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Combining business with pleasure, we head for Thailand and Myanmar!
I woke up at about 2:00am on 26th December (Boxing day morning), feeling a bit annoyed that my alarm was set for 5:00am.
Our flight to Bangkok was at 09:30, but after we checked in and while waiting in the departure lounge, the first images
of what had happened in Asia in the early hours of that morning flashed across the TV screen, and we came to know what a Tsunami is.
When I arrived in Bangkok we met our agent, and agreed that we should change my original plan. We had intended to go to Krabi,
but watching CNN and BBC World I began to see the true scale of this horrific tragedy. We changed our plan, and set up
a visit to Pattaya instead, but first we had two urgent clients to attend to. One of our clients, like us, was due to go to Krabi on the
29th & we had to re-arrange their itinerary for them. A second client was also due to be in Krabi in February & we were
able to switch their trip to Koh Chang instead. For one hotel booking in Phuket for February we also had to re-book a different,
undamaged hotel. Luckily all our other clients who were travelling in Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia at that time were not affected by this disaster.
We started our trip from Bangkok to Pattaya with a visit to three fantastic golf clubs. First we went to the Summit Windmill Golf Club.
An empire of nature has been created quite close to the city, a premier golf course that can be played day & night. Next we arrived
at the most deluxe golf club in the Bangkok area, The Thai Country Club. This is a very exclusive club with excellent golf course,
luxury clubhouse facilities & fine dining restaurant. Before arriving at Pattaya, we also visited the lovely Laem Chabang International
Country Club. This was my favourite. The club is built in beautiful landscaped gardens close to nature, a lush, exotic course
consisting of 27 holes on 700 acres. The club also offers 'The Golf Lodge' deluxe accommodation. This is fantastic for
golfers to stay & play while still be able to visit Pattaya beach & nightlife about 20 minutes drive away.
We checked in the 5* Dusit Resort. A lovely, elegant Dusit style hotel situated at the quiet end of the Pattaya beach with
a breathtaking view of the bay. The inner garden at the centre of the foyer is beautifully designed in harmony. If you want
a feast of international cuisine try their buffet dinner of delicious Thai, Chinese, Japanese & Western food.
Our next day was set aside for hotel inspection. We chose the 4* Amari Orchid Resort for our Superior hotel & 3-4* Montien
as our Standard hotel offerings in Pattaya.
In the early hours of the first day of 2005 we left Bangkok for Yangon, the capital of Myanmar.
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