As we see more and more women moving out of the shadows of their male counterparts taking decisions for their lives and coming into their own, we also see them not only taking charge of their lives but also their vacations.  The last decade has seen a greater number of women taking holidays either alone or in all-women groups.  In fact, the numbers have reached such amazing levels that they have been noticed by tourism departments of various countries, one of them being Thailand.

On 6^th May 2017, the tourism arm of the Thai government – Amazing Thailand, hosted an all- ladies’ event at the Oberoi Grand hotel in Kolkata, inviting women from all walks of life to present to them the wide variety of options available for women traveling alone, in groups or for those who wished to host their bachelorette parties at an exotic location.

The ladies were offered a welcome drink on arrival and to help them ease into the mood of the evening, they were treated to a most relaxing and comforting neck, shoulder and arm massage which was organized by the Thai Spa.  Our Thai hosts were also preparing fresh traditional Thai snacks, the kind the author has not seen in Kolkata before.

Touted as a safe destination for women, Thailand also offers the 3 ‘S’es – sun, sand and shopping amidst exotic natural surroundings in beautiful locations.  The six main holiday destinations are Bangkok, Krabi, Pattaya, Phuket, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui.  Besides the beaches, the sun, sight-seeing and the spectacular shows, Thai tourism has also organized unique events especially to attract their lady clientele.  These include trips to the flower market, umbrella painting, batik work, cooking lessons and cocktail preparation sessions, besides the numerous other activities and tourist attractions already on offer.

The enjoyable and relaxing evening was crowned by a typical Thai dinner and traditional sticky rice cooked in coconut milk as one of the desserts.  It certainly was a pleasure to be transported to the luxury and pleasures of a Thai vacation, even if only briefly, but it did leave us yearning for the real thing.

As we see more and more women moving out of the shadows of their male counterparts taking decisions for their lives and coming into their own, we also see them not only taking charge of their lives but also their vacations.  The last decade has seen a greater number of women taking holidays either alone or in all-wo