Gone Walkabout

Gone Walkabout Thailand 2009 part 3

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:29:15 +0000

Relax, no angry natives are going to chase you across this cool suspension bridge.

Some hitchhikers we picked up!

My wife and I enjoying some relax time at the local strawberry farm in the mountainous area around

Chiang Mai.

Chilling with family and friends

At a roadside fruit stall. Some really weird looking but great tasting stuff!

A fishing village along the Thai coast

Gone Walkabout Thailand 2009 part 2

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:56:04 +0000

Welcome to part 2 of my Thailand Gone Wlkabout special. Please sit back and enjoy the photography and thoughts from our trip.

Gassing up for a daytrip to a nearby forest reserve. Check out the gas pumps.

Gas pump station in Thailand

Driving through Khun Nan national park. The park has camping and sleeping facilities. Cobras are prevalent here, so you need to take care when walking around. Its best to drive around in a truck as the King Cobras will pull you off your bike!

Lending the forest dwellers use of our truck in constructing a King Cobra trap

After all that sweaty, hard working with the jungle people, we decided we deserved a treat. Welcome to Sukantara Resort outside of Chiang Mai. This place is incredible! It is built on top of a sries of cascading waterfalls (www.sukantara.com) (011-66-81-881-1444).

Thailand Trip 2009 part 1

admin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:15:38 +0000

A stop at the strawberry guest house in Samoeng valley on the way to Pai. It’s pretty chill around here, nonetheless, Trong, our security guard, keeps a watchful eye.

Thailand gone walkabout 01

There are two main roads to Pai. This one is the older route with large sections of unpaved and very rough terrain through dense tropical forest

Gone Walkabout Thailand backroads

A brief stop at a roadside stall

Thailand Roadside stall with Mike Makens

•Pai is in the Mae Hong Son Province of N.Thailand. Numerous mountain ranges, valleys and rivers are characteristic of this part of Thailand. We love staying at Pai Klang Na guest house.

•It affords a beautiful view of the valley and is situated in the middle of a rice field. The quiet and brillance of stars at night are memorable (www.paiklangna.com) (011-66-083-304-3300)

•Mark (to my left) is the owner of Pai Klang Na.

•Here I am helping him and a worker design and

•Lay out some new garden beds. We discussed ways of attracting more visitors to his place and enhancing the existing views at the guest house.

Gardening in Thailand

•I love all the quirky little coffee shops that have taken the Starbucks idea o another level.

Thailoand Coffee shop

•We are now in the Nan, the capital of Nan Province next to Laos. Not many foreign tourists get to this part of Thailand. Its slower pace and relaxed atmosphere make it a great place to chill out for a few days.

Nan Province near Laos

•As you can see, I have my CRS (Cigars Ready to Smoke) handy.(www.texascigarbrothers.com).

The toad in Thailand

This road was literally being built as we were driving. This is right up on the Thai/Laos border

Thai Laos border This highway is part of a highway system coming down from China. Driving here in the rainy season can be quite dangerous as it is very common for sections of road to wash out and disappear over the steep cliffs –taking cars and buses with it! You might consider walking or riding a bike up here.Driving conditions in Thailand

At last, our destination-Bo Kluea guest house(www.bokluaview.com) (011-66-054-778-140) This place is awesome!

Our accomadations and our pool

The guest house grows its own vegetables and herbs to ensure absolute freshness.

•A view of the valley while my wife waits for breakfast

The valley with a view

Breakfast with a view

Breakfast view in Thailand

Welcome to our Gone Walkabout travel section

admin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:25:31 +0000

Welcome to our Gone Walkabout world travel section. We will be posting updates about the gardens and inns of the world as seen through the eyes of Mike Makens and his friends and family. We will try to highlight the beauty of the different locations and the gardens that inhabit them.