Mike | Touch Grass Tour

Traditional Thai longtail boats anchored in shallow, mirror-like water during low tide on Koh Libong, with clouds reflected in the sea.

Koh Libong: The Best Thai Island for Families (That You’ve Never Heard Of)

March 10, 2026 | Mike

Only a twenty-minute longtail ride from Thailand’s Andaman coast lies a quiet island of golden-sand beaches, sleepy fishing villages, and rock pools brimming with life. Here, in Koh Libong’s shallow seas, you have your best chance of encountering Thailand’s last remaining dugongs as they placidly graze in meadows of seagrass. Despite these attractions, Koh Libong […]

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Two young children playing at the water's edge on a sandy beach during a vibrant orange and blue sunset on Koh Bulon Lae.

Why Koh Bulon Lae is the Andaman’s Best-Kept Secret

March 1, 2026 | Mike

As lovely as Phuket and Krabi are, the true magic of Thailand’s Andaman coast lies offshore. The Trang Islands — Ngai, Kradan, and Mook — along with nearby Koh Libong, offer better beaches and smaller crowds. Even if we were looking for a livelier scene, I’d take Koh Lipe over the coast any day. The

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A young girl with long blonde hair seen from behind, looking at a large, ancient standing Buddha statue inside a stone corridor at Phimai Historical Park.

Phimai and the Stunning Ancient Khmer Temples of Korat

February 25, 2026 | Mike

Just joining us? Check out our visit to Thailand’s other great Khmer ruins at Phanom Rung and Prasat Muang Tam. At the end of the ancient royal road that ran north from the imperial capital near Angkor Wat are the stunning ruins of Prasat Phimai. Few places in Thailand so clearly showcase the interplay between

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Young travelers with binoculars discovering the history and culture of an ancient temple on our Touch Grass Tour

Demons on the Volcano: A Family Journey to Phanom Rung

February 17, 2026 | Mike

The borderlands between Thailand and Cambodia are homes to many dozens of archeological sites. The recent unfortunate hostilities between the two countries are often described in terms of the capture and recapture of temple-topped hills. Further from the border, and, at the time of writing, well away from the fighting, are two of the finest

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Three young children posing in front of ancient sandstone temple ruins with a mix of curious and tired expressions.

Finding Pang Sida’s Butterflies on the Road to Isan

February 8, 2026 | Mike

This post is the first in a four-part series exploring the Angkor Empire Loop. We’re traveling through Thailand’s Isan region to uncover ancient temples that reflect the glory of Angkor Wat—minus the crowds. Follow along as we journey from the butterfly-filled forests of Pang Sida to Phanom Rung, the temple crowning an extinct volcano in Buriram. I lived in

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A young girl in a blue swimsuit walking through shallow, transparent turquoise water on Koh Ngai beach with a large limestone island in the background.

Trang Islands Triage: Which One Is Best for Families?

February 3, 2026 | Mike

Koh Ngai, Koh Muk, or Koh Kradan: If you can pick only one, which should it be? Just a short longtail boat ride from the coast of Trang lies a chain of islands that checks every box of the ideal Thai escape: white sands, turquoise waters, and deep green jungle. The three most famous—Koh Ngai,

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A swing-top bottle and a crystal glass filled with golden Thai wild honey mead on a balcony overlooking the Bangkok skyline.

Creating a Local Spirit: Thai Wild Honey Mead

February 1, 2026 | Mike

Home Brewed Mead from Wild Honey Ok, maybe we’re not creating a spirit here, but we are brewing something up from scratch. We’re taking advantage of Thailand’s low price, high quality honey to homebrew mead, which we’ll drink straight and also use in cocktails like The Bee’s Shortcut. Location A local market in Kanchanaburi next

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A father and daughter sit by the edge of a green lake at Khao Ngu Stone Park in Ratchaburi, looking up at a towering limestone cliff under a blue sky.

Puppets, Peaks, and Paranoia: A Weekend in Hidden Ratchaburi

January 31, 2026 | Mike

Ratchaburi is too often just a place Bangkokers drive through on their way to the beach towns of the Thai Riviera. Guilty of doing exactly that a dozen times, we decided to extend a weekend visit to the Tha Chin River and venture deeper into this less-traveled province. We were right to suspect we’d

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A vibrant sunset with orange and yellow clouds over a lush green rice field and misty mountains in Pua, Nan, Thailand.

Ten-Days Driving the Northern Highlands of Lampang and Nan

January 28, 2026 | Mike

This is the complete itinerary for our journey through the quieter corners of Northern Thailand. See below for full details, with links to in-depth descriptions of individual stops to help you decide what’s right for you. Click on any of the following for deeper looks at Lampang, The Sky Pagodas, Phu Langka, Nan, and Thansawan

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A wide, silky long-exposure shot of Thansawan Waterfall in Thailand, featuring turquoise pools, lush green jungle, and a large fallen tree with dramatic roots in the foreground.

Thansawan Waterfall: A Turquoise Gem in Doi Phu Nang NP

January 24, 2026 | Mike

Travel writers in Thailand throw the term “gem” around liberally. This is entirely excusable in a country that is indeed studded with jewels, but knowing when something is genuinely special and worth a detour can be harder. Thansawan Waterfall in Doi Phu Nang National Park is one of these rare finds. An arc of wild cascades

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