What's New in Bangkok?

CEBU, Philippines - We have marveled at the temples and buildings of cultural interest, visited the museums and galleries with art treasures, witnessed major events, delighted in their cuisine and experienced a most refreshing  and  relaxing health and beauty treatments. We were captivated by wondrous  entertainment from classical to modern, from traditional theater to jazz. And let’s not forget shopping in staggering variety of bazaars and street stalls. So what else is there to see and experience in Bangkok?

Believe it or not, we recently discovered a Winery Resort, a dairy farm and dined at the world’s largest restaurant by Guinness Book in 1992.All these wonderful experiences were made possible through  Cebu Pacific Air, the airline of choice, JG Summit and the Tourism Authority of Thailand represented in the Philippines by Dave de Jesus. 

Dr. Bhirombhakdi, a visionary  entrepreneur with a great appreciation for the finest things in life, set about his mission to produce wine with a world-class taste for the people of Thailand.

The first vineyard was established in the PB Valley  located on the hillside of the Khao Yai National Park.  In time, the Khao Yai Winery was created with a total area of 3,000 square meters . The winery has a climate-controlled cellar with imported French oak barrels  — which is considered as the largest and the most technologically advanced  winery in South East Asia.

With the harvest of 1998, PB Valley Khao Yai Winery celebrated its first milestone.

After the tour, we had our wine tasting of Shiraz (for the red wine) and  Chenin blanc (for the white) proving without doubt  that quality wine can be successfully produced in Thailand.

***

In 1957 Chokchai Bulakul, a graduate with a degree in Animal Husbandry from America founded the Farm Chokchai. The legendary Thai cowboy purchased an area of 100 acres in a deserted forest plateau to do integrated farming.  

The farm, through the years,  has continued to expand and now has an area of 8,000 acres. Our guided tour began  with a brief stop at the Machinery Museum where the first tractors and pick-ups are displayed. We then proceeded to the milk collecting center where we tried our hand at milking the cows.

On board a tractor train, we passed by the cattle feedlot, the hay barn, the avian division, the awesome  Sunflower field and the horse training facilities. Our final stop was the petting zoo where we fed the deer and sheep,  gave milk to the calves in an imitated wild life environment.  

There was also the show of the smart chimpanzee, the poodle, the goose  and parrot .We were likewise treated  to some cowboy stunts with some lasso tricks.   

The self-reliant dairy farm also has 60 luxurious boutique tents that are fully air conditioned. All the activities are designed to influence the visitors and employees to respect  and care for nature, the environment and the society we live in.

We culminated  our educational,  fun-filled tour at Chokchai Steak House where we enjoyed tender and succulent steak.

Our farewell dinner was at the Royal Dragon Seafood  Restaurant, considered one of the best  and largest in the world.  They have  over 1,000 staff  whose  unique style of serving include skating for speedy service and balancing the dishes through a  zip line from one end to the other.

There  you are, the variations on a visit to Thailand are nearly endless. No matter how many times you have visited before, there is always something new and innovative to discover. Thailand is truly amazing.

Cebu Pacific Air flies from Manila to Bangkok 10 times weekly. Daily flights leave at 9.35 p.m and the return flights depart at 12.40 a.m.There are additional flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays leaving Manila at 2.50 p.m with return flights at 5.45 p.m. arriving Manila at 10.05 p.m.