Thailand is the perfect destination for people looking to indulge in their inner thrill-seeker and those looking for anything that will make their vacation a little relaxing. Whether it’s a cooking class to learn more about Thailand‘s top cuisine or a beautiful pool villa koh samui has to offer, Thailand has a lot to offer. With a multitude of unique attractions, there’s something for everyone! Here are some of the best activities to do in Thailand that are worth checking out: Cliff Jumping Cliff jumping is a great activity while in Thailand because it’s an exciting way to get a rush of adrenaline, and the views are incredible. You’ll see Thailand’s beautiful coastlines from a new perspective and glimpse some of the country’s most beautiful sights. The water is warm and pristine, so it’s also an excellent way to cool off on hot days. Snorkeling Snorkeling is an excellent Thailand activity for travelers because it’s easy to learn and lets you see some of the country’s beautiful marine life up close. The best thing about snorkeling in Thailand is that it doesn’t require any prior experience or specialized equipment—all you need is a mask, fins, and snorkel. There are plenty of places where you can rent or buy these things cheaply (often for less than $10). If you’ve never done it before but want to try it out, there are lots of opportunities in Thailand—you can even find snorkeling tours that include guides who will help you get started and ensure your experience is safe and enjoyable. Muay Thai Boxing Muay Thai boxing is a great activity to do while you’re in Thailand because it offers a chance to experience something that’s truly unique to the culture of Thailand. You’ll get an opportunity to learn about the history of Muay Thai, and you’ll also get a chance to see how it’s used as a form of self-defense. You can even try your hand at the sport yourself.  Tour of The Elephant Nature Park If you’re looking for a great place to visit while in Thailand, The Elephant Nature Park is the place to go. The park offers visitors a tour where they can interact with elephants and learn about their lives, health, and well-being. In addition, you will be able to feed the elephants and bathe them. You will also get the chance to ride on an elephant’s back. Visiting this park is an excellent way of raising awareness about the plight of elephants in Thailand and helping them find a home. Thai Nightlife The nightlife in Thailand is an excellent attraction for those visiting the country. The Thai people are known for their hospitality and love of having a good time, so there are plenty of parties and events to go to, especially during the summer. Many tourists choose Thailand because they want to experience an exotic culture, and they can do this by going out at night when the local culture is really on display. In addition, the food is incredible, and there are plenty of bars and clubs where you can dance until dawn with other travelers or locals. Conclusion Thailand is full of adventure and waiting for you to explore. So whether your interest lies in cliff jumping, Muay Thai boxing, or cooking classes, you will find something suitable here. It’s not hard to understand why so many people love this beautiful place. The food is amazing, the people are friendly, and the culture is fascinating.

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People snorkelling in the waters surrounding the Koh Rok Islands in the Krabi Province of the Andaman Sea have sighted Manta Rays, a vulnerable species and the largest type of ray in the world, for the first time in about 18 years. The 2 Koh Rok Islands – Koh Rok Nai and Koh Rok Nok – are tiny paradises 30 km south of Koh Lanta, Krabi. Small, rugged and mostly unspoilt, they’re home to an impressive coral reef system, pristine white-sand beaches, a small ranger’s station, a restaurant and very little else. While there’s some accommodation available so that you can stay on the island, this is mostly in the form of tents and a few bungalows. As part of the Mu Koh Lanta National Park, the Koh Rok Islands have a thriving underwater ecosystem, where divers and snorkelers can encounter sea turtles, moray eels and black-tip reef sharks. On land, on Koh Rok Nai, the beautiful Koh Rok Waterfall is well worth seeing. The Koh Rok Islands are widely known for their rich marine life, which has regenerated during the COVID-19 tourism hiatus. Snorkelers were excited to encounter the large Manta Rays as, normally, only scuba divers would be able to see them. The Manta Rays are between 3 and 6.7 metres wide and weigh up to 1,350 kilograms. These rays are often found in tropical waters, especially near coral reefs. Such creatures are also found near the “Hin Daeng Hin Muang” dive site near the Koh Rok Islands, located within the Mu Koh Lanta National Park. The manta ray is considered to be endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a result of overfishing over the past few decades. HOW TO GET THERE There’s no public boat service to the Koh Rok Islands, but there are tour companies operating speedboat or longtail boat day trips there from Koh Kradan, Koh Muk, Koh Ngai or Koh Lanta. You’ll need to pay around 400 baht entry fee on arrival at Koh Rok – the national park entry fee. Tours are not available from May to November as the islands are usually closed during this time because of the rough weather.

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It was thanks to an invitation by a Balinese friend to follow them on a trip to attend to a local ceremony that I discovered the beauty of Menjangan Island. This 1,5 km long and 500 mt wide island, with its size of 24 square kilometers, is situated in the northeast of Bali and is a significant part of the Bali Barat National Park. The park occupies 190 square kilometres area in the most north-westerly point of Bali, the Prapat Agung Peninsula, and large swathes of land, protected beach and offshore coral reef and long stretches of around the towns of Gilimanuk, which together with 580 square kilometres of protected reserve in the highlands to the east it accounts for some 10% of Bali‘s total land area. The small, uninhabited offshore island called Menjangan, at 10 kilometers from the coast, is s part of the Indonesian archipelago. We left Lovina in the mid morning on a cloudy Sunday; the trip took about 2 hours by minivan. At the Labuan Lalang pier, where lots of people were waiting their turn to be shipped to Menjangan, we drank a tea and had a snack at a local stall, and observed peanut sellers and boat builders on the bay before boarding our chartered boat at the harbour. The sea was a bit rough but the ride was pleasurable and charged with excitement. The boat trip was fun and lasted about 40 minutes; the view of Ruang volcano in Java during the journey was majestic. I always love being on the water, and seeing the ocean in all is glory. On approaching the island we realized how beautiful is nature on Menjangan, with unspoiled white sandy beaches and a green interior complete with a group of inhabitant deers. Our day was dedicated to visiting the 3 temples present on the island, the most notable being the Pura Gili Kencana, which is certainly worth a visit for the huge white stone of Ganesh looking out at sea. We were told this is the largest Ganesh temple in the world and the oldest temple in Bali, dating back to the 14th century. Another temple, located at the hilltop of Menjangan, is the Kalenting Sari: it was built as part of the holy trip of the great Hindu missionary Danghyang Nirarta who, in the 16th century, came from the kingdom of Majapahit in Java to teach Hinduism to the Bali people. These temples are inhabited by 16 Hindu monks, the only human presence on the island. Next we took a nice walk around Menjangan perimeter. The walk took 1 hour and a half along paths of dry turf, as we did it slow in order to absorb Menjangan natural coastal beauty. Menjangan in Javanese language means ‘deer’, and this name was given by the local coastal population when they observed herds of wild deers swimming to the island every spring. And deers were indeed present, hiding on the thin island bushes, shy at our presence. Deers, we learned, are not the only animals present on the island: there are wild rabbits, iguanas and wild chicken as well. Once we reached the coast, we witnessed the woman shaman performing a ritual dance armed with a kriss knife, as well as a processions of men and women heading towards the moored boats to take part of the traditional ceremonial trip around the island. The day trip was a great success, though in my opinion, more could be done in terms of organization, cleanliness  and communication: there was lot of waiting around at the harbour, the walking tracks on the island are few and badly kept, and some of the beauty of the island is lost in the rubbish. DIVING ON MENJANGAN Menjangan area is where diving first started seriously on Bali back in about 1978 under the sponsorship of the Indonesian Navy, which helped to establish Menjangan as the premier international dive location in Bali. The island is still today considered to be an important part of the local tourism industry thanks to the seven world-class dive sites that lie off its coast, and to one of the most spectacular and best-preserved coral reefs in Bali. These reefs incorporate an incredible marine fauna that includes groupers, large groups of jacks, turtles, enormous sea fans, pygmy seahorses, vivid gorgonians, schools of snapper and reef sharks. Thanks to the depth of the dramatically deep drop off of nearly 60 meters and by complex rock formations, there are a great number of large and small caves hosting sponge and soft corals, moray eels and young snappers and batfish. The moderate flow of currents and its protection from strong winds means it is common to see tuna, shoals of jack-fish and angelfish. Many of Bali‘s dive operators based in the southern tourist regions can arrange daily dive excursions specifically to Menjangan. Snorkeling is also said to be the best on Bali: the water around Menjangan is often clear and calm, there is a great abundance of marine life and coral, and visibility is usually excellent, ranging from between 15 and 50 meters. Dive companies offer a comprehensive selection of wetsuits, masks, diving equipment and all other gear necessary to explore beneath the waves. _________________________________________ What are you waiting for? Whether you are a dive aficionado, a sea lover or an adventurer, a day trip to Menjangan is absolutely worth it. Boats leave from the beach at Labuan Lalang and can chartered on the day. The best is to arrive early in the morning and try to club with other tourists in order to make chartering a whole boat worth it. The permit to visit the island cost Rp 40,000 per person and can be purchased from the national park office in the main Labuan Lalang car park. Trips to Labuan Lalang last: 90 minutes from Lovina, 15 minutes from Pemuteran, 15 minutes from Gilimanuk. Menjangan has no accommodation or facilities. Sleeping options are plenty on the north western coast of Bali near...

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I had been planning a day out at sea in Koh Lanta and finally, on a stunning morning not so long ago, I got the chance to hop on my friend Didier’s wooden boat. I had carefully planned the trip from Ao Nang, on the mainland; I set off in the early morning and my car and I managed to board the first set of ferries to the Lanta islands. We reached Koh Lanta Yai at 8am, I stopped in the village of Ban Saladan to buy some breakfast fritters from one of the local vendors and arrived at Didier sea-front wooden house on stilts soon after. My friend was busy talking to his captain and checking the boat for the forthcoming trip. I drunk a coffee and socialised with a group of tourists who were joining the tour, before being summoned by Didier; we boarded the boat via a bamboo floating jetty and off we were, cruising towards the Koh Lanta straight. On the Ban Saladan shores, a series of private piers hosted boats on which staff loaded air tanks and diving equipment, and divers chatted with their instructors, excited about the day’s programmed dives. The water on the straight was calm and the tides high, and the captain headed towards the maze of mangroves. The program then proposed cruising south through the islands of the straight, with Koh Mook, in the Trang archipelago, as the southernmost destination. As the captain cruised skillfully, I took my time to check up the back of the boat. It was different from the traditional longtail boat that characterize the Andaman, which uses an overboard engines attached to a long iron stick that ends with a propeller. This was a bigger boat, with an onboard stored-away engine and a proper rudder. Captain Bang Sod, an aged local with white hair and a witty smile, with his several years experience at the command of large diving boats, looked quite proud to be the captain of such a boat. With my exploration completed, I turned my attention to the mangrove forest; their environment is so complete, so quiet and peaceful especially at that time of the day. Thailand only has a few areas that have been recognised as wetlands of the world and the mangrove forest of Krabi Province is ranked in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Lots of plants and wildlife live in the mangrove environment, including monkeys, birds, and fish. The boat’s slow pace then allowed us to enjoy the magnificent views of the gulf, and to take on the healthy sea breeze. The magic of the sea is always appealing to me. I love slow boats, drifting in the vastness of the water masses, watching the horizon line and never reaching it, evoking past navigations of intrepid seafarers. At 9am we exited the mangroves canals and the sun started to get stronger; the sky was a nice shade of blue. The boat cruised along Koh Por island with its nice bays and a picturesque fisherman village, passed Lanta’s southernmost point, then a few islands: Koh Ngai, where several boats discharged sunbathers; Koh Ma and Koh Chuak, well-known diving and snorkeling sites; Koh Kradan and Koh Mook, the most popular islands in the Trang province, part of Had Chao Mai National Park. Koh Mook is home to several local communities; it features high cliffs and rocks facing the open sea at its western face, and is well known thanks to Morakot (emerald) Cave, a unique attractions part of the Unseen in Thailand tourism campaign that takes its name from the color the water assumes in the proximity of the cave. Captain Bang Sod anchored the boat in proximity of the cave entrance, where one by one we jumped in the water. The exciting thing about this hidden lagoon is that in order to reach it you need to swim through a narrow fissure a few meters wide, a sea tunnel inside the majestic limestone rock, carved by the sea. Didier swam at the helm, holding the torch and making the way through the pitch-dark tunnel accessible only during low tides. At that time of that day the tide was so high tough that it forced us to lower our heads in order to avoid hitting the rock ceiling. After a short while, a ray of light filtered in from the end of the tunnel, and soon we entered the small lagoon. Enclosed in a shell of sheer rocks several hundred meters high covered in tropical vegetation, a small beach was lined with huge beech trees and plants that sprouted massive foliage from a red earthy ground. We got out of the water; the sand there had the consistency of powder. We spent some time in peace, had another swim, explored the jungle-ridded sides of the encircling mountain, and left for the swim back. Captain Bang Sod was waiting for us, ready to cruise on. On the way back, we had lunch: a simple yet delicious rice and vegetable ratatouille, followed by fruit and soft drinks. During our trip back, we sailed along the West side of Koh Lanta, stopping to snorkel at a couple of destinations, and taking a break at a semi-desert bay along the coast. We arrived back in Ban Saladan jetty at 5pm, tired from the several hours of boating but happy and content, amazed by this experience  out at sea in Koh Lanta.

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