This image of a Buddha in a tree, also known as the Bodhi Tree in Thailand, is perhaps one of the more iconic images you will find being sold at nearly any shop selling photos in Thailand.  The Buddha is actually made out of sandstone & isn’t carved out of the tree as some suspect. If you travel to Ayutthaya one of these days, you should be sure to visit Wat Mahatat to get your own image so you don’t have to pay for one.

Ayutthaya is one of the old kingdoms of Thailand that was sacked by the Burmese. If you visit the main city of Ayutthaya,  which is an easy trip of about 1.5-2 hours outside of Bangkok, you will notice that nearly all the Buddha statues in the area had their heads cut off by the invading Burmese forces (kind of odd because both countries were then Buddhist, if I’m not mistaken).

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I took this picture of an Asiatic Leopard at the Safari Park in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. While tigers are probably my favorite animal of the big cat family, with a very close second going to the snow leopard, I’ve always admired the strength of leopards and the overall menace in their eyes (many people have commented on how piercing the eyes of a leopard are). Leopards are generally regarded as the strongest member of the big cat family on a pound-for-pound basis, which would make them the Manny Pacquiao of the big cat family, and I have no doubt that this animal would have no problems dispatching me to the netherworld even if I weigh considerably more than they do (leopards generally way about 100-150 pounds or so).

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My wife and I recently made a trip to Kanchanaburi, Thailand because it is one of the few tourist areas we hadn’t been to yet in Thailand. While the initial draw to Kanchanaburi was visiting The Tiger Temple and the River Kwai, we were very surprised to find a lovely temple called Wat Tham Suea in the region as well. The temple had a very impressive Golden Buddha in the temple, and also appeared to have both Chinese (a pagoda)  and Burmese influences in the design of the temple.

As an aside: While visiting the Tiger Temple was cool because of all of the tigers present there, I must admit to being a little bit disappointed because it seemed that there was more of a focus on rushing tourists through “Tiger Canyon” to take a photo (and yes, I do contribute to the problem by visiting there).  I think I would have been a little happier if the animals were in a more “natural enclosure” and if some of the animals were entirely off-limits to visitors.

As I mentioned in an earlier post about the Bangkok sklyline photos, I’ve been playing around with the new Sony Nex-5 camera to test out the features at a variety of places (this image is from the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand). While I’m still not going to entirely move away from a regular DSLR just yet, I’m slowly becoming attached to the camera for the following reasons:

1. Extremely light.

2. The lenses for the camera are also very light.

3. The built-in features allow you to create things with HDR without having to use use special software.

4. The camera image quality, at least in my opinion, beats out the other Sony DSLR I have. The sensor also seems to be much better and faster.

When I spoke to the representative at Best Buy about the camera, I did mention I would be more inclined to switch entirely over if they had a range of telephoto lenses available for the Nex-5 (he advised me that they are in the works). While there is a adapter available for Sony DSLR lenses available for the camera, I think I would much rather prefer to have the lenses in a much lighter form than the other lenses.

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I’ve been playing around with the Sony Nex-5 camera I just purchased. While I don’t think I’m ready to give up a regular DSLR just yet, I have been impressed with the abilities of the camera. My only gripe has to do with learning the menu via the wheel, which makes it a little more difficult to make quick changes to what you’re photographing. The camera does have some pretty nifty features, including HDR and a panoramic option.

Koh Tao, Thailand

Koh Yang Nuan

Koh Tao and Koh Yang Nuan are islands were you can do some diving and snorkeling in the Gulf of Thailand. If you’re trying to get to these islands, your best option is to take a trip from the island of Koh Samui to get there. Koh Tao is one of the areas in Thailand where you can possibly see whale sharks (and regular ones!), and you will see lots of brightly colored tropical fish in the shallower snorkeling areas.

Given the recent announcement that the Thai government is considering restricting access to Koh Surin and The Similan Islands, it will be interesting to see if similar steps are taken to protect the coral for human development and other environmental pressures in other aquatic marine parks.

Kind of bored today, with not too much to say about this particular picture. I will just say it is another stunning example of one of the many species of orchid that can be found in Southeast Asia;-)

This picture of an orchid was taken in Sukhothai, Thailand before visiting my wife’s family. While probably far from my best picture of an orchid, I do like the colors of the orchid very much. Before visiting SouthEast Asia for the first time years ago, I didn’t know that there are more than 20,000 types of orchids that are widely accepted.

You will find no shortage of orchid farms in Thailand, so I highly recommend visiting the many you will find in all of the major tourist areas. I’ve been to ones in Chiang Mai, Nong Khai & Phuket that were very cool to go to, and they are definitely great places for accomplished macrophotographers to take some pictures of these amazing flowers.

Note: Sukhothai is still one of my favorite places to take pictures in Thailand. While the temples don’t have quite the same splendor as the temples of Angkor Wat, you could spend a few quality days checking out one of the original kingdoms of Thailand during your stay.

No, I am not using the word “Queen” in a derogatory sense. The Simon Cabaret in Phuket is generally considered one of the Top Ten activities in Phuket, at least for older visitors (not recommended for children), and the costumes worn by the kathoeys are quite spectacular.

The Simon Cabaret itself, while located in Patong, is a little ways out from the main drag around Soi Bang La. If you’re going to catch the show, your hotel can arrange for pickup and transfer to/from the show; you can also catch a taxi or tuk-tuk to get to the show that you will have to negotiate a price with the driver. Depending on location, a tuk-tuk will probably cost at least 150 baht up, whereas a taxi driver will probably be at least 300 baht (taxis are not cheap in Phuket, and you can pretty much forget about any of them using the meter).

I would consider catching the first showing at Simon Cabaret, which will give you time to get back to Soi Bang La for a night of partying. You will also see most of the performers from the show later in the night dancing around Soi Kathoey.

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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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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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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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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This beach in Koh Kradan looks like a little slice of heaven, no? Given that this picture was taken during the busy period of Songkran (Thai New Year) in Thailand, I was fortunate to get this picture before all of the tourist boats started pulling in. Generally speaking, you won’t find any five-star resorts or mega hotels in this area; you’ll find a bunch of bungalow style accommodations steps from the beach.

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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