Thai resort cooking up some fun

IAN STALKER

Pictured above: Wanida Yaifay holds a towel shaped to resemble a monkey in a guest unit at the Mai Samui Beach Resort & Spa.

Those staying at the Mai Samui Beach Resort & Spa on the Thai island of Koh Samui are welcome to participate in a little monkey business.
Among resort classes available for guests at the five-star property are ones that teach them to fold towels and napkins into animal shapes, with towels shaped to resemble different creatures placed on guest beds at the oceanfront retreat.
Among creatures created from towels are elephants and monkeys, while leaves from local plants are in turn shaped into the likes of grasshoppers.
Facing swans created from towels are placed on the beds of honeymooners.
“We teach them to make good ones,” Wanida Yaifay says of the hour-long classes offered to tourists.
Pajaree Pasihaklang, sales manager for Mai Resorts, which has another property in Phang Nga, says the Thai ambience is very noticeable at the Mai Samui Beach Resort & Spa, with Thai dance performances staged for guests during the high season.

Food’s on! Graduates of
the Mai Samui Beach Resort & Spa cooking class prepare to sample some of the dishes they created.

And she notes that guests can sign up for a Thai cooking course that’s given under the watchful eye of resort chefs, with foreign tourists appreciating Thai food.
“It’s one of our most popular activities,” Pasihaklang says of the cooking class, which has participants work with such Thai food staples as curry, chilies, mango and lemongrass.
“This is very original, very authentic. I think they [those taking the class] want to taste real Thai cuisine.”
Participants are given recipes for the dishes they create and a certificate stating that they took the course.
Mai Samui Beach Resort & Spa guests will also find the likes of swimming pools, a kids club, a BBQ beach club, fitness club with a squash court, bars, a wine cellar, and restaurants.
Guest units have air conditioning, refrigerators, mini-bars, cable and satellite TV, direct dial telephones, WiFi, tea and coffee makers, hairdryers, and safes.
Pasihaklang praises the tropical island of Koh Samui as an idyllic vacation retreat, noting guests at her resort may spot 30 types of birds, a reflection of the island’s healthy natural side.
“We smile,” she states.
More information can be found at www.mairesorts.com .