Category: Thailand Destinations

The self-styled ‘King Cobra Village’ of Ban Khok Sa-Nga has a thing about snakes. Locals rear hundreds of the reptiles, and most houses have some in boxes under their houses. The strange custom began when a herb farmer Phu Yai Ken Yongla began putting on

This town, 50km east of Udon, was once the hub of the ancient Ban Chiang civilisation and archaeological digs here have uncovered a treasure-trove of artefacts dating as far back as 5600 years.

Ayuythaya Province is home to the former Thai Capital, the golden city of Ayuthaya, named after the home of Rama in the Indian epic Ramayana. Ruins of temples and palaces scattered around Ayuthaya allude to its legendary past – the city was the centre of

The sacred city, the sacked city, Ayuthaya is complexly intertwined with Thai nationalism and religion. As the former royal capital, Ayuthaya earned the emerging Thai nation a place among the great empires of Southeast Asia, and placement on the map used

The dusty border town of Aranya Prathet (aka Aran) has long been a magnet for refugees fleeing the turbulent chapters of Cambodia’s roller-coaster 20th century. Displaced Cambodians flooded into the area after the Khmer Rouge takeover of 1975 and the subs

Established in 1981 and covering an area of 400 sq km, Ao Phang-Nga Marine National Park (admission 200B) is noted for its classic karst scenery, created by mainland fault movements that pushed massive limestone blocks into geometric patterns. As these bl

If Eden had an ocean, it would look a little like this. A turquoise bay, peppered with craggy limestone rock towers, soda-white beaches and tumbledown fishing villages, Ao Phang Nga is one of the region’s most spectacular great escapes and full of picture

Ao Nang attracts the two-week jet-set pack to its showy resorts, which outshine the beaches. Sadly, the beach is nothing spectacular and the wide ‘European’–style esplanade that tourism-boosters boast about is really just one large mall with souvenir shop