Chiang Mai

Tag Archives for Chiang Mai.

Hiking at the top of Thailand

Few people make it to Doi Phu Kha National Park in the Northern province of Nan, Thailand, one of the country’s most isolated regions.  The whole province gets as many foreign tourists in a year as Phuket gets in a week! The Verdict: My Overall Rating: 83% -High Score My Ranking: My favourite place in Thailand Why it should be visited: Views, birds, hiking, peace and quiet, waterfalls, caves Negatives: Transport options limited Would I return?: Yes. For a slower pace in a quieter place, it was a wonderful place to be. Location and Orientation The park…

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Idiot Abroad: UK man in Thailand becomes vandal

When you are on holidays in a strange and exotic country, what do you enjoy doing? Shopping? Seeing the sites? Trying new foods? Visiting Religious buildings? What about graffiti-ing? A 38-year-old man from the UK decided that the Chiang Mai Railway station in Northern Thailand needed some new artwork so chose to get a spray can out and began to draw graffiti across the wall. On top of the stupidity of this, he did it on a weekday morning (Thursday, July 13) at 9 am in broad light. His actions were naturally observed by Thai railway…

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Mindil Beach Sunset Markets

Whenever and wherever, I am travelling, I always try and squeeze a market in. Just enjoyed a beautiful sunset which accompanies the Dry Season Mindil Markets in the Northern Australian City of Darwin. The setting of these markets has to be one of the most spectacular in the world! There is almost every type of Asian food available, along with exotic meats like camel burgers and croc steak sandwiches, frozen bananas and local mushrooms! Lots of Aussie trouristy type stuff including didgeridoos, crocodile leather purses and wallets, stock whips and local jewellery. Tonight was the first market…

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Hip Hua Hin – Place Report

a lawn with chairs and trees by the water

Few tourists to Thailand include Hua Hin on their agenda which is a shame. At the risk of spoiling the town with a sudden over run of tourists, this beautiful relaxing town 200 km (120 miles) south of Bangkok is well worth at least a couple of days. Far from the “excitement” of Phuek nightlife and Bangkok, Hua Hin has been enjoyed by generations of Thais for weekends and vacations. Originally known as Samore Riang  or “rows of rocks”, it was adopted by the Royal Family as their seaside resort in the 1920s. Today, it is very popular amongst Thais who come…

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Reviewing 2014-How do you measure your travel?

As I reflect on 2014, I pondered how do I measure my travel? 1. By Kilometres, miles or points? In 2014 I covered: 3000km (2000 miles) by train 4000km (2500 miles) by bus 12000km by rental car (7000 miles) 124,754 (77.5k) by air to or from 22 airports. I flew four new airlines bringing my total number of air carriers to 91 airlines! The new ones were: Burma’s Air KBZ, Bangkok Airways Finnair (review coming Tuesday) and Germania   2. The Goals I achieved? In 2014, I completed my first (and last) marathon in Berlin, Germany hiked across…

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Boutique Bangkok Airways blows me away

Every now and then you get a reminder of what flying used to be like and a glimpse of what it could be like. Porter Airways in Canada is one such “boutique” carrier and Bangkok Airways is another. This was the 90th airline I have ever flown. Bangkok Airways started back in 1968 as Sahakol Air,  the first ever private aviation company in Thailand.  They have embarked on a fairly aggressive growth strategy in the last three years.  They have some of the cutest ads of any airline in the world! Booking: 10/10 There is now a crowded market…

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Chilling in Chiang Mai

I have been to Thailand a few times now but never to Chiang Mai until now. I am very sorry to have left the city alone for so long. The city is a little more isolated than other parts of Thailand but still attracts approximately five million visitors per year- 40 per cent of whom are from outside Thailand. I soon discovered why it was placed at 24 on TripAdvisor’s  “25 Best Destinations in the World” in 2012. Chiang Mai is 700 km  (420 miles) from Bangkok. Getting there requires a flight of about an hour or a 12 hour…

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