LAY Beach Club Makes Waves in Pattaya

In the heart of Thailand's vibrant Pattaya, a new hotspot has emerged, promising to revolutionise the city's nightlife and dining scene. LAY Beach Club, situated on Beach Road along the Gulf of Thailand's east coast, has officially opened its doors, offering an unparalleled beachside experience.

Best places to get married? Many say 'Get Married in Thailand'

Hey folks,

For once in my life I am writing about something I actually know something about. Actually two things - Thailand and Weddings. (Without going into detail I've a fair bit of experience at the latter!)

The recent Kuoni 2013 Travel Trends report put Thailand in 6th place in best places to get married (or technically, the 6th most popular place their customers were flying to this year in order to get married).

Oh no, I can see you already thinking Hangover 2 and recoiling in fear and horror ...

But let me set your mind at ease.

You see I got married (again) just a few months ago. We were thinking Chiang Mai, as we have spent a lot of time in the north, it was cool winter time, and there are lots of lovely places like Chiang Dao which are laid back, peaceful, romantic, and can fit the bill (literally). Affordability is probably one of the biggest attractions of staging your wedding in Thailand - see the footnote for some even better news.

We held the bucks night in Pattaya and I worried for weeks about being handcuffed to some ladyboys and not making it to the ceremony, etc etc. A rowdy night with some mates in this purpose-built pleasure capital but none of my nightmares eventuated, luckily.

Anyway, we settled on Bangkok for our wedding; the Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel, for its lush tropical garden setting. We had a marquee tent set up outside in the garden, hired a student musician quartet to play classical and pop music, and it was lovely. We prayed for great weather and boy did we get it!

The organisation was really on the ball and the day went swimmingly (we were adjacent the pool, but that's not I mean. Nor was I referring to the sweat pouring off my brother's brow -- he joined us straight out of an English winter!)

The service itself was a three-in-one affair, starting off with Buddhist touches such as nine chanting monks, followed by water ceremony. Then we had a Chinese component which was centred around a tea ceremony. And finally an exchange of vows as the Western part.

I started off in some traditional Thai silk outfit, with blooming gold pantaloons, sash, brocade jacket and the works. Consensus was that I was channeling Yul Brunner in the King and I. (I think that was meant as a compliment?!?)

It really was an out-of-body experience for me (better than being an out-of-pocket experience). Like some ancient Siamese fairy tale, with me in the lead role!

Oh, I meant to tell you about the good news: arrange to have some Chinese relatives join your wedding ... you see,  it's their practice to pass on some money to the couple. At the end of the day, these bulging envelopes more than paid for the whole affair.

So, if you're thinking of a wedding in Thailand, for me, sure it's no surprise that it's in the top 10 wedding destinations, with no shortage of choices of the most romantic wedding places such as Chiang Mai, Kao Yai, Chiang Rai, or Koh Samui.

Hmmm, so many choices. I wonder where I'll get married next time.

Hey, only joking, sweetie, jing jing.

Hey, open the door ...

Sweetie!!!

Ecotourism Thailand - Getting the Green Light

I'm a bit of a greenhorn when it comes to ecotourism, but as a passionate traveller and travel writer who has visited 55 countries, I have seen the effects of tourism on communities, villages -- even cities -- and their people.

Cave Lodge, Pang Ma Pa, Mae Hong Son province

I've seen benefits and advantages and progress and prosperity ...

And I've seen defiling and damage and spoiling (a big hello to everyone in Pattaya!).

In the place and the people sometimes.

So while I don't like all these Buzzword Bingo terms (yes, the introduction above has most of these in it in order to attract the search engines: Hello Mr GoogleBot) I am fully on board with the fact that we need to do things differently. Better. Greener. More sustainably. And less irresponsibly. And I'm just talking about myself here!

Elephant ride. I'm the one on the left!

Travelling by plane, bus, car, tuk-tuk, elephant, boat, bicycle and mainly motorbike through Amazing Thailand for the past 25 years has given up countless examples of how things have changed and how they could've been done differently and, yes, better for all concerned.

Fortunately, we are all now collectively more aware and the Tourism Authority of Thailand is now making sustainability a real priority (see their write up on 7 Green Concepts).

Here are three organisations that are also helping to push ecotourism along locally:

+ Thai Ecotourism and Adventure Travel Association (TEATA)

+ Greenleaf Foundation

+ Thailand Community Based Tourism Institute (CBT-I)

Rama 9 Lake, Chiang Mai

There are many more, so feel free to add your link in the comments section below and let others know about it. 

As someone who's lived in several parts of the Kingdom over the years I'm here to show you that Thailand offers a ton of exciting and fun green tourism options ... and you don't have to be some hairy-legged beatnik to appreciate it fully.

Amazing Thailand Songkran 2012 festival

It's that time of the year again ... summer, when the mercury hits about 400 and there's 'mango madness' in the air.

Hangover 2: Mission Impossible - Travel in Thailand

Oh, and another thing about that movie ...

I notice the lads borrow someone's speedboat and go belting down the much-fabled Chao Phraya River in Bangkok and in about one minute of screen time are suddenly surrounded by the beautiful emerald waters of Krabi with its signature limestone upthrusts.

Attention Hollywood: that is NOT possible!

You see, the Chao Phraya feeds out below BKK into the Gulf of Thailand. A quick glance at a map tells me that is on the opposite side of Thailand's land mass from Phuket, Krabi, etc.

They would then have to go down the length of Thailand, past Hua Hin on the right, Pattaya on the left, past Koh Samui, reach Malaysia's east coast, keep going, chuck a right at the Singapore straits, cut through to Malacca and up the western side of the Malaysian peninsula.

Eventually they would go past Langkawi in north-western Malaysia before reaching again the waters of Thailand around Phuket after around 3,000km of sea travel.

By my SWAG method of estimation (Scientific Wild-Assed Guess) that would take more like 4 or 5 days at quickest, and several petrol stops, meaning the lads would have missed the wedding, jing jing.


Sorry to be so hard on an American B-movie (which I actually enjoyed a lot), but I haven't forgiven Hollywood for it's far-fetched fictional treatment of The Bridge on the River Kwai yet.

There are much quicker ways of getting to beautiful Krabi, of course. You can always fly, or take a car or bus.

Thai elephants, elephant shows and elephant camps in Thailand

Amazing Thailand in synonymous with elephants. So when you travel to Thailand make sure to catch one of the many excellent elephant shows around the country.

An elephant whispers sweet muddy things in my ear ...

Asian elephants are different to African elephants in that they are far more obedient and can be trained, hence their endearing ability to pick up the amazing skills with which they thrill and delight audiences. And anyone who has ever watched Dumbo loves baby elephants, too, right?

Many of these camps also offer elephant trekking (a 5 minute tootle around the track or for several hours), mahout courses (in which you can learn to ride and control an elephant, learn mounting and dismounting techniques, key commands (they have four main gears - front, back, left and right), and even how to take an elephant's temperature.) The latter involves rubber gloves.

So here is a list of the best shows, camps and trekking with Thai elephants: 


Chiang Rai: 
Anantara Golden Triangle Hotel
Four Seasons Tented Camp

Chiang Mai:
Mae Sa elephant camp
Mae Taeng elephant camp
Chiang Dao

Lampang:
Thai Elephant Conservation Centre

Phuket:
Siam Safari

Koh Samui:
Namuang Safari Park

Pattaya:
Elephant Village Pattaya

Ayutthaya (only one hour from Bangkok):
Royal Elephant Kraal and Village

This list is just a start. Especially in northern Thailand, there are dozens of smaller ones doing great work in conservation. Please let me know and I can update this list.

You might want to check TripAdvisor for the most popular rated show in the area you're going to.

Oh, one final thing. It's easier to remember the Thai word for elephant: Chang. That's because these animals are named after Thailand's most famous beer, jing jing.


Question: where was the most fun Thai elephant show you've been to?

Amazing Thailand Grand Sale 2011 - big sale starting soon

Attention Shopaholics, crazy sale fans and bargain hunters!

 There's just over one month to go, folks, before the kick-off of the two month long Amazing Thailand Grand Sale 2011 on June 15.

Fifteen thousand, yes, 15000 shops, department stores, duty-free outlets, airlines, hotels, spas and even golf courses have signed up for what will be the 14th staging of this fun and value-filled event.

So, is this all about coming home with arms-full of branded goods and designer stuff or can shoppers who've enjoyed this sale before expect anything different?

Yes, for the first time, locally made products will be the focus, underlining two of Thailand's current economic initiatives. One is the Creative Thailand economic drive, and the other is the One Tambon One Product program. OTOP as it is known encourages each village (tambon) to specialise in the design and production of one item, which is how you end up with 1,000,000 umbrella makers in Borsang, for instance. (What, you just thought it was a coincidence?)

Other villages produce silks, handicrafts, apparel, and home-use goods, all of which will be specially featured.

OTOP is a Royal Thai Government project which supports the sales, marketing and distribution of the villages' products.

Around Bangkok you can head to the favourite haunts of JJ Mall, Chatuchak Market (the famous 'weekend market'), the gigantic Pratunam Platinum and Outlet Mall among others to find these products and tons -- truckloads and tuk tuk loads! -- more.

And it's not just in BKK of course ... it is the Amazing THAILAND Sale after all. So if you find yourself in Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, Had Yai or Hua Hin between June 15 and August 15, make sure you rev up your shopping cart and head to the designated shopping streets.

That's 7 cities for 2 months. Now that's what I call a BIG sale, jing jing.

Songkran Round Up -- best photos from around Thailand

Try as I might, words don't really catch the flavour of Songkran ... there's a special feeling in the air (er, make that a flying fountain of icy water headed your way in the air).

So here's a round-up of great photo galleries and info of this great festival in various parts of Thailand.

First, from Pattaya Mail (http://pattayamail.com/pictures/songkran-festival-2011/)

And from Phuket (http://www.phuket.com/festival/songkran.htm)

And from Koh Samui (http://samui.sawadee.com/festivals/index.htm)

And finally from Khao San Road, Bkk. (http://www.cnngo.com/bangkok/play/quick-guide-songkran-2011-thailand-386855)

Of course you can always check out Tourist Authority of Thailand's site at www.tourismthailand.org too

Now I know why the Thai word 'sanuk' (fun) was invented ...

They needed something to describe this, jing jing.

His and Hers toilet signs from Thailand... #funnysigns

Truth in advertising. (Pattaya Beer Garden)

We all know how that feels, right gents?

Now that's what I call  serious wood (teak probably).

(Baan Suan restaurant, Chiang Mai)

Ladies apparently 'pick flowers' while men 'shoot rabbits' (Queen Sirikit Gardens, Chiang Mai)

So what about katoeys? Do they pick rabbits or shoot flowers?

All photos by Stu Lloyd. Copyright all rights reserved 2011.

www.thailandjingjing.blogspot.com

Trip Advisor's Best Beaches in the World 2011 ...

Koh Panghan ... not just for full moon parties.

Trip Advisor's 2011 Awards for best beaches -- or coasts with with most, if you will -- have just been announced.

So put on your sunscreen, floppy hat and budgie smugglers (Speedo swimming costume) and have a cruise through this list of Amazing Thailand award winners and the beaches that were voted by millions worldwide:

Koh Panghan - Thailand, #25 in the world, #3 in Asia. Salad Beach.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g303907-Ko_Phangan-Vacations.html

Koh Samui - Thailand, #4 in Asia. Lamai Beach.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g293918-Koh_Samui-Vacations.html

Kao Lak - Thailand, #5 in Asia. Khao Lak, Bang Niang, Khuk Khak Beach.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g297914-Khao_Lak_Phang_Nga_Province-Vacations.html

Koh Phi Phi Don - Thailand, #6 in Asia. Ao Ton Sai Bay.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g303908-Ko_Phi_Phi_Don-Vacations.html

Krabi Town - Thailand, #8 in Asia. Phra Nang Beach.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g297927-Krabi_Town_Krabi_Province-Vacations.html

Koh Lanta - Thailand, #9 in Asia. Long Beach, Kantiang Bay, and Klong Dao.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g303905-Ko_Lanta_Krabi_Province-Vacations.html

So Amazing Thailand has scored 6 out of Asia's top 10 beaches, jing jing.

This proves Thailand is not just Phuket, Samui and Pattaya. There are plenty of other beaches, bays and islands in Thailand to explore.

Is there a Thai beach that you think should be on that list? Let us know.

The only international resort style hotel in Pataya? Wow.

One of three pools: like Goldilocks, one of them's just right

Well, blow me down! When you think of Pattaya you think of ... well, I  mean, you ALSO think of resorts, resorts and more resorts catering to the sun-worshippers flocking to the beaches of its bays.

So you could've knocked me over with a feather when Khun Pat, a senior sales manager at Sheraton Pattaya Resort, fixed me in the eye and said: "We are the only international resort-style property in Pattaya." No, that can't be right ... there's ... there's ... well I guess she is right. "The others are city type."

The Sheraton occupies the headland near that old stalwart the Royal Cliff Resort (now a multi-hotel-cum-exhibition extravaganza called PEACH), so it's a little ways out of town, but shuttle buses run frequently into the guts of town if that's where you'd rather be.

But out here, the views towards Koh Laan are forever on a clear day, watching the flotilla of pleasure boats plying their way towards that island.

Can you hear the tinkle?

A massive chandelier-like wind chime tinkles in the breeze, knocking several valuable points off my blood pressure immediately. And if it needs more reduction, I can hop a golf buggy down to the Amburaya Spa where five different techniques will be applied over an hour and a half, along with English, French and Thai natural products in a super signature called Amburaya Embrace.

There are plenty of wistful touches in this 3-pool resort (like a golfer, I judge a hotel by how many 'holes' it offers, in this case swimming holes or water hazards). The bougainvillea in the receptionists' hair for instance. And the pant-skirts they wear, which look like they have three legs, but they have the grace to carry it off.

Exhibit A: solid door

Solid wooden doors are a feature throughout the resort, and shoulder injuries must be the leading cause of days off work here, as the petite lasses try to open and close guests' doors, and doors to the various outlets such as Elements, Latitude Lounge, Papaya meeting room. Thankfully Infiniti -- their Italian restaurant -- is al fresco with no wooden barricades to barge down.

As for the rooms, cool mint tones soothe like a choc-mint ice-cream on a summer's day, jing jing.


A feeling of airy spaciousness, and a balcony from which to survey the pools, the ocean, and the rest of the resort's villas, which present something half way between traditional Thai and Spanish-Mexican hacienda.

A sophisticated playground atmosphere. But if you've still got work on your plate, Link@Sheraton business centre can sort you out with free internet (or you can pay to play in your room).

So Khun Pat is absolutely right. It is international. It is a resort. And it's the only one like it in Pattaya.

Like the sound of this? Check out www.sheraton.com/pattaya for more

Unbelievable fun in Pattaya

Unbelievable: a family attraction in Pattaya!

So let's say it's raining in Pattaya and you need to kill a couple of hours. Or your sun burn has been diagnosed as blisteringly radio-active and you don't want to go near the beach again -- ever!

Well, you can always slide off to the Tahitian Queen bar as usual. However this is not recommended if it's only 11am and you have the family in tow. So ...

The pilot was later breath-tested

Head for Ripley's Believe It or Not! at Royal Garden Plaza, slap-bang in the middle of Pattaya's increasingly interesting Beach Road. You can't miss it -- it's the building with the big red DC-3 carelessly crash landed on the 3rd floor.

Ripley's is really a 5-in-1 attraction offering the Museum (where you could spend a whole day gawking at the weird and wonderful exhibits), the 4D Moving Theater (billed as 'the wildest simulator ride in the world'), the Infinity Maze (a mesmerizing series of optical mazes and illusions), Haunted Adventure (a ghoulish walk through various nightmarish scenarios with real live actors), and finally, there's Louis Tussaud's waxworks.

The dummy made more sense than the real Becks.

At the latter, you can rub shoulders with Jackie Chan, Will Smith, Posh and Becks, have a laugh with Eddie Murphy, and laugh at Paris Hilton (well, what else are you supposed to do with that bimbo?)

Ripley seemed to have a fascination with two-headed cows (no, not Posh and Becks), three-legged horses and the like. Freakish. He also introduced the western world to the Padaung women with 15" necks, which you now can see any day of the week in hill-tribe villages in Mae Hong Song, jing jing.

But Ripley's childlike fascination with the crazy, the creepy, and the colourful, makes for a very memorable and thoroughly entertaining half day for everyone in the family. And the same can't necessarily be said for Walking Street!

[cue voice-over effect] Believe It or Not ...

For more: see www.ripleysthailand.com

LIfe's a beach living in the mountains ...

Ok, my theory is this ...

People who live up in the mountains are just that little bit closer to the sun and therefore are more strongly affected by its harmful rays.

Exhibit A: Chiang Rai Beach.

On a recent trip to that city, a friend invited me to his house, "just 300 metres from Chiang Rai beach." Sorry come again ... the line's breaking up ... I thought you said beach.

"Yes, Chiang Rai Beach," he confirmed. Woah, ease up on that medication, my friend!

A quick check of the map revealed that land-locked Chiang Rai is 1000 or so metres above sea level and approximately 800km from the nearest beach in Thailand. In fact it's probably closer to go to a beach in Burma from there, jing jing.

But no. There, on a sweeping bend of the Kok River is Chiang Rai Beach. Umbrellas, deck chairs, massage service, ice cream carts. It could be Bondi, but with less sharks and less budgie smugglers.

Some of the locals have taken the beach thing one step further and call it Pattaya Noi. Little Pattaya.

There's a cool "isn't this great?" eccentric quirkiness to the place. Making do with what they've got this far from the ocean. But in fact, if you follow the Kok River for about 130km, you'll join up with the Mekong River, then if you follow that for about 1880km more, you'll empty out from the Mekong Delta into the South China Sea.

So technically, there is a grain of truth in calling this a beach.

Pattaya -- SUMMERTIME, AND THE LIVING IS SLEAZY ...

Ok, let's just put it on the table straight: Pattaya is Soddom and Gomorrah by the Sea.

Thailand's sin city has carried this reputation ever since that fateful day in April 1961 when the first 100 war-weary Americans arrived for some well-deserved R&R at this stunning and sprawling bay. That invoked a rapid-fire change from sleepy fishing village to fishy sleeping village. To this day, the US Navy uses Pattaya as a R&R port, the arrival of aircraft carriers marked by fleets of girls swimming out to the horizon to meet the boats. Jing jing!

Little known fact #628: the name Phatthaya actually means the wind which blows from southwest to northwest at the beginning of rainy season. That in turn comes from Phraya Tak (not to be confused with Friar Tuck) who captured Pattaya in 1767.



Walking Street -- at the north end of the bay -- is a looooooong stretch of nothing but clubs, bars, pubs, restaurants. Notably, a lot of rowdy Russian-run establishments. It is called Walking Street because to call it $#&ing Street would be just too sleazy ... even for Pattaya. It has made local neon sign makers some of the wealthiest people in Thailand. Walking Street is a daily carnival of decadence and debauchery (I mean that in a good way) where lady boys and bar girls hustle the passers by, and shameless spruikers for strip clubs hold up 'menus' that would make medical students blush, and even make a seasoned gynecologist raise an, er, eyebrow.

But there is something in the human spirit that makes this compulsive viewing. Like a reality TV show. It is real - duh! Which is now why busloads of otherwise innocent tourists are drawn to the place to have a walk and a wander (or perhaps that should be 'wonder'). And with that it just becomes a commodity. Like Patpong. Like the Reeperbahn. A tourist attraction.

There has been a lot of talk lately about the gentrification of Pattaya. If that's the case I'd hate to have seen it before (no, actually I would've LOVED to have seen it before, who am I kidding?)

However ...

Pattaya is a schizophrenic city. The southern end, and generally the area of Jomtien, is where the big new investment is going into, capitalising on the the 5 million-odd tourists (some of them very odd!) who venture the 145 km 2-hour drive (or flight) from Bangkok to Pattaya each year. Pleasant promenades, beautiful beaches, tasteful family-friendly resorts. Gee, there are places I'd be more than happy to bring my mother to. A flash new Central Mall has just opened, replete with Japanese restaurants, electronics stores, usual middle-class mall fare. Then there are the new wave of hotels: the Hard Rock Hotel, the Dusit Thani D2, the amazing Centara Grand Mirage is now open (see next blog about this), and the Hilton Pattaya is slated to open any day now. Not to mention Ocean One Tower, which, at 367 metres is slated to be the tallest residental tower in Thailand, if not the world. Setting a new tone, a high water mark.

Amazingly in my 23 years of travelling to Thailand I'd never set foot in Pattaya. So I arrived with a trolley-load of mental preconceptions and baggage about Pattaya; mostly beaten-up Samsonite suitcases and backpacks admittedly. I left with new baggage, mostly fake Louis Vuitton -- oh, and some vivid mental snapshots from that show in the upstairs bar. How does she do that???

Facts on Thailand: a Travel Guide for Beginners.

While researching this blog I was struck by an alarming fact: there are a lot of facts about Amazing Thailand that people – yes, including me – simply don’t know. And that’s a fact.

Like what, you might ask? Well, when I stumbled across a Google search statistic that showed 170 people a month were searching for ‘Chiang Mai Surfers’ that hit pretty close to home – given that I live in Chiang Mai – and I thought, damn that’s one thing I haven’t done here in ages … gone to the local beach for a surf.

Well, sorry to break it to you like this, surfer dudes, the nearest beach to Chiang Mai is probably around 750 km away, and that’s probably in Burma. (Burma, yeah dude, that’s another country in Asia. No, dude, Asia’s a continent. Yeah, we’ve got beaches in Thailand because we’ve got 2705 kilometres of shoreline, just not in Chiang Mai, so chill.)

Little known fact #1: Chiang Mai province is actually home to five of Thailand’s eight highest peaks but I’ll deal with that in a later blog.

So I thought a few bare facts for anyone looking at Thailand travel (or Thailande, Tailand, Koh Thailand or even Thialand as many people mistype it) would be a great place to start this journey.

Local Thai customs:

Thailand is one of the most devout Buddhist countries in the world, with over 90 per cent of its population practicing Theravada Buddhism. Monks and temples are respected and revered, so do use common sense in terms of modest dress and behaviour in their vicinity. The gesture of respect is the Wai, pronounced why. (There’s no truth in the rumour Tom Jones’ song Wai, wai, wai Delihah was written after he had to continually remind his girlfriend to show respect). The wai is performed by raising your clasped hands in a praying position in front of your face with your fingertips about level with your chin plus a downward tilt of the head.

The royal family is absolutely revered by the Thai people, and rightly so. At cinemas they’ll play the royal song, and often at 6pm on a Sunday evening in public markets and stations. It is correct to stand still and silent for the duration.

For years, Thailand has been known as the Land of Smiles. It is not a put on for tourists – I’ve seen plenty of evidence of this well off the beaten track. If you smile it shows your heart is in the right place (jai dee), and you will get an excellent return on investment with a gleaming smile back. A smile is like a master key, and you’ll find it opens the door to better service, better treatment, and possibly friendships. But at very least YOU will feel better and happier within yourself.

The one golden rule for Thais is sanuk (fun). If something’s not sanuk, forget about it.

Popular Thai destinations:

To help you start researching your own Thailand holiday and Thailand hotels, here are the key gateways and destinations you might want to include in your itinerary:

• Ayutthaya
• Bangkok (not spelt Bankok)
• Chiang Mai (no, it’s not spelt Chiangmai or Chang Mai)
• Chiang Rai
• Hua Hin
• Kanchanaburi
• Khao Lak
• Khao Yai
• Koh Chang
• Koh Phanghan
• Koh Samui
• Krabi
• Pattaya
• Phuket (including Patong)
• Sukhothai

I’ll deal with each of these in upcoming blogs, and of course there are thousands more places in between … it’ll take me a lifetime to cover them all, which I fully intend to do. (And if I embrace Buddhism, I’ll have the next life, and the next … to do it.)

Approximate distances between main centres in Thailand.

Bangkok to ...

Ayutthaya: 80 km. Driving time around 1.5 hours.
Chiang Mai: 700 km. Flying time 1 hour 15 mins
Chiang Rai: 825 km. Flying time 1 hour 20 mins.
Hua Hin: 300 km. Driving time 3 hours.
Kanchanaburi: 139 km. Driving time 2.5 hours.
Khao Lak (via Phuket). 880 km. Driving time 12 hours.
Khao Yai: 250 km. Driving time 3 hours.
Koh Chang (via Trat): 330 km. Flying time 1 hour then boat.
Koh Panghan (via Ko Samui): 340 km. Flying time 1 hour then boat.
Koh Samui: 575 km. Flying time around 1 hour 15 mins.
Krabi: 946 km. Flying time 1 hour 20 minutes.
Pattaya: 120 km. Flying time 1 hour 10 mins.
Phuket: 830 km. Flying time 1 hour 25 mins
Sukhothai: 425 km. Flying time 1 hour 25 minutes.

There are 12 airlines (including several budget carriers offering cheap flights) to get you around the country, plus an excellent rail system, buses, boats, tuk tuks, scooters and even elephants. The roads by and large are very good, and I’ll be giving you the low-down on driving Thailand and how best to motorcycle Thailand in later blogs.

Weather:

Mostly hot and humid year round. Hey, it’s a tropical country, what’d you expect? But …

North of Bangkok: From June to October southwest monsoon and rains.
November to February, mostly dry.
March to May, dry and increasingly hot.

South of Bangkok: On west coast, from April to October southwest monsoon. On east coast monsoonal rains from September to December. The south is generally wetter than the north.

Currency:

Thai baht. It’s easy to remember if you’re a fan of the Simpsons – ‘Doh Bart!’ Amazing Thailand has been rated the world’s 2nd best value travel destination, according to Lonely Planet’s ‘Best in Travel 2010’ guide, behind only Iceland which is suffering financial meltdown. Now’s a great time to get Thailand deals due to relative weakness of the Baht. See www.oanda.com for currency exchange rates.

For much more detail on all of the above see www.tourismthailand.org. They’ve even got a cool itinerary generator tool to get you started on planning your next Thialand, er, Tailand, um, Thailand holiday.

So no matter how far you live from the sea, you can always surf across to that site.

PS: Any other facts you think would be useful for me to include? Please leave your comments and suggestions here.