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!

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

by Scott Coates

When traveling almost everyone stays in a hotel for most of their trip abroad. International hotel brands provide supreme comfort, all the services you could want but often lack local character. Small boutique hotels can be very neat and quirky but sometimes lack the quality and upkeep that one still expects from a hotel and the prices that go along with them. Then there’s the homestay where you bunk down with a local family, usually meaning facilities are very limited and perhaps not comfortable

Smiling Albino adventurers enjoying a break in the Newa Chen courtyard

enough for the average traveler. Enter something different and in between all of these – Newa Chen.

While developing the Nepal Trek & Trail adventure back in 2007, our Nepal Team leader Mads suggested we spend a couple nights in the old capital of Patan and really explore it. A former capital of the country, located in the Kathmandu Valley, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site where every street, alley, corner and building serves as a living museum. Patan was a center where artisans flourished, specializing in word work, smelting, bronze work and along with it, they spent a good deal of time creating intricate and beautiful homes.

Newa Chen is perhaps one of Patan’s best preserved traditional homes. Owned by the Shrestha family, it’s constructed of brick and timber in traditional Malla style, a period where great importance was placed on art and culture. With modern times many of Patan’s traditional homes and those in the greater Kathmandu Valley for that matter have and are being torn down in favor of modern concrete structures. If you’ve been around intricate wood carvings and wooden homes most of your life it seems concrete seems like progress.

An intricate window frame

With its heritage literally being torn down around them, the Patan Tourism Development Organization along with UNESCO set out to protect and promote historical homes and buildings before it was too late. Many Patan homes are in disrepair due to the passing of time, lack of funds to fix them and Kathmandu also lies on an earthquake fault and is prone to occasional tremors, causing damage to poorly built structures. Often tearing down old homes, subdividing the land and building modern concrete ones is a way to earn money. The two organizations approached local families with what they deemed to be heritage homes and proposed a plan: use a low interest loan to restore your home, then develop a way to showcase it to visitors. Rather than being a financial drain on a family, sometimes crumbling structures like Newa Chen were not only refurbished and preserved but quickly became a significant source of family income.

Opened in 1996 after a thorough restoration, Newa Chen welcomes visitors to stay in one of their eight guest rooms. Short doorways force one to bend over or bow when entering, making you pay respect to the home as you enter. Residents share communal spaces, courtyards, dining areas, an attic

Waving from their room

which serves as a lounge and you see family members come and go throughout the day. Gorgeous brickwork, intricate wooden window frames and doors, Patan art and traditional furnishings don’t just share the area’s feel but submerge you right into everyday life. Steep wooden staircases (ladders really) take you through Newa Chen’s three floors which surround the central courtyard which all rooms look out onto. While great attention and effort is put into the preserving the past, they’ve thoughtfully installed such modern amenities as sit down toilets and nice hot showers, ensuring you’ll want to come home at the end of a day exploring.

Newa Chen is one of the most interesting and enjoyable places I’ve ever stayed. I’ve brought my parents there for the experience and we’re thrilled to have it as part of our special Jazzmandu Grand Slam adventure starting on October 28, 2010. In a world cluttered with boring, overpriced, and soulless hotels, Newa Chen is successfully blazing new trails and setting a new standard.

The Sofitel Metropole Hanoi is often mentioned in the same sentence as the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok or Raffles Singapore.

Vintage fleet at a vintage location

The Metropole, built in 1901, is Vietnam’s grand dame of hotels whose famous white neo-classical facade has become one of Hanoi’s primary landmarks.

I have visited and inspected the hotel on many occasions, and Smiling Albino recently hosted European celebrity media for a series of events at the hotel in early 2010. During May 2010 I had an opportunity to experience the fullness of the hotel as an in-house guest, and The Metropole delivers on multiple levels.

Originally built by two French investors at the turn of the 20th Century, The Metropole has been under the management of Accor’s luxury arm, Sofitel, for several years. The original building, known as the Old Wing or Classical Wing, has been lovingly restored and features 3 room categories:

Old Wing Grand Luxury

Luxury Room (32sqm), Grand Luxury Room (37sqm), and The Legendary Suite (70sqm). These rooms are for the romantics, the nostalgia fans, those wishing to celebrate the colonial grandeur of Indochina. Period artwork and photographs line the walls, and the Old Wing gives the air of a luxury French mansion for heads of state, authors, and dignitaries.

The New Wing is a 7-story addition on the opposite side of the pool and garden area. Completed in 2007, it features stylish, neoclassical rooms with brilliant colour and lighting schemes. The New Wing still carries the air of colonial French influence, with internal shutter windows and replica claw foot bathtubs and wide hallways. The rooms feature wood and carpeted floors with fresh, tropical colours, pink, scarlet, mauve. Overall the New Wing rooms feel slightly larger and brighter than their vintage sisters in the Old Wing. Located on the side of the hotel closest to Hanoi’s gorgeous Opera House, the New Wing is also referred to as the “Opera Wing”. New Wing Rooms feature four categories: Premium Rooms (32sqm), Grand Premium Rooms (48sqm), Prestige Suites (64sqm), and the hotel’s top room, the Grand Prestige Suite (176swm).

Opera Wing Grand Premium Room

My favourite in this category is the Prestige Suite, which features fresh colours and a creative room layout, a half-wall separating the bathroom and lounging area, and a large bedroom with contemporary furniture featuring a perfect blend of colonial and Vietnamese styles.

Old Wing vs New Wing

This a “Coke vs Pepsi” debate that doesn’t have a definitive answer, and ultimately comes down to taste. The “Classic Wing vs Opera Wing” debate has gone on in the Smiling Albino office as much as the “Mandarin Oriental Bangkok vs Peninsula Bangkok” debate has. The Metropole’s Director of Rooms commented in fun that, “…the Old Wing is for lovers, the New Wing for artists…”.

Old Wing (also known as Historical or Classical Wing) rooms are located on the original three-story building of the hotel. They feature high ceilings, French window shutters, dark wood and period lamp shades, desks and accessories. There is more of a museum-like atmosphere, with a beautiful original wood staircase, open lobby with oil paintings, and a vintage telephone-booth sized elevator. The New Wing is a dramatic contrast as you exit the lift onto the floors with fashionable designer wallpaper and brilliantly striped carpets and furniture. There is a flair of Parisian hipness in this part of the hotel, and the New Wing rooms are a little more cutting edge, taking advantage of natural light and modern design innovations. The Old Wing rooms are more nostalgic, elegant, and subtle. Neither lacks luxury or class. The beds, bathroom fixtures, electronics are top drawer and the fines level of luxury.

Recommending which room is right for you and for your trip is serious business.

Smiling Albino recommends room types with an eye to our guest’s overall program, taking into account where else they are staying in Vietnam. For example, if guests are also going to Dalat and staying at the palatial Sofitel Dalat Palace , then in Hanoi we’d recommend New Wing rooms at The Metropole as the Old Wing rooms would too closely resemble the vintage colonial feel of the Dalat Palace. Same applies for La Residence in Hue, or Majestic Hotel in Saigon. Both offer an early 20^th Century classical French-style grand hotel. However, if staying at Pilgrimage Village in Hue, which is a modern luxury reincarnation of a traditional Vietnamese village, and staying contemporary in Saigon, then perhaps the Old Wing Rooms at Metropole Hanoi provide the colonial checkmark for the full deck Vietnam hotel experience.

As a general rule:

New Wing:

“Dish me up some designer-cool with a subtle stroke of colonial class. We thought Mandarin Oriental Bangkok was okay, but we’d prefer The Peninsula Bangkok next time around.”

Old Wing

“Forget the fancy contemporary flair as we can do that anywhere, we want to step back into the grandeur of colonial Indochina. Besides, we loved Mandarin Oriental Bangkok and can’t get enough of it.”

Last point, I did notice the New Wing rooms had a slightly younger crowd, there were designer jeans and fancy shoes. The Old Wing crowd featured a bit of everything, but generally a little older, fewer iPhones.

Swimming Pool with a view to the Opera Wing

The pool, spa, fitness room, restaurants are of course in a league of their own in Hanoi. Even if not staying at the hotel, some afternoon drinks in the Bamboo Bar around the pool is a must, as is Le Beaulieu for a quick peak and absolutely Angelina’s Bar for multiple cocktails and Hanoi high society intrigue. This is a local hot spot for events and business gatherings, and fashion shows, etc.

Smiling Albino was recently selected by Clarins Cosmetics Co. to host a retinue of top French media in Vietnam during their orientation to The Metropole’s Le Spa, which features Clarins’ wellness products. The spa is world class and deserves a visit for a treatment. One of the best in Vietnam.

Meet us for a drink in Le Club!

There are some outstanding top end hotels in Hanoi, not forgetting the sleek new Intercontinental Westlake, and the Sofitel Plaza, as well as old favourites the Hanoi Hilton and Sheraton. In addition to being the most storied hotel in town, Metropole Hanoi is right in the heart of the action just a few blocks from the lake. The Metropole has no equal in Hanoi, which comes at a price, but the overall experience can’t be discounted.

Smiling Albino can arrange rooms and services at Metropole Hanoi at competitive rates, and as part of your customized Smiling Albino adventure in Vietnam.

After much fanfare during the launch phase of Soneva Kiri, Six Senses group’s latest ultra-luxury resort concept in Ko Kood, I had the pleasure of a visit to check things out with a Smiling Albino fine-tooth comb.

Soneva Kiri viewed on approach from Cessna Caravan

Soneva Kiri is an all pool villa, ultra luxury retreat on one of Thailand’s lesser developed islands in the Gulf of Thailand, Ko Kood. There are only 24 suites plus 3 special concept suites, ranging from approximately $1,000US per night up to a multi-room, utopian family beach retreat for 10x that per night. The eco-wonder structures of the rooms themselves are simply gorgeous. Massive tropical hideaways with world-class service and intelligent luxury.

Part of the science in custom designing Smiling Albino adventures is knowing which resort or room is right for which client. Soneva Kiri isn’t right for everyone. Some may find it too fantastical, too luxurious (possibility exists), or too removed from the outside world. But for those keen on an innovative and memorable luxury beach hideaway, Soneva Kiri is in a world of its own.

The Approach – Part of the Soneva Kiri experience is the private flight on their custom Cessna Caravan from Bangkok. The 1hr flight is a low hop over the Gulf of Thailand, with spectacular aerial views of the island groups between Ko Chang and Ko Kood. There are usually 3 flights each way per day, and the schedules are arranged to provide as minimum a wait as possible for guests arriving. Landing on the private airstrip on an island across the bay from the resort is a fun welcome, followed by a drink and greeting from your personal butler. From here you take a short boat trip to the wooden dock at the resort’s entrance and are escorted to your suite.

Soneva Kiri's private landing strip across the bay

A few nice touches to note: 1 – from check-in at the Bangkok airport you don’t see your bags until you arrive in your room – nor do you feel the need to pay attention. And, like all Six Senses Hideway or Soneva resorts, there is a magical arrival-to-room seamlessness. No questions, no queues, no breaks in rhythm. From the private check-in desk at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, you are smoothly transported into a wonder world of exotic Thai luxury.

At the resort dock you are met by your own personal butler, or “Friday” as they are known, ala Robinson Crusoe. Your Friday takes care of everything from arrival/departure details to packing a breakfast to go for you when you decide on a last-minute snorkeling outing in the morning. Your Friday is at your service and appear to stop at nothing to make sure you gain maximum jollity from this unique resort experience.

The Rooms – From a distance the rooms appear as wood-over-water fantasy structures covered with canvas re-creations of the 1972 Munich Olympic complex. Simply spectacular is just one of hundreds of possible descriptions.

Beach Villa Suite

I stayed in a Beach Villa Suite. With a total size of 403 sqm, you have a feeling of total privacy by way of a wooden footbridge and exterior gate, followed by an enormous outdoor terrace/lounging area, which leads to your private pool villa, and lush garden surroundings with a private footpath down to the beach. The rooms feel like a luxurious private beach house, not a suite in a resort. Your Friday is always a phone call via your complimentary cell phone.

The bedroom is surrounded by floor to ceiling windows, appointed with lovely tropical hardwoods and fine leather furnishings. Cabinets, the TV console and closets are custom-made in the form of vintage steamship trunks, leather-bound with brass buckles and fittings. If you’d rather escape the reality of TV (yes, I did just write that), then simply fold the flat-screen down into its trunk, and it makes a nice end table at the foot of your bed. Every detail in the room was designed within the exoti-sphere concept of the resort.

Great views for breakfast in bed

The dressing room is large indoor/outdoor canopy-topped pavilion (perhaps Olympic Village inspired), attached to the bedroom. Oversize steamship trunks turned on their ends provide double vanity stations with brass and porcelain sinks, wood and leather drawers, stand-up mirrors, hanging racks, etc. There are towels and bottled water stands at various locations in the suite, including tropical lounging beds to rest if the journey between the two of them is too far. The room is enhanced with a Bose sound system with hidden garden speakers, an iPod port, personal wine cellar, free-form pool surrounding your bedroom, multi-level wooden decks, stylish rattan furniture, a designer coffee-machine, and no less than three unique locations to have a shower, ranging from tropical rain shower in your garden to a glass-brick enclosed shower cove, to a poolside shower. These are the kinds of rooms you never need to leave. Large parties could be arranged on your spacious deck, or private dinners or family BBQs. There are chess sets, reading nooks, and inviting lounge chairs nicely placed throughout your super suite. Even a family sharing a suite like this can escape one another and spread out. A family of 3 or 4 could convert the Beach Villa Suite with Library into a two-bedroom Family suite. There is of course the Private Beach Reserve, which is a multiple bedroom tropical resort unto itself.

Out and About at Soneva Kiri – Soneva Kiri is a “buggy resort”, meaning buggies are used to get from dining area to suites, to the tennis courts, spa and gym, etc. I’ve commented before that I’m not a fan of buggy resorts, but unlike most resorts where you need to ring your butler or front desk to call a buggy, at Soneva Kiri you are given the keys to your own golf cart for the duration of your stay.

go easy in the wine bar

This makes getting around a snap, and there’s even a traffic official making sure incoming carts from the Cliff Villas don’t crash into carts leaving the spa/fitness center or wine bar. Your suite has its own parking lot and the convenience of the personal golf cart is a major plus, not to mention adding to the sensation of total personalization and convenience.

Dining – Like Six Senses Yao Noi and other ultra luxury destinations, the dining experiences at Soneva Kiri are world-class. Starting with the pool bar and futuristic tropical wooden breakfast pavilions, or glass-stool cocktail bar, dishes are top notch, the selection both creative and practical, and service outstanding. Many staff members have worked for other Six Senses properties and there is a genuine Thai warmth in the air.

Recently for some Smiling Albino guests we arrange a private sunset cruise with cocktails and canapés, followed by a fully-serviced gourmet beach BBQ on a lovely nearby island for dinner. Other musts include Khun Benz Restaurant. It is interesting to note that the Six Senses group had been wooing Khun Benz, the chef, for many years to join their properties in the Maldives or Middle East. Finally with the opening of the Soneva Kiri property on Ko Kood she agreed to launch the restaurant in her name a little closer to home. Another fun new addition in 2010 is dining in a tree house “pod” under the high canopy of palm trees.

Dine like a gibbon in style

There are also numerous creative spaces to dine, such as a private BBQ at Cinema Paradiso, the outdoor amphitheatre designed from the resort’s fresh water reservoir, or a customized BBQ of your choice in your villa, or a fantastic beach picnic (Crepes Suzette and omelette’s) for a day out snorkeling.

For my first of many great meals, I had a club sandwich – as is my custom – and it came with enough extras and sides to feed a friend. Gourmet cheese, arugula and other aromatic greens, homemade mustard, etc. As a club sandwich connoisseur I was more than impressed, and sufficiently stuffed. From a sommelier’s choice wine list to steamed sea bass and homemade ice cream, a chocolate station and cooled cheese pavilion, the dining opportunities very much live up to their ambitious price tag.

Spa-Gym-Beach – A pavilion up above the fitness center is an inspiring place for a yoga or Pilates session. The gym, while small, is very well-equipped and well-staffed by people that clearly spend time in fitness rooms outside of just work hours. Soneva Kiri is a spa-lover’s paradise. The tranquil setting, stone footpaths, elevated wooden bridges and expert treatments are world-class. Six Senses is a spa and wellness focused company, and the spa at Soneva Kiri incorporates a variety of Indian, Thai, Western and holistic treatments in their signature SLOW-LIFE Spa Journeys.

There are a couple of beach options for guests at Soneva Kiri. The main suites overlook the Bay, which during high tide is a great swimming hole. The beach is cresent-shaped with fine, manicured sand. The rugged cliffs around the edges of Ko Kood have sprinkled the beachfront with scattered rocks, but this is very much still a fantastic beach lover’s cove. The south beach is operational as of spring 2010. This is a groomed beach oasis ideal for sunsets, BBQs, and family beach fun.

The Den beckons

What to do – Of course there are lots of things to do at Soneva Kiri – ranging from a very nice snorkeling trip with picnic by private boat, etc. to jungle trekking, visits to waterfalls, eco-discoveries with the resort’s own pharmacologist (yes). There are the standard resort experiences – if the term applies to Soneva Kiri – such as wine tasting courses, cooking, Thai language and history, etc. The beach of course is a draw – and I went for a couple of great swims. The November-May time frame makes the beach/swimming experience more enjoyable, and while it is certainly doable in the wet season (June-October), it wouldn’t be as idyllic.

For some upcoming guests Smiling Albino has arranged a deluxe helicopter adventure from Soneva Kiri to nearby Angkor Wat, Cambodia. This trip involves a private meal in a remote Angkor temple, an overnight at Amansara in Siem Reap, and a day-and-a-half expertly hosted discovery of Angkor’s epic monuments.

For kids, as if the rooms weren’t enough fun, The Den is a giant bamboo and rattan wonder-cove full of educational discovery. There are astronomy classes at the resort’s observatory, or PADI dive instruction, or private movie nights, or trips to honey and pearl farms. Once you’ve done all that you might just have time to open your book and remember the real reason you came to the resort: to take a vacation.

a swing in an eco villa

Everything appears to work in sync – engineered in part by the resort’s own time zone, set an hour ahead of the outside world. Potential inconveniences could be the flight itself if the proposed times don’t match your international or regional arrival. The resort makes efforts to match their daily flight schedule according to the needs of the guests, but of course it is possible that you may have a wait of a couple of hours. Having checked through various Trip Advisor reviews it seems that most people are genuinely impressed with their experience. For some guests we have recommended other locations, even knowing that budget wasn’t necessarily the issue. Soneva Kiri is a special kind of escape and we’ve had several Smiling Albino guests overjoyed and grateful for our recommendations.

Take-Away – Soneva Kiri is an inspiring, concept-driven destination resort that ranks with the finest luxury properties in the Maldives or Caribbean. The creativity and sense of humour behind a resort like this – fantasyland really – makes staying an absolute pleasure.

Ideal for couples, families, groups of friends, those with golf cart driving experience.

Perfect for anyone who wants the best of the best – mixed with fun and tropical bliss.

by Scott Coates

If you’d told me in April 2006 that Smiling Albino would be leading trips in Nepal before the end of the year I’d have told you you’re crazy. At that time I was setting off for a personal holiday (run by someone else so I could relax) cycling from Lhasa, Tibet to Mount Everest and on to Kathmandu, Nepal. During the process of finding a company to travel with I met an interesting Danish guy who’d lived in Nepal

A happy camper

for 10 years. Little did I know this would be the start of a very good relationship and result in him becoming a member of the Smiling Albino Team.

Mads started traveling when he was 19-years-old, heading to South Africa where he worked for a bit over a year. The thought of settling down back at home didn’t yet appeal so he continued traveling, headed to SE Asia and eventually ended up in Nepal. His love affair with the country was immediate. He worked as a trip leader for a number of travel companies for years but felt he could offer better-value, more authentic trips on his own. He and a few like-minded friends formed a company and off they went. Much like Smiling Albino they focused on custom-made experiences that were in lesser-known locations, great customer service, comfortable accommodations and multi-activity/sport trips.

Our campsite on a gorgeous ridge

When Mads and I started emailing in November 2005 about a possible Tibet trip with his company his emails struck me – they were rather similar to Smiling Albino’s. His tone was comparable as were his philosophies about travel and the industry in general. Emails led to phone calls and we continued to talk regularly. It was decided in February 2006 that we should meet. On his way back from leading a trip in Sri Lanka he flew to Bangkok and we had a meeting from 23:00-03:00. Talk of serviced camping got me really excited. The coming weeks saw us brainstorm about a first-of-its-kind adventure and eight months later we launched the Nepal Grand Slam with Mads being a full-fledged Albino!

One of the parts of the Grand Slam that got me excited from first mention was the full service camping during the trekking portion of the trip. Being Canadian I camped a lot as a kid and it’s an activity I remember fondly but don’t get to enjoy too much in SE Asia due to the heat. More importantly, it’s not very often you get to camp, hike point-to-point with a full team doing the hard work of carrying the main gear, setting up, tearing down, cooking meals and tending to your every whim.  This is truly a must experience way to travel.

The first time I partook in a full service camping trip it took a couple days to feel comfortable. Huffing and puffing walking up a mountain with only a small daypack on my back hardly seemed fair while seeing our porters haul 30kg loads, smiling all the way. Lunch was prepared by a team of no less than four persons while we lazed in a terraced field sipping Nepali tea and nibbling on cookies. At the end of the day it was a similar scene – sipping tea, eating treats and watching the crew set up our tents, boil water for washing and preparing an amazing multi-course hot meal. The next morning I was woken to the sound of a crew member offering me a cup of tea through the door of the tent and a basin of warm water for washing. While eating a delicious and nutritious breakfast of oatmeal, omelets and toast the crew tore tents and camp down, strapped them to their backs and set off along the trail.

Mads and I chatted about how difficult the crew’s jobs are, how hard they work and how lazy I felt watching them do it while enjoying myself. After some discussion (there’s a good deal of time to chat/think on the trail) he sold me on the idea that Nepal is a country with high unemployment and little opportunity in rural areas to earn hard currency. Portering is a career in Nepal and has been for hundreds of years. Roads are a very recent thing and most people live in mountainous areas where commuting and transporting goods by foot is the only means possible. Not only do trekking groups provide employment to locals, but they instill a deep sense of pride in the porters themselves. After all, they carry the majority of the weight and do all the work while watching visitors huff and puff in high-tech gear and flake out at every opportunity. Nepalese are truly strong, hard working, resilient people and showcasing their work ethic and strength is something they enjoy and are proud of.

Since my first trek in Nepal I don’t feel guilty while trekking and now take time to openly marvel at the trekking crew’s strength, talent and impressive work ethic. It truly is remarkable and something to be seen and respected.

Check out and sign-on for the Nepal Grand Slam and/or Nepal Trek & Trail.

As experience design specialists, we make a point of being as close to the final product as possible, and that includes having an intimate knowledge of accommodation options we propose to our valued guests. Anyone can book a resort, but knowing which resort is right for which guest in relation to their larger SA experience involves some science.

Last week I stayed a couple of nights at Six Senses Hideaway Yao Noi, one of the flagship properties of the luxury-wellness resort group, Six Senses. Having stayed at Six Senses Evason Resort in Phuket, and also recently at Soneva Kiri on Ko Kood, I had equally big expectations for Yao Noi. In short, the resort is absolutely stunning.

view from the suites

The Approach – I’m a fussy traveler and hate multiple transitions to get to the beach, but the Six Senses people make the transition relatively painless. I landed in Phuket at 0900am, and was met by the resort staff, then transferred 25 minutes in a BMW 5-Series to the Ao Po pier (ride was enjoyable but some ambient music would have been a nice addition to get you into island mood, or perhaps a piece of lemongrass to gnaw on for fun.) At Ao Po pier the resort staff pack your bags on to the large, comfortable speedboat, and then a nice 45-min ride brings you to the resort.

The view of the resort from the water doesn’t do justice to the tropical luxury therein. Mostly covered by dense foliage, the views of wooden rooftops scattered over an expansive hill are all you can see beyond the long, wooden pier. Turning your head 180 degrees however enables the stunning view of Krabi and the hundreds of karsts dotting the distant sea.

Arrival at Six Senses resorts is always smooth – it is one of the highlights. Your ‘Butler’ and the rest of the resort team greet you right from the boat, attend to your bags, feed you a drink, and whisk you away on a golf cart to your hideaway. For the duration of your stay your personal butler attends to your needs, arranges dinner reservations and activity excursions, and personally takes care of your check-in/check-out. This simple in-room check-in process could easily be done at virtually any resort, but oddly it isn’t. There is value in it and the Six Senses folks have it down to a science.

For those with no time for the BMW and boat trip to the resort, a helicopter transfer can be arranged approximately $1,000US per way from Phuket. This would be a lovely way to arrive with the hundreds of islands and karsts dotting the approach.

Pool Villa Suite

Rooms – I’ve been spoiled here in SE Asia with the opportunity to stay at some of the finest resorts in the world, and the rooms at Six Senses Yao Noi rank up with the best of them at their price range. My room was #51, a Pool View Suite, on the nearest side to the pier and water sports area (perhaps they knew…).

The master bedroom is a spacious, full-windowed suite with tropical hardwoods and state-of-the-art gadgetry and audiophile treats, a steam room, and so many nooks and crannies and places to hang things that I’m sure I donated half of my clothes unknowingly to the resort. Below the room is a spacious pool deck, your private pool, and the 2nd bedroom in the case of the suites. There is also a nice wooden deck bridge that leads to a garden area and sala for afternoon chess or quiet reading. No steal beams or concrete pillars or platforms – the entire room and surrounding area is hardwood and exotic, tropical furniture. The rooms are gorgeous, offer total privacy, multiple bathing/showering/lounging options, and eclipse the private tropical villa fantasy image.

Living Room in the Pool Villa

Some other rooms to note:

Slightly closer to earth are the entry level rooms, Pool Villa and Deluxe Pool Villa, which are the same in virtually every respect as the Pool Villa Suite less the 2nd bedroom.

Ultra Luxury Suites

The Retreat is the resort’s 2nd highest room category. There is only one of them, and it features two separate master bedroom villas, an enormous private pool with panorama views and Olympic-sized deck, as well as a large common room for entertainment, meals, etc. This would be brilliant for a couple of small families, or a pair of couples. A few kids could be set up with extra beds in the common room (200sqm or so itself). Fabulous private hideaway surrounded by lush natural surroundings.

Aerial shot of The Reserve upon approach from the clouds

This room is fit with extra rooms for nannies and bodyguards, has a full conference room and wine cellar, gym, sauna/Jacuzzi and an enormous indoor/outdoor common area with multiple tables and lounging facilities, a water slide (great for kids, or adults after enjoying the wine cellar). The grand, tropical luxury of this super suite just might be worth the price. The view alone from opening the front doors has to be one of the most magnificent panoramas in all of Thailand.

Out and About Six Senses Yao Noi - Getting around the resort is easy with multiple buggies whizzing back and forth. My room was one of the furthest from the dining area but I found the 5-minute walk quite nice through stone pathways and wooden bridges. Ordinarily I don’t like buggy resorts where guests are left in sequestered corners of massive resort complexes, but the size here at Six Senses Yao Noi is very manageable on foot, or, as is the custom, just call your butler for a buggy. A short walk out the back gate leads you to the tennis court and a small local village if you’d like to briefly re-connect to the rest of the planet.

There are only 56 units at Six Senses Yao Noi, so the distances to the spa, gym, restaurants, beaches, etc. are all very doable without the buggies.

Service - This isn’t a 5-star resort, it is an ultra luxury resort, so the expectations one would have for service could make evaluating it rather severe. The service was very good – although at breakfast I did wait longer than I like to for someone to offer coffee on the 2nd day, and the milk wasn’t warmed as I’d requested on the first day. A very minor detail, however ultra luxury resorts should get this right.

The spa and fitness center were well attended with spiffy, knowledgeable staff. The butlers are the real stars here, and as they are commissioned to attend to your every need, the result clearly is that the service is excellent. The beach staff vanish when not required, and magically reappear out of nowhere (from the forest I think) when needed.

Food/Beverage – This is a great place to eat! I started with my customary club sandwich (Dan’s gold standard starter for any hotel). It may have eclipsed the supernatural club sandwich I had at Soneva Kiri, though it was 30% more expensive, but perhaps wasn’t as heroic as my personal favourite at D2 Pattaya. Either way, it paved the way for several more great dishes, salads, burgers, Greek sides, Italian pastas, and spontaneous off-menu Thai dishes as well. Everything was outstanding in accordance with the cost of each dish.

Happy Hour at The Den

Dining at The Den and the The Dining Room are both cool experiences. The Den is a large wooden, two-story house with ambient music, massive couches with pillows and coloured cushions. You could slurp cocktails here all night and never tire of the groovy, chill-out vibe. Again, very nice, well-trained staff.

East Beach

The Beach – The resort is built on a hill that slopes onto two different beaches: front beach and back beach. The back beach beside the pier is the water sports area – again well attended by attentive staff. I went kayaking at sunset to some remote beaches around the bay. Very user-friendly. The front beach is gorgeous – a great stretch of manicured beach sloping into clear water – the postcard image of idyllic sandy bliss. Sunsets here on the east side are fantastic as the trees and umbrellas cast long shadows into the water – creating pockets of sunshine and shaded swimming holes. The beach is wide enough to stretch out and have a full game of Red Rover, but it is doubtful this occurs very often. There are a series of deck chairs on a white sand bluff, attended by staff that seem to float in and out from the sky.

The Crowd – During my stay in April the guest mix was nicely eclectic. Young couples, Scandinavian families, retired couples, plus a few middle-aged single travelers. It was a healthy-looking, smart crowd, part of the extended Six Senses fan club of which I’m becoming a member (smart notwithstanding in my case).

Take-Aways - From tennis to snorkelling to wine tasting courses, there’s no shortage of things to do here. Those who fear being locked-in to a resort and prefer the freedom of strolling out into the real world might be claustrophobic. However, most Six Senses guests tend to indulge in the resort itself and intentionally shut off the outside world, so it is doubtful that this would be a drawback for any potential guest. The ‘Hideaway’ series of resorts in the Six Senses repertoire certainly make hiding away a pleasure.

Minor annoyances are the need to make dinner plans in advance. This is due to the intimate seating arrangements at each of the funky restaurants. You can always choose in-villa dining, or splurge for private BBQ or private beach dining, so this may only be a drawback for indecisive types like myself.

Sunset from The Reserve

We have sent several Smiling Albino guests to Six Senses resorts around Thailand, including Yao Noi, and the reviews are always exceptional. Our guests have high expectations – which is why we feel comfortable putting those expectations into the care of the Six Senses team. Often we supplement their experience there by offering our own value-added features like customized paddling outings to remote caves and islands, eco-discoveries with recognized experts, etc.

All in this is a spectacular tropical luxury experience. The transfer in and minor commutes within the resort are quickly overshadowed by the luxurious chill-out vibe the villas and grounds create. Food, while expensive even for a high-end resort, is quite outstanding, and the overall services and amenities are fit for the price tag. Per one of the Six Senses mottos, it redefines experiences….

Ideal for couples, honeymooners, families, those able to make advance dinner plans.

by Scott Coates

Back in late 2003 while redesigning the fabulously fun Chiang Rai Northern Exposure adventure, I passed through the Golden Triangle, located at the town of Sop Ruak, which forms the physical point where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand all converge on the Mekong River. A big white building caught my

The sign out front

attention – The Hall of Opium at Golden Triangle Park. An impressively large building set amongst a large expanse of manicured land, I had heard about an upcoming museum that would explore the history of opium but knew little about it. Time to dive in!

Part of the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, started in 1988 by Her Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindra, the late Princess Mother of His Majesty the King of Thailand, as a means to better the lives of hilltribe communities in Thailand’s northernmost province Chiang Rai, the Foundation has its roots at nearby Doi Tung. Originally a home for the Princess Mother and botanical gardens was built, coffee and macadamia nuts introduced as alternative crops to opium and there’s been no stopping the Foundation since.

Fast forward to 2003 and the they opened Golden Triangle Park, combining the Hall of Opium with lodging on its expansive grounds. The Hall itself is truly a state-of-the-art facility and huge at 5,600 sqm. The intent is to explore the entire history of opium, which played a large role in the region up until the mid-90s, at which time it was mostly irradiated in Thailand.

Smiling Albino isn’t the kind of company that general takes guests to museums, too often underdeveloped, unimaginative and boring in this part

One of the Hall's very inventive rooms

of the world, so it was with some doubt I entered its doors. A bit over two hours later I walked out the Exit totally wowed. I immediately called my business partner Daniel and shared my findings with him. “This must be part of our northern Thailand programs”, I exclaimed. Never did I think we would make a museum a part of our adventures but I was a changed man. The Hall is so much more than just a museum.

It begins with the long entrance tunnel, a spooky cave passage of sorts with sculptures of tortured souls built into the walls, representing those who get lost in drug use. You then enter into a theater where a well prepared video gives a quick overview of the Mae Fah Luang Foundation and opium’s role in the immediate area. From here you move through a series of information boards, sets and semi-interactive displays that explain the first 5,000 years of the drug’s use. Next there’s an extensive and very informative section on the Opium Wars between the Chinese and British, something you’ve likely heard of but don’t know much about – very interesting stuff. Next it’s on to opium’s role in Thailand (then Siam), its use in modern medicine, efforts to control international drug trafficking and finally a sober exit through the Hall of Reflection which showcases famous persons’ battles with drugs.

A typical visit takes about two hours, but can easily be stretched to three. What makes the Hall so interesting/entertaining is its makeup. Great thought and effort has been put into making sure the visitor is constantly engaged in a different manner. There’re traditional information boards, built sets, but it’s entire rooms that take the visitor into a different world and make you forget you’re in a museum. One room sees you walk over a full-size prison cell built into the floor, there’s an expansive section with interactive exhibits that see you try to figure out who in an airport is smuggling drugs and how. Wonderful videos examine international governments’ roles in fighting drugs in foreign countries (no names here) and you wrap things up in the very bright, but enlightening Hall of Reflection which wakes you up and brings you back into reality.

Most of our northern Thailand trips pass through the Golden Triangle and we

Entrance hall

make every effort to work in a visit to the Hall of Opium. Days prior to arriving here immerse guests in the larger Golden Triangle, through areas that no so long ago would have once been rife with opium. You get to hike trails through coffee/rice/corn/nut farms which once were opium fields, meet hilltribe groups previously entrenched in the opium trade who are now earning livelihoods through other farming methods and careers. The quaint town of Doi Mae Salong is now the country’s prime site of Oolong tea production, a crop that replaced opium in the mid-eighties and factors highly into most trips.

Drug cultivation, use and abuse are very complicated issues and something that few societies recover from, let alone in roughly 15 years. The Hall of Opium does a fantastic job of tying together the region’s many towns, people, and livelihoods that have gone under dramatic transformation for the better. While passing through the Golden Triangle, which at first glance seems nothing more than a tourist bus trap, be sure to turn off the road and spend a couple hours at this captivating Hall that Thailand should truly be proud of.

The Hall of Opium is located at the Golden Triangle opposite the Anantara Resort.
View Larger Map
Opening Hours: 08:30-17:00 (last admission at 16:00), Tue-Sun
Admission: 200THB (Thais), 300THB (foreigners)
Phone: +66-53-652-151
Email: hallofopium@doitung.org

There must be a movement going on somewhere. Over the past 3 months we’ve received several requests for trips in which a father is taking his daughter on an adventure as a gift, either for finishing grad school, turning 18, or getting into the right post-grad program. This has been an interesting dynamic to observe. Over the past few years we have done quite a few mother-son trips, and hundreds of family trips, but virtually no father-daughter trips. Then 2010 rolls in and suddenly we’re doing four at once. Fantastic!

There are so many ways to maneuver a trip like this so that everyone gets what they want. One father-daughter adventure duo last month warned us that significant retail and entertainment time needs to be worked in or we’ll lose the daughter, but not at the expense of missing historical landmarks, or cutting short the cultural intrigue, or we’ll annoy the dad.

How we made this work.

Take our great Bangkok day trip, the Bangkok Multi-Transport Adventure for starters. In the morning we slid into a couple of the essential landmarks like the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. At the latter we arranged some private time chatting with a couple of senior monks. This relatively open dialogue was a highlight and both dad and daughter had a short list of great questions. From here we switched gears and went for lunch at the trendy teenage hangout of Center Point Siam Square. While our guide explained some interesting things about the modern youth movement in Thailand, they listened to Thai pop music, watched Bangkok’s version of Shinjuku punk kids strut their stuff, and had ice cream and coffee. The conversation focused on the parallel forces of maintaining traditional cultural identity while openly embracing the freedom and ideals of the west. Some shopping time was enjoyed, and after this we hopped onto a canal boat hidden between retail cloisters that the average visitor would miss. From here we ventured back to the old city, jumped into a 3-wheeled tuk-tuk for a frenzied scramble through Bangkok Chinatown, followed by a highlight for everyone: a private canal boat trip through Bangkok Noi and back to their hotel.

Significant cultural landmarks: CHECK

Interesting modes of transport to keep the adventure on a high: CHECK

Retail therapy: CHECK

Insight into local culture and ideas: DOUBLE CHECK

Take away value: high-fives with dad and daughter at the end of the day

This father-daughter combo rode mountain bikes, trained elephants, sipped cocktails in a chic Bangkok lounge, shopped, hiked through hill tribe villages, visited a school and lead an impromptu game of Frisbee in a village, and soaked up layers of culture with our guides throughout the country.

The same formula of managing the moment works for all of our adventures and uniquely enables Smiling Albino guests to enjoy the best of everything in a style they can call their own.

by Scott Coates

Smiling Albino (SA) thrives on creating one-of-a-kind, total quality, seamless travel experiences. We’ve never been in the business of offering the cheapest hotel rooms or airline tickets. There are plenty of websites that do that. Instead, we enjoy working with and recommending a handful of properties in respective categories that we’ve personally visited, if not stayed at, and represent great value for money.

Rather than being a bit-and-piece ‘tour company’ we excel at creating

Seamless fun that works like a symphony

flawless experiences from start to finish. In many ways what we do is like the conductor of a symphony. All instruments must be present, in agreement of the song, tempo and manner in which the composition will be executed. If one instrument is not on the same page then all is lost. When everyone plays together, it’s magical.

Hotels are an area we specialize in recommending, picking the best ones based on guests’ budget and style, and building them into an overall travel experience. We put a good deal of time into personally visiting properties we work with once-a-year and maintaining strong personal relationships with the general managers, ensuring our guests are truly treated like VIPs.

Sometimes when we make trip proposals, potential guests search the internet and simply add up the prices of hotel rooms they find online and compare that number to our proposed rate. We understand that comparing

All it takes is one bad connection and all is spoiled

online hotel rates and the rates we offer can at first be confusing. In many respects it’s like comparing apples and oranges. Smiling Albino isn’t a business that simply buys and sells hotel rooms – we provide ‘extraordinary experiences’. This includes consultation, recommendations and deep thought into how to deliver the best experience based on your interests and style. Hotels and rates we build into our trips are always no more expensive than you would find yourself online when you include all elements (often there are two sets of taxes on the final payment page of online hotel sites: ++) and initially stated rates don’t include breakfast. Also, they often advertise rooms/rates that when it comes time to booking, actually aren’t available during your desired dates. Everything we propose is done in real time, at real rates with everything included. All of our hotels (and air tickets, events, etc) pitched include everything you would need and expect: all taxes, breakfast, guaranteed room, possible upgrade, reconfirmation of your room before you check in by our office team, to ensure a seamless and total quality experience.

Essentially, the hallmark of our business is the guarantee of quality and service, 100% of the time, no exceptions. Occasionally buying direct with suppliers can be cheaper in SE Asia, however the rules of Caveat Emptor certainly apply. Often tickets purchased online have hidden restrictions or change penalties that buyers may not be aware of. We don’t take those chances when booking things for our guests. All of the tickets we purchase and rooms we book come with options to change last minute details, move times and dates, with minimum penalty, as often happens in travel. To be

All you should think about during you trip is having fun, leave the rest to us

sure, we don’t offer the cheapest programs and services, but instead offer a comprehensive package that seamlessly fits all things on an SA program together with an eye to service and hassle-free fun. As a result we take full responsibility for guaranteeing all components work together harmoniously, every time. The value of the program is achieved through the collective sum of the entire experience. It only takes one missed flight, dirty room or missing airport pickup to spoil your entire trip.

Let Smiling Albino manage your entire experience so you can arrive, relax and enjoy it all from start to finish with no unpleasant surprises. That’s the way travel should be. It’s what we’ve become experts at over the past 10 years and dedicated our lives to delivering.