An elephant ride in Ayutthaya. Photo by Sarah Cavicchi.

Read More about Thailand on GoNOMAD

Thailand Love Me

Bangkok is sexy, undulating and hot. Wood huts bump up against rising skyscrapers posted with giant photographs of the king or uber cool Gucci girls, gazing upon a modern, traffic jammed cosmopolitan city, peppered with ancient golden temples.

Criss crossed like veins by rivers and canals, the water is grey, with huge schools of fish, and the occasional crocodile. Giant monitor lizards prowl the banks. Kamikaze river taxis whip by old women paddling water market canoes. Long low black barges reminiscent of blade runner silently chug along at night.  People gather on the porches of stilt houses jutting out over the water for an afternoon swim.

A Perfect American Fourth of July -- in Thailand

I love my new life in paradise: Bangkok, Thailand. Now, I finally get to do life's little pleasures -- those things I always wanted to do, but was just too busy working to do. These days, I regularly write while seated on a blanket under a shady tree, next to a lake in a beautiful, well-manicured park...

But after a little while of getting my freedom and having a change of pace, I found myself missing certain familiar and fun activities from my past life.

Bun Bang Fai: The Rocket Festival of Laos and Thailand

This is one festival that could only be held in a developing nation and with only the briefest glance, a plethora of occupational health and safety issues blatantly stare you in the face. In a first world country the public liability insurance alone would cancel all hope of holding such an event. 

Wild Thailand: Elephants, Cobras and Tigers

For someone who goes to Thailand every year for a combination medical check up, Bangkok's annual film festival and Asia's air hub (this year I'm catching the next flight to Kazakhstan), the uniformly saliva-inducing food and happy kind people can become old Thai hat. This year I found the solution to boredom by walking on the wild Thai side, checking out spitting cobras, huggy boas, curious elephants and cuddly tigers.

Koh Samui, Thailand: Great Beaches, Spicy Food and Mummified Monks

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.

An elephant draws a picture of an elephant - photo by David Rich

Ayutthaya, Thailand: Exploring An Ancient Siamese City

In the ruins of Ayutthaya there are more than 30 separate parts of the old city to explore, all within a four-mile radius of one other, so if historical travel is your thing, the Ayutthaya ruins can keep you busy for quite a while.

Founded around 1350 A.D., the city was the country of Siam's second capital, replacing the nearby abandoned Sukhothai.

Because of its location between China and India, it became a huge trading center for Asia and the rest of the world. Foreign settlements with traders from as far as the Netherlands and France were constructed outside the city limits.

Songkran festival participant. photos by Jean Miller Spoljaric.

Songkran Festival, Red Light District Adventures in the Heart of Thailand

From the sun soaked beaches in the south to the Hill Tribe villages in the north, the country has an unlimited number of beautiful locations.

My April trip to Thailand was during the Songkran Festival (Thai New Year) and I visited Bangkok and the northern province of Chiang Mai. It proved to be a real blast!

The mountainous northern region borders China and Myanmar (Burma) on the west, Laos and the Mekong River to the east, and Cambodia in the south.

From the must-see day and night markets in every rural town to Thai Boxing and the red light districts in the city, Thailand is an eclectic place to visit.

The lush, tropical landscape of mountains, rivers, lakes, and the sea between 10 degrees and 20 degrees north of the Equator, made me totally understand why some people come for vacation and consider never leaving!

 

 

 

Read more GoNOMAD stories about Thailand:

A Girl's Guide to Bangkok, by the founder of Blonde Traveler.com

Visiting Thailand: Golden Temples, Ancient Canals and Hill Tribe Villages

Getting Your Hands Dirty: Studying Permaculture in Panya, Thailand

Tigers, Elephants and Jungle Trekking in Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Gardens, Markets and Nutrients in Thailand

Doi Chaang, Thailand: In Search of the Fairest Cup of All

Learning to Train Elephants in Thailand

Chiang Mai Thailand: Change in the Air

Thailand: Dada's Grand Plans for Helping Kids

 

Kicking up a Storm: Women’s Kickboxing in Thailand

 

Loi’s Lights: Thailand’s Beautiful Loi Krathong Festival

 

Hangin' with the Hill Tribes in Northern Thailand

 

Saving Endangered Sea Turtles on Mannai Island in Thailand

 

Swinging in the Trees in Khao Sok National Park, Thailand

Holiday Recreation: Sea Kayaking In Thailand

A Restaurant with a Mission: Cabbages and Condoms, Bangkok

An Insider’s Guide To Bangkok

A Day in Bangkok's Lumpini Park

 

Take a Load Off: Adopt an Elephant

Getting Married On Location: Destination Weddings On the Rise

From Touring to Learning: Alternative Travel in Southeast Asia

 

One Day in Bangkok for Less Than Ten Dollars (US)

 

Caring for the Rejected: Helping People with HIV/AIDS in Thailand

 

Phi Phi Islands Thailand: Beauty and a Bummer