Setting the stage Valentine's Day may be long gone, but perennial romantics will love the new Spa Pool Villa at the Banyan Tree Phuket. No subliminal suggestions here: the set-up is brazenly marketed as a 'stage for passionate nights' and 'intimate moments', the stage being a floating glass pavilion (pictured) surrounded by lily ponds housing a bed draped with Thai silk beneath a canopied ceiling. Behind the scenes are your own private pool, whirlpool spa, outdoor shower and sunken bath.
Included in the stay is a welcome body scrub, a choice of massage, a 30-minute massage lesson from the in-house spa therapist and meditation and yoga classes in the morning. In the villa, you'll receive daily delivery of a juice mixer with a selection of exotic local fruits, and aromatherapy and incense burners with a selection of essential oils and incense sticks.
All this comes at a price - US$1,000 (HK$7,800) a night - but if you're quick, the resort is offering an introductory rate of US$680 (HK$5,297) until the end of the month. Visit
www.banyantree.com or call 2312 1815 for details.
Spreading it thin We love our Lonely Planet guidebooks but if you're on a short trip, the chunky tomes can be a pain to lug about. Step forward the Condensed series, cheaper slimline city guides - costing about $70 - with handy laminated street and subway maps that fold out from the front and back covers. Tokyo is the latest city to be launched and covers all the basics - highlights, sights, shopping, hotels, eating and entertainment - easily identified by colour-coded pages. Another improvement is the number of colour photos to get you excited about what you're about to see. Visit
www.lonelyplanet.com for a list of cities covered or call Asia Publishers Services for stockists (tel: 2553 9289).
Bangkok bonus From now until April 30, if you buy a return economy ticket to Europe on Gulf Air, the airline will throw in a return ticket to Bangkok for the inclusive price of HK$5,000. Alternatively, if you buy a ticket to the Mediterranean or Africa, you'll get a ticket to Bangkok included for a total of HK$6,000. The Bangkok tickets can be transferred to other people. Call Farrington Travel on 2808 2828 for details or visit
www.amextravel.com.hk
Party on The best festivals or events of 2001, as voted by the global users of the online travel guide
www.world-party.com
1: Rio Carnival - Brazil (February)