Visa Run to Myanmar Our next destination from Koh Samui was Bangkok. Because we had already biked this road on the way south, we decided not to bike it again on the road north, but to take a bus instead. But first, we had to prolong our visa by crossing the border into Myanmar, stamping […]

Jungle Hike in Khao Sok National Park – May 2005 We visited half a dozen national parks in southern Thailand, many with waterfalls and jungle flora. But the most memorable was Khao Sok National Park, situated in the center of the peninsula between the Andaman and Gulf coasts. The last 40 km. leading up to […]

The Lingering Effects of the Tsunami Four to five months after the deadly tsunami struck near Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea in southern Thailand, there are still reminders of it that pop up, not letting you forget. For example, we sometimes saw photos on poster boards displaying the faces of those persons or entire […]

Island-hopping in the South with Belou! Stephane’s friend, Belou, arrived in Phuket in mid-May and spent 2 ½ weeks with us. He brought his bicycle with him and we biked around the southern part of Thailand between the provinces of Phuket and Krabi. Swimming and island-hopping was “au rendezvous.” It didn’t take long to get […]

Biking in the South We left Bangkok with a purpose in mind: pedal hard and reach Phuket before Belou’s plane landed on May 17 at 9:30 AM. It was no easy task, as the unexpected visits in Bangkok with Stephane’s cousin Michel and then his cousins Laurent and Claire had delayed us considerably (But with […]

Attitudes towards Women: The U.N. has noted that Thailand ranks 40th among 130 countries on the Gender-related Development Index, putting it into the “progressive” category. It progressed more on gender-related issues than any other country in the world between 1975 and 1995. The 1997 constitution states that men and women hold equal rights, and they […]

Buddhism: Approximately 95% of Thailand’s citizens are Theravada Buddhists. It is considered an earlier and less corrupt form of Buddhism than the Mahayana schools found in East Asia or the Himalayas. It originated in the Indian Himalayas in the 6th century B.C. when its concepts were “discovered” by Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. Theravada doctrine […]