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Published on November 4, 2007

"The slow life concept does not mean we do everything at a slow speed as misunderstood by some people," said Varisara Leeteerakul, owner of the 20-room Phranakorn Nornlen Hotel on Teves Road.

"Instead, we aim to slow our pace down to that of nature, like dancing to Mother Nature's rhythm, as a fast-paced lifestyle is harmful in many respects."

"For instance, fast food can harm our health while leading a hectic and hurried life makes many people unhappy. My husband and I believe that a slow life is much better, and we put that lifestyle into this hotel as an alternative for those who want to change their pace of life at least for awhile.

"We try to slow down our guests once they're here so that they can enjoy a more ordinary life closer to nature. We serve only organic and naturally grown products.

"Breakfast is included in the room rate and we serve neither lunch nor dinner since we want our guests to try good restaurants around the community.

"We have no TV but light and soft music is in the surroundings plus 24/7 Internet access.

"We sell no tour service but will help our guests to plan their trips around town, as we prefer to treat them like our friends," she said.

The Phranakorn Nornlen Hotel is decorated in a traditional Thai design, using mostly locally produced materials.

Over the past two years, the hotel has gained popularity via word of mouth spread by repeat guests as well as the Internet.

"Happy guests often post their comments on the Net, and we recently found we're ranked the fourth most popular among a total of 323 hotels around the world in a popularity index at www.tripadvisor.com," she said.

Life in the slow lane is also evident at the 11 Gallery and Suk Spa on Bangkok's Sukhumvit Soi 11, where owner Thanwat Suwinai Puksabenja said the concept means a rural lifestyle for the restaurant.

"Here the taste is very rural Thai and food is served in a pinto [carrier], with lots of banana leaves used for both packaging and decoration. Our service staff do not wear Thai silk like many in luxury restaurants but simple cotton Thai garb as seen in rural Thailand during King Rama V and King Rama VI.

"We decorated our place in an old rural Thai style. No luxury, so as to reflect the real atmosphere of rural Thailand. We want to highlight Thai culture in the sense that the style is simple and the pace is natural.

"Even though the place is in the middle of a noisy and chaotic tourist area, visitors usually cool down and feel no hurry. That's the point," he said.

After succeeding with the restaurant, Thanwat expanded into the spa business with a similar rural Thai concept, using traditional local medicinal herbs.

For Noble Development, life in the slow lane is reflected in its new project, called Noble Nano, which claims to be a residence in the frantic city that offers a peaceful countryside atmosphere.

President Thongchai Busrapan said the project was undertaken to fill the needs of high-end customers, as people want live in homes with space but also want to be close to their work place in town.

"They simply want peace of life in the busy area. Yes, it's contradictory but we managed to come up with a place next to the Skytrain station on Pattanakarn Road in a design that highlights a back-to-basics lifestyle," he said.

The project is aimed at young families or singles earning Bt30,000-Bt70,000 per month.

Tassanee Naen-udon of the Consumers Foundation said the difficulty in adopting life in the slow lane stems from attitude.

"First we have to realise that the current fast-paced lifestyle does have many harmful effects on our health, our families and our relationships.

"If you want to change, begin with changing your mindset. After that, details of how to live a slow life will follow if you look carefully at your daily activities," she said.

Hotel operator Varisara agrees.

"Slow life is actually the sufficiency economy philosophy. If it can be done, then it will benefit you yourself as well as your family and finally society and the world we're living in. It's about contributing to the world we're living in," she said.

Kamol Sukin

 The Nation