When I was researching an article about unique cooking vacations, I discovered Australia-based Morrison Polkinghorne and Robert Carmack, aka The Globetrotting Gourmet (and yes, that made me wonder if the “Galloping Gourmet” Graham Kerr is still galloping….and he is!)

Anyway, the Globetrotting Gourmet guys offer up some pretty hard-core, high-end foodie tours in Asia, including Thailand and Myanmar/Burma.  While I’m woeful in the kitchen with American food, much less Asian, I still enjoy dreaming through their email newsletter. 

A couple of their recent travel-related tidbits caught my eye: 

• “Bargain hunters should head to South Korea, where Seoul city hotels have dropped rack rates by 20% this year, and likewise removed the VAT from tourist accommodation until Jan ’09. The discounts are all part of Korea’s drive to induce 12 million tourists to visit the capital by 2010.” 
• “Singapore. We’ve stayed twice at the ultra-trendy New Majestic, and likewise chi chi The Scarlet, but fickle cognescetti now rave about Naumi, a boutique property catering to the business trade, opening in September. Located in the old Metropole Hotel near The Raffles, its location cannot be faulted. And as for only 40 rooms, we find it the perfect size… And for bargain rates, we still stay at 1929 in Chinatown.”
• They give a “tongs up” to two places in Bangkok, the tiny Arun Residence (only 4 rooms) and the Suvarnabhumi Novotel airport hotel (a possible retreat from problems you may encounter at the city’s new airport.)
• And if you’re rolling in big bucks and headed to Thailand’s Koh Samui island….”In August we visited Vatcharin Bhumichitr’s new Cinnamon hotel and restaurant on the idyllic island of Koh Samui. With some 20 rooms and bungalows facing the calm waters of the Gulf of Siam, this is a hot pick for foodies heading for sun and sand. Each room is decorated individually from Vatcharin’s personal collection of arts and antiques. Vatch’s fresh-shucked oysters with mangosteen nam prik was stellar. We’re delighted the chef is on the line up of guest presenters at next year’s Isan Food Festival in Khon Kaen, where he’ll be speaking on the origins of a humble pin-toh Isan lunch box — plus some modern picnic reinterpretations of his own!”

So, dining and cooking enthusiasts, if your lottery money is inbound or that inheritance is piling up, you know where to spend it!

Technorati tags: travel, culinary travel, Asia, cooking vacations

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 at 6:44 am and is filed under Asia travel, food & drink, Sheila projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.