.30 hrs and 18.00 – 20.30 hrs

Merry Folk Music
Enjoy a vast selection of colourful folk music bands such as the northeastern-style Sing Saderd folk singers, the Mongserng rock group, the southern band Pran Preu and alto xylophonist Narongrit Tosa-nga. Many national artists and famous stars from each province will take to the stage, presenting impressive performances daily.
Performances are staged simultaneously twice a day.
15.00 – 15.30 hrs and 18.00 – 20.30 hrs

Grand Light-and-Sound performances
Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday/ 19.00 – 20.00 hrs
These combine the performing arts with multimedia effects, musical fountains, flying angels and laser displays. With the support of more than 50 performers, the show is intended to express national loyalty for His Majesty the King through five stories about five special occasions.

Learn about Thai Folk Wisdom
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will stage demonstrations on how to create products based on Thai folk wisdom. Visitors are welcome to observe the demonstrations and learn about useful techniques free of charge.

Demonstrations are held twice a day.
15.00 – 17.30 hrs
18.00 – 20.30 hrs

Contact information:
Cultural Park for Tourism Project
Bangkok Tourism Division, Culture, Sports and Tourism Department
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
Tel: 0 2225 7612-4
Fax: 0 2225 7615-6

Dok Khun Siang Khaen Festival

Dok Khun Siang Khaen Festival is held during April 13-15 every year at Bung Kaen Nakhon. The day starts with merit making, followed by pouring holy water on Buddha images, local dramatic arts, floral cart procession, northeastern food contest, boat race in Bung Kaen Nakhon, and shops selling a variety of products.


source : tourismthailand.org

Kew Mae Pan , Peak refuge

Not far from Doi Inthanon summit is the Kew Mae Pan trail that is sprayed with red rhododendrons, pristine nature and breathtaking scenery


Tourists visiting Doi Inthanon National Park in Chiang Mai generally head for the famous summit of this mountain resort. To them, the long trek to the summit is a sense of accomplishment. However, little do they know that halfway to the top is a three-kilometre-long trail called Kew Mae Pan boasting pristine nature and breathtaking scenery.

Doi Inthanon is Thailand's highest peak, standing 2,500 metres above sea level. In winter the breeze is cool and refreshing, even cold by standards of city folks more used to the tropical climate of Bangkok. If you are travelling there, don't forget to carry a light jacket with you.


Kew Mae Pan is famous for its red rhododendrons, a rare sight elsewhere in the country, various species of birds, the goral and nature in its purest form.
The air was chilly when we visited there recently, ideal for a trek that wasn't supposed to be that taxing, but one which still left us city slickers panting for breath as we climbed one slope after another on the circuitous trail.

Led by a Hmong guide, we hit the trail early afternoon and not long after we arrived at a spot with a sign reading "Cloud Forest". My friend checked his watch calibrated for altimeter reading: it said 2,179 metres. A thick curtain of rain clouds enveloped the forest. Everywhere there were towering trees from whose trunks hung green fern, moss and lichen. The damp air pregnant with rain felt refreshingly cool.
Our guide pointed to a tree called Ko in Thai that belongs to the same family as oaks, Fagaceae. There are four varieties of Ko trees in Thailand and all of them are found here.
"Ko is a kind of chestnut with hard-shell. Its seed is food for birds and wildlife," explained our guide.
Read more bangkokpost.com for full article