Discount Thailand Hotels Reservations.

Wake up in Bangkok and know that anything is possible. My perfect day would begin with a walk down the busy streets to select the best egg noodle soup with wontons and red pork, a delicious, ubiquitous dish and an excellent hangover cure. A trip down the river is next on the cards, a wonderful breezy way to see the city and its monuments without choking to death.

Our trip to Thailand had been long awaited, originally planned for the winter of 94/95. The balloon was ready at Thunder and Colt with a heavy duty basket tailor made for hard use overseas. And then they went bust. The delay meant that we missed the relatively short window available for flying in Thailand. So it was rainy old England for most of the winter and a rethink of the plan for us.

So after a fantastic summer passenger flying in England, it was off on a Quantas Jumbo from a snowy December Heathrow. We caught a connecting flight from Bangkok to Chaing Mai, a city in the North which was hosting the South East Asia Games, ( SEA games ) our first port of call. Jon, returning from SAGA, was there for three days to ease us into things.

Our hosts had managed to find sponsor’s a cell phone company and we had a busy schedule ahead. The city was humming with activity related to the games and it was great fun to be there. We generally flew across the city in the mornings and over the main stadium in the evenings.

The stadium itself was about 10km from the centre of the city and lay under an east facing slope which of course moved into shade in the evening allowing us to fly over the stadium and away into open countryside, the mornings had the ability to take us up the slope and away to the west which was not a good idea as there was about 50km of forest and national park before the next road.

It was always fairly calm and finding places to land was not a problem. We were not alone in the air a Carlsburg balloon had been shipped in from Europe and a Cameron Gas airship from America. Strangely neither thought to visit or call the international airport 8km south of the stadium. This caused some amount of trouble as Thai’s love complicated permissions to fly and neither had any. As we did have permission we were contactable and received some amount of flack from their CAA. We smoothed the path quite well for them, prison was mentioned on more than one occasion!

The airship did a fantastic job seemingly never out of the air and carrying a TV camera beaming live pictures from the stadium. During the evening we tethered next to the stadium and the airship still plodded around dropping leaflets.

Thai’s are football fanatics and the Asian cup was also held during the games in the evening. Our tethers coincided with all the home team games. As Thailand progressed through the ranks tickets sold out and it started to get ugly at the gates. For the semi final the fans burnt down the ticket tents in protest and several thousand extra tried to get in causing an outbreak of police brutality.

Towards the northeast of Thailand lies the small but lively island of Koh Samui. With a population of less than 50,000 you would be forgiven for thinking it was a place where nothing really happened. This however is not true, and upon arrival you will instantly realise you have arrived in a special place.

Tourism has boomed recently as the word has spread on how impressive this small island really is. With beautiful white beaches, luscious lagoons, wonderful waterfalls and clear waters available to all tourists.

Holidaymakers choosing holidays on Koh Samui come to experience a different type of holiday. Koh Samui is not like your typical holiday destination; many come and visit the Choeng Mon Beach where they can relax and enjoy the surroundings. There is also a selection of restaurants for you to enjoy some of the islands cuisine.

Some tourist attractions include the Marine Park where you can take a walk through the tropical rainforest, secluded beaches and see some amazing wildlife. The aquarium and the Tiger Zoo in Koh Samui are also great places to visit; the aquarium is home to tropical fish and many types of aquatic animals. The Tiger Zoo is interesting to visit as you can have your picture taken with the tigers and leopards, if you dare!

If you are looking for some adventure then you can go scuba diving and snorkelling in the clear waters of Koh Samui. Alternatively, kayaking is available and well as sailing and cruising on the Catamaran Kia Ora. There are also forests in the surrounding areas which make the perfect place to go trekking. Along Chaweng lake there is also the chance to go bungy jumping.

There are a number of shops to find the perfect souvenir to take home. With a variety of sports shops, boutiques and fashion shops available you are sure to find something you like.

After a busy day experiencing all there is on offer you will want to kick back and relax. Koh Samui is famous for its beer bars that can be found all over the island and are definitely worth a visit. There are also many restaurants around the island offering typical Thai cuisine.

holidays in Koh Samui are becoming more popular as the island grows in reputation. Choose between package holidays and all inclusive deals and shop online for the best deals on holidays around.