THE JOY OF TRAVEL

       ML Kalyakorn Kasemsri loves the adventure of seeing the world, and she wants
       to share it By Panpimol Krishnamra
       "I'm independent,down-to-earth,easy-going and I love to eat street food as long as it tastes good
       ML Kalyakorn Kasemsri, or Khem, whizzed through the door looking bright, energetic and amiable as always. Appearing relaxed in jeans and a T-shirt, the founder of the online magazine Worldtraveljoy.com was dressed as she often is on her working jaunts, minus the platform heels, of course.
       Perhaps the healthy glow comes from her lifestyle. The 36-year-old said:"I enjoy healthy living. It was how my mother raised me. I always eat fruit and vegetables. I don't drink sodas and coffee, but I do drink tea occasionally."
       ML Kalyakorn also enjoys exercising,but due to her schedule she chooses sports she can do alone, such as swimming and jogging. She works out for no less that two hours at a time, four times per week.
       During our interview it was apparent that ML Kalyakorn wanted to get one thing off her chest - her annoyance that some people pigeon-hole her in the category of "high-society person".
       "My ML title is an image, and I was born with it. I'm not at all snobbish. I love socialising and am very approachable and friendly. I'm independent, down-to-earth,easy-going and I love to eat street food as long as it tastes good," she said.
       Known for her adventurous spirit and active style, it was a fitting decision to launch the online travel magazine.
       "I dare say that it's Thailand's first and only bilingual online travel magazine,"she said.
       Worldtraveljoy.com is divided into four sections - where to go, where to eat,photo album and VDO clips. The website provides interesting and valuable information on a number of attractive travel destinations, all based on ML Kalyakorn's personal experiences. Among the travel tips are recommended hotels and restaurants, including their signature dishes.
       "I try to be neutral about my recommendations. I give both positives and negatives, because people have different tastes."
       The site has a photo album of each destination, as well as video clips showing highlights of each trip, such as the underwater world during a diving trip.
       ML Kalyakorn tries to make Worldtraveljoy.com a full-circuit information centre on travel. She explained:"The good thing about my website is that the videos serve as an archive that people can view all the time. Whenever anyone wants to go somewhere, they can always come visit my website. The information will always be there."
       She also organises first-class tour packages upon request. She explained:"You know how some people like their privacy and like to travel without a guide? So they ask me to arrange an itinerary for them. I give recommendations on accommodation,where to dine, what to do and more."
       The destinations she chooses to visit tend to be exotic."There are many things that people often overlook. I have a close group of friends that I travel with, but usually I'm very independent and often do things by myself," said the oldest of three siblings.
       "I am very adventurous and outrageous all the time," she confessed."Whenever I go diving, I always like to stay under longer than perhaps I should. In Malaysia, I was excited by the mating nudibranch, or sea slugs. I was taking pictures of them and I was separated from my diving group. I happened onto a rope and grabbed it because I knew it would lead me to the boat.But then it ripped, and that really scared me.
       "The current was very strong, and the visibility was terrible.
       "I couldn't even see my own hands under the water. It was very deep in the ocean. I was running out of oxygen and wanted to ascend right up, but I was afraid that my lungs would burst. It was the longest three minutes of my entire life. When I finally got to the surface I blew the whistle,but there was no boat in sight.
       "It's a good thing I wore a bright pink pair of fins. I took them off and started waving them around. It was then that the boat saw me and came to pick me up."
       She was rebellious as a 13-year-old, the leader of a gang at her Australian boarding school. Once she ordered her friends to catch some cockroaches and put them under the housemistress' pillow. Chaos ensued, she recalled.
       There is a much more feminine side to ML Kalyakorn, however. She loves to cook.Whenever she goes abroad she heads to a supermarket to buy cooking utensils and ingredients to bring back home.
       You wouldn't know it by her figure, but she also loves to eat. Her strenuous exercise regime keeps her slim.
       "I usually go on a trip once a month,"she said."I'm a pretty simple person. I wear jeans, T-shirt and sneakers on trips,but when I attend social functions in Thailand I put on a dress. I don't really have a fixed style. I like variety. This is why I can't work in an office."
       It's easy to see that her travels have left a deep impression. She said enthusiastically:"Oh, some countries are so peaceful! For instance, Tibet is a very peaceful country and people are content with what they have. You can totally feel the difference between people that live on the flat land and those up in the mountains. Those who live in the mountains are surrounded by nature, trees, blue sky and serenity.There's no sound of car engines or smell of exhaust pipes."
       As for Thailand, Krabi is often her choice for the scenic beach and ocean. She's been nine times.
       Another of her passions is design, which she studied at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom."When I stay at a hotel I love looking at its unique architecture and study its origin and history."
       She is a shareholder in Nama Company,a design business whose name translates to "raw" in Japanese.
       It means clean and simple, which equates to the company's style of work, ML Kalyakorn explained.
       Her role is in account management,meeting clients and throwing in ideas.
       "A lot of my input comes from my travelling, from the architecture and designs that I have seen. My travels turn into great ideas that I can present to my clients."