Picturing New Zealand's South Island, spectacular images of mountains, pristine forests and crisp blue glaciers spring to mind. These postcard-perfect landscapes are part of its west coast.
TRAVEL TITBITS
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment plans to grant 30-year concessions to private companies to manage accommodations, restaurants and shops in 10 popular national parks.
STAY
Amari Vogue Resort, Krabi
FACES & PLACES
The man on the right looks tense, even a tad alarmed, wouldn't you say? It wasn't my high-tech digital camera that freaked him out, though, but the fact that I'd dared to point it in his direction in the first place. He runs a stall at the Green Bazaar in Almaty, the old capital of Kazakhstan and, for some reason, the owner of this large, open-air market strictly forbids the taking of photographs.
The innocuous-looking two-storey building in Muang district of Phitsanulok looks anything but what it's supposed to be, not until you step inside and it hits you with the full weight of its presence.
AT LEISURE
Sukhothai native Wiwat Tharawiwat believes in taking calculated risks. Almost five years ago, this financial consultant with a degree in accountancy but absolutely no experience in the hospitality industry opened Ananda Museum and Gallery Hotel, a four-star establishment in the heart of Sukhothai's Muang district. A year later, he began work on another project, this time a smaller, boutique-style establishment in a tropical garden setting, which he dubbed Tharaburi Resort. Both properties have since become popular with high-end tourists willing to pay big bucks to be pampered.
To experience rural life in Sukhothai at its best, sampling the hospitality and home cooking of the residents of Ban Na Ton Chan is a must. A long asphalt road lined with lush vegetation leads to a sprawling teak house owned by Sa-ngiam Sawaenglap, the first villager to sign up for a homestay programme when it was launched here a year ago.
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
Boutique resort X2 (which stands for "Cross To") comprises 23 villas of varying sizes, from a one-bedroomed, 70m2 unit to a spacious, two-bedroomed villas covering 255m2.
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
With its seven spacious rooms looking out onto a lush tropical garden, Spa Botanica is a veritable oasis of peace and quiet in the middle of the metropolis. While growth in the domestic spa sector has been rather stagnant of late, this place has managed to stand out from the crowd by being the only spa in Bangkok to offer a range of East-meets-West techniques and treatments which, the people in Singapore who developed them claim, are effective in preventing certain physical conditions.
LOGGIN IN
YOU READERS FROM SUKHOTHAI ARE simply relentless! Not only do the two candidates representing your province now occupy the top spots in our poll, they're also crushing the competition with a combined tally which has already exceeded the 8,000 mark. The two entries from Bangkok have only managed to attract a little over 250 votes in total. At the time of going to press, just over 18,000 votes had been cast in our 9Destinations campaign, more than 40 per cent of which has gone to one or other of the Sukhothai sites. While these numbers are certainly impressive, do bear in mind that just a handful of weeks ago the two Lampang candidates were in virtually the same position, but support for Wat Phra That Lampang Luang and Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao has waned considerably in the interim.
THAILAND'S TOP DESTINATIONS VOTE
Wat Phumin in Nan Province is an artistic temple that showcases the great faith of Buddhist people from ancient times.
AWAY
British Airways is offering special fares to Australia for passengers flying the World Traveller Plus, the airline's premium economy cabin.
