Welcome to John Paulsen's Thailand pages

Welcome to my Thailand guide. I have traveled to this country since 1995, and I have lived in Chiang Mai for a few years now.
I fell in love with Thailand, as many others have and more surely will. Hence, a few pages on the web for my favourite place to be.

This website is primarely meant to be a guide for those who are planning a holiday in Thailand. This country is a GREAT place to have your holiday, and I hope my homepages can be of help and inspire you to come visit.

I have put up a NEW page with images from Thailand. Digital photo is free (as long as you have the camera), so as I am not a photographer anyway feel free to use these pictures if you need them. A reference to me would be nice, but is not required.

I will add to this page whenever I have some new pics. Holiday scenes obviously belongs in my collection, but as I live here there will be as many everyday life shots. Which, perhaps, from time to time can be useful for anyone writing an article, or for general reference. No royalties or copyright issues at all, no registration or anything bothersome. Just save them to your disc if you like.

The picture is from Chiang Mai, taken an early morning in February.

Much of the information on my pages are also found elsewhere, often with more details than I offer, on other websites and in guidebooks. I have made a collection of links to other sites with various information on the "Land of Smiles" that I believe can be useful.

On my pages I write from my own experiences, and I have tried to include useful information and some tips and suggestions that should be useful to those who are traveling here. Some basic suggestions about how you can spend your time is found here.

What I will rarely do is recommend specific hotels, resorts and so on. If any are mentioned it is because I have personal experience with a particular place. There are nomerous rescourses online where you can research for yourself the hotel or resort you have been offered, or to look for a place on your own. Click by the first pages of hits a search engine is likely to give you with mostly booking services, and try to find the homepages of your hotel or guesthouse. So many has them these days, but not all are equally easy to find in the clutter of keyword intensive commercial pages with high search engine ranking. And check my link page, perhaps you find something of use.

Thailand has something to offer everyone, regardless of age and inclinations. Grand resorts, luxury hotels and spas of world class are available at prices unheard of in Europe and the US. And if you are on a modest budget there are no lack of alternatives.
You can have a totally relaxing holiday, spending your time being pampered at a resort or hotel, enjoying the nice beaches, the special Thai traditional massage, get rejuvenated at a spa or perhaps spend some time at a temple for meditation.
Or you can have a more active program with scuba diving, rafting and trekking, or do a training stint at a Muai Thai boxing school.
A Norwegian MC club with a local chapter arranges special tours that may be of interest.
There are many golf courses in Thailand (and I have put up a page with direct links to those), several of which are of international high standard. Golf is popular here, and prices tends to be very low.
Thailand is also the regional cultural treasure chest, and for those with an interest there are seminars, festivals, courses and other options to learn about the country, history and culture.
For those who wants to try elephant riding in the forests or meet hilltribe people upcountry there are alternatives suitable for familys and those of us without olympic fitness levels. Tours and excursions are available for all.

The Thai kitchen is world famous, with good reason. Forget your local "China-restaurant" experience where everything from duck to dog tastes much the same. There is a great variation to Thai dishes, and differences between parts of the country and depending on season. The food can be very spicy but many dishes are served mild, leaving you to mix in chilli and other ingredients so that you can have some control of the intensity of your culinary experience.

For those who prefer more familar grub there are no lack of options. Where tourists spends their time it is usually British, Italian, German and French food available. And in places with high volum of visitors like Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai you will find everything from Israeli to Scandianvian alternatives.
Vegetarian food is available almost everywhere.

The Thai people are very friendly towards children, and if you travel with kids and wants a bit of time for yourself now and then it is normally easy to find a babysitter. Children are generally less thought of as a hassle compared to western culture and will be welcome to accompany you almost anywhere.

Thailand is also becoming a destination for those who wants to save money on health services.

Thailand is sometimes enjoying a mixed reputation as a travel destination. Stories reported in the western tabloid news media tends to be about crime, drugs and prostitution, and fellow westernes that gets into troubles. Less newsworthy, perhaps, is the fact that a very very small number of vivitors have any problems at all and that those who gets into trouble frequently has done something themselves to set things off. This country is a safer destination than most for foreign tourists. And the best place to go for those who are traveling to South East Asia for the first time, for sure.

Follow the links if you like from this page for more information, and happy travels!

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