Coastal Thailand news for August 18th, 2020

Coastal Thailand news for August 18th, 2020
David Luekens, Thai Island Times 

Welcome to Thailand, where heavy rain is still wreaking havoc and potential island “travel bubbles” are making headlines again. Those and many other stories are coming your way in this week’s edition of the Island Wrap.

After thinking of heading South for weeks but not setting any plans in stone, we made a last-minute decision to drive up to Northeast Thailand instead. I’m writing this at the M Grand, a hotel near the Mekong River in far-flung Bueng Kan province. Here we’ve done some upcountry “whale watching” and stepped gingerly alongside a cliff at Wat Phu Tok. I highly recommend Bueng Kan for adventure travel.

People rightfully think of me as an “island guy,” but the truth is that I love all five of Thailand’s primary regions. Almost every trip I’ve taken over the last two years has been to the islands and coastal areas, and I was longing to see those green rice paddies that extend as far as the eye can see in the Northeast, also known as Isaan.

I also suppose that, deep down, I was longing to visit places that feel normal. We’ve found that in Isaan, which draws few foreign tourists and was not hit hard by Covid-19. In the towns and villages, it’s as if the pandemic never happened. Compare that to economically devastated islands and beach towns, and perhaps you can understand why we steered upcountry. I’ll hit the islands again soon enough.

Full story: https://thaiislandtimes.substack.com/p/coastal-thailand-news-for-august-2c1

A lumpy Ko Kradan on the horizon. Come back on Friday to hear more about it.