One year ago I visited the Elephant Nature Park north of Chiang Mai. The camp was created by Sangduen Chailert (Lek) who has been working to protect Thai elephants throughout her life. Many elephant camps around Thailand exploit elephants to make a profit. Lek's camp was created as a sanctuary for elephants.

via thaitravelblogs.com

The Security Bureau reminds people planning a trip to Thailand to monitor developments there and consider adjusting or postponing their travel plans. Travellers should watch their personal safety and avoid large gatherings or demonstrations. Anyone needing assistance in Thailand can contact the Hong Kong Immigration Department's 24-hour hotline (852).

via news.gov.hk

There is this place, hidden there, in my opposite corner of the world which deserves to be known by everybody. The only one time I heard about Bangkok was about child prostitution...I wonder how is it. First there is lights everywhere, big buildings, huge portraits of the King and the Queen.

via thaitravelblogs.com

From Samut Prakan, it took us about three and a half hours to reach the car ferry for Koh Chang. We then had to wait about 10 minutes for it to leave. The trip across the water then only took about 20 minutes. So, in all, it was about four hours door to door. Not too bad.

via thaitravelblogs.com

Right now I am on Sairee Beach on the island of Koh Tao, in the Gulf of Thailand. After spending two days on Koh Sumai, we boarded a ferry to come to Koh Tao. Koh Sumai was nice, but I like Koh Tao a lot more. In Koh Sumai, we stayed at The Wave, a nice backpackers hotel and library. The airconditioned room at The Wave was 850 Baht per night, or $25.

via travelblog.org

Anti-government unrest and a state of emergency in Thailand are disrupting air and rail service, and some countries have issued travel cautions. The situation remains unstable. As of this morning, the U.S. was not urging Americans to avoid Thailand. But a warden message, issued today by the U.S.

via travel.latimes.com

Koh Chang is south-east of Bangkok. Most people just go to Pattaya along the eastern seaboard for a beach holiday. However, if you keep driving you reach better beaches. First Rayong and Koh Samet. And then towards the Cambodian border you will find Koh Chang. That is where we went for our holiday last week.

via thaitravelblogs.com

Since last scribbling a few notes, the sun has arrived with a vengeance! Arianna is on cloud nice drifting gradually from light coffee to darker shades... I am melting, currently moving from salmon pink to sun-kissed lobster. My nose remains a constant bright red glow - a visual hazard at night to low flying aircraft.

via travelblog.org

Every year, during the summer holidays, I usually go on long road trips around the country. The two biggest trips I have done were to Phuket in the south and Chiang Mai in the north. Since moving into my own home last year, I haven’t been away for longer than one night. This was partly due to the fact that it was like a holiday being in my first home.

via thaitravelblogs.com

In Mid-April I finally got beyond the transit lounge of Bangkok International Airport. I’d been in the airport several times, but always on the way to someplace else. I’d been preparing for several months for this visit to the family of a friend in North-West Ang Thong province.

via thaitravelblogs.com

Alone in Bangkok now, the nights were so sad and frigthening to me. If you wonder why, try to take a taxi around 12pm and go somewhere, just "rot". How the taxi drivers are crazy, how your homeboys are crazy too, how your Thai is sadly poor, it seems this is a punishement for ever, you're here for two weeks and it's always the same: unable to say those stupid things that would turn your life much more simple... give it up.

via thaitravelblogs.com

As I am an early riser, I headed for the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery on the Saeng Chuto Road on a motorcycle. The cemetery contained the remains of 6,982 prisoners of war who perished during the construction of the "Death Railway". During the Second World War, thousands of forced laborers and Allied prisoners of war suffered and died constructing and maintaining the Burma-Thailand railway.

via thaitravelblogs.com

Suphanburi is one of those places which is a bit off the beaten path. It doesn’t receive many foreign tourists and if you do see a foreigner there, then it is probably either our “steve suphan” or someone else working at a local school. It is about equal distance from Kanchanaburi and Bangkok.

via thaitravelblogs.com

One of the joys of visiting a country is the opportunity to get a feel for the history first hand. In preparation for my April trip I watched two movies based on important events in Thai history: “Suriyothai” and “Bang Rajan”. Both involve conflicts with Burma, the former a victory, the latter the “last stand” in the 1760s, before the Burmese finally conquered Thailand and destroyed the capital, Ayuthaya.

via thaitravelblogs.com

This is a continuation of my series of blogs about day trips from Bangkok. I am aiming to give you at least two new destinations every month. The little island I visited today, known as Koh Si Chang, has been on my list of places to visit for a long time. It is not that I have heard spectacular things about this island. It is certainly no Koh Samet.

via thaitravelblogs.com