Beach Cleanup at Suan Son Beach

Yesterday I participated in a beach cleanup party with my colleagues at AECOM and sixth graders from Bavornrattanasart School.   The Beach we cleanup was Suan Son Beach located west of the City of Rayong in Rayong Province, just across the street from the Phe Aboretum. The trash washing up on Thailand’s over 2000 kilometers of coastline has been a growing problem and AECOM decided to do their part and clean up a small portion. 

Bavornrattanasart School is local to the beach area and the sixth graders were great, teaming up with AECOM’s staff and walking down the sandy beach and collecting the refuse along the way.  AECOM took the opportunity to try to raise the awareness in the children of Bavornrattanasart School the importance of taking responsibility of the earth’s future by doing what you can when you can. 

Millions Thais and tourists enjoy the beautiful coastline of Thailand every year. However, many are unaware how daily activities, from buying street food in plastic bags and not properly disposing of their garbage, or just throwing a cigarette butt on the out of the car window, can impact the quality of beaches. This trash can make using the beach less enjoyable and can even harm beach organisms.  Solving this growing problem requires everyone's involvement.

It wasn’t all serious times though, after the trash collecting was over, the children and AECOM staff enjoyed tasty Thai food and coconut ice cream.  A great time was had by all!  
For more photos of this fun day click here...  To find out how you can help out Thailand Beaches click here...

Thai Meets West

The people of Thailand are an interesting group. They hugely influenced by Chinese culture, being located just to the south of China, so I am sure that some of the things I am going to describe are part of the greater "eastern" culture as well as the Thai culture. However, Thais have developed a unique blended culture of their own. You might wonder how this might affect your stay here in Thailand. If you are not in Thailand more than a few days or a week you may not even notice, especially if you confine your visit to the well known tourist areas where Thai Culture is a bit diluted by the visiting foreigners. However, I have been living among the Thai people and I find their culture quite endearing.

I have put together informational page to help you understand the Thai culture better before you arrive.

1.  Best time to Join a Celebration in Thailand: http://ow.ly/2thpd
2. 10 National Parks of Thailand: http://ow.ly/2thuL
3. Best Time to Visit Thailand: http://ow.ly/2th4C
4. Thailand’s Golden Beaches: http://ow.ly/2th6b
5. Thailand Photography: http://ow.ly/2thDb
6. Thai Food – tastiest of all: http://ow.ly/2th9l 
7. Buddhism in ancient Thailand: http://ow.ly/2thna 
8. Thailand’s classical masked dance, Khon: http://ow.ly/2thxQ 
9. Guide to exploring Thailand: http://ow.ly/2wwsL 
10. Diving and snorkeling in Thailand: http://ow.ly/2xFJd

 Certainly experiencing this culture first hand is the only way to truly appreciate the complexity.

Orchid Show – Siam Paragon, Bangkok Thailand

The 4th Annual Siam Paragon Bangkok Royal Orchid Paradise 2010 is still on until the 10th of August at Siam Paragon Mall (in Bangkok) and I decided to attend yesterday, naturally with my camera. I am giving you a sample of the orchids on display but I took much more. The very best can be viewed by clicking here. The Thai girl shown to the left is the Orchid Queen, who was nice enough to pose for this picture. This show was not as good as the previous year but the orchids are always good subjects for photos..



For more about my trip to the Orchid Show click here...

Cat keeping cool on the tropical island of Mu Koh Surin

Cat keeping cool on the
tropical island of Mu Koh Surin

I was just going through my photo archives and found this photo. I wanted to share with you because I always thought it to be a really good photo, especially when you realize that the cat in the photo is on a tropical island of Mu Koh Surin in the Andaman Sea.

What a life he must have eating the fish from the sea gypsies fishing boats.

For more fantastic photos of Thailand, click here...

Best time to Join a Celebration in Thailand

The Thais are world renowned for their love of fun and so whenever you visit Thailand you will always be in time for a feast, festival, fair or full moon party.

As a nation famous for its friendly people, the Thais love to share their rich ethnic and cultural traditions with travelers. Many of the festivals are beautifully symbolic and fascinating to watch, they not only give you a real appreciation of Thai culture, but you will also have a lot of fun.

Wherever you are in Thailand, there has never been a better excuse to celebrate!

Because many of the religious festivals and Royal ceremonies are based around the lunar calendar the dates tend to vary from year to year, but the exact festival dates will be available through the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), check out: http://www.tourismthailand.org/ for more information.

For a list of celebrations in Thailand throughout the year click here...

For a great look at Thailand weather and how it might affect your trip click here...

Having Fun in Thailand

Wrestling Crocodiles!

Thai people can be crazy (and I mean that in a good way). Look at this guy in the photo putting his head inside the mouth of a huge crocodile! Who in their right mind would do that. I am also guessing that he gets paid very little for this “job”. Unbelievable things you see when traveling in Thailand…

I thought I would share this photo for you so you can thank the lord for whatever normal job you may have...

Following the path of Buddhism in Thailand

Buddha Image in Thailand

About 95 percent of Thailand’s population are Buddhists. This part of their culture touch almost every aspect of their lives. Buddhism's success in Thailand also owes much to its acceptance of other religious rites and practices. As Buddha himself was a Hindu and Buddhism originated in, and migrated from a Hindu society, India, it is easy to understand how Buddhism shares some elements that are recognizable within Hinduism. Even today, there are various rituals that are practiced within Buddhism that are either explicitly identified as Hindu in origin, or are easily seen to be derived from Hindu tradition. To read an in-depth view of Buddhism’s Path to Thailand, check out this link.

When will you visit Thailand?

Choosing the best time to travel to a foreign land can be stressful. Thailand travel blog has bad things a bit easier for you by organizing the necessary information in a nice, organized page.

If you're a fan of warm, tropical weather then there can never really be a bad time to visit Thailand. However, there can be times when the country is uncomfortably hot and others when it is affected by monsoons, which periodically bring short bursts of heavy rain, so it's a good idea to consider your options before you start packing your suitcase.

Come take a look at Best Time to Visit Thailand on squidoo.