Dear

Memorable food experiences in Thailand

We are just a few months into our first high season and already noticed some of our clients’ favorite experiences: the home cooked dinners, lunches and picnics. It is an excellent opportunity to meet local people, have un-staged experiences and taste some of the best food of the country (which we all know is rarely prepared in a restaurant but at home, by friends and family members). The home cooked meals are not only very much appreciated by our clients; also, the local families LOVE to take care of our clients as it is a way to meet people from overseas and generate additional income without having to do any investments.  

Some of the excursions that include these special moments are embedded in our 3 days Isaan immersion to Phanom Rung, including a lunch in the paddy fields, a breakfast next to an ancient Khmer temple ruin, lunch at the house of a Thai banker turned life-artist. Others are in a fruit orchard near Chanthaburi or in the fertile area in Samut Prakan, at a farmers family home in Sukhothai or a dinner prepared for you by a Burmese chef in Chiang Mai. We let the pictures speak for themselves and hope this serves as a virtual appetizer for your clients to visit Thailand the way it should be done.

A relationship in Thailand – new promotion campaign TAT

What is your relationship with Thailand? We love this new campaign video from the Tourism Authority of Thailand and agree with the idea that travelling is about creating new relationship and experiences. The times that people travel just to make a picture of a monument are long gone. It’s about using all your senses to experience a country, meet new people, open your mind and make real memories. That is exactly what Exploration Travel is all about and  with our tailor-made experiences we will let your clients build just such a relationship. Have a look at the full video (2 min) here and share it in your next newsletter: I have a relationship in Thailand 

Phanom Rung – a jewel of a Khmer temple

Every time we visit Isaan we are amazed by the Khmer temples around Phanom Rung. Magnificent, built in such a detail to ensure the complete complex perfectly aligns with the sunset 4- times a year. It is majestic, calming, simply beautiful and we are sure you cannot stop embracing this special moment. While the Phanom Rung temple was built for the royalty, the nearby Prasat Muang Tam, built for the people, is equally impressive because of the sheer size of the compound and all the huge water reservoirs in the area. Well maintained, with signboards in English and an excellent place to learn quietly about the rich Khmer history that includes the nearby Banteay Chhmar and Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia. During the visit, we can invite an expert from the historical department to explain more about the details. Keeping up with the royal theme, a fantastic high tea or beautifully arranged lunch at a nearby artist house is what will make your client appreciate this region even more. Did we already mention how important all our senses are while travelling? 

All papers to get this temple on the UNESCO world heritage list have been submitted and it is just a matter of time before the temple is added on this famous list. We are surprised about the lack of international tourists as there is a charming and good quality accommodation and excellent ways to make the trip to go there very interesting.

An update on Myanmar

As optimistic we are on travelling in Thailand, as sad we are about the possibilities for travelling in Myanmar at the moment. The UK travel advise for Myanmar was recently updated and basically left on Yangon and Lalay Lodge in the green zone (well, of course Lalay was not specifically mentioned but have a look here: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/myanmar 

The resistance has started operation 1027 recently and took over 100 military bases and police stations around the country including parts of Northern Shan state, Rakhine, Mon, Kayah state including Loikaw, Kayin state and Sagaing division. See some international media articles: Reuters: Explainer: Is the rule of Myanmar’s junta under threat? and  BBC: A turning point in Myanmar as army suffers big losses 

Not making headlines in the European news (but a big issue in China and Asia) is the fight against cyberscam office centres. People are being forced to work against their will to scam people worldwide online. Horrible stories on foreign and Myanmar workers being physical abused and sold on as slaves are coming out and the UN estimates over 200.000 people in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and other countries are being held against their will in armed office compound to work behind a computer screen. This has a big impact on tourism in Asia as this article explains: Travelweekly-asia:  What are Chinese tourists afraid of in Asia?

Meanwhile Exploration Travel continues to support people in Myanmar as much as we can, through food donations and we are very happy to have received support from a Chinese tour operator focussing on experiential and sustainable tourism. The agent started before Covid a project in a nunnery in Sagaing to provide English classes and has recently re-started the project and our team is helping with the logistics to provide weekly English class to a group of 25 young nuns.

Want to support but not visit at the moment? Support our Food campaign to provide food packages for the poorest in the country. For just 100 USD we can provide enough food for a family of 4 to eat for an entire month: https://www.gofundme.com/f/food-for-families-in-myanmar

Mental health support

As many of you know, since Covid, the Exploration Travel office in downtown Yangon is partly converted into a counselling centre. The team has been growing and we currently have 13 counsellors, a big support team of 10 people and about 20 freelance volunteer counsellors and facilitators, helping over 1000 people each month through group and individual sessions, training and prevention. Recently, new awareness rising campaigns were launched on TV and we constantly do advocacy activities online, on radio, TV or through events. A memory game was developed to create awareness on emotions which will be sold in supermarkets nationwide.

For 2024 we are planning to train another 100 Myanmar people to become counsellors, focussed on person centred therapy (developed by Carl Rogers) and have some of them start working in 5 new mental health centres in Myanmar. We are very grateful we can continue to support people around Myanmar in these difficult circumstances.

What to watch / read

We keep it light this month and suggest you to watch the new promotion movie from Thailand as we think it has well done and hope it inspires more clients to visit a different kind of Thailand: I have a relationship in Thailand

• Facebook
• WordPress

Edwin Briels and his team have been creating experiences for travellers for over 20 years. Edwin Briels continuously finds new paths to travel and new experiences to show clients the story of Myanmar and Thailand and engages you in a fascinating journey through this part of Asia with the most fascinating stories.