Because so many of the spectacular temples in Bangkok are along the river, a night boat along the Chao Phraya is a feast for the eyes… and a feast for the belly, too, if you opt for the dinner cruise. Check it out!
As you peruse these pics, let us ponder a major question for a Round the World Traveler: WHERE ARE THE AMERICANS?? A profound cultural difference is laid bare [...Read More!]
Two commonly heard sassy comments to me of late:
1) “Weren’t you supposed to leave for Cambodia a week ago?”
2) “You’ve been in Bangkok for nine days? NOBODY can tolerate Bangkok for nine days. What’s wrong with you?”
The answer to both of these questions is one Thai word: “Lub-d”. This word means “sleep well.” It also means “The best hostel I have ever stayed in, and may ever [...Read More!]
Note to my sweet Mother: This article recounts another thing that SEEMS terrifying and dangerous, but is actually a very well-regulated and safe Thai tourist mecca. Don’t be worried!
The woman’s tiny, tan hand holds yours protectively. The dusty walls of Tiger Canyon slope down to where you stand… you, and thirty giant adult tigers.
“You hand him your camera, and we go,” the woman says firmly. “You follow me [...Read More!]
My mind is blown by the supreme machine that is the Thai tourist industry. For varying prices between 2000 Baht ($65) and much less, a visitor to Bangkok can construct any permutation of day excursion… and the result will be giddy happiness and 300 new photos on your camera.
Yesterday, my partner in crime and I opted for the following package, graciously coordinated by our Lub-d hostel tour rep: 1) The [...Read More!]
Oh yum yum YUM and sigh of happiness! Want to spend an absolutely lovely day in Bangkok? Do a cooking class! But COME HUNGRY… or you will pop.Conrad, Adie, and I had checked out a few cooking schools in Bangkok, but the cheerful colors and soothing Thai music of Somphong Cooking School beckoned us in. Koy and her family served us iced Panda Leaf tea and breaded, [...Read More!]
There’s a certain point when the thick heat and pollution of Bangkok make your head swim so hard and your clothes stick to you so wetly, that all you want is to collapse onto a shady doorstep and yield.This is what I was doing as Adie fruitlessly pulled my arm to stand back up.
“I don’t wanna go in!” I whined, leaning back onto the pavement. “We’ve been walking around the [...Read More!]
“LAST STOP, BANGKOK!” hollered the bus driver from the pitch black.
“What the–” mumbled Stevie from the bus floor where he had been fitfully sleeping on his balled-up pants for the past eight hours. Everyone else peered from under their face masks in utter confusion.
It was 3am. We weren’t supposed to arrive until 6am. “Can we just keep driving around?” asked a small voice from the back.
And yet there we [...Read More!]
“Why do you reckon everyone backpacking in Thailand is so damn attractive?” asked the Scottish boy, slurping his mango juice and gesturing out along Sairee beach at the bodies dancing in the firelight.
Over vegetable spring rolls, we compiled the following list:
- From the other Scottish boy: “If you weigh fifty stone, you’re more likely just to sit at home and eat yer fish and chips, cause you’d [...Read More!]
Each full moon on steamy Haad Rin beach, Thailand, 10,000 to 40,000 people go absolutely mental. I was terrified to attend, hearing so many cautions, but as the moon swelled over the week of September first, the gravitational pull of every other traveler made it seem just plain foolish not to join. So I went!
. I loved it! And as a result, my shoes were thrown up upon [...Read More!]
You are minding your business on the dirty town center beach, climbing jagged rock faces to try to get to the first of the pristine hidden beaches of Ko Phan gan which are tucked miles apart, wedged behind the rockin’ town, accessible only by boat or jungle trek. You are getting extremely sweaty, dirty, and persecuted by weird dog packs.Suddenly: “You want water taxi?” says the Thai man, holding up a [...Read More!]