Normally, I don’t take pictures of food because it rarely does justice to it. But I was impressed by the lavish Sunday Brunch served at Banyan Tree and asked the general manager for permission to photograph elements of it without disturbing the guests. They offered a  broad selection of international cuisine, all artfully presented. I was again reminded of that attention to detail I had seen throughout my journey as well as the fact that we had enjoyed consistently wonderful meals in every region.

Take  a look for yourself.

tea selection at Banyan Tree

market station

Japanese condiments

Well, we are out of time on this tour. Island-hopping from Phuket to to Koh Samui, Krabi or Phi Phi Island will have to wait until another month as we bid adieu to beautiful Thailand and her gracious people.

This month’s raffle prize, a Thailand Gift Pack consists of a Thai Cookbook containing many of the exotic foods and dishes discussed on this tour, Thai coffee beans from Chiang Mai University’s Royal Plantation Project to enjoy after a Thai meal, an intricately patterned sarong with coconut shell clip so as to be respectfully covered when entering temples and palaces, a decorative travel journal to record observations and a portable travel clock/calendar.

Congratulations to this month’s winner, Ginny Leonard of Sacramento, CA.

FYI: CNN International announced the results of its Online Consumer Survey (OCS) on Travel and Tourism which reveals that Thailand was chosen as representing the best value for money for travellers in the Asia Pacific region. The survey conducted across CNN English websites had more than 5,000 respondents globally. Thailand came out as the best value in Asia-Pacific for respondents over China in second place and India in third.
CNN Press Release dated May 14, 2009