Exploring New Frontiers
After five trips to Southern Thailand and three trips to Northern Thailand, it turns out I have barely scratched the surface of the Land of Smiles. This year, our Thai cooking teacher and friend Kasma...
View ArticleStarches and Proteins
Today I will devote myself to eating excellent Thai food around Bangkok. And it must also be an amazing value, so I’m continuing to work my way through “Thailand’s Best Street Food.” Diversions happen,...
View ArticleCalling All Experienced Thai Travelers
Everyone on this new Northern Frontiers trip (Online Itinerary) has traveled with Kasma at least twice before. I look forward to seeing a few old friends and making several new ones. But first, since...
View ArticleToward Northern Frontiers
Today is the official first day of the Northern Frontiers trip. After only one meal together in Bangkok, we are taking two vans up the highway to Phitsulanok, where we will visit an art museum and a...
View ArticleTo Eat Fish, and to Phrae
Our journey North continues, but first, we had breakfast at the Pailyn Hotel Phitsanulok breakfast buffet. This time, I resolved not to be late, so I would not go hungry as we explore the local...
View ArticleTwo Days in Phrae: Indigo Clothing and Temples
Phrae is a little difficult to pronounce, but image you stopped saying the word pretzel before you got to the t, pre-tzel, without the tzel. Got it? Phrae province was once known for its central role...
View ArticleThe Road to Nan
Like Phrae, Nan was a latecomer to the Lanna Kingdom, the predecessor to Siam, and its isolation from other regions led to unique styles of art and architecture that we will explore for several days....
View ArticleThree Days in Nan
For a small town, Nan has a surprising number of temples, markets, fabric stores, and souvenir shops. Or maybe we’re getting a skewed sample because these are the things that interest Kasma the most?...
View ArticleThe Products of the Forest
From Nan town we would be venturing East into the mountains to more remote reaches of Nan province. We stopped at the local coffee shops for one last dose before hitting the highway. Candied ginger was...
View ArticleFrom Bo Klua to Pua
We awoke to a foggy morning at the Boklua View resort. Donning our light jackets, we grazed the breakfast buffet, where you could sample the local jams on large pieces of homemade bread you toast over...
View ArticlePua, The Town Tourists Have Not Discovered
The town of Pua, pronounced more like Bua, has a population of only about 10,000, but it is surrounded by other little villages with a similarly rural flavor. Unlike the typical Thai tour which rushes...
View ArticleInto Gridlock
Pua has been relaxing, but it’s time to move on. Since our vans are so heavily laden, we’ll take the lower of two mountain routes, which nevertheless will be a strain on the engines as well as our...
View ArticleThe Northernmost Mountains: Doi Tung and Mae Salong
The “Golden Triangle” calls to mind the opium trade which, for many years, was this region’s most notorious product. Thailand has worked hard to replace opium farming with other productive and...
View ArticleA Cultural Melange
Today we descend from the mountaintop to the city for our last two nights in the North before returning to Bangkok and our home faraway. I’m pleased that tea will take precedence over coffee for at...
View ArticleCountry Roads, Take Me Home
Today we return to Bangkok for a final feast and lots of farewells, and tomorrow morning I have a few bonus hours for shopping and, of course, frantic packing. But first, we must pick over the Tanya...
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