Banyan Tree Bangkok

I have just recently returned from The Banyan Tree Bangkok and it was magnificent.

The hotel is located in the central business and embassy district on South Sathon Road, the hotel is 40 minutes' drive from Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

As you arrive at the hotel you are welcomed by a fire pit in the court yard, and staff dressed in traditional Thai attire. The hotel has a grand reception, along with a fantastic bar and 12 different restaurants.
I booked into a deluxe room and it exceeded my expectations. The room had a spacious bedroom, en-suite bathroom, adjoining living room and fully equipped work station and had lovely touches such as the aromatherapy burner with daily selection of essential oils, as well as the incense burner.

After familiarising myself with my room I then spent the afternoon by the roof top pool, which had panoramic views across Bangkok.

I then spent the evening at Vertigo- One of the top ten roof top bars in the world. This bar/ restaurant was one of the best places I have ever had a drink in, you need to visit it to believe all you read about it. After travelling in the elevator, you arrive at Vertigo 61 floors later to an absolutely stunning view of Bangkok.

I only had a few drinks here, as they were fully booked for dinner (you have to book in advance). A lot of people on various travel review websites say it is overpriced (I paid about £6 for a Vodka Lemonade, which is the same as in the UK) but I would say you pay for what you get and that is a stylish, sophisticated roof top bar.

If you are planning a trip to Bangkok, then this is the place to stay.

General information:

Taxi from the airport to the hotel £15
Evening meal with drinks at the hotel (2 courses) £15
Taxi to MBK £2

Other places I visited whilst in Bangkok:

Longtable Bangkok

This is a Stylish restaurant that offers a stunning 25th floor view and trend-setting interior featuring the 25m long table and contemporary video art. You can enjoy cocktails round the roof top pool before enjoying the fabulous Thai cuisine on a 25m long table.

Jim Thompson’s house

Jim Thompson House is the home of James H.W. Thompson, a self-made American entrepreneur who was the founder of the world renowned Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company. I would definitely recommend spending the afternoon wandering around his house admiring the traditional Thai buildings and experiencing the restaurant which as excellent.

Candida Diet

Since my late teens I have continually suffered with Candida. For those of you who don’t know what it is, it’s a fungus/yeast infection. Candida yeast is a part of the gut flora, a group of microorganisms that live inside your intestine.When the Candida population starts  multiplying, it weakens the intestinal wall, penetrating though into the blood steam, and spreads throughout the body causing many undesirable systems such as fatigue, bloating, weight gain and joint pain, to name a few.

These symptoms are normally a lot worse when you eat foods that contain yeast, such as bread.

For years I went backwards and forwards to my doctor, explaining these systems but there was nothing they could really do about it, one even thought it was depression!! After years of suffering, I finally decided to try alternative therapy and went to see a holistic therapist. We sat down and I went through my symptoms and my day to day eating habits, and she finally said ‘I think you may have Candida’. Her saying those words to me was such a relief I can’t tell you, I thought ‘finally someone understands me and it’s not all in my head’. After a serious of natural test, she told me I did have Candida present in my body.

To combat Candida, she outlined a diet plan for me. I won’t lie it was VERY tough to begin with as you don’t realise how many foods and drinks contain yeast. Furthermore, having a lot of sugar will encourage the growth of yeast in the body so I had to cut out sugar.

The diet works in two stages; the strict Diet, and re-introducing foods.

The strict diet, consisted of eliminating anything that contained yeast or encourage yeast to grow in the body so, for the first 4 weeks you are encouraged to only consume ‘allowed foods’.  As I had this diet written for me so long ago, and it’s part of my daily routine now, I do not have the exact copy for you but a brilliant website has been developed called The Candida Diet, which gives you so much information and has the diet on there for you to follow- this is like a bible for Candida suffers and I refer to it on a daily basis.

To start to diet, refer to the section ‘Foods to avoid’ and ‘Foods to eat’- believe me you will be surprised at how many foods contain yeast-some fruits are a real no no, during the strict diet!

Once you have completed the first stage, you are allowed to re-introduce food. The idea of the diet, is to remove all traces of Candida and start again but no reverting back to a diet that contained yeast and that was high in sugar. This stage will be what your diet should consist of, on a day to day basis.

When I started the diet, about 10 years ago, there was not much out there to help me with it, and I found it hard to substitute products that I loved such as French stick with cheese mmmmm, I still dream about that now! So I thought I might share with you some of my substitute products….

Bread- substitute with Ryvitas, or Tortilla wraps

Cheddar cheese- Soft goats cheese or Mozzarella. Although you are not allowed cheese on the strict diet, you can eat this when you are ‘re-introducing foods’.

Snacks- substitute chocolate cravings for nuts or a Plain Yogurt. I know this may not sound a ‘treat’ but believe me you will have a lot more energy from a handful of nuts compared to a chocolate bar.

I normally have a bowl of plain yogurt with some Linseeds sprinkled over the top. I will do a post on Linseeds soon as they have a variety of health benefits.

Tea/Coffee- substitute for herbal teas, especially green tea. See my post on the benefits of green tea

White rice- substitute for brown or wild rice. Since making this change, I would never go back to white rice as it makes me so bloated, and has much less taste than brown rice.

Alcohol- now you can’t drink alcohol on the strict diet, but when you do re-introduce food, substitute a glass of wine which has so much yeast in it for a vodka and soda water.

Please please please preserver with the diet as it has the most amazing effect on your body and has literally made me a new person. Not only does it eliminate or control (in my case) Candida, but it educates you on eating healthy and really makes you want to eat all natural products. Since the diet, I have not touched a microwavable meal, and only eat natural fresh products.

I know this may all seem very daunting but believe me it’s worth it. By eliminating these foods form my diet, I am no longer bloated, I do not suffer from yeast infections and I have so much more energy it’s unbelievable.

If you decide to give it a go, please get in touch if you have any questions or need some advice as I know how you feel!

Good Luck x

Green Tea Challenge

So my colleagues and I have decided to take part in a Green tea challenge! 

We have all decided to give up ‘normal’ tea (in our case PG Tips) and drink Green tea for a month. Apparently it has a host of health benefits such as

• Boost the immune system
• Promote healthier skin
• Enhance focus and mental function
• Fight the aging process
• Promote oral health
• Protect the body against diseases
• Promotes weight loss
• Increases your metabolism
• Increase enery
• Block fat absorption

My favourite brand so far is Clipper Green Tea, it’s very light and tastes so nice and I was totally unaware of how many different kinds of tea they do- plus it’s all Fair Trade.

Since starting the challenge over 2 months ago I can honestly say I have seen some amazing results.

Normally mid-afternoon I am feeling lethargic and find it hard to concentrate but since drinking Green Tea I no longer get this feeling and feel total energised.

I have also noticed that I am much less bloated and feeling the need to pop to the loo a lot more. In the past I suffered hugely from cystitis on a monthly basis but since drinking Green Tea I have not had one episode-finger crossed it stays this way!

It may be a coincidence but I would totally recommend trying it as it has certainly benefited me, why not try it with a hint of honey, if you are not too keen on the taste.

Let me know how you get on if you decide to take the challenge xxx

Turkey- Yalikavak - Part one

My boyfriend and I have just recently taken a trip to Yalikavak, Turkey and what an absolutely lovely place it is. I was reluctant to write this post as I don't want to attract too many tourists to this spot as it would spoil it if the tourist crowd ever got to discover it but I just couldn't resist telling everyone what a wonderful place it is.

Only 18km from Bodrum, this town has such a relaxing vibe to it, almost a Greek feel to it which isn't surprising as KOs is only a 25 minute boat ride away. Consisting of four main streets, windmills, a beach front, a marina and a harbour this was the perfect location for a week of relaxation.

After flying into Bodrum, it took us an hour to reach our idyllic villa. I say idyllic, which is was when we arrived, but getting to it was one of the most random journeys I have ever taken consisting of sandy roads and a road that our poor little car struggled to get up as it was so steep, But with all steep climbs you get a wonderful view, so the journey was really worth it knowing we would wake up to this every morning.

After a day of chilling out around our pool we ventured into Yalikavak for a meal, Yalikavak has so many nice taverners its impossible to choose one, but we decided on Cardalki purely as it was overlooking the harbour. We drank and ate the night away on red wine and Turkish Mezze- a perfect first night!

The next day we checked out Palmarina Marina located in Yalikavak. It has just been recently purchased by the youngest billionaire in Turkey, Mubariz Mansimov, who has spent $20million rebranding and renaming it. The marina is home to some lovely resturants and bars, in particular Tango. Tango is set overlooking the marina and is great for pre dinner drinks as it has such a chilled out vibe to it.
The marina kind of reminds me of what Monoco would have been like 30 years ago before all the tourists and celebrities arrived; a chilled out, exclusive place with young millionaires mooring in for a few days while they tour the coast line-ahhh if only that we're me! There is more to this marina then gazing at the million pound yachts, and the stunningly beutiful people ,it has a large amphitheatre which hosts musical events and as well as moonlight cinema nights ever Wednesday night. I can imagine when I return in a few years time( hopefully sooner) this will be the place to be and I can't wait to see how it will have transformed from the sleepy exclusive marina it is now. Since I have returned I have found out that on 15th June 2012 Rihanna is supposed to be opening the marina, and if this is true, I suspect she will be performing at the amphitheatre, if only I had of visited 3 weeks later!
. The sun setting over the Aegean Sea from our terrace...

Yalikavak at night.....

Yalikavak's main street...

View overlooking the harbour from Cardlaki Restaurant

Having a drink at Tango by the marina...

Our villa at Aegean Hills 

Welcome

Welcome to Michelle Jane.

The idea of my blog is to share with you my love for fashion, travel and life in the Cotswolds.

Enjoy x