Southern Thailand, the elephant’s trunk, is a long isthmus. Part of the southern lands once belonged to kingdoms in Malaysia, but became part of Thailand in1909. This area has forest and parks with interesting birds. It also has beautiful, warm beaches and many fishermen as well.
Great Places to Visit!
There are so many great places to go in Thailand, and lots to do!
Hill Tribe Villages near Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai
Many different peoples live in Northern Thailand, and all of them are interesting! Come and visit the hill tribe villages of the Karen, Hmong, Mien, Lahu, Htin, Akha, or Lisu. It’s fun to learn about their customs, languages, music, dances and crafts. You can see the women weaving beautiful cloth on big looms. Or watch the men making jewelry, decorations, and tools.
A girl of the Karen tribe is weaving the cloth for which the tribe is famous. It is also famous for the long (and heavy!) brass coils that the women wear around their necks from the time they are five or six years old. They also wear brass rings on their forearms and shins.
Ban Bo Luang (Nan Province)
Ban Bo Luang means “salt-well village,” and is in the mountains near Chiang Rai. This is a Htin hill tribe village that is known for—you guessed it—making salt! While most salt comes from the ocean, the salt in Ban Bo Luang is taken from wells in the village. Villagers collect brine (very salty water) from wells then boil it until salt crystals are formed. They dry the salt crystals in bamboo basketsand it is very pure and good to eat!
Baskets of salt suspended over a hot pan.
Kamphaeng Phet (Near Sukhothai)
Kamphaeng Phet is an ancient royal city that was part of the Sukhothai Kingdom over seven hundred years ago. The name means Diamond Wall, because long ago there was a very strong wall built around the city–as strong as diamonds! The United Nations named the city a World Heritage Site, because it is very important to the history of Thailand.
Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand)
Chiang Mai is the second largest city in the country and was the center of the Lanna Kingdom long ago. The city is in a valley surrounded by rice fields and mountains. You can still see parts of the old wall and moat that encircled the old city a thousand years ago. There are hundreds of beautiful temples and traditional homes made of teak. And there’s lots to do, like visiting the great zoo, the tiger park, an orchid and butterfly farm, and the night bazaar.
Temples in Chiang Mai often have a three-tiered roof like this one. Carvings of nagas or dragons stand guard over the temple. A naga is a god who takes the form of a cobra.
A fun way to see the ancient ruins is to rent a bike or take a tuk tuk to visit the temples, Buddha statutes, and other cool buildings from the earliest days of the city. Be sure to look for Wat Chang Rop, which means “elephant encircled chedi” because the elephants are carved into the wall all the way around the base of the temple.
Elephants carved into the base of Wat Chang Rop
Kaeng Krachan National Park
Kaeng Krachan National Park is the largest of the 127 national parks in Thailand. It is located in a rain forest in southern Thailand. Two major rivers originate in the mountains in the park, creating beautiful waterfalls. The park is home to over 420 species of birds and 300 types of butterflies. There are also reptiles, insects and 57 kinds of mammals, such as leopards, bears, macaques, crab-eating mongoose, elephants…well, you get the idea.
The Long-tailed Broadbill is one of many fantastic birds you can see in Kaeng Krachan National Park.
Khrabi Boat Rides to Limestone Caves
Khrabi is a town on southern Thailand across the Gulf of Thailand from the beach resort island of Phukhet. Kids love to take boat tours—longtail boats, speed boats or kayaks—to explore the amazing network of limestone caves along the coast. Some of the caves contain really cool stalagmites and stalactites.
According to local folklore, many people believe certain caves are home to spirits and they leave items of worship as well as Buddha images. A number of the caves have prehistoric paintings, stone tools and pottery shards from the earliest people in the region. Plus you’ll see all kinds of wild-life from monkeys to brightly colored crabs, fish, and birds.
Stalagmites and stalactites in the limestone caves are not found only in Khrabi, but also along other parts of the southern coast, and on the island of Phuket as well.
The leaning stupa of Wat Poramaiyikawat is a beautiful Buddhist temple on Koh Kret Island near Bangkok.
Ko Kret Island (Outside Bangkok)
Just a ferry ride from Bangkok, Ko Kret is a tiny island that became isolated after a canal was dug to make a shortcut in the Chao Phraya River. You could walk all the way around the island in about two hours—that’s how small Ko Kret is! There aren’t any roads or bridges, just paths leading to temples, villages and riverside houses built on wooden stilts. The only way to get to some parts of the island is by boat.
Bangkok Children’s Discovery Museum
At the Bangkok Children’s Discovery Museum you can learn about the history and culture of Thailand, and also about dinosaurs, the human body and make bubbles from the inside out. In the Culture and Society Gallery, you can try on traditional Thai clothes, play Thai musical instruments and see exhibits on folk dancing and languages around the country. Outside, there’s a fantastic playground with a fountain and water jets.
Ko Kret was settled by the Mon people two hundred years ago, a tribe that now mainly live in Burma. They are famous for terracotta pottery with intricate etchings and carvings, used for cooking a meal at the table. It’s fun to watch the pots being made.
The weekend market here is always super busy. The stalls sell delicious Mon snacks, like boat noodles, fish cakes and sweets!
Part of the museum’s outdoor fun, a replica of a Stegosaurus skeleton.
Let’s Have Some Monkey Fun
(Ling Sanuk)
Monkeys like to have fun! You can see them all over Thailand. Some live to be 30 years old! They even get a starring role in folktales (like the Ramakien on page 44).
It’s a Party
I went to Lopburi last year for the biggest monkey party ever. Crab-eating macaques roam the streets, swing from roofs, and hop onto cars all year long, but they go wild in November. The town provides giant platters of fruit, peanuts, cucumbers, and raw crabs at the ancient Pra Prang Sam Yot temple. The monkeys go into an eating frenzy!
Monkey Business
On our summer vacation, we visited the Monkey Training College in Surat Thani. Pigtailed macaques