With great street food, a vibrant nightlife, superb temples and a range of outdoor activities, the charming capital of Northern Thailand makes for a great escape. Here are some tips on how to spend the ultimate weekend.

Friday, 4pm: Arrive in Chiang Mai and head for the Rachamankha, (053) 904 111.

This small boutique hotel is located just behind Wat Phra Singh, and its design pays testament to Lanna arts and culture. The low-rise complex follows the tradition of an ancient Chinese courtyard, with an open space surrounded by lovely rooms and gardens. The tiled roofs, whitewashed walls and golden parasols are inspired by Wat Phra That Lampang Luang in Lampang province.

7pm: Travel from Thapae Gate to Nong Hoi neighbourhood, and sample the local dining scene at Lung Rad Kai Ob Fang restaurant. This is uncle Rad’s joint, a friendly beer garden and popular place to hang after work. Relax with a beer at a rustic wooden table under a thatched roof sampling such Lanna delights as sai ua (pork sausage), larb khom (bitter spiced mince) and om (bitter soup). Not to be missed is the house special, straw-roasted herbal chicken with a spicy dip.

9pm: It’s Friday night, and Chiang Mai is brimming with pubs and bars. If you’re in the mood to dance, try the Riverside Pub & Restaurant, (053) 243 239, beside the Ping River. This is a spacious venue with a fine selection of food and drinks and good live music from 10pm, so the dance floor is usually writhing with beautiful people. If it’s too crowded for you, head to Mandalay, (053) 208 395-8, a dance club with a wild streak.

Midnight: After sweating it out on the dance floor, you need to fill up before hitting the sack. Down a narrow lane beside Wat Saen Fang is a food stall known locally as Daeng Pak Ma (Daeng “the Bad Mouth”), a reference to its moody owner. Ignore the name, though. The stall serves excellent soft-boiled rice and tasty accompaniments. Personal favourites are the fried morning glory, and the salted egg with fried vegetables.

Saturday, 6am: You can’t say you’ve been to Chiang Mai unless you’ve witnessed the hurly-burly of a market. Head to the markets at Kad Luang, Chiang Mai Gate and Ton Lamyai, find a nice coffee stall, and watch the city spring to life.

9am: Chiang Mai City Museum (www.ChiangMaiCityMuseum.org), a short walk from Wat Phra Singh, takes you on a historic journey

back to the city’s origins. The

renovated town hall exhibits

artefacts that date from pre-historic times to Classic Lanna, from stone caves to golden teak-wood mansions. It’s open daily, except Mondays.

Noon: Time for lunch, and Rachamankha is a great place to eat. Porcelain from the Ming Dynasty on antique Chinese tables give an elegant air to the restaurant, but do check out the airy and leafy courtyard, where you can also wine and dine. Enjoy a glass of chilled champagne and savour a selection of authentic Lanna and Shan dishes.

3pm: On the east bank of the Ping River, southeast of municipal Chiang Mai, is the ancient town of Wiang Kum Kam. Established by King Meng Rai in the 13th century as a centre of Lanna, the ancient town was flooded, buried, and considered a “lost city” for centuries. The Fine Arts Department excavated it in the 1980s, and the ruins are well worth a visit. Take a tuk-tuk (Bt150) from Thapae Gate to Wiang Kum Kam or better still, rent a bicycle (Bt20) at the Visitor Centre.

5pm: Black Canyon, a coffee shop next door to Thapae Gate, is the best place to have a beer – or a coffee – and watch the world go by. The restaurant has a counter on the terrace outside its air-conditioned room, and the best seats are those facing the high wall of Thapae Gate, from where you can view an ever-changing scene of tuk-tuk drivers, street hawkers and backpackers.

7pm: If you’ve had enough sai ua sausage, nam-prik num (green chilli dip) and hung le curry, why not try the foie gras and fillet steak at Le Crystal? This riverside French restaurant also has an impressive wine list.

10pm: Your trip to Chiang Mai wouldn’t be complete without shopping, whether for woodcarvings, hilltribe clothes, paintings or silverwork. These and much more can be found all over the city until late at night.

Sunday, 9am:

After a bowl of rice congee and Chinese buns at Santi Restaurant at Chang Phuak Gate, it’s time to visit the temples inside Chiang Mai’s old town. Wat Chiang Man, Wat Saen Fang, Wat Phantao and Wat Phra Singh stand side by side, and they’re peaceful in the morning. Again, your best mode of transportation is bicycle.

Noon: Head to the corner of Singharat and Rachadamnoen Roads, and have lunch at Baan Laansa. Converted from an old wooden house, the pleasant guesthouse serves great fusion and Northern food. You’ll love the shady garden and easy-going ambience. Since it’s Sunday the Rachadamnoen Road will be car-free, so take the opportunity to finish up your shopping before heading back to the Rachamankha.

4pm: Fly out of Chiang Mai.

Phoowadon Duangmee

The Nation

The Rose Garden Riverside is blooming, celebrating its 45th anniversary by setting new benchmarks for high environmental standards in Thailand. Suchada Yuvaboon, chairperson of the beautiful complex in Nakhon Pathom’s Sam Pran district, says that the hotel’s main goal is to become a pioneer of sustainable tourism in Thailand.

“The management has been committed to the conservation of both the ecology and the culture of Thailand since operations began in 1962,” she says.

The push is now on, she adds, for local environmental developments to meet worldwide standards. To put the mission plan into action, the Rose Garden has launched a new policy with the theme “Take Good Care of Clients and the Environment”. In addition, she says the hotel will run ongoing activities to foster environmental awareness for local schoolchildren this year, alongside its well-established Thai-culture-themed projects.

Visitors to the Rose Garden Riverside find it easy to become immersed in Thai culture, says Suchada. She explains that this strong point of the hotel is also a key attraction for its clients, both leisure and business types, especially meetings and convention groups, as evidenced by recent visits from the World Orchid, World Allergy, and International Rice conferences.

The hotel has adopted the environmental guidelines of international networks like BlueGreen Meetings and Meeting Professionals International, and these cover not just its conference rooms but also all seven of its restaurants, 188 guest rooms and other areas in the 170-rai complex.

BlueGreen Meetings suggests that the first consideration for any convention organiser is the environmental sustainability ranking of the countries they are looking at. This is measured by the World Economic Forum (WEF) index. In the latest WEF list, which came out on March 4, Thailand is ranked 90th in the world, lagging far behind local competitors like Singapore and Malaysia, in 12th and 27th place respectively.

According to Suchada, the commitments have paid off, with a positive reception from local visitors and overseas guests alike, as well as recognition like the National Culture Commission award, graciously presented by HM Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn representing HM King Bhumibol.

Experts like Prof Thongchai Panswad, former president of both the Environmental Engineering Association and the Thailand Environment Institute, have been brought on board as advisers. He’s been joined by Neungpanich Sinchaisri, a former academic at Kasetsart University’s Department of Entomology, who will advise on gardens and flora, and MR Kasemvisuth Visuthi, a human-resources expert.

The Rose Garden’s director, Arrut Navaraj, points out that environmental issues in Thailand have drawn more and more attention internationally. If the country fails to follow up on its gains in the area, the tourism industry might see a downturn. Consequently, the Rose Garden is cooperating with the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s Green Globe programme to develop environmental standards in Thailand in a project that should take a year to complete.

VIPASAI NIYAMABHA

SPECIAL TO THE NATION

Millennium Resort Patong, Phuket Hotel has opened for business in the heart of famous Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand’s leading resort town. The new star is the latest property to join the growing global portfolio of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc (M&C).

Just in November, another Thai hotel, the Grand Millennium Sukhumvit Bangkok Hotel opened for business, showcasing the group’s newest premier 5-star brand to the Thai market.

Millennium Resort Patong hotel is owned by Phuket Square Company Ltd and managed by M&C. Phuket Square Company Ltd is the owner and developer of the Phuket Jungceylon shopping and leisure complex where the M&C hotel is located.( Jungceylon is the Portuguese original name for Phuket.)

In March 2006, Real Estate Capital Asia Partners L.P (RECAP) through Dolruethai Co.,Ltd acquired a 95 per cent interest in the Phuket Jungceylon project, a mega hotel and retail complex of two million square feet. RECAP is a private real estate fund in which the City Developments Limited Group (CDL) has significant interest with a US-based investment fund and other limited partners.

“The unique infrastructure and lush tropical surroundings at the Millennium Resort Patong, Phuket will present travelers a luxurious experience unparalleled by any other in the region. The landscape forms a vital element for the interior d้cor of this property. This urban resort will offer guests a taste of the modern Asian-Thai chic, blending both intimacy and sophistication in an exceptional location.

It is positioned as a leading resort in Phuket, designed in a contemporary Asian style with exquisite Thai touches,” said Mr Kwek Leng Beng, Executive Chairman of the Hong Leong Group Singapore, which includes property giant CDL and London-listed M&C.

Conveniently located on Rat-Uthit Road at the intersection of Bangla Street in Patong, a popular area in Phuket, the Millennium Resort Patong, presents a conceptually unique infrastructure – this hotel consists of two wings known as the Beachside and Lakeside.

“For those looking to indulge, the Millennium Resort Patong, Phuket is an ideal intimate tropical hideaway for travelers. Whether holidaying with the family or enjoying an intimate escape for two, this urban resort set in Jungceylon offers a whole range of facilities and activities to suite every traveler,” said Mr Michael Sengol, Chief Operating Officer of M&C.;C.

Sorce: nationmultimedia.com 

Log on to www.KLM.co.th, choose your seat, print out your boarding pass from home and drop off your baggage at the Internet check-in counters in Row P. Then, head to Burger King (Concourse F) and sip your complementary 22-oz refreshment.

Internet check-in is available 30 hours before departure.

Mini joins the fleet

Holiday Inn Bangkok goes hip with the introduction of the small but stylish Mini Cooper to the hotel’s limousine service. Michael Kordys, pictured left, president of BMW Group Thailand, recently handed over the Mini to Brian B Connelly, regional general manager of InterContinental Bangkok and Holiday Inn Bangkok.

The Mini is part of Holiday Inn Bangkok’s marketing strategy and aims to add style to the hotel’s limousine service. Think the driver looks funny? You’re right! The “Mr Bean” look-alike is indeed the chauffeur of this new, chic limo.

Cleaning up the city

JW Marriott Bangkok recently joined the Erawan Group-initiated environmental cleaning project “Rob Baan Na Mong”.

The project aims to establish a community spirit in protecting a healthy environment around the hotel in lower Sukhumvit and also complements the core values of Marriott’s own “Spirit To Serve the Community” programme that is focused on protecting and developing the environment.

Fragrant rice in the park

Less than a century ago, there was no such thing as an iced drink and Thais cooled down in the hot season with khao chae – a set of delicious snacks served with fragrant, watery rice.

Today, there’s no need to suffer the heat but you still can enjoy classic khao chae. Check it out for lunch (Bt699/adult, Bt349/child) throughout April at ISO Restaurant, Nai Lert Park Bangkok, a Raffles International Hotel. Surrounded by a lush, leafy garden, the hotel is a short walk from Ploenchit BTS station.

Sorce: nationmultimedia.com