Lumpini Park at Night

Lumpini Park is nestled in the center of Bangkok's most famous shopping districts. The park is a large city park with lakes and waterways which seem to come alive with city lights at night as it is surrounded by a dazzling display of skyscrapers. There is a 2.5 kilometers walkway on the outside of the park and crisscrossed with other walking paths in its center, all offering stunning views of the city after the sun sets on the city. After sundown the city lights do seem to come alive on the lakes in the park, making the park seem a bit magical. I have created a collage of photos from last night's walk through the park you can download this collages for a wallpaper for your computer if you wish of go to my Thailand Photo Blog for take a look at the other photos from my walk in the park by clicking here...

The International Street show is being held this week as well at Lumpini Park featuring artists, musicians, magicians from all over the world. This was fun to walk through the park, enjoy the shows and enjoy the scenery.

More Christmas in Bangkok

I am getting in the mood for Christmas and taking a lot of photos of the Christmas displays around the area I live and work in Bangkok and I thought I would continue to share. Bangkok is springing to Christmas life all around me, especially in around the Malls and major hotels of downtown Bangkok, as I am sure you can imagine. The displays are really quite good and they seem to spring to life over night.

The Christmas collage above can be downloaded to your computer as a free wallpaper. You can also see more than 70 of my Christmas photos on my Thailand Photo Blog by clicking here…

The photo below is of the huge Christmas Tree in the center of CentralWorld Mall.

Up-Country Thailand

Outside of Bangkok Thailand becomes quite rural and as one of the world's biggest rice exporter, rice paddies are a quite common sight as you travel in southern Thailand. You can find hard working Thais in rice paddies tending the fields. The photo to the left is of a hard worker in a paddy north of Chiang Rai, in northern Thailand.  He is picking the rice at the end of the season.

But there is much more, with rubber tree plantations in the south and teak plantations in the northern Thailand, this country is a lush tropical paradise. In northwest there are coffee trees on the sides of mountains and coconut plantations in many areas in southern Thailand. Fruit trees and vegetables of many many varieties can be found everywhere making Thailand the best place to go for the freshest, tastiest food, anywhere.

I found this group of people on the side of a mountain road near Doi Tung, also north of Chang Rai, sifting through the coffee beans they had picked earlier in the day. They are likely part of the Akha Tribe who live in this area.  The coffee trees grow on the slopes of the mountians in this area and by the look of it, they are quite hard workers. 

Thai Kings Birthday Celebration

Last night Thailand Celebrated their Kings 82^nd Birthday and it was a gala event as promised. Many streets in center city Bangkok were closed to vehicular traffic to allow many thousands of Thai people to walk freely from the Grand Palace area to the Dusit area and Bangkok was a sea of pink. Strange color I know, but pink is their King's color, based on the day of the week he was born and last night pink was everywhere, worn but Thai people everywhere.  I was able to visit from the Golden Mountain area to the Democracy Monument then back down to the Dusit Museum (once the parliament building years ago) along Ratchadamnoen Road. The events began with a candle light ceremony where the Thai People professed their undying loyalty to their King.

This lead to an extravagant firework display from several areas along Ratchadamnoen Road.

Following the firework display was a parade of light, again along Ratchadamnoen Road, where floats decorated with a dazzling display of lights and carrying Thai Celebrities, were seemingly magically transported along the road.  The floats were of many sizes and shapes and the most impressive to me was a huge float decorated in orange lights in the shape of a dragon.  Quite amazing..

At the Dusit Museum there was another show of light and sound, telling the story of their King's Reign, showing inspirational tails of how their King has improved the quality of life for the Thai People.

For more photos of the Gala Event you can go to my Flickr Photo Set Page by clicking here...

Thailand Prepares for their King’s Birthday!

All over Thailand preparations are well underway for King Rama IX's 82^nd birthday, which will be a gala event. In Bangkok, the focus will be from Sanam Luang Park near the grand Palace, all along Ratchadamnoen Road, including the area around the Democracy Monument to the Phan Fa intersection. The event will include a dazzling display of lights and fireworks as well as nights of festivities. At 7:19 pm there will be a coordinated event of candle light across the country, wishing the King well for his birthday.

For a look at last years celebration, click here...

Thailand is Ranked Number “One” Spa Destination

Thailand has been crowned the top winner in three of the 27 categories at the Asia Spa Awards 2009, as announced recently in Hong Kong. The winning categories included:

• "Spa Capital of the Year"
• "Destination Spa of the Year" for the Six Senses Destination Spa in Phuket
• "Men's Spa Treatment of the Year" for the "Man Space Healing Balance Massage" located in the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel in Bangkok.

Bangkok Post Article

Today, spas offer much more than just mud baths, massages and meditation classes. A center for healing and nourishing your mind, body and spirit, a good spa will offer a range of professionally administered treatments, classes and programs in a beautiful and serene atmosphere. However, spas can come in a variety of forms and so to ensure that you get the right treatments and service for you, it is a good idea to do a bit of research before you book. Have a look at the spa's website, check to see if they have received any recommendations, or won any awards.

More Information on the Spas of Thailand click here...