Famous for its horse drawn carriages and Temples, Nakhon Lampang is the third largest city in northern Thailand but with a population of less than 63,000 it has a similar charm to other small cities not yet tainted by tourism in Thailand’s north. It’s bus station, train station and airport are all located less than 4 km from the city centre, which speaks not only its accessibility but also to the compact size of this charming city.
Ever travelled to Bali and found accessing fairly priced and reliable transport an issue?
You may want to consider the use of smartphone apps like Uber, GoJek (GoCar) or even My Bluebird Taxi that can take the language issues out of booking transport and save you enough money for use on more enjoyable outlets.
My experience was that using Uber saved me between 200,000 Rp and 300,000 Rp over 2 return trips from Kuta to Sanur.
Nyepi day, the Balinese ‘Day of Silence’ is well worth making an effort to see. The colour, chaos and auditory assault of the Gamelan are very memorable. This is an opportunity to see local religious celebrations conducted right in the heart of ‘tourist land’.
Being unable to leave your hotel for 24 hours can be a challenge for some – but – with some minimal preparations and the right attitude, it can be a real pleasure.
The short boat ride to Wat Tilok Aram on Phayao Lake was probably the best value and most enjoyable trip I’ve ever done in my 40+ trips to Thailand over 30 years. The boat ride was just the right length, the Temple area quiet enough and interesting enough and the focus on safety very reassuring.
The Glory Express boat company provide a fast boat transport service between Sanur and Nusa Lembongan.
If you enjoy being herded like cattle, watching your bags being treated with casual indifference, having your shoes/sandals upended into the sand and being required to wade knee deep in water to board and disembark from the boat – this service is for you!
Reaching new heights in impediments for the visually impaired?
Indonesia in general, does not really encourage dual use of its pedestrian facilities, where they do exist. In fact pedestrians are actively discouraged from using them. Where will cars and motorcycles park if they are expected to keep footpaths free for pedestrians?
UPDATE: Feb 2017 – Jetstar now have a monopoly 😦
When Virgin Australia pulled out of flying from Adelaide to Denpasar in March 2016, the route was handed to partner airline TigerAir Australia. The only other competition for direct ADL to DPS flights is Jetstar.
How do the 2 compare and does TigerAir offer anything that Jetstar doesn’t?
The Lai Reua Fai festival at Nakhon Phanom is spread over the final week of Buddhist Lent in October (varies based on lunar calendar) each year. Bamboo scaffolds are constructed on pontoons and wire frames of elaborate religious designs are fastened to the scaffolds and thousands of candles added to the wire frames which are then lit and the boats slowly floated down the Mekong. The boats are released as thousands of small candles, floated from upstream, reach the launching point on the Nakhon Phanom riverfront. Spectacular!!
There is now just the 1 bus a day between Nong Khai and Nakhon Phanom. The ancient, but well maintained bus, covers the 320 km trip along the Mekong River in around 7 hours. It is air conditioned with good leg room and represents great entertainment at 200 baht for the experience, transportation thrown in.
Nong Khai has a lot to offer including; ease of access from Bangkok or other regional centres, a laid back feel, some great local foods, colourful markets, stunning river views and its easy to find a suitable bicycle to make use of the 8 Km stretch of riverfront bike paths.
stekmer 