Remember last week, when I remarked that Doi Chiang Dao reminded me somewhat of the spectacular mountainous scenery that surrounds the sacred Incan city of Machu Picchu?

Now you will be able to see the comparison as I am posting my very best photograph of Machu Picchu (circa September 2007) in this edition’s travel photo of the week. In my mind, Machu Picchu is “the holy grail” of ancient archaelogical sites - none can truly compare.

I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of this majestic site in various travel magazines and you have probably asked yourself, how can this place be of this world?

Located high in the Peruvian Andes, the vistas from Machu Picchu are truly awe-inspiring. I arrived in the morning shortly before sunrise and the ruins of this holy Incan city were shrouded in a thick mist, taking on an eerie mystical quality. About three hours later, the sun broke through the mist and the magnificence of Machu Pichu was revealed in all its splendor and glory.

If I didn’t know any better, it felt like I was visiting someplace not on this planet Earth. Did extraterrestrials visit the Incas and direct them to build Machu Picchu?

I consider myself very fortunate to have visited Machu Picchu in my lifetime. It was that incredible!

This edition of TRAVEL PHOTO OF THE WEEK features a digitally rendered watercolor of Doi Chiang Dao in Northern Thailand. Rising dramatically above the rural countryside and the town of Chiang Dao to a height of 2186 meters (7174 feet), Doi Chiang Dao is the 2nd highest peak in Thailand. Chiang Dao is located 77KM from Chiang Mai, about a one-hour drive.

Situated on the slopes of the mountain is Wat Tham Pha Plong, a very sacred Buddhist Temple and sanctuary. If you’d like to visit the temple, there is a paved walkway consisting of 560 steps to this very spiritual site (an easy 15 minute walk). The views from the temple are absolutely heavenly.

In a way, Doi Chiang Dao reminds me superficially of the mountains surrounding the sacred site of Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes.

In Thai language, Doi=Mountain peak, Tham=Cave and Wat=Temple.

In the last several days, I have done some extensive research in an effort to identify the most the eco-friendly beach destination in Thailand. To be honest with you, it is a lot easier for me to rattle off a list of beach destinations/island resorts which are not very eco-friendly. See below..

Pattaya - Truly an Abomination!

Located about 90 minutes east of Bangkok is Pattaya, Thailand’s internationally renowned sex tourist mecca–beach town. Located on the mainland, Pattaya leads the pack of those beach destinations where development, human greed and the excesses of tourism have had a severe negative ecological impact. No other beach destination in Thailand comes close to the ugliness and urban blight which is Pattaya. Believe it or not, before the Vietnam War, Pattaya was a sleepy fishy village with lush green vegetation and sparkling white sand beaches. Not anymore!

Phuket and Koh Samui - Paradise no more!

Below Pattaya on my list (quite a step down) are Thailand’s two most popular island resorts – Phuket and Koh Samui. Both places have international airports to receive tourists all over the world; while the airport in Koh Samui is like an island boutique, Phuket’s airport is a modern gleaming affair. Both islands are abundant in natural beauty with a mountainous interior and gleaming white sand beaches, however both Samui and Phuket have suffered from the excesses of development and tourism leaving behind a severely degraded environment.

Phi Phi Island - Paradise Ruined!

Located in Southern Thailand’s Krabi Province, Phi Phi Islands – an area known for its raw physical beauty - is just another example of Paradise getting trashed by excessive development and too many tourists. Admittedly, I have never been there.

Koh Chang - Going the way of Phuket and Samui

Of all the island resorts, Koh Chang is the place I know best, having been there four times. My last visit was in November 2006. An extremely lush and mountainous island, Koh Chang is rapidly changing (and not for the good) as there are still plans to make it the next Phuket. Climbing the slopes of the jungle clad mountain slopes are many new bungalow operations and along the west coast, the land is being cleared to accommodate a variety of upscale (and opulent) albeit expensive beach resorts. If an international airport ever happens here, it will be the coup-de-grace.

In Koh Chang, proper sewage treatment facilities are lacking, and in some places near the beach you can smell the raw sewage as it trickles into the sea. If you don’t believe me, go to Magic Resort – small budget bungalow operation on Klong Phrao Beach – and take a whiff of the raw sewage on the southern perimeter of the property. Sort of reminds of the smell on the far side of Aloha Beach Resort, a first class hotel located on Lamai Beach in Koh Samui. In Thailand, only a handful of hotels in the resort areas have their own sewage treatment plant.

Koh Lanta and Koh Jam/Koh Pu - Not ruined yet, best of the lot

Ko Lanta and the relatively obscure island of Ko Pu/Ko Jum, both located in Krabi Province seem to be holding up all right from an ecological perspective. Based on my visit there in 2005, the tourism growth had not completely swallowed Koh Lanta, and Koh Jum/Koh Pu - the Island with the split personality - seems to be comparatively pristine.

Coming up, my nomination for the most eco-friendly beach destination in Thailand. Stay tuned!

This installment of Travel Photo of the Week captures a unique countryside scene in Thailand. On my first trip to Northern Province of Chiang Rai in 2003, I had my driver take me to the town of Mae Sai at the Thailand/Myanmar border. About 10KM from the border, we passed by a series of colorful roadside concessions selling a variety of fruit wines as well as strawberries and dried fruit.

Young (and smiling) Thai ladies manned most of the concessions. In order to entice oncoming motorists to stop and sample their wares, many of these girls would stand on the shoulder of the highway holding a bottle or two of wine in their hands.

Charmed by the beguiling smile of a young Thai Lady, we stopped at one these roadside stalls for an impromptu wine tasting session. Before leaving, I purchased a couple of bottles of wine and photographed the young lady as she stood in front of her shop with a bottle of strawberry wine in hand. The bottles of wine in the background create sort of a beehive effect and makes for a great photo.

What about the wine, you may ask? Available in four flavors - strawberry, lychee, mulberry and herb/fruit mix – the wine is very delicious and somewhat sweet (too much sugar) and costs about $3.00 US per bottle.

According to a new survey conducted by Expedia, the French were determined to be the worst tourists in the world, coming across as poor tippers, tight with their money, arrogant and bad-mannered as well as having terrible facility with foreign languages. The survey was conducted with over 4,500 hoteliers around the world.

Believe it or not, the Japanese finished as the best tourists for the 3rd year in a row. While Americans finished 9th overall in this latest survey, they received the highest marks for generosity as the biggest spenders and tippers. On the other hand, American tourists were characterized as slobs, loud and the worst complainers. Sounds like some Americans that I know!

I really don’t much put creditability in this survey due to the relatively small sample size (only 4.500 hoteliers participated) among other things. I think French people get somewhat of a bad rap because of their difficulty with the English Language, which is the international language of the tourist and usually the 2nd language spoken by the host country. From my vast experience as a traveler in Thailand, many the Thais (especially those engaged in the Tourist Business) have a lot better facility with the English Language than most French tourists.

I admit though that the FRENCH have a tendency to be somewhat arrogant and rude though - at least that is the way they act towards me. Maybe it’s because I’m an American and the French people are known to have an attitude with us Yankees. My pet peeve with the French (as well as some other European people) is the total lack of dining etiquette in a public restaurant or café vis a vis smoking.

Unfortunately, it seems that the French – especially the ladies - do not seem to show any 2nd thoughts about lighting up a cigarette in a restaurant or cafe and seem to be oblivious to the protestations of their fellow diners. Young Israeli Ladies are also notorious smokers – and seem to have an attitude equal to worse then French Girls.

I have gone on record with my distaste for cigarette smoking - in particular I hate to be sucking down smoke while I’m eating my meal. If I had it my way, smoking would be banned in all restaurants and cafes - both indoor and outdoors – worldwide. Maybe there should be dedicated restaurants for smokers as well! Cough. Cough!

On my first visit to Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2003, I explored the magnificent Doi Suthep Temple, one of the most revered temples in Thailand. Located just outside the city, Doi Suthep Temple is situated on the top of Mount Suthep. Overlooking the smog-filled valley and the city of Chiang Mai, the panoramic views from the temple are fantastic.

While walking around this religious complex, I was fascinated by this little tyke who was getting indoctrinated by her big sister in the ways of Buddhist rituals. They were crouched in front of one of the many bells that lined one side of the main temple. As the big sister rang the bell, the little tyke watched in excitement. The body language of the little tyke says it all (see photo on the left).

According to Buddhist belief, ringing the bells at temples brings good luck and may drive away evil spirits. I guess it doesn’t hurt to ring as many bells as possible at a Buddhist religious site, and make a prayer while doing it!

According to a recent study by the New Economics Foundation, an organization based in England, COSTA RICA was accorded the distinction of being the happiest place in the world.

The organization ranked 143 nations using the Happy Planet Index, an index which considered three major factors – the general happiness of the people, the average life expectancy and the ecological footprint (or the impact on the earth’s natural resources) of each country.

“Costa Ricans have the highest life satisfaction in the world and have the second-highest average life expectancy of the new world (second to Canada)” and a relatively low ecological footprint, the report concluded.

Latin American countries dominated the top ten with eight entries (Dominican Republic and Guatemala finishing #2 and 4 respectively), JAMAICA - a favorite Caribbean vacation destination and the birthplace of reggae - finished in the 3rd slot and Vietnam was ranked as #5.

Of the major industrialized powers, Germany was ranked #51, England #74 and USA #116. Thailand, one of my favorite countries finished #41 in this study

The most disturbing results of this study was the rather toxic ecological footprint (the demand on this earth’s natural resources) by the relatively advanced Westernized nations of the world - USA finished with the 2nd worst score in this category (a whopping 9.4), finishing behind only tiny Luxemburg which had a score of 10.2. All I can say is that Americans are probably the most spoiled (and most wasteful) people of this planet. On a per capita basis, Americans have the most extravagant lifestyle of any peoples in this world. Isn’t it about time that we become more efficient with our energy usage and utilization of the earth’s natural resources? Or will we continue our role as an energy/resource hogs!

COSTA RICA, what can I say. Although this small county has its fair share of problems – including an alarming rate of petty thefts and break-ins - it is truly the HAPPIEST PLACE on this planet taken everything into consideration. No wonder, many people from Westernized countries resettle there every year forsaking their more affluent lifestyles. PURA VIDA!

If you’d like to know more, you can download the full Happy Planet Index report

Calypso Island Chronicles introduces a new feature - Travel Photo of the Week. Every Friday, I will be publishing a special Travel Photo – the photo will be selected from my vast library of images from my worldwide travels to such places as Thailand, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, Laos and Malaysia. Each photograph will be accompanied by a brief description or story of the special circumstances that led to the picture being taken. Occasionally, I will publish a digitally rendered watercolor/oil of the photograph to give it an artsy look. Like to participate? Feel free to submit your own travel photo with accompanying story in 250 or less words for inclusion in this new Friday Photo of the week feature.
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As it was my last day in Luang Prabang (Laos), I biked around town looking to capture some more images of this colorful and charming town. Before returning my to my hotel, I came across this very pleasant cafe located not so far from the Tourist Information office.

Overlooking a beautiful lotus pond, the setting was so very idyllic and peaceful. Too bad that the coffee (and the toast) were quite ordinary. Oh, how I really detest instant coffee! Believe it or not, I ran into another tourist at the cafe from my hometown of San Francisco who I had met earlier in the week in Luang Prabang. She was entranced by the extraordinary view too!

This picture is actually a digitally rendered watercolor. It definitely creates a better mood than the original photograph. Picture was taken in December 2006.