Tag: thailand travel

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It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's...Flying Nok Air, the Planes That Look Like Birds

August 31, 2012 at 11:50 AM | by | Comments (0)

Don't knock Nok Air. Their planes may be painted like tropical birds, their flight attendants young enough to feel more like candy-stripers, and their hub airport of Bangkok's Don Mueang International empty enough to inspire more smirks than all that "we fly smiles" claiming they make, but our own flight on Nok was actually pretty great.

First off, a little background. Nok Air is a Thai low-cost airline that started up in 2004 and now runs routes out of Bangkok to a slew of popular vacation destinations typically no more than several hours' flight time away. View all their routes right here. Flights start around 1,300 THB ($41) on average, which even includes an in-flight snack and one free checked bag up to 30kg.

We hopped onboard, flying from Bangkok-Don Mueang to Phuket International, a 1.5-hour flight that cost us only around $51 USD total (and it was a last-minute booking).*

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It's Not Too Late to Book a 2012 Volunteer Trip to Thailand

Where: Thailand
August 15, 2012 at 2:33 PM | by | Comments (0)

The summer travel season may be ending, but Go Eco still has more than eight volunteer trips planned to Thailand through the end of the year.

Go Eco tours not only give travelers the opportunity to help orphans in Thailand, but also experience Thai culture through tours, cooking and language classes around Singburi, Lopburi, and Ayutthaya.

The Thailand experiences range from 1-8 weeks and cost $540 for the first week, plus an additional $175 for each additional extra week. Volunteers are based in Sing Buri Province where they help teach, create activities, garden, and do renovation work at local orphanages.

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New Airline Alert: Say 'Sawatdee' to THAI Smile

Where: Thailand
August 2, 2012 at 11:50 AM | by | Comments (0)

Last time we spoke about Thai Airways' newest little budget carrier, THAI Smile, it was little more than a twinkle in their eye. Well, the time has come to welcome these new airplanes to the skies with, well, a smile.

The LCC has been doing it's thing since the beginning of July, flying between Bangkok and Macau. Thai Smile Airbus A320s take off and land twice daily so there are a few options if you are traveling between the cities. A typical roundtrip flight will put you back around $224, with the option for Smile Plus, business class, at around $425.

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The Adventures of Travel Cat: Bangkok, Thailand

May 23, 2012 at 4:55 PM | by | Comment (1)

Kitty cats. They rule the internet and, whether we realize it or not, pretty much the world too. Ever noticed how cats sometimes stake out the coolest spots in a city? This new feature—Travel Cat—focuses on exactly that. Submit a photo to be featured by tweeting or Instagramming it to us (details below).

Travel Cat spotted in: Bangkok, Thailand.

This week's Travel Cat comes from us here at Jaunted, as we have a nice backlog of #travelcat sightings to pepper in among yours as well.

This little wide-eyed fellow was spotted crouched down next to a large cement pot, along the roadside near Bangkok's tourist favorite, the Golden Mount Temple (aka Wat Saket). He wasn't begging for a meal, just focused on the street action and staying hidden in a tiny patch of shade, understandable given the searing sun and 92-degree temperatures this day.

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The Metal Castle in the Middle of the World: Bangkok's Loha Prasat

April 4, 2012 at 1:21 PM | by | Comments (0)

Just in time for the Thai festival of Songkran, we're sharing a secret favorite Bangkok spot with you...

Imagine the world as a maze—one of those thickly bordered, medium-difficulty mazes from the pages of Highlights—and though the paths dead end at various destinations, there still has to be something in the very center. Whatever it is has been sitting there your whole life, waiting for your travels to eventually loop around enough so that, one day, you are there with the sense that all along, the world has been twiddling its thumbs in anticipation for this moment.

I've had pages and pages of such mazes in my travel history, but none so literal as the journey I made through Bangkok, Thailand to reach the Loha Prasat, or "metal castle."

The Loha Prasat usually doesn't get much of a mention (if one at all) in guidebooks. In fact, I only knew about it from a haunting description in a novel I read months before even setting off for Bangkok. The memory of the pencilled underline of the passage popped up on what was one of my final days in Bangkok, and I set out armed only with a screen shot of Google Maps on my iPhone.

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Google Maps Streetview Rides the Swiss Rails and Takes to Thai Roads

March 28, 2012 at 6:00 PM | by | Comments (0)

Did you know? Google Maps has just expanded their Street View capabilities to Thailand! A partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand brings 360-degree street views to Bangkok, plus the tourist-favorite destination of Phuket and Chiang Mai. Right now it's just of the roads, but Google's trike bike will be going offroad to capture more of the sites, which are now dry of the floodwater that engulfed the country last fall. Check out the highlights right here.

Did you know? Google Maps is even taking to the rails, adding Swiss train routes to their Streetview. It's impossibly breathtaking in some places, and remember that you're still sitting at home or at work, viewing these panoramas. Imagine actually being there. To check out the highlights, go here.

And! Did you know? All of the best views, landmarks and scenic roads so far captured by Streetview are easily browsed thanks to a collection of galleries on Google Maps itself. UNESCO sites! The Amazon! Famous businesses! Visit the gallery here.

[Photo: Google Maps]

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New Airline Alert: Smile for Thai Smile

Where: Thailand
March 15, 2012 at 10:05 AM | by | Comments (0)

Alright, Asia is now the unofficial mecca for new airlines. Not only is the region responsible for the majority of new tails showing up in airports around the world, but the continent is home to a significant number of budget carriers. It's all about the new, new, new; new carriers mean new reasons to hop on an airplane with the "new plane smell," heading off to new destinations.

Starting in July, Thailand will be the battleground for LCCs with the incarnation of THAI Smile. The cheerily named airline is a subsidiary of the national premium carrier, Thai Airways and both plan to mix up the aviation industry both domestically and, eventually, international short-haul. We talked about it last year, but now we have lots more info on the baby airline.

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Jeremy Renner's Latest Action Scene? A Bar Brawl in Phuket, Thailand

Where: Thailand
January 5, 2012 at 1:29 PM | by | Comments (0)

Action star Jeremy Renner had to fight off a real-life attack last night during a bar brawl in Thailand, one that sent two men to the hospital.

Jeremy was drinking with friends at Rachada Pub in Phuket Town around 4:30am when, according to the police, one of Renner's friends, Vorasit Issar (GM of the luxurious Sri Panwa Resort), dropped a glass on the floor which started an argument with the staff.

As the disagreement escalated, six men, who worked at the bar and the Canara restaurant next door, started attacking Renner and Issar with a a rotor axe, metal pipes, and a wooden club.

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The Destination of the Year 2011 Is...

December 30, 2011 at 4:46 PM | by | Comments (0)

It's that time of the year again, the time when the year just plain ends. Alas, we can't just let 2011 go that easily, especially since travelers spent it both up in the air and up in arms over a crazy range of topics, encompassing everything from nudie scans to tarmac delays. Needless to say, we're ready for 2012, but first we're taking a brief look back at the best of 2011 with the Jaunted Travel Awards,—or as we fondly refer to them—The Jauntys.

After an iffy last few years, our choice for Destination of the Year 2011 finally had huge tourist boom in 2011, that is until all of it was washed away by flooding at the end of this year. Well, they've dried off and are ready yet again to be inundated with both the ritzy and budget travelers. We're talking about Thailand.

We went to some many amazing places in 2011—Norway, Wales, Italy, Switzerland, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Amsterdam, Paris... just to name a very few. Thus, picking a place to highlight was stressful. Really you should visit everywhere you can, but Thailand stood out for us because we not only spend 3+ weeks there getting a feel for several areas of the country, but we were overwhelmed with how fully the country offers something for every type of traveler. Culture? check. Shopping? check. Adventure? check. Luxury? check. Cute animals? check. Fun airlines? check. LGBT? check. Food? Um, a million times check.

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The Early Stages of the Current Thailand Flooding: Photos from Ayutthaya

Where: Thailand
October 24, 2011 at 5:28 PM | by | Comments (0)

It's as we feared would happen. The rising floodwaters of the Chao Phraya River near Bangkok, Thailand have reached the city's secondary airport, Don Mueang. DMK was the focus of one of our recent stories on great places to go plane spotting, owing to the existence of a golf course in between the airport runways.

Well, it's safe to say that the entire place is in danger of becoming one giant water trap.

Although central Bangkok and the main tourist areas remain high and dry, the UNESCO historical sites in nearby Ayutthaya can't say the same. Although we aren't there now to show you some of the damaging floods (thank god), we were there as recent as a few weeks ago, when the waters of the river had already begun seeping into the first floors of riverside homes.

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Munching McDonald's Exotic 'Samurai Pork Burger' in Phuket

October 18, 2011 at 1:52 PM | by | Comments (0)

As dedicated as we are to trying out the most local and unique foods for our Foreign Grocery Friday series, we also have a definite thing for investigating the fast food preferences of destinations. This usually involves stalking the pastry cases of Starbucks in Switzerland or snacking as the world's fanciest Taco Bell, but more likely we're around the corner squinting up at the menu boards of a McDonald's.

Hoping for some rice patties or other exotic offerings, we wandered into the Golden Arches in the Central Festival Mall in Phuket Town, Thailand. Instead we came face-to-face with the Samurai Pork Burger, a standard item on Thai McD's menus, and something that sounded safe to try.

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Foreign Grocery Friday: The Butterfly Pea Tea of Hua Hin, Thailand

October 14, 2011 at 2:55 PM | by | Comment (1)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

There's a beautiful flower out there with an embarrassing name. It's Butterfly Pea, or, if you're using the proper name for the flower, it's Clitoria Mariana, and it makes an excellent (and rare) tea. Take one look at a photo of one of these violet blooms and you'll understand the reason for the latin name.

In Thailand however, the flowers are "Dok Anchan" and they're dried, steeped in hot water and served hot or cold with a splash of lime. Before the lime, the Butterfly Pea Tea is a deep indigo shade, but the addition of the citrus perks it up to a vivid purple. The more lime added, the lighter and sweeter it gets.

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