by Daryle Rico | Aug 31, 2026 | Cooking, Culture, Favorite Tours, Food, Thai Smiles, Thailand
If you ask me, the next best thing to eating Thai food is learning how to cook it. Fortunately, Thailand makes that remarkably easy. Whether you’re in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Hua Hin, or some tiny village whose name you can’t pronounce without...
by Daryle Rico | Jul 28, 2026 | Bangkok, Favorite Tours, Temples
By now, you would think I’d have had my fill of Buddhist temples. After all, I’d already wandered through the ruins of Angkor, climbed to the lofty heights of Doi Suthep, marveled at the legends of Wat Khao Kalok, and stood beneath more golden spires than...
by Daryle Rico | Jul 15, 2026 | Chiang Mai, Favorite Tours, Temples, Thailand
High atop a mountain overlooking the ancient city of Chiang Mai sits one of the most sacred and recognizable temples in all of Thailand: Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Or, as most people simply call it, Doi Suthep. Founded in 1383, the temple was built to enshrine a sacred...
by Daryle Rico | Jul 9, 2026 | Favorite Tours, Malaysia
It was my next-to-last day in Ipoh, Malaysia, when my friend Mona asked if I wanted to go spelunking. Never one to pass up a new experience, I replied, “Of course.” A few minutes later (it pays to have a local guide), we arrived at Gua Tempurung, one of...
by Daryle Rico | Jul 6, 2026 | Favorite Tours, Malaysia
Hidden behind the towering limestone cliffs of Gunung Rapat, just outside Ipoh, lies one of Malaysia’s best-kept secrets: Tasik Cermin, better known as Mirror Lake. It’s the sort of place that makes you stop talking. Not because there’s nothing to...
by Daryle Rico | Jul 1, 2026 | Favorite Tours, Krabi, Thailand
Whenever friends ask me where they should go on their first trip to Thailand, I don’t even have to think about it. “Krabi,” I tell them. Not Bangkok. Not Phuket. Not Chiang Mai. Krabi. Now before angry residents of those fine destinations begin...
