The expansion from Exploration Travel to Thailand is going full steam ahead and we already had the first customers on the ground and several inspection trips planned for the coming months.

Just as in Myanmar, it’s our mission to inspire you with our love for this part of Asia, with occasional quirky travel experiences, in a sustainable and respectful way, leaving a positive impact and a smile on everybody’s face. In case you missed our last newsletter with opening of the Thailand office, have a look here.

New Thailand program – Wild Encounters!

Thailand is so much more than temples, tourist night markets and good food. Stefan and Edwin recently set-out on a fantastic new tour, starting with a 1-hour fun train ride from Bangkok. A program that focuses on the waterways and fertile delta area which produces a lot of fruit, vegetables and produce from the sea, all sold at colourful markets in the area, it’s no coincidence that in the old days, many floating markets were established in this area. We continue and go deeper into the nature to Thailand biggest (and wildest!) national Park for some leisurely walks, see about the good work from the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand and help them with the elephants. Onwards we go to Kui Buri national park on a jeep safari to search for wild elephants. As we’re always close to the gulf of Thailand it’s easy to add a few days beach in Pranburi or take the boat to Koh Phangan. The program is a perfect alternative to the overly touristy floating markets or the already overrun Kanchanaburi.

The trip is showing some of Thailand best nature AND is supporting the good work from Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, an organization that is rescuing and taking care of wild animals around Thailand that were abused and living in captivity in often horrible conditions.

Have a look at this sample itinerary recently set up by Stefan and Edwin: Thailand – Sample Itineraries – Wild Encounters – Exploration Travel and get in touch to create a perfect itinerary for your clients with our help.

About our Neighborhood – Bangkok Old Town

The small alley ways of Bangkok Old Town are often forgotten by tourists, yet it’s probably the biggest collection of heritage houses in any Asian capital city.  It’s right here, where Exploration Travel Thailand is building its nest in the heart of heritage Bangkok. Most of the traditional shop houses in this area are over 100 years old and used to be occupied by staff and suppliers of the nearby Grand Palace. In the small alleys right next to our office we can still find gold smiths who have been operating here for generations. In the old days. the area was famous for the gold leave making to decorate Buddha statues or badges for the palace. The area was protected by 3 rows of canals; a bit similar to canal network of Amsterdam.

The Exploration team finds this area the most interesting part of Bangkok! Traditional ways of life have been preserved by the communities living here for centuries, not least because rents are kept low and modern skyscrapers haven’t appeared yet. The nearby, new subway station Sam Yot is built in the same traditional style and is hopefully a sign of increased awareness and conservation of this beautiful old part of Bangkok.

Exploration Travel Thailand feels honored to call this heritage neighborhood our home and hope to share this part of Bangkok with your clients by joining our signature Bangkok Old Town walk in the evening or the morning.

Sales visits Stefan Scheerer in Europe

Travelling to Myanmar at the moment

In earlier newsletters I send an update on where it’s possible to visit Myanmar for considerate travellers including Bagan, Ngapali beach and Inle Lake. 

We recently had some overseas clients visiting Yangon, Bagan, Inle Lake and Ngapali. We did explain clients that we expected some flexibility and that we won’t sanction guides, drivers etc.. from speaking out about the situation. Clients loved the visits and wrote back: “we enjoyed 300% and I am very glad we dared to come to Myanmar as we didn’t feel unsafe for a second”. Having said that, I do think that visiting Myanmar only makes sense if clients have a reason to visit now and I don’t expect any agent to actively promote the destination, but if you have any requests, please do send me an email.

In addition, some off the beaten track places as Mon & Kayin State and Hsipaw can be visited at the moment and we do carefully select our suppliers who share our ideas on sustainability doing the right thing for People and Planet.

What to watch, listen or read

Travelling is about tickling your senses in the widest possible way. A recent talk in Bangkok by Philip Cornwel-Smith was about “how to perceive Bangkok through our more than 20 human sense – and how those sense can reveal the particular character of a place and its culture”.

We fully agree with that!

In the pre-internet era, tourists would travel with a focus on seeing a country. Nowadays, other senses are becoming more important to experience a country and hence there is more focus on hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling. And maybe even senses like spatial awareness, balance and gut feeling.

When creating new experiences for clients in Thailand, the Exploration team focusses on all these senses to ensure a “wow-feeling” when discovering Thailand.

Philip wrote the excellent books Very Thai: Everyday Popular Culture – Philip Cornwel-Smith – Google Books and “Very Bangkok” and also talks about it in this webcast: Anglo-Thai Society: ‘Very Bangkok’ — Philip Cornwel-Smith

I am very excited about the opening of Exploration Travel Thailand and do hope to get your support so we can show your clients the very best of Thailand, just as we’ve done this for many years in Myanmar.

Best Regards,

Edwin

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Edwin Briels and his team have been creating experiences for travellers for over 20 years. Edwin Briels continuously finds new paths to travel and new experiences to show clients the story of Myanmar and Thailand and engages you in a fascinating journey through this part of Asia with the most fascinating stories.