Thailand Voice

One of the better preserved traditional markets in Thailand can be found in Suphanburi Province. It is called Sam Chuk 100 Year Market and it still has its original wooden shophouses that date back to the reign of King Rama V…

Thai food is certainly world famous these days. It has been estimated that there are now Thai restaurants in 13,000 locations around the world. These range from fast-food take-aways to up-market restaurants. Many of them have been set up…

Today I received an email forward that is doing the rounds in Thailand at the moment. It shows some “highway robbers” in action in Thailand. The lady who took these pictures was annoyed with being pulled over and decided to document…

“Muang Chan”, the nickname for Chanthaburi, is about 330 kilometers south-east of Bangkok. It is famous for its gem and jewellery trading market which is the largest in the country. The province is also rich in natural resources with beautiful beaches, waterfalls, coral reefs and mountain tops. However, what draws me most to this …

As many of us know already, Thailand is mainly a Buddhist country with other religions being a small minority. However, there are some areas where you can find large communities of Christians and Muslims. In Chanthaburi Province, Christians make up 4.14% of the population. Their largest place of worship…

When you are travelling it is not always a good idea to follow too closely your guidebooks. If you have the time, then explore the area and you might find some hidden gems. The other day I was happy to stumble across a Buddhist Park…

During the Khao Phansa period this week, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) are helping to promote the event “Making Merit at Four Temples” in Chanthaburi Province. These temples are not necessarily the most sacred of the temples however they have been picked…

One way to experience the traditional lifestyle of Thai farmers is at the Buffalo Village in Suphanburi. In Thai it is called “baan kwai”. Thai farmers, and their trusty companions, the buffalo, are considered the backbone of the country. Although buffaloes have been the butt of many jokes in classrooms across the country (to be called “buffalo” is the same as …

I love Thailand for its variety but I never knew before that it already has an established wine industry. When we talk about wine growing we don’t usually think about Thailand mainly due to the hot and humid climate. But, Thailand has in fact three distinct regions of wine making. In the north there is Chateau de Loei, in the Phu Rua Valley of …

The network of tunnels that can be found in Vietnam are quite well-known. What many people don’t realize is that Thailand has its own set of tunnels deep in the jungles of Khao Nam Khang National Park on the Malaysian border. These were built by Chinese Communist Fighters during a …

Today we went back to Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi Province. I was there last year with Nong Grace (click here for pictures ) and as she liked it so much she kept asking me to go again. It is the school summer holidays in Thailand now so we thought we would drive down there today. The zoo is not well-known …

I have driven many times from Bangkok along Highway 35 which is the road you take when going south. One of the picturesque landmarks of the stretch between Samut Sakhon and Samut Songkhram are the salt fields on both sides of the road. This area is the biggest producer of brine salt in Thailand. Their main season is from about October to April as salt farming works better without the heavy rains…

Over the years, at www.thai-blogs.com , I have written about many of the day trips that I have been on in the Bangkok area. I have long since been to all of the major tourist attractions and now I spend most of my time looking for new attractions within driving distance of Bangkok. The other day I found a new …

The other day I went for a drive down the Old Sukhumwit Road. In the past, people had to drive down the coast road in Samut Prakan and Chachoengsao Provinces on their way to the beaches in Chonburi and Pattaya. It is a nice drive though not many people do it these days. If you are coming from Bangkok it is much quicker to use the Bang Na-…

When you are travelling around Thailand and you use guidebooks such as Lonely Planet, you should never make the mistake of using it as a bible. Just because the guidebook lists five temples for a city, it doesn’t mean that other temples are not worth visiting. Sometimes you can find hidden gems that turn out to be the highlight…

The most well-known symbol of Songkhla Province is this image of the Golden Mermaid at Laem Samila. It is similar to The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, however, this Thai one is not a character from the book of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. The Golden Mermaid is in fact a character from Phra Aphai Mani, a popular book in Thai literature by Sunthon Phu. In this folk…

It seems to be the latest fashion for local districts in Thailand to open a “floating market”. The other week we had news that the Bangkok administration will open a floating market in Min Buri. Then, last month, I went to see the Pattaya Floating Market. Now, another floating market has just opened in Songkhla Province in…

One of the most colourful festivals taking place at the moment in Thailand is the Lantern Festival in Hat Yai. The Thai slogan translates as “colours of the south”. It is running between 14th and 28th February 2009. This is the third time that they have organized the festival at the Hat…

One of the best agro-tourism projects in Thailand is undoubtedly Farm Chokchai in Nakhon Ratchasima Province. In fact it has won many awards. Farm Chokchai is situated on the Friendship Highway in cowboy country and is only 159 km from Bangkok. You can either come here as a day trip from Bangkok or as a stopover on your…

When I first heard about the Four Regions Floating Market in Pattaya, I just thought that we would be getting another tacky and artificial tourist attraction built just to bring in the tourist dollars. There are not really that many authentic floating markets around. The famous one at Damnoen Saduak was recreated in order to cater for foreign tourists. It is situated on the site of a much older floating market that…

One of the hidden gems of Suphan Buri is Chawak Lake at the northern end of the province. The Bueng Chawak Chalermphrakiat project was initiated back in 1994 to celebrate H.M. The King’s 50th year accession to the throne. The three main projects surrounding the lake are “The Wildlife Extension Center”, “The Garden of Indigenous Vegetables” and “The Exhibition Center for …

One of the latest major tourist attractions to open in Thailand is the “Dragon Descendants Museum” in Suphanburi Province. Like the Erawan Museum in Samut Prakan that is shaped like a three-headed elephant, this museum is also a “Wonder of Thailand”. One of those rare places where perhaps the building itself is more interesting and beautiful than the artifacts it…