Thailand: Introduction and Planning

I was at an industry event last summer and met a lovely representative from Anantara hotels who suggested I should come to Thailand and see her properties myself. Full disclosure: as a travel agent, I am frequently invited to try suppliers' offerings at reduced or no cost so I will better be able to recommend them. In this case, the suppliers are the hotels; I had to provide my own transportation. But that's no reason not to do it right, right? 😉 

The plan:

• Korean Air business class Toronto to Seoul, Seoul to Bangkok
• Fast Track Arrival and Hotel Transfer
• 2 nights (1 1/2 after my flight schedule got changed) at the Anantara Siam Bangkok

• Thai Smile Airways from Bangkok to Chiang Rai
• Transfers booked with Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Sanctuary and Resort
• 2 nights at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Sanctuary and Resort

• Thai Smile Airways from Chiang Rai to Phuket, with a stop in Bangkok
• Transfers provided by Anantara Mai Khao Villas
• 3 nights at Anantara Mai Khao Villas

• Korean Air business class Phuket to Seoul, Seoul to New York, New York to home

Be on the lookout for guest airport lounge appearances, and general tourist fangirling. All this is coming up next month. Stay tuned.

RC Explorer of the Seas: Part III - Ports of Call

The first stop was Labadee, Haiti for beach day fun. For those not in the know, Labadee is one of two private ports for Royal Caribbean, the other being Perfect Day at Coco Cay.  Labadee is a spit of land which is fenced off from the rest of the country, and has beaches on both sides, a pier which can support the incoming cruise ships, and numerous bars and a couple of buffets. There are water sports, land sports, a kids splash area, and much more. 

Labadee has more activities than you can shake a stick at. Reader, we didn't even bother to shake a stick. We'd read, occasionally get a tasty beverage from the servers wandering amongst the loungers, go in the water for a bit, then return to the loungers on the quiet beach the lovely beach butler set up for us. We got a tasty lunch at one of the buffets, and ate looking at the beautiful clear water. 

It was a mostly quiet, lazy day. The only real excitement was when a beach ball escaped and a lifeguard had to take a kayak out to prevent yet more plastic from entering the ocean currents. The rescue provoked thunderous applause and cheering.

La Romana in the Dominican Republic seems to be a fairly new cruise port. Due to slow recovery from the plague, there didn't seem to be a lot of excursions offered, so we just got off the ship and wandered into town.  There were some restaurants, gift shops, and bars, but it wasn't busy at all. 

Interesting job: he says "hee hee!" at tourists for tips

What can I say about Curaçao, aside from the fact that it is stunning? We checked out the Dreams Curaçao on a day pass. It's a lovely resort, with an amazing swimmable beach, complete with stingrays.

Suite View

We didn't really have any plans for Aruba, but we did notice that you could hire a taxi by the hour, and have them give you a tour. Why not?

Up Next: Thailand!