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China Travel / Thailand Travel / Bangkok Travel / China / Thailand / Bangkok / Madame Tussauds / Tourist Traps / Wax Museums / Hard Rock / → All Tags

Madame Tussauds and Hard Rock Cafes Set Their Sights on Asia

If you've been pining for some China travel or Thailand travel, but have been holding off because they're too unique or interesting or exciting, you might want to start looking at some of those exciting Asian LCCs that we've been writing so much about. News on the hotel and entertainment front has it that the countries are getting some of the West's most refined tourist traps, the better to enhance the region's cosmopolitan flavor. Charming.

China is getting a new Hard Rock Cafe, to be attached to Macau's existing Hard Rock Hotel and its casino. This will be the second Hard Rock in China, presumably part of our plan to bankrupt the Chinese by tricking them into buying overpriced plates of fries. That's assuming that the people who dine at the establishment will be local, and that they'll also be the ones purchasing merchandise from the shops and gambling in the casino. If it's American tourists doing that, it won't do much good for our currency imbalance at all. More the opposite.

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Political Travel / Bangkok Travel / Thailand Travel / Travel Alerts / Thailand / Bangkok / Travel Deals / → All Tags

Are Post-Riot Travel Deals In Bangkok Worth It?

While we haven't been shy about urging you to seek out economic and political turmoil for travel deals, we've generally tried to steer you toward Eastern Europe and away from Thailand. While Athens has indeed been unstable, what with the occasional deadly riot sweeping through the city, blood has literally been running in the streets of Bangkok. Plus the Greeks were never really going to keep up any kind of sustained rioting. If they had that kind of commitment they wouldn't be in the middle of an economic implosion—they'd be at work. The Thais, on the other hand, seemed pretty serious.

But things have now calmed down a bit in Bangkok. Hong Kong and Japan have both lifted their travel advisories, and Australian newspapers are back to publishing condescending Thailand travel journals about how the whole "don't go there or you'll die" thing was just a big misunderstanding. Perhaps the biggest sign of returning stability is that Thai nationals are gambling on Bangkok stocks taking an upward turn, and presumably they'd have the best sense for the city's near-term future.

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Plastic Surgery Travel / Thailand / → All Tags

Plastic Surgery Travel: Thailand

Many consider Southeast Asia the place to get the best nip-and-tuck for your buck. The region charges some of the lowest fees in the world for plastic surgery while many clinics maintain medical reputations that rival the West.

Of SE Asian countries, most foreigners seek surgery in Thailand. Many of the reputable spa/clinics, including Phuket Plastic Surgery and St. Carlos Cosmetic Surgery Clinic also offer holistic healing services so often mimicked by faux Asian-themed resorts in the U.S.

Though the prices are cheap, Thai plastic surgery opens a whole new ethical can of worms with an already touchy subject. In addition to breast implants, Thailand's doctors are known for specializing in gender reassignment surgeries. And more Asians themselves are making appointments to have blepharoplasty (a procedure that adds a crease to the eyelid) that many consider an attempt to look more "white." We're hoping the day comes when societal pressures no longer prompt such procedures, but until then, the option is there for only a few thousand bucks.

Related Stories:
· Plastic Surgery Travel [Jaunted]
· Thailand Hotels [HotelChatter]

[Photo: Steve Klotz]

Shopping / Sales / Thailand / → All Tags

Three Month Thai Shopping Spree

We are human, so of course we love shopping and above all, we love a good sale. So we are pretty excited to hear that the Amazing Thailand Grand Sale is on again from Friday, and it lasts for a whole three months.

Many of the big department stores in Bangkok and other tourist hotspots like Phuket and Chiang Mai take part in this annual sale, and the tourist board reckons that some discounts will be up to 70% off the original price. Bargain!

For totally obsessive shopping freaks, the biggest event is the Amazing Thailand Grand Sale Fair, running from 21 to 24 June in the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, including extra special exhibitions (and maybe really amazing discounts) in honor of the king's 80th birthday this year. What are you still reading for: get shopping!

[Photo: grantthai]

Related Stories:
· Amazing Thailand Grand Sale [Official Site]
· Shopping coverage [Jaunted]

Travel Media / Travel + Leisure / Thailand / Hotels / → All Tags

Bangkok's Latest Hip Hotels

Ever since we read--yes, read--The Beach, we've been fighting this vision of Bangkok as a disgusting pit of cheap, dirty guesthouses full of British backpackers. But it turns out you don't have to shack up in a hell hole next to a young, fresh-faced Leonardo DiCaprio. Travel + Leisure's Sarah Kantrowitz has all the dish on Bangkok's newest places to stay.

The closest any of the places comes to Beach-level guesthouse is Luxx, where Sarah promises:

Gen Xers stretch out on the lobby couches to read Lonely Planet guidebooks and Australian fashion magazines while using the free Wi-Fi.

Free WiFi? Sounds good to us!

There are a couple other options, too. The Eugenia has rooms decked out with "framed vintage maps" and "aluminum and copper bathtubs," as well as a private fleet of vintage cars for guests. And Arun Residence has great views onto the Temple of the Dawn. But good luck catching it--rooms don't come with alarm clocks. Maybe your own personal Leo will rouse you?

[Photo: Fox]

Related Stories
· Bangkok's New Mini Hotels [T + L]
· Luxx [Official Site]
· The Eugenia [Official Site]
· Arun Residence [Official Site]

Bangkok / Thailand / Politics / → All Tags

Bangkok Goes Coup-Coup

As expected in such unstable situations, news of the coup in Bangkok is rolling in quickly, and constantly changing. Prime Minister Thaksin has been overthrown by his army commander, martial law has been declared, and both CNN and the BBC have been taken off the air in Thailand. Even fast-paced blogging faces a challenge in the unpredictability of it all.

If you need to follow the effects on flights to and from BKK, nothing beats Flyertalk, where several threads are rolling among the forums. Options for general coverage include CNN's Pipeline online (where a day pass for their customized news stream is $.99), the blog of Bangkok-based travel writer Newley Purnell, Knife Tricks and Metroblogging Bangkok.

[Image via manager.co.th]