Luxury Travel: Unlimited spa treatments at Thailand’s Phulay Bay

by McLean Robbins on

There are relaxing vacations and there are vacations that take relaxation to a whole new level. Thailand‘s Phulay Bay, the first Ritz-Carlton Reserve property, is offering a new Unlimited Spa package to entice luxury and spa lovers alike – and we are pretty sure it’s working.

The ESPA-branded spa and the property have teamed up to offer a package featuring unlimited daily EPSA treatments along with daily breakfast for two, roundtrip transfers from Krabi Airport by hotel limousine, 24-hour dedicated butler service and a complimentary daily boat trip to Hong Island.


It isn’t the idea of an unlimited spa package that’s enticing, but the relatively low per-day price (starting at $1,165 per day) and the fact that the value increases exponentially with the amount of spa services booked. If you were to truly schedule a week of pampering, for example, your savings could be as much as $1,800 per day.

That’s not saying that the price isn’t still steep, but it’s a dramatic discount given the services offered. We certainly wouldn’t pass up the chance to stay at one of the resort’s 54 villas.

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Myanmar Misfortune: a visit to the fortuneteller in Yangon

by David Farley on

The man who told me my unfortunate future, did so with glee. I quickly learned he had a proclivity for sustaining the last syllable of every sentence, like a Spanish-speaking soccer play-by-play announcer after a goal, or a game show host announcing I’d just won a BRAND NEW CAR……!

“In future, you will be very unluckyyyyyyyyy,” he said after recording my birthdate and looking it up in a tattered book filled with numerical codes.

I was doing a self-guided tour of Yangon, the erstwhile capital of Myanmar, as outlined in my guidebook, Lonely Planet Myanmar. The walking tour took me down a street lined with fortunetellers and palm readers. I hadn’t planned on sitting down but I thought that if one of them was particularly insistent, I’d do it.

That’s when Min Kyot Kyow announced himself to me. I took a seat on the bench and within seconds he was rambling on about my unfortunate fate. Astrology is taken very seriously in Myanmar. The location of the new capital, Naypyidaw, was reportedly determined by astrology.

I’ve never really gravitated to fortunetellers, palm readers and psychics, but I’d randomly had a couple experiences with this ilk that left me both intrigued and perplexed. In Rajasthan, a fortuneteller’s main message to me was that the best years of my life were 1996 and 2005. Up until 2011, those were, by far, the worst years of my life. Or did he mean that suffering equals growth which eventually equals positivity? It’s possible, I suppose; after a terrible last year, I’m currently quite happy about the way things have worked out. In Rajasthan, though, I didn’t stick around for clarification. Instead, I walked away distraught and confused. The second brush came when I was reporting a story on people who privately collect holy relics. One of the collectors, it turned out, was also a psychic. In the middle of his answers about how he attained the complete skull of St. Anne, he’d get a glazed look in his eye, stare over my shoulder and make random (and, at times, frightenly accurate) statements about my past.

But no one had dared tell me my future yet. Min Kyot Kyow picked up a piece of paper and began reading badly worded statements in English about what lie ahead for me. It was as if this crumpled notebook leaf of paper had been divinely inscribed just for me. But because the ballpoint pen ink looked long faded and the piece of paper itself appeared to have been through the wash several times, it was like someone saw me coming about five years ago. Or did the fortuneteller just say these things to all the foreigners who happen to walk by?


Telling me things like I would live with my father until I was in my 70s or that I have a kind relationship to “beasts,” as he put it, was fine, I guess. I didn’t really need to know this information. I won’t be living with my father and I already know I’m a friend of the beast, after all.

But then he started to get specific. “You will marry foreign womaaaaaaaaaaaaan!” he screamed. And just in case I didn’t understand, he began naming nationalities, counting off on his fingers with each one. “China woman, Thai lady, Brazil woman, Indonesian woman.” Then he paused before adding: “Burma woman,” and raised his eyebrows up and down at me a few times.

I wish he would have stopped right there. I could have walked away and begun my search for my new foreign-born wife.

“But in eight years,” he added after studying my palm, “you will become widowwwwwwwwwwww.” A widower? Really? He was prophesying the death of a woman I’m going to fall in love with but haven’t met yet? (Note to any foreign-born women who may take a romantic interest in me: unless you like the idea of knowing you’re going to die in 2020, stay far away from me.)

The fortuneteller gave me a candle and pointed me toward the Sule Pagoda, the large Buddhist temple in the center of town that was looming in the distance. He said I’d know what to do with it when I got there (um, light it, maybe?). Which is what I did. I put it on an altar, set the wick ablaze, and sat there, meditating with a handful of Burmese Buddhists, hoping this fortuneteller was terrible at his profession.

Guide to wine tasting in Thailand

by Jessica Festa on

While Thailand isn’t typically thought of as a destination for wine-lovers, there are actually various opportunities in the country to experience vineyards, wineries, and tastings. Whether you want to explore a Thai vineyard on the back of an elephant, try a one-of-a-kind local wine, or have a sommelier guide you through a 10-course wine pairing under a candle jungle waterfall, you can use this guide to help you find the best in vino that Thailand has to offer during your next visit.

Hua Hin Hills Vineyard

Located on a former elephant corral, the fertile sand, slate, and cool ocean breeze make this a prime area for grape-harvesting. Huan Hin Hills Vineyard rests peacefully in a hill and jungle setting, close to the Myanmar border and a convenient stop on the way to the Huay Monkol temple and the Pala U waterfall. In you are staying in downtown Hua Hin, the vineyard operates a daily shuttle that leaves from Market Village at 10:30AM and 3PM (about $9-$10 round-trip).

The vineyard takes up over 560 acres, and produces an array of Monsoon Valley vino varieties, including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Chenin Blanc, Colombard, Muscat, Tempranillo, and Sangiovese. In fact, Hua Hin Hills is the only vineyard in Thailand to harvest the Sangiovese grape, which has hints of red berries. There are a few different ways visitors can sample the wines. First of all, there is the The Sala Wine Bar & Bistro, which features wine and food pairings as well as educational opportunities to learn more about winemaking. The other option is to sign up for a wine tasting experience, which starts at about $9 to sample 3 wines, and goes to about $41 to try 5 wines and pair them with tapas. Other unique and fun vineyard experiences offered include painting wine bottles, playing Pétanque, or exploring the vineyards via elephant, mountain bike, or jeep.Siam Winery

Siam Winery, which is affiliated with Hua Hin Hills Vineyards, is the largest winery in South East Asia and has a staff of over 1,000 that includes diverse and knowledgeable people from German winemakers to farmers to oenologists. They operate under a New Latitudes Wine perspective, which is basically a new way of looking at wine. The ideology looks at past beliefs about wine creation and combines them with innovation, new technology, and modern discoveries. Winemaker Kathrin Puff explains, “The New Latitude wines teach the right to be wrong. They turn the wine world up-side down. Whilst most wine books refer to the 30th to the 50th latitude as the wine growing country belt, countries like Thailand and India now prove this to be wrong.”

The winery is located about 45 minutes west of central Bangkok and offers 2-hour tours that include a guided tour of the facility, 3 tastings with cheese and crackers, homemade grape juice, and a souvenir to take home. Tours cost about $16 ($6 if you’re under 20 years of age and cannot drink the wine) and must be booked in advance by emailing winerytour@siamwinery.com.

Floating Vineyards

Also owned by Siam Winery, the floating vineyards are a unique way to experience wine tasting in Thailand. While they’re not actually floating, as you can see in the photo on the right, the 1,000 acres of vineyards are situated on islands along canals. What’s really interesting here is that the vineyard kind of acts as an optical illusion. From an arial point of view, the vineyards actually appear to be bouyant, while a closer look will show what’s really going on. The unique landscape makes for an unusual harvest and production process, which you can learn more about through a visit. Make sure to sample white wine from the Malaga Blanc grapes and red wine from the plum-tasting Pokdum grapes, which are what the vineyard is known for. The vineyards are located about an hour southwest of Bangkok in the Chao Phraya Delta near the the Gulf of Siam.

PB Valley Khao Yai Winery

The PB Valley Khao Yai Winery produces 600,000 bottles of wine per year and the Founder, Dr. Piya Bhirombhakdi, recently received a South East Asia Wine Pioneer Award for his work in wine culture in Asia. Their vineyard is located in the northeastern part of Thailand, in the hillsides near Khaoyai National Park. The chilly temperatures, surrounding mountains that protect the vines, and little rainfall help make the area perfect for grape cultivation. PB produces three ranges of wine, including the Sawasdee Range, PB Reserve Range, and the Pirom Khao Yai Reserve Range. Visitors can sample these varieties through educational tasting tours of their vineyard and winery. Click here to view the various package options.

The Sarojin

While The Sarojin isn’t a winery or vineyard, it definitely caters to the wine enthusiast. This boutique 5-star resort is located in Khao Lak near Phuket and features many unique opportunities to sample the region’s best wines. For the past 4 years, the resort’s wine cellar, which boasts over 160 old and new world wines, has been given the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Sam Bonifant, the Wine Director at The Sarojin, explains, “The old principles of what went with what were really quite limited and thus the challenge is to find what is best for the myriad of flavors which modern cuisine has to offer.” To help guests experience these unique varieties, the resort offers degustation dinners with up to 10 courses each paired with wines by the resident sommelier, Dawid Koegelenberg. What’s really unique about these dinners is that they don’t just take place in an upscale restaurant, but literally anywhere you desire, whether it be under a jungle waterlit illuminated by candles, on a beach with the ocean’s waves creating natural background music, or on your own private island. If you want to expand your wine knowledge, The Sarojin offers wine lectures both privately and as a scheduled weekly activity for a group environment. There are also cooking classes to help you enhance the culinary side of your vino pairings.

[photos via sherrattsam, Siam Winery, Rivard, PB Valley Kao Yai Winery, The Sarojin]

Vacation deprivation study says beach vacations rule

by Chris Owen on

Expedia’s Vacation Deprivation study is an annual analysis of vacation habits across multiple countries and continents. Taken from the results of a survey by Harris Interactive, 7,083 respondents were surveyed in total across 20 countries with some surprising results.

“226 million vacation days will go unused this year resulting in some 50 million Americans becoming vacation deprived,” travel company Monograms reports on TravelBlackboard.

The 2011 study spans North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Australia. It reveals who gets – and takes – the most vacation time, as well as attitudes toward vacation. Common themes impacting how and where respondents vacation include money, romance and disapproving bosses.

When asked, “How many vacation days, if any, do you receive from your employer each year?”, Germany, France, Spain, Denmark and Brazil all tied for first place with 30 days. UK workers came in a bit less with 25, Canada 16 and the U.S. 14 but in last place was Japan with 11 days. Of those 11 they only used 6 on the average too.

According to the survey, most of the world likes to take a mix of short and long vacations, mostly in the Summer months and beach locations won out over others as the most preferred kind of holiday.

The sample included a nationwide cross-section of the employed adult populations fielded the online survey on behalf of Expedia.com from September 19 – October 9, 2011. Complete results of the survey can be found on the Expedia website.

Flickr photo by Moyan_Brenn


How to visit the Taj Mahal

by Melanie Renzulli on


“No, madam. I am sorry. Taj Mahal is closed today.”

“But,” I thought, as I skeptically squinted at the guard delivering this bad news, “this is the Taj Mahal. The TAJ MAHAL! It’s one of the most recognizable structures in the entire world. How could it be closed?”

“It’s Friday, holy day,” offered the gatekeeper. My whole body slumped with disappointment. And just like that I had my Walley World moment.

I had arrived in Agra, India, home of the world’s most famous Muslim shrine, on a Friday. No travel agent would have arranged an itinerary whereby I arrived in Agra on the one day that its main attraction was closed. But, seeing as how I was living in India at the time, I thought I could plan my own Golden Triangle adventure. I like to think that jaundice, the disease I had contracted two months before and that had left me home-bound and mustard-skinned up until a week before my travels, had contributed to my lack of planning. But my sister, who had come all the way from the U.S. for this once-in-a-lifetime trip, was none too pleased.

Nevertheless, we did what any traveler in such a situation should do. We rolled with it, retreating to a nearby cafe to work on Plan B. Turns out, arriving on a Friday was the best thing that could have happened to us. Agra was quiet, save for the Hindu wedding livening up the backstreets, and we got the opportunity to see the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort, the city’s other big landmark, from several vantage points.

%Gallery-145552%My very first view of the Taj Mahal was from the roof of a small restaurant a few blocks from the Western Gate, the main entrance to the Taj. Drying laundry and the crumbling brick rooftops of Agra’s city center framed the panorama. The air was sooty and hazy, giving the marble monument an almost mirage-like quality. Was that really the Taj Mahal?

Following lunch, we set out with a tour guide to the Agra Fort, the other landmark in Agra. The Agra Fort was built in the 16th century by the grandfather of Shah Jahan, the Moghul ruler who built the Taj Mahal as a shrine to his late wife Mumtaz Mahal. These sprawling red sandstone fortifications of Agra Fort would be an attraction in their own right were it not for the Taj. In the last years of his life, Shah Jahan was placed under house arrest in the Fort, forced to gaze upon the gleaming monument in the distance without ever setting foot inside its gates. I could relate.

After an hour or so at the Agra Fort, our guide drove us to the back side of the Taj. It was February, still a few months away from monsoon season, so the Yamuna River had all but dried up. Local kids were playing cricket in the dusty riverbed. The late afternoon light was rendering the Taj’s white marble pink.

That’s the thing about the Taj Mahal. It changes with the day’s light. Sunset turns the marble dome and its corresponding minarets a rosy color while sunrise, I learned the next morning after entering the Taj gates, gives the complex a golden tint. During the afternoon, or at times of bright sun or cloud cover, the Taj can take on a rainbow of hues, subtly switching from one to the other like a mood ring. Had I not made that huge travel mistake – arriving at the Taj Mahal on a Friday – I would not have had the chance to see the monument in all its many sublime shades.