High Life Dubai's Luxury Global Travel Segment in Thailand

Swadicah everyone!!!!! I am back from another fun filled exotic destination- THAILAND. Like always High Life Dubai keeps its promises and every 2 months bring you the best.. not only of Dubai but also of destinations around the world. I love Thailand and I really wanted to bring the best of Thailand for all of you. Day One: I started my very first day of High Life Dubai’s Luxury Global Travel Segment with Koh Samui. I have been there more than 3 times now and simply love the island…so I really wanted to show this to all of you. The property I stayed in was the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui.  The Spacious Thai villas are wrapped in tropical gardens, conserved coconut groves and the amphitheatre of sky, sea and islands. Enjoying the forest spa. Dining at hillcrest or beachside. Splash in the private bay. And explore a pristine world of beaches, reefs, rainforest and sunshine. Revel in the many faces of Thailand. So many facilities in a completely different environment. Totally High Life! That day I went for rejuvenating aroma special Siam Fusion spa treatment. My tired muscles relaxed completely due to the 6 hour flight from Dubai to Bangkok to Koh Samui. The spa made me hungry and I relished my dinner with some delicious Thai curries at Lan Tania, my meal:  Larb Tuna - fresh tuna marinated with thai herbs, cracked rice and chili powder , Paneang Goong- red curry of prawns with coconut and lime leaves , Gaeng Kiew Warn - prawns green curry, eggplant with sweet basil and lime leaves. Yummy!!! I reckon each one of you should go and enjoy these Thai curries. Day Two: This day was filled with activities such as coconut patanque, kayaking, ping- pong and so much more!! Played coconut patanque for the first time and the rules are simple: The goal of pétanque, a variation of boule, is to throw metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball, except at Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, they use coconuts! How interesting and a lot of fun too!! I suggest everyone to play these activities everyday… they are such great stress busters! Can you believe it, having all these activities at the resort itself and enjoying them with full swing by the beach? J That day I had a scrumptious lunch at the Pla Pla-  and being a true Bengali I had the Grilled Mackerel …honestly it was the world’s most delicious mackerel. Given a choice, I can have fish everyday… After lunch I met the General Manager of the Resort- Mr. Brent J. Martin and it was lovely speaking to him and having him on the show. The resort also offered a very luxurious activity, having a manicure by the beach at the beach bar  with your choice of drink. Absolutely high life. Then I headed towards a boat ride which took me away from the hustle bustle and it was a ride filled with tranquility. Cool wind blowing on me with cold sprinkles of water. Unfortunately, it was my last day at Koh Samui so I thought of going to the Chaweng street for some shopping with my team. Day Three: Had an amazing time at Koh Samui and will never forget my stay at the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui. Now was time for the most buzzing city of Thailand- Bangkok. We reached the Bangkok airport and headed to the Four Seasons Hotel in Bangkok. I just loved the interior of this hotel, it was so royal and rich, with the perfect colours around. And if you are in Bangkok, one must experience the spa, so I went to the MSpa at the Four Seasons Hotel, Bangkok.The Spa by MSpa delivers memorable spa experiences in state-of-the-art facilities. The treatment rooms and suites and full-service beauty salon are all designed for comfort and the ultimate in sensory experience. The spa’s traditional Thai architecture evokes spiritual tranquility and a feeling of harmony with nature. It was indeed a memorable experience.. I was famished after that so I went to have a hot and crispy cheesy pizza at the Biscotti Restaurant.. and it was delicious!!!! After a while I went for my high tea at the lobby and enjoyed my English Breakfast tea with some cookies and pastries. Why not shop at the Hotel after eating and relaxing? I went to the most exclusive shops at the hotel, such as “Jim Thompson”, “Private Collection”, “Lamont” “Lotus Arts De Vivre” and so many more shops. That day I enjoyed my Thai Curries at the Spice Market-Four Seasons Hotel, Bangkok. It is definitely one of the best Thai restaurants in the world. It was our cameraman, Abid’s birthday so we surprised him with a delicious cake. Our first day at Bangkok went on very well… and I just kept looking forward to the days coming up. Day Four: Guess who I met today…a very good friend, super talented and a very down to earth VJ-MTV Asia/Actress/Model Sonia Couling on the sets of a Hollywood film. She was such a sweetheart, and I got to chat with her and have her on High Life Dubai.  Its always good to meet local talent so on that same day I also met up with a Thai local designer Roj from Issue. He had the most innovative designs, and like always I love to explore local designers around the world and show their designs to you.  Along with meeting the local talent, I also met the Hotel Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, Mr. Avi Haksar. It was a pleasure meeting him and knowing so much more about the property. Day Five: I strongly believe in Buddhism and on this day we took a tour to the beautiful Buddha temples in Bangkok. We first went to the Wat Poh Temple where there is a HUGE sleeping Buddha. His body is covered in gold plating and he is decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay on his eyes and the soles of his feet. The bottoms of the Buddha's feet are intricately decorated with 108 auspicious scenes in Chinese and Indian styles. It was impressive! After that we went to the Arun Temple from a small boat… what a ride it was. I can never forget my visit to the Arun temple as it had so many steps to climb up..one can easily climb up to the maximum height but while coming down, it’s a real challenge! The famous Wat Arun, perhaps better known as the Temple of the Dawn, is one of the best known landmarks and one of the most published images of Bangkok. It consists of a massive elongated prang (Khmer-style tower), and is surrounded by four smaller prangs. The prang is described by the Tourism Authority of Thailand as 104m high, while most other sources quote figures around 80-85m. The temple visits were energizing, which made me want to shop more..and to the most popular malls of Bangkok- Siam Paragon & Gayrson Shopping Centre. Gayrson had the most stylish shopping in Bangkok, it is known for its luxurious and high end stores. I just entered the mall and just could not stop shopping, from shoes to bags to clothes to sunglasses, I grabbed them all. One of my favourite purchase was the Kwanpen Handmade bag. Straight after that, I went for some more shopping to the Siam Paragon. I really liked the collection of Fly Now so I thought of going to the store and meeting the designer too… well I got to chat with him and have him on the show, isn’t that cool? It always feels good to have local designers sharing their views and ideas on fashion. Then we all went back to the hotel and caught up with another local jewellery designer- Mr. Rolf von Buren from Lotus Arts De Vivre. He has incredible and mind blowing jewellery designs and home furnishings. I simply fell in love with them all. Lotus Arts de Vivre creates lifestyle and exquisite objects d'art using tradition of artistry and craftsmanship tools, techniques and skills. He creates designs for the royals and celebrities like far to the UK Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Queen of Spain, near to Thailand and Malaysia, Bhutan’s royal dignitaries, and loved jewelry star, Michelle Yeoh, Elizabeth Taylor, Sharon Stone,  are fans of Lotus Arts de Vivre. Michael Jackson too wore Lotus Arts De Vivre along with many Hollywood celebrities. That was truly amazing to know and feels great to have so much local talent on High Life Dubai J Just kept getting inquisitive for many more days to come. Day Six: We moved out from Four Season Hotel in Bangkok with pleasant memories which I can never forget. Headed to check in at lebua at State Tower, which is an all-suite luxury hotel in Bangkok with 358 lavish suites, which are the most spacious in their category. Located at the riverside in the second tallest tower in Bangkok, each suite offers majestic views of the Chao Phraya River and the City. The suites feature amenities, 330 thread count linen, Bvlgari products and in-suite cooking option by its Conde Nast accredited Chefs which make lebua a truly unique luxury hotel. My executive suite at Lebua had a spa room inside, and everything one needs in a suite… it really felt like my own house and I could stay in the relaxing 63rd floor forever! I was enjoying the view of the entire city too from my very own suite…what more does one want?? . Immediately I called up the spa to send someone to my private spa room and I got a nice hot oil massage done to relax my tired muscles before shooting. Soon after that we shot Lebua and took a round at the State Tower.  After that we all went to Hyde & Seek Gastro Bar to meet the people behind the buzzing and popular bar in town… The trios of Swedes behind Flow have combined their mixing skills with innovative eats to create a playful new venue. the three Swedes have teamed up with celebrity chef and kitchen consultant Ian Kittichai and executive chef Peter Pitakwong to create a playful new addition to Bangkok's dining scene -- Hyde & Seek. It was great meeting Dannie Sorum (Executive Director), Ben David Sorun (Managing Director), Thomas Anostam (Executive Director) and the celebrity chef Peter Pitakwong- (Executive Chef at Hyde & Seek). Enjoyed their delicious food and refreshing mocktails. We finally went for fine dining at Lebua, Breeze Restaurant. It was a 5 course special meal arranged by the chef of the restaurant for the entire High Life Dubai team… had a great time there. Day Seven: The next person on the list for an interview was this young promising girl, who is in Thailand's top 40 richest peoples list provided by Forbes and the magazine lists heras one of the next generation billionaires. She is charming, sweet, extremely talented which shows in her 2 fashion labels Nsha & Burn Baby and most amazingly she also has her own private pilots license. . I met and interviewed…Nishita Shah! Brilliant!! Simply brilliant and totally high life to have her on the show. It was our last day at Bangkok and we thoroughly enjoyed it by meeting such great people. There after we all headed to the LAST shoot of the day at the Sky Bar, Lebua At State Tower. The stunning, multi-hued Sky bar at Sirocco has several reasons to turn minutes into timeless moments. Suspended in the sky on the 63rd floor of The Dome at State Tower, the Skybar is one of the world's highest open-air bars, overlooking a panoramic view of Bangkok and the Chao Phraya river. With such an enthralling ambience coupled with a seductive selection of the finest vintages, beverages and appetizers in Bangkok, the Skybar soars as one of the prized destinations in the city. No wonder, the rooftop bar is unanimously accepted as the coolest bar in Bangkok. Filming at the sky bar is prohibited except Hollywood films, (Hangover 2 was shot there) but High Life Dubai was welcomed by the entire team of Lebua with a lot of enthusiasm. J Wow…. I don’t know how these seven days flew by. It felt like seven hours… well I want each one of you to go and experience Thailand High Life Dubai style. I promise all of you to come back with more and more travel segments with lots more fun, excitement and adventure. Sawasdee everyone and keep living the high life with me. Love, Uma To catch more pictures, videos and all the behind the scene masala, visit our facebook fan page www.facebook.com/highlifedubai.ae