Tour Intro - Good guide for your vacation.: March 2009

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Bangkok Thailand Intro

The city of Bangkok is the capital, largest urban area and primary city of Thailand. Known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or Krung Thep for short, it was a small trading post at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River during the Ayutthaya Kingdom and came to the forefront of Thailand when it was given the status as the capital city in 1768 after the burning of Ayutthaya, the former kingdom seat and capital of the Ayuthaya province. It was also ranked by "Travel and Leisure" as the best city in the world for the year 2008.

However, the current Rattanakosin Kingdom did not begin until 1782 when the capital was moved across the river after being sacked by the Burmese. The Rattanakosin capital is now more formally called "Phra Nakorn", pertaining to the ancient boundaries in the metropolis' core and the name Bangkok now incorporates the urban build-up since the 18th century which has its own public administration and governor. In the span of over two hundred years, Bangkok has been the political, social and economic center of not only Thailand but for much of South East Asia and Indochina as well. Its influence in the arts, politics, fashion, education and entertainment as well as being a business, financial and cultural center of Asia has given Bangkok the status of a global city.

Bangkok is the world's 22nd largest city by population with approximately 8,160,522 registered residents (July 2007), but due to large unregistered influxes of migrants from the North East of Thailand and of many nations across Asia, the population of greater Bangkok is estimated at nearly 15 million people. This has in turn shifted the country from being a rather homogenous Thai population to increasingly a more vibrant mix of Western, Indian and Chinese people. The capital is part of the heavily urbanized triangle of central and eastern region of Thailand which stretches from Nakhon Ratchasima along Bangkok to the industrialized eastern seaboard. The Bangkok Province borders six other provinces: Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon and Nakhon Pathom, and all five provinces are joined in the conurbation of the Bangkok Metropolitan Area.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Nan is one of the northern provinces of Thailand.

Nan is one of the northern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from south clockwise) Uttaradit, Phrae and Phayao. To the north and east it borders Xaignabouli of Laos.

The province is located in the remote valley of the Nan River, surrounded by mountains covered with forests. The highest mountain is the 2079 meter high Doi Phu Kha in Amphoe Pua, north-east of the city of Nan towards the border with Laos.

For centuries Nan was an independent kingdom but, due to its remoteness, had few connections to the other kingdoms. The first kingdom around the city Mueang Pua (also known as Varanagara) was created in the late 13th century. Its rulers, the Phukha dynasty, were related to the founders of Vientiane, however it became associated with the Sukhothai kingdom as it was easier to reach from the south than from the east or west. In the 14th century the capital was moved to its present location at Nan.In the 15th century, when Sukhothai declined in power, it became vassal of the kingdom of Lannathai. In 1443 King Kaen Thao of Nan plotted to capture neighboring Phayao by asking King Tilokaraj to help him fight against Vietnamese troops attacking Nan, even though there was no such threat. Kaen Thao killed the king of Phayao, however the troops of Tilokaraj then attacked Nan itself, and captured it in 1449.When Lannathai was under Burmese rulership, Nan tried to liberate itself many times without success, which finally led to direct Burmese rulership of Nan in 1714. In 1788 the Burmese rulers were finally driven back, however Nan had to then accept the new Siam rulers. In 1893 after the Paknam crisis Siam had to give a big part of eastern Nan to French Indochina.However Nan kept some degree of independence from the Siamese rulers, and it took until 1931 to become fully integrated into Thailand, and the province was then created.Before the early 1980s bandits as well as People's Liberation Army of Thailand (PLAT) guerillas were a big problem in the province, usually destroying highway construction overnight. With the help of the army and the more stable political system the province improved significantly, but is still a very rural and remote area.For further information, see the article on Nan, Thailand

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Maehongson the City of Three Mists

The city is covered with the mist all year long. Maehongson gains its nickname of "the City of Three Mists" from the fact that it has dewy mist in the winter, forest fire mist in the summer and rainy mist in the rainy season.

Pai is a small community, embraced by rolling mountains and enveloped in natural setting that is fresh and beautiful. The atmosphere is clean, pure, quiet and warmly welcoming. The different ethnic groups, religious beliefs and languages of the people of plains and the people of the mountains have blended together here to form a unique set of cultural traditions.

The citizens of Pai live their lives with a spirit of generosity and a sense of community, always ready to give someone a helping hand. Yet at the same time, the remoteness of the region makes travel to and from Pai difficult. Many people would rather not come and risk their chances in such an isolated place. However, many other people entrust their luck to fate in this very spot, and others dream of having just one chance in their lives to come and experience the summit of the north of Thailand.