Some of our favorite Thailand & Burma links We provide the following links to Thailand and Phuket hotels, books and travel guides on Thailand and Southeast Asia, kayaking and canoeing, food and health, graphic design, PADI instructor training, general Thailand information, and airline bookings as a general information guide and as a service to our friends in the area. We, of course, take no responsibility if the services provided by these companies is poor or sub standard. We certainly hope it is not!

Thailand information sites
Phuket Dot Com	Great pictures and general information, and John Williams' dive site descriptions!
Thailand Travel Guide	A nicely done web site offering timely information for the traveler to Thailand.
TAT	The office Tourism Authority of Thailand web site. Good luck finding much here, but we like to support the tourism board.
Thai South	A source of Thailand information, sometimes off beat, cultural information
Kayaking and canoeing
Paddle Asia	A great kayaking company specializing in tours around Thailand and Laos.
Sea Canoe	The original paddling company, the one that started it all.
John Gray's Sea Canoe	The original "Cave Man" who 'discovered' the hongs in Phang-nga Bay
Airlines
THAI Airways	Provides both international and domestic (Thailand) routes. Excellent airline. Rotten website for booking. Too bad as Nok Air, their cousin company has one of the best airline booking websites I've seen.
Phuket Airlines	Currently not doing so well, but up until March, 2006, they were the only airline flying into Ranong for our Burma trips. They have stopped now, not sure what is happening. More information on boat's pages.
Bangkok Airways	Flies alternate routes within Thailand, including Samui and Pattaya (Utapao). "Asia's Boutique Airline". OK, but it's still a great airline with some good destinations including direct flights to Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat. Good website, it works at least.
Nok Air	Thai Airways' budget airline. Great airfares from major cities within the kingdom. Easy, very simple, incredibly easy website to book fares from. You can sometimes get better airfares with Thai Air Asia, but they are almost always delayed, and not very well organized right now. Hopefully they will improve over time. You get what you pay for. Book your domestic tickets with Nok Air if you want to save some money; If you want flexibility and ability to change things, and don't want to book online, stick with Thai Airways.
Booking airline tickets
Expedia	A web site for booking airline ticket from there to there...
Flights Dot Com	Another area to look for plane tickets.
Yahoo! Travel	Yahoo!'s travel site
Travel insurance
Travel Insurance Center	Travel insurance for you and the family no matter where you're from.
US Travel Guard	Travel and cancellation insurance for US Citizens only (as far as we can tell).
Global Travel Insurance	Travel insurance for you and the family no matter where you're from.
eGlobalHealth Insurers	International travel health insurance and medical evacuation for both US and non-US citizens world-wide. Instant online quotes and purchasing globally.
Direct Travel Insurance	Direct Travel Insurance has now insured 7 million people and provided winter sports cover for 1.4 million policyholders.
Diving insurance
Divers Alert Network	Great diving insurance and a great price, including evacuation or repatriation.
Graphic Design
Andaman Graphics	Some of the best graphic design you'll fine anywhere, located in Phuket
Thaiwave	Some of the best web site design for very reasonable prices, also in Phuket
PADI Instructor Training
IDC Thailand	For information on how to do what we do...
Thailand's English-language newspapers and magazines
The Phuket Gazette	Local Phuket news, articles, items of interest, classifieds.
The Bangkok Post	National news, entertainment, Thailand commentaries. The best newspaper in the region.
The Nation	The "other" English newspaper. Some people prefer it...
Phuket Magazine	An excellent online source of information, as well as a printed version which you will find all over Phuket and the rest of Thailand.
Benjarong Magazine	A monthly magazine offering colorful local information.
Asian Diver Magazine	Asia's only real dive magazine.
Miscellaneous Travel Sites & Diving Links
Underwater Photography	A website specializing in information about underwater photography.
A Guide to Asia	A Travel Guide to Asia with Traveling Tips, History and Culture, Language, Government, Climate, Entry Requirements, Tourist Destinations, Attractions and Places of Interest of Asian Countries.

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Suggested reading from Asia Books
Underwater Southeast Asia	Periplus: This diving guide to Southeast Asia covers Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. It includes dive sites, detailed local maps and travel information. 3rd edition, by John Williams
LP Diving Thailand	Bathed by the waters of two oceans, Thailand's rich and varies diving environments are home to colorful coral reefs and an impressive diversity of marine life. This book describes some of the best dive sites accessed from Thailand. Dive the shallows of Ko Tao or watch for whale sharks at the current-swept Richelieu Rock. Set out on a live-aboard. By John Williams and Mark Strickland.
LP Bangkok Map	Shows you where to eat, sleep, shop & play in Bangkok, with a handy write on, rub off surface for making your own personal itineraries, as well as a suggested Lonely Planet walking tour.
LP Thailand's Islands and Beaches	Also covering the city of Bangkok, this guide provides information on Thailand's islands and beaches and includes: area maps; a language section; full transport options coverage; and cultural and historical background information. 3rd addition.
Marine Life books	This is a link to Asian Diver magazine's online shop for bookings. You can also search Amazon.com of course. The books by Helmut Debelius are very good, but often out of print, unfortunately.
Marine Life of the Pacific and Indian Oceans by Gerald Allen, PhD	This handy reference book provides a compact, comprehensive introduction to the region's coral reef inhabitants -- virtually all the main groups from seaweeds to mammals. It showcases more than 350 high-quality photographs by some of the world's finest underwater photographers. The informative text was written by Dr. Gerald Allen, renowned international expert on coral reef fishes and author of numerous books on marine life. Asia Books has some excellent sources as well, but may be hard to order from if you are not in Asia. Email them and ask.
Food and health in Thailand
The Food of Thailand	Presents 64 easy-to-follow recipes with detailed descriptions of ingredients and cooking methods, bringing the intriguingly different flavors of Thailand into your own kitchen at home. Also available in English, French, and German editions.
Thai Street Food	Food stalls are an essential part of Thai life. This volume introduces key street dishes from across Thailand--beginning in Bangkok, then moving to the southern seashores, the isolated northeast and finally the far north. It covers soups, noodles, salads , stir fries, curries and desserts.
Healthy Living in Thailand	Written by doctors from the Thai Red Cross Society, this book is the one-stop health guide that has everything you need to know, such as practical advice on settling in Thailand; food and nutrition; vaccinations; tropical diseases and how to avoid them; choosing the right doctor and the right hospital; travel health issues; and--for the first time in Asia--hospital and medical facilities in Thailand and the region, rated by medical professionals.
Thailand Insight: Fiction by friends, offering sometimes twisted looks at Thai society
Phuket Vignettes	"Steve Rosse has taken one small part of Thailand --- Phuket and its environs --- and made it his own.  What he tells us about its current life styles is not always, or even often, what tourism boosters would like to hear; but his stories have the rare ring of truth and some of them have the added bonus of being very funny." William Warren, author of Jim Thompson, the Unsolved Mystery
Kicking Dogs	Jack Shackaway, freelance journalist and pornographer, has no idea who is trying to kill him. Given his talent for annoying the wrong people, in fact, it could be just about anybody. An antic portrait of modern Bangkok, this novel is at the same time a comic thriller -- one which moves ever faster as the story unfolds. By Collin Piprell.
Bangkok Knights	What is Leary's Law, and why should every foreign male bachelor in Thailand be aware of it? Why is a hangover like sticking your tongue on a doorknob? The answer to these and other mysteries of Bangkok lie in this sweet-sour chronicle of Expat life in Bangkok. From the author of Kicking Dogs and Yawn (A Thriller). By Collin Piprell.
Yawn (A Thriller)	Waylon didn't want to go to Thailand for their vacation. He told Chloe it wasn't a good idea. And, sure enough, within hours of arriving, it all goes horribly wrong. This is a tale of wild adventure and totally radical therapy for suburban life gone stale. By Collin Piprell.
Thai Lite: The Selected Scribbling of S. Tsow	Talks about the burning issues of our time: the scourge of cellphones, the escalating price of noodles, the inanity of political correctness, and the bad gramer and speling ov the yooth ov today... not to mention beer drinking, bad medicine, backpacking in the old days, and the boisterous bedlam of Bangkok.
Out of the Loop	Slipping out of the Chicago Loop, McFinn -- reinvented as beach-bum philosopher, humor writer, restaurateur, newspaper proprietor, and maverick-at-large -- retreats to the idyllic tropical shores of Koh Samui, making his new home a rustic bungalow. This novel chronicles our hero's humorous adventures and misadventures as he ponders the world from his verandah encountering assorted bums, bores, boors, and beautiful women along the way. By Morgan McFinn.
All Over the Map	Our boy McFinn widens his orbit of earthly experiences, traipsing around the world, holing up in a series of hotels trying, as usual, to make himself as comfortable as possible. By Morgan McFinn.
Bangkok People	A collection of profiles about people who live and work in Bangkok both Thai and foreign - from all walks of life, and from all levels of society. It provides a fascinating look into the life of the city and the people that make it tick. Accessible, enlightening, and entertaining, it will appeal to anyone interested in Bangkok -- tourists, Expats, and Thais alike. By James Eckardt.
Year of Living Stupidly	This is the meandering, schizophrenic, rollercoaster journal of James Eckardt, a Bangkok journalist. Boom! the good old days of Thailand's boom, it was all freebies, junkets, and jaunts with the gliterati. Bust -- suddenly the Crash of '97. And you're just another unemployed bum on the street. And Cambodia! James headed east to Phnom Penh Post to cover the Cambodian election of 1998. Follow the rise, fall, and rise of James Eckardt.
The Boat People	A panoramic novel of greed and compassion, violence and family love, desperation and hope. Set in September 1981, the high tide of boat people flight from Vietnam. Covering the refugee beat for the American Consulate, Dan Swartz is torn between being a cynical observer and a reluctant participant in the drama of the camp. Nguyen Xuan Tong is torn too, between loyalty to his gang and his love for Le Thuy Linh. Her protector, the beautiful Huynh Thuc Quan, plays her would-be lover Fred Butterworth against gang leader Huyan Anh. By James Eckardt.
Travel Writing
Slithering South	A tiny teak boat on the Ping River deep in the Golden Triangle takes the author on a 58-day voyage of discovery through Thailand's heart. Along the way, he meets Sin the Buffalo Man, the Cowboys of The Sala, Jamrat and the "Boom Boom Girl", and dozens of other intriguing characters. One dark night, poachers prey on him; on another, he is a murder suspect, as he learns far more about rural Thailand - and himself - than he bargained for. By Steve Van Beek.
Three Pagodas	Three Pagodas is an account of a remarkable 1,500-km. journey through the mountainous jungle of the Thai-Burmese border, from Chiang Dao in the north to the Three Pagodas Pass in the south. The book describes what it is like to make one's way thorough this remote troubled terrain, inhabited by insurgent guerilla groups, warlords, drug traffickers, hill tribes, and rare minority peoples. By Christian Goodden.
More to come...