My first memory of Thailand is hopping onto the back of a motorbike at Mo Chit bus station in northern Bangkok, and speeding off into a vortex of street food stalls, religious sites, fluorescent taxi cabs—and, yes, smiles—that still hasn't released its hold on me.All the aspects of Bangkok that made me fall in love with the city—and with Thailand—almost a decade ago remain intact, from the temples and shrines you find traipsing around the old city of Rattanakosin, to the boundless energy of...
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Many travelers to Thailand, even first-time ones, visit the ancient city of Ayutthaya on account of its closeness to Bangkok, both in terms of geography and history—the seat of Thai royal power was in Ayutthaya immediately before it moved to Bangkok.However, if you want to appreciate ancient Thai architecture and don't want to be distracted by tourists, skip the bus to Ayutthaya and instead fly to Phitsanulok. From there, get a bus to any guest house in Sukhothai, from which you can explore...
Read more...Chiang Mai is second on most Thailand travellers' to-do lists, after Bangkok, but the city is a bit more complicated than its must-visit status would have you believe. First of all, while Chiang Mai has a reputation as being more laid-back and less crowded than Bangkok, said reputation has led to an onslaught visitors, foreign and domestic.My advice? Get outside the City Walls, confining as they may be, and even outside the city limits. Go to the hilltop Doi Suthep Temple or, even better, to...
Read more...Up north, meanwhile, the most authentic experience can be had in the Isaan region, origin of famedsom tampapaya salad, among of Thai culinary delights that come from here. Udon Thani is not the largest city in Isaan (although it is the one nearest the border of Laos—this information comes in handy on visa runs!), but it is the gateway to what is probably the most surreal place I've ever seen in Thailand: Talay Bua Daeng Lake, a "Red Lotus Sea" that fills up with pink lotus blossoms every...
Read more...But enough about the north. The first time I traveled to Thailand I wanted to head south and get my white butt on a beach, so that's exactly where we'll head now. Let's start in Krabi, which is in my opinion the most beautiful of Thailand's "accessible" coastal provinces (more about why I chose that word in a second).One reason I love Krabi is that you don't need to go onto an island to find amazing beaches. You do need to take a boat (Railay Beach is separated from more popular Ao Nang by a...
Read more...Thai people are generally pretty happy, but did you know that "Land of Smiles" refers to the number of smile-types found here (I believe it's 37) and not the mood of the Thais?Sounds random, I know, but I first read this on a placard at the airport in Trang, a far-southern province that's extremely underrated. Its islands all bear some amazing accolade, from Koh Kradan (deserted), to Koh Mook (home to the aptly-named Emerald Cave), to Koh Libong (also deserted but bigger than Kradan, which...
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