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The Angkor National Museum opened earlier this year, and is a great way to add another dimension to any visit to the area. Cambodia’s Golden Era is revealed here through innovative mixed-media displays and exhibits. Audio tours are available to provide a closer insight of Angkor’s ancient history. Housed in the museum is a treasure trove of over 1,300 artifacts on display within eight galleries. The galleries are divided by the eras that define the Khmer Empire. The immense “Cambodian Buddhist Reflection” exhibition is the museum’s pride, featuring an astonishing 1,000 Buddha images. Certainly, a visit to the Angkor National Museum can be added to any itinerary, for groups and FITs.July 11th, 2008
Coc Ly Market Unreachable
The road to Coc Ly Market has become unpassable in due to construction in the area. The government is building a hydroelectric power plant in the hills between Sapa and Coc Ly, making access difficult during sunny days, and impossible on wet ones. Visits to Coc Ly were perennial favorites, and unfortunately construction is expected to last for the next three years.Instead, Exotissimo will reroute itineraries scheduled for Coc Ly to Can Cau or Bac Ha Markets. Can Cau is a small Saturday market that is popular with local Flower Hmong, Nung, Phu La ethnic minorities. A visit to Can Cau includes a short boat trip and the Tay community of Trung Do Village is within walking distance. Bac Ha Market is very similar with an interesting animal market, and is closer to Sapa.
Depending on the date of the visit, there are several markets available for visits. Bam Cam Market is open on Tuesdays, Cao Son and Xin Chieng Markets are open on Wednesdays, and Lung Khau Nin on Thursdays. Can Cau is open on Saturdays and Bac Ha, Muong Khuong and Muong Hum Markets on Sundays. No nearby markets are open on Mondays and Fridays.
July 9th, 2008
Exotissimo Opens Phuket Office
We are pleased to announce the opening of our new Phuket office in August 2008. Our business and development in Phuket has grown much in recent years, and to make sure we can provide seamless services to our clients, we have hired Mr. Christophe Rodriguez to head up our new office. Christophe comes to us from Spain after spending years in Phuket managing restaurants and the Food and Beverage at The Mangosteen Resort and Spa. The depth of his experience in the area is unparalleled and he will be working hard to develop new tours, evaluate new hotels and of course, take care of your clients who are visiting the area.July 8th, 2008
First Aid Upgrade
In order to maintain the level of safety on our adventure tours, our Chiang Mai office in cooperation with the Thai Red Cross Society recently organized a First Aid training for all our trekking and biking guides. Over three intensive days, guides observed demonstrations of practical skills and critical situations, read case studies, and took written quizzes, to strengthen existing qualifications. Chain of survival, situation assessment, and how to handle wounds, fractures, heat exhaustion and other problems were all covered during the course.July 7th, 2008
An Inconvenient Truth…
Exotissimo cares and we hope you do as well. For the convenience of clients, our drivers normally switch on the air-conditioning before clients return from sightseeing. To help conserve gas and the environment, we have placed cards in each of our vehicles asking clients if it is acceptable to switch on the air-conditioning upon their arrival at the car and not before. In this way, we can unobtrusively offer clients the option of being a little more eco-friendly while traveling.
July 4th, 2008
Introducing Our New Luang Prabang Manager
In August, Exotissimo welcomes Henry Fenner, our new manager of our Luang Prabang office. He comes from Melbourne, where he completed a Master’s of Tourism & Marketing at Monash University. Since then, he has spent time in Sweden and working for the Australian Federal Government in Laos. Last year while traveling as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD), Henry developed a deep affinity for Laos and decided that he would make the quiet country his home. He will be working to improve our service in Luang Prabang and will be the key contact for all happenings in the UNESCO listed town.July 3rd, 2008
Siem Reap Welcomes Two New Managers
Spring 2008 saw the addition of two new managers to our Exotissimo family. Our new Siem Reap Operations Manager, Mr. Rafael Russi hails from Argentina. He comes to us from closer than Argentina though, having worked as Director of Sales and Marketing in Bangkok and Hotel Resident Manager in Pattaya for several years. He speaks English, French and of course Spanish, and will continue to do what he excels at, building and crossing cultural bridges.Joining Rafael is Mr. Richard Moreau, an old friend from Exotissimo Paris. In France, Richard was one of our Product Managers specializing in incentive groups. Looking for new challenges in an exotic locale, he jumped at the opportunity to work in Siem Reap.
We are excited to have two dynamic guys join our local teams. Siem Reap has always been one of our most popular destinations, and with Richard and Rafael, it can only get better.
July 2nd, 2008
Exotissimo Creates Russian Department
Also this month, Exotissimo Travel has created a Russian Department, which will be managed by Ms. Olga Zyabko, our new Russian Department Supervisor. She will work with our leisure and MICE partners in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In Moscow, she studied Tourism & Hospitality at Moscow State University and has many years of experience working with Bibilio-Globus Thailand in Pattaya as Outbound and Inbound Tour Supervisor. She also was a sales representative with the Oriental Discovery Group in Moscow. Olga speaks Russian and English, and can be reached at olga@exotissimo.com
July 1st, 2008
Exotissimo Australia Opens For Business
We have recruited Michael Lynden-Bell as General Manager Australia & New Zealand to manage and develop our business across both markets. Michael comes to us from Lonely Planet where he was the Asia/Pacific Sales & Marketing Manager for over 10 years and he is relishing the opportunity of working with Exotissimo and transferring his skills to the travel industry.Exotissimo Australia is structured to support our existing client base in Australia and New Zealand and develop new opportunities to our five destinations. As our business continues to grow in what we consider a very important market for Exotissimo, we believe it’s necessary to be in regular contact with our clients to better serve you and ensure that you are fully aware of our capabilities in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. Michael’s role is to help us fine tune our business, present new product offerings to clients, and ensure communication channels are always open so that we can deliver the very best service.
