A quick update... for family and friends of the hotel

Lucy sent a couple of pics today of the new twin sun-loungers she's had made. Arranged with traditional Thai pyramid cushions and a small table in the middle, they'll do double duty as an agreeable spot to enjoy sundowners or a romantic supper on the beach. There's also evidence in the photos that Tik has got his kayak rental enterprise in operation.

In a January post I described how the beach had been dramatically altered by the tide, winds and raging torrent of the nearby monsoon-swollen stream. Contrast the views above, taken yesterday, of the beach fully restored by the action of the sea, with the one below from early January. "The sea may taketh, but thomtimes, the sea giveth back". Who said that? Doh! Me.

At about the same time in January, with the erection of a huge crane, I posted a warning that the site across the road was starting up again and with it, the potential for some unwelcome construction noise. No sooner had I formed the words than the site stopped and went back into hibernation. We have no authoritative information on when, or if, work will recommence.

For family and former guests, the news and some photo evidence that Blackhead has recovered from her near fatal poisoning. She was saved only by Lucy's quick response when the poor thing had dragged herself back to the hotel to die, in getting her to the vet pronto, Blackhead is seen here, playing like a pup with barman Tik, another faithful friend of the hotel.

I'm soooo looking forward to being in Samui for Songkran this time next month, especially as the occasion brings together the Hotel Family Holt and our partners for the first time in a couple of years. We've also got the bonus of my brother Nick; a good assortment of nephews and a niece, with their partners. Also a work friend and his wife from Dubai, all staying at the hotel at the same time. We'll have a blast and I can't wait to get on the end of Tik's attempts at a Siam Sunray while watching one of our spectacular sunsets.

photo credit: Chris Lyon - friend & multiple repeat guest

The Siam Sunray - Thai tourism's own economic rescue remedy...

Turning to booze for inspiration, Thailand's tourism authority and its hotel association (THA) have launched a national cocktail to boost the country's visitor numbers, which have shown a steady decrease since the military coup of 2006. As one would expect, the closure and occupation of Bangkok's two airports that stranded 300,000 travelers for over a week late last year acted to hasten the decline.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) hopes to reverse the trend with its new national drink - the Siam Sunray - which it describe at its rollout last week as 'Thailand in a glass: the new punch in Thai tourism'. In its announcement launching the Siam Sunray TAT expressed the hope the new cocktail will help revitalise the allure of Thailand and become "a part of global cosmopolitan culture" - in the same way that, it claims, the Singapore Sling, Cuban Mojito, New York's Manhattan and, I may add, my own Doha leg-opener, have become.

"Successful signature drinks are one way to fast track holiday destinations on to the world tourism map, and can contribute some added identity to the local food and beverage scene in the hospitality and tourism industry," slurred the TAT spokesperson.

Although I like to imagine a special TAT committee stumbling serendipitously upon the cocktail concept and the Sunray recipe while drowning their misery at falling tourist numbers in a backstreet bar somewhere, the recipe was created by Surasakdi Pantaisong. He was the winner of the 2008 Bar Tender Championship hosted by the TAT and THA at Siam Paragon in September 2008.

If you want to try this at home rather than wait until you can try Tik's version, here's the official recipe.

Siam Sunray recipe
Ingredients:

	30-40 ml. of Smirnoff vodka
	30 ml. of coconut liqueur
	15 ml. of syrup
	¼ cm. of Thai chilli pepper
	3 slices of young ginger
	1 Kaffir lime leaf
	3 slivers of lemon grass
	3 drops of lime juice
	Soda water

Preparation:

	Crush the small Thai chilli pepper, young ginger, Kaffir lime leaf, and lemon grass together in a shaker to bring out the aroma and flavour of the Thai herbs.
	Add syrup, lime juice and Smirnoff and shake well.
	Strain into a glass with ice; top up with soda water; garnish with chilli, lemon grass and a slice of lime.