On Beach Travellers 24 and 36 day Thailand adventure tours, travel groups have the opportunity to travel to my hometown of Kanchanaburi. I love sharing this magical place with travellers and showing them all the great things that make me love it so much! Here are a few of my favorite things to do here, and highlights for any visit to the area:

You'll get to see some of Thailand's most respected animals, the Elephant. Elephants were originally used in construction and to transport goods. Also, they would be used as war steeds and there are certain elephants that are as famous as people for the deeds they did in battles. You'll have the chance to ride these amazing creatures and bathe them in the river. You'll see how smart and friendly elephants can be!

We'll also go to the bridge over the river Khwai which was built by English and Australian soldiers enslaved by the Japanese to build a trade route to Myranmar in World War 2. Over 16,000 POWs died building it. There is a lot of World War 2 history to learn about in Kanchanaburi, from grave yards to museums.

Kanchanaburi is home to one of the best waterfalls in Southeast Asia. Erawan falls has seven separate pools with clear blue water, water-slides, and beautiful limestone. It's located in an amazing national park and is home to monkeys, a bunch of birds, and even tigers.

We'll also take a trip down the river on a bamboo raft where you can swim, just hang out and get a tan, and see the local nature of Thailand. If you're lucky and the water is high enough, you'll also have the opportunity to jump off of a bridge into the water.

But don't take my word for it.. Come see for yourself!

Peerapong Plianpoom, a.k.a. "Heart". Beach Travellers Thailand adventure travel guide

Hey all,

Last month, to my great surprise, I got off the plane to find that Rio had been invaded by Asians and that speedos had completely vanished from the Brazilian fashion scene. I could not believe my eyes.

The disappearance of speedos was devastating. However, my disappointment was assuaged by the mouth-watering smell of Thai street food on virtually every street corner... curious, yet delicious.

I figured everything would fall into place once I had left the city for the countryside - I would soon find surf, capoiera, pao de queijos, samba, surra de bunda sessions, speedos, Brazilian bikinis, the Amazon and the occasional cayman.

I found nothing of the sort. What I had thought would be a surf break looked instead like a lake in Jurassic Park, and in my search for caymans, I found nothing but elephants.

Disheartened by my confusion, I turned to a tiger for affection, at which point I thought to myself, that there`s only jaguars in Brazil, no tigers.

Silly me.

Elated by my discovery (and relieved to finally know where I was) I began to develop a harmonious relationship with the land and became known as Ravatar.

Thailand was smooth sailing from then on, and most of all non-stop laughs.

I had a blast guiding in Thailand. I never thought I would sing Aladdin songs for Thai School children, or get a lesson in Burmese history from Heart on the back of an elephant. I certainly never imagined that I would witness the exchange of sacred vows between two lovely ladies as a half-naked Mexican minister.

I`m in Bali now and am thinking of you all. Thanks for making Thailand June 2011 so much fun!

~ Ravi Handa - Beach Travellers Brazil Adventure Guide (and sometimes Thailand) Guide

Sitting on the beach one day, three young entrepreneurial Beach Travellers decided it was time for a game-changer. An idea session quickly turned into an aggressive business venture. This sounds like a legit plan, right? Take a ferry from Koh Pha Ngan to Koh Samui. Find your nearest friendly neighbourhood McDonalds. Buy 400 cheeseburgers (yes, 400). Take them back and sell them to hordes of hungry ravers for twice the price during the Full Moon Party and make enough cash to finance endless months of fun.

The plan was a hit, and so they embarked upon their quest for flavour armed with attitude and 23,000 Thai baht (about $770). Several hours later, four cardboard boxes full of cheeseburgers arrived on the beach in front of our resort, attracting a swarm of curious onlookers. I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought to myself, "wow, they are actually gonna pull this off". The bahts were rolling in, people were high-fiving, and the sun hadn't even set yet.

Fast-forward 12 hours:

After dancing their faces off and having a blast all night, the boys realized they still had about 200 burgers left. Oops. Despite their efforts at wheeling in last-minute clients once the sun came up, it was too late.

Due to an extraordinarily low demand for day-old McDonalds cheeseburgers, the boys were out a few thousand baht and thousands of party peeps went home hungry. A gentleman's risk, but someone had to take it.

~Carter Buan, Beach Travellers Adventure Tours in Thailand Guide

PS: We hit the Full Moon Party on every BT trip cause it just can't be missed. I still believe the McFull Moon burger venture can be a lucrative success. Maybe someone will try again next time.

Thailand trip dates here

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