Le Meridien Baan Boran Chiang Rai

... the elves scurrying about fulfilling the holiday wishes of the visiting children.<br><br>Most of the wats in Thailand are nearly centuries old, this wat however only began construction in 1997 and remains a work in progress today. It is quite contemporary, not only in its architectural style but in various sculptures and murals that are represented through the temple.<br><br>I attached the picture of the reaching arms which the artist suggests ...

... a dance. On Wednesday 6th May we went on our one day trek with our guide Jong. He picked us up from our guest house (Boon Bun Dam) at 10am and took us to the boat pier. Our bags were taken to the Akha Hill House where we trekked to and stayed the night. From the boat pier we took a long tail boat down the Mae Kok (river) to a hot spring (at 56° C too hot to swim in) in a National ...

... agreed to the room, but upon finding that all one needed to break into it was a business card, we decided to look elsewhere. We ended up at the Tourist Inn, where we were shown a brightly lit, clean room for less than what they wanted in the other place. Our next task was finding an affordable meal. The main trouble we have found in touristy towns is that all the restaurants are geared toward Westerners and ...

... when the clarity of the deep blue sky was revealed. A sight taken in full with eyes wide open, my soul in awe, my wish that this could be everyday. Our huts blended in with the flora, our foot traversed the hilly steps that lead to her. As I descended on the bricked path, there was a sensation of peacefulness that cannot be put in words. You have to be ...

... in Lampang (located 600km north of the Thai capital Bangkok) to develop Anantara's camp as an elephant sanctuary. Guests are also offered the rare opportunity to learn to 'drive' an elephant by choosing to undertake a unique three-day mahout training course. As well as learning the mahout commands and some log rolling skills, guests can take their pachyderm charge bathing, partake in mahout camp life and gain a greater understanding of their three-tonne mount from Roberts.

... yesterday a severe storm hit Chiang Rai. Our papaya tree has been blown over and the rice has been damaged. But it is OK and Kanchana has tied it up to help support the plants that were bent over and broken. We hope it will be OK and continue to grow. Both the sticky rice and normal rice plants now have rice grains growing on them. Not much longer and it should be ready to harvest. approx 12 Oct. We have harvested our normal rice. Cut ...

... off with a "maybe next time" comment when told we had a booking but she had given Alison a card. Curiously, I had noticed favourable reports of the place on the web and that it had a garden so we called and yes, they had a room. Our arrival at Baan Bua (879/2 Jedyon Rd. T.Viang A Muang Chaingrai 57000 Thailand +66 (0) 53 718880 bannbua@yahoo.com) was everything one could hope for; smiling faces, people eating and a welcome which was clearly meant; add to that, I had ...

... to hot sweats to sickness then dioreah and more sickness. It wasn't nice and I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to get on the boat in the morning I felt that ill! We got a small boat over to the Lao border and I nearly fainted just doing that part of the 2 day trip! I had to get Lucy to fill in my visa application for me and que up while sat in the shade outside. She was ...

There are two stories here. One is about the burning season in Thailand, usually around March, when the cool dry season is over, the hot dry season is beginning, and the wet season is still far far away. Though apologists like to talk about burning the fields for re-planting, there's more to it than that. Everybody is burning EVERYTHING, especially undergrowth (there might be a snake in there!) It&#8217;s insane, and I&#8217;ve screamed about it for years ...