Framed by limestone cliffs and islands, and studded with colourful fishing boats, the sleepy seaside town of Prachuap Khiri Khan is a charming place to get off the faràng trail for a while. The town is actually the provincial capital, but the ambience is
Category: Thailand Destinations
The town of Prachinburi is worth a look for its interesting hospital, and the area is a good base to explore the Khao Yai National Park. Near the quieter, southern border of the park, the village of Ban Kon Khuang on Rte 33 includes some good accommodatio
Centuries before Phuket began attracting sand-and-sea hedonists, it was an important centre for Arab, Indian, Malay, Chinese and Portuguese traders who came to exchange goods for tin and rubber with the rest of the world. Francis Light, the British coloni
Hedonistic Phuket seduces honeymooners, heiresses, surfer babes and middle-aged men trying to score with a smooth blend of ostentation and seediness. Thailand’s largest and most popular island, Phuket is as colourful as it is cosmopolitan and one of the w
When uranium miners discovered a dinosaur’s patella bone in this region in 1976, palaeontologists were soon to follow, excavating the top of Phu Pratutima and unearthing a fossilised 15m-long herbivore later named Phuwianggosaurus sirindhornae (after Her
Phu Rua means ‘boat mountain’, a moniker that owes its origins to a cliff that juts out of the peak sort of in the shape of a Chinese junk. At only 121 sq km, Phu Reua National Park (0 4288 1716, reservations 0 2562 0760; admission 400B; 8am-8pm) isn’t on
Steeped in local legend and peppered with bizarre rock formations daubed with ancient cave paintings, Phu Phrabat Historical Park (0 4225 1350; admission 30B; 8.30am-4.30pm) is one of the region’s highlights, offering great views from the crags of the Phu
Swathed in forest and tumbling over the pretty Phu Phan mountains, Phu Phan National Park (08 1263 5029, reservations 0 2562 0760; free admission; 24hr) remains relatively undeveloped and isolated – it’s no surprise that the area once provided cover for T
Capped off by its eponymous peak, Phu Kradung National Park (0 4287 1333; admission 400B; trail to summit 7am-2pm Oct-May) covers a high-altitude plateau, cut through with trails and peppered with cliffs, waterfalls and montane forests. Rising to 1316m, T
Between 1967 and 1982, the mountain that is known as Phu Hin Rong Kla served as the strategic headquarters for the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) and its tactical arm, the People’s Liberation Army of Thailand (PLAT). The remote, easily defended summit