The Great Mormon Butterfly (Papilio memnon), a member of the Swallowtail Family (Papilionidae) is one of most spectacular and largest butterflies that I’ve encountered in Thailand. The female of the species is this week’s featured travel photo - the picture was taken just off the roadside in Northern Thailand, not far from the city of Mae Salong in Chiang Rai Province.

Unlike her cousins in North America (i.e. The Tiger and Anise Swallowtail etc), this Thai swallowtail is very clumsy and a relatively slow flyer. The male and female of the species look completely different in terms of their coloration. The female as depicted in this photograph is multicolored with black spots on creme colored hindwings, while the male is almost completely black.

Other related swallowtails in Southeast Asia, more commonly known as birdwings, look remarkably similar to the Great Mormon in terms of their physical characteristics and are also relatively slow fliers.

Isn’t this female Great Mormon a beauty? A real whopper of a name too! I bet you didn’t know that there were Mormons in a Buddhist country like Thailand? Now you know.

Coming up soon is the story of the Monarch Butterfly Annual Migration from North America to the Highlands of Central Mexico. One of nature’s greatest phenomenons.

Overlooking the rugged Atlantic Coast in the hills of Barbados is the Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill, the largest existing windmill in Barbados. This historical monument is this week’s featured travel photo.

Built in 1727, the Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill ceased grinding cane commercially in 1947 and was donated to The Barbados National Trust, an organization responsible for preserving the history, natural beauty and cultural heritage of this small island. The restoration of this antiquated windmill was completed in 1999 and it is now open to the public as a museum.

Morgan Lewis Mill is an historical remnant of Barbados’s once prominent sugar cane industry and its colonial legacy. There are some wonderful photo opportunities in this rural part of Barbados and a stop at this windmill is highly recommended.

Known primary for its magnificent beaches and gleaming resorts, I’m sure that most people do not associate Barbados with windmills, but here is an astounding fact - Behind Holland, this small Island Nation of only 166 square miles has the 2nd most windmills of any country in the world. SHOCKING!

One of my favorite vistas in Thailand is the featured Travel Photo of the Week. Located about 5,000 feet above sea level in Northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province is Mae Fah Luang Arboretum.

Located in the center of the arboretum, there is a large grassy area surrounded by native trees with wonderful panoramic views of the mountains in nearby Myanmar. The views are absolutely unforgettable, and it is such a wonderful place to just relax, meditate and enjoy nature. Such a spiritual place.

The revered Princess Mother, an ardent conservationist, was responsible for the development of this beautiful arboretum/park. Her objective was to create a refuge for the indigenous trees and plants of the area and to curb the accelerating deforestation in Northern Thailand.

The late Princess Mother who died in 1995 is the mother of the King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej.

This week’s travel photo of the week is appropriately named THAI PUSSY NAPPING. Many of you who have arrived at this blog were expecting to see some naked Thai girl rather than some ordinary Thai pussycat. If so, I am very sorry to have mislead you.

If that’s all you’re interested in, then you can mosey along now (as they say in Twitter). However if you have a genuine interest in Thailand, I’m sure you’ll find lots of provocative (non porn) material and articles on Thailand on this travel blog.

What’s the back-story behind the picture?

While having dinner at Morgan Cafe in the popular beach town of Kai Bae on Koh Chang Island (circa August 2005), I met this particular Meow-Meow. I believe she was the “house pussy” for the restaurant, but I’m not sure. One thing I do know - she sure was a lot better company than most of the THAIgers in the area. Let’s say, she took a particular liking to me! Meow!

Now believe it or not, in Thai language, a cat is called maa-ou (pronounced meow). Strange but true!

Continuing with the theme of children, this week’s travel photo of the week features some Malaysian children that I met on my Air Asia flight between Chiang Mai and Kuala Lumpur in November 2008.

I was admiring their beautiful T-shirts with the stylized elephants - simple but elegant - so I asked them where they got them. Smiling, the older one said “We bought them at a boutique in Chiang Mai.” Taking out my camera, they hammed it up while I took a picture of them.

Just my observation, but Malaysian children (of Chinese ethnic origins) seem to be somewhat more mischievous and more animated than their Thai counterparts. Crawling all over their seats like “little monkeys”, the Malaysian kids could not sit still at all. I believe their parents were two rows behind them.

This installment of the Travel Photo of the Week feature continues with the theme of children. I’ve have stated previously that children are great subjects for photography. Unlike adults, they don’t have any hang-ups or issues about a stranger taking their picture.

From my experience most children are absolutely delighted to pose in front of the camera. In Thailand, I have had children run after me on a number of occasions, begging me to take their picture.

For this photograph, I was touring the rural countryside of Northern Thailand’s Nan Province when I encountered some Thai children huddled together in back of a large flatbed truck. They were returning from school to their rural village. When the driver stopped along the roadside to pick up some bags of rice, the children got off the truck and posed for me in this special group shot.

Most of the kids are wearing some funky T-Shirts. If you look in the upper right corner of the photo, observe that one of the young girls is flashing the victory sign at me.

I have taken many photographs of children during my many years of travel. With their natural innocence and curiosity, children make wonderful subjects for photography.

This week’s featured travel photo is the Little Girl from Mindo, Ecuador. I was walking back to my small hotel along a dusty unpaved street - just before reaching the entrance, a young girl of about 6 years old standing on the shoulder of the road happened to catch my eye. I believed she lived next door to my hotel.

Holding a flower in one hand, wearing checkered trousers and a colorful pullover, the little girl looked so very cute and innocent. Unable to resist the temptation, I pulled out my camera and took a picture of her.

The look on her face is priceless - she seemed to be totally mesmerized by the camera just like ‘a deer caught in the headlights’. I consider this picture to be one of my most memorable travel photographs.

Situated at 5.000 feet above sea level,
Mindo is a popular mountain resort located about 2 hours from Quito

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.