Three Ridiculously Simple Ways To Improve Your Thailand Travel

Thanks to the river regularly bursting its banks, Wiang Kum Kam was eventually lost and buried metres underground, before being discovered once again in 1984. Wiang Kum Kam, an ancient city on the banks of the Ping River, was once the capital of the Lanna Kingdom before it suffered innumerable floods and was relocated to Chiang Mai in 1296.

Artifacts are now displayed in museums across the world, including the British Museum in London. The artifacts were dated back to around 1500 BCE after archaeological excavation began in 1967. It's most famous for its distinctive red pottery, as well as the discovery of skeletons, grave gifts and rice fragments.

Ban Chiang is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Udon Thani, in the Isaan region of Thailand. They offer multi-night packages which see you actively involved in the elephant's care, riding and bathing it in the river, as well as accommodation and food during your stay. Elephantstay is one such place: a working elephant village in Ayutthaya.

There are a lot of dangers and ethical concerns surrounding the elephant-riding tourist trade in Thailand, but there are some options to get up close and personal with the elephants in a way that supports them. The springs are in the vicinity of the Huai Nam Dang National Park, and unfortunately fall under the park's dual pricing policy - THB20 for Thais and a crazy THB400 for foreigners. The cold river and boiling source meet here in 10-16 inch deep pools, which are at around 80° Celsius and positively steaming.

Beautiful Pai is home to these glorious, natural hot springs which allow for blissful spa-style bath therapy. A trip to the Emerald Pool is often paired with a dip in the nearby Hot Springs too. Not only beautiful to look at, it's also perfect to swim in, being both clear and relatively warm in temperature.

Found in the Khao Phra Bang Khram Nature Reserve, the Emerald Pool - also known as the Crystal Pool - is a large natural lagoon that is pumped full of pure spring water. You are required to hire a guide to trek in Chiang Dao National Park, although some climbers are known to have avoided this by saying they intended on birding in the area. The peak itself is a limestone massif aged around 250 million years old, and the trek and summit offer astonishing panoramas over the other mountains in the Daen Lao Range and over the Ao Salung Valley.

Chiang Dao is Thailand Travel's third highest mountain and is the one to ascend if you relish a good view. Or you could make a tower of 12 rocks on the island in order to make your wishes come true, according to the legend. Supposedly, if you take a rock from Koh Hin Ngam, you will be cursed by the island's spirit Chao Pho Tarutao - people have been known to post them back to the authorities after suffering late onset guilt from this act.