Thailand is one of the world\u2019s most popular tourist destinations on \nthe planet receiving an estinated 15.9 million tourists in 2010. Perfect\n marketed images of tuk-tuks, long-tail boats, glimmering temples and \nglamorous Thai dancers are what the mind conjures up when someone says \nThailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Living here for two years, I have had the immense pleasure of seeing \nmany different sides of this fascinating country, the hugely celebrated \nand the unassuming, the popular and the forgotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each place has its unique surprises and my experience makes me cringe\n when I hear some stuck up backpackers say that Thailand has nothing for\n them in way of adventure anymore. As someone once said, \u201conly boring \npeople get bored.\u201d Especially in Thailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MaeKlong Market in the province of Samut Songkram is an unbelievable \nexample of Thailand\u2019s ability to thrive in regardless of circumstances. \nThe market is situated on the train tracks of MaeKlong Railway and eight\n times a day, seven days a week, the train passes in and out happily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The train literally goes directly through the middle of the market \nstalls and over the goods on sale. Rather than relocate a market which \nhad been running for decades in this area, locals adapted superbly so \nthat daily life was not interrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vendors simply pull back any awning that sticks out too far \nwithin centimeters of where the train will pass and usher shoppers to \nstep back. Locals know the exact time each day the train arrives and \nonce it has passed through, the awnings are recoiled and they are back \non the tracks laying out their fruit, meat and seafood as if nothing \nhappened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have you always wanted to see a scrotum \nwith elephantiasis? Er\u2026 no, us neither! Bangkok\u2019s forensic museum holds a\n bizarre collection of everything that is weird, outrageous and just \ndownright freaky about Thailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For anyone looking to investigate a very \ndifferent side of Thailand, look no further\u2026 though be warned this place\n is not for the squeamish or faint of heart!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With macabre interest in death and illness,\n the museum displays a collection of gruesome photographs of \ndecapitations, deformed feotus\u2019s in glass jars, an exhibition of skulls \nwith bullet wounds through the head and the star attraction, the \nembalmed body of 1950\u2019s Chinese cannibal, Si Quey. Next to the cabinet \nread the handwritten words \u201cbecause he loves to eat human\u2019s organ not \nbecause of starving\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most people head to Phuket strictly for beaches and all night \nparties, however, what most people fail to appreciate is Phuket town \nitself. Dating back to the 16th century, colonial powers had an interest\n in Phuket\u2019s natural resources, namely its booming tin mining industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result, the architecture of the town is a mix of Sino-Portuguese\n shop-house and Sino-Colonial mansion style. Despite it being home to \nthe cheapest digs in town (the famous On-On Hotel was featured on the \nopening scene\u2019s of the movie, The Beach!) there is a surprising lack of \nbackpackers roaming the town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Artsy tea-shops and atmospheric jazz bars have now taken residence in\n the old shop-houses and there are some great (and cheap) \nChinese-influenced eating houses. Visitors heading there in October are \nin for a treat as the Vegetarian Festival takes place with incredible \nfeats of self-flagellation and body piercing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nicknamed \u201cLittle Burma,\u201d due to the presence of over 200,000 Burmese\n refugees living in the area, the border town of Mae Sot doesn\u2019t really \nfeel like Thailand at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walking around the local market you will see women with a yellow \npaste, \u2018thananka\u2019 bark smeared on their cheeks and men, wearing the \ntraditional Burmese wrap-around skirt, the longyi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The town is fascinating in the sense that it makes you realize just \nhow complex the Burmese nationality is with ethnic minorities from \nKaren, Kachin, Mon, Arakanese; each with their own separate customs, \ncultures, dress and cuisine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eat chapatis and dal in the Muslim quarter in the morning for \nbreakfast and then feast on Karen curries in the evening. For \nbackpackers who are considering visiting what is now called \u2018Myanmar,\u2019 \nMae Sot is an intriguing taster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Plus, the bridge over the River Moie has just opened for border runs \nso the town may well be seeing more backpackers here in the coming \nmonths. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remote province of Nan is a \nmountainous, forested area that for many years was an autonomous kingdom\n cut off from the rest of Thailand and the outside world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The area remains somewat separated from the\n rest of Thailand in the fact that very few tourists venture here. Home \nto the largest national park in Thailand, the beautiful Doi Phu Kha \nNational Park, the area has an abundance of impressive limestone caves, \nkarats and waterfalls, not to mention the ancient salt mine village, or \n\u2018Ban Bo Klua\u2019 as it is known in Thai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best way to get to Nan province is by \nmotorbike from Chiang Mai on roads which are superb for riding passing \nthrough spectacular mountain scenery. The town of Phayao, located on the\n picturesque Phayao Lake is the perfect stop off point to explore more \nstunning mountain scenery and nearby hill-tribe villages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just four hours by bus from the tourist hotspot, Krabi, lie the \n\u2018secret\u2019 islands of Trang, a group of 47 separate craggy isles each one \nblessed with raw, unspoilt beauty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The area which consists of 120-mile coastline remain untouched by \ntourism and you will find no fast food restaurants, internet cafes or \ntacky souvenir shops here. During low season (June-September) the \nislands are completely deserted and you will have to persuade the local \nfisherman to take you out from the main port of Trang to the outer \nislands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is quite possible that you will be the only Westerner there as you\n explore the beautiful white sandy beaches, limestone caves and \nwaterfalls that were recently designated a national parkland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The accommodation is cheap and very basic but with a location so \nidyllic, the Trang islands are like Thailand 20 years ago. If it is true\n escapism you are after, the Trang Islands just may be your adventure \nplayground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is true that with such an abundance of noteworthy temples in South East Asia, at times during your trip you may feel guiltily \u2018templed out.\u2019 After coming from Thailand\u2019s capital of culture, Chiang Mai with its 300+ temples, the last thing you want to do in Chiang Rai is see another!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, the White Temple just may be different from anything you will \nhave seen before with its eerie concrete hands and ghostly heads \nsurrounding the entrance of the temple and its huge silver tusks \nreflecting the light as you walk up to the daunting doors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The temple is like something out of a strange gothic fairy tale and \nwas built by artist \u2018Ajarn Chalermchai Kositpipat\u2019 as a Buddhist \noffering. Less than 2km from the White Temple, you will find the \nmysterious \u2018Baan Dam\u2019 or the Black House, built interestingly by \nKositpipat\u2019s former student, artist Thawan Duchanee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With an extensive collection of taxidermy, including the entire \nskeleton of an elephant, the Black House is a bizarre contrast to the \npure White Temple. An antagonistic creation by the artist perhaps?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every night without fail as the sun begins to set in Eastern \nThailand, a thick black cloud spouts from the mouth of an eerie cave on \nthe edge of Khao Yao National Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are thousands upon thousands of \u2018wrinkled lipped\u2019 bats who come \nout to hunt at twilight creating what seems like one giant living \norganism in a ribbon pattern across the sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just four hours from Bangkok, the park is also home to 67 species of \nwild mammal including the Asiatic black bear, Asian elephant, gaur \ngibbon and even tigers! Visitors can walk the many hiking trails in the \narea to spectacular waterfalls, observation points and even a dinosaur \nfootprint (a four day trek!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was this time last year when hoards of Thai people raced to the \npeak of the highest mountain in Thailand (2565 metres) to get their \nfirst experience of frost! Whilst English people find this incredulous, \nthe park does have more to offer than its cold winter temperatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Riding a motorbike through the park is the best way to explore a \nlandscape that changes with each turn; at times rugged, misty, cold and \neerie and then almost mediterranean with lush rolling hills, \nrhododendron bushes and smiling farmers waving as they plough the fields\n in the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the way up the mountain (you can reach the summit by road) there \nis a Hmong hill-tribe settlement where visitors can stay overnight in a \nhomestead and observe the organic farming practices here which are a \nRoyal Project initiated by the current King of Thailand to stop the hill\n tribes from growing Opium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the area of Doi Inthanon is well set up for tourists, it is rare to spot backpackers here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right on the border with Malaysia, Thailand\u2019s deep south is very \nunderdeveloped compared to Krabi and the Gulf islands. Today, it remains\n an area which tourists are wary of due to continued travel warnings \nbecause of the Muslim fighting in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, this area has more than one surprise up its sleeve, not \nleast the stunning Tarutao National Marine Park, an archipelago of 51 \nexquisite islands which were the setting for Thailand\u2019s version of the Survivor <\/em>TV program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the first national marine parks in Thailand, its sparkling \nbeaches, coral reefs and virgin rainforest remain in pristine condition.\n It is hard to believe that the largest island, Koh Tarutao was once a \nhuge prison with over 10,000 prisoners sent there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the islands here, Koh Lipe has managed to evade park protection and is beginning to develop into a popular resort. Go now before pressure from developers to build more resorts becomes too much! The park is closed May-November.<\/p>\n