Posts Tagged Thailand
Review – Putahracsa Hua Hin, Thailand
The owner of this beautiful Putahracsa Hua Hin boutique resort, Velvadi Sritrairatana, is R’s buddy from university a long time ago (I won’t say how long). She inherited this property from her grandmother, Khun Ying Supatra Singholaka, who served in the Royal Court of His Magesty, King Rama VI. Velvadi transformed the land into a very unique resort that was designed by her interior designer husband Viboon Techakalayatum. And boy did they do a magnificent job. Opened in October 2006, this is not your typical multiple-story hotel chain. Spread over two areas, one houses the main lobby area, pool, the Sala Monsoon restaurant, Day Spa, SilkSand Rooms and SanSky Villas. The rooms spans only two stories and are located around the poolside, forming a very relaxing atmosphere.
A hop across the street is where we stayed – in one of the Oceanbed Villas with our own hot tub and private pool. The room uses plenty of wood and bamboo to emphasize the natural surroundings. And you won’t find a work desk in the room either. It is a resort after all and as Viboon said, this is a place for relaxation and not for business (or at least minimal business).
Also on this side is an infinity pool and the Oceanside restaurant right next to the public beach. We had lunch there and the cool sea breeze matched with the expansive ocean view made for a very relaxing afternoon. A glass of Sauvingon Blanc and…ah, Heaven.
The staff were also very helpful and attentive. Prior to our arrival, they recommended golf at Black Mountain Golf Club and Banyan Golf Club, arranged all the tee times as well as the transportation. Both courses were excellent and only within 30 minutes from the resort. Back at the resort, the Day Spa provided many more hours of relaxation bliss.
If you enjoy the uniqueness of boutique hotels and don’t want to stay in a “cookie cutter” style chain hotel, then this is the place for ultimate relaxation.
– 17/20
Putahracsa Hua Hin
22/65 Nahb Kaehat Road
Hua Hin Prachaub
Kirikhan 77110
Thailand
T: +66 (0) 32 531 470
E: booking@putahracsa.com
W: www.putahracsa.com
091213 Putahracsa Hua Hin - Signage
091213 Putahracsa Hua Hin - Main lobby
091213 Putahracsa Hua Hin - Main lobby
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Review – Banyan Golf Club, Hua Hin, Thailand
Not to be mixed up with Banyan Tree, this course opened in October 2008 and already was voted as the Best New Course in 2009 by Asian Golf Monthly. The designer, Pirapon Namatra of Golf East, built this course amongst an existing pineapple plantation and purposely kept some and made them in play on some holes if you deviate too far from the fairway. You can’t not notice the pineapples as all the tee boxes use them as tee markers.
The signature hole is the Par 3 15th (136 yards from the whites). It is supposed to have panoramic ocean views all the way to Sing Toh (Tiger) Island in the Gulf of Thailand. However, the sky was pretty hazy and we were not able to see anything beyond significant distance. There are four tee boxes available, 7,361 yards from the blacks, 6,774 from the blues, 6,286 from the whites (this is where we teed off from) and 5,087 for the reds.
With even more elevation changes than Black Mountain it has its share of water hazards and greens that are significantly more ‘potato chipped’. Although the greens maybe large, the false fronts reduces the landing area by at least 20%. Short and you can find your ball 30 yards down the slope. Even if you’re on the green, unless you are within 30 feet of the hole, there’s no guarantee to hole out in two. Catch the wrong side of the hole and your second putt could be further away from the hole than when you started.
One unfortunate incident was the caddie that we had, #155. Unbelievable. With our experience in China, we have always reduced our reliance on caddies down to just bag carriers, but nothing prepared us for what happened. She was very unprofessional. She did not even carry out basic duties such as attending the flagstick, nor seem to know where I landed on every hole (R doesn’t get me on the fairway all the time). And on hole 3 (Par 5), we laid up to 100 yards on our second shot but she kept driving the golf cart all the way up to the green (in Thailand you get one caddie and one golf cart per player, so she does the driving). We thought we couldn’t have hit it that far…and we were right. R ended up walking 100 yards to to me (exactly at the 100 yard marker) and walked another 100 back to the green! We were clearly annoyed, but didn’t say anything to her. Suddenly, after a few holes, she started crying!!! WTF? From then on she just stood still by the cart and didn’t pass clubs, clean clubs, clean me, etc. WTF??!! R ended up doing all the caddie duties and at the end of the round gave her a poor evaluation and didn’t give her any tips. Comes to show that a good caddie is getting harder and harder to find these days…but didn’t expect anything like this. We think this is an isolated incident at Banyan as our friend’s caddie was much better.
– 17/20
– 12/20 (if taking the caddie into consideration)
The Banyan Golf Club
101 Moo 9, Tab Tai
Hya Hin 77110
Thailand
T: +66 (0) 3261 6200
E: reservations@banyanthailand.com
W: www.banyanthailand.com/Golf
091212 Banyan Golf Club - Pro shop
091212 Banyan Golf Club - Starter hut
091212 Banyan Golf Club - Scorecard (Par 72, 7,361 yards)
Review – Black Mountain Golf Club, Hua Hin, Thailand
We expected this to be a nice course. Asian Tour Pro Darren Beck played the Black Mountain Masters here in March earlier this year and came in tied for eighth place. Opened just 2.5 years ago, the course conditions were excellent and very well maintained. The clubhouse was pretty big with lots of open air space overlooking the golf course.
The course has spectacular views of the “black mountains” in the background, so called because of the large black rocks that are set in the slopes. For a relatively flat area, the designer, Phil Ryan, utilized many natural features of the original jungle and pineapple plantation, such as the creeks and rocks that are featured on many holes. Since the course is so young, there were few tall and mature trees lining the fairways, therefore wayward tee shots will still be in play for a chance to save par or bogey at worst (assuming you don’t make other silly mistakes).
At 6,508 yards off the blues, that’s where we teed off from. The more skilled/adventurous players can try the golds (6,894 yards) or the blacks (7,351 yards). There are a set of whites at 6,100 yards and the ladies have 5,652 yards to enjoy.
The course is a typical risk/reward course as demonstrated on the Par 4 7th (447 yards from the blues). With a large lake on the dog leg hole, cutting the lake requires a 230 yard carry, and will leave you with a short 130-140 yard pitch to the hole. But taking the conservative route around the lake will play the full length of the hole.
The greens were pretty slick and became faster as the day progressed. They must have been at least 11 or 12 on the Stimpmeter but rolled very true.
A very enjoyable round although I fell asleep – I took a peek at birdie on the Par 3 14th. Faced with an uphill 30 footer, R argued with the caddie on the line of putt and did not believe her recommendation of a left to right break. We believed it was right to left and uphill, so we took less break and damn if he would just hit it. We were dead on line and two feet short! Well we’ll just have to come back then…
– 17/20
Black Mountain Golf Club
565, Moo7, Nong Hieng Rd,
Hin Lek Fai, Hua Hin
Prachaupkhirikhan 77110
Thailand
T: +66 (0) 3261 8666
E: proshop@bmghuahin.com
W: www.bmghuahin.com
091211 Black Mountain - Sunrise on the golf carts
091211 Black Mountain - Restaurant & bar
091211 Black Mountain - Scorecard (Par 72, 7,351 yards)
Review – Crêpes & Co., Bangkok, Thailand
As avid fans of crêpes for a long time, we accidentally came across this place a few years ago while researching restaurants in Bangkok. Philippe Bruttin, a Swiss-Bulgarian, introduced the crêperie to Bangkok in 1996. Sadly he passed away in 2000 and the restaurant is now run by his youngest brother Serge. It’s a bit off the beaten track, but once inside, you’ll feel like you just entered into their home. There’s a quaint small garden with a few tables for outdoor seating. At the waiting area, you’ll find plenty of magazines to read in case you need to wait for a table. Kids (and adults) can also share the owner’s love for Tintin comics as well as Asterix too. Ever since, it’s been on our must visit list every time we go to Bangkok.
This time, R tried the Crêpe Bourgignonne (with bacon, chicken, onion and tomato sauce). C on the other hand, not keen on crêpes as a main course, ordered the Eggs Benedictine and substituted the salmon for ham. Must have been really good as it was gone in an instant. The crêpes are very authentic – thin and slightly crispy at the edges. It was a tad dry at first, but once we got to the tomatoes and onions, it was perfect.
Then we ordered dessert – the main reason for coming. Crêpes Suzette was a must though it was a bit too sweet. Maybe should have asked for more liqueur. C ordered the Banane Chocolat – banana and chocolate sauce. It was huge and no wonder, they must have put three bananas inside or even more!
On the menu was a Banane Cognac – banana with honey and whipped cream flambéed with cognac…sounds very interesting. Well we’ll just have to come back again soon.
18/20
Crêpes & Co.
18/1, Sukhumvit Soi 12
Klongtoey 10110
Bangkok
Thailand
T: +66 (2) 653 3990
E: info@Crepes.co.th
W: www.crepes.co.th
091123 Crêpes & Co. - Off the beaten track
091123 Crêpes & Co. - Entrance to the garden
091123 Crêpes & Co. - Outdoor seating
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Review – Food Hall @ Siam Paragon, Bangkok, Thailand
Feeling hungry while shopping at Siam Paragon in Bangkok, Thailand? Don’t have time to sit down for a snack but need something on the run? Well head down to the Food Hall on the Ground Floor of the huge department store. There’s plenty of stalls offering almost everything under the sun. But we tried the ice push tea, which hit it right on the spot to quench that thirst. Very smooth.
Around the corner is a stall selling kanom krok swoei – Thai coconut milk pudding, a traditional Thai sweet. Sort of like the Hong Kong mini-eggs (雞蛋仔) but with a thinner crust and lots of coconut milk in the center. Very delicious.
18/20
Food Hall
G/F, Siam Paragon
991/1 Rama 1 Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
Thailand
T: +66 (2) 690 1000
W: www.siamparagon.co.th
091122 Siam Paragon - Food Hall
091122 Siam Paragon - Push tea
091122 Siam Paragon - Push tea
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