A TASTE OF THAILAND - Bridge & Wickers' Andrew Chapman has just returned from his own luxury tailor-made holiday to Thailand, here's his report...

One night in Bangkok, nope we had three at the very stylish Sukhothai hotel. Three nights is just enough to see the best of this hustling, bustling mega city-think Blade Runner! A city tour is essential to get your bearings with trips along the klongs (canals), where you can spot large monitor lizards on the prowl, and visits to the reclining Buddha and Grand Palace as the highlights. Now it’s a shopping at the Chatuchak Weekend Market -15,000 stalls, the vast majority undercover. No need to buy just marvel at the throngs of locals as they bargain and haggle for anything on sale.

Then it’s off to Chiang Rai in the North of Thailand, a real difference to Bangkok. The pace of life is slower and it’s the place to see and ride elephants, especially at the wonderful Four Seasons Tented Camp. Styled like an African Safari camp its right in the jungle and its here that you get to be trained as a real Mahout (elephant owner) which is scary and fun at the same time.

These amazing animals really are friendly and intelligent and love nothing better than spraying you with water when bathing. All the tents are named and themed differently-we had the explorer’s tent and you can have an intent massage, just right after all that elephant training! And of course you sleep in one of the fabled Four Seasons’ heavenly beds.




We also had a couple of nights at the Anantara Golden Triangle Resort where we got to watch an elephant polo match whilst sipping Pimms-how British. Just across the road is the Hall of Opium museum, where you can journey through the fascinating history of the Opium Trade and just what were the opium wars

A four hour drive took us to Thailand’s Northern capital (and its second largest city), Chiang Mai for a stay at the opulent Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi. Styled on the palaces and pagodas of Thailand this truly is a royal experience.






Then its down to Phuket and 2 nights at the delightful Mom Tri's Villa Royale where Kata Noi beach beckons and then finally two days of bliss at Trisara where our stunning Ocean View villa makes us feel like celebrities with its own 10 metre pool and a view of the Anadaman sea to die for.

  

Of course no visit to Phuket is complete without a trip to Phi Phi Island and the Beach (no sign of Leonardo but plenty of other people there, mores the pity).

Highlights of the holiday would have to be the elephants at the Four Seasons Chiang Rai, the lovely Kata Noi beach and it’s warm sea and of course the food. Great Thai cuisine at still really good value prices (Two Pad Thai and 2 Singha Beers for bht500 –that’s a tenner to you and me!).

If you'd like a copy of our tailor-made Asia brochure or have a holiday in mind that you'd like us to create, please contact us or call 020 7483 6553.

Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand's site for their new seats and aircraft is now live, take a look here

We can't comment on the skycouch yet, but their premium economy and business premier are excellent value for money, extremely comfortable (flat beds in business class!) and very popular with our clients...the food and wines they serve aren't bad either!



Don't wait until April 2011 though (when the first new plane departs from London), we'd recommend travelling now - the weather's great in New Zealand and it's a beautiful place to visit at this time of year.

Order our brand new NZ brochure here and take a look at some of our suggested itineraries.


Contact us to discuss your holiday plans on 020 7483 6555

Emirates Premium Arrivals at Dubai Airport

Premium Arrivals is a new innovative service offered by Emirates at Dubai Airport for those passengers travelling in either First or Business class or for Skywards Gold passengers.

Premium passengers travelling from across the Emirates network can now enjoy the distinction of collecting their luggage from the exclusive Premium Arrivals area, which includes; a dedicated carousel (carousel 10), a comfortable seating area and a dedicated Emirates Airport Services team on hand to assist customers and porters to handle luggage.

  

Take a look at the Emirates A380 here

'Having recently flown business class on the new A380, I can definitely recommend this as an option on your next long-haul trip to Asia or Down Under - flat beds and fantastic service combined with great food and an excellent in-flight entertainment system, plus a huge network of destinations to choose from...I'm most definitely a fan!" - Annette Morrissey, Sales Director

Newfoundland made easy!

Spectacular Newfoundland in Canada is now one step closer thanks to new daily direct Air Canada flights from London to St Johns.

The new flight will operate from Heathrow throughout peak season (May 27 - September 26 2010), opening up this undiscovered corner of Canada to an increasing number of UK visitors. Guests can take advantage of any number of flexible, self-drive itineraries in this dramatic eastern edge of the North American continent.

Bridge & Wickers’ Newfoundland and Labrador Adventure is a 14-day self-drive itinerary taking in the abundant wildlife, deep fjords, wild islands and untouched rivers of this vast expanse – even icebergs in August. Amble along the Atlantic’s fishing ports, passing through friendly towns and villages, soaking up the rugged lifestyle which embodies Canadian culture. Newfoundland is pioneer country - akin to the wilderness of the Australian Outback - with just enough development to allow for comfortable discovery.

Discover small communities practising ancient Indian crafts, explore the expansive landscapes of Gros Morne, one of the country’s most beautiful National Parks, see icebergs at Notre Dame Bay and watch seabirds at the Cape St Mary reserve.

Melbourne Cup mention in the Express by Will Hide 24 Jan 2010

The Melbourne Cup is the horse race that transfixes a nation. For several minutes during the first Tuesday of November, the whole  of Australia pauses and turns towards a radio or TV to see  who’s first past the post.

Bridge and Wickers (020 7483 6555/www.bridgeandwickers. co.uk) offers a 13-night package  to Australia from £2,711pp (two sharing), room-only, including return flights with Cathay Pacific from Heathrow, accommodation in Hong Kong, Sydney and Melbourne, and tickets for the big day.

Contact us if you'd like to incorprate the Melbourne Cup within your trip down under.

Hot off the press - Air New Zealand's new economy beds!

Air NZ is planning to introduce the new economy ‘skycouch’ and premium economy ‘spaceseat’ later this year.

Skycouch or spaceseat
The ‘skycouch’ is a row of three seats that has been engineered to create a lie-flat, flexible space between the seat-backs, providing a flat surface for adults to relax and sleep on. It could also serve as a play area for small children.

There will be 22 skycouches - the first 11 window rows in economy class - in each plane. For two adults travelling together, the skycouch purchase will be based on buying two seats at standard prices with the third seat at approximately half price. Airfare details will be announced when the skycouch goes on sale from late April.

Innovations in the premium cabins include a new ‘spaceseat’ offering unparalleled comfort and legroom for premium economy travellers, and an enhanced sleep experience for business premier travellers to ensure travellers really do feel they’ve snuggled into their own bed!

A new bean-bag footstool will offer some extra comfort for passengers.

Long-haul makeover
All three zones in Air New Zealand’s long-haul aircraft of the future will receive a makeover designed to put the airline ahead of competitors in comfort and experience. This includes new interior design, on demand food and beverage options, and new inflight entertainment that could include wine tasting and destination seminars.

The interior design will move away from traditional blues and greens to a more luxurious blend of chalk and deep ink colours that will be enhanced with mood lighting.

The award-winning Air NZ business premier experience will be enhanced with a complete on-demand food and beverage service, while premium economy will offer new shared-meal experiences. The planes will feature new oven technology that cooks food from scratch rather than simply reheating, and a new digital in-seat ordering service.

Take a look for yourself here

First routes
The 340 seat 777-300 aircraft will be configured with 246 in economy (including 66 seats creating 22 skycouch combinations), 50 in premium economy and 44 in business premier.

The first routes to offer travellers the next generation of long haul travel will be on selected services between Auckland and Los Angeles from December 2010, followed by return services between Auckland and Los Angeles and through to London from April 2011.

Air New Zealand expects to refit its fleet of eight Boeing 777-200 aircraft from mid 2010, with all Asian, North American and UK services to have the new product by around 2012.

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date when these new fares are released

NEW ZEALAND ESCORTED TOURING

If you prefer to explore New Zealand in company, enjoying the companionship of travelling as a group as well as the benefit of having an experienced tour director and driver, we can offer you a choice of escorted tours available through the best local companies.



Each company offers a variety of itineraries as well as groups of differing size and style of travel. We can help you select an itinerary that best fits your dates and requirements. Details of some of the tours we offer are listed on our website as well as on pages 26-27 of our new brochure.

Options include:

Scenic Tours: Best for - Excellent Value For Money

A wide range of itineraries for groups of up to 48 travellers (Price – 20 days from £3130 per person including breakfast and some dinners). They do not produce a printed brochure but our consultants can send you an electronic version. Click here for details of their most popular tour.

APT: Best for - variety as well as smaller groups (up to 30)

 An extensive range of  tours with premier plus options for those who prefer to travel in a smaller group (up to 30, Price – 18 days from £4532 including all meals) in addition to their regular premier level of touring with up to 48 passengers (Price – 17 days from £3383 per person including all meals) . Let one of our consultants know if you would like to receive a copy of their brochure and click here to see details of what's included on their New Zealand Wonderland tour.

The Great New Zealand Travel Company: Best for - small groups

This company uses mini coaches with never more than 16 passengers (Price 20 days from £3665 per person including breakfast and 2 dinners) - again we have copies of their brochures which we would be happy to send.

Grand Pacific Tours: Best for - Luxury Coaches

As well as a choice of tours for groups up to 48 passengers (Price – 19 days from £2365 per person including breakfast and most dinners), Grand Pacific has an 'Ultimate' range of tours utilising one of the most luxurious coaches on the market, each fitted with just 20 fully-reclining leather seats similar to a traditional size airline business class seat (Price – 19 days from £3610 per person including breakfast and most dinners). The coaches also have their own galley and state of the art entertainment system. At present Grand Pacific do not have a brochure but we can send you an electronic copy covering all their itineraries.


Please let us know which of these options suits your requirements or let us know if you have seen a particular tour that isn't featured here and we'll put together a tailor-made quotation including flights and stopovers if required.

Call 020 7483 6555 or email nz@bridgeandwickers.com.