Hua Hin

In the early 1920s King Prajadhipok decided to build a summer retreat from Bangkok’s politics and from its soaring pre-monsoon temperatures and high humidity. He chose to build his new palace near the tranquil fishing village of Hua Hin, and the place hasn’t looked back ...

Ayudhaya

From the size, number and density of the ruined monuments here it is easy to appreciate the grandeur and grace that Ayuddaya must have possessed in its hey-day. Many visitors who are aware of the tragic past of this ghost of a city feel a certain melancholy as they wa...

Thai History – The Ayutthaya Period

King Ramathibodi I’s name literally means ‘Rama at the Bhodi tree’ and pays homage to the tree under which the Buddha gained enlightenment and was freed from attachment to impermanent phenomena. After he founded Ayutthaya in 1350 by the buildi...

Koh Chang

With no less than 50 offshore islets, Ko Chang is Thailand's second largest island, and the biggest in the Ko Chang National Park. .

Pretty much the first Western contact that the islanders of Koh Chang had was when the corpses of French sailors...

Pattaya Top 5

1) Tee off.

If you are a fanatic golfer or one who doesn’t like to play the same course twice then Pattaya, which has more nearby top-flight golf courses than any other Thai beach resort, is the place for you.

2) Get foamed at the Hard Rock Café.<...

Pattaya's Wild Nightlife

Girly bars

Pattaya is especially infamous for its girly bars. The official closing time in ‘entertainment zones’ is 1am, but ‘closing time’ is defined as switching off the music and non-essential lighting, and numerous bars remain open...

Pattaya

Once a sleepy fishing town, Pattaya first boomed during the Vietnam War as an official R&R spot and has been a sex tourism destination trying to improve its image ever since. Now it’s Thailand biggest seaside resort with 13,000 hotel rooms, whose main attractions are it...

Kanchanaburi

Kanchanaburi is the place to stay if you want to visit the Bridge over the River Kwai, the start of the infamous World War II Death Railway, constructed under Japanese coercion at the cost of 12,000 POW and 100,000 Asian lives. The present bridge, which is the span...

Thai History – The Bangkok Period

Shortly before the Burmese siege of Ayutthaya ended in its demise as the capital of the nation in the Ayutthaya era of Siamese history, a young general called Phaya Taksin gathered some men in the city, broke out through the Burmese lines and esc...

1) People watching

Like any great city, Bangkok is a great place to watch your fellow humans at work and play. Maybe the best place to do this is on one of the most cosmopolitan and busiest streets in the capital, the backpacker centre Khao Sarn Road. This street has improved a lot sin...