Maureen HIll, the Travel industry’s top columnist

Maureen HIll, the Travel industry’s top columnist

A taste of Oriental charm left me tongue Thai’d and all noodled out

Music, massage and mountains of food made for a truly exotic experience – and that’s without the frogs legs

A journey on Evergreen

On the assumption that one can never tire of Thailand, I find myself back in Bangkok.

I flew here in Eva Air’s Evergreen Class, which offered the space, comfort and service of some other airline’s business-class facilities. The flight took 10 hours 20 minutes. The fastest ever in my experience.

My home for the next three nights was the Bangkok Marriott Resort and Spa. A spacious riverside hotel set in landscaped gardens across the river from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok city. The hotel manager’s welcome party set the mood for my stay with endless food and copious amounts of cocktails. They were downed with relish to the background jazz music provided by a swinging combo, fronted by a Julie London singalike.

Every calorie counts

With a pounding head and wearing dark glasses, I made my way to breakfast the next morning and sat opposite a large American gentleman with a plate piled high with everything on offer and smiled as he asked a bemused Thai waitress for low-calorie sugar for his coffee.

He must have had 7,000 calories on his plate but I suppose every calorie counts.

I made good use of the Marriott’s water taxi which dropped me at a pier across the river, convenient for the skytrain and downtown Bangkok.

Once again Imarvelled at the air-conditioned efficiency and cleanliness of this cheap method of getting around Bangkok. You would not believe this was the low season as Bangkok buzzed with tourists.

The heat and humidity drove me into the air conditioned stores and forced me to buy yet more bargains.

I made it back to the hotel in time for the barbecue and Thai dancing spectacular. With 200 dishes on offer, the Marriott barbecue, set on its riverside terrace, draws diners from all over. I didn’t let the side down and sampled 199 of the exotic dishes but bottled out of the fried frogs legs.

Getting the massage

The morning-after guilt trip propelled me towards the Marriott Mandara Spa for a rejuvenating facial and a vigorous Thai massage.

Bones cracked and creaked, and I hoped that they weren’t mine as the masseuse pummelled, pushed and stretched me back into life. Although only a slip of a thing at seven stone, I wouldn’t like to get on the wrong side of this girl as she certainly knew my pressure points. With my cucumber mask freshly peeled and my face looking like a shiny pink pig, Ifelt at a disadvantage when later introduced to the beautiful and elegant spa manager.

Since its opening in 1999 the spa has proved so popular that its opening hours are now 10am to 10pm and advance bookings can be made from the UK.

Just the ticket

As you would expect Bangkok has an abundance of restaurants and noodle shops and it is still possible to eat well and cheaply. I am a little ashamed to admit that the streets of Bangkok are cleaner and safer than those in London.

All spa’d up and shopped out, Icollected my ticket from Amy B Wondurack international relations officer Bangkok Airways for my flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. My turbo-prop flight took just 55 minutes but during that time I was served with breakfast and soft drinks by two efficient cabin crew staff and we made a smooth landing at tiny Seam Reap Airport, which is surrounded by paddy fields.

I was therefore not very surprised to find that the entry process was less than sophisticated and, some would say, a little chaotic.

The surly police officials in charge of the entry visa procedure made for an intimidating welcome to tourists, and took too long – loosen up and laugh lads, more speed and smiles next time please.

It was with some relief that I cleared the airport to be met by an exuberant and smiling Sokcheat Pho of Orchestra Travels Cambodia, for my transfer to the Angkor Hotel, Siem Reap.

On the road to recovery

Cambodia is making great strides in becoming a stabilised country following 30 years of disruption. The main currency is the US dollar – don’t leave home without it, because using the plastic is not yet the practice here, apart from at hotels.

My first impression of Cambodia as I trundled along in Mr Han’s motodup (Cambodia’s less hair-raising version of the tuk-tuk taxi) is of a country anxious to develop its tourism industry and doing its best to make up for lost time. Outside of the airport, I found the Cambodians to be warm friendly and hard-working people, many of whom speak fluent English.

Like many Cambodians, Mr Han had invested what little money he had in English language classes, and he typifies the country’s optimistic attitude towards tourism. The low prices in the restaurants and shops was a welcome surprise. The quality of the food is exceptional – as I discovered at the new Bayon Restaurant, where I tried the fish amok in coconut.

Help me Doctor Beat

Saturday night I ended up in hospital. I was one of the audience seated in the reception area, listening to Dr Beat Richner playing cello music by Bach.

Dr Richner is a Swiss expatriate, known locally as Beatocello and his Saturday night concerts have become a way of raising much needed cash for the three Children’s Hospitals Kanta Bopha.

In between his professionally played pieces Beatocello describes the problems facing the poor children of this previously overlooked part of Asia and what he and his team are doing with the donations raised. The evening was a mix of inspiring music, thought-provoking information and moving anecdotes.

Back at the Angkor Hotel, I pondered whether I should hasten to my room to prepare for the temples at Angkor or try the local beer at the bar. It was no contest really! That night Idrifted off to sleep to the sound of a chorus of frogs croaking away outside my window and looked forward to unlocking a little more of this fascinating country tomorrow. More next week….