“This is the only stoplight on the island,” announced Yodying, my guide for the day. “Where?” I asked, not seeing the normal pole topped with red, yellow and green lights. He pointed to a three-foot high metal tripod with a red light mounted on top, shoved under a tree between intersecting sand roads. “We use … Read more
Over the years I’d heard all the horror stories about crossing from northern Thailand into Laos and taking a slow boat to Luang Prabang. Each day hundreds of travelers cross the Mekong River and join the crush at Lao Immigration, where they wait to be stamped into the country. Once approved, they’re herded like cattle … Read more
I’ve passed through my fair share of border towns over the years. Many are shabby, filthy encampments that exist on either side of a barren no man’s land where immigration officials with steely gazes extract their pound of flesh. Some, like Poipet at the border between Cambodia and Thailand, feel downright dangerous. As I gradually … Read more
On the day I departed from The Sanctuary Resort on Koh Pha Ngan, the seas were again too heavy for the Koh Samui ferry to pick guests up from the beach, so we climbed into an inflatable rubber boat for the short ride to the larger boat, waiting out in the bay. As if serving … Read more
For my very first trip to Thailand in 2002 I chose a week-long Yoga retreat on Koh Phra Thong, a little-known island in the Andaman Sea off the west coast of the country, and Yoga has been part of every subsequent trip. So as I made plans to return to Thailand for the first time … Read more
