Luxury Travel Review
Hua Hin, Thailand hotel good for international arrival
Article and photos by Elena del Valle
The courtyard area of the Rest Detail Hotel
It took many hours of travel and connections in two airports to arrive in Bangkok from the United States. When I arrived late in the evening the rain was pouring so hard we had to wait a few minutes to deplane because rather than parking directly at the terminal the airplane had parked on the tarmac and we had to be bussed to the terminal building. Except for the rain the transfer was all too familiar. It was necessary for us to descend the airplane staircase and cross over onto the bus partly in the rain then wait for the bus to be loaded before riding for what seemed a very long time to reach the airport building.
The breakfast room
I felt tired from the long flights with uncomfortable seats, indifferent service and bad airline meals, most of which I left untouched. Getting wet on arrival and the 11 hour time difference didn’t help matters. I was disillusioned as I exited the customs area eager to find my driver and leave the airport only to discover he was nowhere in sight (the same driver dropped me off in the wrong part of the airport on the return). I called the Rest Detail Hotel in Hua Hin and instantly felt reassured. Tar, the young man who answered, was patient and understanding. An hour and several phone calls later I managed to locate the driver. Within minutes we were on the road in the rain to Hua Hin.
Flowers in the common area
The air conditioned car was clean and comfortable and the only noteworthy item during our drive was the military check point we encountered along the road on our way to the hotel. Once at the hotel everything was right. Tar was waiting for me. He welcomed me with a warm smile and took me straight to my suite. The rest of my stay was a pleasure. My luxurious beach facing suite and the hotel’s quiet ambiance, service orientation, and tasty meals provided the restful environment I sought to recover from the long trip and adjust to the time difference. Visit Simonandbaker.com to read about Thailand and the Rest Detail Hotel where I stayed.
Ritz location a double edged sword for L’Espadon in Paris
On a recent visit to Paris, France one of our teams strolled into the Hotel Ritz on the Place Vendome seeking to browse the menu for L’Espadon, the hotel’s gourmet restaurant, where they had made reservations to dine later in the week. Nearly every hotel in Paris that hosts a fine dining restaurant proudly displays the menu in a glass case outside the entrance to entice potential diners. On approaching the entrance to the Paris Ritz hotel, the doorman took on the demeanor of a security guard and asked them what their business was at the hotel. Once they explained their purpose he allowed them to enter. Just inside the entrance, another man with the demeanor of a security guard was watching the people moving in the lobby and called to our team as they moved toward the restaurant. In terse language he said they could not approach the restaurant and that there was no menu available near the restaurant entrance.
He indicated that if they wished further information they should go to the front desk. On arriving at the front desk and asking to see the menu the young lady who greeted them said they should go to the restaurant and indicated where it was. Two additional desk personnel approached and informed our team that the only information available was on the hotel website (apparently they felt the need to outnumber our team of two, or just had nothing better to do at the time). Truly service oriented staff would have printed the menu from the website using the equipment in front of them rather than simply sending restaurant guests back out into the Place Vendome with nothing but a negative impression. The hotel’s staff attitude and service belied the “When a dream comes true” concept touted on the hotel website.
Our team left the hotel and made plans to dine elsewhere. In a city filled with fine dining venues it was a matter of minutes before they secured reservations at an outstanding gourmet restaurant. We can only imagine that L’Espadon is able to draw an adequate clientele from the hotel guests at the Ritz as the Hotel Ritz in Paris was singularly unwelcoming and borderline hostile at the very idea of non-guests passing through their hallowed halls to visit their fine dining restaurant.
With video – Koh Samui, Thailand canopy ride offered off the beaten track fun
By Elena del Valle
The Canopy Adventures office
On a recent visit to the island of Koh Samui in Thailand I went on a canopy ride. The mid morning ride provided an off the beaten track activity and a pretty bird’s eye view of the local greenery including a waterfall. At my request after seeing the activity listed among the hotel tour offerings, the hotel staff at the Hansar Samui, my beachfront hotel on the northern coast of the island, coordinated the outing. The hotel sorted out reservations and provided transportation to the canopy ride site.
Canopy Adventures
From the paved road a few minute’s drive from the hotel we followed a bumpy dirt road that made me glad we were in a four by four vehicle. When the road ended we found a steep uphill path. At the top of the path there was a small thatched roof hut where three staff welcomed us. Since only two of us were scheduled at that hour we were able to begin quickly. We signed in, promised not to sue them in case of an accident and proceeded with the tour. Minutes later we donned canopy gear and thick gloves (mine smelled awful) and continued up a hilly path to a training spot in the company of two of the friendly staff members.
Ladders to the canopy
A sea of mosquitoes greeted us while we listened to their explanations in thickly accented English. Additional climbing led us to the first of several treetop platforms. Although it was harder than it looked when the guides showed us and required upper body strength to slow down and stop while moving down the line, it looked very safe. Soon we were zipping along the trees and screaming delightedly. The heat and humidity were high even though the sky was mostly overcast. Sweat dripped from our faces and my sunglasses fogged up so much they became useless so I let them hang around my neck.
The secret falls
When we arrived at the last zip line we felt small rain drops. We rushed back to the starting point just in time to miss the pouring rain. While the next group of tourists waited for the rain to stop we wolfed down a plateful of sweet watermelon they offered us and pondered how the ride had gone by so quickly. A short while later the rain slowed down. We took advantage of the lull to say good bye and made our way back down the steep path to the car.
After cleaning our hands with refresher towels in the vehicle we headed back to the hotel in air conditioned comfort, drinking bottled water to quench our thirst while planning our next adventure. Canopy Adventure (Thailand) Co Ltd, PO Box 28, Meanam, Koh Samui, Suratthani, Thailand 84330, Phone + 66 077 414 151, www.canopyadventuresthailand.com, info@canopyadventurethailand.com
Happy New Year
We wish you a wonderful, healthy and prosperous 2011!
Le Grand restaurant offered romantic, refined dining in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Doorman at the hotel wearing traditional Khmer costume
One of our team members was recently in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Among the places she visited was Le Grand restaurant, the gourmet restaurant of the Raffles Hotel in that city. The quiet restaurant in the lobby of the historic hotel was known locally for its wine collection, Royal Khmer cuisine, and romantic setting. Visit Simonandbaker.com for more about Siem Reap and Restaurant Le Grand.
A day trip visit to a Cambodian lake, bird sanctuary and floating village
Article and photos by Elena del Valle
A young boy in a tiny boat floats through the village
During a recent trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia I had an opportunity to spend time in a conservation area and bird reserve near the city. Although the conservation area we visited was only 90 minutes by car and boat from the central urban area where my hotel was it was vastly different from the hustle and bustle of the city. Spending time in an area visited by only 150 bird and conservation enthusiasts a year was special. As the word spreads about the eight conservation areas that it is possible to visit in Cambodia and tourism to the region continues to grow the number of visitors to the reserve will likely grow as well. For now, it is still a pleasure of serene lake and birding panoramas.
Most of the village floated on the water
Nick Butler, the coordinator of the Sam Veasna Center for Wildlife Conservation, and Sophoan Sanh, a senior tour guide with five years of experience with the Center, escorted me on a day long Bird Reserve and Floating Village Day Trip on Tonle Sap Lake. To take advantage of the weather and avoid rain as much as possible we set out at 6 a.m. on a weekday morning. We drove from my hotel in central Siem Reap through the countryside to the shores of Tonle Sap Lake, the home of, and an important source of livelihood for, many Cambodians; where we boarded a 10 meter wood motorboat with a 110 horsepower engine, curtains (in case of rain) and an upper deck (we were quite thankful for the curtains and cover when it rained) to traverse the lake in a west southwest direction to our destination, the Prek Toal Bird Sancuary and the nearby village of Prek Toal.
Map of Cambodia
Along the way Nick, a native of the United Kingdom, and Sophoan, a Cambodian, shared information about the lake and its importance for the local communities, the birds in the area and the environment while we munched on the goodies from the breakfast boxes they had brought along. Although there was plenty of space in the shady comfort of the boat we climbed onto the upper deck to better view the lake and the birds. On our way through the conservation area to one of the main floating villages we stopped at an observation point, a tree where Center staff spent time to monitor and protect the bird nesting areas (sometimes the fishermen were drawn to them because of the excellent fishing they offered). From the canopy of the tree we could see for miles around the lake, including approaching rain clouds. It was a beautiful sight. Although there was a seemingly infinite variety of insects that rained on us when we brushed the trees as we motored around the reserve I saw not a single mosquito and for that I was thankful.
Boats of many descriptions were the core of local transport
At the Prek Toal floating village we picked up a representative of the Cambodian parks and made a restroom stop (although there was a toilet on the boat it was tiny and without toilet paper) before heading to a local house for lunch. The village was a lively place with residents going about their everyday lives in their floating homes and businesses or making their way from one location to another by boat. Lunch, prepared by a village family who had received special training, was delicious.
A non floating temple in the floating village
After lunch, a teenage member of the family showed us around the village in a small rowboat. I particularly enjoyed the water level view we had on the boat that allowed us to see the inhabitants, their homes and businesses close up. Some came to their door to look at us with curiosity; at times children waived shyly and adults smiled when we waved back. After that we crossed the lake to reach our car for the short drive back to Siem Reap, arriving at my hotel in the late afternoon. The day trip remains one of my favorite memories of Cambodia.
Visit Simonandbaker.com for additional information about Siem Reap and my tour with the Sam Veasna Center for Wildlife Conservation.
