Guide book to give Mekong a push

Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam have joined forces to publish a 140-page guide book on responsible tourism attractions and activities in their respective destinations. It will be out by the end of the year.
Up to 30 activities, attractions and outlets in each country will be profiled in the guide book, which is being supported by the Asian Development Bank.
Latest PATA figures show tourism arrivals to-date into Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are growing at a rate of 22 per cent, 20 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.
For information about obtaining copies, contact the Mekong Tourism Development Project team leader, Mr. Steven Schipani, at [email protected].

Journey to the Heart of Europe

Part 3 - The enduring beauty of Germany’s wine regions

Elfi Seitz
Even the longest journey begins and indeed ends, with a single step. Our journey into the heartland of this great nation had added a dream-like quality to our half-attended lives. How could we ever think of leaving? How could we ever consider not returning? Alas, all things must pass, but before our hearts and minds considered departure and the reality of another kind of beauty - returning home to Thailand - there remained an ever-decreasing number of wineries and companies to visit, who had hitherto not had the dubious pleasure of our company.

Our delightful tour guide at Ahrweiler.
From the (in fact exceedingly good) Bad Duerkheim we travelled to (the equally excelling) Bad Neuenahr, an exquisite spa town and the home of Apollinaris and their famous mineral water, almost sweet with purity. I felt I was beginning to understand the artistry of the factory process; so grand, so industrial, yet producing a product so delicate and fine. Technology and engineering become one. Thirsty work as ever, as another winery beckoned: the Koerten winery in Ahrweiler. A good square meal, with divine knuckle, potato and sauerkraut suited the good, strong wines from this region. It was tempting to request prolonging our exposure to an extensive wine vault, welcome respite as it was from the unforgiving pace and brimful of the sanguine odours of local forests and soil.

Wolfgang Hehnle, owner of Deutzerhof pours a glass of wine for Hans Peter Müller, consul of Congo.
Ahrweiler has a marvellous, unspoilt old town centre, where Hansel and Gretel might have felt very much at home. The funniest town guide in Germany regaled us with a thousand funnies whilst imbuing us with all the knowledge one could wish for related to this small but perfect town. A gentle stroll along the banks of the river Ahr, from whence the most glorious view of the ancient Ahrweiler fort could be romantically enjoyed, was followed by our most reluctant departure for the Mayschoss wine-grower’s association. The necessities of scheduling, I’m afraid, but all was not lost, as we found ourselves in one of the biggest and certainly the oldest wine cellar in Germany.

Unique instruments are displayed at the Mayschoss wihe cellars.
The viniculture museum, within the walls of the estate, expanded our already burgeoning understanding of what makes this particular region of Germany so unique. Hundreds of years of experience has been handed down, often through families and the blend of tradition, innovation and technological proficiency is hard to match anywhere in the world. Later, Wolfgang Hehnle, our host at the Deutzerhof winery, whilst peppering and pampering us with snacks, explained the great sense of pride that the local vintners feel in their produce. The attention to detail is tangible in the taste of their wines, although I had long since begun to realise that my enjoyment and understanding was hugely increased by our hosts’ detailed explanation of the process from conception to production.
Our last night then, a time for reflection, a time for celebration and time to let loose a little. What better place to go than a casino where one lucky lady among our number won more than 500 euros! With heavy hearts and light wallets, we reluctantly packed our belongings at the “Giffels Goldener Anker” Ringhotel in Bad Neuenahr, in preparation for our trip to Duesseldorf in the early hours of the morning. The pale blue light of dawn was our entrance into the last day of our trip to Germany. But our tour was not over yet; eyes twinkled open in awe at the vast LTU hangar at Duesseldorf airport, where the vice-president explained everything and more of interest and would you credit it, presented us with some thoroughly unearned gifts before guiding us to the aircraft that was to carry us to Munich.
It was also time to bid farewell to Dr Cerny, who waved a fond farewell through his chauffeured Mercedes window as he moved serenely off towards Ludwigsburg and back to the gentility of the wine regions.
The team at the LTU operation centre, vice-president of communications Marco Dadomo, head of sales management Mike Rudolf and chief press officer Pierre de la Motte made the last hours of our stay most pleasant, if indulgent ones and Munich welcomed us with skies of blue and white. Airport deputies Hans Joachim Klose, fresh from Suvarnabhumi, and Werner Hoesler insisted that one last traditional German meal at the Munich airport in-house beer garden be our final flourish. The promise of LTU business class mitigated many painful goodbyes. Indeed for us and our plethora of new friends, there could be none, only ‘Auf Wiedersehen’. As Bangkok swam into view, a deep breath signalled that the dream was over. “Until next year,” I told myself, “Until next year.”

A picture of the quaint narrow alleys in Old City of Ahrweiler.

We were taken on a most interesting tour of the LTU hangar in Düsseldorf.