This pond sure looks cool and refreshing... and it is! This pond in Sra Gaew, Krabi, Thailand is actually 200 meters deep. It's the deepest pond in southeast Asia but you'd never know it because there are no signs at all when you arrive. There are no signs on the road about how to get to this pond either. Local knowledge will get you here - and if you ask nicely by email I'll tell you!

I just checked all the major cities across Thailand for temperature. The range today is 30-38 degrees Celsius (Centigrade) which is not cold. In Fahrenheit this translates to: 86 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit! It's smokin' hot here at the moment, and only going to get hotter as May and the Songkran Festival (Thai New Year) approaches which is said to be the hottest time of the entire year and when many cities reach 40+ degrees Celsius.

If you're planning to visit Thailand during this time don't bother with the long pants or long-sleeved shirts for warmth. Do bring your favorite mosquito lotion with DEET and a hat and sunglasses. Rain right now is rare and starts again after mid-May.

That was your friendly weather outlook for the couple months ahead. If you have any questions about what to bring to Thailand here's a packing list.

Last week I noticed the Thailand sunsets were getting more and more amazing so I set off to get a good photo of one. Recently the sun was setting behind my favorite mountain here in south Thailand - Hang Nak Mountain.

Hang Nak is a 500 meter high mountain that hosts a great fitness trail up to the peak which you can see highlighted by the setting sun behind it here. If we could zoom in all the way we might see people at the top as it's becoming a popular thing to do for sunset. Keep in mind you'd better have a flashlight you trust because the path has quite a few roots and rocks designed to turn your upright vertical tour of the mountain into a sliding horizontal tour!

Wherever you are in Thailand the skies and sunsets are awesome...

Have you booked your Thailand travel ticket yet?

Photo: Aim for Awesome!

Thailand doesn't celebrate Valentine's Day officially, but some of the kids still like to give each other handmade gifts or cards.

If you're spending time in Thailand during Valentines day please be aware that the Thais don't celebrate it, and curb your affectionate behavior considerably. There is a real stigma attached to couples that display their affection for each other in public and even in Bangkok, one never sees more than a simple hand-hold.

If you're traveling to the northeast even holding hands is strongly frowned upon and the town's people will think you don't have any good morals.

Makha Bucha is a special Buddhist holiday in Thailand. Many people have a day off work, but the main festivities occur in the early evening of this full moon night.

Makha Bucha is a day to remember two events that occurred on the same day, but forty-five years apart. The first event was the spontaneous arrival of 1,250 Buddhist monks to meet and be ordained by the Buddha - without any prior announcement having been given. The second, occurred forty-five years later, and was when the Buddha delivered a Dhamma talk just before his death.

All over Thailand Buddhists will be making offerings to monks at the temples. Afterwards they will light one candle and three incense sticks to carry along with one lotus flower as they circumnavigate around the main temple building (bot) while chanting and holding the candle, incense and lotus between their upright and folded hands.

Makha Bucha is a major Theravada Buddhist holiday. If you happen to be in the neighborhood of a Theravada Buddhist temple here in Thailand - or wherever you are in the world, you might stop in and participate or just watch the event and take some photos or videos for mementos.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand released a new e-magazine article about Krabi, Thailand - and it's a nice read.

My personal idea is that Krabi has more to do than any other province in the country except perhaps Bangkok, but Krabi is infinitely prettier and offers a much better, more laid back atmosphere. If you come to Thailand and miss Krabi, you're missing a lot. Don't do it to yourself - make sure you see the best Thailand has to offer.

I was visiting Suan Mokkh temple this past weekend and shooting some video when I decided to take another trip up into Chaiya, a small town just north of Suan Mokkh. There are a couple of historical sites there about 1,000 years old. This Buddha statue was located inside the ruins at Wat Kaeo.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands of these very small sites located all over Thailand. In the northeast I saw scores of temples built hundreds of years ago. So few tourists take the time to visit the out of the way cities and attractions. It's a shame because one could focus just on the out of the way or hidden jewels of Thailand for months and years if one were so inclined.

What Thai food to order at a Thai restaurant is sometimes a problem for those new to Thai cuisine. I was at a Thai restaurant last night and ordered something I'd not had in a long time - maybe a year, Gai Pad King. Gai means chicken. Pad means stir-fried. King means ginger. It's a delicious meal that usually has some red bell peppers and scallions in it and it's not very spicy so anyone can handle it. The ginger has a little kick to it, but overall - a great meal for anyone to try and initiate themselves into the world of Thai cuisine. Gai pad king used to be one of my favorites, but to be honest I have a lot of favorite foods to eat here in Thailand!

Who knew a partial solar eclipse could be witnessed from Thailand today? Not I. A Buddhist monk I know handed me a piece of broken glass and told me to look at the sun. I said, "What?" He insisted. I looked. WOW. A very nice eclipse followed by another amazing Thailand sunset.

Thailand welcomes over 500,000 dive tourists each year to it's amazing waters. This is a more than twenty-fold increase since 1985. Protecting Thailand's underwater resources has become extremely important to the tourist industry and Thailand as a nation.

Green Fins is a Thailand initiative by the diving community dedicated to a fifteen point code of conduct for diving outfits in Thailand. Currently there are 70 listed dive shops that subscribe to this code of conduct.

Green Fins Code of Conduct:

1. Adopt Green Fins mission statement.
2. Display adopted Green Fins agreement for dive operators.
3. Adhere to “Green Fins Friendly Diving and Snorkeling Guidelines” and act as responsible role models for guests.
4. Participate in regular underwater cleanups at dive operator selected sites.
5. Participate in the development and implementation of a mooring buoy program, and actively use moorings, drift or hand place anchors for boats.
6. Prohibit the sale of corals and other marine life at the dive operation.
7. Participate in regular coral reef monitoring, and report coral reef monitoring data to a regional coral reef database.
8. Provide adequate garbage facilities on board facility’s vessel and deal with responsibly.
9. Operate under a “minimum discharge” policy.
10. Abide by all local, regional, national; and international environmental laws, regulations and customs.
11. Provide guests with an explanation of Green Fins’ Friendly Diving and Snorkeling Guidelines” in pre-briefings. (UNEP Multilingual pre-dive briefing handouts, multimedia, posters, videos, etc)
12. Provide training, briefings or literature for employees and guests regarding good environmental practices for snorkeling, diving, boating, marine wildlife interaction, and other marine recreation activities.
13. Provide staff and guests with public awareness and environmental materials (books, pamphlets, fish ID books, etc.)
14. Provide guests with information on local marine protected areas, environmental rules and regulations.
15. Promote strict “no touch” policy for all reef diving and snorkeling.

Here is an article by Thailand's Green Fins Project leader, Niphon Phongsuwan from the Phuket Marine Biological Center, Phuket Island in Thailand talking about the Green Fins initiative.

But you might have to look for them. Traditionally they are around some of the temples on the outskirts of Bangkok in Phetchaburi, Hua Hin, and in the south at many temples.

Monkeys are not harmed at the Buddhist temples here - but, occasionally the nuns (magee) do get them with a rock in a slingshot to keep them away from the Thai amulets and other sacred Buddhist relics.

Monkeys in Thailand are not usually aggressive at all. If one jumps on you or climbs your leg to get some food - just give it to them. They're insistent, but they don't bite. I've not seen anyone bitten in the few years I've stayed.

Monkeys love fruit of all kinds - mangoes, bananas, and the rose apples - like this one has in his mouth. Thais call red rose apples "chompoo si dang" and they're really delicious for humans too. Try some if you get the chance.

See you in Thailand in 2009?