Beyond Phuket: Discovering Thailand's Emerging Coastal Alternatives

Khao Lak: Understated Luxury with a Sense of Place

Just a short drive north of Phuket’s International Airport, Khao Lak is a gentle coastal escape defined by long, golden beaches, national parks, and a more local rhythm of life. It’s where Thai families still fish off the rocks at dawn and jungle trails lead to hidden waterfalls.

The post Beyond Phuket: Discovering Thailand’s Emerging Coastal Alternatives first appeared on Smiling Albino.

One of the most commonly searched-for phrases by travellers is: “what’s the best time to visit ____?”  It is logical of course – very few people want to go to Canada in the dead of winter, or Japan during typhoon season. Thankfully, Southeast Asia is free of blizzards and typhoons, but it still has a low season. Many travelers avoid travel during this time, but they’re overlooking a few key hidden benefits and surprises. Indeed, travel during Southeast Asia’s off season can actually be more adventurous, rewarding, and memorable than coming when the guidebooks tell you to!

This period is often called simply “the rainy season”, and admittedly, it doesn’t sound fun with a name like that. But it’s somewhat of a misnomer. True, it rains more often in most of Southeast Asia during this time (roughly from July-October) but usually predictably: an early morning shower, then an hour or so in the afternoon, like clockwork. It’s easy to plan around this, and Smiling Albino’s expert guides are adept at simply folding it into your itinerary.

An unforgettable memory of ours was an afternoon of exploring Thailand’s southern Samui Island by motorbike and finding ourselves in a small coconut harvesting village on the sparsely populated southeastern point of the island right when the afternoon monsoon hit. The lighting and electricity in the air can not be described in the few words allotted to this short letter. Looking out to sea watching (and smelling!) the wall of rain approaching from the wooden veranda of a local family’s home, who invited us to take shelter, is still is up there on the list of most vivid experiences.

The rainy season brings with it some added benefits. You’ve never seen green like a Thailand jungle landscape during the rainy season, or smelled a more delicious natural fragrance than a rice field in Vietnam after a sun shower. Those postcard photos you see in shops all over the region? Most likely they were taken during the off-season when the jasmine blooms, the rivers gurgle, the hills are lush, and the sunsets spectacular.

This is also festival time in Southeast Asia, the beginning and end of Buddhist Lent with an abundance of temple fairs and spirit festivals like Phi Ta Khon (mentioned below in our festival highlights). With fewer travellers about, the locals lavish extra warmth on those that do venture into the villages and temples to experience the festivities. The waterfalls are in their full splendor, the swimming holes full. And don’t forget white water rafting. During most of the year, it’s amazing. During the rainy season, it’s nearly spiritual. Indeed, the rainy season might make certain elements of travel the best time of the whole year to do them!

Another great by-product of travel during this green season (now that sounds more like it!), is that there are far fewer travellers. Quieter locations of interest allowing personal reflection. Better service at restaurants and attractions. Less traffic on roads. Lower prices at markets, better hotel deals and complimentary upgrades more likely! You get the idea – a lower number of consumers running around has a knock-on economic effect, sometimes in ways you might not expect. Glimpses of what the region was 20 years ago.

So take it from someone who’s been traveling and planning trips in Asia for a decade and a half – the rainy season gets a raw deal, but it really shouldn’t. Some of the most intense, memorable, and downright exciting travel experiences only reveal themselves when the sky clouds over. Thankfully, the clouds have usually moved on soon after that – just like our guides on their next unique adventure.

Daniel B. Fraser

Smiling Albino’s Aventurer-in-chief

A D V E N T U R E   H I G H L I G H T S

Nepal Relief Effort

Our Nepal relief effort was realised last month with a successful mission to Kathmandu where one of our Bangkok team members carried in nine huge suitcases and boxes of medical equipment and supplies as well as rebuilding funds raised in a two-week donation-raising effort. The FaceBook page we set up is continuing with updates on the situation in Nepal as well as raising funds to rebuild schools.

Thanks to all who helped out, with special thanks to the Thai Canadian Chamber of Commerce , PAWS and Osotspa for their kind assistance.

Read more about the current situation in Nepal and our on-the-ground experiences here…

W H A T ‘ S   G O I N G   O N

Six Senses Samui gets Major Renovation

Six Senses Samui, Thailand is currently undergoing major renovations to all their spectacular ocean view rooms and will reopen on July 01, 2015. They are offering early bird promotion rates for the reopening that are of exceptional value.

Toronto’s 2nd Annual Destination Thailand Fair is Going to be Spicy!

Come join the festivities at the 2nd Annual Destination Thailand Fair in Toronto this fall!

The biggest Thai cultural event in Canada, Destination Thailand will spice-up the weekend with amazing entertainment, mouthwatering Thai cuisine, beer and travel information at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto on Saturday, 12 September 2015. Hope to see you there!

https://youtu.be/kTtchktaVa0

R E G I O N A L   F E S T I V A L   H I G H L I G H T S

June 2015

Phi Ta Khon Festival

27-29 June, Dan Sai Village, Loei, Thailand

Phi Ta Khon (or Ghost Festival) is the first day processions and games of a three-day Buddhist merit making holiday known as Bun Phawet. The festival is held in the northeastern village of Dan Sai to ask for protection from Phra U-pakut, the spirit of the nearby Mun river, and to ask for plentiful rain for the coming farming season. Young men dress up as ghosts, donning spectacular masks made from carved coconut-tree trunks topped with wicker work and sticky-rice steamers. They are clothed in creative patchwork costumes with bells while brandishing wooden phalluses. The lively procession is marked by quite a lot of loud music and feverish dancing.

If you can’t make it this year but are thinking of catching it next year, plan accordingly, the festival usually takes place some time late June, the dates being selected annually by the town’s Mediums.

December 2015 (looking ahead six months)

Hmong New Year

Early December,  Laos, Vietnam and Thailand

The Hmong people, one of the largest ethnic groups in Northern Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, celebrate their New Year and thanksgiving for the rice harvest in early December each year. It is a big deal for the Hmong and they celebrate with big festivals even in the United States where many have emigrated to. The event takes place at different times each year as the timing depends on the harvesting of the rice. Celebrated as both a religious and social event, it’s one of the only times that they have a break from farming during the year. Traditional performances, games and events are joined by everyone in the area, providing a rare opportunity for young villagers to meet prospective spouses. Foreign travellers in the area during this time are usually welcomed to join in the festivities.

The post Albino Smiles – June 2015 first appeared on Smiling Albino.

It might not be surprising, but we here at Smiling Albino think that a little bit of adventure should be included in every bit of life. From the places you go to the food you eat, why keep doing it the same way? So, when you’re about to begin a really big adventure – like marriage – why not kick things off with a bang?

Not so long ago a honeymoon meant an international air ticket and plenty of room service, but this is the twenty-first century, lovers, and things have changed! Over the past half century, the average age at which people get married in the west has risen – in 1960 in it was 21, and in 2010 it was 28. Add that international travel is more popular and accessible than ever, and what we get are newlyweds who have likely already done a good amount of traveling, and need something more unique.

This is where an adventure honeymoon can be just the ticket. However, it’s more than just stepping out of the comfort zone for some cool pictures, and of course, no two couples define ‘adventure’ the same way.

An adventurous honeymoon doesn’t necessarily have to be anything like going over a waterfall in a kayak or pushing a spouse out of an airplane (with a parachute, we mean).  Some couples might prefer a jungle hike, bathing an elephant, or learning how to ride a motorcycle along the Burmese border – every couple is different. Heading into – and conquering – a challenge together can provide a huge sense of accomplishment, and even help set the tone for the relationship to follow.

[Tweet “An adventure honeymoon can be just the ticket!”]

Of course, every trip with Smiling Albino is customized, but in offering unique and adventurous honeymoons, extra steps are taken to craft something that truly fits with a couple’s personality. Of course, if you know anything about how we do business, just because something is adventurous doesn’t mean it must be austere – luxury is most definitely a part of the package. After all, this is supposed to be adventure with comfort, not trial by fire. We go out of the way to place an extra emphasis on crafting something where the challenge is the reward, the journey is the memory.

Indeed, overcoming barriers and working through new situations together is a pretty apt metaphor for a successful marriage, right? We say, if a new couple survives a challenging, adventurous, one-of-a-kind honeymoon, their marriage is more likely to be one that is happy, enduring, and filled with positive energy!

Don’t hesitate to contact our team for up-to-date Adventure Honeymoon ideas in Southeast Asia. Click here for inquiries.

The post Adventure Honeymoons Done Right first appeared on Smiling Albino.

These days it’s not unusual to see Christmas decorations going up right around the time the Halloween decorations come down. As the malls start playing carols and trees start going up, those in western countries might think they have a clear monopoly on the celebration of Christmas. But maybe not.

It may surprise you, but some of the most colourful and over-the-top Christmas celebrations you can find are in Asia. Although most people think of lush mountain treks, steamy markets, or sunbaked sand and blue water, truth is, many of Asia’s biggest cities – especially those that cater to tourists – give Christmas their full attention.

For westerners, Christmas is a holiday borne out of religion and nurtured by family, travel, and special traditions that include everything from food to music to mistletoe. But for Asians – most of whom are Buddhist – Christmas is about lights, sound, colour, decoration, fun – and not a small amount of photos.

Of course, for westerners from colder climes, the most shocking thing might be standing in the shadow of a palm tree while framing the perfect shot of a (fake) Christmas tree, all the while trying to ignore how hot it is.

In cities with a large concentration of tourist-friendly malls, Christmas in Asia is inescapable. In Singapore, shoppers can spend literally hours walking from mall to interconnected mall without ever stepping foot outside. In Bangkok, Central World proudly displays an outdoor Christmas landscape that includes a tree over a dozen meters tall. In Ho Chi Minh City, the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral and area around the Central Post Office are especially nice to wander and take pictures.

The great thing about it is the quaint innocence with which it all goes down. Christmas carols are played, but more for their peppy tone than any lyrical significance. Fake snow is sometimes sprayed into window corners, but it’s not really clear why when it’s 32°C. And like we mentioned earlier – you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone not taking selfies with the lights and decorations. For instance, one prominent display along Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Road this year includes hundreds of 3-foot high Snoopy statues with Santa hats. Why? Because Christmas in Asia.

Not enough? How about this – just a few weeks ago Bangkok set a world record for having the largest amount of elves gather in a single place! It took 1,792 kids to do it, but it was done, and even certified by Guinness.

[Tweet “Christmas in Asia: carols, snoopy and record-setting elf gatherings”]

Sure, if you get away from the malls you’ll probably struggle to find any candy canes or star-topped pine trees, but if it’s carols and holiday cheer you want, Asia sure knows how to put on a show. And if you tire of the merriment, the beach is never too far away.

The team at Smiling Albino wishes you all very happy holidays, safe travels and lots of festive cheer!

The post Christmas in Asia first appeared on Smiling Albino.

For decades, luxury has had one simple definition: “The state of great comfort and extravagant living. [An] inessential, desirable item that is expensive or difficult to obtain.”

Back in the day luxury meant having things that most people couldn’t have. In the 1790s, luxury was eating cake instead of bread (as Marie Antoinette found out). In the 1890s it was a first class cabin on a steam ship to America. In the 1990s it was a satellite phone. But defining luxury is not so simple anymore.

Indeed, a recent article by Ad Age revealed that 92% of people with above average wealth agree with the phrase: “To me, small indulgences can be just as meaningful as purchasing a high-end luxury product.”

Over the past 15 years we’ve begun to see a radical redefinition of paradigms that have remained unchanged for decades, even centuries. The ways in which we create, consume, learn, spend, meet, and travel have all been turned on their head. Consumers are simply better informed, and resent being told how – and with what – their lifestyle should be defined. To a younger generation, brand name loyalty is not as strong as it once was. One’s lifestyle is personal, valuable, and defining, and made from components chosen specifically by them. The same should go for travel.

Bring travel into the realm of luxury – or adding a touch of luxury to the realm of travel – is far more complicated than taking an expensive mode of transport to an expensive place to stay. The new luxury travel is an adventure that each one of your senses takes. It’s the connectedness of a journey that no one else has done in the exact same way. It’s something intangible that you tell friends about, and something that makes you feel like you’ve experienced something no one else has.

Smiling Albino Director Daniel Fraser recently gave a talk entitled “Beyond Price“, which discussed the value in taking high-profile travellers street side and showing them that unique local experiences, well-choreographed, create the lifetime memories that all travellers – luxury or otherwise – seek.   “We’ve taken billionaires for noodles, but delivered it with context and a narrative to provide deeper meaning. Value is added by taking advantage of what is already there – such as unique forms of transit, festivals, local food – and making it a personalized, relevant experience.”

[Tweet “Things come and go, but experiences help define us and how we see the world.”]

Essentially, discovering and indulging in luxury travel is about unique experiences, not just desirable things. Things come and go, but experiences help define us and how we see the world, and how we remember it.

The post New Luxury Travel first appeared on Smiling Albino.