A home-style cooking school set in a waterside location, the Amita Thai Cooking Class offers a hands-on Thai cooking experience under the guidance of a qualified instructor. This half-day tour starts with a short tour around the school’s organic garden to learn about Thai herbs, followed by a theory session and cooking demonstration. Participants then get to try their hand at cooking Thai dishes before sampling their own creations. A set of the course recipes will be given as a souvenir. To view the program details, click here.

We have recently appointed Le Hong Lan as the Project Manager to develop our responsible travel initiatives by working with various charities and sustainable tourism projects in Vietnam. Lan joined Exotissimo Vietnam in May 2005 as the MICE Operation Coordinator and was in charge of operations for incentive groups as well as developing MICE products. During this time he was able to see the impact of tourism in Vietnam and his involvement in charity events led to his strong interest in social responsibility. He can be contacted at honglan@exotissimo.com.

Exotissimo Cambodia now offers our own safari tents, providing a unique yet comfortable camping experience with a touch of adventure. Depending on clients’ preferences, the tents can be set up a deserted island, by the Mekong River, on a mountain top or within the grounds of an ancient temple. Meals are prepared by a private chef and served in comfortable dining set-ups. Contact cambodia@exotissimo.com for more information.

We are pleased to welcome Miles Gravett as our new North American Sales Manager and he will be responsible for the US and Canadian markets. Based in our Bangkok head office, Miles will make frequent visits to North America and have communication channels to the US and Canada open at all times. A US native from San Francisco, Miles was formerly our Siem Reap Operations Manager and possesses excellent destination knowledge of Southeast Asia with his seven years’ professional experience in the Asian travel industry. He can be contacted at miles@exotissimo.com.

At the same time, our US office will remain open with Beth Ringhofer based in San Francisco to handle enquiries and to liaise with our American agents in real-time. She will work closely with Miles and together they will form a very experienced and capable team. Beth can be contacted at beth@exotissimo.com.

Our annual Professional’s Guide is now available. In this 2010 edition, you will find the inclusion of Indonesia as an Exo destination in addition to Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The guide continues to be a showcase of our expertise in tailor-making tours and include other interesting features such as a hand-picked selection of hotels and resorts, stunning photography and staff picks. To view the brochure, click here.

Also available is our newest Adventure Brochure, an all-encompassing guide to adventure travel in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Indonesia. It features an exciting line-up of experiential adventure travel options, ranging from biking and trekking to kayaking and snorkeling, as well as a highlight of our responsible travel initiatives and tour products. Click here to view the brochure.

For more information about our brochures, contact marketing@exotissimo.com.

Tropical storm Mirinae is reaching Vietnam’s south-central coast today (2 Nov 2009) at around 6pm near the town of Thuy Hoa. Other affected areas will be the beach destination of Quy Nhon further north and Nha Trang further south.

Exotissimo currently has very few customers in this area but all those in the vicinity and clients scheduled to arrive tomorrow have been informed of the situation.

All clients have been advised to stay indoors during the worst of the storm and to follow instructions given by the hotels.

If you have clients affected by the storm, you would have heard from our Travel Consultants about what has been done by now.

Please contact your usual Exotissimo contact for any question or more details about the situation on the ground.