We like visiting Thailand so much that we see ourselves coming back for holidays (or even buying a retirement home !) in the years to come. We would like to visit Hua Hin, Krabi, Phuket and Koh Samui, amongst other places. At the risk of over-generalising, it's not hard to find a good meal anywhere in Thailand, and the service at restaurants, shops and spas is always top-notch.
Our Pavilion at the resort (well, we had the second floor)
The unique feature of the resort is that each room opens out to an attached private "sala".
The resort is centred around a working rice field. Rice is harvested three times yearly and is donated to charities.
The resort employs the farmers to work on the field and maintain the landscaping.
It's low tourist season in CM now so during our four days there we shared the pool with only two or three other couples. Niiiice.
Yours truly suffering the ultimate B-comedy movie cliche : falling asleep and getting sunburned ...
... while the Wife feasted on iced jellies served by the poolside staff.
One of several rice barns around the field. Traditionally, the farmers would store the rice in these barns which are raised from the ground to keep them dry and away from pests. This one also doubles as a yoga place for hotel guests.
The resort also has three water buffaloes in its employ. I dont know whether they actually help out on the fields. But they do get staff benefits (a 24-hour butler service !) and health plan.
We spent most of our time in the resort, but made two trips out to the town for dinners and a spa treatment. The resort is 30 mins drive from town and, short of forking out a lot of dough for a hotel limo, we were pretty much dependent on its infrequent shuttle bus service. I think they just want guests to spend as much time (and hence, money) at the resort as possible.
Most tourists who go to CM would visit the temples and go for treks in the nature reserves. We did none of that. We just wanted to chill out and see what CM is about.
Sunset on the Ping River
Inevitably, most tourists would end up dining or having a drink at either the Riverside or The Good View on the east bank of the Ping River. We had our first dinner at The Good View.
The flower market on the west bank. Although it's Thailand's second largest city, CM has a remarkably laid-back, small-town feel to it. There are few tall buildings and the streets are quite clean. Reminds me of Ipoh, actually (except the cleanliness part)
We found this spa complex from Google. It's just across the road from the Riverside restaurant and is relatively new - it opened only in December 2006. The Wife and I had a 2.5 hour body wrap and massage for THB7,000 (S$335) including taxes. Not really cheap by Thai standards but nothing as exorbitant as what we would be paying in HK or Singapore. And they drove us from and back to the resort.
We enjoyed our treatment tremendously, although getting a massage with sunburned shoulders taught me how high my threshold for pain was. (It was pretty high)
Rarinjinda Wellness Spa Resort
14 Charoenraj Road
Tel : (053) 303030 / 247000
http://www.rarinjinda.com
Our treatment room was on the roof and we had to use the shower cubicle outside the treatment room. Employee and customer satisfaction at that adjacent gas station must be very high. But it was pretty empty when we were there. I don't know whether to feel assured or insulted.
Thai food every evening would have been too much of a good thing. For our last dinner in CM we Googled for Italian restaurants with good reviews and decided on La Gondola by the river.
La Gondola
Rimping Condo 201/6 Charoenraj Road
Chiangmai 50000
Tel: 053-247776
http://www.lagondolathailand.com
We flew on Thai Airways and hence had to transit in Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi (I can spell now ! And it's pronounced Soo-var-nah-boom. The 'i' is silent) Airport between HK and Chiang Mai.
The Wife lurrrved it. There were so many shopping and dining options. If you are departing from BKK and have time to spare, make sure you go all the way to the E and F gates to take in the four cool tapas, antipasti, sushi and cafe bars on the main thoroughfare.
7 comments:
wow - topless back shot of LCN!
the first for the blog! is this the start of possible cam-whoring behaviour?
Next post - pics of skin peeling off my upper arms !
heheh... smarter to have spa sessions in thailand cos similar packages to what we have here at a fraction of the price!
Looks like a gorgeous resort surrounded by idyllic landscapes of farm and nature! My kind of holiday, especially in Thailand where the hospitality and service is always top notch. I just returned from a break in Krabi too which was great.
Nice blogs and pics you got. ;)
I always go goo-goo- ga-ga over other people's holiday pics and vow to visit these places myself (cool insider would know, I also said i wanted to go krabi). But i always end up in the same 2 destinations, Hong Kong & Bangkok! Thanks for the lovely pics anyway.
Nice photos of the rice field!
WOW!
I have no words!!
Hey guy, I really like your blog.
Pictures are awesome!!
I like the picture of the rice field. I have not seen it before, it looks so unusual.
Keep on writing such masterpieces!!
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