IF I HAD to name my great passions in life, the first would be cycling, the second hiking and the third spending time in Japan. Over the years, I’ve cycled many of Japan’s best known routes and I’ve also tackled some relatively easy hiking trails in Asia, including in Taiwan and Japan a few years ago.

But I’ve always dreamt of conquering the summit of Mount Fuji and now I’ve passed the age of 50, there seemed no better time than the present.

The official climbing season on Mount Fuji, which stands at 3,776 metres, is July and August, and it’s not as hard as one might imagine provided you prepare well.

Climbing Mount Fuji is very popular not only among Japanese but also foreign tourists, who currently make up more than a third of all hikers. A survey conducted in 2014 counted 170,097 hikers on the Yoshida Trail, 33,092 on the Subashiri Trail, 16,963 on the Gotemba Trail, and 64,492 on the Fujinomiya Trail, the numbers increasing dramatically following the designation of Fujisan, as the Japanese call their mountain, by Unesco as a World Heritage Site in 2013.

For my first hiking experience, I put together a party of friends of different ages.

“I was worried at first about the hike, as I had never hiked before, and about my health,” says Hatairat Sinthuvarawan, who is over the age of 50 and doesn’t cope too well with changes in the weather.

She started exercising one month before the journey, gradually building up her stamina. “I felt exhausted during the hike. I was short of breath and found the route between stations so long, especially between stations 8 and 9, which was a night walk and all uphill. But, when I reached the top of the mountain, my exhaustion disappeared with the sunrise. My main obstacle was the cold wind. But it’s really all about our state of mind,” she says.

“It was one of the biggest challenges in my life,” says Songklod Sae-Ngow, 35, a content editor of Channel 3. “I lost a lot of my energy while walking from the fifth to the seventh station and during our night walk, the strong wind and cold air made it difficult to breathe. I was also tired because I hadn’t slept for long enough. But I was so excited to reach the top.”

Our journey starts with an early bus from Kawaguchiko Station to the Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station, home to restaurants, souvenirs and a post office. Here you can rent a horse to ride up to the seventh station. During the climbing season, tourist buses are parked here and the area is bustling with climbers. Mount Fuji is divided into 10 stations with the first station at the foot of the mountain and the tenth station on the summit. The fifth station is halfway up the mountain.

Like other hikers, we spend an hour or so visiting Komitake Shrine, dedicated to Iwanaga-hime, elder sister of Konohanasakuya-hime, before having breakfast at the fifth station. We also procure some wooden hiking sticks.

Research on the Internet has emphasised the need for thermoregulation and while many hikers try to ascend in one go to witness the sunrise from the summit and descend the same day, we elect to stay at a mountain hut at the eighth station on the first day and spend some hours sleeping before continuing to the summit early on the second day.

We start our ascent at the Yoshida trail at 10am and walk the gentle slopes passing through Izumigataki junction. We pay careful attention to the information signs indicated in yellow, the landmarks for the Yoshida Trail, which prevent us from getting lost.

Reaching the sixth station at an altitude of approximately 2,390m, we find the Mt Fuji Safety Guidance Centre and the police box, which, with typical Japanese efficiency, provides information relevant to the climb and distributes climbing maps.

We follow the zigzag gravel path in the line of the ridge, which merges with the path going down, and pass a fence erected to mitigate rockslides. We climb slowly while maintaining our balance as fog dances around our heads.

Mountain lodges and toilets dot the area between the seventh station (altitude 2,700m) and the eighth station (3,020m). Customers of the lodges pay 100 yen (Bt30) for the use of the facilities while passers-by are charged 200 yen. Most of the mountain lodges offer benches where climbers can take a break. The path is harder between the seventh and eightth stations, requiring considerable climbing over rocks. I’m the first of my group to reach the eighth station, arriving at Taishikan, the first mountain lodge of this station, in just four hours. The accommodation is somewhat spartan, with climbers sleeping next to each other like in a military camp and without showers – water being too precious at this altitude.

The sign on the eighth station tells us that it takes three hours to the top and that the sun rises at 4.30am in summer.

We’re fast asleep at 6pm and while we had intended to leave at 1.30am, we set off more than two hours earlier, worried that we won’t get to the summit on time.

The nights on the mountain are dark, quiet and above all cold, and we quickly discover that many other climbers are also leaving early to catch to the sun. We set off along with sandy path, our climb made more difficult |by the scattered red rocks along our route.

Japanese efficiency again comes into play and as we near the summit, we meet some safety officers. They tell us it’s 30 minutes to the top and before long I spot the Shinto Torii gate with its two stone guardian dogs, marking the entrance to the actual summit. Once again, I’m the first and on hand to care of my exhausted friends.

The wind up here is even stronger and colder and I stand in front of Kusushi Shrine alongside other tourists and locals waiting for the sun to come up. A hot drink and a cup of instant noodle soup later, and it’s time to start the descent.

That turns out to be considerably more difficult than the climb, with loose volcanic rock making it hard to move quickly along the zigzagging route. Several people fall and hurt themselves, fortunately none of them seriously. It’s tiring and my legs feel very fatigued.

We are extra careful at the Shitaedoya junction to follow the yellow sign and take a left onto the Yoshida Trail (marked in yellow). If you don’t, you end up arriving at the fifth station on the Subashiri Trail and you will not be able to return to your starting point.

We walk down through the forest and then up a slope to reach the starting point, the fifth station parking area.

Tired but triumphant, I feel like shouting to the world “Yeah, I’ve done it. I’ve climbed Mount Fuji and lived to tell the tale”.

Mountain High

– The official climbing season on Mount Fuji is during July and August. For more information, go to http://www.FujiSan-Climb.jp/en/season/.

– For information on how to get to Kawaguchiko station, Lake Yamanakako and Mount Fuji 5th Station, visit http://www.DeepJapan.org/a/3197.

Both will reopen on October 30.

The government earlier set the dates for the funeral rites and cremation as October 23 to 29. The Grand Palace will thus be closed for most of October in preparation and there will be some access restrictions to places nearby.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand points out that foreign visitors can still find many wonderful places to discover in Bangkok, and alternative tours are readily available.

The royal cremation will take place on October 26, proclaimed a national holiday as a mark of respect for the late King.

Visitors are reminded that this occasion will be a time of great sadness for Thais. The Tourism Authority recommends they behave and dress in a respectful manner – not just in Bangkok, but everywhere in the Kingdom.

It also notes that banks and some government-related services will be closed on October 26.

As part of its corporate social responsibility initiative “Journey of Development”, Thai AirAsia is encouraging people to sample community-based tourism, with the focus on four villages that His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej visited years ago.

The four pilot destinations are Baan Pha Mee in Chiang Rai, Baan Kok Muang in Buri Ram, Phromlok in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Koh Klang in Krabi.

The programme is designed to both raise the standard of living in these communities and improve the residents’ English-language skills.

Thai AirAsia and the Thai Journalists Association recently hosted an Asean Travel Journo Camp. Marking the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, they took 17 members of the press from nine Asean member-countries (only Singapore was not represented) to two of the four communities.

Ahka villagers give the travelling journalists a rousing welcome

An hour’s drive from Chiang Rai Airport is Baan Pha Mhee, a mountainside Ahka village surrounded by coffee plantations. The village’s name refers to a mountain that looms nearby in the shape of a bear. The current population just tops 600.

Chinese immigrants from Xishuangbanna established the village 85 years ago, and today the area is one of the country’s top coffee producers. It wasn’t always so. As recently as the 1970s it was a source of opium, and there were border disputes flaring in the vicinity.

His Majesty King Bhumibol came to visit and convinced the inhabitants to start cultivating other crops instead of opium. He realised that the temperate climate in the hills suited crops that could be grown sustainably, still bring the farmers sufficient income and do far less harm to society than opium, from which heroin is derived.

You don’t need a coffee maker to brew fantastic coffee.

His Majesty introduced the farmers to more than 150 legal alternative crops, including cabbages, tea, and, of course, the one that ultimately brought Baan Pha Mhee fame and success – Arabica coffee.

“At first the King gave us Robusta coffee beans to grow,” said Rawimon Mongkoltanaphum, president of the Pha Mhee Community Tourism Enterprise. “But later he suggested Arabica instead, because it can really flourish in the rich soil and cold weather of the North.”

The press assembled on Doi Pha Mhee was keen to try “Pha Mhee hot coffee”. It’s a rich mix of Arabica, milk and sweet syrup. “Iced coffee with young coconut meat” has coconut water and the meat of a young coconut sweetening the intense flavour of the coffee.

No matter which one you prefer, the experience is like drinking a cup of royal coffee.

A visiting journalist tries the Akha swing at Baan Pha Mhee in Chiang Rai.

Further up the mountain by four-wheel vehicle is another signature attraction of Doi Pha Mhee village – the Akha swing – and it’s not to be missed.

Visitors are encouraged to climb on and experience the exciting sensation of flying through the sky, wonderful views of Chiang Rai all around.

The Akha swing is found in most Akha villages, there for a traditional annual ritual normally held amid the rains of August to bring fertility in the coming harvest season – and to honour the women of the tribe.

The Swing Festival gives young Akha women the opportunity to don beautiful and elaborate costumes and ornaments to indicate that they’ve reached marrying age. Nowadays visitors are free to join the Akha maidens in an exciting show of joy and liveliness.

Baan Pha Mhee was designated a community tourist destination last December. Its younger generation contributes in applying the theories of His Majesty the late King and helping develop the village, and the residents have succeeded in ridding the community of its former reputation as a narcotics centre, replacing it with a fresh image as a welcoming destination for tourists.

Baan Koh Klang is a charming Muslim community in the South.

From Chiang Rai, the next stop for the travelling journalists was Krabi in the South, where we saw how farmers grow rice in the middle of an island.

A 10-minute boat ride from the city of Krabi, the island community is Baan Koh Klang, with a population of about 5,000, mostly Muslims and mostly engaged in shallow-water fishing or rice cultivation.

Koh Klang might not be the destination for tourists seeking crystal-clear water, white-sand beaches and five-star hotels. Nonetheless, it has plenty of charm and much to see and appreciate. There’s the fascinating Thai-Muslim culture, pristine mangrove forests, the Hua Tong boats typical of Krabi province, and the unique Sangyod rice.

Rice is cultivated right in the middle of the island.

Sopha Kohklang, the local CBT coordinator, showed us that Sangyod rice is organic, purple in colour and high in fibre. It’s produced only here and in Phatthalung province.

In Koh Klang the planting takes place in August and the harvest comes in December.

“I invite any tourists who are interested in community-based tourism to come and visit us and see how we live, eat and dress,” Sopha said. “The highlights here are the charming way of life among the Muslim people and the way the rice is cultivated right in the middle of the island.

“If you want to try fresh Sangyod rice, you have to come here!” she said.

The residents happily show visitors how the rice is planted and harvested, and they’ll also invite them to try their hands at making batik and building a model Hua Tong boat.

Then there’s always a trek to the beach at low tide, where they’ll demonstrate how to dig for clams and other shellfish. There are more than 30 different species that are good to eat, but the Spotted Babylon sea snail brings in the top prices for villagers.

The Hua Tong longtail boat is a symbol of Krabi province.

You can spend just the day at Koh Klang or stay overnight. The local homestay is called Kidteaung Cottage, and tourists who move in will really feel that they’re living like the locals.

At the end of their trip, the journalists from around Southeast Asia shared their thoughts.

“What I like about Thailand are its people and preserved temples and traditions,” said Joseph Tristan German Roxas, a news producer in the Philippines. “Thai people are very nice. I like how they’re so loyal to the royal family.

“When I go home I plan to write about my experiences in Chiang Rai and Krabi,” he said.

“The community-based tourism we saw in Chiang Rai is a good programme to highlight – how people are given the chance to improve their lives on their own. I also plan to write about how they grow coffee and how they feel about the late King.

“As for Krabi, I plan to write about the Koh Klang community produces rice both traditionally and

in the modern way.”

IF YOU GO

For more information about community-based tourism in these locations, call Phakakan Rungpracharat of the Doi Pha Mhee CBT Group at (089) 449 7842 and Sopha Kohklang of the Koh Klang CBT at (086) 072 7860.

THAILAND MIGHT still be in the grips of the monsoon but the cool season has already arrived at Play La Ploen Floral Park in Buri Ram where colourful winter blossoms are in full bloom.

Located in Khu Muang district, Play La Ploen is the first flower park in the country’s northeast region and brings together an extraordinary mix of Thai culture and exotic European designs under one roof. Spread over 400-rai, this botanical garden is home to six temperature-controlled greenhouses populated by plants from around the world.

The Seasonal Plant greenhouse shines the light on romance with Dutch hydrangea varieties, amaryllises and Siam tulips.

The “Love and Loyalty” building hosts the “Under His Graciousness” exhibition that pays tribute to His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Alongside, the Tha Sawang village showcases local wisdom through a collection of traditional silks and ancient gold set off against a couple of white elephants fashioned from flowers.

Inspired by landscaped gardens of which Europe is so proud, the Seasonal Plants greenhouse alternates its displays every three months. Until November, it’s adorned with a pastel carpet of Holland hydrangea varieties, amaryllises and Siam tulips on a Romantic Flowers theme. In December, it will be home to yellow tulips, lilies and other winter plants as the nation celebrates the late King’s birthday.

Dinosaurs peek out from the ferns and petrified wood in the Prehistoric. 

The Prehistoric zone looks as though it was designed by Hollywood director Steven Spielberg with its Jurassic Park theme. Here dinosaurs are busy hunting for food and more than 60 species of ferns are wrapped around petrified wood.

Several varieties of these non-flowering plants are on display here, namely the rabbit foot fern, ladder fern, Brazilian tree fern and bear paw, Pteridium and Blechuum orientale, all of which have adjusted to the tropical climate and grow well in hot and humid surrounds.

Over in the Colour of Nature exhibition, a giant butterfly has been fashioned from orchids, chrysanthemums and carnations. The show itself is divided into two themes – mainland and ocean – boasting bromeliads and coloured carnivorous plants with other shrubs fashioned as peacocks, parrots, lady bugs and mermaids.

Mostly found in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Columbia and Costa Rica, bromeliads have some 25,000 species and in Thailand are categorised into two groups – edible (pineapple) and ornamental. On view here are the neoregelia, aechmean, guzmania, vriesea and tillansia varieties.

They share space with a range of carnivorous plants from Asia, the Americas and Australia, among them nepenthes, sarracenia, drosera, Venus fly trap and pinguicula.

The Kinnaree garden boasts several kinds of orchids.

Next door is the mythical Kinnaree garden influenced by the Thai literary work “Phra Suthon and Nang Manohra”. It’s home to rare orchid species including the ground orchid, red orange star, vanilla sweet, rhynchostylis retusa, cattleya, vanda and mokkara plus even rarer strains such as aristolochia ringens vahl and aristolochia Indica L.

The Great Pyramids hall is home to replicas of pharaoh Tutankhamen and Cleopatra’s tombs and a wide variety of rare cacti.

The Great Pyramids hall has, as the name suggests, an Egyptian theme with replicas of the tombs of Pharaoh Tutankhamen and Cleopatra surrounded by a sea of cacti in full bloom. Species include agaves, candelabra plant, silver torch and crested euphorbia.

The Art of SEA pavilion mimics an Isaan village with a spread of anthurium from the Netherlands. 

The Art of SEA zone is designed to resemble an Isaan farming village and furnished with a collection of wooden agricultural tools and traditional costumes. They are surrounded by anthurium or dok na wua in Thai, a monocotyledon plant and native to the tropics that boasts heart-shaped leaves and petals that turn from yellow to white when it blooms. The exhibition focuses on seven species imported from the Netherlands including otasu, Dakota, sense, fiorino, jori, okapi and sempre.

Ruen Tam Rab Sam Rab Thai takes inspiration from a Thai-style wooden house. 

A short walk from the greenhouse zone, Ruen Tam Rab Sam Rab Thai is a beautiful Thai-style wooden house furnished with rare antique ceramics, porcelains and wooden tables from the reign of King Rama V.

Visitors can sign up for workshops on Thai desserts, natural fabric dyes and handicrafts.  

Visitors to the gardens are invited to join workshops on naturally dyed fabric, Thai desserts and handicrafts and can make a holiday of it by staying overnight at the Play La Ploen Boutique Resort.

Right now Play La Ploen is gearing up for winter by preparing a cosmos field, strawberry plantations and a vineyard.

IF YOU GO

Play La Ploen Floral Park is located at 252, Khu Muang district, Buri Ram province. It’s open daily from 9am to 6pm. Tickets are Bt80 for children and Bt150 for adults.

Find out more at (087) 797 6425, (044) 634 736-8 or visit http://www.PlayLaPloen.com.

The Phuket addition will depart at 3.35am while the Chiang Mai flight will leave at 5.10am daily. The operation will start on October 29.

Santisuk Klongchaiya, director of commercial for Thai AirAsia, says that with demand on popular routes continuing to grow, AirAsia has decided to offer early-risers the chance to y to avoid traffic and congestion at the airport while still enjoying AirAsia’s low fares. The addition of these early morning flights bring the number of journeys from Don Mueang to Chiang Mai to 13 flights a day and Don Mueang to Phuket to 18. The airline is planning to add frequency to other routes in the future.

“We guarantee that our added early morning flights will still be just as well-priced compared to the average for seats on any other flight as we are adding them to offer new travel opportunities and to open a new market that includes connecting travellers, tourists and business travellers looking to make day trips,” he said.

The new flights come with a promotional all-in fare and are available for booking from now for travel from the start of the early morning flights on October 29. Find more information or book the seat at http://www.AirAsia.com.

WITH THE RAINY season greening the vast stretches of Buri Ram, the little village of Sanuan Nok has emerged as an alluring weekend escape for travellers from the big cities, offering a chance to get back to life’s basics.

As a part of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Creative Tourism Project, residents conduct “eco-cultural” tours and workshops on silk weaving and other handicrafts.

It’s a fascinating lesson in how people in the village live within the parameters of sufficiency and at the same time retain beloved Isaan traditions.

Yai Chun built this wooden bridge in 1885, little knowing it would become a scenic outlook. 

Just a 12-kilometre drive from downtown Buri Ram in Huai Rat district, Sanuan Nok was once covered in dense growths of the sanuan (Kratie rosewood) that gave the village its name.

Nai Dam, a blacksmith from Roi Et, is credited with founding the community in 1805.

Fearful of attack, Nai Dam built a circular earthen mound as the foundation for three layers of clay walls, the ruins of which are still visible in places.

Otherwise the site is now completely occupied by mulberry plantations, rice fields and a smattering of houses. You get to see all of this from a tour bus that’s been cleverly designed to resemble a combination weaving shuttle and spacecraft.

Yes, there’s plenty of fun to be had here.

Phanom Klahan’s shop, Baan Krading, sells handmade wooden bells suitable for buffalo, cats or dogs. 

Village head Boonthip Karam explains that the land Nai Dam settled gradually became two villages, Sanuan Nok and Sanuan Nai.

Most of the residents are rice farmers, he says, and many learned from the Queen Sirikit Department of Sericulture how to raise silkworms and plant mulberry shrubs to earn extra income between harvests.

“We set up a silk-weaving centre in 2004, where we host several workshops. In recent years the District Administration Organisation and TAT have helped us improve the landscape and develop eco-tourism projects.”

In the hallowed Luang Pu Udom Joss House at the entrance to the village, residents bring their wishes and pray for protection from mishap.

From there the bus takes us to the all-wood Yai Chun Bridge, a fantastic spot to take pictures of the green rice paddies sprawling as far as the eye can see.

The Luang Pu Udom Joss House greets visitors at the entrance to the village. 

“A millionaire named Yai Chun built this bridge in 1885 and it’s been restored twice since then,” Boonthip says. “It makes getting around more convenient and also happens to be a wonderful lookout point for tourists.”

Next we visit the Ancient Market, where every Saturday vendors sell homemade dishes and desserts, herbal drinks and handicrafts.

There we don’t get to meet Grandfather Kat and Grandmother Riang Phetlert in their classic Isaan-style house built in 1926 of pradu and daeng wood. As has long been the custom owing to the hot, dry climate, the house sits on stilts, with the floor more than a metre above the ground so the breeze can flow through.

A family of Kat and Riang has turned it into a cultural museum, filling it with vintage household wares. Visitors feel like they’re stepping into the past. There are even typical outfits of the Northeast that you can don for souvenir photos.

In the heart of the hamlet, which has a population of only about 150 families, Boonthip’s house has its own cultural attractions – starting with a culinary one.

He treats guests to a tantalising feast of Isaan specialities, all served on large rattan trays. You can sample kaeng kluay (coconut curry with pork and unripe bananas), kai tom bai mon (chicken soup with mulberry leaves) and fiery nam prik pla tu (chilli paste with grilled fish).

We’re also guests at a Bai Sri Su Kwan – a traditional ceremony for welcoming visitors that’s meant to sharpen their minds and bring them luck, good health and success.

A beautiful dance is performed, the ram trod, which promises to both bring on rainfall and keep away ghosts and misfortune.

The village has 10 families ready to accommodate tourists in their homes for two or three nights, with the prices starting at a supremely reasonable Bt420 per person, breakfast and dinner included.

For Bt700 and up, the Sanuan Nok Resort boosts the comfort quotient with its six villas and 24 guestrooms – air conditioning, en-suite bathroom, cable TV and a coffeemaker all part of the deal.

The local tour bus might be a spacecraft – or maybe it’s a weaver’ shuttle. 

The simple life in remote areas customarily involves rising at 5.30am to prepare offerings for the monks. Once that’s done, resident Samrueng Kotiram is ready to be our guide for a roam around the village and a lesson in sericulture and weaving.

“The Sirikit Department of Sericulture developed a new species of mulberry for us, called Buri Ram 60, that’s easier to plant and more durable,” Samrueng says.

She shows us the woven pattern for which Buri Ram is most famous, hang kra rok (squirrel tail), which was adapted from Lao pha sin and a Khmer motif of the same name.

“It depends on the weather, but it usually takes a month to raise the silkworms and produce the thread. After the butterflies lay their eggs and the larvae emerge, we feed them with mulberry leaves and then harvest the threads of the spittle they produce when they form their cocoon.”

You can see how silkworms are cultivated.

Silk is organically dyed with extracts of plants and flowers – lac produces red, kae lae yellow, kram blue and the ebony tree black.

Maneerat Prachanban holds visitors’ attention as she weaves a 45-square-metre bolt of silk with no fewer than 20 different patterns featuring animals, the Asiatic pennywort, butterflies, squirrels’ tails and pine cones.

The hardwood bells that clatter around buffaloes’ necks come from Baan Krading, a shop where the original techniques are still in use after two centuries, handed down through the generations.

Uncle Phanom Klahan has quite an assortment of bells to show, not just for buffalo but also cats and dogs. He uses the wood of pradu, phayung, teng and jackfruit trees because it’s both lightweight and gives the bells a resounding tone.

Grandpa Mak Khajeefah, 70, will set you up with a handmade bamboo fan to keep cool, and he also weaves dish covers, trays and baskets.

The adorable dolls at Baan Tukkata are made from coconut shells and palm fruit.

Over at Baan Tukkata, Uncle Uthai Kumram, 60, uses coconut shells and palm fruit to fashion coffee cups and dolls that look like flamingos, snakes, owls, spiders, penguins and wasps. A retired farmer, he’d begun carving coconut-shell dolls as a hobby.

“It turned out that the tourists loved them, so I’ve expanded my product line and make coffee cups now too,” Uthai says.

The village temple, Wat Sanuan Nok, has in its vihara a 200-year-old Buddha statue crafted from tamarind wood. In the ubosot are colourful murals depicting the Buddha’s 10 incarnations.

IF YOU GO

>> Book a tour or a homestay by calling (085) 411 4435 or (080) 472 4435.

The service offers travellers an exclusive check-in counter, pre-flight food and beverages in a special lounge and priority boarding and baggage claim, with prices starting at Bt800 for domestic flights and Bt1,000 for international and Fly Thru flights.

Santisuk Klongchaiya, director of Commercial for Thai AirAsia, notes that AirAsia’s customer base has expanded steadily to encompass a range of lifestyles that include travellers who enjoy its low fares but also want the convenience and exclusivity of more premium services, hence the creation of “AirAsia Red Carpet”.

Customers who choose this option will be treated to an exclusive check-in counter that bypasses any long lines, up to two-and-a half-hours access to a relaxing lounge complete with food and beverage as well as priority boarding and baggage claim.  The service can be selected through the Manage My Booking feature on AirAsia website.

AirAsia Red Carpet is available for both AirAsia and AirAsia X passengers on all flights from Don Mueang Airport (domestic and international) with domestic passengers to be given access to The Coral Executive Lounge and international passengers to the King Power Lounge along with a King Power cash voucher worth Bt400 for shopping at King Power Duty Free for journeys through December 31.

The service is also available at Phuket Airport, Chiang Mai Airport (international flights only) and Udon Thani Airport (domestic flights only).

Organised under the umbrella of the Environmental & Sustainability Working Group, the event draws millions of volunteers across the globe to fight ocean pollution in support of the International Coastal Clean Up Campaign.

“We are focused on three main areas: Phuket branding, local education and environmental protection. By cleaning up our beaches we are promoting Phuket as a global beach destination brand and we are also educating local communities, tourists and island businesses on the need to take care of the island’s natural assets while preserving the environmental health of the ocean,” said Anthony Lark, president of the Phuket Hotels Association and the managing director of Trisara.

Plastic is choking the world’s seas and putting marine life in danger. Some 46,000 items of debris now occupy every square mile of ocean and plastic is found in 62 per cent of all sea birds and 100 per cent of sea turtle species tested after their demise.

The Phuket Hotels Association recognises the need for action and is lobbying local community groups, schools, residents, expatriates and tourists to join forces and clean up garbage from the beaches around the island before it reaches the sea.

Learn more at http://www.PhuketHotelsAssociation.com.

There’ll be merit-making ceremonies across the island, an “Art Lane” cultural fair, beach buffets, concerts by popular musicians and terrific kick-boxing matches, plus the Samui Festival Marathon and Tour of Samui bike race.

Find out more at (077) 420 504 and http://www.SamuiFestival.com.

In Phuket for the regatta

With the Asia Superyacht Rendezvous Cup returning to Phuket in January, the Sala Phuket Resort and Spa will treat 10 lucky guests to a close-up view of the race and its evening events. The motor-yacht regatta will be brimming with luxury over three days of parades, racing, camaraderie and social events.

Online booking can be made at info@salahospitality.com and http://www.SalaHospitality.com.

Off to Sri Lanka

The Cantaloupe Aqua Galle in Sri Lanka is drawing tourists with a “Big Blue” package starting at US$880 (Bt29,200) for three nights and $1,350 for seven.

Valid for stays between from October 1 and December 23, the package includes accommodation in an Aqua Ocean Play room, daily breakfast, Wi-Fi, airport transfers, a whale-watching trip and a visit to the Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery, plus dinner for two.

Book your trip at reservations @cantaloupe.lk.

‘Suite’ savings at Centara

Sample the “Suite Experience” at Centara Grand at Central Plaza Lat Phrao Bangkok anytime this year and enjoy a 30-per-cent discount on the price of a stay of at least two consecutive nights in a Club Deluxe, Club Deluxe Suite, Premium Deluxe Suite and Executive Suite.

There are also complimentary Club Executive privileges, including access to the Club Executive Lounge, with breakfast and evening cocktails, spa or dining credits worth Bt500 per person, a signature cocktail in the Blue Sky Bar, unlimited Internet access and check-out until 4pm.

Make reservations at (02) 541 1234, extension 4116-9, or reservationcglb@chr.co.th.

Salil serves up savings

Luxurious Salil Hotel on Soi Thonglor has “Hot and Cool” packages available through October – Bt7,592 for two-night stays and Bt14,713 for four nights. You get a free upgrade to a Deluxe Suite, checkout until 4pm, daily breakfast, two items of clothing laundered each day, and round-trip airport transfers (Hot package) or one-way to or from the airport (Cool).

Book a stay at (02) 072 2882-4 or info@thesalilhotel.com.

Founded in 2007 by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), the UK Travel Association and the Dutch ANVR Travel Association, Travelife is a training, management and certification scheme dedicated to achieving sustainable practices within the tourism industry. The system provides companies with “realistic sustainability goals, tools and solutions to implement positive change within their businesses and supply chains”.

Travelife requires its partners to comply with ISO 14001 standards, the full set of ISO 26000 Corporate Social Responsibility guidelines and the OECD ethical business standards. The Travelife standard is formally recognised as in compliance with the UN supported Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. Travelife for tour operators is supported by PATA, which promotes the scheme among its tour operator members.

“It is critically important for any new business, such as ours, to lay the right foundation from the start as it allows a culture of sustainability to become deeply embedded operationally,” said Sens Asia Travel managing director Linh Bui. “This is the reason we have partnered with Travelife so that we can maintain and follow internationally-recognised sustainable travel practices and operate responsibly at all times.”

Sens Asia work closely with local communities and the surrounding ecosystem, taking it upon themselves to support and take part in a number of ongoing environmental initiatives in Southeast Asia. These include the recent “Save the Langur” campaign on Cat Ba Island in Vietnam, “Action for a Green Halong 2017” with Bhaya Group and IUCN, and numerous tree planting initiatives throughout the region.

Sens Asia trips also directly support experiences at places such as KOTO (Know One, Teach One) restaurant in Vietnam, a non-profit organisation giving at-risk and disadvantaged youth the possibility to learn and thrive, the PHARE circuit which provides free vocational art training programme for street kids, and Seeing Hand Massage, which trains blind massage therapists in Siem Reap.

The Travelife certification process represents a serious undertaking for travel businesses, with strict criteria required to reach partner status.

“We would like to show travellers that we are truly dedicated to an environmentally sustainable tourism model,” added Linh Bui. “We will be working tirelessly to achieve Travelife Certified status and continue to create experiences throughout Asia that secure a brighter, greener future for the region.”

Find out more at http://www.SensAsia.com.