Elephant Riding in Thailand: Why It Is Not Ethical (and Where to Go Instead)
Elephant riding is not ethical, and most conservation groups now advise against it. Here is why, and where to ethically see elephants near Chiang Mai instead.
-
-
Best Temples in Phuket: Which Ones Are Actually Worth Your Time
Phuket has more than a dozen temples, but most travelers only need two: Wat Chalong and the Big Buddha. Here is which ones are worth the drive and which to skip.
-
Best Day Trips from Bangkok: Ayutthaya, Kanchanaburi, Khao Yai, and Hua Hin Compared
Bangkok’s location makes it one of Southeast Asia’s best base cities for day trips: a 2,000-year-old temple city, a WWII history site, Thailand’s biggest national park, and a royal beach town are all within roughly two to three hours of the capital. You do not need to pack up your Bangkok hotel room to see…
-
Doi Inthanon National Park: Thailand’s Highest Peak, a Chiang Mai Day Trip
Doi Inthanon is Thailand’s highest point, a 2,565-meter peak about 100 km southwest of Chiang Mai, and its national park packs waterfalls, hill-tribe villages, and the country’s best mountain views into a single long day trip. It is the natural counterpart to a temple-focused Chiang Mai day trip like Chiang Rai — swap gold-leafed shrines…
-
Khao Soi Explained: Northern Thailand’s Coconut Curry Noodle Soup
Khao soi is Northern Thailand’s signature dish: a rich, coconut-curry noodle soup topped with a tangle of crispy fried egg noodles, found all over Chiang Mai but rarely seen outside the north. If pad thai is Thailand’s noodle dish for the world, khao soi is the one locals in Chiang Mai actually eat on a…
-
Hua Hin, Thailand: The Royal Beach Town’s Markets, Temples, and Palaces
Hua Hin sits roughly 200 km south of Bangkok on the Gulf of Thailand, and it has been Thailand’s royal seaside retreat since the 1920s, when King Rama VII built a summer palace here and the newly completed railway made the coast reachable from the capital in a single afternoon. That royal pedigree still shapes…
-
Khao Yai National Park: Waterfalls, Wildlife, and Wine Country Near Bangkok
Khao Yai is Thailand’s oldest national park and one of the easiest wild spaces to reach from Bangkok, about 200km northeast and roughly two and a half to three hours by car. It packs waterfalls, wild elephants, hornbills, and even a cluster of vineyards into one UNESCO World Heritage rainforest, which is why it works…
-
Chiang Rai Day Trip from Chiang Mai: White Temple, Blue Temple, and Black House
Chiang Rai’s three signature stops, the dazzling White Temple, the vivid Blue Temple, and the dark, sprawling Black House, can realistically be seen in one long day trip from Chiang Mai, about three hours’ drive each way. Together they show three completely different sides of contemporary Thai art and temple design: one gleaming white and…
-
Best Temples in Chiang Mai: Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang, and Doi Suthep
Chiang Mai’s essential temples split cleanly into two trips: Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang sit inside the Old City walls, an easy walk apart, while Wat Phra That Doi Suthep sits on a mountain outside town and needs a songthaew, taxi, or tour to reach. Together they show three distinct eras and styles…
-
Best Temples in Bangkok: Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho, and Wat Arun
Bangkok’s three essential temples: Wat Phra Kaew inside the Grand Palace, Wat Pho with its 46-meter reclining Buddha, and Wat Arun on the river’s far bank, can realistically be seen in a single day, but each rewards a different kind of visit. Wat Phra Kaew is the formal, once-in-a-lifetime stop; Wat Pho is calmer and…
