Grand China Princess Hotel, #Bangkok

Situated in Bangkok, Grand China Hotel offers 4-star accommodation, as well as a Jacuzzi. Only a short stroll from China Town, it provides contemporary rooms equipped with slippers, a mini bar and a refrigerator.

There are a range of facilities at the hotel on offer to guests, such as coffee bar, ballroom and a spa and wellness centre. It offers babysitting services, a currency exchange and a reception that is available 24 hours a day.

Grand China Hotel provides spacious rooms equipped with a shower, cable/satellite channels and a hair dryer. All private bathrooms provide bathrobes and a bathtub.

A satisfying breakfast is prepared every morning at Grand China Hotel, and there are numerous cafés and eateries close by.

The hotel is within walking distance of the Golden Buddha Statue, Chao Phraya River and the Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre. The helpful staff at the tour desk are available to organise tours and activities in Bangkok. 

 

Vegetarian Festival, #Phuket.

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival

is a colourful event held

over a nine-day period in October,

celebrating the Chinese community’s belief

that abstinence from meat

Various stimulants during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar

will help them obtain good health and peace of mind.

Though the origins of the festival are unclear,

it is commonly thought that the festival was bought to Phuket

by a wandering Chinese opera group who fell ill with malaria while performing on the island.

They decided to adhere to a strict vegetarian diet and pray to the Nine Emperor Gods

to ensure purification of the mind and body.

To everyone’s amazement the opera group made a complete recovery.

 

The people celebrated by holding a festival that was meant to honour the gods

as well as express the people’s happiness at surviving what was,

in the 19th century, a fatal illness.

 

Subsequently the festival has grown and developed into a spectacular yearly

event that is attended by thousands with participants flying

in from China and other Asian destinations.

One of the most exciting aspects of the festival are the various,

(and sometimes gruesome) ceremonies which are held to invoke the gods.

Fire walking, body piercing and other acts of self mortification undertaken

by participants acting as mediums of the gods, have become more spectacula.

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Baan Teelanka $Phuket.

Baan Teelanka Phuket

Opening Hours: From 10:00-18:00

Location: two kilometres from the North entrance of the By-pass Road.

Price Range: Bann Teelanka: adult – 250 baht, children – 150 baht;

A-Maze-in-Phuket: adult – 150 baht, children 100 baht

 

Baan Teelanka – Upside Down House has opened in April 2014

and is certainly one of the most innovative and original attractions in Phuket Island.

Located on the By-pass Road in the northern outskirts of Phuket Town,

it is a three-storey house built leaning on its roof and adorned

with a maze-shaped garden in its backyard; two different attractions in one place!

Initiated, designed and managed by a charming Swiss-Thai couple,

this well-thought project brings visitors into another dimension

and offers sensational photo opportunities.

In addition to Baan Teelanka and to A-Maze-in-Phuket,

the small complex features already a modern coffee-shop (selling drinks, snacks and sweets)

and will host in a near future a souvenir shop and two other boutiques.

Baan Teelanka is the first and unique (as for today) upside-down house in Thailand;

there are about a dozen upside-down houses in the world,

the first ever to open was Wonderworks Upside Down Building in Florida in 1998.

Baan Teelanka is certainly one of the most accomplished of them with its 13m height

and the outstanding research and imagination it has required to making it so detailed.

Leave all logic behind as you enter the house from its roof.

You will pass the attic before to reach the second floor.

You can visit all the rooms like in a standard house;

the only difference is that you do so as if you would be able to walk on the ceiling!

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Khao San Road #Bangkok.

In addition to being great for adjusting to the culture and climate,

Khao San Road is also a great place to ease yourself

into the intense sensory m-lange that is Thai cuisine.

 Restaurants, shacks and stalls on wheels abound,

and most of what’s sold at them toned down to cater to the unadjusted Western palate.

In particular, the spiciness of curries, salads and noodles is much less than locals enjoy eating.

If you like spicy, the phrase ‘ped maak’ should do the trick.

Don’t think its all tame variations on Thai cooking and Western junk food

(Burger King, McDonalds and Subway are all in attendence).

 

Recent years have seen an upsurge in upscale restaurants and bars,

and the variety and sophistication of the food

available on Khao San Road has rocketed proportionally.

Menus offering interesting fusions of Thai with Western cuisine are now common,

and many establishments and stalls specialist in gourmet international cuisine.

Pizza, sushi, felafel, seafood, fish and chips, and pasta all get a look in.

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Novotel #Phuket Resort

At Novotel Phuket Resort,

first class accommodation

and service

are a natural extension of daily

mission to provide you

with the ultimate resort experience.

 

Novotel Phuket Resort is perfectly located in the green hills

above beautiful Kalim Bay and just minutes walk from Patong beach

and the centre of Patong Novotel Phuket Resort blend essential

modern comforts with Thai inspired decor.

Each room has a private balcony providing magnificent views of Patong Beach

and the Andaman Sea. Three stunning restaurants over looking the ocean

provide diverse dining options and a perfect place to watch the sunset.

Superb location by the beach in 8 acres of lush tropical garden

within walking distance from Patong, exciting shopping

and nightlife. As the hotel is located on a higher ground,

it was not affected at all by the tsunami.

Magnificent views and stunning tropical sunsets over Patong Beach

and the Andaman Sea. Peaceful and serene environment providing an exclusive

hidden paradise for comfort and relaxation.

Warm and genuine hospitality with only 215 rooms.

Magnificent three tier swimming pools with connecting waterfalls

A combination of classical Thai style architecture with modern facilities.

Situated at the Premier location in Patong,

this International chain managed resort enjoys magnificent views

across the Andaman Sea and Patong Beach from every food and beverage outlet,

swimming pools, lobby and almost everywhere in the resort.

The Resort is also surrounded by lush landscape and exotic gardens

with a serene and quiet environment.

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Tourism on Khao San Road in the heart of Bangkok back to normal.

Tourism on Khao San Road in the heart of Bangkok, known as the backpack haven for tourists, has returned to its normal liveliness as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) canceled the curfew it had imposed across the nation.

Khao San Road Business Association chairman Sa-nga Ruangwattanakul said since the NCPO lifted the countryside curfew last Friday, the area has seen the number of visitors climb back to its normal state.

Local Thai residents have been flocking to the tourist spot to enjoy watching the World Cup 2014, while foreign tourists are staying longer in Khao San, up from previously spending just one night in Bangkok before traveling to other provinces to avoid the curfew.

Trading in the area has also regained activeness, noting that he believes the number of visitors to the top tourist destination would soon return to the same level as before.

The association has spread the news of the lifting of the curfew through the world's top social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter, which has brought a better response among Asian tourists than European tourists in traveling to Thailand.

Mr Sa-nga said that the organisation would hold more activities to draw foreign tourists back to the location, since its strategy to return happiness to visitors has proven fruitful and helped to portray the image to the international community that Thailand is safe to visit.

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Nai Thon beach, #Phuket #Thailand

Nai thon Beach is one of these little known beaches on the west coast of Phuket,

far from the crowded areas such as Patong Beach or Kata Beach.

People coming here are searching for a peaceful place

with just enough facilities and hotels not to feel too remote.

Phuket being such a small island you always can rent a car

and drive to Patong for a fun night out or further south for a discovery day.

The beach is an amazing long and wide strip well shaded by tall trees

and divided in two by a small rock formation.

Walk beyond these rocks to reach a more private area of Nai thon.

The sand is smooth and swimming is great during high season. Loungers, umbrellas

and drinks are available as well as several small restaurants.

Some of them start to look trendy, a sign of increasing popularity

and already new hotels are building nearby such as Pullman.

No Jetskies  or parasailing in sight yet, only few long tails boats bobbing here

and there and beach vendors are still discreet.

parking your car is easy in the shade of trees anywhere along the beach.

Across the road are few more bars, restaurants, a mini mart and even a tailor and a dive shop.

This is definitely a high season kind of beach, it looks

and feels quite abandoned during low season

and swimming is not recommended (July to November)

The easiest way to reach there is to drive to the airport

and turn left at the T intersection just before reaching it,

then drive few kilometers and turn right at the signs pointing to ‘Andaman White Beach Resort’

and Trisara Phuket Resort. The closest beach, not to miss,

is the secret Banana Beach, just 3 kilometers away.

The Banana Beach, #Phuket

Banana Beach in Phuket – Phuket is a world famous holiday destination and every corner

of this tiny tropical island has been explored, invaded, sold, developed and exploited.

Yet the tiny Banana beach is hiding itself from the crowd, but it won’t last long.

Considering that Banana Beach is pretty large with shallow clear blue waters,

large palm trees and an excellent sand quality,

it is a mystery why it hasn’t been developed like the rest of the island.

It’s not totally deserted though, a restaurant has been there

as long as I can remember… which is almost two decades.

 They can serve you a great seafood lunch, probably caught no far from here.

Price is a bit higher than other restaurants,

but once you see them carrying everything down the hill,

you’ll forgive them.  Added to that, there are not many places in Phuket

where you still can have a peaceful lunch on the beach

with your feet in the sand in the shade of coconut trees!

 

 Banana Beach is pretty hard to find if you don’t know where to look.

Just finding the road passing by its entrance is tricky for most visitors.

The best way is to go to the airport, and when you are almost there,

at the T-junction turn left instead of right as you would for Phuket Airport.

Drive 2 or 3 km, then take the intersection on the right and follow the signs to Naithon Beach.

If you are lucky or if you planned well, it will be low tide, sky will be spotless

and Banana Beach will then take its full spend our.

Such a great place to spend an afternoon, swimming is great, snorkeling is good

and you can even get a beach chair and an umbrella.

A couple of longtail boats are gently bobbing on the clear water….

and only a handful of lucky tourists are enjoying the privilege of ‘knowing’,

what more can you ask for? In low season, it might feel a bit abandoned,

but I still like to go down there, these are places that will changes sooner than later.