Thailand

Only Noodles... Only noodles. That's the name of a tiny restaurant we loved on Koh Phi Phi. On the menu were noodles, exclusively: the famous Thai stir-fried noodles known as pad-thai. In my humble opinion, this is the best place to eat pad-thai on Koh Phi Phi!

Hop! Back in the water! Back below the surface. On the program: a short cruise to the Similan Islands, with Richelieu Rock, Koh Bon and Koh Tachaï on the itinerary. These are Thailand's most famous dive sites...

Koh Phi Phi, it's actually two islands. The big one, Koh Phi Phi Don, where one lives. And the little one, Koh Phi Phi Leh, uninhabited. It keeps, despite the crowd of tourists, like treasure island, cinema island.

The other girl, my travel buddy, was setting foot in Thailand for the first time. All in all, she spent five short days there. I decided she had to see Krabi and Koh Phi Phi.

After Cambodia and the temples of Angkor, we headed for southern Thailand. So much for the chronology of the story... I zap straight into underwater mode, with my first underwater video: a coral-eating turtle at Phi Phi Leh.

Usually, I'm not too buggy on the plane. But here I had the opportunity to have a big fright on a flight Phuket - Kuala Lumpur ...

In 9 minutes and 34 seconds, the sweet chaos of Thailand... I wanted to share this lovely video, discovered while browsing the web.

It's the most popular Thai dish with Western tourists. Tasty, nutritious and inexpensive. A simple plate of fried noodles, for which I feel nostalgic when I'm away from Thailand.

Cigarette packs sold in Thailand feature a series of gruesome photos showing the consequences of smoking. Smoking kills... or worse. How effective are these images?

No camera, no underwater photos... A look back at my photographic setbacks with my Canon Powershot A95, in Thailand.

It was on that wonderful Similan dive cruise. Our encounter with a turtle at the East of Eden site. A magical moment! That day, my camera was still working. This is the only underwater video I managed to bring back.

Now I'm making a bit of progress sorting out the photos... I've just put online my underwater images taken during the Similan diving cruise. In the absence of the much hoped-for "big" encounters (mantas, whale sharks), I've concentrated on the "small". Nudibranch lovers will appreciate!

To forget the gray skies, the crisis and the conflicts, here's a small gallery of images full of good humor, brought back from my escapade in Thailand... It's not for nothing that it's called the land of smiles!

I haven't had much time to myself since I got back... I'm just starting to sort through my photos from Thailand. And I can't believe I've managed to bring back so many images, despite the vagaries of my camera. To begin with, here are my underwater photos of Koh Lipe.

It has been more than a week since I came back from Thailand. But I propose to return to the fabulous bay of Phang Nga, with this small video. A long-tail boat ride from island to island, what do you think?

I do not like Patong. But it is still there that I chose to ask for this final night in Phuket.

Farewell Koh Lipe! I left the island and my bamboo bungalow on Sunrise Beach this morning, reluctantly. Despite a few disappointing dives, Koh Lipe is really pretty and deserves a relaxing stay of a few days.

I drooled, but that's it ... I'm Rescue Diver, "lifeguard". The training is physical, exhausting, but exciting.

Three days I've been on Koh Lipe, a tiny island in the very south of Thailand, on the edge of the Malaysian border. My camera is dead, but I've still got pictures. That's right! Solidarity and the D-system came into their own.

Just for fun, a first image of Koh Lipe... This is undoubtedly the island's best-known beach. This small spit of white sand is located at the northern end of Sunrise Beach, on the east coast, as its name suggests. Photogenic as can be.

I have just returned from a four-day dive cruise to the fabulous Similan Islands in the Andaman Sea, Thailand. Here are some pictures, above and underwater.

Here are new pictures of the peaceful little island of Koh Yao Noi, in the bay of Phang Nga, Thailand. Authentic atmosphere, nothing to do with Phuket.

In the heart of Thailand's Phang Nga Bay, Koh Yao Noi is an unknown, peaceful island. Remains authentic despite the proximity of Phuket an hour by boat.

Here I am in Bangkok, in the tourist district, for a short night. I take off again early on Friday for Phuket. Heading for Koh Yao Noi, my first stopover, in Phang Na Bay.

Are you the type to plan everything before you leave, or to improvise as you go along? I tend to fall into the second category. In a week's time, I'll be in Thailand. I haven't planned or booked much, apart from the essentials: plane tickets, a room in Bangkok so I don't have a hard time arriving in the evening, and a diving cruise in the Similan Islands.

Bangkok, built on a marshy ground, sinks. With rising sea levels due to global warming, the capital of Thailand could be swallowed up under 1.50 meters of water by 2030.

Everyone is scared of sharks. It's silly. There is more danger for divers: the giant triggerfish, also called titan triggerfish.

A seasonal image ... well almost. Christmas in Thailand, it looks like, but it's not the same ...

This discussion thread on VoyageForum.com inspired me to create the following series of photos. Unusual or funny scenes, captured during my various trips to the "land of smiles"... Amazing Thailand! (Thai Tourist Board slogan).

The Thai word for island is "koh". As I'm currently doing a lot of web searches starting with koh, I ended up on Koh Rin. I'm an island! Corinne, Koh Rin... Just a few letters to change!

Fed up with the grey Breton winter. I want to go back to Thailand! Bathe in the translucent azure of the Andaman Sea. Contemplate the breathtaking limestone cliffs of Phang Nga Bay and Koh Phi Phi. Climb the rocky curves of Similan Island. Cruise a long-tail boat to a dazzling beach... How about a bit of Thai sunshine?

Walking around on the web after booking my plane ticket, I came across this: an animation showing air traffic on the planet for 24 hours.

This train, which runs through the Maeklong market, near Bangkok, is Thailand's most famous. We fold the stalls, flush with the rails, to let it pass!

To get the basic Thai phrases back into my ear, I tried Learn Thai Podcast. A great site, with mp3 audio lessons.

Lagrandeaventure.fr globetrotters Benoît Bringer and Alexandre Franceschi are in Thailand. Four years after the tsunami, they take us from Koh Phi Phi to Koh Tarutao, in the Andaman Sea, in a short web video report that won me over. The title: Thailand, the ecological challenge.

I'm inaugurating my new Books section with this book on Thailand, published last year. It provides a better understanding of the Thai way of life and way of thinking. Things not so easy to grasp for the farangs (foreigners) that we are.

Here I am, back in Bangkok, and not without pleasure, I must say... It's good to be back in civilization: no more mosquitoes, and long live fast Internet connections, restaurants, lively streets and stores worthy of the name!

Today, a mini-expedition into the jungle to get to the waterfall, in the wilder south of Koh Lanta, shortly after the point where the hard road becomes a dirt road. At this point, take another red dirt road to the left, signposted "waterfall".

Grrr... I've been diving for two days in a row, hoping to see the mythical whale shark I spotted in the waters off Koh Haa three days ago. But nothing...

Koh Haa, off Koh Lanta (Thailand) offers a dive full of atmosphere, with this strange greenish light at the exit of the cave.

I continue my journey in the south of Thailand. After the very pretty, but very crowded and very expensive Koh Phi Phi, here I am in Koh Lanta, much more peaceful. 

Did you see the movie The Beach with Leonardo Di Caprio and Virginie Ledoyen? Yes, it's there ... Maya Beach, on Koh Phi Phi Leh, in the south of Thailand.

My first dives on Koh Phi Phi far exceeded my expectations. Despite the tourist pressure, the funds are very rich.

January 2007. Koh Phi Phi has undergone a metamorphosis since my last visit in July 2005 (almost six months after the tsunami). The transformation is incredible.

The famous night train finally arrived at Songai Kolok, at the border. Rather late, due to an obscure problem with the loco. It was the guy in charge of my carriage who informed me, as I was getting a little impatient this morning, at around 10:30 am, the supposed arrival time, in front of the endless string of stations, none of which was Songai Kolok.

Here I am, disembarked in Chumphon (pronounced "tcheumpone") by the Lomprayah, the catamaran boat that links up with the Thai peninsula. Next, a shuttle bus with luggage and passengers stacked on the back platform to the center, where I was dropped off with the others in front of an Internet café a few minutes' walk from the station.

I went back to take a look at Jansom Bay, on Koh Tao. A pretty little cove, which I liked, but which is already in the process of being transformed...