Thai artisans, European architecture and great eateries abound in Chiang Mai’s old foreign quarter For most tourists up in Chiang Mai, the eastern bank of the city’s Mae Ping River is little more than a good spot for a riverside dinner or to catch some rollicking live music, but delve deeper and the area has… [more]

When people talk about Pai these days, it is often with a sense of regret at what the town has become: an ultra-commercial Bangkok outpost, crawling with city slickers shopping for Pai souvenirs and photographing each other at every opportunity. Yet, this is only one half of the picture. Away from the hectic main strip,… [more]

Instead of hitting the beach this December, hop in a hire car and go check out one of these winter wonders. Rolling out of your tent to watch the sun rise onto a new, mist-filled morning – it’s what Thailand’s fleeting cool season was made for. PHA TAEM Little known among western travelers, Ubon Ratchathani’s… [more]

The roads to and around Umphang are not even listed on a majority of maps of the country, and the majority of Thais one asks have never even heard of the place outside of the famed waterfalls of Tee Lor Su. I figured that was all the more reason to go there. Umphang lies in… [more]

The darling of the Thai tourist scene over the past year or so, featuring high on almost every local’s must visit list, is a little town in the northeast called Chiang Khan. It’s a speck of an old trading settlement with a history stretching back to Laos fiefdoms, a fresh market, and a pretty stretch… [more]

One’s first impression of Chiang Rai is likely to be of a provincial city that looks much like the rest. Certainly this ancient town, with its lowrise modern shophouse architecture, doesn’t live up to its grand billing as the first capital of King Menrai’s Lanna Kingdom and a place on the cusp of 750th anniversary… [more]

Even expats seem to scratch their heads or give you this kind of blank look when you tell them you have just returned from a marvelous weekend in Sangkhlaburi. “Whichaburi?” they ask in confusion. Probably best to not give away too much, but sleepy Sangkhlaburi, a small town on the Burmese border remains one of… [more]

Ever been to Junk Ceylon? No? We’ll wager you have. Once marked on maps under this name by 19th century European seafarers, it continues to attract foreign visitors to its shores. Where once they were lured by the promise of trade, then tin mining, these days the island’s main draw is tourism – in all… [more]