Founder of Expert Travel Media, writer Paula Morgan is well-known for her comprehensive travel guides; Sydney Expert and Australia Your Way. Paula has now set her sights on creating an equally comprehensive guide for travellers to Thailand: Thailand Awaits. Here’s an excerpt from the Expert Guide to Pattaya – a taste what to expect from this new blog! PATTAYA GUIDE 2023: DISCOVER THE BEST BEACHES AND ATTRACTIONS Walking Street, beer bars and sunburn? Another beach and more bars? There’s much more for visitors to Pattaya, Thailand’s premium party town, than the old cliches from last century ..read more

Travel writer Roderick Eime explores the mighty megamall of ICONSIAM. Bangkok’s newest megamall, ICONSIAM, opened in 2019 to great fanfare on the eve of the global pandemic. The US$1.5 billion complex must have had investors in a cold sweat as cities and travellers came to a grinding halt for two years.  In spite of the unfortunate timing, the opening went ahead and the enormous retail, residential, hotel, exhibition and entertainment precinct opened to the public “out of a strong desire to present all that is great about Thais and Thailand.” Excited by the superlatives used to describe ..read more

Travel writer John Borthwick takes us on a guided tour of Bangkok’s waterside Creative District. Copyright John Borthwick I could laze for hours like a wannabe rajah, watching the Chao Phraya River’s all-day parade of barges, ferries and scuttling longtails. The one thing better to do is go exploring its Bangkok waterside bars and galleries in the what’s now known as the Creative District. Narrow “soi” lanes, lined with traditional two-storey shophouses run down to the river from historic Charoen Krung Road. It is along these lanes that local creatives and entrepreneurs have turned a grimy au ..read more

Pimalai Resort & Spa is highlighting the importance of conserving coastal mangrove habitat with a selection of private eco tours for guests. Mangrove habitats are critical to the health of coastal areas, not only do they provide breeding conditions and nurseries for many species of tropical fish, but they also absorb massive amounts of carbon, and provide a natural barrier to erosive powers of the ocean. The location for these three-hour tours is Yee Peng Village on the east coast of Koh Lanta where, a bridge will welcome guests and on the other side, a path takes one deep into the mangr ..read more

Bangkok at times can seems like the Thai version a Russian babushka doll. It opens to reveal neighbourhoods within villages, villages within towns and towns within the Great City of the Angels. John Borthwick takes us on a deep dive… Copyright John Borthwick Bangkok’s largest town-within-a-city by far is Yaowarat, reputedly the world’s oldest, of not largest Chinatown. Wanting to drill deeper into this complex place I join an Urban Adventures’ walking tour called “Chinatown Sights and Bites”. We start where Chinatown’s most-visited attraction Wat Traimit, the Golden Buddha Temple, is home to ..read more

Travel writer John Borthwick shares his top tips for navigating Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Suvarnabhumi Airport, aka Bangkok Airport, is pronounced in elegant, Thai-style tones as Soo-wanna-poom. And not phonetically as blunt Sue Varna Boomy. Alternatively, is known among many expats by the nickname, “Swampy”. Ironically so, since the airport was built on a former wetland known as the Cobra Swamp. Where is it? Well-designed and well-run Suvarnabhumi is 35km by road from central Bangkok. The easiest way to reach it is by the Airport Link train from downtown Makkasan or Phay ..read more

On 28 October, 2022, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Sydney Office and Team Thailand Sydney took part in a beach and underwater clean-up event at Chowder Bay. Twenty five volunteers took part, including six scuba divers, staff from TAT Sydney, the Royal Thai Consulate Sydney, Thailand Board of Investment Sydney, Thai Trade Sydney and media friends of TAT.  This is the third time TAT Sydney has collaborated with volunteer organisation; Friends of Chowder Bay at Clifton Gardens. Approximately 3K metres fishing line, 21 fishing lures, 8 chemical light sti ..read more

JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa is embarking on a new era of luxury hospitality in southern Thailand, as it unveils a newly transformed five-star beachfront retreat. The resort has been reimagined with new activities, experiences, restaurants, bars, and accommodation, with a vision to become a “destination within a destination”. An hour’s drive north of Phuket, JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa has revealed a significant extension: 76 Deluxe Lagoon Pool View Rooms, 28 Deluxe Lagoon Pool Access Rooms, 20 Family Pool Access Studios, two One-Bedroom Villas and a Two-Bedroom Villa ..read more

Sawasdee ka everyone… What is happening in TAT?  Our new Director, Mrs. Busakorn Prommanot, also known as Khun Apple, has finally arrived in Sydney last week having gone through a lengthy Australian visa processing. If you’d like to meet with her or give her a warm welcome, please reach out to Busakorn Prommanotdirector@thailand.net.au. TAT will release The MICHELIN Guide Thailand at the end of this year. For 2023, The MICHELIN Guide Thailand will feature for the first time Northeast Thailand or Isan – to be represented by the four key cities of Nakhon Ratchasim ..read more

Sawasdee ka. Did you know that yesterday was R U OK day? A day when we are reminded to start a meaningful conversation whenever you spot the signs that someone you care about might be struggling with life. Everyone (including children) can have these R U OK conversations; you don’t need any qualification. Listening and giving someone your time might just be what they need to help them through. Hope we all can be aware and do our part. Destination Highlight – Pattaya We’ve covered Pattaya previously, but since our recent trip is still fresh in mind, we’d like to cover some attractions that wil ..read more