not of the chocolaty variety
Bearing your compass
to the North East of Thailand, Khao Yai is a mere 3 hours of careful driving
outside of Bangkok. It has become the
new “in” place for the “IT” people to satisfy their weekend holiday jaunts. The scenery from a hilly point almost
matches lush green valleys and mountains of Switzerland. Village huts in the distance bring us to
reality that we are indeed in Thailand in the province of Nakorn Nayok or
Nakorn Ratchasima whichever way you are facing.
Deemed a tourist by my companions, the truth of the matter was
– I was. Teased for jungle creepy
crawlies that my city condo has never seen, not even mosquitoes or the
essential house lizard, I was embracing myself for the inevitable jumping frogs,
flying mantis, or monitor lizards. It was a first time for me, and a leveler
for a city girl, whose daily morning scenery is the concrete jungle.
Layered into the factor of anticipation was meeting new Facebook
friends for the first time, the weekend was going to either be a burst of
friendship or an explosion of quiet polite enemies.
Transport my host’s skills to any weekend destination in the
world, you would have the dream organizer who has reached a height of excelled
guests’ anticipation. Even a fastidious
hotelier would have to grudgingly defer.
My host’s additional talent is capturing the essence of the characters
together for blending what is to be a life long association. A friendship that
skims on the surface of sharp witted, fused with energy among highly cerebral
people. A friendship that most jaded people convince themselves, “its just
another frolicking weekend.” In actual fact this was a foray of emotions, plunging
into personality depths that drew on the empathy of each other’s daily fight,
shared good food, peeled the layers of our disposition and had an immense time
uniting our common bond.
Pitched dark, no lights round the windy road, except for the
car headlights, my host, gently suggests to her husband, for fun, to turn off
the headlights. I guess this was for the
benefit of us city folks whose neon signs, and bustling city lights can never
be dimmed…..or maybe this was their romantic interlude before the weekend begins. He chuckles at her suggestion, and keeps on
going, oblivious to her remarks. They
have done this many times before.
In the dark, we arrived at M&M Palisades just in time
for what my English friends would call a “light supper.” “Light” it was, but “supper” was more like a
“feast,” enough to feed a platoon. The wooden long table that would easily
seat 14 or more people was laden with delicacies I had as a child. It was comfort food, dialed to the max and I
gorged myself as if the last meal I had, was way back in the distance. In reality, on the journey of only three
hours, snacks of wonderful pastries were passed around in the car – just in
case – hunger strikes. She thought of
everything.
Romeo & Juliet was my assigned room. The thick wooden door with a heavy latch,
deterring any Romeo wandering through in the night looking for his Juliet was
simply but enchantingly decorated. The
room said everything of my host.
Practical, logical, fastidious, meticulous, charming, warm, right-brain,
with a quirky sense of humor. A basket
embroidered EMERGENCY BOX had everything you need, forgotten items or things simply
that might be needed. Equipped with
everything from Paracetamols, mosquito repellent, sewing kit to toothpaste – I
did not look further just in case there was the essential French-letter perchance
Romeo came through the window.
An eye opener for me was a tour down the valley of Khao
Yai. The locals like to compare their
surroundings to that of Tuscany from climate to vineyards. They forget, you need to have a history into
the “making” of the place. Take Palio
Mall.
It could be a rich man’s folly or perhaps, a rich man’s sons’
inability to secure a proper job after an
expensive education, escaping farming the fields of Cassava plantation by
turning it into a Mall. The grand idea has been to bring the charm of
Tuscany to the green heart of Thailand. Both places share a cool, sunny climate
and both grow wine – although not to the same distinction. Indeed a tenuous
link, it does bring the essence of Tuscany to those unable to manage the plane
ride.
Unlike most Malls, Palio is a picturesque shopping centre, themed
around a Tuscan village where
out-of-the-ordinary combination of clothes and gift shopping, gourmet Gelato’s
and Waffles in replace of the local north-eastern delicacies of Somtum &
Nua Yang variation. It has the essence
of Universal Studios, or Genting Highlands where unreality turns fantasy in
cardboard fashion. In low season, their
accountants would not need to start deducting taxes for the fantasy doubles up
as backdrop for a TV or film set that offsets any balance sheet.
Next stop
Toscana. No, it is not Italy. But Toscana Valley Khao Yai. A significant investment was made to hire an
award-winning architect from California. Aram Bassenian and Carl Lagoni have transformed
part of the National Park of Thailand into a miniature Italian oasis. Aram
Bassenian, an Armenian architect from Long Beach California, and Carl Lagoni
are experienced in planning residential communities. It is understandable for second and third
generation of Italian and Armenian
extract yearning for their home country to need to reproduce their past. With Mexican and Spanish history, it is only
natural that with their experience and success bringing about the Tuscan
farmhouse, stone brick and wood to lend a distinctly Tuscan atmosphere in
California does seem to fit well with Hispanic Americans. I ask
myself, why Khao Yai? Was I sleeping in my history class – I thought all along
that Thailand was never colonized by Tuscanians or any other foreign
moghuls.
From Toscana we pass
Kensington Gardens resort, and a few more kilometers we are in the Cotswolds . I did not leap over the English Channel but
cruising on the Mitraparb Highway and still very firmly in Thai terracotta. It is obvious that nationalism is not flavor
of the month and the next generation need to be pricked and poked to avoid sublimation
of values.
Even the prescribed shop had a life size Teddington bear by the door.
Evening descended with
my tongue dancing for some wine, our vehicle somehow managed to veer itself
from the highway and turn into Alcidini Vineyard. A family enterprise started
in 2001 by Suphot Krikpitudh with his wife and son. On offer for tasting was a four month old
Alcidini Recioto 2013 having just won the Food & Beverage Association
(FBAT) Bronze award. Slightly sweet,
made from Shiraz grapes Alcidini got a “very good” rating, from the wine
competition held in Hong Kong against 1,300 entries from around the world. Not pretending to be a wine connoisseur, it
did not have the hint of the kind of sophistication I’m used to, but it was
fruity and very drinkable.
It is an amazing feat
how the body can adapt to vast quantities of food when under normal
circumstance; two light meals are the norm. Another feast awaits us under the
stars. BBQ on the grill, salads, cheese
platter and to follow homemade carrot cake, Fak-Tong, (Tong meaning Golden – I
will leave the other meaning unclear) caramel custard to list just a few as the
table was oozing abundance.
It was a weekend of
privilege.
And I learnt a new
speices.
Clitoria
Ternatea.
I leave you to
fantasize, ruminate and even pontificate its’ meaning. This should certainly be the mascot for Khao
Yai as the “Lilly” is for Italy.
