We urge anyone wanting to go to an elephant park in Thailand to do their research before they go. Many of them are exploiting these endangered animals. They have elephant shows forcing them to do stunts and tricks. The animals are often mistreated extremely overworked. Throughout our travels in Thailand there was one name that kept coming up and that's the park we choose to visit. We had an amazing experience at the Elephant Nature Park. Elephants In Thailand Were Originally Used For Logging Thailand was once riddled with elephant camps that keep them for logging purposes. They were … [Read more...]
What It’s Like To Stay At The Elephant Nature Park
Stay As The Elephant Nature Park As A Guest Or Apply To Be A Long Term Volunteer The Elephant Nature Park is situated on a large piece of property along a river and back dropped by mountains. It's located approximately one and a half hours drive outside of Chaing Mai. At any given time there are several guests staying at the park as well as long term volunteers. We booked a stay of 2 nights and 3 days. It was enough to give thorough experience of the park. We were not obligated to help our during our stay, but it is a working park with a lot to do. Help is always appreciated and it's a great … [Read more...]
Starbucks And Tuk Tuks
Fine Dining Gas Stations & Volkswagen Bars
The city of Bangkok has something different and bizarre to offer in every place you look. We stumbled by a Shell gas station, as typical looking as any one you would see in North America or other parts of the world. It had two rows of pumps, an overhead roof and a main building where you pay for the fuel. You have to applaud the Thai people for their innovation and creativity. At night they close down the pumps and this gas station is magically transformed into a dining area and a bar. … [Read more...]
Travelers Tips And Funny Information About Thailand
We have seen small pickup trucks converted into taxis. They have a small metal roof overhead of the truck box and the tailgate is kept down with two make shift seats on each end of it. The inside of the box has a bench seat along each side. I really don't think the seats on the tailgate are very safe! You remove your shoes at many places here. It is thought to be very dirty to wear shoes inside. It really is when you think of it. You have to remove them at the door of many hotels, internet cafes, restaurants and definitely at any religious temple, etc. Here is some samples of prices … [Read more...]
Back To Bangkok Six Times, It Makes For A Great Travel Base
We have developed a love/hate relationship with this city. We were told that Bangkok is a great place to use as a base for traveling. It truly is. We ended up coming back to Bangkok six different times. Sometimes we stayed for a few days in between traveling to other places. Other times it was literally just to get onto the next plane, train or bus leaving for our next destination. It is a great location that makes for easy access to so many other countries. Cheap accommodation is abundant. You can get rooms as cheap as $4 Canadian a night, but they will usually be dirty little boxes with … [Read more...]
Ko Lanta, Two Orders Of Food Poisoning Please
We made our way from Krabi to the island of Lanta, or Ko Lanta as it is called. Ko means island in Thai. There are two Lanta islands. Ko Lanta Yai and Ko Lanta Noi. There is no tourism on Ko Lanta Noi. It was a 45 minute ride from Krabi to the first ferry that would take us to Ko Lanta Noi. The ferry was only about a ten minute ride. The landscape quickly changed as we got out of Krabi. It became very lush and tropical. We drove a short distance on Lanta Noi to get to the ferry that would take us to Lanta Yai. This ferry ride was barely two minutes. They could easily build a bridge between … [Read more...]
Krabi, Celebrating Songkran Thai New Year
From Bangkok we flew to a small town in southern Thailand called Krabi. It's approximately 1000 km's south and has a population of only 20,000. It was a refreshing change of pace from Bangkok. Krabi is very laid back and the people are extremely friendly. Many travelers just pass through Krabi on their way to the islands. We found it a worthwhile place to spend some time. … [Read more...]
Doi Suthep Temple And More Of Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai Is A Place You Might End Up Staying Longer Than Planned We ended up staying another 5 days in Chiang Mai after returning from the Elephant Park. It's just one of those cities you can get caught up in and end up staying longer than you planned. We spent some days just wandering around the city. We took advantage of all the great restaurants here and the great variety of cuisine offered. Wat Doi Suthep We went up to a temple called Doi Suthep. It is situated on a small mountain on the back side of the city. On a clear day you can get a great view of Chiang Mai. … [Read more...]
An Evening of Traditional Thai Dancing And Dinner
We made reservations at the Old Chiang Mai Cultural Center. The price is about $10 per person (320 baht each) This includes return transportation from your hotel in Chiang Mai as well as dinner and an evening of Thai dancing entertainment. You can't beat that price for an evening out. We arrived at the center and checked in our shoes before entering the dining area. It was a large outside area with some tables around the outer edge. Most of the seating is on the ground. You sit crossed legged on mats. Everyone has a small triangle wedge cushion for some back support. Your meal comes out … [Read more...]