Be it any country, community or people of any race, the celebration of being in love is a universal phenomena. It’s a part of mass culture, which all of us have accepted. A simple four-letter word gives the message of spreading mutual affection, respect, tolerance and a gentle human touch. It’s perhaps the only magical word which can heal this world of all its atrocities…
we call it LOVE.

When in Rome…
As missionaries fanned out from Italy, they took the custom of Val­entine’s Day, along with the gospel, to the inhabitants of Northern Europe. Today the business people of the global economy are the missionaries who have introduced the customs of Valentine’s Day to the world beyond Europe and North America. Com­mercial influxes aside, romance and love are universal, which is why the custom of Valentine’s Day is spreading. While the focus of the holiday remains one of lovers expressing their romantic af­fections for each other, local customs and traditions add their influ­ence, thereby providing some differentiation in the celebration from country to country.

PHILIPPINES
Filipinos have always been known as romantic people and for them, Valen­tine’s Day is synonymous with red roses, red shirts (for those who are look­ing for partners), fully-booked motels (yes!), crowded movie houses and restaurants, and of course, public plazas turned into lovers’ lanes. Schools usually don’t have regular classes on Valentine’s Day since it is also the time for junior and senior prom nights, which some call, “puppy love” day.
Uniting the public plazas/lovers’ lanes, this nation prefers not to just cel­ebrate it by a pair or two, but rather thousands of couples who gather for the world record of most couples kissing in one event for 10 seconds. Lovapal­ooza is what they call it, which started on February 14th, 2004. They set the world record with 5,327, which was then overtaken by Hungary claiming the title with 5,700 couples. Currently, Bosnia holds the kissing record with 6,980 couples on September 1, 2007. Maybe February 14th, 2009 will be the Kiss-a-thon day for the Philippines to find 13,962 sweethearts (or more) and re-capture that title for just 10 seconds? Traversing the Orient suspects they can do more than that…

JAPAN
In the land of the Rising Sun, western conventions are turned upside down and it’s the women who give chocolates and other Valentine presents to the men. The chocolates are divided into two categories; Giri-choko and Hon­mei-choko. The first type is given to men who are either colleagues, or bosses or just friends. But the second kind is known as the love chocolate (Honmei­choko). The young ladies give this chocolate only to that man who is in her dreams and, hopefully, will be in her life forever.

Rarely are gifts free or love unconditional, and Japan is no exception! After one month, it’s the men’s turn to give gifts to women which they call White Day on March 14th. Lingerie and jewelry are the com­mon gifts that Japa­nese men give to women instead of just chocolates and marshmallows.
Both customs seem to have started with a Japanese chocolate candy manu­facturer who saw an opportunity in both the women’s desire to celebrate this day and to break with tradition a bit. The idea caught on and, seeing the op­portunity to expand sales even more, chocolate manufacturers and retailers began encouraging the giving of chocolate to both men whom the women were attracted to romantically as well as other men in their lives.

THAILAND
Although it is not a traditional Thai holiday, Valentine’s Day is celebrated around Thailand all the same…any excuse for a party and yet more smiles! Perhaps the most outlandish celebration is the mass underwater wedding ceremony held in Trang province in southern Thailand. Every year on Feb 14, couples get to say “I do” and tie their love knot underwater.

In the northern province of Lampang Thais celebrate their love afair with their favorite animal by putting on a feast for elephants. The world’s largest toke tables — a round table usually less than a meter across — are piled high with fowers, bananas, sugar cane and other elephant  favorites, then the big beasts tuckin. However, not even elephants experience  unconditional love…afterwards they give thanks for the food by playing music, marketing their own paintings, and marching on parade for the onlookers!

KOREA
The roots of this particular celebration in Japan and Korea go back to the decade following the end  of World War  II.  Obviously,  the  postwar  American  occupation  of  Japan,  along with  the Korean War and  the stationing of American troops in that nation since the start of that war, played a part in introducing the holiday to these nations.

Korea follows similar traditions to Japan on February 14th and March 14th, though strictly speaking, a Korean woman has the luxury of actually choos­ing her own gift. However, not forgetting the singletons, for those young people who have no particular romantic partner the Koreans have set aside yet another date – April 14th. Also known as “Black Day” on this auspicious occasion, love-minded individuals get together and celebrate their love affair with Jajang noodles, which are black in color.

In South Korea, there is Pepero Day, celebrated on November 11, when young couples give each other romantic gifts, in particular a long, choco­late cookie named Pepero. The date ‘11/11’ is intended to resemble the long shape of the cookie.

CHINA
In China, it’s common practice for the man to give chocolate, flowers or both to the woman that he loves. There are many versions of the origins of Chinese Valentine’s Day, and many are clouded by history and lore, but the commonly acknowledged Chinese culture shows preference to an older observance related to lovers called “The Night of Sevens”.

According to the legend, the Cowherd star and the Weaver Maid star are normally separated by the milky way (river) but are allowed to meet by crossing it on the 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese calendar (celebrated in the western calendar during the month of Au­gust). This is known as Qi Qiao Jie, or Chinese Valentine’s Day, and is
devoted to romance.

TAIWAN
Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Taiwan on Feb 14, but couples are given a second chance of celebration by observing the Chinese Valentine’s Day on August 7th. Men buy chocolates and flowers, but to be sure of sending the right signals, according to Taiwanese tradition, the color and number of Valentine’s roses holds much significance. For example, one red rose means “an only love,” 11 roses means “a favorite,” 99 roses means “forever,” and 108 roses means “marry me.”

Whether you are receiving special chocolates or kissing for at least 10 sec­onds above or under water on February 14th, buying lingerie and jewelry on March 14th, chomping on black noodles April 14th or contemplating the number and color of roses on August 7th, from the bottom of our heart, Traversing the Orient wishes you a very happy love celebration!

Published by Traversing The Orient Magazine. You want to make an online travel business? Please go to www.web.com.

All You Need Is Love

Does the blood of innocent people stain your tee shirt? Most of us think of buying counterfeit goods -DVD’s, jeans, handbags, polo shirts
-as victimless crimes. Victimless? Terrorists selling counterfeit tee
shirts helped finance the 1993 bombing of the New York World Trade Center that injured 1,042, killed six, and trapped 17 kindergartners between the 35th and 36th floors for five hours.

Counterfeiting is not victimless or a new crime. China, today considered the capital of counterfeit goods, first obtained this dubious recognition in the 17 century when Domingo Nav­arette, a Spanish priest, observed, “The Chinese are very in­genious at imitation. They have imitated to perfection what­soever they have seen brought out of Europe.”

And while China continues to lead in the manufacture of much that is coun­terfeit, few countries escape the degradation of its markets, the corruption of its civil servants, the extension of its criminal class and the contempt from the international business community that the counterfeiting industry leaves in its wake.

Counterfeiting is big business. Yearly, counterfeit goods take 600 to 700 bil­lion dollars from the world market. Additional government revenue from taxes, duties, and tariffs are also lost. Dig deeper and you will discover more nefarious and overtly sinister aspects of the counterfeiting industry. We will take a brief look at these malignant tumors forged by the cancerous cells of counterfeiting and the destruction that these tentacles are causing. Then, let us determine if we need to rethink our attitude toward counterfeit shirts.

Why has counterfeiting become such a big business and a worldwide prob­lem? While not new, confluences of events during the past thirty or so years have produced the fertile field for the counterfeiter to plow cotton into dol­lars. The tee shirt, once a lowly undergarment or an item worn by thugs or rebellious youth epitomized by Marlon Brando and James Dean, became a status item by dropping a cheap logo on it and hoisting the price. Put a horse on the standard golf shirt and add 40 bucks. Take some canvas and saturate it in LV initials, shape it into a handbag, display it clutched by the rich and famous in a glitzy ad setting, and they line the Champs Elysees throwing money at the clerks to clutch their own Louis Vuitton bag.

While the profit margins were immense, the manufactures of these luxury goods further increased their earnings by moving the manufacturing to China, Southeast Asia and other developing countries where cheap labor was readily available. They found the labor, built the plant, but neglected the Intellectual Property rights that remained on the shelves in their home countries.

At the same time, a technological revolution turned delicate workmanship into a commodity that anyone could copy. And as the world began to see these luxury products designed for the rich and famous, the envious hoi polloi clamored for their share of the material glamour. Counterfeiting gave posh to peasants. Without concern for IP rights entrepreneurs with dubious ethics filled the demand with cheap knock-offs.

To understand and inspect the talent of the counterfeiter, I visited the pri­vate, by appointment only Museum of Counterfeit Goods at the prestigious law offices of Tilleke & Gibbins International Ltd in central Bangkok.

My hosts, Varunee Ratchatapattanakul and Areeya Ratanayu showed me some of the 1500 pieces of goods infringing on trademark and copyright. Largely, they explained, the desire for counterfeit goods is simply the force of the market. People want brand name or status goods. Counterfeiting al­lows everyone to acquire the patina of wealth and prestige without wealth or prestige.

And many people hanker to save money and are unaware that the product is counterfeit. The thrifty consumer is deceived and buys a knock off that uses lower quality material. The counterfeiter hitches a free ride on the marketing and good will established by the original producer through years of brand name advertising, marketing, research, and development. The product of­ten serves the purpose intended and costs less. Even when the consumer is aware that the product is counterfeit, price negates illegality. The consumer sees no harm.

The average person lacks understanding of intellectual property laws and fewer have concern for the economic havoc and death that uncontrolled counterfeiting can cause. It is, they believe, a law to protect the elite and make the rich richer. To these consumers a raid on a street merchant selling counterfeit Polo shirts or DVD’s hurts the average shopper. It destroys jobs and families, they believe, and puts innocent men and woman out of work.

A few years ago in Bangkok, a raid scheduled in the Photharam district to confiscate stuffed Mickey Mouse toys and other furry critters brought 1,000 people to the streets to fend off the police. The mob saw the raid as an attack on the workers of Thailand and further proof that the police protect the rich to the detriment of the poor. The government intervened, confiscated Mick­ey and friends, and closed down the manufacturing sweatshops – at least for a while. The government won the battle but lost the war as Mickey and his entourage located new production facilities and returned within a few days.

As I looked at the cases of real versus counterfeit merchandise in the Coun­terfeit Museum’s beautiful and elegant display room, I marveled at the talent and ingenuity that the counterfeiters employ to deceive, cheat, and swindle the public in their quest for illegal riches. The packaging, colors, fonts, de­sign is perfectly matched. Experts have difficultly determining a fake from the real thing. Surly these clever counterfeiters could have made a good deal of money in the legit world. Why travel the illegal and potentially dangerous route of counterfeiting?

For a simple reason: Counterfeiting provides a high return at low risk and is an easy get rich quick business. Of all illegal activities one aspires to, coun­terfeiting offers the greatest reward with the smallest downside.
While the museum is a good start to observe the real versus the fake, it is on the streets and the back alleys, the sweatshops and cruddy warehouses where the trade takes place that the whiff of evil lingers. Counterfeiting has moved into every category of product and is posing a health and safety risk of proportions unimaginable to a Silom Road tourist looking for the latest James Bond flick on DVD.

The World Health Organization believes that five to seven percent of all drugs are counterfeit. The hurt is not just the old geezer’s inability to perform due to a fake erectile dysfunction pill but a child’s pain when stricken with ma­laria after taking fake preven­tion and treatment medication and people dying from AIDS after taking fake HIV anti viral medication. Toothpaste, baby formula, and disfiguring skin lighting cream have recently made headlines, and it seems, a new item added every day.

Schneider Electric of Thailand has placed a warning on its web site and voiced concern over counterfeit electrical parts used in Thailand and Great Britain. These inferior parts can cause fires and potentially a loss of life. Enough counter­feit car parts are counterfeited and available to build a new car. Moreover, in the United States you can buy fake brakes made from grass or wood.

Thailand’s Krongthip cigarettes have lost 10 to 15 percent of market share to counterfeiters. Raids confiscated 50,000 packs coming from Cambodia, and other countries import cigarettes into Thailand by the truck­load. Even local tourist oriented companies such as Jim Thompson Silk has had their products counterfeited and sold on the streets.

What about airplanes? Sure enough. Of the 26 million parts installed each year, two percent are counterfeit according the United States Federal Avia­tion Administration; many come with fake certificates of authentication. And what about the captains aviation certificate? Something to think about while brushing your teeth with made in China toothpaste as you prepare to land after a long flight.

Next time you use the elevator in a skyscraper take a look at the brand name. Mitsubishi elevators have shown up on the counterfeit item list. And a Chi­nese company put together Yamaha motor cycles using fake parts and sold them as the real deal.

The BBC reports 49 Chinese students and one Taiwanese pupil have been expelled from Newcastle University after the certificates they used to gain entry were found to be forged. And fake student term papers, purchased on the internet, are a hot commodity.

In the counterfeiting hierarchy, the top banana is the mighty United States dollar. Crisp hundred dollar bills weave and bob in the dreams of the aggres­sive counterfeiter. And, if he is not greedy, passing a few hundred thousand dollars of counterfeit bills without being caught is very possible as technol­ogy has made the counterfeiting of money a relatively easy and inexpensive process. The problem, though, is that a counterfeiter is a crook, a crook is greedy, a greedy crook makes mistakes, and mistakes land crooks in jail. Also, security technology has made quality counterfeiting for the average do-it-yourselfer more difficult. Pass a few fake Franklins and you may stay under the radar. Pass enough funny money and land in jail.

The United States has identified counterfeit money they call “supernotes.” These bills, printed on the same cotton to linen ratio – three-quarters cotton and one-quarter linen – as the United States mint uses have quality engrav­ing considered as good if not better than the real thing. What makes the notes exceptional quality, though, comes from the printing. The counterfeit­ers used an intaglio press, an expensive, high quality technology for print­ing currency. Governments only can purchase these presses, sold by few companies. And the government that printed the junk money was North Korea. As Stephen Mihm reported on July 23, 2006 in The New York Times, “The North Koreans have denied that they are engaged in the distribution
and manufacture of counter­feits, but the evidence is over­whelming that they are,” Dan­iel Glaser, deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financ­ing and financial crimes in the Treasury Department, told me (Mihm) recently. “There’s no question of North Korea’s in­volvement.”

The North Korean govern­ment was counterfeiting Unit­ed States currency perhaps to support their own failed country or perhaps it was an attempt to undermine the stability and integrity of the United States currency. But it did not end in Korea. The sp­illover dripped and flowed into other areas with the money saturating the dealings of or­ganized crime. The magnitude and breadth of counterfeiting, exemplified in the American government’s investigation code named “Smoking Dragon, Royal Charm” was reported by Te-Ping Chen on October 19,2008 for the Center for Public Integrity. This investigation took place over many years in Los Angeles, New Jersey, and Asia and involved the Secret Service, F.B.I., U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and many other United States agencies.

Charles and May Liu emigrated to the suburbs of Washington DC in the 1980’s. They started a little business importing counterfeit cigarettes. Of the thousands of items available for counterfeiting, cigarettes may be the safest, easiest, and most lucrative. The worldwide market is large, customs agents and border patrols concentrate on drugs not cigarettes, and the profit margin is boggling. A forty-foot container holding 10 million sticks costs $125,000 to manufacturer in China. The street price in the United States is $2 million dollars.

Until 2000, the legitimate American companies of R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris dominated the market for counterfeit cigarettes. These companies conspired with organized crime to sell their own “counterfeit” cigarettes to
increase market share and plump up profits by bypassing taxes and duty. Re­ports from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists ended this practice opening up the market for the Chinese and making entrepre­neurs like the Liu’s rich.

By the time of the Liu’s arrest, they had filled the streets with one billion sticks and brought in additional petty cash by hawking counterfeit phar­maceuticals, fake $100 bills, and assorted guns, rockets, and other weapons from North Korea.

When Chinese counterfeiters mastered the technique to copy the holo­grams placed on packs to show legitimacy, the counterfeit cigarette industry rocketed. With the industry providing good jobs, it benefits the economy to protect the criminals. Reports show that the Chinese roll 200 billion cigs a year – again, 200 billion. In 2007, the United States consumed 360 billion cigarettes.

As the investigation of the Liu’s continued, the FBI kept pushing to obtain items other than cigarettes. Introduced to the Koreans, they bought super-notes at 30 cents to the dollar. A meeting arranged in Phuket at Le Meridian Hotel hatched between palm trees and all the girls they could handle for as long as they could keep going. A contract for $1 million in super-notes, 1,200 AK47s, 75 anti-tank rockets, 50 rocket launchers, and 100 machine guns with silencers was drawn up.

Exporting this stuff was easy with fake bills of lading showing low duty items such as wicker and paper products. False walls covered by these items as well as toys kept the agents at bay and the cigarettes, notes, and artillery moved into and through the Ports of Los Angeles and Newark. Other ship­ments brought in additional notes along with crystal meth, and surface-to­air missiles.

The investigation wrapped up with 59 people arrested and 87 indicted in eleven cities. It was a big haul for the government. But it only scratched the surface. These stories raise disquieting questions as to the future of counter­feiting and the influence it may have on our economy and on our govern­ments.

Traditionally, countries counterfeiting industry is a rite of passage that the economy goes through as it develops and matures. In the 1960’s it was Japan. “Made in Japan” sent ripples of chuckles through the consumer landscape while today, “Made in Japan” signifies quality and originality. In the 1970’s Hong Kong was counterfeiting central and in the 1980’s, Taiwan and South Korea took the bows. China is in the spotlight now. But that, all experts agree, will change as China, like the countries before her, develop higher end industries and improve product quality.

Counterfeiting, for years, has been like a floating crap game, rearing its de­structive allure in different spots throughout the globe and being as easy to stop or prevent as the common cold. But like the cold, its irritations subside and disappear as the country’s economic and political infrastructures ma­ture and strengthen.

Today, though, the counterfeiting industry is spreading beyond the home­grown inevitability of a passing phase. Structure and discipline, doled out by organize crime syndicates such as the Mafia and the Chinese triads, is whipping the counterfeiting industry into a lean, mean economic machine. With the force of muscle and money, counterfeiting may become not just a major source of organized crimes income flow, but serve as a way to launder money obtained through the more traditional channels of drugs, gambling, and prostitution.

For years, the Mafia in the United States and other countries has invested heavily in fortune 500 companies. It is not the desire for economic returns. The stock market, during the best of times, could not meet the Mafia’s re­turn on investment expectations. The stock market is more convenient than shoeboxes and mattresses to hide the money.

Now, counterfeiting, in the mind of the average world consumer, has achieved a gloss of respectability. Law enforcement expertise, thinned down with work on terrorism and drugs, cannot devote the staff to track down and arrest all the counterfeiters. For the crime bosses, the counterfeit industry is not only a place to make money but to hide the loot from other activities as well. Counterfeit vitamins proliferate in many countries. Why counterfeit vitamins? The pharmaceutical industry is a fine way to lauder the money made from schedule 1 street drug. Therefore, we see the illegal activity of counterfeit goods serving as a legitimate cover for organized crime’s illegal activities. We are witness an unprecedented realignment as to what is ac­ceptable in the criminal world.

Rogue governments and governments of questionable moral and ethical ve­racity should garner additional attention and concern. As North Korea’s su­per-notes demonstrate, governments have unique abilities to obtain equip­ment not available to the average citizen. Countries without a coordinated effort to cause commercial market disruption, countries with favorable re­lations with trading partners, may harbor individuals seeking riches from the underworld. A country may discover the criminally inclined at all gov­ernment levels who lack proper supervision or accountability going rogue. Latching on to a crime syndicate or an unscrupulous manufacturer, a single minister or official could undermine a countries good intentioned efforts to police counterfeiters and may inadvertently implicate a country in corrup­tion and economic destabilization schemes.

The least expected source but, at the same time, the most obvious source of counterfeit goods are the legitimate companies themselves. With an at­titude of “if you can’t beat em, join em” we see how easily a manufacturer could link with organized crime and disrupt the competitive marketplace by undercutting prices and monopolizing market share. With a triumvirate of a crime syndicate, manufacturer, and government, a shattering economic force could be unleashed into the marketplace culminating with high priced and inferior products.

Counterfeiting has the potential to become a destabilizing agent in a global market place. The United States government considers a hostile government counterfeiting its currency as an act of war. The simple act of counterfeiting a logo tee shirt may involve terrorism, economic blackmail, and usurping our human rights.

We began by asking the question if your tee shirt is blood stained. If you are a regular purchaser of counterfeit merchandise, perhaps now you may ask yourself how much despair, destruction, and death do you support?

Museum of Counterfeit Goods
64 Soi Tonson, Ploenchit Road T. 02 263 7700
www.tillekeandgibbins.com
By appointment only BTS Chit Lom

Condemn it or not forgery is a huge draw for some. In 1989,
the law firm Tilleke & Gibbons decided to convert collected
fake goods into educational tools for students. An entertain ing site from Toblerone chocolate bars to belly button rings, from anti-malarial tablets to fake MSG 1,500 pieces are neatly laid out, forgeries next to the originals.

Published by Traversing The Orient Magazine. You want to make an online travel business? Please go to www.web.com.

Counterfeit

The ‘blackberry–life’ is getting more unfulfilling for many people, and on many levels: busi­ness strains lead to emotional, mind, physical and spiritual ill health. Overload, physical exer­tion, decreased creativity, feeling trapped are within the common symptoms. As people are becoming aware of this, Spas and wellbeing centres are responding by offering refuge and healing in the form of solution-driven retreats and treatments. When it comes to day-to-day management, we all know its hard to teach an old dog new tricks; enter Revitalite.

Revitalite is the brainchild of Dr. Pitchit Suvanprakorn M.D. but as with every suc­cessful practice there is a team of motivated individuals working together to make real his vision.

The doctors and dreamweavers behind Revitalite are the health industry’s answer to a financial portfolio manager. Each patient is treated as an individual, with a tailor made path destined for optimal well-being, hence it is called a Revitalite Healthy Life Management programme.

With the ongoing socio-cultural and psychological changes in our modern society health and wellbeing must be redefined, as resident house doctor Sorawut Khoomkrongtham, MD explained to me. For example, weight management is more about lifestyle modification than fat-busting treat­ments and taking slimming drugs. “If you can’t change unhealthy habits, you can’t effectively control your weight,” he says. “But it doesn’t happen overnight and you have to become focussed on weight loss for health rather than beauty.”

The approach at Revitalite is that health today is more than the absence of diseases. It is more than the physiological normality in terms of weight, blood pressure and cholesterol. It is about the acceptance of the rules of nature. It is about the deeper understanding of the interference of body and spirit. It is about strategies to balance emotions, work and leisure, social interactions and personal desires. Health today is about life.

If you can’t manage life you can’t manage health, and this is where Revitalite is at the forefront of the pioneers in the wellness industry today. For Spas and wellbeing centres of the future it won’t be enough to provide customers with medically correct know-how. It will be crucial to deliver strategies for the actual ‘do-how.’ The do-how is the motivational bridge between know­how and change.

In order to deliver motivation one has to deliver sense. People who under­stand why to change will adopt change. This way change becomes a positive strategy for their very personal goals. People will want to change. Not con­sidering this process of delivering sense leads to unsuccessful pseudo-strate­gies as for example ‘making a diet.’ These are fights against one’s own body and usually end in failure and frustration. Modern health management is life management.

The objective is to merge the beauty and healthy living aspects together, re­placing the original process of health checking at a hospital or repair and enhance appearance by cosmetic surgery, which conveys a rapid result in a short period of time. These advanced technologies lack stability and longev­ity. So just how does Revitalite achieve an authentic approach to wellness so that clients can experience not just pampering but something that can be a turning point in their life?

After walking into Rivitalite each person (a breathing, walking, life portfo­lio) begins by meeting Sorawut Khoomkrongtham, MD. Trained in Thailand and the USA, Dr. Sorawut examines the patient’s Body Mass Index (BMI) reading. BMI, is a new term to most people, however, it is the measurement of choice for many physicians and researchers studying obesity. BMI uses a math­ematical formula that takes into account both a person’s height and weight to gauge total body fat, mineral and protein in adults. BMI equals a person’s weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. (BMI=kg/m2).

This is one of the most accurate ways to determine when extra pounds translate into health risks. Someone with a BMI of 26 to 27 is about 20 percent over­weight, which is generally believed to carry moderate health risks. A BMI of 30 and higher is considered obese. The higher the BMI, the greater is the risk of developing additional health problems.

Heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure are all linked to being over­weight. A BMI of 30 and over increases the risk of death from any cause by 50 to 150 percent, according to some estimates. According to health experts, people who are overweight but have no other health risk factors (such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure) should eat healthier and exercise to keep from gaining additional weight.

“Determining the BMI value and evaluating body composition analysis can help set weight management objectives, like target weight, fat and muscle con­trol,” explains Dr Sorawut. “Our patients receive holistic advice on diet, exercise to build muscle strength and behavioural modification to achieve these goals.”

This brings us on to the second port of call at Revitalite – the resident nutrition­ist. Working together with the medical doctor, the nutritionist will advise di­etary changes relevant to the individual, based on hidden allergies, metabolism reactions etc. and align this with a new weekly shopping list, menu and even cooking lessons at the cooking school on the second floor of their premises. Next to the cooking room awaits the private trainer with a friendly smile in the small but well equipped gym.

Blending a mixture of health, beauty and longevity, a wellness portfolio is tailor-made for an individual’s needs with three portfolio managers working together to ensure optimal overall body care. Over the last three years, the convergence of these industries – medicine, spa and wellness – has given rise to medispas and in one stroke redefined the landscape of medical tourism. People travel from far and wide to Asia in search of change. At Revitalite, that change management is available on the doorstep as a constant watch­dog, if need be.

With an array of new options, centres such as Revitalite have the makings of being a major cornerstone of medical tourism of the future and the trend looks set to stay as consumers want more holistic/alternative therapies in their treatment programmes. The holistic modality at this institution comes to a peak in the practise of Doljit, a mind-tapping technique.

While everyone knows that it’s about sticking to a healthy diet, not many can follow this simple prescription, when their mind is set on enjoying a plate of khao kha moo (rice with pork knuckle) followed by two scoops of chocolate-chip ice cream. An additional approach in weight management, the Doljit technique is a mind strengthening therapy to help promote posi­tive behaviour.

“Say, you enjoy fried food, the aim of the Doljit technique is to make you bored of fried chicken,” explains Dr. Sorawut. “The technique stimulates your sub-conscious while your body is at its most relaxed condition through environmental therapy, with light, sound and aroma selected by the patient. The input of positive information during the treatment will consequentially lead to behavioural change.”

First, a psychologist will perform the Doljit technique, thereafter it’s a mat­ter of DIY, and patients have to self-hypnotise daily, until they adopt healthy habits. Anyone familiar with meditation will be able to relate to this.

Weight control is thus very much a DIY project and can start with positive thinking, but more often than not, we all need someone watching over us to make sure we are of a balanced body and mind.

The minds behind and within Revitalite recognise that true wellbeing can only be achieved when there is harmony between mind, body and soul. Taking into account the convergence of contrasting components – holistic, medical and tradition – when poised to think about investing in one’s health, you may wonder what the wellness centre of the future will look like. Regard­less of whether you chose to inspire change in your own portfolio called ‘life’ now or tomorrow, it is very important that when creating wellness packages all components such as diet, lifestyle, environment and mental, emotional and spiritual are given due consideration.

Revitialite in Bangkok are among the pioneers helping us manage our personal health portfolio for life.

Published by Traversing The Orient Magazine. You want to make an online travel business? Please go to www.web.com.

A Portfolio For Life

Karl Kaiser, the studious, Austrian-born chemist, and Donald Ziraldo, the young  Italian Canadian agriculture graduate founded Inniskillin Wines on 31st July 1975 and were granted the frst winery  license  in Ontario, Canada since prohibition. They believed  that Inniskillin was not so much bound by tradition as  inspired by  it. Their frst wines were made  in  the unglamorous setting of a converted packing shed at the Ziraldo family nursery, but despite everything, the wines were excellent!

Ziraldo and Kaiser received a great deal of attention  for  their quality  wines. The  Canadian  winter  of  1984  was  extremely harsh  but with  the  pain Kaiser made  his  frst  Ice Wine — a pivotal point for Inniskillin. In 1991 their 1989 Inniskillin Vidal won Grand Prix d’Honeur at Vinexpo  in Bordeaux. That caught  the  attention of Hugo  Johnson, Editor  of The World Atlas of Wine who wrote “Teir real break has been the discovery that IceWine comes naturally to them, the best of astounding luscious freshness.”

This was the turning point for Canadian Wine; it was now on the map. Although the region experiences some of the world’s harshest winters it sits on the 43rd parallel, a latitude that is actually south of Burgundy and Bordeaux. It’s also located just a 20 minute drive from Niagara Falls making it a popular tourist attraction.
Niagara’s mineral-rich soils are the result of melting glaciers that lef behind large and varied deposits of gravel, sand and clay. Te warming infuence of Lake Ontario and the Niagara River give the region temperatures during the fruit-ripening phase that are moderate and consistent. Wines from Niagara,
along with cooler climate regions are characteristically higher in acids and highly aromatic. Tese high acids result in wines with longer natural aging potential.

For someone to suggest to the average winemaker that he should leave his grapes on  the vine until they are  frozen and  then  to wait until  the second or third day to harvest, he would think they were crazy. But that is how ice wine is made and this torturous winemaking technique may never have been taken  seriously had  they not had  the unexpected  success at Vinexpo. The laws controlling ice-wine making are very strict. The vines must be credited Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA). Due to the long hang time on the vine the grapes develop  intense favours and aromas, and  the wines  they make are complex, rich and luscious on the palate, balanced with brilliant acidity.

The grapes are harvested at  the depth of Canada’s crisp winter;  the grapes must be naturally frozen and picked when the temperature drops to -10ºC. What makes the wine so precious is that only a few drops of precious nectar can be extracted from each bunch. Tis is a temperature reversal of the sun-dried wine making process of Amaronne in Italy.

Let’s Taste the Wine

Vidal
This is an aromatic and thick skinned grape that arrived from France in 1920’s and is one of the few strong enough to survive the Canadian winter. It’s a long and steady ripener with rich, full aromas and flavours balanced by a firm acidity.  Vidal Ice-wine is made in three distinct styles. Vidal Ice Wine is non-oaked and  boasts  of  luscious  tropical fruit flavours, ranging from mango to lychee to apricot. When aged in Canada these flavours are enhanced by creamy vanilla and caramel notes. Sparkling Ice-wine has delicious aromas of  apricot, pear, nectarine, citrus and ginger, smoothly polished in a dazzling and delicately effervescent finish.

Riesling
One of the world’s great “noble” varieties, this cool weather grape with high acidity is a natural for the making of ice-wine. In the glass the wine has a nice straw yellow colour. As an ice-wine there aren’t the petrol aromas on the nose that are usually typical of Riesling; rather that of ripe peach and other stone fruits. Then in the mouth we discover classic Riesling qualities of elegant citrus favours such as fresh lime and grapefruit, as well as ripe orchard fruit tones of apricot and peach. It is also characterized by a slight mineral edge. The level of residual sugar is much higher than we would fnd in a Chateau d’Yquem, the highest classifed Sauternes from Bordeaux, yet this is beautifully balanced but an equal level of acidity.

Cabernet Franc
It’s extremely difficult to make a red ice-wine and this wine is made in limited quantities. In the glass we discover a unique and brilliant red-coloured ice-wine. There’s an abundance of candied red berry aromas on the nose and the savoury essence of fresh strawberries and cream on the palate with a touch of raisin in the finish.

Serving properly chilled is the key to obtain the right acidity balance. Once a bottle has been opened it can be kept in the refrigerator for three weeks. A luxury premium wine that is outrageously expensive. A bottle goes a long way as one only needs to drink a small quantity to taste gold.

Published by Traversing The Orient Magazine. You want to make an online travel business? Please go to www.web.com.

Grapes Frozen on the Vine