Thailand — It is Monday afternoon on the beach near Club Med. ! am wakened by the heat of the sun which has crept under my umbrella and is now poised over a tiny island in the middle of this perfect bay of white sand and tur- quoise watcr. The woman on the next lounger says this beats practising der- matology in Munich. I imagine for a moment a waiting room full of Germans with bad skin, but am distracted by. two young Swedish women frolicking topless in’ the gente surf. “Massage, sir?’’ says a. soft voice, and a - ung Thai woman is poised with a casket of oils. For $5, why not? The woman has a Jovely face but her hands are rough. Her morning job must be hand-sorting in a gravel pit. Another woman arrives. ‘‘Man- cure, sir?’’ At 40 cents I can’t tefuse. This, a dedicated reporter might deduce, is how to tackle travel in Asia, although an in- formed opinion migh take another day or two. Alas, the legions of travellers who brave the Pacific's bruising jet-lag hit the tarmac like Der- vishes, shopping in Hong Kong, trekking in northern Thailand, sweltering in Singapore and sightseeing in Malaysia. All worthwhile stuff to be sure, but it’s also good to stop and smell the sea. You meet travellers on the beach and at beach bars. The woman from Munich, for ex- ample, had been in Burma, or whatever they call it now. There you go where the regime says you go. No thanks. Another woman I met at Club Med had just been a1 a medical conference in Bangkok, where she learned that 95 per cent of the bar girls in Patpong have the AIDS virus. Recommended evening wear is a rubber suit. But Bangkok has other attrac- tions, such as golden temples and the Jim Thompson house, a museum commemorating the brilliant American who revived the Thai silk industry. The trick with Bangkok, where the traffic is also murder, is to get in fast (Canadian Airlines flies there via Hong Kong, and starting in April puts its new Boeing 747- 400 on the run) and get out on the first plane to Phuket, a pleasure island on the Andaman Sea. Here you can find a hut on the beach for $20 a night or luxuriate at Le Meridien for $200. Golf at We Kno Cruises Best! * Early booking discounts Book before Jan. 31/91 for Europe, Alaska, the South Pacific or Mexico and Save up to F600 per cabin Cali for details 985-7447 (SHEP) $823 Capilano Rd., N.Van. PHUKET, David Wishart TRAVEL TIPS Phuket Country Club is $35 and as good as almost anything on Hawaii. The caddie corps is a reg- iment of young women in blue boiler suits. Nearby Patong teems at night with Europeans, mainly Germans and Britons, seduced by a sultry evening shantytown of tasty Thai food, noisy bars and stalls selling counterfeit watches and clothes. Fashionably-dressed Italians rub shoulders at the Kangaroo bar with Singha-swilling Australian, their huge beer guts spilling over fake Gucci shorts. If this is too much like an Asian Torremolinos, hop on Bangkok Airways’ Dash-8 for a short flight over the Malay peninsula to Koh Samui on the South China Sea. TRAVEL Discover the less-hurried side of Asia Sunday, December 16, 1990 - North Shore News - 39 ee) Photo submitted ONE BEACH scene is like another but here’s a house that’s pretty unique -— Jim Thompson's house in Bangkok. The tezminal building is open- sided with a thatch top and looks nostaigically like the old Kaanapali airport on Maui. Be warned that the leading cause of sudden death on Samui last year was roud accidents, and about half of them were tourists on motorbikes. | WHYTECLIFF BOATIQUE Carnival MEXICAN RIVIERA FLY/CRUISE from us. $995 Ship’s registry Liberia THE NUTCRACKER CHRISTMAS DAY BUFFET & DINNER AT NDOWS ON THE BAY The feast, the fun and the sugar plum! Make vour Christmas Day wishes come true in the company of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the King of Mice, and the Toy Soldiers. It’s a magical setting with the Nutcracker to entertain the kids, and presents from Santa! BUFFET * 10:30am—3:00 pm * $26.00 per person * Children 12 & under $1.00 per year DINNER +630 pm = 1O00pm * Traditional or Festive Gourmet Menu + SB8.00 per persen * Children 12 & under $24.00 . Pree Parking, $1.00 from every luncheon buffet meal served donated tathe Vancouser Sun Children’s Fund. Order vour Gickels now 685-7711 The Coast Plaza at Stanley Park 17.33 Camo Street TUESDAY Second most common acciden- tal death is by coconut. ne joke on an island which hatvests two million nuts a month, many of them picked by trained monkeys. On Samui the coconuts tumble without warning from great heights, and you go for a walk in the woods at your own risk. Few visitors stray far from Samui’s beaches, which are stunningly beautiful and uncrowded. Accommodation, that is basic huts, can be found for $10 a night, while at the other end of the scale is the Imperial Tongsai Bay, which has 80 beautiful rooms overlooking a secluded beach. NORTH SHORE VENTURE TRAVEL _& CRUISES To our Clients and Friends we extend our Best Wishes for a Joyous Holiday Season and Happy * New Year 110 East 74th St. (at Lonsdale) North Vancouver ZA