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I had been to Thailand many times before but had yet to visit Koh Samui. I put that right after friends said that they loved the place so much they had bought a house there and invited me to stay. They loved the people, beaches, the spicy food, phallic rock formations, culture and the strange mummified monks.
I can identify with kids who hunger to join the circus. Personally, I’ve always wanted to boss around elephants. When I stumbled onto the website for a mahout school an hour south of Chiang Mai, Thailand, I knew I’d found my ideal back-up profession: elephant trainer supreme.
Taxiing through Chiang Mai from the airport, I see widespread construction in the form of airport expansion, a new convention center, and new five star hotels.
I hear from the driver about widening roads, a new design center, and a night safari opening at the zoo. Thailand’s Second City is pining for a spotlight on the international stage, as an economic, cultural, and transportation hub.
Fifteen years ago Richard Zoleta was a highly paid engineer in the Philippines, but he gave it up to live in a bamboo hut in western Thailand. He is now known as “Dada” to the 40 orphans he takes care of at Baan Dada in Huay Ma Lai, near Myanmar.
Boxing and women; it’s a scary combination many parents wouldn’t want to think about. Mine still can’t quite grasp the concept. But in Thailand, women’s kickboxing is a popular sport!
According to legend, a Thai Princess wished to thank the water spirits for their bounty and so began the tradition of making krathongs or leaf cups decorated with flowers and holding a candle. Loi means "to float" and after making a wish, the krathongs are lowered into a river or canal to float away.
An elephant draws a picture of an elephant - photo by David Rich
The term hill tribe refers to ethnic minorities residing in the mountainous regions of northern Thailand. Most of them migrated to Thailand within the last two hundred years from China (Hmong, Yao), Tibet (Akha, Lahu, Lisu), and Burma (Karen).
Straddling the mountain ridge separating Thai peninsula’s east and west coasts north of Phuket, Khao Sok (pronounced cow-sock) National Park is an Eden of virgin tropical forest peppered with striking limestone formations towering up to 1000 metres.
Southern Thailand is a sea kayaker's paradise and the Andaman Sea offers tremendous opportunities for both first-time paddlers and the serious marine explorer. Here, unique and remote limestone islands sprout from the sea, several reaching heights over a thousand feet. Many of these isolated islands feature dramatic sea caves and sheltered, pristine beaches.
A free vasectomy from the clinic next door is one of the perks for males dining at Bangkok’s Cabbages and Condoms. All diners get a condom with coffee, instead of an after-dinner mint because C&C is the only restaurant in the world dedicated to birth control. Luckily, it also serves delicious and innovative Thai food.
Truthfully, Bangkok can be anything a visitor wants it to be; a picturesque Asian postcard crammed with beautiful palaces, and pagodas; a haven with some of the world's finest hotels; a place to let loose and enjoy the most renowned nightlife in the Orient; a chance to savor one of the world's unique cuisines; one of Southeast Asia's best shopping destinations.
If Bill Bryson can take a “Walk in the Woods” along the well tred Appalachian Trail and write a best-selling novel about his experience, then I thought, "Why not do something similar?" I could take a walk through Bangkok’s equally well worn attraction, Lumpini Park, and give it a fresh perspective.
You’ve just spent three days on a trek and time is ticking away. You only have a few remaining hours to pat and coo over the elephant that has lugged you throughout most of the journey. Ever thought of adopting it? You won’t bring a pet elephant home from Thailand but you will be improving their lives in the many ways.
Whether it be a cliff side in Greece, an ice hotel in Sweden, a beach in Fiji, a castle in Scotland or a temple in Thailand, destination weddings have become a popular trend in travel. Why not travel to a place you and your fiancé have always dreamed of visiting to celebrate the beginning of your lives together?
Southeast Asia ranks among the top world destinations for alternative trave – that is, travel that teaches, travel that challenges, travel that rewards adventurous souls in ways vegetating on a beach never will.
