Issue 5 / December 2011

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Lomprayah Team

Methakritsada Wanngoen

Editor’s Talk

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Roengchai Tipyosot

roengchai@lomprayah.com

Roengchai Tipyosot

Lomprayah TeamEditor in Chief

Wanitcha SukchetExecutive Editor

Jamree PreechasoonthornSenior Writer

CookiesssssSurasit Preechasoonthorn

Juntiya LaoniyomthaiNokweed

NuYoiiPumpui

Editorial Staff

Methakritsada WanngoenArt Director

Everybody is waiting for New Year as a new hope and new beginning. We hope that to leave the bad luck away from us and bring a new beginning for our better life throughout New Year. For some, New Year is worse than others.

However, “New Year” will come along with new thoughts, plans and ideas for sure.King Bhumibol Adulyadej reign with righteousness for the happiness of all Thai people. His Majesty composed a New Year blessing song for all Thais.

Let us all listen the song. Long Live The King

Lompraya News

Cross Year Prayer of 2012Period: 31st December 2011 – 1st January 2012

Time: the End of Year’s night until the New Year’s dawn.List of Names of Temples participating

in this project in Bangkok Wat Suthatthepwararam (Sao Chingcha) - Wat Devaraj - Wat Srakesa - Wat Traimitr- Withayaram - Wat Rajathiwas - Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm (Wat Pho) - Wat Paknum (Bhasicharoen) - Wat Ratchaorasaram -

For more information: http://thai.tourismthailand.org/see-do/events-festivals/info-page/cat/3/event/3311/parent/180/lang/2/

Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Ministry of Tourism and Sports and Horticultural Research Institute approved this flora fair from De-cember 14th, 2011 to March 14th, 2012. The 99 days of the expo will be held at the Royal Park Ratchaphruek, Mae Hia District in the provincial town of Chiang Mai. This fair is aimed to commemorate the 84th Birthday Anni-versary of His Majesty the King, the 80th Birthday Anniversary of Her Maj-esty the Queen and the 60th Birthday Anniversary of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The event also displays the Royal agricultural works. The flora exhibition will include international indoor and outdoor gardening. And visitors will enjoy many international cultural performances throughout the event. It also includes fantasy parade and musical shows at the night expo. There will be agricultural materials and equipments available for sale and souvenir shops and restaurant to accommodate number of visitors.

The International Horticultural Exposition Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2011

Winter Festival at Mrigadayavan Palace

Lompraya News

Period: December 2011Place: Mrigadayavan Palace (Rama Vl Camp), Phetchaburi Province.

Activities: There will be souvenir shops and rare products for sale, a variety of performances and activities from the Fine Art Department and local performances. It also includes Mrigadayavan history exhibi-tion and workshop. For more information: - The Foundation of Mrigadayavan Palace: +66 3250 8444 -5 - Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phetchaburi Center: +66 3247 1005-6

Cover Story Real experience

One of my closest friends emailed me from Paris in early December and asked if I wanted a partner in crime for the holidays - to meet me in India or Thai-land for Christmas and New Years! What a special treat! So, Barbara came from Paris and met me for a holiday. It felt great and so comfortable to be with such a good friend - someone who I’ve known for 11 years. We talked, drank banana-coffee shakes, and shared cocktails, watched sunsets and laid under the stars. Oh, and we had one of the most memorable New Years of my life

New Years Eveon the THAI

ISLAND

I arrived in Thailand with no expec-tations. And, within 20 minutes I had my own seat on a brand new, plush, air-conditioned bus WITH a separate area for my baggage!!. I never knew how much I had appreciated a bus ride. Yes - a bus ride!

Within one minute of getting off my bus in Bangkok, two Swiss girls told me about the perfect place to stay. So, I didn’t even open “the Bible” (Lonely Planet, for those of you who didn’t know it’s proper name)! They were right. This hotel/hostel/dorm was close to the

New Years Eve

ISLAND

famous Khoa San Road - on a cute little street with its own restaurant/bar/shop-ping ‘scene’.

I felt like I was being re-introduced to a world that I had known in a previ-ous life. I drank cocktails with ice. I got online and had a fast Internet connec-tion! Wow - Thailand is amazing!!! It’s so easy here.

I spent 4 days wandering around Bangkok. I met a really nice girl from Egypt and we visited as many Wats(Buddhist Temples) as we could. This had an entirely new meaning to me after my Tushita Buddhist Medita-tion experience and reading so much Buddhist philosophy. For me, visiting Buddhist temples has become more than just ‘sight-seeing’ - they actu-ally make me ‘feel’ something. And, they mean something to me. Bang-kok is filled with wats and iconic Bud-dhist statues. I visited the “Standing Buddha,” the “Reclining Buddha,” the “Golden Buddha,” “the Emerald Bud-dha,” and a dozen more.

My Canadian friend, Deb from Mcleod Ganj (and Pushkar) met up with me and we shared stories and shopped the crazy Bangkok markets. I never knew I was such a good shop-per. I can bargain! But shopping is too easy here. If you’re good, you can get every item you want for under $10. If you’re REALLY good, you can get two-for-$10. Its actually quite fun. What will I do with all this stuff....?. I had a FANTASTIC time in Bangkok.

After that I went to Kho samui island to met up Barbara. But, after two days, we took the ferry over to Kho Tao to meet Matt, Hannah and Jessica from the Full Moon Party.

Kho Tao was amazing. The five of us must have drunk over 100 shakes com-bined. Banana shakes, Mango shakes, Chocolate-Coconut shakes, M&M shakes, Banana-coffee-chocoate shakes and doz-ens more. Oh, and a few cocktails too..... We laid in hammocks and ate long relaxed dinners on wooden-deck restaurants hov-ering over the beach. The days were filled with snorkeling, reading, talking, eating, and drinking more shakes. We didn’t need to adventure much. It was nice to relax and just chill.

Barbara and I left to be on Kho Phangan Island for New Years. We were lucky to find some beautiful bungalows and

settle into a new place. We had no definite plans for New Years Eve and so we decided to just “see what hap-pens.

I love traveling like that. So, we started the evening with some cock-tails at our resort bar where we met a Dutch guy and a German couple. Barbara had a tube of glitter and de-cided that everyone needed a little glitter on their face.

Ok. And then they invited us to join them for the evening. Why not? So, we jumped in Bondi’s jeep and

went for a nice dinner on another beach up a dirt road. Barbara had brought her little tube of “glitter” and started glittering everyone she saw. Soon, people started coming up to her and asking to be glittered. Pretty soon, we were the most popular peo-ple on the beach - “the glitter peo-ple”. We drank champagne and is-land cocktails all evening. We met people from dozens of countries all around the world.

I think Barbara glittered over 200 people that night. At one point, I looked around at the beach-night-

And.... we were so lucky with the music!! Aaron from Defected Records (one of my favorite house music labels) was on tour - on his way to Hong Kong and happened to be at our beach for New Years. So, he DJ’d all night - into the wee hours of the morning. We had what I call “a magic music night.

club and every single person had glitter on their face. Every single person! Watching them get glittered was hilarious. Some people were shy. Some hesi-tant. Some bold and wanted more. Some brought their friends over to get glit-tered. We made friends with everyone, and it was quite amazing.

“There was amazing music bumping in every corner of the bar, on the beach and at every moment of the night! People were setting off fireworks in the sand. And, just after midnight, we bought a prayer-light. This is like a mini hot air balloon (the size of a TV) that you send up into the sky. Each of us wrote our own wish on the material and sent it off - watching it float away up into the sky. It was a beautiful way to start the year. Happy New Year. I hope it is a happy, peaceful and healthy year for you!

Special Thanks to Dan http://www.travbuddy.com/musicdan

Agency PR

MR. ANTHONYHILL

LIFE IS AJOURNEY

Another year comes to an end and we have to prepare to say ‘Good Bye’ to this year. And we are all waiting for holidays to refresh the life in the new beginning of the year. But for Mr.Anthony Hill, he is the founder of “Club Asia”. He works and travels aboard that he truly loves at the same time. Let’s read and become more familiar with him!!

CLUB ASIA

MR. ANTHONY

MR. ANTHONY HILL

CLUB ASIA

Lomprayah : Please ,Introduce your-self about your work in depth.

Mr. Anthony : My Name is Anthony Hill. I have been working in the adventure travel sector for over 20 years. Over the last 2 decades I have worked my way through the ranks from being a guide to being the operations direc-tor. I have worked in over 50 coun-tries around the globe including Af-rica, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and most recently in Asia.

Deciding on the difference between a good day and bad day is easy -A good day is when I go to work wear-ing crocs, shorts and a t-shirt.A bad day is when I need to wear a suit & tie and sit in a concrete office (But this has only happened 2 or 3 times in the last 20 years).

Lomprayah : What kinds of work do you do? Describe its challenge, enjoy and interesting about your work.

Mr. Anthony : In most countries backpackers spend over double the

amount of money than your normal tourists…..and more importantly they support local communities instead of spending there money in foreign owned chains.

Lomprayah : What kinds of work do you do? Describe its challenge, enjoy and interesting about your work.

Mr. Anthony : In most countries backpackers spend over double the amount of money than your normal tourists…..and more importantly they support local communities instead of spending there money in foreign owned chains.

Lomprayah : What is the vacation style that your clients like the most? ( conservative style, mountain, beach or others )

Mr. Anthony : “Club Asia” travelers are more interested in the journey rather than just the destination. Most our travelers love and embrace the different cultures they are traveling through…. Like all cultures (Thai’s, Australian’s, European’s, Canadi-an’s, Kiwi’s, etc…) most travelers in their teens, 20’s and 30’s love to meet other like minded friends and have a bit of a party at night…..then dur-ing the day experience the villages, beaches, learn to dive, trek with hill tribes, raft down the mekong….the options are endless.

Lomprayah : What common prob-lems do you face in your work? And solution?

Mr. Anthony : Travelers not reading there tour vouchers and miss their departures….. Solution: They don’t normally make the same mistake twice – it is too expensive…LOL

Lomprayah : What is the interest-ing point that attract your clients to choose going with you?

Mr. Anthony : We are all backpack-ers that are helping other backpack-ers travel. Before our packages de-part we always have a party so our travelers actually meet before start-ing there adventure. Our accommo-dation in all the locations is the best on each island we visit We are all about making traveling af-fordable, fun and the most awesome experience you can imagine.

MR. ANTHONY HILL

Lomprayah : Where is your favorite place to visit? and why?

Mr. Anthony : In Thailand / Laos I love the Mekong Region especially the more remote villages….. Down in the islands I would need to say Phi Phi – Just because the parties on the beach at night are awesome and then 2 or 3 minutes away by longtail boat you can be on a secluded beach.

Lomprayah : How often do you come and work in Thailand?

Mr. Anthony : I work a month on / month off – so I travel between Aus-tralia and Thailand every 4 weeks.

Lomprayah : What do you think about Thailand in your eyes?

Mr. Anthony : I have been coming for 19 years and absolutely love it. If you embrace the culture then it embraces you back.I first traveled to Koh Tao, Koh Phangan & Koh Samui in 1992. Back then these islands had no real tourism infrastructure – it was really just bamboo huts on the beach. Thai-land still has 100’s of islands like this – you just need to know where to find them.I’ll give you a hint www.clubasia.co LOL

Lomprayah : Please say something to persuade more foreigners to visit Thailand in specific point.

Mr. Anthony : 365 Days of summer – what other county can boast this?

Lomprayah : What should Thailand tourism need to be changed or de-veloped?

Mr. Anthony : Restrict development on some of the untouched islands so generations to come can still visit & enjoy this wonderful kingdom.

Lomprayah : Where is the best place to celebrate in this Christmas / New year?

Mr. Anthony : Koh Phangan without a doubt – where else in the world do they celebrate in such a big way with 10,000’s other revellers on the beach of a tropical island.

Special Thank : http://www.adventuretravel.com.au/

MR. ANTHONY HILL

Lomprayah : If I were your clients and want to buy a package for my girlfriend from your company. I want to surprise my girlfriend with calm, cute, romantic and inexpensive place. Where do you suggest me to enjoy in this Christmas?

Mr. Anthony : Koh Yao Noi in Phang Nga Bay. This is one of Thailand best kept secrets. For romance you are on a trop-ical island with no other hotels, resorts or guest houses in site. You have beau-tiful white sandy beaches with great sunsets. Koh Yao Noi is also great for rock climbers, yoga enthusists, kayakers…..or for anyone that wants to experience the untouched island in the national park region of Phang Nga Bay.

MR. ANTHONY HILLSpecial Thank : http://www.adventuretravel.com.au/

Tip to Trip

The Most

Popular Placesfor this

Christmasand

New Year’s Day

Here we are at the end of December and almost the end of another year. Tip to trip offers the most popular places and attractions to guide you decide where for celebrating in upcoming Christmas and New Year’s Day in Thailand.

The Most

Popular Placesfor this

Christmasand

New Year’s Day

The first attraction is becoming increasingly more popular for people who want to bring themselves good luck for the New Year and throughout the year. People usually go for blessing and praying their respects to Buddha for the new beginning. It’s not only to make merit; you can also enjoy travelling beautiful ancient temples around Bangkok as following:

Nine Templesaround Bangkok1

1. Wat Suthatthepwararam2. Wat Bowonniwet Vihara3. Wat Chana Songkhram4. Wat Saket5. Wat Phra Siratana6. Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn7. Wat Kalayanamit8. Wat Arun Rajwararam9. Wat Rakang Kositaram

Chiang Mai is commonly known as the ‘cool town’ in the cool season. It is a good place for couple or family to celebrate and enjoy cool weather there. Or you can experi-ence other places by climbing up through the fog and mist. And you will then visit the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek Expo. You will be fasctinated by the beauty of scenic views sur-rounding by mountains. Don’t forget to take your camera and snap some beautiful photos to share us!

2Chiang Mai

Pattaya is city thatnever sleeps. Pattaya isalso known as for its beautifulbeach and many attractive places. Pattaya City has approved the budg-et to cater the ‘Pattaya Countdown 2012’ event from 25 to 31 December 2011 at Bali Hai Pier, South Pattaya. This event includes grand fireworks show, concerts from leading artists in Thailand and local Thai cultural performances.

3Pattaya

Last year Sanamluang is voted among top ten des-tinations for celebrating New Year. This event expresses authentic Thai-ness with offering foods to monks, Thai culture and tradition, Thai local performances, and Thai foods. Moreover, it is at the oppo-site side of the Grand Palace.

4 Sanamluang

On the Rajprasong in-tersection where from Patumwan to Chidlom road and Lumpini to Pratu-num intersection go along that way, it is a great place for celebrating the New Year’s Eve event. It is beautifully decorated with colourful lights along the road and sidewalk. Besides, Cen-tral World is another famous place to Countdown on New Year Eve. It pro-vides live on-stage performances by popular artists, food stalls and beer gardens. You can enjoy taking photos with a huge Christmas tree and deco-rative graphic lights from Korea and mini play park on the Central World Square. Then don’t miss this event!

5 Rajprasong Intersection

Last but not least, there are also many other great places to visit. There are different ways to celebrate New Year in different cultures. Thailand is waiting for you…

credit : http://www.kapook.com, http://www.askmen.com