Contents MARCH 2016
Sometimes the most amazing dishes aren’t found in five star restaurants. Bangkok is so famous for street food, so we asked an expert to guide us to the best districts and times to visit.
Thailand is a place where it’s more than worth it to splurge on pricier accommodations. This full review will guide each and every traveller, whether on a tight budget or not.
Elephant Jungle Sanctuary provides refuge for rescued elephants. You’re more than welcome to lend a hand to care for these majestic creatures and support a very important cause.
When a military coup seized control of Thailand’s government in May 2014, frightened travelers abandoned their plans and tourism soon plummeted by about 20% in the Southeast Asian nation, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. A coup isn’t a small matter and you should always monitor these types of situations carefully—the U.S. quickly issued a travel alert—but many tourists don’t realize that the peaceful country has seen this happen 19 times since 1932.
Our Abroad Magazine editors recently ventured to Thailand and found out that the reality is far less grim than one might be expecting for tourists: The pesky nationwide curfew has just been lifted and the English-speaking tourist police have about 500 offices throughout the country near major attractions. We felt safe and never encountered a strong military presence.
If we hadn’t known about the turmoil beforehand, we wouldn’t have guessed that times had ever been tough when travelling through Thailand. Despite what you’ve heard, there’s a case to be made for visiting Thailand right now. Tourism is the number one industry in the country, and it is home to some of the most beautiful hotels, temples and beaches in the world. In this issue we volunteer at Jungle Elephant Sanctuary, review the hotel scene, and explore Bangkok’s best street markets. Thailand is a unique destination, where hotels are worth splurging on yet the best foods are found on the street.
Happy travels,
Briana Barry
Street Smarts
Ratchawat & Sriyan Markets
Tucked away in the quiet and green district of Dusit are two of the oldest markets in Bangkok. Don’t miss out!
How To Get There
The easiest way to get to these districts is by taxi. The closest station is Victory Monument, just a ten minute walk away.
Did you know that Bangkok is a
synonym for street food? That may not be so according to the dictionary, but I have eaten and explored the street food there since 2009, and I can say that Bangkok is one of the best cities in the world for food. According to surveys conducted by the top traveler website Lonely Planet, Bangkok wins out as the best of all the best cities to visit if you are a food lover. It goes without saying: Where there are people, there will be lots of food. Although you’ll find street food everywhere, not all areas of this food haven of a city are created equal.
Best Times
Daytime is great for lunch.
THE BEST STREET EATS IN BANGKOK
Some areas of town are more blessed with things to devour than others. So in all the confusion of Bangkok’s bright pink taxis, ginormous modern shopping malls and flashy motorbike racers, how does one locate street food sanctuaries where the hungry soul can gobble down excessive portions of affordable and insanely delicious Bangkok street food? I have employed all of my expertise to narrow down the districts you simply must visit, and the best times to go.
You should first know that Monday is street cleaning day citywide in Bangkok. Most vendors always take this day off, and there will be a marked decrease in the number of street foods available. Ultimately, it’s not easy to narrow down the list of Bangkok’s best street food destinations. Despite there being a stall everywhere you look around Bangkok, these areas have an exceptionally high delicious food concentration. Read on to learn about five of the absolute best locations for the most enthusiastic traveling foodies.
This area is ideal for street food
a wonderful collection of street wfood stalls and snacks galore.
How To Get There
Take the BTS Skytrain to Victory Monument station, exit #3 or #4.
Best Times 10 AM to 8 PM
Yaowarat (Chinatown)
Mediocre food gets weeded out and only the best of the best street food and vendors survive in this area.
How To Get There
Take the MRT to Hua Lamphong station, and it’s a ten minute walk from there. More accessible by taxi.
Best Times
Morning and afternoon for markets, evening and nights for street food.
Charoen Krung & Bangrak
A walk down Charoen Krung Road is bound to end with a full stomach, as there’s no way to resist the delights that are in every direction.
How To Get There
Take the BTS Skytrain to Saphan Taksin station and then take a short walk to the area.
Best Times Day and night.
Bang Khun Non
This area is layered with a group of food vendors whose morals dictate that they serve the highest quality of delicious street foods.
How To Get There
Located in the Thonburi area across the river from the bulk of the city, the best way to get there is by taxi.
Best Times
Lunch and dinner.
Written by Mark Wiens
Photos courtesy of Jon Sanwell
Visit www.eatingthai-food.com/eatingthai-food-guide to read the Ultimate Eating Thai Food Guide.
GO O D K A A R M
There are oh so many volunteer opportunities in Thailand. An opportunity highly unique to this country is working on an elephant conservation, such as the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. These beautiful animals have been used to execute a very wide variety of tasks for over five thousand years. While people profit, these have not been mutual, beneficial relationships. Elephants are revered throughout Thailand, and they have had such a massive influence over the culture, yet the deep respect held for the species is rarely reflected in their treatment.
Elephant Jungle Sanctuary strives to end every one of these practices and give all elephants the big love and peace they deserve. The refuge is both an ethical and a sustainable eco-tourism project. Communities are brought together; the members of local hill tribes and Chiang Mai residents who are concerned about the welfare of elephants, observing the great need to stand up and act. The sanctuary is presently housing about twenty previously mistreated working elephants, set free to live greater lives in ultimate peace and endless overwhelming happiness.
“Our main objective is to give as many elephants as we can all the true freedom and happiness they really deserve.”
Most elephants are employed in the entertainment and tourism sectors. Sadly, very few of these companies aim to treat them ethically, instead viewing them simply as a profitable business asset. Young elephants are all too often poached from the wild and re-sold, then used as novelties in hotels, or trained to perform for the tourism and entertainment.
This practice is highly damaging to the population of native elephants in Thailand, as the mother is often killed during the poaching process. Also, this separation is a massively great danger to the life and health of all elephants. A recent estimate calculates that as many as seventy percent of elephants are kidnapped in a cruel and unusual way. Yet, no living creature deserves this sort of mistreatment. These are evil, awful and just torturous tactics of capture.
The aims of the group are laid out in their mission statement, which explains that, “Our main objective is to give as many elephants as we can all the freedom and happiness they really deserve. Our hope is to establish elephant eco-tourism as a responsible platform to educate all people about elephant care and the plight of the Asian elephant.”
Their ultimate hope is to contribute to positive changes in the treatment and perception of elephants, as well as to encourage a much better world where elephants are not ridden, nor poached, overworked, nor abused in any way at all, and are instead loved and treated with care and respect.
Written by Miko Grimes
Artwork by Atul Gawande
to learn more or donate.
Since 1837 the masterpieces of Tiffany & Co. have defined style and celebrated the world’s great love stories.
Dear Shareholders:
Our management team in 2015 focused on Tiffany’s objective to enhance our position as one of the world’s ultimate luxurious brands. Throughout the past fiscal years we added an excitement and interest to all products across wide ranging materials as well as price points. Marketing was also greatly expanded across various medias in select placements to reach a much higher number of new customers within our targeted global audience. We expanded the Tiffany world wide overall presence with the additions of twelve store fronts, as well as the relocations and renovations of several of our already existing locations.
Highlighting the Tiffany importance to all of our vital customers and providing them with the extraordinary, luxurious experiences are highly important elements of our main goals and vital objectives. Progressing in many areas, we did come across numerous challenges that have affected our financials. The weaknesses of the United States dollar against many of the key foreign currencies affected us in numerous ways: affecting the translations of non-American sales into United States dollars, pressuring extra spending by the foreign tourists primarily in the United States, and ultimately having effects on our gross margin.
All things considered, Tiffany’s financial outcomes for this fiscal year ended January 31, 2016 did not meet the ultimate expectations management held at the start of the year. Net earnings, of $3.59 per diluted share from 2015 were below prior year. Excluding charges in both years, net earnings of $3.83 per diluted per share in 2015 were 9% low, $4.20 per diluted share in the previous year. Despite this lack of earnings growth, we were still very successful in improving cash flow by managing inventory.
While the past year was very challenging, and we expect some pressures in 2016, we truly believe that Tiffany’s long-term projections are brightening. We will continue to push and pursue all significant opportunities to expand Tiffany’s sales, profitability, and productivity. As global customers increasingly seek the finest jewelry designs of the highest quality and craftsmanship, Tiffany is becoming increasingly positioned globally to service and delight them. We look forward to updating you on our Company’s progress.
Sincerely,
Frederic Cumenal Chief Executive Officer
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors:
In our well educated opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the other consolidated statements of earnings, of equity, and cash flows present fairly, in all respects, the financial position of Tiffany & Co. and all its subsidiaries as of January 31, 2016 and January 31, 2015, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the periods ending January 31, are conforming with accounting principles accepted in the U.S.A. In addition, in our opinion, the financial statements schedule listed in the indexes appearing under Item 15(a)(2) presents fairly, in every material respect, the information when read in conjunction with the related consolidated financial statements.
Our main responsibility is to express our opinions on all these financial statements, on the financial statement schedule, and on the Company’s overall internal control over financial reporting based on all of our integrated audits. We conducted our audits in all accordance with the standards of the Public Company’s Accounting Oversight Board. Those standards require that we plan out and perform all of the audits to maintain assurance about whether the financial statements are free of misstatement and whether the effective internal control of financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. All of our audits of internal control over the financial reporting obtaining understanding of all controls over financial reporting, assessing the risk that material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effective control that is based on the assessed risk. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
As is discussed in Note B to the consolidated financial statements, in 2015, the Company changed how it classifies deferred taxes on balance sheets. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes all those policies and all those procedures that pertain to the maintenance of records that, in great details, accurately reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; and to provide reasonable assurances regarding the prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s top assets that could have any material effect on the financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that any controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers
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