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The new 19th hole, Thai golf therapy off course

24th May 2024 funtime65

It’s always been my best hole, in the bar afterwards, but that might change with the new 19th hole, Thai golf therapy off course.

I’ve spent a lifetime persisting in the belief that because I hail from Scotland, the Home of Golf, I will eventually master the game.

Only to thrash around courses from Aberdeen to Ireland to Royal Lytham to Liverpool to Cannes.

Each time playing one or two good irons to delude me into thinking I should give the Royal & Ancient game another shot.

There’s probably something in what Mark Twain said about golf being a good walk ruined.

Only I’d take it further and agree with Robin Williams’ assessment on golf… it’s torture.

Which is where eastern zen has come in to help.

Total golf

Wellness pioneer Chiva-Som Hua Hin in Thailand is expanding its menu with the launch of the Total Golf Enhancement Retreat.

Total Golf Enhancement supports guests in developing their game, as well as post-golf muscle recovery and relaxation.

Every Chiva-Som retreat begins with a Health and Wellness Consultation.

So you’ll get a golf fitness assessment, golf fitness training and a golf lesson.

All of which supports endurance, range of motion, strength and balance, as well as reducing the risk of injury.

Improvement is assessed by one of Chiva-Som’s in-house pros during your rounds, providing guests with health insights.

The next course

Claret Jock: That year’s Champion Golfer

The golf will be links, by the sea, at nearby 18-hole Sea Pines Golf Course in Hua Hin.

For those looking to vary their golfing locations there is…

Black Mountain, a nine-hole course location and Pineapple Valley Golf Course, an award-winning 18-hole course, at an extra charge.

Now the next bit on Thailand is where Chiva-Som really scores, a 50-minute Deep Tissue Massage.

And a complimentary Aloe Body Mask to support skin recovery following a day outdoors.

Additionally, you’ll get unlimited access to the Water Therapy Suite.

All of which includes a steam room, sauna and Jacuzzi.

Food for thought

Now Chiva-Som encourages rather than discourages eating that lovely Thai food.

So guests can enjoy exceptional Wellness Cuisine at the resort’s signature beachside Taste of Siam restaurant.

With veg, fruits, and other edible plants sourced from Chiva-Som’s Organic Gardens.

The retreat offers guests the choice of a daily treatment.

A traditional Thai Massage, Chiva-Som Signature Massage, Invigorating Massage, Relaxing Foot Massage, Oriental Scalp Massage, Hydrotherapy, a manicure or a pedicure.

In addition to the optional physical analysis on arrival, guests can undertake a complimentary skin analysis.

The inclusion of a post-stay consultation supports guests in continuing their sustainable wellbeing journey at home.

All’s well

The Total Golf Enhance Retreat is available on a five, seven, and 10-night basis.

That’s inclusive of an individual health and wellness consultation.

A complimentary treatment per night of stay, three wellness cuisine meals per night, daily fitness and leisure activities.

And unlimited use of the Water Therapy Suite as well as at least one round of golf.

Those staying 10 nights in Thailand can also benefit from an included golf lesson.

Deal us in

Five-night Total Golf Enhancement Retreats start from THB 24,000++ (£520pp per night for a double occupancy and THB 32,000++ (£670pp) per night for a single occupancy.

It’s enough to make you get the clubs back out and give it another go.

And I do live in officially the best place to reside in Britain North Berwick, looking out over the links golf course.

Or perhaps head for your nearest golf range, and as I’ve shown in Portugal, Las Vegas and a simulator in Turkish Airways airport lounge in Istanbul.

I do a lot less damage with a net up.

So for all us golf duffers let’s take heart.

From the new 19th hole Thai golf therapy off course.

Asia, Caribbean, Countries, Europe

The Yanks are coming over there

4th January 20244th January 2024 funtime65

Send the word, send the word over there, that the Yanks are coming… the Yanks are coming over there.

Bringing us 107 years up to date from George Cohan’s rousing American First World War rallying song.

And two World Wars and two Cold Wars later and the Yanks are still saving our skin.

Which is why I, for one, always stop to say hello and thank them for coming to visit as holidaymakers and ancestral researchers.

That and the fact that for My Dear Old Irish Mammy America was always the Promised Land.

And half my family went on to make their lives and fortunes there.

Welcome to all Americans

It seems that America empties around Edinburgh Festival time, any royal occasion in England and St Paddy’s Day in Ireland.

But while we get an awesomeness of Americans (the official collective word) paying top dollar on our shores.

It is Italy (and whisper that around the French) which is the biggest draw for Americans at this time of year according to wall art creator StoryBoards.

The study zoned in on keywords such as ‘flights’, ‘restaurants’ ‘ski facilities’ and more next to 43 popular destinations.

Italian Americans

And found Italy has 93,000 average searches from September to December.

Of course the food, culture and history is a draw year-round.

But it’s the winter markets and the great skiing facilities and high-altitude luxury in the Italian Alps which brings the Yanks back.

Now Japan is going through its climactic challenges jus now but it’s as popular as ever with Yanks.

With 33,275.49 average searches.

It’s the blend of ancient traditions and modern festivities, serene winter landscapes and vibrant city lights that does the job.

Thailand, a sunny winter destination with 88F average temperatures garners 23,000 average searches.

And it’s not just the beaches Americans flock to with the tropics and the temples high on the agenda too.

All Greek to us

Classical Greece and its islands where culture and the pace of life feels unchanged over millennia is fourth with 12,293.11.

While the Caribbean because of its proximity and its party vibe is understandably also in the top 5.

With Aruba claiming 11,096.67 average searches.

And so because we love a top ten here’s a blisticle listicle of where the Yanks are coming over there.

Blisticle listicle

Border force: The German and Austrian border

Italy: 92,969,

Japan: 33,275

Thailand: 22,933

Greece: 12,293

Aruba: 11,097

Hawaii: 8,868

Germany: 8,094

Jamaica:?7,320

Cuba: 6,885

Mexico: 6,536

America, Asia, Countries, Culture, Europe, UK

Teddy Bears’ window to the world

13th April 202012th April 2020 funtime65

Every bear that ever there was… is in somebody’s window.

And the children of my neighbourhood are checking them off in an Easter hunt.

Of course we have a ‘hug’, or ‘Roosevelt’ of teddies, if either if those is the collective noun, vying for space on our window sills.

We all know that the bear was named after the-then US American President.

Who refused to shoot a tethered bear in Mississippi.

A Lara, Lara love

The home of the Blues and Elvis and Medgar Evers, it truly is the state that keeps on giving The Promised Land, The story of the Blues and The King of Kings

But it’s news to me that Richard Steiff from Berlin https://www.visitberlin.de/en has a counter claim to Brooklyn, New York www.nycvb.com Morris Michtom as the inventor of the bear.

All of which silly, willy, nilly all stuffed with fluff is just an excuse…

To talk about my favourite bear Winnie The Pooh (don’t tell Paddy) and other Teddy Bears around the world.

*Bear with us here.* http://www.teddybearmuseum.co.uk/the-museum

First port of call is the Teddy Bear Museum https://www.teddybearmuseum.co.uk/the-museum in Dorchester, Dorset which is 30 years old this year.

First opened in 1990 as The Bournemouth Bears it moved to Dorchester five years later and is Britain’s oldest Teddy Bear museum.

We’re told that Edward Bear (his Sunday name) will welcome you.

And that you will be treated to a range of vintage bears.

From the earliest prototypes by The Ideal Toy Company.

As well as Steiff, Farnell, Merrythought, Deans, Chiltern, vintage Chad Valley and many others.

Including Winnie the Pooh, Rupert, Paddington, his Aunt Lucy and Sooty.

Furs and stripes

In America where Teddy was born the best place to go is Morris’s adopted New York State (he was born a Russian Jew).

And The Den of Marbletown, Kingston, Ulster County. Visit https://www.syracuse.com/life-and-culture/g66l-2019/03/eb88eaf1a6864/have-you-heard-of-the-teddy-bear-museum-in-the-hudson-valley.html.

Owned and operated by Nan and Steve Ferri it boasts more than 5,000 Steiff teddy bears and animals, Madame Alexander dolls, Barbie dolls, and hand-carved wooden toys.

WunderBear

Of course if you’re a Steiff fan the best place to go is the Steiff Museum in Berlin https://www.steiff.com/de-de/steiff-shop-outlet#.

And here purists may baulk at it but as well as the Steiff bears there is Disney and Harry Potter merchandising here too.

Now Germans are known for their efficiency so just a detour here to flag up the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg https://www.miniatur-wunderland.de.

Big in Japan

Back to the bears and the Japanese who are a soppy bunch too and daft as brushes have the Izu Teddy Bear Museum in Ito, Shizuoka.

My Japanese needs some brushing up.

But take a look at these pictures and when you’re next in the Land of the Rising Sun catch http://www.teddynet.co.jp/izu/. Also visit https://www.japan.travel/en/uk/.

Thai high Teddies

As a qualified Tedologist I’m obviously all over the Teddy Bear Museum Pattaya in Thailand http://Teddy Bear Museum Pattaya, Thailand. And see https://www.tourismthailand.org.

And Pattaya is a world of wonders.

With zones throughout including a China, Europe, Dinosaur, Inca, Underwater and Space Super Hero among others.