Skål International Chiangmai & North Thailand

Transcription

1 Skål International Chiangmai & North Thailand SKAL s BIG WEEKEND IN CHIANG RAI SKAL CHIANG MAI AND NORTH THAILAND AT ITS BEST! As Chiang Rai gears up to celebrate its 750 th anniversary next year, the Greater Mekong Sub-Region is seeking a theme and a direction to promote all 6 member nations as one, we heard on June 18, After Skal President Marc Dumur had led a convoy of 14 Classic Cars of Lanna North from Chiang Mai, we settled into the Mekong Tourism Office seminar, chaired by Marc at The Legend Resort & Spa, Chiang Rai of which Marc is also the GM. Mason Florence, Skal member, publisher of the stylish new lanna 101 magazine and executive director of the MTO described plans to market the whole region as a single destination. Partly funded by the Asian Development Bank and based in Bangkok, the aim of the MTO is to promote member nations Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Myanmar to the world. All 6 nations border the 4,000km Mekong River at some point and all are keenly interested in increased tourism revenue. We are trying to introduce as much sustainable tourism as possible said Mason. Bhutan has done this to some extent, but maybe it s too late here? Skal Member Paul Humphreys, Chairman and CEO of dmafrica, suggested the MTO conducted the promotion with the co-operation of the member nations, but differently from them. In Botswana the average spending of our clients per head is US$650 per day. I think that s probably about 10 times that of the average spend in the Mekong region he emphasized. Botswana plans only a few new hotels to be opened in the next 10 years. Surely, fewer people spending more money on more easily sustainable tourism is the way to go. Let s go down the quality tourism route, not the mass tourism route! We must instill a pride in the environment. As long ago as 1975, guides in Singapore took a pride in the cleanliness there. Attitudes must come from a very early age in order to serve tourists of future generations. Only bats and rats? Ken Albertsen who recently opened the new Boomerang rock-climbing facility only 4kms from Chiang Rai city centre favored natural habitat and hiking and biking trails. As something of a tree hugger I want to see trails that keep motorcycles out. Thailand has great possibilities for bicycle trails. I don t see wild animals, only bats and rats. Toronto has 65 miles of biking and hiking trails. Seventeen per cent of New York city is Central Park! We do have to identify the real attractions said Skal member Nikolaus Prachensky, now involved in producing the dry and delicious Nikki fruit spirit as well as tea. We must stop forest burning and emphasize cleanliness and efficiency. Skål International Chiangmai & North Thailand. P.O. Box 80. Chiangmai Thailand. 1

2 Thais are very proud but they don t speak out on things which are unacceptable added Skal Member Annette Kunigagon. Kitti Tisssakul, President of the Association of the Northern Tourism Federation, said that improved infrastructure was essential as the next three years were critical to tourism development. Chiang Rai would benefit greatly from Mekong promotion. It was well positioned to welcome large numbers of Chinese tourists and China was already investing a lot of money in northern Thailand. Khun Kitti was supported by Khun Pornthep Inthachai, Chiang Rai Chamber of Commerce. Other yay sayers were the staff from Art & Culture, representing our Skal Member Lori Ashton, who absolutely backed the promotion of Mekong Tourism as did Kan Air, the newest airline connecting Chiang Mai with Chiang Rai and Nan. A driving ambition The petrol heads amongst us really sat up and took note when Mason spoke about the improved road routes through Laos. You can get all the paperwork to drive through Laos pointed out Mason. You get a car passport for 1,000b from Land Transport HQ Chiang Mai, number plates with characters in English, and that s all good for a year in Laos, Malaysia and Cambodia. The Chinese are already driving this way and it won t be long before we can take our cars there, especially thanks to the new Friendship Bridge across the Mekong at Chang Khong. Many people had the mistaken impression that right hand drive cars were not allowed in Laos and China, as both nations drive on the right. Drumming up Chiang Rai tourism Plans were already well in hand at the Chamber of Commerce to do massive landscaping and beautification work for the 750 th anniversary next year, said Khun Kitti. Skal Member Chiang Raibased Jaffee Yee, the marketing man on lanna 101 wanted Chiang Rai to move out of the shadow of Chiang Mai. He proposed a river boat festival and a drumming competition as part of the attractions. He said that the building, repairing and playing of Chiang Rai s traditional drums was a dying art. Countless drums of all sizes were in poor condition, and funds should be raised by the festival to stimulate restoration, which might cost as much as 15,000b per drum, he said. Skal Chiang Mai and North Thailand, would very much like to voice our support of the Mekong Tourism Forum and to see controlled development of positive tourism in this part of the world. The next Mekong Tourism Forum will probably held in Chiang Rai, in June The first of a series of maps has been published to promote the region, The Mekong River, from Source to Sea Featuring Laos, Odyssey Maps 1 st edition. More? See & Skål International Chiangmai & North Thailand. P.O. Box 80. Chiangmai Thailand. 2

3 Mekong Tourism Office Statement To develop and promote the Mekong as a single destination, offering a diversity of good quality and high-yielding sub-regional products that help to distribute the benefits of tourism more widely; add to the tourism development efforts of each GMS country; and contribute to poverty reduction, gender equality and empowerment of women, and sustainable development while minimizing any adverse impacts. The Mekong Tourism Brainstorming meeting took place only at the beginning of our evening. Later we moved outside for pre-dinner cocktails with Skal members and guests. We would like to thank Mr. Rex Baggeley of the Classic Lanna Car Club and all his fellow and lady classic car enthusiasts for joining us. We wowed over your classic cars, we enjoyed your company, we were honoured that you could join our Skal meeting adding some extra interest to our weekend. We hope that we too provided you with some interesting conversations! Khun Marc, our Skal President, gave a nice potted history of Skal International for our Skal guests which everyone appreciated. This was followed by a short presentation by Mr. Ken Albertsen, an American Chiang Rai resident who owns the Boomerang Adventure Park which features zip lining and rock climbing, amongst other activities, in the beautiful Chiang Rai surroundings. Skal is always happy to hear about and support new activities in the area, especially when they are run with an awareness and respect for the environment. Skal Member Khun Nikki Prachensky, livened up the evening for us with his delicious cocktails. Even the skies got lively and we and the classic Lanna cars were treated to an evening heavy rainshower! Everyone retreated hurriedly to the Legend Foyer and then to the brand new Angelini s Mediterranean restaurant for our sumptuous dinner. Angelini s was an absolute feast for the eyes and the dinner was really divine. I am sorry that we couldn t get to sample every single dish as there were so many. I am sure that Angelini s will be a hit in Chiang Rai amongst local people too, both Thai and foreign. The chefs really excelled themselves providing us with a delicious banquet and we need to mention them by name to make sure that the credit is all theirs Sous Chef, Mr. Kritamate Kantee and Restaurant Manager: Mr. Watcharin Yuengthaison and of course for the organization Executive Secretary: Mr. Teerasak Tachan. Congratulations! The conversation flowed, as did the wine, the food was devoured and appreciated to every last morsel. New friends were made, old acquaintances renewed! A special welcome was due to Mr. Don Ross, Editor of TTR Weekly ( Don has been writing travel news for over 30 years and most of us are familiar with his writings, keeping us all informed. He was accompanied by his delightful wife, Khun Urai. Our long-term Chiang Rai based Skal Member and supporter Khun Wanida and her family. Mr. Renaud Mahe, F & B Manager, represented our Skal Member Justin Malcolm, the General Manager of Le Meridien Chiang Rai. We were pleased to see so many Chiang Rai friends, we learned a lot from one another. A nice sweetner to the evening, actually three to be precise, thank you very much, were some very generous draw prizes as below. Skål International Chiangmai & North Thailand. P.O. Box 80. Chiangmai Thailand. 3

4 1. The Legend Resort: Pool Villa for 1 night + hosted dinner by GM for 2 Persons (won by Ms. Katharina Bless, Soma Center) 2. 1 Royal Siamese Massage (90 Min.) at the Chiang Saen Spa, Legend (won by Mrs. Patricia Solar, Komloy Foundation C-Rai) ) 3. 1 Night stay at Le Meridien Chiang Rai, a Deluxe Garden View including breakfast for two persons (won by Mr. Dejan Patic, Bangkok 101 Talisman Media Group) Skål International Chiangmai & North Thailand. P.O. Box 80. Chiangmai Thailand. 4

5 After dinner, the evening discussions continued over drinks, most appropriately of course The Legend Resort is located on the banks of the Mae Kok River, the very river which dominated the first part of this evening s discussion! The following morning after a scrumptious breakfast at The Legend we gratefully followed, Skal Member, Mr. Jaffee Yee, who is of course a highly qualified guide. He gave us great insight to Baan Dam (Black House), the life and art of Ajahn Thawan Duchanee, a National Artist of Thailand. Ajahn Thawan is apparently a true artist, never caring what anyone thinks of his work whether it is good or bad. He is quite reclusive and his staffs are very protective of him keeping away all especially nosey visitors. He actually lives at Baan Dam which consists of 40 houses and buildings made of different materials, the most impressive being dark wood. The buildings are a part of his art as are the contents, carvings and installations, much of his work centres around animal bones and skins. Baan Dam is a fascinating place to visit with few tourists which adds to the experience. It lies just to the North of Chiang Rai in contrast to Wat Rong Khun (often referred to as the white temple ) which lies to the South of Chiang Rai. Some people refer to the contrast between hell and heaven; you need to visit to make up your own minds! As usual Jaffee provided us with a lot of extra information about Thai art in general and the Chiang Rai area. Jaffee is a proud-of-chiang Rai-resident and author of the book, The Best of Chiang Rai Gateway to the Greater Mekong, published 2010 by the Knowledge Media Group Limited. The Boomerang Adventure Park, was the second part of our morning s itinerary. Most importantly was a Coffee Break, beautifully catered for us by The Legend Resort with the backdrop of the limestone karst cliffs which we were to climb after the appropriate refreshments!! Ken explained to us how he had cleared the rock faces to make them suitable for climbing safely. All his climbing equipment is imported and of the highest internationally approved safety standards. He has facilities for rock climbing, zip lining, frisbee golf, traverse climbing and tightrope, as well as trekking to nearby caves. This project is called Boomerang because this reflects the shape of the land. He likes to invite school groups to visit also and teaches the children as much as possible about preserving and respecting our natural environment! Our Skal group admired the rock climbing skills of the Boomerang guests and staff, but sat firmly at the bottom of the cliff! The main exception was Jasmine, age 12, who under Ken s expert care and instruction, decided to do some climbing, balancing and flying through the air at great speed. She just loved it! Thank you Ken! So after Northern Thai culture and art and some natural adventure we returned to the peaceful Legend Resort for final farewells. It is appropriate at this point to thank Khun Marc again, Skal Chiang Mai and North Thailand President, G.M. The Legend Resort, Classic Lanna Car Enthusiast, convener of the Brainstorming Session of the Mekong Tourism Forum. This was a weekend feast, only arriving and staying at the Legend was a dream, we all look forward to very frequent return visits! Well, what more can be said. This was a perfect weekend, legendary and a classic amongst Skal meetings. Skal! The next Skal evening meeting will be on the 28 th July, a Thursday, Le Meridien Chiang Mai, put it in your diaries and we look forward to seeing you all then. Skål International Chiangmai & North Thailand. P.O. Box 80. Chiangmai Thailand. 5

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