Top 8 Favorites in Thailand

The past month, I traveled and met friends in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Specifically in Thailand, I visited Kanchanaburi and Sangkhlaburi, a Mon village on the border of Burma, as well as two ancient cities, Ayutthaya, and Sukhothai. I later met friends up in Chiang Mai and Ko Phi Phi (island.)

Thailand is an easy place to visit, live, and love – there are more expats and falangs there then I’ve seen anywhere else. The people are friendly, food is delicious and inexpensive, and you have plenty of natural beauty (top diving, heavenly beaches) as well as a variety of cities and towns. Photos below or click here for all Thailand photos.

Top 8 Favorites in Thailand
1. Friendly Thai people who always smile. Thailand is aptly called Land of Smiles.
2. Staying with a local Mon-Thai family one night and learning a couple of hours worth of Mon and Thai. I was able to use many phrases and words I learned like "falang" for "Westerner."
3. Meeting a German ex-pat cop who showed me hundreds of photos of the Bangkok bombing/riots interspersed with hundreds more photos of Scooby Doo, his stuffed animal of 20 years.
4. Thai people thinking I’m Thai.
5. Sleeping at guesthouses at $2-$4 a night.
6. Thai food every day.
7. Fire dancing on Ko Phi Phi.
8. Visiting Elephant’s World, a conservation camp for aging, sick, and disabled elephants and all the friends I made there.

Karen (long neck) tribe woman in Chiang Mai























Up close: Wat (Temple) Wang Wiwekaram in Sangkhlaburi




















A mahout (elephant caretaker/trainer) from Elephant's World cutting down banana trees to feed five elephants.





















Bathing and bunny-earring the elephants. :)
























A small glimpse of the ancient kingdom, Sukhothai, a UNESCO World Heritage park.

















Sunset at Ko Phi Phi
















Fragrant fresh flowers - for the car, home, anywhere - purchased every day for good luck.
















Ancient city and once capital of Siam, Ayutthaya