Late Sunset at Koh Libong, located in Trang Province (Thailand)

Koh Libong: Trang Province Beaches in Thailand

My wife and I stayed at the Koh Libong Nature Beach Resort when we stayed here over Songkran, 2010. While the amenities at the resort were not five-star, which was a nice change of pace from many of the places we stay at, the view and ambience was definitely five stars. The staff working there was largely family, with the wife running the restaurant and the husband running the long-tail boat, and there were tons of little kids running around. The family was also kind enough to run little errands for us to the local convenience store, which was a harrying adventure on motorbike.

The power at the resort went out at around 8pm or so, which meant that you had nothing but quiet after sunset around 7pm. No lights after 7p made for an interesting experience for a Westerner:)

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Padaung Hill Tribe Girl: Long-Neck Coil Rings in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Thailand Hill Tribe, Chiang Mai (Long Neck; Karen)

Yeah, I know I’ve posted a few pictures of the Padaung Karen Hill Tribe people before. Even though I’ve only visited them a few times during my travels in Thailand, I admit to being fascinated by the reasons why they wear the rings around their neck and arms. In addition to the perceived added beauty of the rings, they told my wife that they also wear the rings to protect themselves from tiger bites (don’t know if this is really true or not).

One of the moral dilemmas I’ve run into is that some people claimed that some of the participants are forced to wear the rings for the benefit of tourists, something that would make me very upset.

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Into the void: Koh Yao Yai Islands in Thailand

Koh Yao Yai: Phuket, Thailand Beach

Koh Yao Yai (and neighboring Koh Yao Noi) are islands that are reachable within about 45 minutes from the island of Phuket. The island lifestyle is probably very much like other parts of Thailand were 20 years ago, with just a bunch of relaxed villagers getting by on just a little bit of money and living off of the sea. Things have changed a little bit these days, largely due to the recent addition of some luxury resorts, but you definitely won’t find the craziness of Phuket on the island.

As you can see from this picture, it is almost possible to walk between the islands during low tide. Given that I am not the greatest swimmer, however, I decided not to chance it.

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Cute kids in Vientiane, Laos

Kids in Laos - Wat Pha That Luang (Golden Temple)

My wife and I were at Wat That Luang in Vientiane, Laos when these kids kept getting the attention of the tourists making the rounds. The kids thought it was hilarious that they could peak through the holes to get our attention.

Even though neighboring Thailand has pockets of poverty still, there is no question that Thailand is a much wealthier country than Laos. My wife, who grew up in the poor section of Northeastern Thailand, felt very fortunate that they were never *that poor* & felt bad that so many of the children were living in very poor living conditions.

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Khai Nok Island (Phuket)

Khai Nok Island, Phuket, Thailand

Many of the tourists that go to Phuket go there because there are some world-class spots (Similan Islands, Koh Surin & Koh Phi Phi) to go diving and snorkeling around there. If you’re doing a short trip to Phuket, or traveling with family and small kids, the good news is that there are tons of little day tours around Phuket that you can take to smaller islands. My lovely wife and I took a half-day trip to some of the smaller islands around Phuket, including Khai Nok, to simply check some fish out.

Some of the islands are only fifteen minutes from Phuket, which makes for a great half-day tour if you’re on a quick jaunt.

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Sunset at Koh Libong, Thailand

Koh Libong: Trang Province Beaches in Thailand

Some of the hidden beach gems of Thailand can be found in Trang province, an area that isn’t frequented by as many tourists as Phuket or Koh Samui (in the region you will find the islands of Koh Mook, Koh Libong and Koh Kradan). My wife and I took a five-hour ride from Phuket to get to the islands, and we were amazed at how much different is was than Phuket; it was almost like stepping back twenty years to what Phuket must have been like in the 1980′s.

One of the real treats of the trip was seeing some dolphins and dugongs in the water, which our boat captain said was a pretty rare experience these days. Overfishing in Thailand means that many of the larger sea animals are not seen as frequently.

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Nai Yang Beach Sunset, Thailand

Nai Yang Beach, Phuket Thailand Sunset

Nai Yang Beach is the beach closest to the Phuket Airport, which you will fly over when you land in Phuket. A couple of really cool things about Nai Yang Beach:

1. Not nearly as crowded as the beaches in Patong.

2. There are a number of decent restaurants along the beach (my wife recently told me that this may not be the case now, however, because some of the locals may have had some conflicts with the local government).

3 You can go snorkeling at Koh Wei, located only about twenty minutes off-shore by long-tail boat, and check some tropical fish out.

4. The Beach Club is a really chill place to party or just hang out. The Beach Club is pretty slow during slow season, so you can expect to have the place almost all to yourself in the early evening hours.

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Long Exposure with fire during a Khantoke Dinner in Thailand

Chiang Mai Khantoke Dinner

My wife and I went to Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2007 to go see the “real Thailand”. During the course of our trip to Chiang Mai, we had a chance to see a Thai cultural show over a traditional Khantoke dinner, complete with women dancers, men playing with swords, and men playing with fire.

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The Thinking Orangutan

Orangutan: Singapore Zoo

The orangutan is slowly becoming my favorite primate because of their facial expressions.  When I see a picture like this, it is hard not to wonder what the orangutan was thinking about at that particular time (“Am I going to get out of Singapore Zoo?”, “What’s for lunch?”).

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