My Chiang Mai diary

Thailand is a country I have always enjoyed. I have been to the capital Bangkok several times, as well as the southern parts of Phuket and Krabi. My recent discovery of Chiang Mai, the northern part of the country, adds to the many reasons why I enjoy Thailand. Chiang Mai is everything I expected it to be, a place I even like better than the south... a place I would love to go back to over and over again. As promised in my recent Bangkok story, here is my story on Chiang Mai.

Day 1: Upon arrival from Bangkok, we go straight to Bo-Sang handicraft village where Sa paper products and paper parasols are made. Artists are readily available to paint any design one may want on paper parasols, fans, or even shirts and jeans. Next stop is the Sankampaeng Hot Springs. People can stay overnight here and enjoy the springs, we stay for half a day, boiling eggs in the hot water and observing the natural geysers. We then head to the Chiang Mai Night Safari, the third biggest night safari in the world, and the biggest in Chiang Mai covering three districts (Mae Hia, Nong-Kwaii and Suthep) and having more than a thousand nocturnal animals.

At the center of Lanna (northern) village, there is a sight-seeing area where you can sit next to a swan lake. This area is surrounded by the Jaguar Trail – a zoological park where one can walk through 1.2 kilometer-trail in order to see over 400 animals. This is one of the three animal exhibitions in the 131-hectare area. The other two are the Savanna Safari Zone and the Predator Prowl Zone. Jump on the trams with a guide who will bring you face-to-face with over 600 animals.

We head to the best hotel in Chiang Mai, the D2 (www.d2hotels.com). D2 is a hip hotel managed by the Dusit group. The interiors are simple and chic. They have their own CD called "Siam Soul" and their GM is called a "Guru" (it says so in his business card) and their communications director is called the "PR Whiz." The ultra-modern hotel is centrally located.

Day 2: We get up early for the Maesa Elephant Camp (www.maesaelephantcamp.com). We watch the mahut (elephant trainer) bathes the elephants before their show. The elephant show is quite unique as they play football, play musical instruments, and paint with their trunks! Elephant paintings are sold here and I bought one. The camp offers mahut training courses, too, and we are lucky enough to see a newborn calf, only a month-old.

We head to the Chiang Mai Zoo where they have a wide variety of animals plus two giant pandas. We then try our hand at Thai cooking as we learn at Thai Thai Cookery School ([email protected]). The day is not over as we have to do what Filipinos love best – shopping! Chiang Mai has a night market daily but they have a special Sunday market that is much bigger. Almost everything is for sale and I hoard on Thai and Burmese arts and crafts.

Day 3: Our last morning is spent at the Angsana Spa Green View Chiang Mai (www.greenviewresort.com). After two hectic days, a massage is what we really need before catching a plane back to Bangkok.

For avid horticulturists, Chiang Mai is calling you! From Nov. 1, 2006 to Jan. 31, 2007, an abundance of flora will flourish at the Royal Flora Ratchaphruck International Horticultural Exposition. The 92-day fair will be set on the 80-hectare Royal Agricultural Research Institute in Chiang Mai.Check www.royalfloraexpo.com.

(Thai Airways flies 12 times a week to Bangkok with immediate connections to Chiang Mai and major cities in Europe and the rest of Asia. Check www.thaiairways.com or call reservations at 812-4744 or e-mail [email protected].

Check www.tourismthailand.org for more information.)

Extremely fresh

Embassy Club at the Fort has indeed become packed especially on weekends. When one is close to people, whether dancing away or talking, one should never ever forget about having fresh breath!

The new Astring-O-Sol Ice Extreme is a revolutionary mouthwash with time release anti-bacterial compound called chlorhexedine that actually fights morning breath. With a cool lemon-lime flavor that leaves a refreshing blast of freshness in the mouth, it is perfect for those extreme nights out at the club. Gargle before bedtime and wake up with that fresh clean feeling, like having no morning breath!

Astring-O-Sol Ice Extreme hosted a night of glitz and glamour at Embassy to salute extreme individuals in the city and here they are...

A Nanohana goodbye for Lorrie

New York-based culinary instructor and chef Lorrie Reynoso visited friends and family in Manila. Her good friends Al and Carla Tengco, Johnny Velasquez and Maripi Muscat hosted a despedida for her at Nanohana, the newest Japanese restaurant in town. What else could they serve a chef but the best Japanese cuisine in town?

Nanohana’s two Japanese chefs Matsuo and Hasegawa have a combined over 50 years in Japanese cooking. They prepared assorted sashimi (hamachi, toro, kampachi, Japanese clams, uni), harumaki spicy tuna and harumaki spicy kani (this is a must order, something very unique), lobster miso, vegetarian gyoza (I am such a carnivore but this was totally my type!) and grilled scallops in uni sauce. Our main course consisted of the flavorful wagyu rice which was so flavorful I could have ate it alone, the melt-in-your-mouth wagyu tepan and the huge and fresh lobster tepan.

Others at the farewell dinner were Choy and Marissa Cojuangco, Maurice Arcache, Anton Mendoza, Freddy Olbes, Cecille Reynoso and Linda Oledan.

Nanohana imports fresh Japanese seafood at least twice a week. Check out the hottest Japanese place in town! Nanohana is on the ground floor of Le Grand Condominium, 130 Valero St., Salcedo Village, Makati City. It is open daily for lunch and dinner. Reservations are highly recommended.

(For inquiries, call 892-2011 or 892-2012.)

The science of performance

The Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) is the world’s largest privately funded sports science research facility, which focuses on helping athletes optimize their health and performance through research and education in hydration and nutrition science. Recently, GSSI and Gatorade Asia Advisory Board members convened in Manila to discuss their latest findings in relation to hydration and nutrition. The Board included GSSI director Dr. Bob Murray, senior scientist Dr. Xiaocai Shi, Dr. Hiroshi Nose from Japan, Dr. Chumpol Pholpramool from Thailand and Dr. Young-Soo Lee from Korea and our own Filipino sports expert Dr. George Canlas.

The seminar was attended by Philippine sports aficionados including UP’s Bong and Julie Arroyo and Hercules Callanta, Alfrancis Chua, head coach of Sta. Lucia, Lloyd Escoses and Ian Piencenaves, coaches and national badminton players, Kaye Lopez, duoathlete and cyclist, Alex Torres, chairman of Ateneo’s Physical Education Department, Ricky Torres, coach and national archer, triathlete Fred Uytengsu of Alaska Basketball and triathlete Peter Yabut. Gatorade Philippines Marketing brand manager Steve Romasanta explains: "This is a great opportunity for everyone to learn more about the science of hydration. The Board will be concentrating its efforts on raising awareness on the dangers of fluid loss by providing practical tips to sports professionals on proper hydration to optimize performance. This message is also highly relevant to everyday people in order for them to stay healthy and hydrated."

(Check out www.gssiweb.org.)

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E-mail me at [email protected]