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Thailand fall 2010

We are planning luxury oriented trips to Thailand for this fall. Is anyone in Thailand now or have insights about the situation there now that would care to share his/her insights? Elena

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David Paul Appell on July 11, 2010 at 11:22am

Hi, Elena! You could start by having a look at our recent blog post about the innovative luxury resort Soneva Kiri, on Koh Kood: http://blog.tripatini.com/asia/a-new-thailand-resort-takes-thai-cui....

Permalink Reply by Ed Wetschler on July 11, 2010 at 11:32am

My nephew ( dane.wetschler@gmail.com ) has been living in Bangkok, editing a magazine about coffee, speaks the language, and has a lot of friends there. He's visiting in the States now; will return to Bangkok next weekend.

Permalink Reply by Simon & Baker Travel Review on July 11, 2010 at 11:34am

Hi David Paul!

Thanks for the quick reply and link!

That looks interesting... Did you write the note? When were you there? Do you have a PR contact? Elena

Permalink Reply by Simon & Baker Travel Review on July 11, 2010 at 11:41am

Hi Ed and thanks for your reply. I imagine he must have some thoughts about things. Is it ok to email him directly?

Ed Wetschler said:

My nephew ( dane.wetschler@gmail.com ) has been living in Bangkok, editing a magazine about coffee, speaks the language, and has a lot of friends there. He's visiting in the States now; will return to Bangkok next weekend.

Permalink Reply by Ed Wetschler on July 11, 2010 at 11:50am

Sure, Elena, go for it. He's a very busy young man, so sometimes he replies to emails in length, and other times, not at all. But if he does get back to you, it'll be with some real insider's observations.

Elena said:

Hi Ed and thanks for your reply. I imagine he must have some thoughts about things. Is it ok to email him directly?

Ed Wetschler said:
My nephew ( dane.wetschler@gmail.com ) has been living in Bangkok, editing a magazine about coffee, speaks the language, and has a lot of friends there. He's visiting in the States now; will return to Bangkok next weekend.

Permalink Reply by Forrest Walker on July 11, 2010 at 12:05pm

I have been in Thailand for over a month now. I have spent all but a few days in Chiang Mai.
The "social unrest" is not to be seen. Everything is calm and the Thai people are wonderful and happy to have us here.
The "fall" (November Dec) is the high season here, but for now tourists are few and far between.
As far as luxury trips in the Chiang Mai area, I suppose the ultimate would be the Four Seasons. This one is outside of town. In town, the Shangri La is truly nice, way above MY budget.
Outdoor activities abound, some of the more "luxurious" would be the balloon trips and the zip lines.
Shopping for silver, Jade and silk is as expensive as you want it to be, the quality is truly excellent.
I could tell you more but IO'm not sure this ios what you are looking for.

Permalink Reply by Simon & Baker Travel Review on July 11, 2010 at 1:28pm

Hi Forrest and thanks for your reply and comments.

It's good to know things are calm there. We are looking at trips in September and October. We are always looking for foodie finds, fun activities to experience and if appropriate feature. Feel free to share any insights directly at editor at simonandbaker.com . Elena

Forrest Walker said:

I have been in Thailand for over a month now. I have spent all but a few days in Chiang Mai.
The "social unrest" is not to be seen. Everything is calm and the Thai people are wonderful and happy to have us here.
The "fall" (November Dec) is the high season here, but for now tourists are few and far between.
As far as luxury trips in the Chiang Mai area, I suppose the ultimate would be the Four Seasons. This one is outside of town. In town, the Shangri La is truly nice, way above MY budget.
Outdoor activities abound, some of the more "luxurious" would be the balloon trips and the zip lines.
Shopping for silver, Jade and silk is as expensive as you want it to be, the quality is truly excellent.
I could tell you more but IO'm not sure this ios what you are looking for.

Permalink Reply by Forrest Walker on August 27, 2010 at 11:38am

For a "foodie" thing take a cooking class. I went to Chiang Mai Thai Cookery school for five days, and gained 10 pounds! You can go one day at at time if you so desire. The facilities are first rate and the "menu" that you cook each day is wonderful.
You can find Chiang Mail Thai Cookerys school on websites such as Thaivisa.com. Physically it is locted about a block from Tha Pae gate, on the inside of the old town. There are a dozen or so cooking schools. I searched and found this one, and was quite pleased.

Permalink Reply by Forrest Walker on September 1, 2010 at 8:28am

Chiang Mai Thai Cooking School!
This is from my blog called theothersideofthecoconut on wordpress.com. To see photos of the wonderful food, you will need to go there.

I just finished a full Monday thru Friday cooking class.
We shopped for raw ingredients. Here are couple shots of the market.

Lots of different noodles in Thai dishes

Some soups use fish balls

Peppers were not in every dish, at least not the deserts

I never heard of these before. They add an interesting flavor to soups and curries.
Then we went out into the country to a really first rate big cooking school. It has capacity for maybe 30. With tourism as it is the classes ranged from 5 to 9. I was the only one who took all five days. Everyone else showed up for a 1 day experience. We cooked and were expected to eat six courses each day, and then a desert. I have not eaten anywhere else all week. Here are a few dishes I cooked.

This was harder than it looks to assemble

It tasted GREAT

"lunch" was always the big meal. two dishes and rice

My curry is first rate!
Today, the last day, seems how I had already been to the market a few times they took me directly to the school and while others shopped, theey tried to teach me how to make garnishes. This is hard, hard mind you. The Thais have this gentle touch with little fingers. Me, with my big clumsy fingers took over an hour to make the following. I made the girl who was showing me how to do it stop laughing.

I'm not cut out to cut out these things! The rose and lotus (from tomatoes each took 20 minutes. The damn leaf took even more. I threw out my first couple attempts, they looked like road kill.
In short, I had a great week. I probably put on 5 pounds. Now I know why Buhda is so fat. And I wonder why the so few Thai people are.

Permalink Reply by CanCan on July 11, 2010 at 2:51pm

I have been in the area for 8 years. Happy to answer questions but I'm more of a budget/adventure.

Permalink Reply by David Paul Appell on July 11, 2010 at 5:28pm

Elena, this came to us via our content partner, Hedonists Guides. You can leave them a profile message or send them an email and perhaps they can help steer you in the right direction. Good luck! --Dave

Simon & Baker Travel Review said:

Hi David Paul!

Thanks for the quick reply and link!

That looks interesting... Did you write the note? When were you there? Do you have a PR contact? Elena

Permalink Reply by Simon & Baker Travel Review on July 11, 2010 at 5:49pm

Thanks Dave!

David Paul Appell said:

Elena, this came to us via our content partner, Hedonists Guides. You can leave them a profile message or send them an email and perhaps they can help steer you in the right direction. Good luck! --Dave

Simon & Baker Travel Review said:
Hi David Paul!

Thanks for the quick reply and link!

That looks interesting... Did you write the note? When were you there? Do you have a PR contact? Elena