TRAVEL

Home & Away with Robert WalsheLiving

It is one of the negative side-af-fects of long-haul travel, but jet lag could soon become a distant mem-ory for travelers. Australian sleep researchers have developed a set of hi-tech “sunglasses”, described as the world’s first “time control” spectacles, which can imitate sun-light patterns. It targets a part of the brain that regulates the human body-clock, by sending signals to the rest of the body that help it slowly realise it is in a different area of the world. Extensive research has shown that green light is one of the most effective wavelengths for influencing the body clock. The battery-powered device, which re-tail for £162 in Britain, then sends signals that trigger the produc-tion of hormones and daily cycles known as circadian rhythms.

Holiday Hotspot – Siam Kempinski, Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok, thailand is one of the top tourist destinations in the world and I love using the city as a gate-way to visit both the country and its many neighbours. With its friendly locals, endless opportunities for shopping enthusiasts, colourful nightlife, numerous attractions and rich culture, it is easy to see why Bangkok is a travel destination of choice. For the culture vulture in you the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo: should be your first stop. It is a huge compound on Na Phra Lan Road near Pramane Ground... sur-rounded by high white walls. oc-cupying an area of about a square mile. the palace, built in 1782, con-sists of several buildings with highly decorated architectural details. One of my other favourites on the south side of the palace is one of the old-est and largest temples called Wat Pho built by King Rama I nearly 200 years ago home to the gigantic gold-plated reclining Buddha. For wildlife enthusiasts, there’s the Pas-teur Institute’s snake farm where poisonous snakes are fed daily and visitors can watch handlers milk co-bras for their venom. Bangkok has some good shopping opportunities especially for jewelry, handicrafts and textiles including silks as well as cottons. As in other locations in Asia, vendors in the streets will

expect some bargaining of prices where the retail stores have fixed prices. Bangkok has many custom tailors who can make suits, shirts and dresses for clients within 24 hours. Central World is the big-gest shopping centre in the city with everything from brand name clothing boutiques, funky fashion, high-tech gadgets, bookshops and designer furniture to imported gro-ceries, beauty salons, gourmet ea-teries and even an ice-skating rink. Be sure to check out Zen with its trendy with cutting-edge fashion, designer labels and home ware creativity. Next door Siam Paragon is where you go for luxury goods a landmark that blends consumer cul-ture and design with state-of-the-art technology.Remember, overseas visitors can claim a VAt refund. If you are a regular reader of this travel page you will know how much I love the German based Kempinski chain of luxury hotels. the group’s first hotel in Thailand is an oasis of 5 star luxury in the heart of a fran-tic city centre next door to Siam Paragon. the eight-storey hotel is possibly Kempinskis most impres-sive city property to date all center-ing on lush tropical gardens with three saltwater pools. the lobby and public rooms facilitate thai-land’s vibrant art scene with 1,500 works inside. this theme continues throughout the 303

rooms, including 42 suites, many of which offer private balconies, with stunning views of the city. the Kempinski Residences provides an unforgettable lifestyle experience for business travellers and families. the serviced residences feature a balcony with a relaxing view of the inner garden, a 42-inch flat-screen LED tV, a home theatre system, wireless internet, a fully equipped kitchen. I particularly liked the glass fronted bathrooms giving each room a chic, urban feel, with a deep soaker bathtub and private shower. Residents can also enjoy a deli-cious range of five-star cuisine and excellent drinks at the hotel’s five restaurants and bar – while Bistro offers daily breakfast buffets until 11am. the Executive Lounge, lo-cated on the 17th floor is equipped with small meeting rooms allowing guests to hold business meetings, private check-in and check-out, complimentary buffet breakfast, af-ternoon tea and non alcoholic bev-erage throughout the day and the evening cocktail event from 5pm is the place to be! The hotel’s fine-din-ing restaurant is “Sra Bua”by Kiin Kiin an elegant space that provides Thai cuisine fine dining.

the menu has many different sets of thai cuisines consisting of the Nibblings, the Street Cooking, the

Menu, Main Dish, and Dessert. One set dish offering included spiced lemongrass salad with scallop, miang som-o, and frozen red curry with lobster and lychee. to be honest we were completely blown away by this creative culinary experience fine tuned with a Michelin star type service. “Sra Bua “led by chef de cuisine Morten Bøjstrup Nielsen is one of the finest restaurants of its kind on the planet and is a must visit! Siam Kempinski Hotel Bang-kok also has a full service spa, 3 outdoor swimming pools, a health club, and a steam room. Kempin-ski continue to grow their collec-tion of distinguished properties around the world. Europe’s oldest luxury hotel group has built its reputation on the belief that exclu-sivity and individuality are key ele-ments of true luxury and their Siam property in Bangkok impresses once again! For best rates www.kempinski.com Etihad operates 10 flights a week from Dublin and daily flights from Manchester and Heathrow to Abu Dhabi and over 85 destinations including numer-ous daily connections to Bangkok

from its middle eastern hub. In business class expect award-winning fully flat beds in an inno-vative 1-2-1 layout – all seats have aisle access and are forward fac-ing. Expect the services of a dedi-cated Food & Beverage Manager offering restaurant quality dining-on-demand, boutique wines, and a unique “kitchen anytime option “. Enjoy over 600 hours of on-demand entertainment on some of the largest personal screens in the sky – as well as MP3 player connectivity and universal power sockets. Etihad Airways also offer a dedicated lounge within the new terminal 2 facility at Dublin airport, with features including showers and a business centre. this impressive oasis of calm is

furnished with Italian leather chairs and soft sofas with extra facilities including a family room, bar, and a la carte and buffet food choices. Etihad also offer a private chauffeur taking you door-to-door in a luxury limousine for custom-ers across the island of Ireland. For best fares visit www.etihad.com

Weekly Best Buy

n Bua by Kiin Kiin at Siam Kempinski Bangkok

n Etihad Business Classs Seating.

Book a family break to Florida with Aer Lingus and make your children’s dreams come true. Magical attractions including Uni-versal Studios, Sea World and Dis-neyland will be on your doorstep, ensuring a truly unforgettable family holiday with memories to last a lifetime. Florida is the ideal

location for those seeking some winter sunshine. Aer Lingus offers three direct flights from Dublin to Orlando every week. Aer Lingus of-fers fantastic flexibility with the op-tion to pay 50% of the fare at time of booking and the remaining 50% 120 days before departure www.aerlingus.com

Pet’s Corner... with Kathleen Murray

Do children tease your dog?CHILDREN and dogs - this is not al-ways a good combination. Children will be children and dogs will be dogs. When your child is out and about playing with their pals do you know where they are and what they get up to? Children can get up to all kinds of mischief.

they do things that they think will be funny and they don’t think about consequences. You can’t put an old head on young shoulders. Children ring doorbells and run off.

they don’t think about what is going on inside the house or who they wake up etc. Children also tease dogs. this can lead to very danger-ous situations. When children tease a dog the dog is often in a yard and it can’t get out.

the children think it is funny to see the dog barking at them and jumping at the fence knowing that they are not in danger. the problem is that if that dog was out for a walk with it’s owner, the chances are that, the dog would remember those children if it met them and would be aggressive towards them. the owner might not know what happened between the children and the dog because they may have been at work or at the shop when the teasing was taking place. If the dog ever managed to jump the fence those children would surely be bitten. this dog may never have harmed anyone in it’s life, but teasing can change all that.

this may be a very docile dog in the family home but teasing can scare a

dog and force it to be protective. If an accident occurs and a child is bit-ten the dog will get the blame without question. the problem with children teasing dogs is that it is not usually the children doing the teasing that get bitten, it is more likely to be an innocent child just walking by and the dog reacts because it is a child of similar age to the ones that did the teasing.

this is a very upsetting and often traumatic experience all round. Chil-dren need to be supervised and taught that dogs should not be treated this way because the outcome will not be good. Dogs are animals at the end of the day and they react instinctively to situations. they are not to be messed with. Children need to be told that. n Teach children not to taunt animals.