Thailand Voice

It is probably not a good idea to venture outside at the moment if you are living in some areas of Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Lumpoon, Maehongson, Nan, Phayao and Chiang Mai due to the bad air quality. You should also consider wearing face masks in Chachoengsao, Nonthaburi, Samut…

This is a picture of some Thai puppets on sale at a temple in Chiang Mai. I bought two of them which now hang on the wall at my house. They always seem to look better in the shop. But, I guess that is because there…

It was a year ago now that I first visited the tranquil little village of Baan Nam Khong and enjoyed gliding from tree to tree with the amazing Jungle Flight adventure. I got a chance to fly again last weekend and try out the longest, fastest and…

It is that time of year again when we do a quick review of the past year. Today I am going to look back at some of the more popular news photos from Thailand on our sister blog www.thaiphotoblogs.com . One of the most popular pictures…

Buddhist Monks receive offerings at the takbat ceremony on November 28, 2009 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. During the ceremony, held in Nimanhaemin Rd, approximately 10,000 Buddhist monks received offerings, including food, drink and money. (Getty Images) More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Former U.S. President and Nobel Peace laureate Jimmy Carter, left, and chairman of the board of Habitat for Humanity Thailand, Chainarong Monthienvichienchai, raise up a banner during the opening ceremony of the 26th annual Habitat for Humanity Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work…

As the fireworks and firecrackers are going on non-stop for the third day running, and the city is celebrating with the biggest and most colourful parade of the loy krathong festivities, I am at home listening from a safe…

I moved to Chiang Mai the day before loy krathong four years ago – I always think of this holiday as my anniversary. Chiang Mai is famous for going way over the top with parades and holidays, loy krathong probably being second only to the week-long songkran festivities…

There are dozens of hot springs around Chiang Mai, some are well-known and extensively developed like Sankamphaeng, others are only just more than small pools of water in the forest. Pong Dueat is on route 1095, one of the attractions …

I had not been to Pai since my second Thailand holiday in 2002. It doesn’t really make a convenient weekend getaway if you rely on public transport or your two wheels. However, it was the perfect thing to do in my friend’s car. Riding up and down hills smoothly…

Hardly a week goes without someone sending me an email out of the blue via www.thai-blogs.com . Very often it’s just an old friend/acquaintance of mine whose found me blogs by chance, then occasionally an email concerning an old blog of mine. Rarely, however, do I get an email as touching as…

It is September again, and the neighbourhood kids are buzzing with excitement: they like to roam around in the fields and near the river collecting rhino beetles. These magnificent insects are claimed to be one of the strongest species in the world. Surprisingly, they use their power to fight …

Mong Thongdee, the stateless boy, won the third in the individual event in the All-Japan Origami Airplane Contest in Japan on Sunday. Mong is a stateless boy who was born in Thailand to Burmese migrants. Mong, of Chiang Mai province, won paper plane competition in Thailand and was…

For many years my favourite guidebook has been the Lonely Planet. This has always been my first choice for its comprehensive look at tourist attractions in just about any country in the world. In Thailand, the person who is most associated with guidebooks is Joe Cummings whose name is well-known among backpackers…

If you are planning on visiting Chiang Mai, I would recommend that you include a Sunday in your schedule. That is the day when Thailand’s best handicrafts market spreads out in the streets of the old city – a perfect opportunity to buy souvenirs and presents. It stretches from Thapae gate almost all the …

A couple of weeks ago I went to Mae Sa waterfalls on the edge of Doi Suthep-Pui National Park . On the way back, I noticed a sign saying Tad Mok waterfall, 9 km . It was already too late to make the little side trip so I postponed the …

This wonderful little gorge on the Khan river is one of my favourite weekend getaways. I didn’t have anything special in mind when heading out there this afternoon, just dangling my feet in the water, having a little swim, reading my book, taking a few pictures in the green …

A veterinarian holds Lin Ping, a 76 day-old panda cub, at Chiang Mai Zoo, August 11, 2009. The panda cub is born at the zoo to its mother, Lin Hui. (REUTERS/Phichaiyong Mayerku) For more information click ThailandQA.com> > > More Thailand pictures can be found at www.ThaiPhotoBlogs.com .

Eight years ago, on my first visit, I saw an aerial photo of a golden chedi on a hilltop near a river, surrounded by lush fields and more mountains. I immediately knew I wanted to go there but I had no …

Karen villagers residing in Thailand use elephants to plough a rice field during a demonstration to promote tourism in Om Koi district, Chiang Mai province northern Thailand Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009. The villagers originally raised the elephants to work in the logging industry but after the government announced a ban on logging they began using …

The rainy season has been rather dry so far up here in Chiang Mai, ideal for daytrips – if you don’t mind baking in the sun shining right above your head at this time of the year. For a change, I decided to hop on a bus today and go on one of …

I have never been a fan of longan, or lamyai, as it is called in Thai, but it is difficult to avoid the plant and the fruit altogether if you are in Chiang Mai these days. Market stalls are laden with bunches of the fruit, and the …

A motorcycle trip to the Mae Sa waterfalls was the first daytrip we shared with my Thai boyfriend exactly eight years ago. I have been reluctant to return ever since. Now that I eventually did, I am looking for familiar landmarks – a rock, a pool of water, a …

When my mother comes to visit Chiang Mai, she always asks me to take her to the Rose Garden first. She insists that she knows this enchanted place from a previous life and gets annoyed when I point out that Bhubing Palace (Phuphing Palace) wasn’t constructed until 1961. Bhubing Palace is the …

I have to admit I am not a very diligent traveller: I don’t dive very deep into my guidebooks. I usually enjoy ancient monuments, temples, ruins and other buildings for their atmosphere and architectural beauty, not for the tales from olden days that they tell to an eager listener. I cannot imagine what life must…

A veterinarian carries the offspring of female panda Lin Hui at Chiang Mai Zoo, north of Bangkok. Lin Hui, a female panda on loan from China, gave birth to the baby panda in Thailand on May 27 after being artificially inseminated with her partner’s sperm for a second time. (REUTERS/Phichaiyong…

After four years of travelling and living in Thailand, I often find it hard to take a step back and try to imagine what it is like to experience it all for the first time. When I write, words like chedi…

A staff member at the Ayutthaya, Thailand Elephant Kraal look at three elephants painted to resemble Pandas. Thailand is experiencing a panda craze with the recent birth of a baby at the Chiang Mai, Thailand Zoo. The elephants were painted…

Long before Chiang Mai was founded some 700 years ago, the Mon people set up the legendary kingdom of Haripunchai in the area that is today known as Lamphun. Wat Chammathewi (also known as Wat Kukut) dates back to the 8th century. The spire on top of the chedi is said to have been lost …

A glittering temple, a white chedi, and a giant sitting Buddha on the top of a little hill just 20 minutes outside Chiang Mai – this sight is very familiar for anyone who regularly does visa runs. Wat Phra That Doi Saket …