PENDOWN

Experiential travel stories from India and 31 other countries!

Golf Ambassador, Thailand and Vani Kapoor

 

 

Honestly, I do not follow many sports and Golf is one of them. But when I met the young and dynamic, Ms. Vani Kapoor at the Thailand Golf Ambassador launch this Thursday in New Delhi, I made a promise to myself to read and learn little things about the sport. By the night I had picked on some of the terminology already, golf club, strokes, swings, sweet-spot and some playing mechanisms too like, driving, approaching, chipping, putting and hitting. That was my learning for the day but for you I have some travel inspiration to share. We have all known Thailand as the land of pampering spa, lots of shopping, beautiful temples and lots of Thai food but with this post, we will discover it as a golfing destination.

 

 

Indian Golfer, Vani Kapoor, Thailand, Golf Ambassador
Thailand Golf Ambassador

 

 

I had the above invite to myself and thus I landed at the Imperial New Delhi to cover the event and savor the Thai lunch. Thailand is home to world class golf courses at magnificent locations and for past few years, it has been promoting itself as a golfing paradise. No doubt, I do not follow Golf but that does not mean I do not love Thailand. It is one of the most hospitable countries that I have been to and I have had a beautiful experience in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. No less, whenever they appoint Indian sport players as their brand ambassadors, they not only send out a great message but also strengthen their bond with India. No less, it is a great motivation to the players too. The memories from the last event are still fresh in my mind, where they had chosen our boxing champion ‘Mary Kom’ as the Muay Thai Brand Ambassador. 

 

 

Golf Paradise, Thailand, Golfing destination, Travel blogger
Amazing Thailand- I never miss to catch the smiley logo!

 

 

At the venue, I met a few friends from the TAT New Delhi team and headed inside the room to take my seat. It was a short and sweet event which lasted not more than thirty minutes. Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor took to the dais and greeted the media and the attendees. He proudly spoke about Thailand and its beauty and soon revealed Vani Kapoor’s name as the Golf Ambassador. No less, it was a proud moment to see a young girl bring laurels to the country. The number one female golfer of India spoke a few lines about her golfing career and her aim for 2016. The energetic and the passionate golfer spoke about Thailand and about her goal of working towards her world ranking.  

 

 

Lady golfer, Indian, Vani Kapoor, Thailand
Ms. Vani Kapoor , currently India’s number 1 lady golfer.

 

 

Vani has played golf in Thailand and thus she was the right person to talk about it. She said that Thailand could be called a golfing paradise because it provides diversity in the golf courses from the hills in the north to beautiful courses by the beach in the south. In fact there we also learnt that some of the leading professionals like Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman have developed some of the Thai golf courses.

 

 

Golf club, Golfer, Vani Kapoor, India, Thailand
Golfer Vani Kapoor and TAT governor swing the club.

 

Once, the announcement was made, the TAT Governor not only wished Vani great success but also learnt to swing the golf club. The event was followed by Thai lunch. I was looking forward to it because I love ‘Raw Papaya Salad’ and ‘Mango with Sticky Rice’ from Thailand. Also not many places in Delhi offer authentic Thai but Spice Route at The Imperial in the capital definitely has a place in the list and it serves one of the best Pan Asian food. As I take you through a pictorial treat, I must insist the food was both authentic and amazing. 

 

 

Golf Kit
I got a shot of the Golf Kit gifted to the lady golfer

 

 

At the lunch, it was wonderful connecting with fellow travel bloggers as well as with Vani Kapoor. It was inspiring to hear the young girl talk about her journey so far. She looked super charged and focused and I could see a great player in her. We all know that golf is a game that is very taxing for the muscles. She told us about her fitness regime but she also revealed that she has no personal trainer for herself. In Gurgaon, she plays at DLF but definitely maintained the stand that Thailand has really great golf courses. In all that small time I spent with her, I would definitely point out that she threw no tantrums about herself and seemed very polite and down to earth. Overall, it was a short and sweet event that will always bring beautiful memories whenever and wherever Vani Kapoor will climb ladders of success. Wishing her lots of success.

 

 

Thai Lunch:  Let the pictures do the talking.

 

 

Fruit Carving,Thailand, Thai food, Imperial Delhi, Spice route
Fruit Carving-Thailand

 

 

Thai Salad, Thai fruit, Thailand
Pomelo Salad

 

 

The Raw Papaya Salad, Papaya, Salad, Thai lunch
The Raw Papaya Salad

 

 

Touhu Lod- Silky bean curd
Touhu Lod- Silky bean curd

 

 

Crispy fillet of sole, Thai lunch, Imperial
Crispy fillet of sole

 

 

Phad pak- Wok fried assorted vegetables
Phad pak- Wok fried assorted vegetables

 

 

Phad Thai Chae- Pad Thai Veg Noodles-Imperial Delhi-Thai lunch
Phad Thai Chae- Pad Thai Veg Noodles-Imperial Delhi-Thai lunch

 

 

 

Another Thai delicacy at Imperial, New Delhi
Another Thai delicacy at Imperial, New Delhi

 

 

Raise a toast
Raise a toast

 

 

I returned home with these lovely booklets. I have been to Chiang Mai but my feet are itching to visit rest of the beautiful places. Have you been to Thailand? What are the places that you are looking forward to this year?

 

 

Thailand-Krabi-Phuket-Chiang Mai and more
Thailand and places to travel in there!

 

 

Read more on my THAILAND visit here!!

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.