Thailand Off The Beaten Path

Sitting on the edge of a long wooden bridge, my feet dangling over the edge, arms and head resting on its railing, I stared straight down to the waters of Lake Vajiralongkorn in the little-visited district of Sangkhlaburi. Slowly, the prow of a sampan appeared below, hauling an emerging trove of mangoes, bananas and a full clutch of rambutan. The only sound was the splash of wood on water as an old man wearing a tattered bamboo hat materialised, paddling his rafthouse and his breakfast.

Taking time out to savour the quiet moments while travelling in Thailand is what can make a trip here so very memorable. Whether you're daydreaming above the lake in Sangkhlaburi, cycling through the 'lungs of Bangkok', tracking wild elephants in a national park or just lazing on the beach of a little-known island, the country offers plenty of opportunities for introspection and connection with not only nature but the local people.

So much of the Thai kingdom remains little-visited by mainstream tourism, and exploring these overlooked areas is a profoundly rewarding experience.

Treehouse Silent beach

Bangkok is so full of traffic and noise, who would have thought you could simply putter across a river in a long tail and be delivered to a world utterly removed from its bustle? Bang Krachao is a small conservation area formed by an oxbow in the Chao Phraya River and given over to palms, market gardens and mango plantations.

It gives an insight into what Bangkok must have been like before it became, well, Bangkok. Those with more time can stay at eco-hotel Bangkok Tree House bangkoktreehouse. A community of artists is clustered around Baan Silapin, a period teak house that sits beside an even older chedi structure, dating back to the Ayutthaya period AD. The area is easily visited via canal boat and cycling day trips. To soak up the area some more, try a longer stay at the waterside Bang Luang House bangluanghouse. This tracks west, inching through the legendary Mae Khlong Market shoppers will scatter , finishing in Samut Songkhram.

Grab a tuk-tuk or songtheaw shared taxi to Amphawa 16km away , which is known for its wooden housing and its traditional vibe at least on weekdays. Fruit orchards feed into the area, and Tha Kha floating market 10km away should also be on your hit list. Just a couple of hours' drive west of the Thai capital is Kanchanaburi, best known for its Death Railway and Hellfire Pass. Cemeteries and museums honour their memory, and a visit to Hellfire Pass, where the line cuts through the Tenasserim Hills, is essential. Elsewhere in the region, it's all about the outdoors.

Test your legs by clambering up Erawan National Park's namesake falls or work up a sweat by kayaking the River Kwai. Alternatively, grab a bite of local life back in the city with a cookery course at Apple and Noi's applenoikanchanaburi. About km north-west of Kanchanaburi lies the lakeside town of Sangkhlaburi. What you see here today is relatively new, built after the site's Mon originally a Burmese ethnic minority town was flooded in the early s, creating Vajiralongkorn Lake.

Near the end of dry season March-May , when its waters recede enough, you can take a boat to the remains of its old central temple and walk through its ruins. The roof may be gone but its Buddha niches remain in the walls, their icons replaced by shiny black mussels.

A large Mon community now lives on the far side of the water here, near the Burmese border. Cross the m-long wooden bridge to visit and explore Wat Wang Wiwekaram and Buddhakaya Chedi — the latter is a replica of the Mahabodhi stupa of Bodhgaya, India. Weather-worn Buddha statues adorned with lichen and golden sashes sit evocatively in the woods at Kamphaeng Phet, once a key defensive stronghold for the Sukhothai kingdom AD. The city was flattened by marauding Burmese in the 18th century, and what remains today is mostly spread across two atmospheric, yet little-visited, historic parks.

Bag a stay at the family-run Three J Guesthouse threejguesthouse. Here you can hike, swim in waterfall pools, learn silk weaving at a Karen village, and relax around an evening campfire. It also boasts a rich and diverse market scene, while stays at the creative and socially-responsible Picturebook Guesthouse picturebookthailand. Head south from Mae Sot to Umphang, driving the 'Death Highway', so-named for traversing what was once prime opium-growing and guerrilla territory.

Its km route ribbons along a spine of mountains that abut the western reaches of Khlong Lan National Park. And while the dangerous bandits and poppies are now long gone, the compelling views remain. As one of the most isolated towns in Thailand, Umphang is the launching point to visit the lush jungles of Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary. Here the Thi Lor Su waterfall crashes over its m-high cliffs and can swell up to m across during rainy season.

Rafting is pretty popular, where you get to cruise behind, around and directly under the falls over an exhilarating half kilometre — just be prepared for a shower.

Khao Yai National Park is just a half-day's travel from Bangkok and is home to more than 40 waterfalls, mammals and almost bird species. Larger mammals include deer and wild Asian elephants, but while tigers are believed to inhabit the park, don't hold your breath. There are a number of campsites and bungalows, though, as well as accommodation outside its bounds. Continue east and make your way to Nang Rong, where you can ascend an extinct m volcano to visit the best preserved and most spectacular set of Khmer ruins in Thailand, Prasat Phanom Rung.

This temple complex similar in style to Cambodia's Angkor Wat was built between the 10th and 12th centuries, when the site formed a part of the greater Khmer Empire. It was created to honour the Hindu god Shiva, and some of its lintels and carvings are more than 1, years old. Move on to Buriram and catch the eastbound train 3. The Royal Lotus City, as it's known, has long been something of a cultural melting pot, and you're as likely to hear the Lao dialect spoken here as Thai. The city is famous for its spicy salads and has some impressive cuisine — be sure to try the kuay chab yuan , a Vietnamese-inspired pork-based soup.

As a seat of Buddhist learning, it also has several interesting downtown temples, though it pays to venture outside town to Wat Nong Pah Pong and Wat Pah Nanachat, too. It is mostly within Hat Chao Mai national park, which means there are no villages or even proper roads to intrude on your Crusoe fantasies. Stay on the cashew-tree-fringed main beach, then make your way at sunset to Ao Chonglom, an isolated stretch on the western side with craggy limestone outcrops, or hop on a longtail boat to neighbouring Koh Muk for a spot of caving at Tham Morakot, the famed Emerald Cave.

Where to eat Minimal development means that the only restaurants on the island are connected with guesthouses or small resorts. Sevenseas Restaurant, which offer Thai and international dishes, is located directly by the water and remains one of the best of the bunch. From November to January, these visitors lay their eggs in the protected sands. The few resorts cluster on the west coast, leaving vast swathes of grassland and biodiverse mangroves undisturbed.

Listen for the unnervingly human-sounding cackle of sapphire-hued oriental hornbills, or the rustle of demur sambar deer. The resort uses an energy-efficient generator, grows much of its own organic produce, and, along with the Phuket Marine Biological Centre and voluntourism group Naucrates, runs a turtle conservation centre where guests are welcome to lend a hand.

Where to eat With no notable standalone restaurants here, your best bet by far is the dining room at Golden Buddha Resort, where the owners make their own bread and jams.

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In keeping with its environmental sensibilities, the resort grows its own organic fruit, herbs and vegetables, in addition to sustainably raising pigs, ducks and chickens. The remaining produce and seafood on the menu is sourced from the daily market in nearby Kuraburi and local fishermen.

Golden Buddha Resort has its own boats, which are more reliable than the local ferry.

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Coconut palms number in the thousands and humans in the hundreds. With a good book and hammock, though, you might be tempted not to bother at all. Tourism has been rising steeply on this white-sand wonder since the addition of a high-speed ferry and a five-star resort, Soneva Kiri, a few years ago. Still, with no public transport and blessedly few bucket bars, its idyllic pockets are many. Divers can head half an hour out to Koh Rang national park, where gin-clear waters and rainbows of coral await. This casual cafe closes for the rainy season in May and reopens in October. While no one would call the island a nightlife hub, Bombyx Beach Bar, part of the Chams House resort complex, is one of the liveliest places for a sundowner.

For a glimpse of the island life of yesteryear, head to the quiet fishing village near Ao Yai beach and eat at Chonticha Seafood, where everything on the menu is fresh off the boat. How this island of glittering sand and tropical forest has remained so sleepy for so long is a minor miracle. With a population of roughly and just a smattering of bungalows, Koh Phayam is often likened to the Samui of yesteryear, before the cruise ships came in droves. Word is slowly creeping out, though, and each season sees a few more footprints in the powdery crescent of Buffalo Bay. Get here while the laid-back vibe remains.

The latter is family-friendly while the former is quieter and has a strict no-children policy. Previously a hideout for marauding pirates, a brutal prison for more than 3, exiled Thais, and, more recently, home to dim-witted contestants on US reality TV show Survivor: Dining options are limited, but perfectly adequate.