The Southeast Asia Travel Specialists Since 1999
Following on from Marc’s recent write up on the stunning Koh Kradan here’s a post on the equally beautiful, and even more pristine, neighbouring island of Koh Rok, Thailand. This stunning spot, off Southern Thailand’s Andaman Sea coast, is another superb option for our snorkelling and island boat tours featured on both the South Thai ‘Jungles and Islands‘ and ‘Reefs…
A boat trip to Koh Kradan, photos and text by Marc Rajes The wooden long-tail-boat was moving slowly through the shallow azure waters. Our captain was aiming for a large orange-coloured buoy just ahead of us – all around us was a reef. The day’s clear skies allowed for excellent visibility below and the reef was clearly visible from several…
All Points East are very proud to announce we are the 2010 winners of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Green Award, for Best UK Tour Operator for Local Communities in Thailand. The award is given in conjunction with responsibletravel.com, who’s Director, Justin Frances said “All Points East are an excellent example of a tour operator with long-standing commitments to providing tours that work…
A great selection of photographs of trekking in Northern Thailand by Brian Smith from Canadian operator The trek covers the border area between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces, beginning in the small, picturesque town of Tha Ton from where we depart by boat down the Kok River. First stop is Ruam Mit – a riverside Karen village where we…
Our escorted, 2-week Thailand family tour, ‘Jungles and Islands’, offers spectacular sights, stunning landscapes, a wide range of activities and plenty of great food and friendly people. This exploration of some of the well-known – as well as some of the lesser-visited – highlights of western and southern Thailand makes an ideal tour for all ages and every member of…
Apologies; minus 10 for repetition! Wat Rong Khun (more commonly known simply as The White Temple) in Thailand’s Chiang Rai Province rears its unusual head again. Now every time we visit we hesitate over leaving the camera in the minibus (as we’ve been there so many times) but every time we take it anyway and end up finding some other…
Actually a private, French language, tour for honeymoon couple Aurore and Jacques with Jean-Daniel tagging along as guide/tour-leader/gooseberry on their Northern Thailand tour, so here’s just a few out of the several hundred Thailand tour photos that the happy couple took! Starting off in Bangkok all went according to plan despite the severe flooding in the city suburbs which thankfully…
A selection of photos from our current Emerald Triangle tour of Laos and Cambodia; – the picturesque region where Northeastern Thailand, Southern Laos and Northern Cambodia meet being sometimes referred to by this evocative name. Itinerary had to be changed at the last minute due to the UK Foreign office’s Thailand flood warnings (see article here) so we ended up…
Koh Chang, located in Eastern Thailand’s Trat Province, is the countries 3rd largest island after Phuket and Samui but, though development has proceeded rapidly over the last decade, it remains still much more low key than either of its larger competitors. Resorts now succeed each other one after the other all the way down the West coast sandy beaches and…
Hat Chao Mai National Park lies in Kantang and Sikao districts of Thailand’s Trang Province and consists of a stretch of coastline incorporating the spectacular beaches of Chang Lang, (Park HQ), Pak Meng, Hat Yao etc, an area of mangrove swamps at the mouth of the Kantang River and several offshore islands in the Andaman Sea such as Koh Libong,…
We’re hoping that an upcoming addition to All Points East’s range of Thai destinations will be the far northern mountain province of Mae Hong Son. We’ve been trying to work out how to include this picturesque, yet remote region into our Thai tours but have finally realised it’s impossible given time restraints and that we may as well, therefore, make…
Prasart Sikhoraphum is a small yet remarkably well-preserved brick, laterite and sandstone Hindu temple complex dating from the 11th-century and lying just east of Surin Town in northeastern Thailand. (The exact reign is unknown but the early 11th-century kings Suryavarman I or Udayadityavarman II look like good suspects. Some descriptions we’ve come across assign the temple to the Suryavarman II…
One of Thailand’s most important, and scenic, protected wetlands, Thale Noi Bird Sanctuary is located in South Thailand’s Phattalung Province. Thale Noi – meaning Small Sea in Thai comprises of the northern limits of the large Thale Sap, (Freshwater Sea) which stretches off to the south eventually connecting to the Gulf of Thailand at Songkhla Town. The southern reaches are,…
One of Thailand’s remotest and least visited Angkor period temples, yet its very remoteness, jungle setting and total lack of tourist development are exactly what made it a great little temple to visit. It’s missing the grandeur of Phnom Rung, the photogenic lily-ponds of Muan Tam and the well-preserved carvings of Sikhorapum but Ta Muan is an interesting enough temple…
This 1-week Sumatra tour includes a stay in a riverside eco-lodge at Bukit Lawang – gateway to Gunung Leuser National Park – part of the World Heritage site ‘Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra‘ and a visit to the old Dutch-period hill station of Berastagi, with a lakeside resort on picturesque Samosir Island, located within the vast crater lake of Mt…
Thailand’s UNESCO entry Sukhothai shares a triple bill with the ruins of Kamphaeng Phet, to the west. and the ancient city of Si Satchanalai to the north under the combined (and imaginative) name of Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns. The former lies some 80 kilometres southwest of Sukhothai and the latter over 50 kilometres north and while…
What follows is a brief account and selection of photos of our Cambodia boat trip from Siem Reap to Battambang. I think we first ran this Cambodia boat trip way back in 2000. It was a very different country in those days and the journey across the Tonle Sap and up the Sangkar River to Battambang was an adventurous…
Arrive in Laos in style with this 3-day Mekong River Cruise extension taking you by road and river from Thailand’s historic northern capital Chiang Mai to Lao’s World Heritage Luang Prabang. From Chiang Mai, we’ll travel overland through the mountains of the Golden Triangle to the quaint riverside town of Chiang Khong for a night’s accommodation prior to a morning…
Lying in the Andaman Sea just off the coast of Krabi Province, Koh Jum (Jum Island) is situated slightly north of popular Koh Lanta and directly opposite the world-famous Phi Phi Islands. With this terrific location, miles of pristine sandy beaches and a lush interior of jungle-clad hills and traditional fishing villages we’re at a loss to know how this…
Any discussion of Myanmar World Heritage Sites may well begin with the words, ‘Oh dear’! To our minds, it’s one of the best examples of UNESCO’s limitations – of political considerations overriding genuine heritage concerns – and, in certain cases, downright petulance. The answer to an abhorrent military regime – far from the only one on the planet and one…