Mukdahan is the capital city of Mukdahan Province in the Northeast region of Thailand (better known as Isan). Mukdahan is on the Mekong River, with Savannakhet in Laos on the other side. I’ve been to enough provincial capitals to know not to expect too much, but I have also been to Nong Khai on the […]
Notes on Khon Kaen – The Isan city with big ambitions
Khon Kaen is the capital of Khon Kaen province in the Northeast region (Isaan) of Thailand. It is one of the “big four of Isan” (along with Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Ubon Ratchathani). My interest in visiting Khon Kaen was to see how it is progressing as a transport hub, and to see some […]
Notes on Ko Mook – A fishing village on an island paradise
Ko Mook (or Koh Muk) is an island in the Andaman Sea in Trang Province, Southern Thailand. I didn’t know about Ko Mook until I went to Ko Kradan and the boat stopped there en route. I was intrigued by its shape, with its long sandy beach and jungle interior, so I filed it away […]
Notes on Ko Ngai – The Thai paradise island that’s not just for honeymooners
Koh Ngai is an island in the Andaman Sea in Southern Thailand. The island is part of Krabi province, but it is easier to get to from Trang.. You are more likely to arrive here from another island than from a mainland port, so mainland provincial locations don’t matter once you are there. Koh Ngai […]
Notes on Koh Lanta
Riding from the port to my hotel I couldn’t help but smile as I sat in the back of the motorbike-tuk-tuk. It felt good to be back in Koh Lanta. I had just arrived from the tiny island of Phi Phi, and I was in Phuket before that. Phi Phi feels claustrophobic if you don’t […]
Notes on Koh Phi Phi – Backpackers return, and the rehabilitation of Maya Bay
The Phi Phi Islands (Koh Phi Phi) are an island group in Southern Thailand in the Andaman Sea, in Krabi Province. The two biggest islands in the group are Ko Phi Phi Don and Ko Phi Phi Le. At the height of the tourism boom in 2019 they had become more famous for overtourism. Phi […]
Bangkok Mass Transit System – A guide to the urban railways of Bangkok
The Bangkok Mass Transit System began with the launch of two BTS Skytrain lines in 1999. There are now eight lines operating, with more lines planned and under construction. The urban rail transit system of Bangkok is comprised of a mixture of railway systems operated by three different companies. There is no singular brand like […]
Notes on Phuket – There are worse places to be in quarantine (or, it’s fine I suppose)
The “Phuket Sandbox” was a program to let international visitors back into Thailand after the country had been closed for international travel during the pandemic. Instead of being locked in a hotel room for a week, you could stay on the island of Phuket for a week before being allowed to travel anywhere else in […]
Notes on Ko Samet – The closest beach-break island from Bangkok
Ko Samet is an island on the Eastern Gulf Coast of Thailand, approximately 220 kilometres southeast of Bangkok. It’s technically not the closest island to Bangkok, but it’s the closest nice island to Bangkok (and much nicer than the closest beach to Bangkok). It’s this proximity that has made Ko Samet synonymous with boatloads of […]
The desolation of Khao San Road
Khao San Road is the famous backpacker street of Bangkok. This road and surrounding streets is the budget travel hub of Southeast Asia. In normal times it is a spectacle like no other place in the world. When the Covid-19 virus reduced travel to a trickle in March 2020, Thailand closed its borders to international […]
