by Scott Coates

When Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) officially opened on September 28, 2006, it replaced Don Muang as Bangkok’s main airport. Built in 1914, Don Muang was one of the world’s oldest operating airports, having commenced commercial service in 1924 with the arrival of a KLM flight. Suvarnabhumi promised not only a modern terminal but a high-speed train to whisk passengers to and from the city. Like many large-scale projects the rail link suffered setbacks almost from the start, but is now officially almost ready to go.

Phayathai Station

Construction of Suvarnabhumi Airport Link (SARL) started in July 2005 and test runs began in October 2009 with the latest round (July 2010) being open to the public. Smiling Albino was itching to try it out and took a ride on July 14.

Owned and operated by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), the 28km, above-ground line has eight stations, including the terminus stop at BKK, one at Phayathai which will connect to the city’s Skytrain system and Makkasan, a central station where travelers will be able to check-in for flights and drop their bags before leaving the city. We boarded at Phayathai and were immediately impressed with the size of the station. The roof is long and domed, likely with an eye to its popularity growing in the future. The train, manufactured by Siemens rolled up and we hopped on.

Inside the train

The inside of the carriage looks much like those used on the Skytrain and Bangkok’s Underground system (also manufactured by Siemens), but with a bit of room for placing suitcases. Bit is the key word. On each car there is a space about 1m wide and ½ a meter deep, which seems like much less storage space than will be required by those using an airport train. Another missing item is the total absence of overhead storage of any kind. There’s lots of space above the seats, most travelers will likely have carry-on bags, but there’s no racks to place anything. I’m guessing they’re keeping the area open for advertising, a disappointment.

The speed of the train was impressive, seeing us cover the entire journey with stops at all stations in less than 30 minutes (Commuter Train). There will also be Express Trains which go directly to the city and take just 15 minutes, making the journey quick and manageable. With a top speed of 160km/hr (I don’t think we got near that on our trip) it’s pretty neat gazing down at old houses in the eastern end of the city as they whiz by and minutes later being amongst Bangkok’s modern skyscrapers – a wild contrast.

Seamlessness will be the telling tale of SARL and we’ll be revisiting the train once full passenger service commences to see how travelers manage moving bags on and off the trains, connect to Skytrain and Underground stations and check-in at Makkasan Station. Escalators in the stations are not oversized,

SARL route map

leaving us wondering if it will be tough to get on them, huge hard-shell suitcase in hand. Another question is the process of getting in/out of taxis at the Makkasan Station and the time required for an inner city journey to one’s hotel – the slowest part of any taxi ride in Bangkok.

Fares and operating times have yet to be announced but considering the great deal on Bangkok’s taxi fares we’re thinking train fares should be very reasonable. Opening dates for SARL have been announced, rescinded, and revised several times over the last year but it seems things will be fully functional starting August 23, coincidentally my birthday. I know what I’m doing this year!

Watch a video of our ride.

See some photos from our first trip.

by Bank Takaeng

A group of Smiling Albino Adventurer’s explore Phnom Penh by Tuk Tuk.

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by Scott Coates

In early June I was at a joint American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand – Thai Canadian Chamber of Commerce luncheon and heard an announcement for a Chili Contest as part of the American Independence Day Celebrations to be held on July 3, 2010 in Bangkok. Having made chili a few times, loving a bowl – a rarity when you live in Bangkok – Smiling Albino (SA) Board Member Derek Van Pelt mentioned that a mutual friend had a great recipe for chili and

Some friends at the SA Chili Booth

we should enter the contest. Always up for something fun and the chance to eat chili we signed-up, enlisted the assistance of our friend Phil, a Canadian resident in Bangkok, and Friday, July 2 met at his house to create a winning chili.

Early in the evening someone in the kitchen asked, “What does chili have to do with travel?” and chuckled. Everyone had a laugh, we talked about how funny it would be to beat all the major restaurants that would be in the contest, and continued designing our batch of bliss.

At the event site on July 3 while setting up our booth the owner of one of the city’s leading Mexican restaurants was setting up next to us. After introductions he asked about our restaurant wondering where SA was. After explaining that SA is a travel company and sharing a bit about what we do, it was obvious he was a bit perplexed. Throughout the afternoon as guests sampled our chili it was amazing how many people were surprised that a travel company was in a chili contest. A quick look around at the other booths revealed we were in fact the only non-restaurant in the contest of more than a dozen entrants. One feisty eater who’d clearly had a few too many bowls smartly remarked, “What does a travel company know about chili!” A lot it turns out as he returned shortly thereafter to give us his bean (each taster had one bean to vote for their favorite chili).

Serving it up

With our entire seven liters of chili consumed, the judges announced the winners of the Great American Chili Cook-off and we were delighted to win People’s Choice for Best Chili, no doubt surprising some of the other competitors. So, how did we win? We followed the judging criteria to a tee, nailing all five: Aroma (chili should smell good), Consistency (chili should be a good balance of meat and gravy – the meat should be tender, but not mushy), Color (chili should look good and the color should range from reddish to reddish brown), Taste (chili should taste good) and Aftertaste (chili should leave a pleasant taste after swallowing). Since the competition we’ve talked a fair bit about what a travel company knows about making chili and it turns out there are lots of similarities.

When designing a great trip there must be good aroma all the way through. Asia is one of the world’s most colorful and fragrant regions to travel. From flower markets to food vendors concocting culinary delights and world-class spas emanating sweet-smelling oils, great aromas abound and exposing our guests to them is key.

While good surprises are something we love to sprinkle liberally throughout our adventures, consistency is important. While exploring the unknown it’s vital for guests to feel comfortable and live up to the high expectations we’ve set for ourselves. This especially holds true when visitors return for multiple trips in the many countries travel. It’s all about consistency.

Color: markets, hilltribe communities in traditional costume, glittering temples, tuk-tuks, lush rice paddies, silky-soft beaches, azure seas and neon lights combine to form the colorful backdrop of all our adventures.

Food is a highlight of any trip to Asia and SA has always worked hard to introduce visitors to as many tasty dishes during their trip as possible. From fine dining to street-side fare and everything in between, exposing guests to the taste of the region is a highlight of prime importance.

A journey of a lifetime consists of much more than just the travel days

Accepting the People's Choice Award

themselves. Creating experiences that visitors remember for the rest of their lives is the goal. The joy of recalling a local’s smile as you rode by on a bicycle or watched the sunset from your mountain villa while sipping sparkling wine is an element we consider sacred. Creating a travel aftertaste so to speak is as important as the adventure itself.

With our trophy ladle for People’s Choice for Best Chili mounted on our office wall and thinking about all those people who didn’t understand what chili and travel had in common, I now think it’s rather obvious. We’re ready to make a batch for you. Check-out our Adventures and let us know when you’re hungry.

by Scott Coates

The good folks at Bangkok Podcast had us on their show on Sunday, July 11. We talked about the origins of Smiling Albino, our guiding principals, how we’ve expanded over the years and our community work.
Have a listen: http://www.bangkokpodcast.com/bangkok-interviews/smiling-albino/.

Over the past year or so I’ve been invited by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to emcee media events such as this year’s Ultimate Thailand Explorer’s Challenge. In addition, I’ve also had the good fortune to be named a tourism ambassador for such events as the revitalization of tourism following the 2005 tsunami, or more recently following Bangkok’s political demonstrations as an internet-television host for interviews about tourism in Thailand.

Another occasion arose to get in the game of revitalizing Thailand’s tourism image this past weekend during the “Smile@Ratchaprasong” Festival coordinated by the TAT and the Ratchaprasong Business Community. The Ratchaprasong area of course is where the Red Shirt demonstrations took place this past spring (perhaps you heard about it?), which left a temporary sour note in one of Bangkok’s ordinarily more vibrant neighbourhoods. The “Smile@Ratchaprasong” Festival sought to bring people back by way of a town fair– type atmosphere: live music concerts, games, competitions, crafts workshops, photo contests, retail space, moms & tots, etc. In addition, the TAT invited a wide range of media to the event, from traditional TV, newspaper and magazines, to the active social media influencers around town who were vital in reporting on-the-scene truths during and after the demonstrations this past spring. So, in an inspiring step forward, the TAT sought to recognize the importance of this new media vehicle and build bridges into this community. I was to host them on the first morning of the festival, followed by an informal lunch with the Governor of the TAT, Suraphon Svetsaranee, as well as Deputy Governor Prakit Piriyakiet, Executive Director Sugree Sithivanich, and Director of Communications, Thapanee Kiatpaiboon.

Some of our guests on the outing included local social media notables Michael, Richard, John, Greg, Jack, Anthony, Trevor, and more.

Social media celebrities unite!

So, how do you impress a group of seasoned locals and keep them interested for a half-day of visiting the very neighbourhood where many of them live, work and play regularly anyway? Enter Smiling Albino!

As an enhancement to the festival, Smiling Albino was asked to provide some entertainment and information to this group of bloggers, tweeters, online travel gurus and iWizards. So, rather than bludgeoning them with miles and miles of retail and music, we did what we have always thought travel should be about anyway: get involved with the locals.

Using the Ratchaprasong neighbourhood as our canvass, we drafted up a simple walking adventure, mixed with a private boat trip and a few sneak-a-peaks into local villages, shops, homes, boat piers and focused on the life and times of the local people who live, work, and pray in Ratchaprasong. In a two-hour jaunt we tasted the local food, heard the stories of the local shopkeepers, cooks, villagers, and spoke to boat drivers and pier custodians about life before and after the demonstrations. Some of us even tried our hand at making the curious kanom tokyo snacks. Nothing fancy – just an opportunity to get in touch with the community, and make the locals the stars for a day. The concept was “live, eat, work and pray in Ratchaprasong”

Here’s a quick breakdown of the trip:

Pray 1 – start at Erawan Shrine – the venerable spirit keystone of the entire neighbourhood. Flanked in untold mystery and curious history, the open-air goodness emanating from this corner of Ratchaprasong is a must for any walking experience in the neighbourhood.

Eat 2 – from here it was time to walk along Ratchaprasong Ave across from the recovering Central World Complex, currently getting a new make-over to grace Bangkok’s retail block once again. Here we spoke with Khun Tan, the lady who has run a small clothing shop (read: clothes hanging on a pole beside a tree along the roadside) for many years. Over the past few months her revenues have been cut in thirds, and she is improvising with a new Thai sweets stand selling kanom tokyo.

Greg steps into to street-hawker shoes and makes kanom tokyo

Greg kindly showed us how it was done and may have even sold some of his innovations to the passers by. This is a great strip of Bangkok to sample all kinds of street food, from kanom krock (the ping pong ball-looking coconut snack), to moo satay (pork skewers that taste better than they look) beyond the canal bridge, to Isaan-cum-urban dweller favourites, som tam and gai yang (papaya salad and grilled chicken).

Live 3 – Tao Phu Village

From here cut across the street into what looks like a construction site across from the canal bridge over the Saen Seab Canal. Beyond this cement factory is a narrow series of streets that pass through the Tao Phu Village (cement mixer village in Thai, named after the giant factory that dwarfs its sensibilities to the north). This oddly peaceful pocket of Ratchaprasong was a hotbed of activity during protests last spring, and the locals were happy to share their stories and demonstrate that they were ready to step into a fresh new chapter. A few hundred families make up this community, sequestered between the factory, Central World, and the edge of the Centara Complex to the west. Just another one of those places you’d never knew existed in this amazing city…

Tao Phu Village - stuck between a cement mixer and mega-mall

Work 4 – from Tao Phu Village cross back to the boat bridge and meet Mr Lert, the long-time manager of the boat station which serves as a main hub for what is Thailand’s longest canal, Khlong Saen Saeb. Mr Lert runs 60 boats up and down the canals from Bangkapi all the way to the Phan Fah Bridge in Banglampu, near Democracy Monument and Khao San Road. On our SA mini-adventure we hired a private boat to take our guests down the canal to famous Hua Chang Bridge station at Siam Square and the Bangkok Art & Culture Center. It was nice to see the boat business back at full throttle again, and Mr Lert kindly gave a couple of quick interviews before returning to his liquid thoroughfare office.

SA's Bank aboard a canal water taxi towards Siam Square

Live 5 – at the Hua Chang Boat Stop, one exits the boat stand into a small but lovingly cared for garden area run by Khun Rampui. She is the jovial lady who runs the red fridge with cool drinks and snacks for boat passengers. She graciously invited us into her wooden two-story house which precariously lurches out over the water. She has been there for many years and in exchange for rights to live and work in the space, she is also the custodian of the boat pier, hence the greenery and generally nice atmosphere.

Work (and shop) 6 – from here we walked along Rama I Road and checked out work on the rebuilding of retail space around the old Siam Theater. Many of the tenants who lost their space after the spring fires have set up a mini strip mall of canvassed cubicles on Siam Square Soi 4, while work is done to rebuild more formal retail space beside the theater. Life is marching on – and the resiliency of Thais and the smiles on their faces was a positive reminder that indeed The Land of Smiles is back in business! Travel here now!

Pray 7 – We ended the walking trip in an affirming manner, giving alms to monks at the Pathum Wararam Temple. This deep garden sanctuary is cocooned between Siam Paragon and Centara Grand/Central World complexes.

Wat Pathum Wararam's garden walking paths

It was also a safe haven for the fleeing protesters during the sweeping up operations which ended the demonstrations last spring. We thought it was a fitting ending to end this mini adventure on a high spiritual note, and a chance for a nice stroll through the temple gardens, and to use one of the nicer bathrooms in the neighbourhood.

From here along the skywalk all the way to the Grand Hyatt Erawan for a lunch with the TAT Governor and friends to discuss tourism initiatives and how to bridge ties into the social media world. All up – a good morning.

Long table discussion with TAT Governor Suraphon Svetsaranee

There was some positive discussion during our luncheon about how the social media community can get involved in the revitalizing of Thailand’s tourism industry, and more importantly how the TAT can catch the slip string of this momentum and make positive inroads into this exciting medium. Great work from Kae, Bank and Scott in the SA Office to get this mini-adventure off the ground last week, and special thanks to Bank for being a great host and trip leader for our media guests.

Great to have you all on board guys and thanks for the extra photo support, John!

by Bank Takaeng

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by Scott Coates

A recent story that runs in a similar form once-per-year in Thailand, quoted Bangkok Deputy Governor Theerachon Manomaipiboon, saying the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is imposing stiff measures against mahouts (elephant handlers) who bring elephants into the capital. This activity is common, with mahouts selling food for people to feed to their elephant. To date the BMA says they have confiscated 10 elephants and returned 80 to the forest this year. Those found violating the law will face a six-month jail term or a 10,000THB fine. This can also potentially be imposed against those buying food for elephants from their handlers.

John hard at work atop an elephant

The plight of elephants in Bangkok and Thai cities is a complicated one. While it might sound easy to relocate an elephant, there are much larger economic issues at stake. These beasts can eat more than 200kg of food per day, putting a large financial burden on a mahout and more importantly, these handlers have often spent their entire lives working with elephants, making it difficult to transition into another career. It’s also not easy to simply return an elephant to the jungle as remaining forests are shrinking dramatically and domestic elephants don’t integrate well back into the wild.

A friend of Smiling Albino (SA), John Roberts, Director of Elephants with the Anantara Resort at the Golden Triangle, was kind enough to treat me to a day with their elephants some time ago and since then we’ve spoken on several occasions about his work and the plight of Thailand’s elephants. This recent story led me to get his opinion on the issue.

Roberts, a native of England, first started working with elephants in Chitwan National Park, Nepal back in 1999 and they’ve been the focus of his work since moving to Thailand in 2003. He helped develop the Anantara’s Mahout Program, which is very unique. Rather than buying elephants and bringing them to the resort, they approach a mahout, pay them a salary, and move them, their elephant and family to the resort, where they live and work. This provides an ongoing steady salary and ensures a good quality of life for everyone.

Back in his early days Roberts spent most of his time working hands-on with pachyderms, but nowadays finds most of his time occupied by administration like promoting ideas on elephant welfare, developing a rescue/rental model and working hard to influence others on the subject. He still thrives on meeting as many guests as possible and is extremely proud of the solid local team that has been assembled who run the day-to-day operations.

Roberts explains how the phenomenon of bringing elephants into cities began, “It started as a way for unemployed mahouts to make money by giving local folks a chance to make merit and while it’s still seen as a desperate measure for a traditional mahout trying to feed his elephant, it’s developed somewhat to suit the tourist trade and the elephants that find themselves in town nowadays are more likely to be babies that are cuter and easier to transport.”

While it seems obvious that cities are not a good place for elephants, he says there are many adverse, long term problems that can result from elephants living and working in such environments, “Elephants end up walking all night on the roads and traffic accidents, while not too common, are a risk. They have to try to rest during the day and are often sleep-deprived and stressed, passed out under underpasses.”

The temptation to bring babies into the city results in them too often being separated from their mothers too early and having to eat fodder that’s not traditional, possibly leading to physical and mental development problems as they grow older. “Making elephants cute is a major problem with long term downsides according,” says Roberts, “to earn a living they often have to do tricks that may end up damaging them later in life. We have two rescued babies who seem to have premature arthritis, possibly coincidentally; they were initially introduced to me by doing a headstand. We have one who is stunted from drinking whisky on the streets. Her mahout used to share a bottle with her so she could do the drunken elephant dance. Both have since given up drinking.”

Using dirt to stay cool

A major challenge with moving elephants out of the city is where to take them and what to do with them. An elephant eats a lot of food, so without a good deal of money and/or access to fodder, one can quickly become financially strained. Roberts mentions that the BMA makes an annual push to move elephants out of the cities, but to date their efforts have not been terribly effective yet remains optimistic that things can improve, “Under the current Chang Yim scheme (Smiling Elephant), the elephants and their mahouts are sent back to their villages in Surin province and paid a small wage per month to stay there, as well as being given one Rai of land to grow elephant fodder.”

Certain organizations including Royal Foundations and Elephant Nature Foundation’s Surin Project are working hard to build tourism according to Roberts, “However, at the moment these schemes have limited capacity so many of the elephants are still playing the old trick of moving to provincial cities while the heat is on in Bangkok and moving back when the heat comes off again. Lets hope the BMA can keep the heat on.”

A major challenge is that working city streets is more lucrative than being a part of any elephant relocation program. Some mahouts talk of making up to 10,000THB/night but more commonly they can take in about 3,000THB/night. The Anantara’s program, while earning less money than working the streets, is a good option with other benefits explains Roberts, “We feel that if we are to persuade our mahouts to bring their elephants from the streets we have to offer them a comfortable lifestyle with their families, a much better rent, plus opportunities for overtime and tips. All the elephant food and other intangible benefits such as human and elephant insurance, permanent veterinary presence, a silk producing business for their wives, as we can’t possibly compete with the streets on purely financial terms.”

Roberts has learned much during his tenure in Thailand and an original scheme of buying elephants from their handlers ended up not working, hence the Anantara’s current program. “Some operators seek to persuade mahouts to sell their elephants and change their lifestyles as this would certainly be the easiest option, but we found early on that a traditional mahout with money in his pocket and no elephant just goes and buys another elephant. Increasingly these days, it seems, one smuggled in from Burma or Laos and goes back to the city streets.” “Buying a street elephant to rescue it almost always immediately puts another elephant in danger, so that’s not an option we encourage.”
“Being a mahout isn’t just a job but a sense of cultural identity for many, following in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers. It’s their skill and career.”

Riding at the Anantara

During his more than 10 years working with elephants, Roberts and his team have tried many different methods for rescuing elephants and caring for their handlers’ and families. While there’s still much to be done, he says the Anantara’s current efforts with 12 working elephants are yielding good results, “Our main activity is Mahout Training where over the course of one hour to three days, we give you a taster of what it’s like to be a mahout. We also have a foundation that looks after the remainder of the elephants, mainly babies, from the streets. While they are with us we work with the mahouts to develop handling methods and welfare regimes that will give the elephants as much freedom as possible and ensure the mahouts don’t resort to some of the crueler traditional methods of control. We feel that if we are to help all of Thailand’s elephants, not just those under our care, the methods we develop here not only have to be acceptable to us and our guests, they must be attractive enough to the mahouts to practice them should we not be around and to tell their friends about to practice elsewhere. In this way we hope we are able to help elephants everywhere and not just those we are directly responsible for.”

Smiling Albino is happy to arrange an elephant experience for you during your adventure that will not only be an amazing experience, but benefit the elephants and their human families. Just send us an email and check out our Customized Experiences and we’ll make it happen.
Another great way to help Thai elephants is to never buy food for them if on the streets. If you spot a rouge elephant in the city you can call the BMA Hotline at 1555 who will then address the problem. We’d like to see how that’s executed – getting an elephant on a truck is no doubt a precarious task!
You can also follow John’s Elephant Tails Blog too.

Smiling Albino entered the US Independence Day Chili Competition in Bangkok on July 3, 2010. We were the only non-restaurant to enter and won the People’s Choice Award for Best Chili! Enjoy these photos:

The Smiling Albino Chili Booth

A young girl enjoys her Smiling Albino Fan

Scott serves up some chili

Scott & Erika maning the booth

Fans of Smiling Albino Chili

Scott & Erika accept the People's Choice award for Best Chili

Scott enjoys a victory sip from the prize ladle