All posts filed under: Thailand – Khao Yai

Eatprayflying’s Top 8 Villa Vacations you must stay in! Awesome for Honeymoons! (Thailand & Bali)

Published by Beatrice

After all our crazy hard work in Singapore, it is always important to sharpen our saw and take a pit stop for a long marathon. So for those planning for your upcoming December holidays, these are our top villa vacation stays in across Thailand and Bali. And yes, I admit I have a bias to modern looking boutique villa architecture 🙂 1) Villa Noi @ Phuket Villa Noi is a private family holiday villa. It is the most luxurious villa I have ever been to; there are really only 3 villas on almost 2000 square meters of land. Villa Noi has a private chef, driver and manager. I am still confirming how the public books this villa and will update shortly! 2) Sala Khaoyai @ Khaoyai A boutique resort with only around 10 very private rooms and villas. Sala Khaoyai is our second favourite because it is set in the mountains, which also means it can get to under 20 degrees celcius at night, so you get to enjoy the temperate weather and vineyards within a 2.5 hour …

Sala Khaoyai (II)

Published by Beatrice

Have already said a lot in my first instalment on Sala Khaoyai, this instalment will be about the Deluxe Balcony Room which we stayed for Night 2 and 3, as well as the fantastic food at Sala Khaoyai Restaurant. The deluxe balcony room is much more modern than the villa. I love the black interior and sunk-in bathtub. This would be a nice design for a bachelor(ette) pad; just put in a PC for gaming and it would be a perfect pad already. Sala has a good restaurant. They serve good porridge and sandwiches at breakfast, and good Thai and western food through the day. Tip: Try the peanut butter banana smoothie as a dessert, chilling out at the sundeck….heavenly! We also tried their North Thailand cuisine special set menu. It was an interesting experience as we have never been to North of Thailand and there are subtle differences versus the usual Thai food we are used to. For example, they serve papaya salad with crabs, and generally, all the dishes are much more spicy than average …

Khaoyai National Park

Published by Beatrice

Khaoyai National Park is the third largest in Thailand, covering an area of 2,168 square kilometers. On July 14, 2005, Khaoyai National Park, together with the Dong Phaya Yen mountains further north was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This national park is not as well maintained as the ones in the US or Australia, and the driving signages are not very clear, but it has a unique rustic feel. We drove in to visit 2 waterfalls – Haew Narok and Haew Suwat. Tip: If you are googling for locations of these waterfalls to drive to, type “Heo”, “Haew”, “Haeo”. Many different platforms spell it differently. Haew Narok Waterfall (น้ำตกเหวนรก) is the largest and highest waterfall in the park. While the signboars says this is only 1 kilometre walk from the main road to the viewpoint, my endomondo said I burnt 580kcal because it is a steep flight of stairs in the last 300metres, which also means quite a climb when you are coming back up! But worth the exercise, the waterfall has considerable strength. Haew Suwat Waterfall (น้ำตกเหวสุวัต) is a famous waterfall (I believe …

Meatball Noodles @ Streetside, Khaoyai

Published by Beatrice

On our last night, we decided it was time to brave some street food. At least the impact is minimized even if we get a tummy upset 😛 So we decided to try this meatball noodles street food stall (30bht/bowl = SGD$1.30) outside 7-11 (few km from the entrance of Khaoyai). We decided to order 1 bowl to try, and the taste was really local, authentic and flavourful. So we ordered another. However, as I was eating the first bowl, I found 1 strain of hair. So i fished it out and tried to ignore it, then I saw a bug in the soup. Kind of lost of appetite then and decided to stop eating. Then, N found 3 bugs in the second bowl, which was when we decided it was time to abandon our food and hunt for something else. I should have photographed all the “extras” in the soup. Oh well, not recommended for anyone with a weak stomach for sure, though it was yummy and very cheap. In case you were wondering, …

Maya Spa @ Khaoyai

Published by Beatrice

As I wanted to drive to visit Muthimaya, where I stayed for a work trip 4 years ago, N and I decided to visit Maya Spa, which is situated in the Kirimaya-Muthimaya Resort. Maya spa is definitely premium – 1900bht for 2 hours Thai massage. But it was really worth the calming, relaxing experience with quality deep (painful) massage. Honestly, it felt more like a sports massage! As part of the free value added service in Maya spa, the masseur also gave me free hair braiding service. First time I got my hair braided 🙂 Other places in the Khaoyai region you may also enjoy: Thailand – Khaoyai region Resort – Sala Khaoyai (I) Resort – Sala Khaoyai (II) Attraction – Khaoyai National Park Attraction – Gran Monte Vineyard Attraction – Palio Massage – The Housekeeper of the Mu Si – Only 300baht for 1.5hr Foot Massage! Restaurant – Vino Restaurant – Mori Street Food – Meatball Noodles

Mori Japanese Restaurant @ Pakchong, Thailand

Published by Beatrice

Read about this mysterious Japanese restaurant along a river, and also looks and taste authentic Japanese, so we decided to check out Mori before heading the Airport from Khaoyai. To be frank, this place was very hard to find because there is no proper site or address, so have already pinned it at the bottom of this article on googlemaps so you can use your GPS if you want to visit! We had a simple quick meal as we were rushing to the airport. The sashimi is imported from Japan and Norway – recommended as it’s super value for money for its freshness. We also tried the beef and tonkatsu set lunch and both tasted authentic Japanese and was around SGD$10-$12 per set. Agedashi Tofu was soft and fresh. The only dish I would not recommend is the chawanmushi. It was overcooked so rather than being soft and wobbly, it was rather rubbery. Also, do not ask for mayonnaise; it is neither like the Western nor Japanese mayo but more like diluted, sour cream. But overall, …

Vino di Zanotti Italian Food @ Khaoyai, Thailand

Published by Beatrice

I am so excited to write this post because Vino di Zanotti @ Khaoyai is easily one of the best Italian meals I ever had! Vino Khaoyai is opened by the main Zanotti Group, which has a few restaurants throughout Thailand focused on fine dining and quality Italian products. Vino is just opposite Palio, so it’s relatively easy to find. Vino has alfresco seats which are perfect for cool evenings in Khaoyai, and has a live jazz band playing in evenings as well. So my tip is to go for dinner (rather than lunch) so you can sit outdoors and enjoy the music and occasional breeze. So, first up, the most creamy amazingggggggg appetizer – Burrata Cheese!! (Tip: this is not on their usual menus, so ask if they have it as a ‘special’!) Firstly, the presentation already tantalizes one’s taste buds. With the vinaigrette and cherry tomatoes, this dish looks like a dessert! Secondly, this is a huge serving of Burrata. In Singapore, the bigger ones I have had at Brunos is probably only half of this serving, and at …

Palio Khaoyai

Published by Beatrice

If you want to feel like you are in Italy (or Europe) in this part of the world in Asia, Palio is the place to go! Palio is a shopping centre housed in a picturesque village on the way to the entrance of Khao Yai National Park, about 2 hours drive from Bangkok. This cluster of strikingly coloured Baroque-style buildings built like a little village will be hard to miss on the drive. There is no entrance fee, just 20baht for parking. Palio gives me the feeling that I get in Disneyland – free and happy – complete with accordion music in the background. Maybe because for Asians, being in Europe is associated with being on a holiday, so all Thais and tourists appear very happy in this ornately designed town. It also helps that Palio is elevated at higher altitude so it is usually at least 5 degrees cooler than in Bangkok. Even if you feel warm, you will be welcomed by rows of cool juices and food booths pathing the way from the carpark to …

Gran Monte Vineyard, Khao Yai

Published by Beatrice

Before my first drive to Khaoyai in 2009, I never knew vineyards existed in Bangkok. It was pleasant driving along rows of grapes then, and so I knew I had to bring N back to visit a winery in the area, and so I chose to re-visit Gran Monte. Khaoyai is suited for wine-making despite being in the tropics because the lower regions of Khaoyai are around 350m above sea level, with the average daily temperature throughout the year around 23°C, and Gran Monte is one the wine makers in the region successfully coaxing Chenin Blanc, Syrah and Viogner grapes. According to Gran Monte, blending with its natural environment, the beautiful surroundings of Khao Yai has inspired the brand name “GranMonte”, which also translates as “big mountain”. They also pride ourselves on the use of organic farming techniques important in preserving our environmental surroundings, and also necessary for producing excellent quality grapes. Entering the shopfront, you will be welcomed by all their local produce including organic vegetables, various jams, fruity body lotions and raisins. They have small tasting …

Massage – Super Value for $ Thai Massage

Published by Beatrice

To experience the full local Khaoyai experience, we went to check out on where local Thais enjoy their massages in Khaoyai. The first massage place I called asked me to try out a massage place near Palio when I mentioned I was near Palio. The lady on the phone told me the name of the place is called “The Housekeeper of the Mu Si“, to which I went “AGAIN?” and she repeated – “The Housekeeper of the Mu Si”, and she was very helpful, giving me directions in broken English. We had a lot of fun driving up and down the main road along Palio trying to find the place since there are NO english signboards, and unfortunately, I lost some photos when I changed phones so I have no pictures of the exterior/Thai name for you 🙁 So am using this photo from Neng S’s Foursquare to show what the place looks like: The massage was decent and super value for money! We paid 300bht (=SGD12) for 1.5hours foot massage, but it turned out …